(L to R)-St. Regis-Juan Bollini, Nacho Figueras, Juancito Bollini, Hilario Figueras; Aspen Valley-Sebastian Merlos, Marc Ganzi, Grant Ganzi, Segundo Merlos, following The Family Traditions at St. Regis Polo Cup at the Aspen Valley Polo Club. (Photo by ChukkerTV)
An exciting back-and-forth contest for The Family Traditions for the St. Regis Cup was won by St. Regis (Hilario Figueras, Nacho Figueras, Juan Bollini, Sr. and Juan Bollini, Jr.) on the final shot of the game for a 9-8 win over the Aspen Valley Polo Club (Marc Ganzi, Grant Ganzi, Sebastian Merlos and Segundo Merlos) Saturday afternoon at the Aspen Valley Polo Club.
Aspen Valley took the early lead on a pair of goals from Argentine 9-goaler Sebastian Merlos and a single goal from teammate Marc Ganzi. Juancito Bollini scored the only goal of the period for St. Regis on a pass from his father, Juan Bollini. Aspen Valley led, 3-1.
There were three shots on goal in the second chukker from three different players (Sebastian Merlos, Ganzi and Hilario Figueras) that missed going through the goal posts by inches as the competitive juices continued to flow. Marc Ganzi added another Aspen Valley scored the only goal with the defense holding St. Regis scoreless. At the end of the first half it was Aspen Valley with a comfortable 4-1 lead.
St. Regis came out to play as the second half got underway. Opening goals from Nacho Figueras and Juancito Bollini brought St. Regis to within a goal of the lead, 4-3. Marc Ganzi scored on a pass from Sebastian Merlos, 5-3. St. Regis roared back with Juan Bollini scoring his first goal of the day and then finding his son Juancito Bollini on a scoring pass that tied the game at 5-5.
All bets were off as the two teams took the field for the final chukker of play I n a 5-5 game. A St. Regis penalty send Marc Ganzi to the penalty lien where he converted from 30-yards out to give the lead to Aspen Valley, 6-5. St. Regis went on a team with Nacho Figueras scoring twice and his son Hilario Figueras adding a goal for an 8-6 St. Regis lead. Aspen Valley wasn’t ready to concede as the clock ran down. Segundo Merlos scored his first goal of the game to cut the St. Regis lead back to a single goal, 8-7, and Sebastian Merlos tied it on a 60-yard penalty shot to make it 8-8 with less than a minute left in regulation play. A final mad dash toward the Aspen Valley goal had Grant Ganzi battling three St. Regis players in front of the goal when Juan Bollini drove the ball through the goalposts for the winning goal, 9-8.
Nacho Figueras and Juancito Bollini led the St. Regis offense with three goals apiece. Juan Bollini scored twice and Hilario Figueras added a goal for the victory. Sebastian Merlos scored a game-high five goals for Aspen Valley. Marc Ganzi scored three times and Segundo Merlos scored once in the loss.
Nacho Figueras earned MVP honors with his three goals on offense and extraordinary defensive efforts that included clearing what looked like a sure goal from Sebastian Merlos off of the St. Regis goal line in the final chukker. Halo Polo’s Pinkie Belle was named Best Playing Pony. Pinkie Belle is an 8-year-old Bay mare that was played by Nacho Figueras in the fourth and final chukker.
Polo continues at the Aspen Valley Polo Club on Sunday with the final and the subsidiary final of the Mount Sopris Cup. Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Jimmy Seward, Lucas Lalor and Stewart Armstrong) will face Los Amigos (Paul Foster, Lauren Sherry, Tincho Merlos and Gabriel Gracida) in Sunday’s 11am (MST) subsidiary game with Steta Polo Team (Guillermo Steta, Brian Boyd, Nic Roldan and Carlitos Gracida) and Flexjet (Marc Ganzi, Alejandra Foster, Julio Novillo Astrada and Alex Gooding) meeting in the final at 3pm (MST).
The games are scheduled to coincide with a benefit for the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation with the “Chukkers, Champagne and Caviar” event. General Admission and parking are FREE with VIP Tent Access requesting a $125.00 donation which will include Champagne and Caviar (Limited Seating Available. The benefit will also feature a Live and Silent Auction; Pony rides; Kids Activities and Shopping.
The Aspen Valley Polo Club is located at 3275 County Road 100, Carbondale, CO. The club’s Polo Hotline is 970-710-1663.