The Polo Report
By Steve Crowder
Sept. 8th 09
The summer season started out very weak as we were unable to put the historic 12-goal league together at Santa Barbara Polo Club due to cost and the economy. There was a lack of sponsors and it was apparent as there were few. The Santa Barbara Polo Club had an 8-goal league which worked out because Piocho stepped in and the La Kitrina team shipped in from New Mexico. Then came July and the barns filled up, the tents went up and the people came. It was high-goal season for Santa Barbara Polo Club and it was very well received.
The first 2 weeks were very weak and should have be eliminated, but come Skene time it got to hoppin’ and we had 7 teams, just 1 short of a full house. It was very tough played tournament as Patagones, a newcomer with the Avendano brand, came flying through the pack to win the cup. In the America’s Cup it was Audi showing they had not gone away as the KK (Kris Kampsen) came blowing down the field often and fast. They took this cup which was a lot of fun and a very competitive tournament.
With the start of the Pacific Coast Open (PCO) moving to Sunday and Thursday, it gave time for some help on the fields and rest for the horses between games. They needed it as many games reached overtime and the road to the semis became a math test, but 4 teams figured it out. Both semis were very good games. Grant’s Farm slid by Patagones, who had beat them in the first cup the Skene Cup. ERG had started to gel and got by a surprisingly tough Mansour to reach the finals. The finals were set and in the subsidiary it was another newcomer Valiente of Denver, CO led by Robert Jornayvaz and Marc Ganzi’s Audi in the finals of the Western Badge. It was a close game due to KK and his dead eye on goal, but he needed 2 more as Frederico put the final goal in at the very last few seconds of the 6th to give Valiente their first cup in town.
Sunday saw a full house as few people were here for the semis. They all doubled up on Sunday. The lack of people for semis was probably due to the long weekend (Labor Day holiday) ahead as much as being on Thursday. Sunday, however, was great with a huge crowd and everybody knew Monday was a day off, so the party began early. As Ellen has done all season, she set the table for a very fine experience for polo people as well as new viewers. I think many will be back.
The game was Greattttttttt to say the least. There were not a lot of fouls. There was clean, hard play and some very bad calls in the 4th may have changed it, but it was a battle royal for the most part. Just when one seemed to escape, they did not. Then came the others. The final chukker was the same as the first, fast hard and clean POLO. Andy Busch’s Grant’s Farm won over Scott Woods’ ERG and that was the end of a very big season for Santa Barbara Polo Club. All 8 players played very well and all the horses were fine at the end of the day. I hear it was one hell of a party far into the evening for the closing of the high-goal season. It seems we should have 8 teams back next season so we look forward to an improved start to the next decade with better fields and bigger crowds. We know Ellen is going to make it the place you want to be on Sunday afternoon. It was a very good job done by the staff here in Santa Barbara and they did not get a lot of practice to get better with a weak spring so it was double good. Many thanks for Robert Jornayvaz and Gonzolo Avendano for entering our western world. You guys were fantastic! They might sign-up Meekers ASAP if they want to have it better.
Congratulations to the CHAMPS . . .
Patagones won the Robert Skene Cup
Audi won the America’s Cup
Valiente won the Western Badge
Grant’s Farm Manor won the Pacific Coast Open