Women’s teams flex their muscle on the first day of the La Martina Miami Beach Polo World Cup
The ninth annual La Martina Miami Beach Polo World Cup, the world’s most prestigious Beach Polo competition, opened with a day of sweat and tears during the La Martina South Beach Women’s Polo Cup V as eight women’s teams fought hard to claim the prestigious title.
Cheeki, (Whitney Ross, Cristina Hosmer and Tiffany Busch) fell behind The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue team (Alicia Harden, Cecelia Cochran and Laura Willson), 3-1, but scored five goals in the final chukker to capture the coveted trophy. Cheeki made their way in to the finals on an opening 6-0 win over The Raleigh Hotel team (Anja Jacobs, Valerie Biehl and Lynn O’Connor), while The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue trio defeated an aggressive Grey Goose side (Chloe Carabasi, Pamela Flanagan and Zara Walsh), 13-1.
The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue team took an early lead in the two chukker final getting a pair of goals from Laura Willson and a single score from Alicia Harden. Cheeki was limited to a single penalty goal in the chukker by Tiffany Busch.
Cheeky rallied in the final chukker, taking advantage of The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue team’s fouls to score five goals — three on penalty conversions by Tiffany Busch and single goals from Cristina Hosmer and Whitney Ross. The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue team came up with a single final chukker goal from Alicia Harden in the 6-4 loss.
Cheeki’s Tiffany Busch earned MVP honors for her efforts while The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue team’s Laura Willson’s horse “Dash” was named Best Playing Pony.
In Lower Bracket matches, the W South Beach Hotel, made up of Marina Wambold, Slaney O’Hanlon and Courtney Asdourian, scorched the team of Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ by a score of 9-0 in the finals. The W South Beach Hotel polo team earned an impressive 8-3 opening round win over La Martina to make in to the finals. SLH snuck past a talented E! Entertainment team 3-2.
Courtney Asdourian scored an impressive six of the team’s nine goals and was named MVP. Maggi McNamara’s horse “Star” was honored as Best Playing Pony.