August 18, 2020

Europe, Polo News

Silver Cup – the quirky surprise: Coupe d’Argent Diane Barrière Desseigne

18. August 2020

Maison Décalé (Quirly House), an essentially French team, were not really the favorites for this Silver Cup. Composed of three French players and an Argentinian who partly grew up in France (Ramiro Zavaleta, h4, is also bilingual), this close-knit team came up with a string of surprises.

It started with the victory over Talandracas last Thursday which allowed them to advance to the penalty play-off and then to the final where they would face the impressive Spanish team Marqués de Riscal and its two Argentinian stars, the 8-goaler Alejandro Muzzio and the 7-goaler Santiago Cernadas alongside two amateurs playing „very strong“, the Aznar father and son. In short, a big piece for the „little ones“ of Maison Décalé. But obviously, the victory over Talandracas had given wings to the young Thomas Rolland (best man of the match) and his acolytes. A united game, not giving up, with an impeccable back (Ramiro Zavaleta), a perfect organizer (Pierre-Henri Ngoumou, h6 and scorer of 5 goals) and a decisive Édouard Pan in the key moments.

It was a Hitchcock-style match scenario where neither team ever gave up, making it a blow for blow, so much so that at the end of regular time the score was still undecided: 9 – 9 and overtime! Pierre-Henri Ngoumou put an end to the suspense until the end with a third goal with a mare named Vaivia: „Basically, we are four friends which makes it easier to get along on the field,“ he explained. “I played with Édouard (Pan) at the beginning of the season, I had already won the Gold Cup with Ramiro (Zavaleta) here a few years ago. This team got organized very quickly, we were still in La Baule last week. After losing the first game against Barrière, we got back on track after a comeback against Talandracas, who had dominated us for a good half of the match. It was a structuring victory for the team. We then started to believe in it and we‘re winning today and it‘s always a joy to win here in Deauville“.

The first match between Barrière and Taladrancas will be played on Tuesday. A double for Maison Décalé? Why not?

Maison Décalé: Thomas Rolland (FRA, h2, 3 goals), Édouard Pan (FRA, h4, 2 goals), Pierre Henri Ngoumou (FRA, h6, 5 goals) and Ramiro Zavaleta (ARG, h4)
Marqués de Riscal: Luis Aznar (ESP, h1, ), Santiago Cernadas (ARG, h7.4 goals), Alejandro Muzzio (ARG, h8, 4 goals) and Alejandro Aznar (ESP, h0, 1 goal)
Best playing poney: British, 11 year-olds mare bred, owned and played by Alejandro Muzzio, dark bay by Theol and Franganzia.

www.deauvillepoloclub.com

Maison Décalé (Quirly House), an essentially French team, were not really the favorites for this Silver Cup. Composed of three French players and an Argentinian who partly grew up in…

North America, Polo News

Oak Brook Polo Falls to Good Thunder In a Heated Match During the Chicago Polo Open

18. August 2020

On Sunday, August 16th Oak Brook Polo Club hosted the finals of the prestigious Chicago Polo Open in front of a sold-out crowd. Presented by Heineken and Modern Luxury CS Magazine, the heavily contested 12-goal match featured Oak Brook Polo vs. Good Thunder.

Good Thunder’s team was comprised of Bill Paterson (Hcap 0), Miguel Gutierrez (Hcap 3), Lindor Novillo Corvalan (Hcap 4) and Tommy Collingwood (Hcap 5) while Oak Brook featured James Drury (Hcap 0), Mariano Gutierrez (Hcap 4), Tomas Obregon (Hcap 4) and Horacio Onetto (Hcap 4).

The match featured the traditional opening ceremonies and activities which included: team parade & roster announcements, national anthem performance by Reid Taylor, and champagne sabering by WGN TV’s Lauren Magiera.

The first chukker got off to a quick start with Oak Brook’s Obregon scoring the first goal of the match. Good Thunder’s Gutierrez would answer with a goal and to end the first chukker tied 1-1. In the second chukker, Oak Brook’s Gutierrez would give his team a two-goal league with two back-to-back goals while him and his teammates held Good Thunder to one goal scored by Collingwood and end the Chukker 3-2, Oak Brook. In the third chukker, Good Thunder would go on a three-goal streak beginning with Collingwood followed by Paterson and Corvalan. Oak Brook’s Obregon was able to squeeze one goal in before the first half ended 5-4, Good Thunder.

In the second half, Oak Brook’s Onetto would score his first goal and tie the match 5-5. But Good Thunder’s Corvalan would score two back-two-back and give his team a two goal lead to end the 4th chukker, 7-5. In the fifth chukker, Oak Brook would hold Good Thunder scoreless, while putting up two goals by Gutierrez and Onetto and tie the match 7-7 for a fourth time. In the sixth and final chukker, Oak Brook’s Obregon would help his team reclaim the lead 8-7, but only for a brief moment, before Good Thunder’s Corvalan put up his second back-to-back goals and give his team the lead and win, 9-8.

Casablanca Polo’s “Most Valuable Player” honors were awarded to Good Thunder’s Corvalan for his impressive five goals, including his team’s tying and winning goals in the final chukker. Casablanca Polo’s “Best Playing Pony” went to Avispa, ridden by Collingwood.

The match’s runner-up trophies awarded to Oak Brook were presented by NBC Chicago Reporter, Courtney Hall, and winner’s trophies awarded to Good Thunder were presented by Eva Gregersen, daughter of owner of Oak Brook’s Beyond Shades. The Chicago Polo Open trophy awarded to Good Thunder was presented by Lifestyle Magazine publisher, Candice Kuhnen.

Oak Brook Polo Club’s next home event will the Team Up For Tony tournament on Sunday, August 30th which will feature the finals of the 4-goal USPA Governor’s Cup and 8-goal USPA Master’s Cup tournaments. Proceeds collected from the match will contribute to the necessary everyday care and therapy for Tony Sekera. For general information, event scheduling, news, tickets and parking directions, please visit www.oakbrookpoloclub.com or call 630.368.5095.

Photos by Andrew Meier

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On Sunday, August 16th Oak Brook Polo Club hosted the finals of the prestigious Chicago Polo Open in front of a sold-out crowd. Presented by Heineken and Modern Luxury…

Europe, Polo News

Cartier Queen’s Cup subsidiary quarter-finals

18. August 2020

MT Vikings 9 – 8 Polo Stud Schockemohle

Segavas 11 – 10 Park Place Vaara

text by diana Butler

Two close games today confirmed who would be playing Monterosso and Next Generation in Thursday’s subsidiary semi-finals. The first match today saw Siri Evjemo-Nysveen not only return to her MT Vikings team but score too. Their opponents this morning were a higher-handicapped Polo Stud Schockemohle team. Looking for their first win in this tournament the German-based team were playing the four-goaler Charlie Hanbury in place of their patron Ekard Joules. This new strategy appeared to be paying off for them in the early stages of the match. They were 2-1 up after the first chukka and were 4-2 up in the second. Failing to score at all in the third was the turning point in this game though. MT Vikings may have only added one further goal to their tally at half-time but the dynamics in this match had slightly shifted. MT Vikings levelled the scores to 5-5 in the fourth and not only pulled away in the fifth but managed to maintain that all-important one-goal advantage on the final whistle. This team performance has earned MT Vikings a date with Next Generation on Thursday at midday.

Segavas have secured a subsidiary semi-final game on Thursday against Monterosso after beating Park Place Vaara at Coworth Park this afternoon. In addition to winning this match, this team also won the Gerard Leigh Trophy, presented in memory of a former Chairman of Guards Polo Club, Col William Gerard Leigh. He was Chairman of the Club from 1955 until 1981. The match had looked as if this was going to be Park Place Vaara’s game. They arrived at Coworth Park fresh from a surprising win over Les Lions/Great Oaks last Wednesday and everyone wondered if they had now found their spark. It seemed they had in the first few minutes – leading 4-1 in the early stages of the second chukka. Their game then stalled, while Segavas piled on the goals, taking the lead 6-5 at half-time. Park Place Vaara had not given up quite yet, remaining only a goal behind the leaders for the rest of the match. It was great to see such competitive play from both teams. Segavas will now play Monterosso in the second subsidiary semi final on Thursday. These two teams have already met in this year’s tournament, Monterosso coming out best last Tuesday. Segavas will be hoping to turn the tables on Alessandro Bazzoni’s team and win a place in Sunday’s subsidiary final, where the winning team heads home with the Cartier Trophy.

www.guardspoloclub.com

Photos by Tony Ramirez / IMAGES OF POLO

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MT Vikings 9 – 8 Polo Stud Schockemohle Segavas 11 – 10 Park Place Vaara text by diana Butler Two close games today confirmed who would be playing Monterosso…