July 23, 2021

North America, Polo News

U.S. Polo Assn. Announced as Official Stadium & Apparel Sponsor for the Illustrious Silver Cup and Pacific Coast Open in Santa Barbara

23. July 2021

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla./SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (July 22, 2021) – U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), announced it will serve as the Official Stadium & Apparel Sponsor for the illustrious Silver CupÒ and Pacific Coast Open at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. U.S. Polo Assn. will provide stadium branding and apparel for both high-profile West Coast polo events.

The historic 2021 Silver CupÒ, which runs from July 23 – August 8, is recognized as one of the USPA’s most prestigious tournaments with a rich history spanning more than 100 years and with many of its winners hailing from the Polo Hall of Fame. In addition, the Silver Cup is one of the only tournaments in California that features the best polo players in the world, including those that play in the prestigious GAUNTLET OF POLO® in Wellington, Florida during the South Florida circuit.

“U.S. Polo Assn. is honored to be part of such historic events as the Silver Cup and the Pacific Coast Open amid the beautiful backdrop of the celebrated Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club,” said J. Michael Prince, President and CEO of USPA Global Licensing, which manages the multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand. “Supporting these high-profile events on the West Coast is yet another example of U.S. Polo Assn.’s authentic connection and love for the sport of polo.”

Founded in 1911, Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club is one of the oldest continuing member clubs of the USPA as well as the largest and most active polo club on the West Coast. Positioned in between the Carpinteria Foothills and the Pacific Ocean, Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club offers an unparalleled backdrop in the western United States.

“We are appreciative of the partnership and support of U.S. Polo Assn. for the historic tournaments played here, including the notable Silver Cup which was first played in 1900,” said Danny Walker, Board Member, Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. “We hope that players and fans enjoy this season’s amazing west coast tournaments and experience the history and excellence of Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, polo in paradise.”

USPA official events, Silver Cup and the Pacific Coast Open, will be live streamed on Global Polo TV at globalpolo.com. Also hosted by Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club will be the USPA America Cup.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla./SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (July 22, 2021) – U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), announced it will serve as the Official…

North America, Polo News

Casablanca Wins Craig Sakin Memorial in Overtime; Torito Ruiz Named MVP

23. July 2021

By: Rebecca Baldridge
Photos by: Nick Tininenko for ChukkerTV

Carbondale, CO, July 19, 2021— Casablanca defeated Victory Polo by 9-8 in overtime to claim the Craig Sakin Memorial title; Santa Rita was victorious in the Alpine Antler Cup, beating both Piocho Ranch and Rancho Los Amigos, while Mountain Chevrolet bested La Karina in the Just for the Love of It Cup.

In the final match of the Craig Sakin Memorial, Casablanca (Lauren Sherry, Alex Gooding, Torito Ruiz, and Grant Ganzi) met Victory Polo (Kevin Schmeits, Marc Ganzi, Nic Roldan, and Stewart Armstrong).

The match started with a foul only 30 seconds in giving Casablanca a Penalty 4. Unfortunately for the team in black, the shot was blocked. Less than a minute later, Victory Polo’s Nic Roldan sent a perfect pass to Stewart Armstrong, who put the first goal on the board. Casablanca’s Grant Ganzi scored on a Penalty 3, and the chukker ended 1-1.

Barely a minute into the second chukker, Kevin Schmeits found the goal, but at 4:28 Torito Ruiz answered by taking possession of the ball and smashing it downfield. It hit the ground just a few feet short of the posts and went through on the bounce to tie the score at 2 all. With just under a minute left, Roldan got the ball less than 20 yards from the goal and put Victory Polo ahead 3-2 at the end of the chukker. However, the excitement didn’t last for Victory as Casablanca kept them off the board in the thirdperiod. Ruiz evened the score, and a successful Penalty 2 from Grant Ganzi ended the half with Casablanca leading 4-3.

Victory Polo got their own back at the start of the second half, keeping Casablanca away from the uprights. Armstrong scored two consecutive goals to put Victory Polo back in the lead at 5-4. Just 30 seconds into the pentultimate chukker, Kevin Schmeits gave Marc Ganzi the perfect set-up to tap the ball through and extend Victory Polo’s lead to 6-4. With 3:34 on the clock, Ruiz took the score to 6-5 and at 1:15 he took advantage of a broken play to tie things up at 6-6. Ruiz started the final chukker with yet another goal, putting Casablanca back in the lead at 7-6. A Penalty 1 gave Victory Polo an automatic goal, once again tying the score up at 7-7. With 1:55 on the clock, Armstrong broke the tie after a successful run downfield with Ruiz in hot pursuit.

With five seconds remaining on the clock, Victory Polo surely though they had the match in the bag when the whistle sounded for a right-of-way violation. Grant Ganzi scored on the Penalty 2 to end the chukker 8-8 and send the match into overtime. Forty seconds into overtime, Ruiz took possession of the ball and slammed it downfield in a long shot that flew over the posts and gave Casablanca the win at 9-8. Toro Ruiz was named the Most Valuable Player while Pili, whom he played in the fifth chukker, took Best Playing Pony Honors.

In the Just for the Love of It subsidiary, La Karina (Govinda Quish, Brian Boyd, Sugar Erskine, and Nacho Badiola) took on Mountain Chevrolet (Michael Payne, Gussie Busch, Tomas Pieres, and Pablo Spinacci).

Mountain Chevrolet seized control at the start of the match. Gussie Busch and Tomas Pieres both scored, and the team succeeded in keeping La Karina off the board. In the second chukker, Pieres took the score up to 3-0. The team in pink got their first goal of the day when Sugar Erskine put the ball through on a Penalty 4. The period ended 3-1 with Mountain Chevrolet in the lead. Pieres extended his team’s lead to 4-1 before Nacho Badiola scored to cut Mountain Chevrolet’s advantage to 2 and end the period 4- 2.

La Karina found their feet in the fourth chukker and played a strong defense to keep Mountain Chevrolet off the board. Erskine and Govinda Quish each scored to end the period with a 4-4 tie. Pieres put the first goal on the board in the pentultimate chukker, but Nacho Badiola found the posts to tie the game once again at 5-5. Pablo Spinacci put an end to this by scoring two consecutive goals to end the period with Mountain Chevrolet ahead 7-5. Another goal from Quish saw La Karina gaining ground, but Michael Payne scored to keep his team in the lead by two goals. Spinacci took the ball in to rack up the final goal of the day, and Mountain Chevrolet defeated La Karina by 9- 6. Pablo Spinacci was named the Most Valuable Player.

Earlier in the day, Rancho Los Amigos (Paul Foster, Larry Austin, Gonzalito Pieres, and Horacio Heguy), Piocho Ranch (Carolyn Likas, Nacho Figueras, Nacho Novillo Astrada, and Tom Barrack), and Santa Rita (Alejandra Foster, Melissa Ganzi, Alejandro Novillo Astrada and Juan Bollini) met in the finals of the round robin Alpine Antler Cup. Scores were carried over from the previous matches.

In the first game, Rancho Los Amigos met Piocho Ranch, each team starting with one goal on the board. Piocho won 5-4, with Nacho Figueras and Nacho Novillo Astrada each scoring two goals.

The second match saw Rancho Los Amigos go up against Santa Rita. Los Amigos started with two on the board, while Santa Rita had four. Each team scored three goals to leave Santa Rita in the lead at 7-5. Melisa Ganzi was the top scoring player with two goals to her credit.

In the third match, Santa Rita stayed on the field to face off against Piocho. The score at the start was 5-4, with Piocho in the lead. Nacho Novillo Astrada scored for Piocho, while Ganzi and Alejandro Novillo Astranda each put the ball through to end the match in a 6-6 tie. Santa Rita won the Alpine Antler Cup with a total score of +2, while Piocho took second place with +1 and Rancho Los Amigos took third with -3.

2021 Aspen Valley Summer Polo Series

July
Basalt Handicap 7/21-7/25
Emma Challenge Cup 7/28-8/1

August
High Alpine Cup 8/4-8/8
Rocky Mountain Open 8/1-8/14
Mount Sopris Cup 8/11-8/15
The Carbondale Classic 8/18-8/22
World Polo League Triple Crown of Polo 8/25-8/28

Arena Tournaments & Asado – Tuesday Evenings
Kidz Uni-Wheel games during select tournament halftimes

Chukkers, Champagne, & Caviar
to benefit Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation
Sunday August 22, 2021

Visit www.aspenvalleypoloclub.com for more details. Games live-streamed on www.chukkertv.com

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By: Rebecca Baldridge Photos by: Nick Tininenko for ChukkerTV Carbondale, CO, July 19, 2021— Casablanca defeated Victory Polo by 9-8 in overtime to claim the Craig Sakin Memorial title; Santa…

North America, Polo News

HISTORIC SILVER CUP® RETURNS TO SANTA BARBARA POLO & RACQUET CLUB

23. July 2021

Hosted by Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (Carpinteria, California) for the second consecutive year, the 2021 Silver Cup® has returned to the west coast where six teams will contend for the prestigious title, including defending champions Lucchese. Located just five miles south of Santa Barbara and 60 miles north of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club overlooks the Pacific Ocean providing an attractive backdrop to an active polo calendar.

The first USPA Official Event of the 16-goal season, the Silver Cup® will begin on Sunday, July 25, with the final set for Sunday, August 8. The high-goal season will culminate with the Pacific Coast Open, the only open trophy on the west coast, August 13 through 29.

Serving as the Official Stadium & Apparel Sponsor, U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the United States Polo Association, will provide stadium branding and apparel for both high-profile west coast tournaments.

The Silver Cup® has been called many names throughout its illustrious 121-year history. Originally established as the Junior Championship, it was first played in 1900. In 1938, the Junior Championship was renamed the National Twenty Goal® Championship and in 1974 the tournament took its present name, the Silver Cup®. A trophy which bears the names of many Polo Hall of Famers including Tommy Hitchcock and Cecil Smith, the Silver Cup® also features Lucchese (2020, 2014, 2012) and Farmers & Merchants Bank (2016, 2015, 2013) with three titles each. Antelope is the only other team in the lineup who has qualified for the Silver Cup® Final.

On Antelope’s heels throughout the first half of the 2020 Silver Cup® Final, Lucchese turned the scoreboard around in the third, gradually extending the lead to secure the coveted trophy 15-11 for the first time in six years. In 2021 the defending champions will be joined by Keko Magrini on Lucchese’s roster, while 2020 Lucchese teammate Nico Escobar will compete with his family’s Santa Clara this year. Featuring father-and-son combinations on multiple teams, the 16-goal rosters feature a variety of young rising stars including several active and graduating Team USPA members and alumni.

2021 SILVER CUP® TEAMS:

Bracket I

1. Santa Clara (15)
Luis Escobar (5)
Lucas Escobar (4)
Nico Escobar (5)
Francisco Escobar (0)
Federico Escobar (1)

2. Lucchese (15)
John Muse (0)
Facundo Obregon (6)
Jeff Hall (6)
Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini (3)

3. Farmers & Merchants Bank (16)
Danny Walker (2)
Matt Walker (3)
Lucas Criado (7)
Lucitas Criado (4)

Bracket II

4. Antelope (16)
Grant Palmer (1)
Santiago Trotz (4)
Tomas Garcia del Rio (8)
Segundo Saravi (3)

5. Bensoleimani.com (16)
Ben Soleimani (0)
Tomas Alberdi (4)
Iñaki Laprida (7)
Santiago Wulff (5)

6. Klentner Ranch (16)
Jesse Bray (6)
Jacob Klentner (1)
Justin Klentner (1)
Santiago Toccalino (8)

“The Silver Cup® is a trophy that every polo player strives to etch their name on,” said USPA Executive Director of Services and two-time winner of the Silver Cup®, Carlucho Arellano. “Our best clubs want to host it and our best players want to win it.”

Both USPA Official Events, the Silver Cup® and Pacific Coast Open, will be livestreamed exclusively on Global Polo TV with the purchase of the Polo Pass at globalpolo.com. All USPA playing and lifetime members who have paid their membership dues will receive the Premium Polo Pass complimentary while all USPA Social Members will receive the Polo Pass for free, once dues are paid in full. All games of the Silver Cup® and the Pacific Coast Open will be available with the Polo Pass or the Premium Polo Pass.

Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club is now open to the public for spectating. To purchase tickets please visit sbpolo.com. For more information on the Silver Cup® and to view the schedule, please visit the Silver Cup® tournament detail page on uspolo.org. To purchase a polo pass please visit globalpolo.com/products.

www.uspolo.org

Photos: ©David Lominska

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Hosted by Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (Carpinteria, California) for the second consecutive year, the 2021 Silver Cup® has returned to the west coast where six teams will contend…

Lifestyle, Polo News, Travel & Food

Long Island allows you to travel back to the golden 20s

23. July 2021

Long Island / Hanover, 20.07.2021 | (kms) – Just a few miles away from New York City is the “Sylt of New York”: Long Island known for being a hideaway for the rich and beautiful. In the popular Hamptons, New York’s upper class spends time at the beach, surfing and kayaking, or in one of the numerous restaurants. The island’s rich history is marked by American celebrities.

Immerse yourself in the world of Great Gatsby
Long Island’s Gold Coast allows you to immerse yourself in the glamorous era of the Great Gatsby. The author of the novel with the same name, F. Scott Fitzgerald, lived on Long Island from 1922 and is today considered one of the essential U.S. writers. Surrounded by magnificent gardens, the opulent mansions he describes in his novel were built in the elegant style of the 1920s and are now partly open to tourists. On guided tours through the magnificent estates with luxurious furnishings, visitors experience a journey back in time to the roaring 1920s and feel a real “Great Gatsby feeling”.

A Hollywood scenery you can touch
One of the impressive stately homes that also opens its doors to visitors is the “Old Westbury Gardens” estate. The formerly private country estate is not only as a museum in the midst of colorful show gardens but is also a popular location for cultural festivities or private parties. Some Hollywood celebrities also know and appreciate “Old Westbury Gardens”: Nicolas Cage and Joaquin Phoenix shot the film “8mm” here. But the tranquil estate is also used as a backdrop for productions such as “American Gangster” and “Gossip Girl.

Oheka Castle – The second largest mansion in the USA was built by a German
The majestic Oheka Castle is considered one of the most impressive buildings in the Hamptons. With its 125 individually decorated rooms, it is now used as a hotel. The French chalet was commissioned in 1914 by German banker and entrepreneur Otto Hermann Kahn, who used the property as a summer home. He organized glamorous parties in what is now the second largest mansion in the U.S., where heads of state and celebrities were welcome guests – very much in the style of the Great Gatsby.

Relaxing time out in nature

For those who do not want to think about the wild parties of the 1920s but looking for a relaxing time-out far away from the urban jungle, Long Island offers countless recreational opportunities. The bright sandy beaches are known as the most beautiful in the world and invite you to sunbathe or stroll along the boardwalk. The well-kept parks and idyllic forests of Long Island provide a unique place for extensive hikes and adventurous bike rides followed by picnics in the open air. A popular destination in the region is the Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park. Located near the town of Easter Bay on Long Island. The Park pleased visitors with several thousand species of plants planted in impressive formations. History buffs can visit the park’s Coe Hall Historic House Museum to learn about the history of the house and the families who once lived there.

About Discover Long Island
Discover Long Island was founded in 1979 under the name Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau & Sports Commission as an official agency to promote the regional travel and tourism industry. The organization contributes to Long Island’s economic development and quality of life by promoting the region to the public as a top-rated destination for tourism, meetings and conventions, trade shows, sporting events and other major events.

Detailed information about Long Island is available by phone at +1 631-951-3900 and on the website at www.DiscoverLongIsland.com.

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