WELLINGTON, Fla., November 24, 2024—Newport saved its best for last, winning the final tournament of the fall season Sunday at Grand Champions Polo Club.
Newport (Gene Goldstein, Eliza Limehouse, Pablo Spinacci, Tomacho Pieres) held on for a 6-5 victory over Santa Rita (Miles Rich, Martin Jauregui, Rebecca Cohen, Juan Bollini) in the Fall Classic.
It was Newport‘s first tournament win of the season.
Newport‘s Gene Goldstein, the fall season‘s leading scorer, was Most Valuable Player. Goldstein missed only two goal-scoring attempts this season. He scored a game-high five goals to finish the season.
Royal, a 10-year-old Roan mare, played by Rebecca Cohen in the first and fourth chukkers, and owned by Santa Rita Polo Farm, was Best Playing Pony.
Newport led from start to finish, but Santa Rita made it interesting.
Newport jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the opening chukker behind Goldstein‘s two goals.
Newport extended its halftime lead to 5-3 with a 70-yard goal from Pieres to open the chukker and two more goals from Goldstein.
Santa Rita cut Newport‘s lead to one, 5-4, when Miles Rich scored with a second remaining. Goldstein scored his fifth goal, a 63-yarder, to open the final chukker for a 6-4 advantage. Bollini cut the lead to one again with 3:11 left to play. Goldstein came up with the defensive play of the game to turn back Bollini and preserve the victory.
Santa Rita could not take advantage of its scoring opportunites in the second half. Rich led Santa Rita with a team-high three goals.
Grand Champions finished a successful season that featured both medium and high goal tournaments.
Looking back on the season, other 2024 fall champions were: Tackeria Invitational, Audi (Dominic State, Martin Jauregui, Marc Ganzi, Sugar Erskine); Pedro Morrison Memorial, Maltese Falcons (Melissa Ganzi, Teo Calle, Grant Ganzi, Nic Roldan); Banyan Cup, SebiLion (Sebastian Mandelbaum, Santos Bollini, Sugar Erskine, Jason Crowder); Fall Plates, Grand Champions (Miles Rich, -1, Grant Ganzi, 3, Martin Jauregui, 6, Pablo Dorignac, 4); Casablanca Fall Cup, Santa Rita (Rebecca Cohen/Phil Gutman, Jason Crowder, 5, Nic Roldan, 8, Juan Bollini, 3) and ChukkerTV Fall Challenge Cup, Santa Rita (Rebecca Cohen, Andres Fanjul, Martin Jauregui, Juan Bollini).
The family-friendly club welcomes spectators of all ages. All matches are open to the public and dogs on leashes.
In last year‘s Fall Classic, the Maltese Falcons won their team debut. Maltese Falcons (Melissa Ganzi, Jason Crowder, 5, Juan Bollini, 3, Nic Roldan, 8) led the two-day, 18-chukker round robin from start-to-finish. They defeated Casablanca (Marc Ganzi, Grant Ganzi, 3, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Martin Jauregui, 6), 7-5, in the final three chukkers to clinch the title on Aspen Field. Roldan was MVP.
The well-organized fall tournaments attracted players from all over the world. Roster lineups changed from tournament to tournament with evenly-matched teams featuring pro and amateur players.
Wellington-based ChukkerTV (CTV Sports) live streamed the entire fall season. Grand Champions is the only USPA club that live streams all its games.
Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm is the largest and most unique private 102-acre polo facility in Wellington with 212 stalls in nine self-contained barns, two tracks, five climate-controlled tack rooms, vet room, staff quarters, guest house and four polo fields with state-of-the-art underground irrigation and short work arena. The club has 11 well-manicured world-class fields at GCPC and Santa Rita.
Grand Champions Polo Club caters to men, women and youth polo players at all levels. Its‘ expert staff can customize a complete playing experience including horses, pros and certified umpires in addition to lessons and practice sessions as part of its‘ Polo On Demand program..
The Polo School is for all ages and ability levels and operates in Wellington year-round. The Polo School, a 501c3 organization and stand-alone USPA club, is dedicated to teaching polo to all ages, particularly grass roots youth. Its mission is to provide individuals opportunities in polo at every economic and ability level. The Polo School operates year-round in Wellington. For more information on the club‘s leagues or Polo School contact Cale Newman at 561-876-2930.
Sharon Robb
Photos by Candace Ferreira
