What a beautiful opening Sunday at the Houston Polo Club! Four 6 Goal teams took to the field and put on quite a show for our first Sunday crowd.
The first game was between Bearsden/Tylee Farms versus Plank Companies/Sullivan Group. Bearsden/Tylee Farm‘s Francisco Rodriguez Mera dominated most of the game, showing off his talent using his smart game sense. His team maintained a lead throughout the game, and in the fourth chukker Mera stopped a goal attempt with an incredible nearside back shot, protecting his goal from Plank Companies/Sullivan Group‘s Nick Cifuni. Mera‘s teammates took advantage of his back shot and made another offensive push towards their goal. Cifuni intercepted their push and once again was making a run towards his goal but as the clock ticked down with only ten seconds left, the horn sounded before he could score and the game ended in favor of Bearsden/Tylee Farms.
As the teams shook hands, the Virnau Sealy Tractor Kubota rolled onto the field filled with complimentary champagne thanks to American National Insurance. As the divots were stomped, Land Rovers from Land Rover Houston Central were on display for the crowd to see, with also a bigger vehicle for livestock owners, a Bill Fick Ford F350 dually. After the crowd had a chance to stretch their legs, the players for the second game began to warm up on the field. The horn sounded, everyone returned to their seats, and it was time for the feature match!
Brown Bears/San Saba held on to a strong 2 goal lead for the first two chukkers against Pegasus/Propaganda. But in the second half, Pegasus/Propaganda stepped up to the plate. David Andras shot 2 for 2 on penalty shots, Paul Hobby, a normally defensive player, took advantage of a pass from teammate Mason Wroe and made a nearside goal from the field. Pegasus/Propaganda took a half goal lead after Andras‘s last penalty shot, and Wroe was dominating the last chukker on Best Playing Pony, June, as she displayed her ability to out turn and out bump the competition helping to score their team‘s last goal to give Pegasus/Propaganda a 1.5 goal lead. Brown Bears/San Saba‘s Ignacio Saenz converted a hard hit penalty 4 over the scoreboard with 1:30 left in the game. Saenz had one last offensive run in the last 30 seconds, but unfortunately the ball went out of bounds, over the boards and the game ended with a Pegasus/Propaganda win.
from left to right:
Picture 1: Plank Companies/Sullivan Group‘s Nick Cifuni with a shot on goal
Picture 2: Chino Payan with a neck shot, avoiding the hook from Martin Munoz
Picture 3: Winning team: Pegasus/ Propaganda: Paul Hobby, Mason Wroe, David Andras, Chino Payan pictured with André Clouet representative Pip Cardnell
Winner‘s Circle
Pro Am September Scramble
Winner: Stewart Title
Alexis Barker, Crystal Cassidy, *Chris Williams, Chad Bowman, Martin Munoz (*sub for Cindy Madole)
HPC Summer League
2 Goal and Margarita League players enjoyed our HPC Summer League. The players and ponies brought their A game, and the summer evenings were nice and breezy.
Team Land Rover Houston Central
Agustin Arrayago, Stacey Somerville, Colleen Williams, Cindy Madole, and Chris Williams
Women‘s Pacific Coast Open
Congratulations to HPC Member Kendall Plank for taking home the win for the inaugural Women‘s Pacific Coast Open!
Plank & CO:
Kendall Plank, Ina Lalor, Dayelle Fargey, Cory Williams
Tournament Series Championship
After a tough battle in the semifinals against the eventual tournament winner, the Central Region took home the Consolation Winner title for the 2019 NYTS Championship! Congratulations to Grayson Price for being selected to represent the Central Region another year!
Central Team: Joe Post, Vance Miller III, Grayson Price, Regan Smith
