WELLINGTON, FL, March 16, 2021— Richard Mille defeated Hawaii Polo Life by 12-6 to win the World Polo League Founder’s Cup, their second World Polo League Victory in 2021.
On Sunday, Hawaii Polo Life (Santi Torres, Gringo Colombres, Jejo Taranco, and Chris Dawson) faced off against Richard Mille (Marc Ganzi, Jeta Castagnola, Pablo MacDonough, and Paco de Narvaez) at Grand Champions Polo Club. Hawaii Polo Life rated 25 goals, started with one goal on the board to match Richard Mille‘s 26 goal handicap.
Just a minute into the match, Jeta Castagnola put the first goal on the board for Richard Mille, with Jejo Taranco answering for Hawaii Polo Life. Marc Ganzi and Pablo Mac Donough were able to both tally goals to end the first chukker 3-2 in favor of Richard Mille.
Richard Mille continued to dominate in the second period, keeping Hawaii Polo Life off the board. Marc Ganzi found the goalposts to put the tally up to 4-2. In the third chukker, Hawaii Polo Life outscored Richard Mille for the only time in the match, with Gringo Colombres converting a penalty four and Jejo Taranco putting the ball through the posts. Ganzi scored on a penalty three, and Richard Mille led 5-4 at the half.
Richard Mille dominated the play in the second half, with Hawaii Polo Life unable to get on the board in either the fourth or fifth chukker. Jeta Castagnola converted a penalty four, while Pablo Mac Donough scored an impressive pair of back-to-back goals in less than a minute.
The final chukker began with Richard Mille in the lead by 9-4. Two successful runs by Pablo MacDonough and a shot through the posts by Jeta Castagnola took Richard Mille up to 12-4. Santi Torres scored the final two goals for Hawaii Polo Life, and the team went down to Richard Mille 12-6.
Pablo MacDonough was named the Most Valuable Player, while the pony he played in the second chukker, Irinita Rastrogera, was named the Argentine Breeding Association Best Playing Pony. Chalo Kayla, played by Jeta Castagnola in the sixth chukker, was the World Polo League Best Playing Pony, while the American Horse Polo Association Best Playing Pony was Galleta Grande, played by Paco de Narvaez in the third chukker.
Founded by Grand Champions owners Melissa and Marc Ganzi, and Valiente owner Bob Jornayvaz the World Polo League is the only 26-goal polo in the world outside of Argentina. The WPL was created to preserve the highest level of polo and its rich, hallowed tradition in the United States. The WPL, boasting 13 tournament quality fields to play on, will continue to the season with the Palm Beach Open that began on Monday March 15, 2021, and The Triple Crown of Polo, and Beach Polo World Cup Miami Beach April 22-25.
The World Polo League attracts the sport’s top players from every corner of the world, including: Australia, Chile, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Argentina, Canada, Ecuador, Brazil, Switzerland, France, Germany, Uruguay, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm is the largest and most unique polo facility in Wellington with 120 stalls in five self-contained barns, an exercise track, five climate-controlled tack rooms, a vet room, staff quarters, a guest house and three polo fields with state-of-the-art underground irrigation including one field for stick-and-ball and plans to build more in the future.
World Polo League matches will continue to be closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We closely adhere to Florida state and CDC guidelines, and take all measures possible to maintain a safe environment that will allow us to continue playing. We look very forward to the day we can welcome our fans back. In the interim, please visit www.worldpolo.or gfor more information. Matches can be viewed on www.chukkertv.com
