- 21. April 2023
GAME POLO is happy to announce that VanDutch Yachts will be the official yachting partner for the third edition of the POLO RIDER CUP that will be held from 14 to 24 June 2023 at the Polo Club Saint-Tropez – Haras de Gassin.
VanDutch Yachts is a luxury yachting brand owned by Cantiere del Pardo since 2020. Originally founded by the Dutch company VanDutch Inc. in 2008, the Italian shipyard continues to uphold the image of sleek elegance through the design of these yachts, known worldwide for their identifiable profile and luxury lifestyle spirit.
In 2022, the VanDutch Yachts brand decided to settle on the French Riviera, choosing its most emblematic village: Saint-Tropez.
VanDutch will be present at the event with a display area showcasing their boat models, and the winning teams of the POLO RIDER CUP & Ladies POLO RIDER CUP will be rewarded with a cruise in the bay of Saint-Tropez.
Hugo Brugière, President and General Manager of CNB Villanova / VanDutch Yachts Center in Saint-Tropez, comments: “We are pleased to be the official yachting partner for the 2023 edition of the POLO RIDER CUP with the prestigious brand VanDutch Yachts, which has recently set up shop in the heart of Saint-Tropez’s old port. Combining elegance and prestige, the polo competition is an event that embraces the values of VanDutch Yachts and we are proud to be able to present our high-end services to this superb sporting community.”
Olivier Godallier, President & Founder of GAME POLO, comments: ‘‘We are delighted to team up with VanDutch Yachts as our Official Yachting Partner for the third edition of the POLO RIDER CUP. The iconic style of VanDutch Yachts reflects the brand’s luxury and elegance, recognized worldwide, and it is a perfect match for our event that takes place in the same village as one of VanDutch Yacht’s main branches.’’
About VANDUTCH (www.vandutch.com)
VanDutch Yachts is a luxury yachting brand owned by Cantiere del Pardo. Originally founded by the Dutch VanDutch Inc., the brand was acquired in 2020 by the Italian shipyard and today continues the design, production, and sale of motorboats in the luxury segment of the international yachting market. The headquarters and production site are in Forlì (Central Italy), with representative offices, VanDutch Centers, and branches in Europe and America.
VanDutch is internationally known for its design, functionality, and lifestyle surrounding the brand. Founded in 2008, the first model, the VanDutch 40, was introduced to the market the following year. Today the range includes five motorboats between 32 and 75 feet.
About GAME POLO (www.poloridercup.com)
GAME POLO is a French sports marketing agency with activities in event management, marketing & sponsoring, licensing & merchandising, TV & digital distribution, and hospitality. GAME POLO is also the Organizer and Promoter of the POLO RIDER CUP and Ladies POLO RIDER CUP.
15 April: The first edition of the Patrons Ramadan Cup 2023 consisted of 4 teams of 4 patrons each, in a two games tournament – Dubai Eagles, Dubai Falcons, Dubai Lions and Tigers.
The subsidiary final of the tournament had seen Dubai Eagles taking the lead, as Tariq Al Habtoor opened the match with smashing goal in the first chukker with 3 goals to 1 by Dubai Tigers. The Eagles dominated the first half of the game, ending it with 5 goals to 1 by halftime. The Dubai Eagles scored 2 more goals by the end of the penultimate chukker as Dubai Tigers scored one more goal. In the end, it was Dubai Eagles who maintained its lead with 7 goals and sealed the win at 10 goals against 3.
Match Progression:
3 – 1 | 5 – 1 | 7 – 2 | 10 – 3
Sheikha Alyaa Al Maktoum of Dubai Lions opened the final match of the day, as she carved 0.5 goal lead in the first chukker for her team. The Dubai Falcons swpet in quickly and took a lead as Raja Abuljebain, Mohammed Al Habtoor and Khalaf M. Al Habtoor scored one goal each keeping a strong hold until the halftime, with 4.5 goals to 2 against the Lions. As the two teams battled on the field with only a 0.5 goal lead in the final chukker, ultimately it was the Dubai Falcons who ended the game at 6.5 to 6 goals, as the winners of Patrons Ramadan Cup 2023.
Match Progression:
1.5 – 2 | 4.5 – 2 | 5.5 – 4 | 6.5 – 6
Lukas Tremmel, General Manager of the Al Habtoor Polo Resort awarded the teams, with Raja Abuljebain of Dubai Falcons as the Most Valuable Player, and the Best Playing Pony was awarded to Maria, ridden by the MVP of the tournament.
© AL HABTOOR POLO CLUB
WELLINGTON, April 16, 2023—In an emotionally-charged championship final, Audi, one of the sport‘s most successful and winningest teams, won the coveted Triple Crown of Polo Saturday at Grand Champions Polo Club.
On a hot, humid day, Audi (Marc Ganzi, 1, Jeta Castagnola, 10, Gonzalito Pieres, 9, Paco de Narvaez, 6) knocked off defending champion Pampa Norte Biotricity (Waqaas Al-Siddiq, 0, Facundo Llosa, 7, Gringo Colombres, 8, Pedro Falabella, 7), 18-14, in the season finale.
Audi finished the tournament undefeated at 5-0.. The combined 32 goals broke the previous record of 31 for most goals scored in a single game this season.
„It feels good,“ Ganzi said. „This team is a pretty good group of guys who have played together for a long time. Jeta, Paco and I have played together three years in a row.
„Right now I want to enjoy this,“ Ganzi said. „It‘s really fun for me to win again with Gonzalito. We‘ve won everything together and to have him back on the team is really special for me and I am happy for Gonza.“
Argentine 10-goaler Jeta Castagnola was named Most Valuable Player for the second time in two tournament finals. Castagnola scored a game-high 11 goals and finished with 26 for the tournament.
Three Best Playing Pony awards were given. Irenita Serrana, played by Castagnola, was the Argentino Polo BPP. Don Ercole Hayley, played by Llosa, was the Grand Champions Polo Club BPP. Moneda, played by Falabella, was the American Polo Horse Association BPP.
Pampa Norte Biotricity opened with a 4-0 lead based on handicap against 26-goal Audi and built a 7-2 cushion. Showing no signs of panic, Audi kept its composure and quickly bounced back to trail 7-5 at the end of the chukker after de Narvaez‘s great run to goal and Castagnola scoring with 10 seconds left.
For the next five chukkers it was a hardfought physical game that featured Colombres injuring his right leg in a fourth chukker collision but returning to the game. Ganzi withstood a hard hit in the ribs and arm by Colombres‘ horse‘s head with 4:40 left in the sixth chukker but was also able to finish the game.
„It was a hard game, I‘m going to have some sore ribs in the morning,“ Ganzi said. „This team was a defending champion and we talked about treating them like a defending champion. You have to beat them because they are the ones who won the trophy last year. They play a very physical brand of polo and play very tight in close quarters. They are very clever.“
Audi tied the game at 7-7 with 2:38 left in the second chukker on another Castagnola goal before a quick goal by Falabella gave Pampa Norte Biotricity back the lead at 8-7.
Audi started taking control of the game in the third chukker. The lead changed hands three times before Pieres‘ goal with 31 seconds left gave Audi an 11-10 halftime lead.
„I think in the second and third chukkers we sort of broke their will a little bit,“ Ganzi said. „They had a little bit of a comeback in the fourth and then the game got kind of choppy.“
In the second half, Pampa Norte Biotricity was unable to control Audi‘s well-oiled rotation with Audi outscoring them 7-4 in the second half.
„In every polo match you want to try and impose your will and I think for four and a half chukkers we imposed our will,“ Ganzi said. „For a chukker and a half they got the better of us. We expected a very physical, tight defensive game and that‘s what we got.“
With Castagnola scoring from all over the field, Audi led 13-11 after the fourth chukker and 15-12 after the fifth with its open style of play. Early in the sixth chukker, Audi took a 16-12 lead with 6:41 left and Pampa Norte Biotricity never recovered.
„With this team with these three guys when we all run and hit the ball we‘re pretty effective in an open game and I didn‘t think those guys wanted to get into an open game today,“ Ganzi said. „Once we got it opened up again in the fifth I thought we had a pretty good chance to win the game. They were a good team. They played a great tournament.“
In addition to Castagnola‘s scoring barrage, Ganzi had four goals, de Narvaez had two and Pieres added one.
Llosa led Pampa Norte Biotricity with seven goals and finished with 21 for the tournament. Falabella had two goals and Al-Siddiq had one. The 22-goal team also picked up four goals on handicap.
Audi led in shots on goal, 24-13. The teams were even with throw-ins, 14-14. Pampa Norte Biotricity led in knock-ins, 6-3; fouls 10-9; and penalties scored, 5-2. Audi converted two 30-yarders and Pampa Norte Biotricity converted two 60-yarders and three 30-yarders.
Audi finished with 63 goals scored and 49 goals given up in the eight-team tournament. Pampa Norte Biotricity finished with 60 goals scored and 62 goals given up.
Audi advanced into the final with a 13-10 victory over Globalport (Mikee Romero, 0, Polito Pieres, 10, Sapo Caset, 10, Facundo Obregon, 6) and Pampa Norte Biotricity advanced with a 12-8 win over Dazos/La Fe (David Farache, 0, Nic Roldan, 8, Robi Bilbao, 6, Jero del Carril, 8).
Audi, winners of the Founders Cup, is the second team to win two WPL titles during the 2023 WPL season. Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, 3, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Barto Castagnola, 10, Jesse Bray, 7) also won two WPL titles with the All-Star Challenge and Palm Beach Open under their belts.
Audi‘s players will now have their names inscribed on the magnificent Tiffany & Co-designed trophy, comprised of three separate trophies that fit perfectly together to create an entire polo scene that is breathtaking in sterling silver.
The remaining WPL event is the April 20-23 Beach Polo World Cup Miami Beach.
The four 2023 WPL grass tournaments during the league‘s fifth season have thrilled fans, worldwide livestream viewing audiences and sponsors on world-class fields.
The WPL‘s first three champions were. Casablanca won the season-opening All-Star Challenge. Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, 3, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Barto Castagnola, 10, Jesse Bray, 7) defeated 2021 champion Richard Mille (Gilberto Sayao, 0, Gonzalito Pieres, 9, Pablo MacDonough, 10, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7), 14-9. Barto Castagnola was MVP.
Audi (Marc Ganzi, 1, Jeta Castagnola, 10, Nic Roldan, 8, Freddie Mannix, 7) defended its title and finished undefeated (5-0) in the Founders Cup with a thrilling 14-13 overtime victory over Richard Mille (Patricio Mayor, 0, Gonzalito Pieres, 9, Lucas James, 7, Pablo MacDonough, 10). Jeta Castagnola was MVP.
Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, 3, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Barto Castagnola, 10, Jesse Bray, 7) also won the Palm Beach Open with a 14-13 victory over Dead End (Evan White, Jr., 1, Pedro Falabella, 7, Magoo Laprida, 8/Gringo Colombres, 7, Facu Llosa, 7). Barto Castagnola was MVP.
Grand Champions, the nation‘s largest polo club celebrating its 16th anniversary, 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 nine world-class fields at GCPC and four at Santa Rita.
The winter season is being live-streamed locally and worldwide on Wellington-based ChukkerTV (CTV Sports).
During the winter polo season, Grand Champions, the nation‘s largest and most innovative USPA-sanctioned polo club, nestled in the heart of the world‘s winter equestrian capital, is hosting tournaments: 6, 8, 12, 20, and 26-goal leagues, WCT Finals, The Polo School Women‘s Weekly league play and 26-goal WPL tournaments at both Grand Champions 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, now located at the former Pony Express facility, operates in Wellington January through May and September through November. The stand-alone USPA-sanctioned polo club, is thriving. It 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. November. The Polo School has nurtured several junior, men and women polo players now playing in the pro and amateur ranks since its inception.
For more information on leagues or Polo School contact Director of Operations Juan Bollini at 561-346-1099 or General Manager Cale Newman at 561-876-2930.
By Sharon Robb
Photos by Candace Ferreira
Right and Wrong
Quick reaction and a near-reflex assessment of situations are of the essence of tactical play and safety. The next two examples highlight the right, and the wrong reactions in a given situation.
Situation 1 (left half of the field)
A player doesn’t hit the ball hard enough and tries to hit it again by slowing down, or abruptly changing directions. Another player is directly behind the first player in playing position.
Wrong because:
A player hits the ball wrong and gives it a second try by slowing down or abruptly changing direction. There are other players right behind him in position to hit the ball.
Right:
A player, having messed up a hit, should carry on at the same speed without attempting a second hit. He should let a teammate take the next hit or, time allowing, go round and approach from the back of the field to attempt another hit.
Situation 2 (right half of the field)
In an attempt to hit the ball back in an offside-back-shot a player gets into the way of an opponent who is in possession of the ball on his offside.
Wrong Because:
The defender infringes on the opponent’s right-of-way in a manner that is not only dangerous but also unsportsmanlike. He has crossed the opponent’s line leaving too little space between them and therefore puts himself and the other player in danger.
Right:
In order to cover his opponent correctly and effectively, the defender must wait until he can overtake his opponent and hit the ball in the opposite direction of play.
International teams from Luxembourg and South Africa participate supporting local players and ponies.
The 6th International Women’s Polo Tournament was played at the Mapal Kangjeibung, the oldest known polo ground in the world situated in Imphal, Manipur. 5 teams participated in the tournament: India (Manipur – A), India (Manipur – B), India (Indian Polo Association), South Africa and Luxembourg.
The tournament was inaugurated on 15th February 2023, by Manipur’s Chief Minister N Biren Singh. The welcome address was given by Shri Pradeep Kumar Jhah, Commissioner of Tourism, Government of Polo. After welcoming all the honorable guests and participants, he stated, “This is a journey which began in 2016, and we are in the 6th edition of the event this year… but I am grateful to AMPA that with their active interest, we are able to organise it this year. I am sure that the next 5 days of this tournament will add to the golden history of Polo in the state of Manipur.”
The All Manipur Polo Association (AMPA) and Manipur Tourism had a major hand in organizing the international tournament. “Polo is a crucial part of our history and culture. Because of its old military roots, Polo dominated my male players. Bringing a shift to that perspective, we want to provide a platform where all female players across oceans come together to celebrate and support one another. The exposure would lead to assimilation of techniques and ideas related to the sport across oceans, helping our players to familiarize themselves with how different versions of Polo are played worldwide.’ commented Dr. Konsam Saratchandra Singh, President of the All Manipur Polo Association.
Adding to this, Shri W. Ibohal Singh, Director (Tourism), Manipur commented, “The tournament is part of our endeavor to showcase women’s polo as a pioneer of this game and establish Manipur as India’s center for women’s polo. We are putting our best efforts to develop Manipur as an international destination for Modern Polo, and with this tournament in its 6th edition and also with the help of our celebrated women, we believe that we have come a long way towards making Manipur a home for women’s polo.”
“This tournament has successfully acted as a platform to uplift female Polo players and help them blossom. It is inspiring to catch a glimpse of the will and perseverance channeled by these women. We need to let them know that their highly-commendable efforts are admired and pave the way for the next generation. I was honored to bear witness to such an incredible initiative taken by AMPA and Manipur Tourism,” remarked Shivani Joshi, a polo enthusiast.
Player Salam Ngounu Chanu of IPA (India) stated, “Collaboration with International teams is necessary to get our girls more exposure and to enhance their talent by playing against more experienced teams from abroad. Organizing such tournaments frequently and exchanging players with other countries will help in making the sports accessible to women.”
The first game took place on 16th February between Teams Manipur B (India) and Luxembourg. Manipur B started the match strong, scoring 3 goals within the first chukker while Luxembourg scored none. One goal was secured during the second chukker by team Luxembourg, while during the 3rd chukker both the teams had their defenses strong, not letting each other score even one goal. 2 goals were secured by team Manipur B during the final chukker, winning the match at 5-1.
The next game was between teams South Africa and IPA (India), where the former team overpowered the latter at the winning score of 9-2.
The series continued with 2 matches held every day: IPA vs Manipur A (0-10), Manipur B vs South Africa (2-7), Luxembourg vs Manipur A (3-10), IPA vs Manipur B (3-4), Manipur A vs Manipur B (13-2) and Luxembourg vs South Africa (1-11).
For the final match, it came down to teams South Africa and Manipur A (India). The win was secured by South Africa, despite battling against the indigenous team of Manipur, with a score of 7-4.
A message from the South African Team stated, “This trip for us has been like a pilgrimage in learning its (Polo’s) roots, playing on the iconic grounds and legendary ponies. This tournament has no option but to get bigger and gain greater traction. We feel that this is the beginning of a long prosperous relationship between our countries for women’s polo. ”
Humble winners, the South African team proceeded by giving presents to everyone involved in the creation of this tournament, including all the rival team players. Moved by the Manipuri Ponies, who stole their hearts, the team decided to donate its winnings back to the conservation of the ponies. The Captain of the team, Amy Michelle Grace, stated: “We shall return home with gratuitous humble hearts, and shall spread the word to as many polo players as we can, that they must come to Manipur.”
The ether of Lord Marjing’s urge for Women’s Power in the world through Polo has now reached South Africa and Luxembourg following the USA, the UK, Argentina, Australia, Kenya, and still the Lord wishes to spread the message to other parts of the planet.” added Dr. Saratchandra Singh.
© Shivani Joshi
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