Sebucan dominated the USPA Eastern Challenge championship final from start-to-finish to capture the prestigious title Sundayat Santa Rita Polo Farm.
Playing together for the first time as a team, Timmy Dutta, 1, Pablo Pulido, 2, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, 5, and Juan Martin Obregon, 5, defeated ChukkerTV (Josh DuBarry, 0, Piki Diaz Alberdi, 7, Pablo Dorignac, 5, Julio Gracida, 4), 16-10.
Pablo Pulido, playing well above his two-goal rating, was named Most Valuable Player. Pulido, a former collegiate player at Cornell, scored four goals and was one of the most dominant players on the field. It was Pulido’s first MVP award since October 2017 when Sebucan knocked off Casablanca to win the USPA Fall Plates tournament during the fall season at Grand Champions.
Cupid, a 5-year-old owned and played by Julio Gracida in the third chukker, was selected Best Playing Pony.
Sebucan started with a 3-0 lead on handicap and quickly built 6-1 and 7-2 cushions after two chukkers. Chukker TV cut Sebucan’s lead to two behind Gracida’s clutch penalty conversions to trail 8-6 at the half but could get no closer.
The second half Sebucan regained its momentum and offensive running attack to extend its lead to 13-7 after the fifth chukker. “They were a very tough team with very strong players,” Pulido said. “We just kept on playing. We kept on rotating all the players going in. We all played the ball and scoring the goals and that made the difference. “It was just our team’s grit and our day,” Pulido said. “Everybody just kept on going and going the whole time. That helped out and of course me making it to the end of the line making goals made a difference.”
