Juan Bollini

North America, Polo News

Palm Beach Equine captures Santa Rita Abierto

29. May 2019

Palm Beach Equine won its first tournament of the spring season at windswept Grand Champions Polo Club. In front of a packed house, Palm Beach Equine (Brandon Phillips, 4, Juan Bollini, 5, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 8, Scott Swerdlin, 0) won a hardfought 10-9 game against Audi (Lucas Lalor, 5, Sugar Erskine, 6, Marc Ganzi, 2, Jared Zenni, 6).

Argentine 8-goaler Alejandro Novillo Astrada scored the winning goal with 1:45 left in the game. Astrada finished with four goals and was named Most Valuable Player. “I went to put pressure on Lucas and Marc and I got an open space and luckily I was able to score,” Astrada said. “Marc was trying to hook me and it was a little difficult but it went in. “This is a very fun team to play with,’ Astrada said. “I think we got along very well from the beginning. In our first game, once we started working as a team and did what we had to do for each other we played very well together.” When asked what the key to winning was, Swerdlin smiled and said “We put one more in than they did. You can’t take anything for granted but that was a great goal by Astrada. There was no secret, everybody was marked up and fighting, every ball was hard.”

Ava Maria, a 5-year-old mare played by Ganzi and owned by Spinacci, was Grand Champions Best Playing Pony. Palm Beach Equine was making its second championship appearance this season. In the Spring Challenge Cup, Palm Beach Equine lost a 9-8 overtime game to Aspen Valley’s Pablo Pulido, Juancito Bollini, Grant Ganzi and Alejandro Novillo Astrada.”This team played amazing, it was great fun,” Swerdlin said. “I want to thank Marc and Melissa Ganzi because without them I wouldn’t have the opportunity to play this kind of polo. It’s very generous of them to let us play with these kind of players that they have. It’s great, it’s exciting and it’s fun.”

In the second half, the teams played to a 2-2 tie in the fourth chukker with Palm Beach Equine still leading, 7-6. Palm Beach Equine had its biggest lead, 9-7, after the fifth chukker but Audi tied the game at 9-9 early in the final chukker with goals from Lalor and Erskine after a great pass from Zenni. After Astrada’s game-winner, Audi had two final scoring opportunities that fell short.

“It was fun,” Phillips said. “Juan and I have played together on-and-off for 15 years so it’s fun to play with him. This is the first time I got to play with Negro which was great, he is a very good player. He is very easy to play with.

The Santa Rita Abierto is named after Melissa Ganzi’s grandmother, who passed away on December 29, 2012, in Wellington. Grand Champions fall, winter and spring tournaments attract a large international field of players from all corners of the world including India, Mexico, New Zealand, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Canada, Ecuador, Brazil, Switzerland, France, Germany, Uruguay, Azerbaijan, Australia, South Africa, Nigeria, Venezuela and England.

By Sharon Robb

www.gcpolo.com

Palm Beach Equine won its first tournament of the spring season at windswept Grand Champions Polo Club. In front of a packed house, Palm Beach Equine (Brandon Phillips, 4, Juan…

North America, Polo News

Opening of Sunny Hale’s Legacy WCT Final at Grand Champions

6. April 2018

Successful Opening Day of Sunny Hale’s Legacy WCT Final at Grand Champions Polo Club: The highly-anticipated opening day of the Sunny Hale’s Legacy WCT Final lived up to expectations Wednesday at Grand Champions Polo Club. In front of a good crowd, opening day featured the open division round-robin competition between between San Saba (Dawn Jones, 6, Clarissa Echezarreta, 6, Alyson Poor, 4, Clara Cassino, 7); Chateau D’esclans (Riley Ganzi, 2, Mia Cambiaso, 5, Mia Novillo Astrada, 4T, Nina Vestey Clarkin, 10) and CrossFit El Cid (Paige Boone McCabe, 6, Cecelia Cochran, 5, Sarah Wiseman, 8, Tiffany Busch, 6).

In the opening two chukkers, Chateau D’esclans, playing for the first time as a team with no practice sessions, started strong with a 4-1 victory over San Saba with two goals from Clarkin, including one banked off the goal post; one goal by Novillo Astrada and one goal by Ganzi.

In the next two chukkers, San Saba regained its rhythm and offensive attack to tie CrossFit El Cid, 3-3. Cassino led San Saba with two goals and Jones had one. Busch had two goals and Wiseman added one for CrossFit El Cid.The open division continuous round-robin resumes on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The top two finishers advance into Sunday’s final at 12:30 p.m.

After a year’s hiatus, the WCT Final has attracted a Who’s Who of women players. Twenty-eight women are competing in three levels of play. Dawn Jones (Team San Saba) praised the efforts of Grand Champions owners Marc and Melissa Ganzi, USPA Florida Circuit Governor, and Dale Smicklas, WCT Commissioner and his wife Joanne Smicklas, WCT Ambassador for putting together the four-day event. “There is a great group of people here watching and there is a buzz around town about the women’s polo,” Jones said. “For a transition year this is pretty impressive. And thanks to Grand Champions and Melissa and Marc, Juan Bollini, Juan Olivera and Dale and Joanne Smicklas. They did a remarkable job putting this together and organizing this.”

The tournament is named in honor of legendary Hall of Famer Sunset “Sunny” Hale. The WCT is the only women’s polo event of its kind. The largest polo league in the world has grown in popularity since its inception in 2005. The WCT Final, adult and junior qualifiers have U.S. and international players with more than 20 qualifiers in the U.S. alone.

Hale, the first woman in U.S. history to win the U.S. Open in 2000 with Outback and part-time Wellington resident, died February 26, 2017 in Norman, Okla. due to complications from cancer. She was 48.

10-goaler Nina Clarkin said she is honored to play in the WCT Final honoring Sunny Hale’s legacy. “Sunny was my idol and inspiration,” Clarkin said. “I remember one of the first ladies tournaments I played I was 16 or 17 and thinking, ‘wow, she’s a dream and I want to play and go like her.’ As we went around the circuit we became friends and I was constantly inspired by her, her talent, dedication and drive and also what a great person she was. I think that’s what I always want to try and improve in myself is to make sure I am a good sports person, on and off the field and an inspiration. It doesn’t always happen with the adrenaline out there. But she was the ultimate sports woman on and off the field.”

Women’s polo remains the largest growing sector in polo, aided by the WCT Series which has helped consolidate women’s polo and promote high quality competition throughout the world.