WELLINGTON, FL, March 30, 2021— Parrotheads defeated Beverly Equestrian to capture $50,000 National 12-Goal final.
Beverly Equestrian (Bill Ballhaus, Keko Magrini, Tolito Ocampo, and Hilario Figueras) met Parrotheads (Nachi Viana, Roni Duke, Jason Wates, and Felipe Viana on Sunday morning in the final match of the $50,000 National 12-Goal.
While Parrotheads put the pressure on early and made several unsuccessful shots on goal in the first two and a half minutes, Hilario Figueras got Beverly Equestrian off to a promising start by scoring the first goal of the match at 4:30. However, the promise was short-lived. Nachi Viana went to the penalty line twice in the first chukker, converting a Penalty 2 and a Penalty 3 to end the chukker 2 to 1.
Nachi scored two goals from the field in the second period, while brother Felipe converted a Penalty 3. Despite their best efforts, Beverly couldn’t make it through the Parrotheads defense and put no goals on the board. The period ended with Parrotheads leading 5-1. The third chukker saw just under two minutes of back and forth with Parrotheads pressing hard before Nachi Viana stole the ball and took it through the posts. Felipe followed up with some thieving of his own and put the ball in from the near side. Beverly found themselves down by 7-1. While they weren’t able to score from the field, a pair of Penalty Twos cut Parrotheads’ lead to 4.
The second half began with Parrotheads leading 7-3, and Beverly suffered through another frustrating chukker. Jason Wates scored from the field while Nachi Viana converted a Penalty 2, but Beverly had no luck getting near the uprights. In the fifth chukker a Penalty 2 took Parrot Heads up to 10, with Beverly lagging behind by seven goals. Tolito Ocampo made a successful shot on goal, breathing some life back into Beverly, but Nachi Viana converted a Penalty 2 to end the chukker 10-4.
Nachi began the final chukker with another goal, his eighth for the day, and was answered by Tolito Ocampo. Following a technical foul, Beverly was awarded a goal, and Hilario Figueras convered a Penalty 3 and a Penalty 2. Jason Wates knocked in the final goal just as the thirty second horn sounded, and Parrot Heads defeated Beverly Equestrian by a score of 12-8.
Nachi Viana was named Most Valuable Player, while Roni Duke’s pony Tap Dancer was awarded the prize for Best Playing Pony.
Images: ©Grand Champions Polo Club
www.gcpolo.com
