Sterling Cup

WELLINGTON, FL, February 8, 2021— Scone defeated La Indiana by 14-13 to win the 2021 Sterling Cup title.

In what was undoubtedly the most exciting match of the 2021 Sterling Cup, Scone (David Paradice, Poroto Cambiaso, Peke Gonzalez, and Adolfo Cambiaso) faced off against La Indiana (Nico Escobar, Jeff Hall, Polito Pieres, and Milo Dorignac) at Grand Champions Polo Club on Sunday.

La Indiana’s Nico Escobar, who played an outstanding match, scored the first of his six goals for the day just 30 seconds into the first chukker. Slightly less than a minute later, Cambiaso baited young Escobar into a penalty and Peke Gonzalez converted on the Penalty 2 to put a goal on the board for Scone. Milo Dorignac retaliated with a goal that put his team into the lead. La Indiana played aggressively, keeping the pressure on Adolfo Cambiaso, and Escobar socred again at 1:53. Unfortunately, he followed up with another foul, allowing Peke Gonzalez to convert a Penalty 3. La Indiana ended the chukker up by 1 goal, at 3-2.

Gonzalez started the second chukker by converting a Penalty 2, tying the score at 3-3. Another foul by La Indiana gave him the chance to score on a Penalty 3, putting Scone in the lead at 3-4. While La Indiana was outplaying Scone from the field, overzealousness on their part was to their detriment, giving Scone a few too many opportunities to score from the penalty line. As the chukker progressed, Scone begain to win the throw-ins and take control of the field.

At just under 4 minutes, Adolfo Cambiaso sent the ball downfield to Poroto, who made a spectacular goal from 60 yards. Escobar scored La Indiana’s last goal in the chukker with two-and-a-half minutes left to play, but Scone completed their turnaround from the first chukker with another goal by Adolfo Cambiaso and a beautiful neck shot by Gonzalez with 55 seconds remaining on the clock. The chukker ended at 7-4 for Scone.

Early in the third chukker, La Indiana made the mistake of leaving the door open for Poroto, who made a strong run to the goal. Jeff Hall made one of his best plays of the day when he saw Adolfo coming for him and switched to the near side to score. With four minutes left in the chukker, Escobar saw an opportunity after the throw-in, signaling Polito Pieres for the pass and taking the ball to goal. Following another successful shot by Poroto, the two ten-goalers got into a sword fight near the boards that resulted in a Penalty 4 goal for Pieres and ended the half with Scone in the lead 9-7.

The fourth chukker began at a frenetic pace, and after two minutes of back-and-forth play Escobar finally found the goal. Poroto got a whistle for crossing the line, giving Pieres a chance to score on a Penalty 4, but the shot went wide just left of the post. With two minutes left on the board, Milo Dorignac demonstrated a textbook rideoff but missed an opportunity for a backhander, giving Cambiaso pére the opportunity to boost the score to 10-8. With 56 seconds left to play, Poroto capitalized on a mistake in front of the goal to end the chukker 11-8 for Scone.

Throughout the tournament, La Indiana has been a big scorer in the fifth chukker. They slowed the pace today and following a goal by Poroto early in the period, answered with only two goals of their own. With 2:23 left to play, Escobar scored his sixth and final goal of the day. At just 12 seconds left on the clock, Jeff Hall picked Cambiaso’s pocket and slammed the ball downfield to Pieres, who whalloped it through to end the pentultimate chukker at 12-10 with Scone still in the lead.

La Indiana was firing on all cylinders again, but nobody wants to go into the final chukker down by two to Cambiaso. Just over a minute into the final chukker, despite every possible effort by Nico Escobar to thwart him, Cambiaso found the goal in a striking demonstration of his preternatural abilities. Following a goal by Pieres, Milo Dorignac got the better of Peke Gonzalez to bring La Indiana within one goal of Scone, at 13-12.

With just under two minutes left, a series of missed opportunities by La Indiana left the ball in front of the goal, where Adolfo Cambiaso made quick work of it and put Scone up 14-12. Milking the clock, Cambiaso took the ball to the boards. Following a foul by David Paradice, Polito Pieres had the opportunity to convert a penalty, but it was cold comfort for La Indiana and Scone took the Sterling Cup title by 14-13.

Adolfo Cambiaso was named MVP, while Dolfina Paloma, owned by J5 and played by Adolfo Cambiaso in the third chukker, was named Best Playing Pony. 

Images: © Grand Champions Polo Club

WINTER 2021 COVID-19 POLICY: The GCPC property, facilities, and events are only accessible to polo players, their immediate families, and necessary staff. This policy will remain in effect until further notice.

The GCPC family is immensely grateful and humbled by the excitement and support shown by locals and new guests over the years. We wish we could welcome everyone to the sidelines to cheer our players on; however, in order to remain in operation amidst a global pandemic, we regret to inform you that Grand Champions Polo Club events and facilities are currently closed to the public. Ultimately, our goal as a Club is to keep polo going, but our goal as a community first and foremost is to keep everyone safe and healthy.

There is nothing we would love more than to have more spectators on the sidelines and to greet new and friendly faces to the Club. Unfortunately, we cannot operate as normal and have temporarily minimized the Club’s capacity in an effort to prioritize the health and safety of our community.

MORE UPDATES TO COME SOON: For potential GCPC policy changes, we encourage our fans to continue to check our Instagram and website for more updates to come.

In the meantime, we thank you for your cooperation in this team effort to ensure we can keep playing polo, as well as keep playing our part in the community to minimize risk and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We appreciate your loyalty and understanding and hope to see you back on the sidelines soon!

WELLINGTON, FL, February 2, 2021 – La Indiana defeated Casablanca by 14-10 on Friday while Scone scored a 13-9 victory over Santa Rita on Sunday.

La Indiana (Nico Escobar, Jeff Hall, Polito Pieres and Michael Bickford) met Casablanca (Hope Arellano, Grant Ganzi, Juan Martin Nero, and Juan Martin Zubia) at La Indiana Polo Farm on Friday afternoon as the action continued in the 22-goal Sterling Cup.

La Indiana was firing on all cylinders Friday, outscoring Casablanca in five of the six chukkers. They came out of the bowl-in aggressively, with Polito Pieres shooting on goal just 14 seconds into play. Casablanca dodged a bullet with the shot going just wide, and La Indiana missed several more opportunities to score by just a hair before Michael Bickford came through with the first goal of the day.

Casablanca finally got on the board in the second chukker with a successful Penalty 2 conversion by Juan Martin Zubia, but two goals by Polito Pieres and another by Nico Escobar ended the second chukker with La Indiana leading 4-1. In the third chukker, La Indiana had increased the lead to 7-1, when back-to-back goals by Hope Arellano narrowed the lead to 4. A final goal by Nico Escobar ended the half 8-3 for La Indiana.

Juan Martin Zubia was hard at it for Casablanca during the second half of the match, scoring two goals to La Indiana’s three to end the fourth chukker 10-5. In the fifth chukker play was more back and forth and Casablanca showed more mettle, with two goals by Escobar answered by Grant Ganzi and Zubia. In the final chukker, Michael Bickford put a final ball between the posts for La Indiana while Juan Martin Zubia poured on the steam to score three consecutive goals. It was an impressive final chukker for Casablanca, but La Indiana won the day 14-10.

On Sunday, Santa Rita (Riley Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, and Juan Bollini) met Dundas Scone (Sarah Magness, Poroto Cambiaso, Peke Gonzalez, and Adolfo Cambiaso) on Santa Rita’s Field Three. Santa Rita, with a 20-goal team, started the match with two goals on handicap.

Santa Rita started on the right foot, with Nic Roldan picking Poroto Cambiaso’s pocket out of the bowl-in and taking the ball down field for a shot on goal that went just wide. Play continued with some aggressive back-and-forth action until Nic Roldan connected with a pass from Alejandro Novillo Astrada and found the goal with two minutes left in the chukker. The period ended 1-0 for Santa Rita, who had to enjoy the lead while they could.

Scone captain Adolfo Cambiaso clearly offered some inspirational words following the chukker, because the tables turned with a vengeance in the second period. Peke Gonzalez scored before the first minute was up, and around the five-minute mark Cambiaso péremade a spectacular 300-yard run to put his first goal of the day on the board. Peke put two more goals on the board, one on an elegant near-side neck shot, and Cambiaso filsscored the final goal of the chukker to end the second period 5-3 for Scone.

It was a tough chukker for Santa Rita, outscored 5-0, but any team facing the pitiless duo of Adolfo and Poroto Cambiaso is in for an uphill battle. The third chukker saw more of the same, with two goals from Poroto and one from Gonzalez before Nic Roldan scored on a Penalty 5, ending the chukker 8-4 with Scone in the lead.

Two more goals from Poroto Cambiaso in the fourth chukker had Scone ahead by 10-4 when Nic Roldan poured on the steam to chip away at their lead. He scored two consecutive goals, ending the period with Scone ahead 10-6. Early in the fifth chukker, Roldan converted on a Penalty 2, and at 10-7 Santa Rita fans enjoyed some renewed hope. Unfortunately, the Cambiasos put paid to that optimism. With three minutes left in the chukker, Poroto found the goal with an impressive neck shot. With just over two minutes to go, Adolfo was about a length ahead of the pack when he snapped up the ball and made a run to goal.

In the final chukker, Poroto converted on a Penalty 4, racking up the last goal of the match for Scone. Astrada and Roldan each scored a goal, narrowing Scone’s victory to 13-9. Poroto Cambiaso was the high scoring player of the match, with 7 goals, while Roldan scored a total of six goals for Santa Rita. Riley Ganzi impressed by more than holding her own marking Adolfo Cambiaso, a notable achievement in her very first high goal match.

Images © Grand Champions Polo Club

Sterling Cup
Live Stream Schedule

Wednesday 2/3
1 p.m. Santa Rita vs Great Oaks
3:30 p.m. Casablanca vs Aspen Valley

Sunday 2/7
3 p.m. Sterling Cup Final

All games streamed live in Eastern Standard Time on https://www.chukkertv.com

Grand Champions will host multiple tournaments throughout the season, as will World Polo League, with schedules to be released in the near future. A premier polo destination, Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm boast 18 beautifully manicured polo fields, 11 of which are tournament grade, 120 stalls spread throughout five self-contained barns, an exercise track, five climate-controlled tack rooms, a vet room, staff quarters, a guest house, and four fields with state-of-the-art underground irrigation.

Located in Wellington, FL, the world’s ultimate winter equestrian destination, Grand Champions typically hosts players from around the world. The World Polo League features top international players, including many stars of the Argentine pitch.

While Grand Champions brings international stars to Wellington, players of every level can find a home at the club. The Polo School offers instructions to beginners of all ages and will operate from January through May. Players of all experience levels can enjoy a customized polo experience including horses, pros, and certified umpires as well as lessons and practice sessions through the Polo on Demand program.

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to impact polo this year, Grand Champions will carry on implementing the protocols that allowed polo to be safely played at the Aspen Valley Polo Club over the summer and at Grand Champtions in the autumn.

WINTER 2021 COVID-19 POLICY: The GCPC property, facilities, and events are only accessible to polo players, their immediate families, and necessary staff. This policy will remain in effect until further notice.

The GCPC family is immensely grateful and humbled by the excitement and support shown by locals and new guests over the years. We wish we could welcome everyone to the sidelines to cheer our players on; however, in order to remain in operation amidst a global pandemic, we regret to inform you that Grand Champions Polo Club events and facilities are currently closed to the public. Ultimately, our goal as a Club is to keep polo going, but our goal as a community first and foremost is to keep everyone safe and healthy.

There is nothing we would love more than to have more spectators on the sidelines and to greet new and friendly faces to the Club. Unfortunately, we cannot operate as normal and have temporarily minimized the Club’s capacity in an effort to prioritize the health and safety of our community.

MORE UPDATES TO COME SOON: For potential GCPC policy changes, we encourage our fans to continue to check our Instagram and website for more updates to come.

In the meantime, we thank you for your cooperation in this team effort to ensure we can keep playing polo, as well as keep playing our part in the community to minimize risk and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We appreciate your loyalty and understanding and hope to see you back on the sidelines soon!

WELLINGTON, FL, January 31, 2021 – Dundas prevailed over Bushwood on Saturday by a score of 12-9 to win the Aspen Valley 8-Goal Cup.

Dundas (Sarah Siegel-Magness, Fran Spinacci, Mariano Fassetta, and Robertito Zedda) met Bushwood (Nick McClelland, Nick Manifold, Kris Kampsen, and Michael Armour) in the final match of the Aspen Valley 8-Goal Cup yesterday at Grand Champions’ Santa Rita Polo Farm. Dundas, fielding a 7-goal team, started the match with one goal on the board.

Bushwood took control of the ball at the bowl-in, shooting on goal just 20 seconds into play, but Robertito Zedda of Dundas drew first blood of the match. Michael Armour put the first goal on the board for Bushwood, and Kris Kampsen, continuing his 100% streak on penalty shots in the Aspen Valley Cup, converted on a penalty 3. Mariano Fassetta put another shot between the posts to end the chukker 3-2 for Dundas.

Shortly into the second chukker, Kris Kampsen tied the score at 3-3 on a penalty 2. With slightly more than a minute and a half left in the chukker, Kris Kampsen deflected a shot on goal by Zedda, but Mariano Fasseta tapped it through for his second goal of the day. In the third chukker, Dundas kept Bushwood off the goal while Zedda scored to end the half 5-3 for Dundas.

Sarah Magness started the second half by successfully converting a penalty 2, with Nick Manifold answering to bring the score to 6-4. Magness knocked in another penalty shot, again on a penalty two. With less than 30 seconds of play left, Kampsen scored with an impressive neck shot to end the chukker with Dundas up 2 goals, at 7-5.

Barely twenty seconds into the fifth chukker, Robertito Zedda cracked the ball downfield to Fasetta, who found the goal to score. With 4:18 left to play, Zedda pounded the ball downfield in a spectacular long shot to put Dundas ahead 9-5. Michael Armour found the goal, with Kris Kampsen converting his third penalty shot of the day and following up with yet another goal to cut the Dundas advantage to one goal, at 9-8.

As the final chukker opened with Bushwood nipping at their heels, Dundas took the offensive. Fasetta, Spinacci and Magness each scored a goal, gaining a four-goal lead over Bushwood. Kampsen knocked in a final shot for Bushwood to end the match 12-9 with Dundas capturing the title. Kris Kampsen was the high scoring player for the game, while Robertito Zedda was named MVP. Best Playing Pony was J-5 Matilde, ridden by Zedda in the fifth chukker.

Images: © Grand Champions Polo Club

Grand Champions will host multiple tournaments throughout the season, as will World Polo League, with schedules to be released in the near future. A premier polo destination, Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm boast 18 beautifully manicured polo fields, 11 of which are tournament grade, 120 stalls spread throughout five self-contained barns, an exercise track, five climate-controlled tack rooms, a vet room, staff quarters, a guest house, and four fields with state-of-the-art underground irrigation.

Located in Wellington, FL, the world’s ultimate winter equestrian destination, Grand Champions typically hosts players from around the world. The World Polo League features top international players, including many stars of the Argentine pitch.

While Grand Champions brings international stars to Wellington, players of every level can find a home at the club. The Polo School offers instructions to beginners of all ages and will operate from January through May. Players of all experience levels can enjoy a customized polo experience including horses, pros, and certified umpires as well as lessons and practice sessions through the Polo on Demand program.

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to impact polo this year, Grand Champions will carry on implementing the protocols that allowed polo to be safely played at the Aspen Valley Polo Club over the summer and at Grand Champtions in the autumn.

WINTER 2021 COVID-19 POLICY: The GCPC property, facilities, and events are only accessible to polo players, their immediate families, and necessary staff. This policy will remain in effect until further notice.

The GCPC family is immensely grateful and humbled by the excitement and support shown by locals and new guests over the years. We wish we could welcome everyone to the sidelines to cheer our players on; however, in order to remain in operation amidst a global pandemic, we regret to inform you that Grand Champions Polo Club events and facilities are currently closed to the public. Ultimately, our goal as a Club is to keep polo going, but our goal as a community first and foremost is to keep everyone safe and healthy.

There is nothing we would love more than to have more spectators on the sidelines and to greet new and friendly faces to the Club. Unfortunately, we cannot operate as normal and have temporarily minimized the Club’s capacity in an effort to prioritize the health and safety of our community.

MORE UPDATES TO COME SOON: For potential GCPC policy changes, we encourage our fans to continue to check our Instagram and website for more updates to come.

In the meantime, we thank you for your cooperation in this team effort to ensure we can keep playing polo, as well as keep playing our part in the community to minimize risk and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We appreciate your loyalty and understanding and hope to see you back on the sidelines soon!

WELLINGTON, FL, January 29, 2021— La Indiana defeated Aspen Valley by 16-10 while Scone triumphed over Great Oaks by 10-7 as the high goal season at Grand Champions got underway with the Sterling Cup.

This week the high goal season got of to an exciting start with the opening matches of the 22-goal Sterling Cup. On Tuesday, La Indiana (Nico Escobar, Jeff Hall, Politio Pieres, and Michael Bickford) met Aspen Valley (Gussie Busch, Clem Zavetta, Pablo Spinacci and Horacio Heguy) at La Indiana Polo Farm. With a team handicap of 20, Aspen Valley started the match with two goals on the board. 

La Indiana made a quick start, narrowing Aspen Valley’s initial advantage to 1 when Nico Escobar picked up a pass from Polito Pieres after just 35 seconds of play and found the goal. Despite the auspicious start, La Indiana remained behind throughout the chukker as Horacio Heguy and Pablo Spinacci scored for Aspen Valley.

Down by 4-1 at the beginning of the second period, La Indiana intensified their efforts to get on the board and scored an impressive five goals in a fast chukker to gain a two-goal lead. With just under 60 seconds of play remaining, Horacio Heguy took control of the ball at the bowl-in and broke away to score with an impressive neck shot. Unfortunately for La Indiana, they couldn’t maintain their momentum in the third chukker and failed to score, while Gussie Busch dodged Jeff Hall to knock the ball through the posts in the final seconds of the chukker.  The half ended with the score tied at 6-6.

Nico Escobar successfully converted on a penalty two in early in the fourth chukker, followed by a goal from Pablo Spinacci to tie the score at 7-7. Another penalty two allowed Clem Zavetta to score for Aspen Valley, putting them back in the lead briefly until Pieres tied things up again. A final goal from Spinacci ended the period at 9-8 with. Aspen Valley leading.

At the beginning of the fifth chukker, La Indiana seemed to realize that it was time to pour on the steam. Nico Escobar scored two consecutive goals to take back the lead, then Jeff Hall put the score up to 11-9. In the face of a strong defense from La Indiana, the team in blue couldn’t find the goalposts. A final shot by Escobar saw the chukker end 12-9 with La Indiana in the lead. As the final chukker got underway, Pieres converted on a penalty two. Escobar exploded with a series of three goals to see La Indiana with 16 on the board. A last valiant effort by Zavetta brought the final score to 16-10. Nico Escobar was the high scoring player, responsible for 8 of La Indiana’s 16 goals.

The second match of The Sterling Cup saw Great Oaks (Dillon Bacon, Torito Ruiz, Facundo Llorente and Gonzalo Garcia del Rio) take on Scone (David Paradice, Poroto Cambiaso, Peke Gonzalez and Adolfo Cambiaso) at Jan Pamela Farm. Great Oaks, with a team handicap of 21, started the match with one goal on the board.

Young Poroto Cambiaso, a 6-goal player at the tender age of 15, drew first blood, taking control of the ball after his father’s foul shot was deflected by Toro Ruiz’s pony and going to goal. Despite strong efforts by Great Oaks, they weren’t able to get on the board in the first chukker.

The second period proved to be no more successful for Great Oaks, who found themselves still shut out while Scone racked up another three goals, including a successful penalty 4 conversion by Cambiaso the Younger, and goals from Peke Gonzalez and Cambiaso the Elder. Play was more evenly matched in the third chukker, with Toro Ruiz finally putting Great Oaks on the board. Gonzalez scored on a penalty three to end the half 5-3 in favor of Scone.

Play was more evenly matched in the fourth chukker, with a lot of back and forth from both teams. Peke Gonzalez converted on a penalty five, while Gonzalo Garcia del Rio found the posts for Great Oaks. At the beginning of the fifth chukker Scone was in the lead by 6-4. Adolfo Cambiaso, atypically leading his team from the back rather than the number one position, scored for Scone with Gonzalez following up with a successful conversion on a penalty three.

Dillon Bacon dodged traffic to score his team’s one goal for the chukker, while Peke Gonzalez knocked in another penalty shot to end the period 9-5 for Scone. Toro Ruiz, showing some of his customary zeal, scored the first goal of the final chukker with an answer from Adolfo Cambiaso. Ruiz also connected with a penalty shot, and the match ended 10-7 for Scone. Peke Gonzalez was the high scoring player of the match, with five goals.

Images: © Grand Champions Polo Club

Sterling Cup
Live Stream Schedule

Friday 1/29
11 a.m. La Indiana vs Casablanca

Sunday 1/31
12 p.m. Santa Rita vs Scone

Wednesday 2/3
1 p.m. Santa Rita vs Great Oaks
3:30 p.m. Casablanca vs Aspen Valley

Sunday 2/7
3 p.m. Sterling Cup Final

All games streamed live in Eastern Standard Time on https://www.chukkertv.com

WINTER 2021 COVID-19 POLICY: The GCPC property, facilities, and events are only accessible to polo players, their immediate families, and necessary staff. This policy will remain in effect until further notice.

The GCPC family is immensely grateful and humbled by the excitement and support shown by locals and new guests over the years. We wish we could welcome everyone to the sidelines to cheer our players on; however, in order to remain in operation amidst a global pandemic, we regret to inform you that Grand Champions Polo Club events and facilities are currently closed to the public. Ultimately, our goal as a Club is to keep polo going, but our goal as a community first and foremost is to keep everyone safe and healthy.

There is nothing we would love more than to have more spectators on the sidelines and to greet new and friendly faces to the Club. Unfortunately, we cannot operate as normal and have temporarily minimized the Club’s capacity in an effort to prioritize the health and safety of our community.

MORE UPDATES TO COME SOON: For potential GCPC policy changes, we encourage our fans to continue to check our Instagram and website for more updates to come.

In the meantime, we thank you for your cooperation in this team effort to ensure we can keep playing polo, as well as keep playing our part in the community to minimize risk and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We appreciate your loyalty and understanding and hope to see you back on the sidelines soon!