Last weekend the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club hosted our annual year end, 1 goal, Last Chance Tournament. This year 8 teams from Santa Barbara, San Diego, Los Angeles, Central Coast, South Bay, and Canada joined us for a weekend of fun and competitive polo.
With eight teams playing in a two day tournament, the competition was hot as every chukker was incredibly important to surpass seven other teams and finish on top. The first day, four, four chukker games were played to weed out the weak and send the four best teams into a round robin semi finals, and final on Sunday afternoon. Tara Grey Jewelers, Barrossa, Remax/Sotheby’s, and California Polo Club (CPC) emerged victorious after Saturday’s games and moved on into the next round.
The first two chukker semi final was played between Tara Grey Jewelers and Barrossa. Tara Grey Jewelers took a quick lead in the first chukker with two penalty goals and a goal by Claudia Uretz. In the second chukker with only a few minutes remaining Earnie Ezcura made a comeback to tie the game up. The tie was broken by a shootout. Barrosa was victorious and moved on into the final.
The second two chukker semi final was played between Remax/Sotheby’s and CPC. CPC took a quick lead lead by Alejandro Nordhiemer and Matt Schwartz. They held the lead throughout the match to win by three goals.
The final was played between Barrossa and CPC. Matt Schwartz proved to be a strong player for CPC as he stretched the field and ran to goal. Barrossa became stretched out and struggled to stop Schwartz’s offensive drives. CPC won the final 4-2. Matt Schwartz was awarded MVP and Earnie Ezcurra’s horse, Viva, was awarded Best Playing Pony.