Eagle Prime Landing and Spencer Ranch won the monthly Polo School Ladies League games at Santa Rita Polo Farm.
By Sharon Robb
Two games featuring 18 players were held on March 29th as part of the monthly competition for the weekly league that plays on Wednesdays during the winter season from January through April.
In the opening game, Spencer Ranch (Racheal Spencer, Valentina Tarazona, Myla Cambiaso, Jenna Davis, Avery Evans) defeated Stage Hill Polo (Valentina Villamil, Gloria D’Angelo, Giuliana Tarazona, Alyson Poor, Maggie Hill), 4-2. Evans led scoring with two goals.
Davis swept the Most Valuable Player and Best Playing Pony honors. Galactica was BPP.
In the second game, Eagle Prime Landing (Aspen Tinto, Abigail MacKenzie, Ava Hinkson, Malicia Van Falkenhausen) shut out Santa Aurelia (Sophia Doble, Ana de la Fuente, Ava Nunez, Marisa Bianchi), 5-0.
Hinkson, 19, earned her second MVP honor of the week after scoring three goals. She was also MVP at the Polo Training Foundation’s inaugural Sunset Polo Cup. Best Playing Pony was Chelo Rosa, played by Van Falkenhausen.
“This league is really amazing,” Hinkson said. “We have a lot of young girls coming to the Ladies League. It’s a lot fun watching them find their niche on the field.
“It’s such a great place for girls to come who either play a lot of women’s polo or have played. It helps their confidence on the field. All the other girls are super supportive.”
While the games are competitive, they also provide valuable experience against various levels of players while honing polo skills.
“It’s such a great place to experiment,” Hinkson said. “If you mess up it’s not a big deal. I love it so much. It’s such a great program. I can’t say enough good things about it. It’s a great way to get into women’s polo without playing the tournaments. You get a feel for how the ladies play on the field because it’s so different than men’s.”
Hinkson has also seen more respect for women’s polo, which is the largest growing sector in the sport in the U.S. and around the world.
“We have all these amazing incredible women like Sunny Hale, Alina Carta and now Hope Arellano that have gone out and kicked butt and made a name for themselves,” Hinkson said. “It’s really given respect to a lot of the other women players who might not be at that level yet but you never know.
“Getting to play on these fields in leagues like this we are definitely starting to get more respect now. It’s incredible because it gives you the opportunity to feel you are a part of something bigger and part of the polo community. It’s still a man’s world but the women are really breaking boundaries.”
The Polo School Ladies League, now in its seventh year and co-founded by Grand Champions President and avid player Melissa Ganzi and Alina Carta, features women of all ages and ability levels and serves as a stepping stone to major tournaments such as the upcoming WCT Finals at Grand Champions.
The Polo School Ladies League, the only full-time weekly women’s polo league in the world, plans to play the first two weeks of April. League play resumes on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
The league began with the idea of growing women’s polo and creating an atmosphere in Wellington that brings them together to improve their game, work on their ponies, and most of all enjoy the game that they love so much.
All team entry fees benefit The Polo School, a stand-alone USPA-sanctioned club located at the former Pony Express facility.
Grand Champions, the nation’s largest polo club celebrating its 16th anniversary, and Santa Rita Polo Farm is the largest and most unique private 102-acre polo facility in Wellington with 212 stalls in nine self-contained barns, two tracks, five climate-controlled tack rooms, vet room, staff quarters, guest house and four polo fields with state-of-the-art underground irrigation and short work arena. The club has nine world-class fields at GCPC and four at Santa Rita.
During the winter polo season, Grand Champions, the nation’s largest and most innovative USPA-sanctioned polo club, nestled in the heart of the world’s winter equestrian capital, is hosting tournaments: 6, 8, 12, 20, and 26-goal leagues, WCT Finals, Polo School Ladies League and 26-goal World Polo League tournaments at both Grand Champions and Santa Rita.
The winter season is being live-streamed locally and worldwide on Wellington-based ChukkerTV (CTV Sports).
Grand Champions Polo Club caters to men, women and youth polo players at all levels. Its’ expert staff can customize a complete playing experience including horses, pros and certified umpires in addition to lessons and practice sessions as part of its’ Polo On Demand program.
The Polo School, now located at the former Pony Express facility, operates in Wellington January through May and September through November. The stand-alone USPA-sanctioned polo club, is thriving. It is dedicated to teaching polo to all ages, particularly grass roots youth. Its mission is to provide individuals opportunities in polo at every economic and ability level. November. The Polo School has nurtured several junior, men and women polo players now playing in the pro and amateur ranks since its inception.
For more information on leagues or Polo School contact Director of Operations Juan Bollini at 561-346-1099 or General Manager Cale Newman at 561-876-2930.