The second of five tournaments begins Friday with the Sun Cup at Grand Champions Polo Club.
By Sharon Robb
Photos by Candace Ferreira
Two semifinal games are scheduled for Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. At 10:30 a.m. on Field One, Newport plays Kaia Polo and 5 p.m. SebiLion plays 3 Graces Polo. On Sunday at 10 a.m. the final and Just For The Love Of It Cup will be held on Field Two.
The teams are:
SebiLion: Sebastian Mandelbaum, Leo Mandelbaum, Jason Crowder, Alejandro Novillo Astrada.
Newport: Gene Goldstein, Matias Gonzalez, Tommy Collingwood, Fred Mannix.
Kaia Polo: Larry Austin, Mariano Gracida, Tomacho Pieres, Santiago Toccalino
3 Graces Polo: Rebecca Cohen, Sugar Erskine, Nic Roldan, Juan Bollini.
SebiLion is coming off last weekend’s Grand Champions Cup spring season-opening win win. SebiLion (Sebastian Mandelbaum, 0, Leo Mandelbaum, 2, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7, Fred Mannix, 7) defeated Kaia Polo (Larry Austin, 0, Mariano Gracida, 4, Santi Toccalino, 7, Juan Bollini, 3), 10-8, to capture the Grand Champions Cup. Sebastian Mandelbaum was MVP.
In last year’s Sun Cup, Grand Champions (Joelle Wyser Pratte, -1, Mario Dino, 1, Santos Bollini 2, Juan Bollini, 3) led from start-to-finish to defeat The Polo School (Ogden O’Reilly-Hyland, -1, Leo Mandelbaum, 2, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Tito Gaudenzi, 2), 7-6. Joelle Wyser Pratte was MVP.
The spring season is expected to be the best in the club’s 18-year history. The matches are every Friday and Sunday. Admission is free and the public iand dogs on leashes are welcome.
The remaining spring schedule (subject to change because of weather) is: May 9-11, Casablanca Spring Challenge; May 16-18, Eastern Challenge; and May 23-26, The Memorial.
During the spring season, amateur polo players get the chance to play with and against some of the world’s top professional polo players. It is geared towards improving polo skills and having fun.
The spring league is also a great opportunity for younger players to develop and hone their skills against their peers and more experienced players.
The spring season will be live-streamed on Wellington-based ChukkerTV (CTV Sports).
During the winter polo season, Grand Champions Polo Club, the nation’s largest and most innovative USPA-sanctioned polo club nestled in the heart of the world’s winter equestrian capital, celebrating its 18th anniversary, hosts a wide range of tournaments: 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 26-goal leagues, The Polo School Women’s Polo League, WCT Finals, PTF youth tournaments, World Polo League, World Polo League Pride Music Fest and Sunset Chukkers & Cocktails at both Grand Champions and Santa Rita.
Grand Champions 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 10 well-manicured world-class fields at GCPC and Santa Rita.
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 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. 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 Polo School Director of Operations Juan Bollini at 561-346-1099 or Polo Manager Cale Newman at 561-876-2930.