Polo Players' Edition is the official publication of the U.S. Polo Association. Dedicated to the sport of polo, it features player profiles, game strategy, horse care, playing tips, polo club news and tournament results.
Issue link: https://polo.epubxp.com/i/31965
Teams in Tortugas and Hurlingham Opens La Aguada BMW Javier Novillo Astrada Eduardo Novillo Astrada Miguel Novillo Astrada Ignacio Novillo Astrada Pilará Piaget Agustin Merlos Santiago Chavanne Sebastián Merlos Marcos Heguy alt.Tomás García del Río alt. Juan Agustin Garcia Grossi Chapa Uno Hope Funds Juan Ignacio Merlos Hilario Ulloa Bautista Heguy Matías Mac Donough Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra Facundo Pieres Gonzalo Pieres Facundo Pieres receives the St. Regis Cup for Most Valuable Player in the final of the Hurlingham Open. He also received the trophy for most goals scored in the tournament. a game-high 14 goals. The next day, Alegría opened with an 18-17 victory over Indios Chapaleufú II, that once again played without an ill Eduardo Heguy. While Matias Magrini played a great match for the losers, scoring 11 goals, Aguerre and his men took the victory they were looking for thanks to a goal from Francisco Bensadón with 20 seconds left. Less than an hour later, the bizarre definition of Group B began between La Dolfina and La Aguada. La Dolfina was a shadow of itself with only two starters. Lolo Castagnola was absent because of a fever and Monteverde was out because of the warnings in the previous match. The team trailed La Aguada 11-5 at the end of the sixth chukker. Meanwhile, Cambiaso had ordered his best horses be loaded in the truck to begin the drive back to his ranch in Cañuelas. But the Novillo Astradas, famous for their concentration and sacrifice, trusted too much and allowed their opponents to draw 10 fouls in two chukkers. The two Guillermos (Caset and Terrera) adapted to Adolfito and Pelon Stirling and allowed the team to come back. La Dolfina managed to equalize the score at 12-12, forcing overtime. Adolfito asked that his top mare, Cuartetera, be brought back. That proved to be the secret weapon and just 35 seconds into extra time, he capped a very long run with a hard shot on goal for the win. The destiny of the 117th edition of the longest-standing tournament in polo was decided on November 6. The final, played on Hurlingham’s Field No. 1, seemed to have only one team: Ellerstina. In a whirlwind, a real black tide appeared to be much more than its 40-goal handicap. In contrast, La Dolfina, champion of Palermo the last three years, looked more like a team of novices than a 39-goal quartet. The difference was in Adolfito mostly. He came with a perfect record this season, winning nine of the last nine tournaments he played. But angry and listless, he not only was the author of several technical fouls but, for the first time in many years, left the field without being able to score a single goal. In contrast, a giant Facundo Pieres led his team after a balanced first chukker ended 2-2, then went on to lead by 10 goals after 28 minutes of play, at 16-6 an unusual difference between the two best teams in the world. At the end of the fifth chukker the match was clearly over. La Zeta lifted its foot off the throttle and allowed its rival a more worthy final score of 19-13 so when La Dolfina was presented the John Ravenscroft Cup, awarded to the runner- up, it had a less bitter taste. For Facundo, his dreams came true. The dozen goals scored in the final catapulted his scoring total to 41, giving him the trophy for most goals in the tournament. In addition, he was awarded the St. Regis Cup as the MVP, and his horse, Open Pandora, Pablo Mac Donough Juan Martin Nero La Dolfina Peugeot Adolfo Cambiaso Lucas Monteverde David Stirling Bartolome Castagnola Alt. Guillermo Caset Alt. Guillermo Terrera Indios Chapaleufú II Alberto Heguy Matias Magrini Ignacio Heguy Eduardo Heguy Alt.. Ignatius Du Plessis Teams in Hurlingham Open only Sao José Audi Pablo Pieres Nicolás Pieres Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade Jaime García Huidobro Alegría Air France Frederick Mannix Francisco Bensadón Mariano Aguerre Francisco de Narváez 37 9 9 10 9 33 9 8 9 10 7 7 35 9 9 9 8 40 10 10 10 10 39 10 10 9 10 8 7 34 8 8 9 9 6 30 7 7 8 8 34 7 8 10 9 was awarded the Kearney Cup for the best horse. His older brother Gonzalo was awarded with the AACCP Prize for the Best Polo Argentino Product thanks to his mare, Grappa Galera. And finally, the trophy the team largely expected, The Ayrshire Cup, given to the champion, was an award Ellerstina lifted for the seventh time, the fourth since 2005. In late-breaking news, Ellerstina defeated La Dolfina 14-13 to take the Argentine Open and the Triple Crown. A full report will run in the February issue. POLO PLAYERS EDITION 43 POLOLINE
