WELLINGTON, Fla., October 24, 2024----The fourth medium goal tournament of the fall season begins Friday at Santa Rita Polo Farm.
By Sharon Robb
The Banyan Cup opens with a round robin between Newport (Gene Goldstein, 0, Juancito Bollini, 4, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Dominic State, 2), SebiLion (Sebastian Mandelbaum 0, Sugar Erskine, 6, Jason Crowder, 5, Santos Bollini, 2) and Grand Champions (Miles Rich, 1, Juan Bollini, 3, Martin Jauregui, 6, Pablo Dorignac, 4) at 4 p.m. The scores will carry over into Sunday's final at 10:30 a.m.
In last year's final, La Fe won its first tournament of the fall season. La Fe (Sebastian Mandelbaum, -1/Leo Mandelbaum, 2, Nic Roldan, 8, Grant Ganzi, 3, Louis Devaleix, 2) won the Banyan Cup by one net goal in a round robin over Victory I (Kevin Schmeits, 0, Santos Bollini, 2, Martin Jauregui, 6, Sugar Erskine, 6) that finished with 0 net goal. Victory II (Becky Schmeits, 0, Jason Crowder, 5, Pedro Gutierrez, 5, Pablo Dorignac, 5) finished third with minus-one.

In the third and final round robin match, La Fe clinched the exciting nailbiter with an 8-6 win over Victory 1, which had closed the gap to one goal (7-6) with 3:52 left in the game but was unable to overcome the deficit.
Louis Devaleix, who took his first polo lesson in 2020 and played fall polo for the first time in Wellington, was named Most Valuable Player.
The Banyan Cup is named after the Banyan Tree which can cover about 14,500 square feet of space, grow branches as high as 80 feet and thrive over two and a half centuries. As it grows, the banyan tree produces aerial roots that hang down and take root wherever they touch the ground.
The nation's largest and most innovative polo club, celebrates its 18th anniversary with two new additions to the fall schedule: Nov. 14 WPL Pride Polo Miami and Nov. 15-17 Beach Polo World Cup Miami. It's the first time the popular beach polo tournament and WPL Pride Polo are being held in the fall on South Beach. The Beach Polo World Cup Miami Beach is the largest and most notable Beach Polo event in the world. It features international teams and over 120 horses. Tickets are on sale.
Grand Champions is hosting both medium and high goal tournaments this season.
The family-friendly club welcomes spectators of all ages. All matches, food and refreshments are free (with the exception of special catered events) and open to the public and dogs on leashes.
Among the season's other highlights are the Oct. 29-Nov. 6 USPA North American Cup and Nov. 4-13 USPA National 20-Goal Championship and Nov. 23 doubleheader featuring the Legends of Polo Carlos Gracida Memorial and International Cup with GCPC USA playing the Rest of the World this year. In last year's International Cup, Spain knocked off previously unbeaten GCPC USA to snap its 11-year win streak in front of a packed house at Santa Rita Polo Farm.
The fall medium goal schedule features six tournaments. The others are the Oct. 30-Nov. 3 Fall Plates and Nov. 6-10 Casablanca Fall Cup.
Wellington-based ChukkerTV (CTV Sports) is live streaming the entire fall season worldwide. Grand Champions is the only USPA club that is live streaming all its games.
The Grand Champions Fall Invitational League is geared toward improving a player's polo skills at every level.
Roster lineups change from tournament to tournament with evenly-matched teams featuring pro and amateur players. It's also a great opportunity for players and sponsors to prepare for the winter season highlighted by the 26-goal World Polo League, now entering its seventh season at Grand Champions.
The fall league features: stick-and-ball sessions during the week; two medium tournament games every weekend; ambulance and USPA umpires for all tournament games; world-class polo fields; club-sponsored social events every weekend for all players; and top-of-the-line trophies for all teams every weekend.
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 11 well-manicured world-class fields at GCPC and Santa Rita.
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 is for all ages and ability levels and operates in Wellington year-round. The Polo School, a 501c3 organization and stand-alone USPA 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 operates year-round in Wellington. For more information on the Fall Leagues or Polo School contact Cale Newman at 561-876-2930.