WELLINGTON, Fla., November 11, 2024----Santa Rita won the sixth and final medium goal tournament of the fall season Sunday at Grand Champions Polo Club.
By Sharon Robb
Photos by Candace Ferreira
Santa Rita (Rebecca Cohen/Phil Gutman, Jason Crowder, 5, Nic Roldan, 8, Juan Bollini, 3) won the third annual Casablanca Fall Cup edging SebiLion (Sebastian Mandelbaum, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Tito Gaudenzi/Leo Mandelbaum, 2, Pablo Dorignac, 4) in the round robin final with a thrilling 6-5 victory.
In the first two three-chukker matches, SebiLion defeated Newport (Gene Goldstein, Santos Bollini, 2, Sugar Erskine, 6, Martin Jauregui, 6), 10-7, and Santa Rita nipped Newport, 7-6.
Nic Roldan was named Most Valuable Player after playing well on both ends of the field, stopping three key goal attempts and scoring a tournament-high six goals. He is the most decorated MVP player in the club's history.
"That's always a bonus," said Roldan of his MVP honor. "It's always nice to be home playing. I love being here. This is my favorite time of the year. The season went by quick."
Royal, a Roan 10-year-old mare played in the third and sixth chukkers by Rebecca Cohen and owned by Santa Rita Polo Farm, was Best Playing Pony.
The third and final match of the day was close from the opening chukker with four lead changes until Roldan scored what turned out to be the winning goal on a 30-yard penalty conversion with 4:42 left.
Each team had more scoring opportunities in the final minutes but were unable to capitalize.
Santa Rita opened with a 3-2 lead, carried over from Friday's opener and led 4-3 after the first chukker. The game was tied 5-5 entering the third and final chukker.
"It was a good, fun weekend," Roldan said. "It's great to see a couple of the new up-and-coming students, Rebecca and Phil, that are coming through The Polo School playing. It was a good weekend for the club and for The Polo School."
In Friday's opening round, Newport edged SebiLion, 5-4; Santa Rita defeated SebiLion, 3-2 and Newport topped Santa Rita, 3-2.
Other 2024 fall champions were: Tackeria Invitational, Audi (Dominic State, Martin Jauregui, Marc Ganzi, Sugar Erskine); Pedro Morrison Memorial, Maltese Falcons (Melissa Ganzi, Teo Calle, Grant Ganzi, Nic Roldan); Banyan Cup, SebiLion (Sebastian Mandelbaum, Santos Bollini, Sugar Erskine, Jason Crowder) and Fall Plates, Grand Champions (Miles Rich, -1, Grant Ganzi, 3, Martin Jauregui, 6, Pablo Dorignac, 4).
In last year's Casablanca Fall Cup final, Victory Polo won its first tournament of the season. In a true round robin tournament final, Victory Polo (Becky Schmeits, Jason Crowder, 5, Pablo Dorignac, 4, Martin Jauregui, 6) led from start to finish to defeat Dracarys Polo (Chetan Krishna, Santos Bollini, 2, Nic Roldan, 8, Juan Bollini, 3), 12-11. Martin Jauregui was MVP.
Tournament sponsor Casablanca is a longtime supporter of Grand Champions Polo Club, Aspen Valley Polo Club, Santa Rita Polo Farm and 26-goal World Polo League. Stephen Alexander, owner and CEO of Casablanca Polo, was on hand to present awards and polo swag.
The nation's largest and most innovative polo club, is celebrating its 18th anniversary as the fall season enters the final stretch of major tournaments. Two new upcoming additions to the fall schedule are this week's 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.
Among the season's other highlights are the 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.