WELLINGTON, FL., February 14, 2025--Velera rallied in the second half to win its debut in the Halo Polo Cup opener Thursday at Santa Rita Polo Farm.
By Sharon Robb
Velera (Sailor Schwaber, -1, Bautista Alessandrini, 1, Hope Arellano, 2, Lucas Arellano, 3) defeated The Polo School (Meredith Lovegrove, -1, Cruz Bilbao, 0, Santos Bollini, 2, Matias Gonzalez, 4), 6-4 in the 6-goal opener.
Velera outscored The Polo School, 4-2, in the second half after a 2-2 opening half.
It was all defense in the first half with back-and-forth action in a 0-0 opening chukker. Both teams had scoring opportunities but both teams also had stingy defenses. By the end of the chukker, The Polo School had three knock-ins.
Siblings Lucas and Hope Arellano played off each other in the second chukker with Lucas setting up Hope, coming off the U.S. Open Women's final, for the first goal of the game with 3:44 left. A minute later Gonzalez came back scoring through a crowd for a 1-1 tie and again at the 1:12 mark for a 2-1 advantage. With 19 seconds remaining, Lucas scored off the throw-in for a 2-2 tie going into halftime.
The Polo School went on the offensive and jumped out to a quick two-goal lead, 4-2, in the third chukker when Bilbao scored with 4:35 left. A minute later The Polo School was awarded a penalty-one.
Velera clawed its way back late in the third chukker when Lucas worked his way through defenders tapping the ball in for a goal to trail, 4-3.
It was all Velera controlling the pace in the fourth and final chukker breaking open a tight game early on to score three unanswered goals.
Hope scored first to tie the game, 4-4, with 5:17 left. The offensive drive started and ended with Hope, who got inside The Polo School defense to score. A minute later, Hope lofted the ball just inside the goal post to put her team in the lead, 5-4. Lucas converted a 60-yard penalty with 1:40 left to put the game out of reach.
Lucas and Hope Arellano shared leading scorer honors, each with three goals including Lucas' 60-yard penalty conversion. For The Polo School, Gonzalez had two goals and Bilbao added one. The team was also awarded a penalty-one.
Velera's next game is Tuesday at 3 p.m. against 3 Graces Polo, recent winners of the Metropolitan 6-Goal Cup.
Eight teams are competing in the league. The remaining six teams are:
Smithfield: John Klopp, 0, Fran Villamil, 1, Juanse Olivera, 3, Julio Ezcurra.
Virginia Beach: Abby Frye, 1, Chilo Cordova, 2, Willia Jumet, 1, Dominic State, 2.
Rosalinda Polo/Gracida Homes: Norberto Quirno Costa, Weston Gracida, 1, Nico Eurnekian, 3, TBA.
Camp Polo: Pearl Duncan, -1, Juan Ignacio Vidal, 2, Mia Cambiaso, 2, Milly Hine, 2.
3 Graces Polo: Rebecca Cohen, -1, Artemio Figueras, 2, Justin Daniels, 2, Juan Bollini, 3.
Buena Vibra: Guiliana Tarazona, -1, Celestino Merlos, 0, Florencio Merlos, -1, Agustin Merlos, 7.
In today's 6-goal action, Smithfield plays Camp Polo, led by the one-two punch of Mia Cambiaso and Milly Hine, at 3 p.m. live streamed on ChukkerTV with Jan-Erik Franck and Dale Schwetz calling the action.
In last year's final, Bushwood Pink defeated Pony Express, 6-4, during Tuesday's Sunset Chukkers & Cocktails with Jen Buchan, Scott Sorbaro, Facundo Panelo and Kris Kampsen.
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, hosts a wide range of tournaments: 6, 8, 12, 20, and 26-goal leagues, 26-goal World Polo League, The Polo School Women's Weekly Polo League, WCT Finals, several Polo Training Foundation junior tournaments, World Polo League Pride and Sunset Chukkers & Cocktails at either Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm.
The 26-goal World Polo League, that gets under way Sunday with a 32-goal final for the All-Star Challenge Riemenschneider Memorial, is the club's highlight of the season. The WPL, the only 26-goal polo played outside of Argentina, is now entering its seventh season with some of the world's top players including 10-goalers Pablo MacDonough, Juan Martin Nero and Tommy Panelo.
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.
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 dedicated to teaching polo to all ages.
For more information on leagues or The Polo School contact Juan Bollini at 561-346-1099 or Cale Newman at 561-876-2930.