Grand Champions Polo Club Spring Season Comes To A Close This Weekend With The Memorial

WELLINGTON, FL., May 22, 2025---The fifth and final tournament of the spring season begins Friday with The Memorial at Grand Champions Polo Club.

By Sharon Robb

Two semifinal games are scheduled for Friday at 9:45 a.m. with Newport playing 3 Graces Polo  and 5:15 p.m. with SebiLion I going up against SebiLion II. The winners advance to the championship game on Sunday.

The teams are:

3 Graces Polo (17): Rebecca Cohen, Nic Roldan, 7, Santi Toccalino, 7, Juan Bollini 3.

Newport (17): Gene Goldstein, 0, Jason Crowder, 5, Fred Mannix, 7, Tommy Collingwood, 5.

SebiLion I (18): Leo Mandelbaum, 2, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Sugar Erskine, 6, Matias Gonzalez, 4.

SebiLion II (17): Sebastian Mandelbaum, 0, Martin Jauregui, 6, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7, Mariano Gracida, 4.

The Memorial is held in honor of Memorial Day, (originally known as Decoration Day), a Federal holiday on which those who died in active military service are remembered, traditionally observed on May 30 but now officially observed on the last Monday in May.

In last year's The Memorial season finale, Newport (Tucu Paz, 2, Sugar Erskine, 6, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Jason Crowder, 5) won for its fourth consecutive title. SebiLion (Sebastian Mandelbaum, 0, Grant Ganzi, 3, Fred Mannix, 7, Tommy Collingwood, 5) finished second and Aspen Valley (Santos Bollini, 2, Leo Mandelbaum, 2, Nic Roldan, 8, Juan Bollini 3) was third in the two-day round robin tournament.

SebiLion and Newport have developed a nice little rivalry this season, each winning two spring tournaments.

Newport won back-to-back tournaments, the Casablanca Spring Challenge and Sun Cup. In the Casablanca Spring Challenge, Newport (Gene Goldstein, 0, Jason Crowder, 5, Martin Jauregui, 6, Tommy Collingwood, 5) led from start-to-finish to defeat Aspen Valley (Meredith Lovegrove/Haley Schaufeld, 0, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Matias Gonzalez, 4, Nic Roldan, 7), 10-8. Crowder was MVP.

Newport (Gene Goldstein, 0, Matias Gonzalez, 4, Fred Mannix, 7, Tommy Collingwood, 5) rallied in the sixth chukker to defeat previously unbeaten SebiLion (Sebastian Mandelbaum, 0, Leo Mandelbaum, 2, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7, Jason Crowder, 5) in an overtime thriller, 15-14 for the Sun Cup. Mannix was MVP.

SebiLion also has two tournament wins. In last weekend's Eastern Challenge, SebiLion (Sebastian Mandelbaum, 0, Mariano Gracida, 4, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7, Fred Mannix, 7) took the lead early in the fifth chukker and never relinguished it for a 10-8 victory over Newport (Gene Goldstein, 0, Jason Crowder, 5, Santi Toccalino, 7, Tommy Collingwood, 5).

In the spring opener, SebiLion won the Grand Champions Cup 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.

During the spring season, amateur polo players got a chance to play with and against some of the world’s top professional polo players including Santi Toccalino, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Martin Jauregui, Jason Crowder and Nic Roldan. It's geared towards improving polo skills while having fun. It was also a great opportunity for younger players to develop and hone their skills against their peers and more experienced players. It also gave players a chance to work young horses for the future.

During the major polo season in winter, 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, 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.