March 23 - April 1

Champions Cup

Champions Cup

Tournament History

The Champions Cup, an 8-goal tournament that has been hosted at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California since 2011, is back again for 2018 with a great six team line up. This tournament format is especially unique as there is major prize money on the line - $60,000 in the pot for 2018. Teams pay an entry fee which the club matches and unlike other money games, the only deciding factor is the final score. The victors garner seventy-five percent of the total prize money available while the runner-up collects the remaining twenty-five percent. A unique feature considering the majority of prize money tournaments are geared towards a mid- to high-goal level of polo. 2016 champions, Lockton, are slated to compete again for the prize money and Champions Cup title after losing in the 2017 final to STG.

Photo: 2017 Champions Cup Winners: STG - (L to R) John Ziegler, John Bickford, Max Menini, Ignacio Deltour. ©Jim Bremner

Champions Cup Format

Six teams will play cross bracket and the top two teams in each bracket will go to the semifinals. The top team in Bracket I will play the second place team in Bracket II. The top team in Bracket II will play the second place team in Bracket I. The two winners will go to the finals on Sunday, April 1, at 5:00pm ET.

Champions Cup

Teams and Rosters

Bracket I

La Herradura (4-0)

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Meghan Gracida
Handicap: 4
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Memo Gracida
Outdoor Handicap: 3
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Carlos Hernandez Perez
Outdoor Handicap: 3
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Catlin Dix
Women's Outdoor Handicap: 4

ReMax (1-2)

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Dayelle Fargey
Women's Outdoor Handicap: 6
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Jared Sheldon
Arena Handicap: 7
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Gordon Ross
Outdoor Handicap: A
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Matthew Fonseca
Outdoor Handicap: 2

Granite Bay (0-2)

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Eric Hammon
Outdoor Handicap: A
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Alvaro Tadeo
Outdoor Handicap: 3
Marcos Llambias
Outdoor Handicap: 4
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Jessica Bailey
Outdoor Handicap: 1

Bracket II

Evergreen (3-1)

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Tom Sprung
Outdoor Handicap: B
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Carlos Galindo Jr.
Outdoor Handicap: 3
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Juan Jo Gonzalez
Outdoor Handicap: 3
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Shane Rice
Handicap: 7

Anthonie's Market Grill/Lockton (0-2)

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Tim Kelly
Outdoor Handicap: A
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Bryan Middleton
Outdoor Handicap: 3
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Hernan Jose Tejera
Outdoor Handicap: 2
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Francisco Guinazu
Outdoor Handicap: 3

Spindrift/Tanakhanda (1-2)

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John Bickford
Outdoor Handicap: 1
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Luis Saracco
Outdoor Handicap: 3
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Tan Khan
Outdoor Handicap: A
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Ignacio Deltour
Handicap: 4

Bracket III

Bracket IV

Bracket V

no bracket

Champions Cup

Tournament Games

Friday, Mar 23, 2018

March 23

Final

CHAMPIONS CUP

La Herradura logo

La Herradura (4-0)

14

Granite Bay logo

Granite Bay (0-2)

8

March 23

Final

CHAMPIONS CUP

Evergreen logo

Evergreen (3-1)

16

Spindrift/Tanakhanda logo

Spindrift/Tanakhanda (1-2)

9

Sunday, Mar 25, 2018

March 25

Final

CHAMPIONS CUP

La Herradura logo

La Herradura (4-0)

13

ReMax logo

ReMax (1-2)

11

March 25

Final

CHAMPIONS CUP

Evergreen logo

Evergreen (3-1)

12

Anthonie's Market Grill/Lockton logo

Anthonie's Market Grill/Lockton (0-2)

7

Wednesday, Mar 28, 2018

March 28

Final

CHAMPIONS CUP

Spindrift/Tanakhanda logo

Spindrift/Tanakhanda (1-2)

10

Anthonie's Market Grill/Lockton logo

Anthonie's Market Grill/Lockton (0-2)

6

March 28

Final

CHAMPIONS CUP

Granite Bay logo

Granite Bay (0-2)

11

ReMax logo

ReMax (1-2)

12

Friday, Mar 30, 2018

March 30

Final

CHAMPIONS CUP

Evergreen logo

Evergreen (3-1)

12

ReMax logo

ReMax (1-2)

10

March 30

Final

CHAMPIONS CUP

La Herradura logo

La Herradura (4-0)

16

Spindrift/Tanakhanda logo

Spindrift/Tanakhanda (1-2)

6

Sunday, Apr 1, 2018

April 01

Final

CHAMPIONS CUP

La Herradura logo

La Herradura (4-0)

14

Evergreen logo

Evergreen (3-1)

10

The Venue

Empire Polo Club, situated in the Coachella Valley in Indio, California, is the self-proclaimed “Disneyland” of polo in the United States. Boasting one of the most exquisite and elaborate grounds, the club aims to impress players and spectators alike with a polo experience like no other. Offering a competitive polo season mid-December through March with public Sunday matches and a seasonal polo school, the club operates year-round hosting numerous non-polo events, such as music festivals—including, but not limited to, the famous Coachella music festival.

Established in 1987, the club has steadily grown over nearly three decades to include 12 grass polo fields, an indoor polo arena with stadium, two exercise tracks, on-site stabling for 650+ horses and the only fully-lit grass polo field in the United States for night polo. Equine amenities aside, the club houses not one, but two restaurants—The Tack Room Tavern Restaurant & Bar and Polo Pizza Co.—as well as “The Date Shed” a former date packing facility turned nightclub and live music venue.


52995 Calhoun ST
Coachella, CA 92236
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