NEWS

A highlight of the summer season at Myopia Polo Club (South Hamilton, Massachusetts), the Chairman’s Cup culminated in a memorable clash between Del Rancho/Glen Farm (Sam Clemens, David Strouss, Carl “CB” Scherer, Ignacio “Nachi” Viana, alt. Dennis Carrion-Diaz) and Kingswood/Longmeadow (Ariadne “Ari” Dogani, Reed “Parker” Miller, Federico Wulff, Ernesto “Rulo” Trotz, sub. Segundo Caimi). Establishing an early offensive edge, Del Rancho/Glen Farm controlled play throughout the match. A spectacular eight-goal performance from Viana, contributing at least one goal in almost every chukker, vaulted Del Rancho/Glen Farm to an 11-8 triumph.

Undefeated in preliminary games, Del Rancho/Glen Farm’s path to the final included a narrow 10-9 victory over Kingswood/Longmeadow. Assembling Del Rancho/Glen Farm for the first time this season, Strouss noted, “Del Rancho and Sam Clemens of Glen Farm were playing together for the first time in a tournament, so chemistry was a little uncertain. With Nachi Viana beautifully controlling the game, often drawing two and sometimes three defenders scoring critical goals, Carl “CB” Scherer’s tough play at back and Sam Clemens and I moving the ball forward, the team played extremely well.”

Reflecting on their first battle against Kingswood/Longmeadow, Clemens stated, “We started that game behind actually, we trailed until the fifth chukker when we were able to tie it up and barely edge ahead.” Clemens continued, “This made the final super interesting because we wanted to continue where we had left off. In the bracket game we missed [a lot] of shots on goal and we gave away what felt like the same number of fouls. We knew if that if we could tighten up our play a little bit to avoid the fouls and then dial in the shots, we’d be in much better shape. So, that’s exactly what we set out to do and that’s what we did.”

Speaking to his role as the leading attacker, Viana expressed, “We had a super fun team with Sam and Dave playing up front and myself a little more in the back. We played pretty open polo and very disciplined, with good attacks.” Playing the number two position Clemens continued, “The final was a very technical game […] we faced a very balanced team that was super strong defensively, so we needed to play more of a control game with careful releases only once we created some space.”

Setting a commanding tone from the first throw-in, the offensive talents of Viana were quickly on display, contributing three goals in the first chukker including two from the penalty line to give Del Rancho/Glen Farm an early 3-1 advantage. Kingswood/Longmeadow’s Trotz answered again from the field in the second, but a coordinated attack from Viana and Scherer preserved Del Rancho/Glen Farm’s two-goal lead. Dialing in before the horn, Trotz hit his third field goal of the game to account for all of Kingswood/Longmeadow’s first half offensive efforts. In a balanced approach from Del Rancho/Glen Farm, Strouss added his name to the scoreboard alongside two more penalty conversions from Viana to provide a commanding 8-3 lead at the half.

Racking up six first half goals, including four conversions, Viana credited his success to the unified play of Del Rancho/Glen Farm, “My role was specifically to try and control the back, take my time, be patient and be able to send long balls to my teammates.” Looking to finish the second half with a full effort Clemens elaborated on the importance of Viana’s leadership, “Motivation was crucial especially [since] we got behind [Kingswood/Longmeadow] in one of our bracket games. Nachi has such a great attitude in that regard. He passes hard during the play and if we misplay something, he lets us know right away and in no uncertain terms. But at the same time, he’s also very quick to turn to the positive and get you moving past the mistake to think about the next play. [It’s] that combination of clarity plus positivity that’s so effective. In my opinion, one without the other doesn’t help improve a team.”

Following a goal from Scherer to open the second half for Del Rancho/Glen Farm, an unfortunate injury to Kingswood/Longmeadow’s lone scorer Trotz brought Caimi into the game as a substitute. Making an immediate impact on both sides of the ball, Caimi initated a three-goal run bringing Kingswood/Longmeadow back within three. Going head-to-head with Viana, the two sharpshooters swapped scores, Viana taking the advantage hitting two from the field. Despite a final drive from Wulff, ultimately Del Rancho/Glen Farm’s ability to control the pace sealed the 11-8 victory.

Earning his second Chairman’s Cup title (2021), Viana detailed the successes of Del Rancho/Glen Farm, “We knew what each had to do. We expected a lot from every team player. It was a good dynamic; we had a good strategy of who was going to go to whom. We kind of kept that the whole game, so I think that made it easier for us to go in and have a good game.”

Recognizing his spectacular offensive efforts in the first half before his injury, Ernesto “Rulo” Trotz was named Most Valuable Player. Awarded the Chairman’s Cup honor for a second consecutive year, Trotz shared, “I won the same MVP last year, and I love it, [I’m] very happy to earn it. I would’ve loved to win the tournament, but getting the MVP, at least brings some joy.” Crediting the determined play of his teammates, Trotz continued, “My teammates are everything, especially Federico Wulff, without him none of this is possible.” Speaking to his talented substitute, Trotz added, “Segundo is an excellent player, and he brought a fresh energy to the team the second half. He [played] an excellent game and I’m very happy he had the opportunity to play. This MVP, I share with him.”

Beto (Mecha Rifle x Betina), an 8-year-old gelding played and owned by Ignacio “Nachi” Viana earned his first Best Playing Pony honor. “He’s one of my best,” said Viana, “I brought him this year in January from Argentina. He played with me in Wellington [Florida] and then he went to Aiken [South Carolina] and today he got turned out to rest. He played in the first chukker, he’s super agile, super strong, has a very good mouth and explosion. He’s a solid horse and pretty complete.”

Leaning into the support of family, friends and fans, Viana acknowledged Myopia’s infectious atmosphere, “It’s always fun here at Myopia’s Sunday’s games, especially with the final, there’s a big crowd and a big event at halftime. Everyone is so welcoming, that’s probably the biggest motivation, just to see the whole event and how everyone is so happy to be hosting the tournament.” Viana continued, “We had many supporters outside the field, but definitely my biggest supporter is my girlfriend [Mili Hughes]. She’s always smiling, cheering and being positive—she’s my number one fan.”

Reflecting on his ninth Chairman’s Cup title (2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2016, 2020, 2021), Strouss expressed, "What I believe stood out for this team was our ability to withstand tough runs by other teams, and of course, the remarkable skills of Nachi Viana.” Strouss continued, “Making this win even more special was defeating our main rival, Kingswood/Longmeadow, which had just defeated Del Rancho in the final of the 8-goal Harrison Cup.”

Sharing some of Del Rancho/Glen Farms’ celebration Strouss added, “Post game included a lot of champagne showers… having played tournaments at Myopia for 30 years, the older you get, the sweeter it is!”

For Clemens, the esteemed victory highlighted a welcome return to Myopia Polo Club, “I hadn’t been back to Myopia in [over] 20 years. I had played a season or two at Myopia after college when I was working in Boston but then moved south to play out of Newport, Rhode Island. Myopia has this special feel to it, sort of a sense of humor mixed with gravitas. So, it was great to come back and see that it still had that feel, that sense of tradition, which was never more palpable then with the Chairman’s Cup and its engraved names that goes back decades and decades.”

All photos courtesy of ©Jacqueline Miller.