Jan 23, 2017 12:06 AM
“We are really happy we came back and beat Tonkawa and Mt. Brilliant, the two teams we lost to in the bracket, so it’s kind of like redemption for us.” – La Indiana’s Jeff Hall
La Indiana and Mt. Brilliant bested undefeated opponents in the Joe Barry Memorial Semifinal matches to meet in the Sunday, January 22, final at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida. Mt. Brilliant began the scoring with a penalty 2 conversion from Jason Crowder. This would prove to be Mt. Brilliant’s only goal of the chukker as La Indiana mounted an impressive offensive attack garnering seven consecutive goals before Crowder was able to score again at the end of the second chukker. The score 7-2 entering the third, an unstoppable La Indiana continued to fire on all cylinders dominating the throw-ins and relentlessly shooting on goal securing four unanswered goals. Each member of La Indiana having contributed to the board early in the second, they again demonstrated their cohesive teamwork with a goal from each player in the third to end the first half with a staggering 11-2 lead.
The goals began to trickle in as a discombobulated Mt. Brilliant began to fight back in the fourth.
“We played really well for three chukkers. We knew that at 11-2 stuff starts to unravel. It’s hard to stay focused even though we are trying to tell ourselves 0-0 every chukker.” – La Indiana’s Jeff Hall
Mt. Brilliant outscored La Indiana’s lone goal from Mike Azzaro with two combined goals, a penalty conversion from Crowder and a field goal from Bo Goodman. They continued their momentum into the fifth mirroring the previous chukker with two goals to La Indiana’s one. The score 13-6 moving into the sixth chukker, La Indiana continued to maintain their early lead. Mt. Brilliant finally began to hit their stride in the final chukker with four skillful goals from Crowder to close the gap to three 13-10.
It was too little too late however and La Indiana would not be overcome. As Crowder prepared for a breakaway to goal, a bad bounce sent the ball in the opposite direction, and the final horn blew to end regulation time. In a decisive victory, La Indiana defeated Mt. Brilliant with a final score 13-10 to seize the Joe Barry Memorial trophy.
The tournament honors the great polo legend Joe Barry, who passed away in 2002. Inducted into the Polo Hall of Fame in 1999, his major wins included six U.S. Open Polo Championships®, three USPA Gold Cup® titles and the 1971 Coronation Cup in England. He coached Outback to the 2006 U.S. Open Polo Championship® win and Isla Carroll to 27 consecutive victories during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, including the 1997 U.S. Open Polo Championship®. His son, accomplished polo player Joe Wayne Barry presented awards at today’s final in honor of his father. Most Valuable Player was awarded to La Indiana’s high-scorer Mike Azzaro.
““The strategy against these guys was to hit them hard, to come at them in the first two chukkers. Every time we got to the ball it was just quick releases and we were anticipating that and feeding off of each other. It’s a great team.” – La Indiana’s Mike Azzaro
Best Playing Pony honors were presented to Tanoira-bred Argentine gelding Africano ridden and owned by Gringo Colombres.
Effective Date: Saturday, May 16, 2020
The suspension of USPA Tournaments and Events will be lifted for USPA Member Clubs in locales where hosting polo matches and tournaments is permitted under applicable state and local laws, executive orders and similar decrees. The USPA Member Clubs in these locales are encouraged to follow all such requirements of their state and local authorities with respect to polo operations. In addition, we also encourage all USPA Member Clubs to take the precautions recommended by the CDC. We are preparing a detailed list of best practices for USPA Member Clubs as they return to hosting USPA Tournaments and Events and plan to circulate these guidelines within the next week. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and will notify you if we determine a different course of action is necessary.
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