Jan 18, 2018 6:26 PM
Story courtesy of International Polo Club Palm Beach.
La Indiana gave a solid performance to claim a narrow victory over Grand Champions in their second Joe Barry Memorial Cup match. The win was also their second in the tournament with their first coming against Coca-Cola (10-7).
Their 2-0 record makes La Indiana one of the favorites to qualify for the tournament Semi Finals, set to take place on January 24. The final of the Joe Barry Memorial Cup will be played on Sunday, January 28, at the Engel & Völkers Stadium at International Polo Club Palm Beach.
La Indiana dominated the match from the start, gaining a 2-0 advantage by the end of the first chukker with goals by Michael Bickford. It marked the first of the game before they tallied another off of a penalty from Jeff Hall, yet the team failed to score in the second and third chukkers. Grand Champions took control, on a run led by Nicolás Pieres, and turned the score in their favor thanks to goals in both the second and third chukkers, as the halftime buzzer sounded to break the game at a score of 3-2.
La Indiana woke up in the fourth and gave their best performance yet thanks to Victorino “Torito” Ruiz, who scored four consecutive goals in the fourth and fifth. La Indiana came down hard on their opponent, particularly in the fourth, where they managed to build a 6-3 advantage. They continued to work well together into the latter half of the game, finishing the chukker up to score of 8-4.
“The match was a good one. We started off asleep, the horses were a bit heavy and we were out of rhythm,” said Toro Ruiz, MVP of the match. “But once we got into the groove of it we started playing better, even though we slacked a bit at the end. The field was in great condition, so we are happy overall.”
The last few minutes of the game were the best of the match as Grand Champions fought hard to bring the game back to their advantage. A tremendous shot by Jeff Hall tied the match and pushed the game into an extra chukker. La Indiana remained on top though through the period and went on to claim their second victory of the tournament.
Results
La Indiana: Michael Bickford (2), Toro Ruiz (5), Facundo Obregón (6) y Jeff Hall (7).
Grand Champions: Grant Ganzi (2), Juan Bollini (4), Nicolás Pieres (8) y Mike Azzaro (6).
MVP: Victorino Ruiz – La Indiana
Best Playing Pony: Don Ercole Mentira
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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