Oct 09, 2018 9:52 PM
Not one, but two Americans can be found on the rosters in this year’s Hurlingham and Argentine Open! The pinnacle of polo in the world, American appearances have been few and far between and even less so with two Americans competing at the same time. Over the next couple months, the USPA will proudly follow and report on the accomplishments of both Nic Roldan, competing on La Albertina Abu Dhabi with Alfredo Cappella, Francisco Elizalde and Ignacio Toccalino, and Jared Zenni who will be donning the La Cañada Daily Racing Form jersey, alongside Agustin Obregon, Ezequiel Martinez Ferrario and Sebastian Merlos.
Slated for the already qualified La Albertina Abu Dhabi team since June, after Santiago Toccalino withdrew for personal reasons, Roldan competed in the Tortugas Open, the first leg of the Triple Crown. “I got the call from Francisco Elizalde in June that they were looking for a number one. So after a few weeks of working out the logistics and horses, I made the decision to play,” shared Roldan. Horses make all the difference and while Roldan is not riding any of his own, he has teamed up with Nick Manifold and Mariano Aguerre of Los Machitos, along with a few horses from the smaller yet powerful organization of Luis Guzman. “Really, it’s a dream. I’ve been trying to do this for years and it happened this year and I’m really excited. It’s fun to be down here, you are playing the best polo in the world and I know this kind of polo improves my game, it improves anyone’s polo—it definitely speeds you up,” Roldan continued.
Meanwhile, Team USPA member and 2018 U.S. Open Polo Championship® winner Jared Zenni had a more roundabout journey and solidified his team’s position during the Torneo Remonta y Veterinaria played in Pilar, about forty-five minutes from the buzzing capital city of Buenos Aires. The qualifying tournament had seven teams divided into two zones with the winner of each zone qualifying to play in the coveted tournaments. The lowest rated team of the tournament at 27 goals, La Cañada Daily Racing Form defeated Puesto Viejo (Salvador Ulloa, Marcos Araya, Diego Araya, Manuel Crespo) in their first matchup 14-12, but fell to Pilará (Segundo Bocchino, Agustin Garcia Grossi, Alejandro Muzzio, Matias Torres Zavaleta) by just one goal 12-11. Their final opponent Alegría Fish Creek (Julian Mannix, Juan Ruiz Guiñazú, Agustin Merlos, Jaime Garcia Huidobro) was the last hurdle the team needed to overcome in order to qualify. The fate of La Cañada Daily Racing Form was held in limbo throughout the entire match as both teams fought to advance their lead. La Cañada Daily Racing Form either had to win by two goals or score a specific number of goals and win by one in order to advance. Jared Zenni pulled through in the overtime period, scoring the final point that solidified La Cañada Daily Racing Form’s berth in the prestigious Open tournaments.
Both first time contenders at this level, the two players will meet in their first game of Hurlingham Open bracket play on Wednesday, October 10 at 12:30pm ET. While the games will not be livestreamed by ESPN polo until the semifinals and finals, keep an eye on USPA social media for updates.
Ellerstina (40)
Polito Pieres 10
Nicolás Pieres 10
Gonzalito Pieres 10
Facundo Pieres 10
La Aguada (33)
Alejandro Astrada 8
Alfredo Bigatti 8
Miguel Astrada 8
Nacho Astrada 9
Alegria/La Irenita (32)
Juan Zavaleta 8
Clemente Zavaleta 7
Matías Mac Donough 8
Frederic Mannix 9
La Dolfina Polo Ranch (32)
Diego Cavanagh 8
Guillermo Terrera 8
Rodrigo Andrade 8
Ignatius du Plessis 8
La Ensenada (28)
Facundo Fernández Llorente 7
Juan Britos 7
Juan Martín Zubía 7
Jerónimo del Carril 7
La Dolfina (40)
Adolfo Cambiaso 10
Pelon Stirling 10
Pablo Mac Donough 10
Juan Martín Nero 10
Las Monjitas (36)
Facundo Sola 9
Hilario Ulloa 10
Sapo Caset 10
Santiago Toccalino 8
La Albertina (31)
Francisco Elizalde 8
Nic Roldán 7
Ignacio Toccalino 8
Alfredo Capella 8
Cria Yatay (32)
Valerio Zubiaurre 8
Magoo Laprida 8
Joaquín Pittaluga 8
Iñaki Laprida 8
La Canãda Daily Racing Form (27)
Agustín Obregón 6
Ezequiel Martínez Ferrario 7
Sebastián Merlos 8
Jared Zenni 6
Tuesday, October 9
12:30pm ET: Alegria vs. La Ensenada
3:00pm ET: La Aguada vs. La Dolfina Polo Ranch
Wednesday, October 10
12:30pm ET: La Albertina vs. La Cañada Daily Racing Form
4:00pm ET: Las Monjitas vs. Cria Yatay
Saturday, October 13
TBA: La Aguada vs. La Ensenada
TBA: Ellerstina vs. La Dolfina Polo Ranch
Sunday, October 14
TBA: Las Monjitas vs. La Cañada Daily Racing Form
TBA: La Dolfina vs. Cria Yatay
Tuesday, October 16
TBA: La Dolfina Polo Ranch vs. La Ensenada
TBA: Ellerstina vs. Alegria
Wednesday, October 17
TBA: Cria Yatay vs. La Cañada Daily Racing Form
TBA: La Dolfina vs. La Albertina
Saturday, October 20
TBA: Ellerstina vs. La Ensenada
TBA: La Aguada vs. Alegria
Sunday, October 21
TBA: La Dolfina vs. La Cañada Daily Racing Form
TBA: Las Monjitas vs. La Albertina
Saturday, October 27
TBA: Ellerstina vs. La Aguada
Sunday, October 28
TBA: La Dolfina vs. Las Monjitas
Saturday, November 3
Hurlingham Open Final
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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