NEWS

Article courtesy of International Polo Club Palm Beach

Staging a rematch of the Iglehart Cup Final, Palm Beach Equine entered the Joe Barry Memorial Final on Sunday, January 12, with an opportunity to redeem the previous Sunday’s defeat at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida. Outwitting Stable Door Polo, Palm Beach Equine proved victorious, capturing the trophy 14-12 in the final chukker.

In a fast-paced game displaying elite skill, the ball was run from end-to-end throughout play and once again came down to the final chukker. Turning the tables from last Sunday, Palm Beach Equine was led by the duo of Gringo Colombres and Gonzalo Ferrari, both finishing with an impressive six goals. Matching each other goal for goal, Palm Beach Equine overtook the final lead change in the sixth chukker, resulting in their thrilling 14-12 victory as they raised their first 18-goal trophy of the season.

Palm Beach Equine and Stable Door set a lightning-fast pace in the opening stages of the game. Lucas Diaz Alberdi opened the scoring for Palm Beach Equine, but Stable Door responded with a goal each from Santino Magrini and Robert Orthwein to end the chukker. In the only foul-ridden chukker of the game, Stable Door Polo converted two penalties, yet Palm Beach Equine restored the tie with accurate shooting from the field, leaving the scoreboard deadlocked at 4-all. Organizing an offensive attack, Palm Beach Equine strung together four answered goals to finish the first half with a 7-5 lead.

The game opened up in the second half with a flowing style of play by both teams. Henry Porter led the comeback effort for Stable Door Polo with his first goal of the game which was quickly followed by a goal from Santino Magrini. However, minor foul trouble resulted in Palm Beach Equine’s first penalty conversion of the game to maintain their two-goal advantage, a lead which they would keep until the conclusion of the fifth chukker. Stable Door Polo came out powerfully in the final chukker, scoring three consecutive goals, two of which were penalty conversions from Santino Magrini to regain the lead. Unwilling to be defeated two Sunday’s in a row, Palm Beach Equine’s Colombres responded beginning with a Penalty 4 conversion. Singlehandedly scoring three unanswered goals, Colombres guided Palm Beach Equine to the win.

Responsible for six total goals, Gringo Colombres was named Most Valuable Player. Coquito, Gringo Colombres' superstar 12-year-old bay gelding played in the third and sixth chukkers and was awarded his first Best Playing Pony blanket of the season. Winning Best Playing Pony in both the 2019 Joe Barry Memorial Final and Ylvisaker Cup Final, Coquito has earned six Best Playing Pony honors over the course of his career at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. “He’s of English family Tomlinson breeding, sired by Vasco Mambo," Colombres said. "He came to the United States from Argentina when he was five-years-old. He has the speed, an excellent mouth and he is everything you need in a polo horse."

The Ylvisaker Cup, the final 18-goal tournament of the season, begins this Wednesday, January 15, with La Indiana taking on Coca-Cola at 10:00am ET.

All photos ©David Lominska