NEWS

The grand finale of the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (Carpinteria, California) high-goal season came to a close Sunday, September 3, as Brookshire (Tomas Panelo, Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez, Paco “Paquito” de Narvaez Jr., Scott Wood) and Farmers & Merchants Bank (David “Pelon” Stirling, Lucas “Luckitas” Criado Jr., Will Busch, Alonso Andrade Gamez) battled for the 2023 NetJets Pacific Coast Open (PCO) championship. Californians and pacific coast polo fans congregated against the stunning backdrop of the Carpinteria Foothills to see who would win the majestic five-foot trophy. An intense physical contest, Brookshire returned from the break with a more organized approach, ultimately winning 14-8.

Both of Sunday’s finalists competed in the summer series of USPA high-goal tournaments including the Farmers & Merchants Bank Silver Cup, the America Cup and the PCO. In mid-August, the two opponents faced off in the America Cup final and Brookshire emerged victorious. Two weeks later, the rivals once again found themselves face to face for a rematch.

The livestreamed PCO weekend kicked off Friday, September 1, with the first semifinal between Brookshire and Antelope. Brookshire quickly took control of the field and set the pace of play, leading by five goals at halftime. Antelope’s incredible effort to mount a comeback in the second half was thwarted by a player injury. Brookshire never gave up the lead and advance to the final with a 10-8 score. Klentner Ranch then took on 2022 PCO runners-up, Farmers & Merchants Bank (FMB). Beginning strong, Klentner Ranch racked up an impressive number of goals in the first two chukkers, but FMB found their footing in the third and outscored their opponents until the end, defeating Klentner Ranch 14-10 to secure their spot in the final.

Sunny and breezy weather accompanied the two teams to Sunday’s final. Throughout the first half, both teams struggled to connect with the ball and find their flow. “Everybody was missing today,” recalled Brookshire team owner Wood. “We just hoped we missed less than they did.” The highest-rated player on the field, 9-goaler Stirling proved to be problematic for Brookshire, putting significant pressure on the tournament high scorer Panelo, while also providing several assists and follow-ups to his teammates. “The idea of course was to be on top of Pelon and Negro [Lucas Criado Jr.],” said Panelo, “To try and stay on them, have them really well marked. Paquito and Peke did a great job doing that and it worked.” Both teams kept pace with one another in a back-and-forth rally that left the score 6-4 at the end of the third chukker.

While spectators convened at midfield for the traditional divot stomp and champagne toast, both teams were busy making tactical adjustments on the sidelines. “In the beginning we were missing the ball a bit and were trying to play faster than we should,” said Panelo. The strategy session paid off, as Brookshire began to break away midway through the fourth to almost double their lead. FMB was able to close the gap to three from penalty conversions at the end of the fifth, but it was not enough to stop the team in orange. Brookshire sealed the deal in the sixth, scoring another three goals and shutting out their opponents to end the match with an impressive six-goal spread, 14-8. “We kept playing our system and stayed on top of them—I think that was the key,” said Gonzalez. “If you let FMB loose, they will score every time.”

Capping off the season with Brookshire’s third trip to the podium, Wood reflected, “Wow, this win today was something. I manifested this morning. Did everything right this morning—swam, worked out, watched the game these guys played last week in the semifinals. Decided that we just have to win and came out on the field today and thought we could.”

Excelling offensively including scoring seven goals (mostly from the penalty line) in the final, Tomas Panelo was awarded Most Valuable Player. Best Playing Pony was presented to Sapucai (Vasco Mambo x Raspadita), a 13-year-old chestnut gelding and consistent competitor played and owned by Gonzalez. “This is his first Best Playing Pony blanket,” said Gonzalez, “I played him as a spare in the third and then in the sixth for more than half a chukker, like five minutes. I’m really happy for him and we were all waiting for his blanket at some point.”

Receiving the most hardware on the day, Gonzalez was also the recipient of the Best High-Goal String Award and the Robert Skene Most Valuable Player, voted on by his fellow competitors to acknowledge his efforts and influential standard of play throughout the high-goal season.

Reflecting on the honor of Best High-Goal String Gonzalez shared, “It’s something I’ve been working on a lot with my father, he’s been helping me since the day I started with this. I wanted to thank Lalo [Gerardo Ugarte Jr.] and Cayetano [Chavez], they did an amazing job this season with the horses. I’m really thankful for them, the job they do—they were incredible.” Expressing the continuous effort and adaptability of maintaining a standout string in high-goal polo, Gonzalez continued, “It’s really important to have a good string of horses. It’s always important to keep searching for them. Once you think you’re good, that’s when things start to go wrong. You have to keep searching, buying, breeding and doing whatever you can to mount yourself the best way possible.”

Gonzalez’s journey to capture the PCO championship started back in 1986, when his father, Daniel Gonzalez, and his grandfather, Mariano Gonzalez, won the PCO title competing on the same team. “My father won it a couple of times, so I’ve been really after this one,” said Gonzalez. “This was my second year playing in the PCO. I lost the final last year, so I really wanted to win.” Teammate de Narvaez also has history with the PCO; not only is he a cousin to Gonzalez but won the tournament last year alongside his L.I.N.Y. teammates. De Narvaez’s father, who also won the trophy in 2013 alongside Wood, manages a breeding program out of Argentina and played a critical role in the lead-up to Sunday’s win as well. “Paco de Narvaez was our leader, our mentor, our captain,” said team owner Wood. “We couldn't have done it without him and his family.”

Following their PCO win, de Narvaez and Panelo are headed south to start preparing for their next polo pursuit. Hoping to keep the momentum rolling into the Argentine season Panelo noted, “Every win helps for motivation now to arrive in Argentina with an extra boost of confidence. The first tournament [Jockey Club Open] is in 10 days. That’s where I’ll play again with Paquito and Adolfo Cambiaso.” Gonzalez will also head for Argentina, where he will be preparing for the Clasificacion, which begins in October. “It's a month of preparation for the horses and for us, getting team practices in and getting them ready for that tournament.”

Quick to give credit to his fellow competitors throughout Brookshire’s breakout season, Wood stated, “These are really good guys that we’re playing against. I’ll probably be playing with some of these guys in Florida, but they didn’t give me any slack, that’s for sure!” Recounting the physicality and intensity from the first throw-in, Wood continued, “We both wanted it today. It would’ve been great if Danny Walker would’ve been here, hopefully he’ll come back next year because he’s one of my favorite all-time team owners to play with.” When asked if Brookshire will return next year to defend their PCO title, Wood cheerfully stated, “Definitely! I hope they bring back the 20-goal next season and I’m committed to come back.”

All photos courtesy of ©David Lominska.