NEWS

The fresh format of the National President’s Cup debuted at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC), showcasing the culmination of 46 teams from eight regional 8-goal qualifiers. On Sunday, April 21, Audi (Milo Mac Donough, Digvijay “Dig” Singh, Martin Jauregui, Marc Ganzi, sub. Brandon Phillips, sub. Juan Bollini Sr.) winners of the Grand Champions Polo Club (Wellington, Florida) regional event and ConcordEquityGroup.com (Dana Barnes, Finn Secunda*, Juan Cruz “Cacu” Marcos, Lucas Escobar*), International Polo School (Loxahatchee, Florida) edition winners charged onto BTG Pactual Field 2 ahead of the U.S. Open Polo Championship final vying for 8-goal glory.

Scoring 16 goals in each of their first two games, including five from Barnes in their semifinal win, ConcordEquityGroup.com turned to defense in the early stages of the final. Keeping Audi scoreless over the opening two chukkers, ConcordEquityGroup.com built a lead and never trailed en route to a 12-5 victory to conclude an unforgettable season for the organization.

Competing in a Regional President’s Cup qualifier that fielded 16 teams, ConcordEquityGroup.com faced a tough road to even reach the National President’s Cup. “In the semifinals of the Regional President’s Cup, I think we were down 6-2 in the fourth or fifth chukker, and we came back to win in overtime,” reflected team owner Dana Barnes. From that moment, ConcordEquityGroup.com built on the extensive experience they had playing as a team and dominated the National President’s Cup. “It started last year when we were organizing the team with Dana,” shared Escobar. “Dana put faith in me to organize a team. There’s a lot of work we put into it, there’s been countless days working together preparing for this. All the hard work paid off.” Adding to the prestige of the moment was bringing the National President’s Cup to NPC, playing on a stage just steps away from the famed U.S. Polo Assn. Field One.

Audi stood with ConcordEquityGroup.com above the rest, reaching the final with a 15-8 victory over NYC Polo Club (Patterson, New York) qualifier winners Amaro (Scott Sorbaro, Esteban Matuz Hernandez, Antonio Aguerre, Kris Kampsen), followed by a 10-8 triumph over Nashville Polo Club (Franklin, Tennessee) event champions Riverview (Wesley Finlayson, Aaron Barrett, Orrin Ingram, Armando Huerta, sub. Will Johnston, sub. Emmanuel Huerta). However, an injury to Audi’s 6-goaler Martin Jauregui late in the semifinal altered the team’s dynamic, resulting in two substitutions for Sunday’s final. Facing a seasoned ConcordEquityGroup.com team that had been playing together since January, a slow start for Audi impacted their chances of capturing the prestigious 8-goal title.

In the opening two minutes of the final, Escobar swiftly converted a safety before unleashing a powerful Penalty 5 from center to goal, finished by Secunda, to give ConcordEquityGroup.com a quick two-goal advantage. An organized system allowed ConcordEquityGroup.com to maintain their early stronghold against Audi.

In the second, the only score of the chukker and arguably the play of the match, Marcos won the ball deep in Audi territory and drove down the endline flipping the ball through the goal to place his team ahead 3-0. Audi fought their way back before halftime, converting a Penalty 3 along with a goal from Mac Donough to win the third chukker and reduce the deficit to 4-2 at the halftime break.

Two yellow cards awarded to Ganzi in the fourth chukker forced him into the penalty box and turned the tides back in favor of ConcordEquityGroup.com who widened the gap 7-2. Over the final two chukkers, ConcordEquityGroup.com controlled possession, outscoring their opponents 5-1. A beautiful neckshot finish from Secunda secured the 12-5 National President’s Cup win.

Leading all players with five goals, Lucas Escobar was named Most Valuable Player, just a week after being named MVP of the NPC 16-Goal Championship final in what was ultimately a memorable season for the Team USPA Member. “It means a lot. It’s the cherry on top of an incredible season. In the 16-goal we had a successful season, and the 8-goal, to have that at the end just feels really good.”

Bringing all of the champions together from the Regional President’s Cup qualifiers to NPC added prestige to a tournament that has an illustrious 50-year history. For ConcordEquityGroup.com’s Dana Barnes, it was truly an unforgettable end to an impressive year. “This season has been beyond my wildest expectations. Last season in the 6-goal, I won one game all season. The culmination today was a really fantastic season for all of us.”

Best Playing Pony was awarded to Isabel, played by 13-year-old Milo Mac Donough in the second and sixth chukkers. Owned by Ignacio Novillo Astrada, Mac Donough had been playing her throughout the National President’s Cup.

Regional President Cup qualifiers are awarded to one Member Club in each of the 11 USPA circuits, with the Florida Circuit receiving four as host of the National President’s Cup. Teams across the country will once again vie for a spot in next year’s edition, but for now, ConcordEquityGroup.com reigns supreme. Summarizing the win, Juan Cruz Marcos said “It’s unbelievable. We won a [Regional President’s Cup] with 16 teams, and then we had three super hard games. It's incredibly hard to make it to the final of the tournament’s here in Florida. I’m so happy for us!”

The National President's Cup final is available On-Demand.

*Finn Secunda and Lucas Escobar are Active Team USPA Members. Team USPA is a USPA program designed to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities leading to a pool of higher rated amateur and pro players and the resultant giveback to the sport of polo.

All photos courtesy of ©David Lominska.