Jul 30, 2024 5:52 PM
Antelope (Grant Palmer, Leon Schwencke, Felipe “Pipe” Vercellino, Lucas Escobar*) clinched the Robert Skene Trophy with a narrow 12-11 victory over Klentner Ranch (Jake Klentner*, Ignacio “Nachi” Viana, Jesse Bray*, Justin Klentner) at Santa Barbara Polo Club (SBPRC) in Carpinteria, California.
Antelope struck early with two quick goals by Schwencke. Klentner Ranch responded in kind jumpstarting a three-chukker rally that ended tied at halftime 5-all. Antelope surged ahead with a three-goal run in the fifth, only for Bray and Viana to rally Klentner Ranch back into contention. By the end of the chukker, both teams had combined for eight goals.
In the sixth chukker, Viana put Klentner Ranch ahead. However, Antelope, under the guidance of coach Santiago Trotz, leveled the score with two field goals. In a thrilling climax, Vercellino seized on a broken play and hit a stunning cutshot to goal secured Antelope’s victory.
Leon Schwencke was named Most Valuable Player, with Best Playing Pony honors awarded to Latia Bancada, played and owned by Felipe “Pipe” Vercellino.
The Robert Skene Trophy honors "Hurricane Bob" Skene, a legendary player, teacher, coach, and Club Manager. Skene, who held a 10-goal handicap for 17 years, was a pivotal figure in the survival and success of SBPRC during the 1970s.
16-goal action at SBPRC continues in the Whittier Trust Silver Cup with the semifinals and finals to be livestreamed on the USPA Polo Network.
*Lucas Escobar is an Active Team USPA Member. Jake Klentner and Jesse Bray are Team USPA alumni. 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.
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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