NEWS

Polo players ranging in age from 12 to 72 flocked to the magical polo resort of Costa Careyes Polo Club in Jalisco, Mexico. Located on the Pacific Ocean with two polo fields, the club hosted six teams in the 8-goal Border Circuit Constitution Cup, taking advantage of the USPA Polo Tournament Stimulus Package (TSP). Players traveled internationally from the United States (New York and California), Spain, Argentina, Switzerland and all parts of Mexico. Playing at the club for the first time was Nick Clarke from the United Kingdom, fielding Weybourne Winery.

Opening night as always was hosted by Alberto and Kari Aridissone at their Agua Alta villa where a draw for the teams was held and USPA Global team shirts were distributed to all teams. A simple draw was conducted into two brackets of three. The 8-goal featured five games with five chukkers of play during the eight days of competition.

La Karina (Brian Boyd, Carlitos Gracida, Benito Hernandez, Chris Falk) entered the final with Conrad Kissling who flew in from Madrid, Spain, to replace Falk due to an injury. FunFruit team owners Ricardo and Ricardo Cos Jr. with Diego Solorzano and Tomas Elliot also had a replacement due to injury. Cos Jr. proved accurate on penalties, making all but one of his Penalty 2’s and 3´s during the tournament. In the final, La Karina had a decisive victory over FunFruit 11-4 and received $2,500 in prize money. Leading the scoring for the victors was Carlitos Gracida with six goals and Brian Boyd with three.

“We had great team chemistry and it was an incredible opportunity to play with Carlitos Gracida in Mexico,” Boyd said. “He had such pride playing here in Mexico and it was fun to meet a lot of his father’s [Carlos Gracida] old friends like Rogelio Iguartua and the Mexican Polo Federation President Miguel Callazada.”

Benito Hernandez was named Most Valuable Player professional and Ricardo Cos Jr. received Most Valuable Player Amateur. “I think that we were very well organized from the beginning of the tournament with our horses and team,” Hernandez said. “In the end we understood each other very well and that’s what helped us win this very competitive tournament.” Both awards were voted on by all the players in the tournament.

12-year old Mexican Thoroughbred, Setenta, received Best Playing Pony honors, owned and played by Brian Boyd in the first and fifth chukkers. Her name meaning 70 in Spanish, Setenta was named after Boyd’s favorite brand of a tequila, Don Julio 70. “She is super quick and handy, stops quickly and then explodes like a sling shot,” Boyd said. “She can push through players on breakaways which allowed me to score several goals."

"Overall it was a really competitive 8-goal tournament and we are proud to be a USPA affiliate club," said Boyd, who is also a board member of Costa Careyes Polo Club.

Costa Careyes Polo Club’s season runs from November to April. Visit www.careyes.com to learn more about the club.