Apr 06, 2025
On Saturday, April 5, Newport (Gene Goldstein, Vance Miller III, Artemio Figueras Blaquier, Michel Dorignac) went head-to-head against Lost Creek Ranch (Bruce Gottwald, Harry Caldwell, Charlie Caldwell, Jack Kiely) for the Delegate’s Cup, hosted by International Polo School (IPS) in Loxahatchee, Florida. Concluding over a month of play at the 4- to 8-goal level and an impressive field of 12 teams, the finalists met for the first time in the tournament to determine who would take home the title. Each boasting undefeated 4-0 records, the tightly contested affair featured a momentum shift in the second half of the five chukker match. Lost Creek Ranch outscored its opponents limiting Newport to only two goals in the final 15 minutes of play to deliver a comeback win.
Awarding Lost Creek Ranch 0.5 goal on handicap, Newport seized early control. Holding its opponents scoreless in the first chukker, offensive efforts from Figueras Blaquier, Dorignac and Goldstein gave the team in white an early 3-0.5 advantage. Outscoring Newport in the second period with three goals, including two from Charlie Caldwell from the penalty line, Lost Creek Ranch cut into its deficit, trailing 5-3.5. Ending the third chukker on a high note, Dorignac sent back-to-back goals through the posts to give Newport a 7-4.5 lead at halftime.
Kick starting the comeback, three consecutive goals in the fourth chukker lifted Lost Creek Ranch to its first narrow lead of match, 7.5-7. Following a goal by Dorignac to end the period and take back the lead, strong play from Charlie Caldwell in the fifth chukker put the pressure back onto Newport. Despite a field goal from Goldstein to bring Newport back within 0.5, one last drive from Harry Caldwell was all Lost Creek Ranch needed to claim the 10.5-9 victory.
Scoring five goals in the final and playing a pivotal role in Lost Creek Ranch’s triumph, Charlie Caldwell was named Most Valuable Player. Best Playing Pony was awarded to Galaxia, a 10-year-old mare played in the second and fourth chukkers by Michel Dorignac and owned by his son Milo. “Galaxia is amazing,” said Dorignac, “She is very agile and handy, so comfortable to hit the ball and she never gives up. She’s a horse that anyone would play and fall in love with, she just suits everyone.”
All photos courtesy of ©Alex and Linda Pacheco.
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.
Read More
