NEWS

Atlanta Regional Polo Center- Atlanta, Georgia
NYTS Qualifier July 16-17, 2016

Winners: ARPC Blue
Rachel Booth
Ian Campbell
Ry Koopman
Harry Caldwell

Runners-Up: ARPC Red
Anders Carlton
Grace Brown
Mason Coble
Jon-Luke Beck

Third: ARPC White
Jennifer Pascarella
Pippa Campbell
Anneke Beck
Jessica Riemann

All-Stars
Jon-Luke Beck
Jessica Riemann
Harry Caldwell
Ry Koopman
Ian Campbell

The Atlanta NYTS Qualifier kicked off with a thrilling two-day round robin. It was clear to all in attendance that the three teams were evenly matched. In the final match-up of the Atlanta Regional Polo Center NYTS Qualifier, ARPC White met ARPC Blue. Both teams took the field with excitement on Sunday. During the first chukker, teams traded run for run until players began to find their stride. Pippa Campbell scored the first goal for ARPC White, and was quickly matched by ARPC Blue’s Harry Caldwell to end the chukker with both teams on the board. ARPC Blue began to put together outstanding team plays in the second chukker with passes from Ry Koopman to Ian Campbell. Caldwell stayed behind cleaning up anything in the back. Penalty conversions quickly added to the APRC Blue score. ARPC White, still keeping in the game made countless attempts on goal, but were unable to find the end line, as the goalmouth defense from APRC Blue was too strong. Finally, in the fourth chukker, ARPC Blue’s Ian Campbell converted one last penalty 4 to secure the win for ARPC Blue, and win the Atlanta Regional Polo Center NYTS Qualifier.

Blackberry Polo Club – Batavia, Illinois
NYTS Qualifier July 24, 2016

Winners: Twin City
Jack Aubone
Stefanie Lueders
Anna Alworth
Tim Murphy

Runners Up: Blackberry
Griffin Tuftie
Ryland Reback
Carlos Font
Tomas Aubone
Maximo Font

All-Stars
Tim Murphy
Carlos Font
Anna Alworth
Tomas Aubone

Blackberry Polo Club kicked off their 2016 NYTS Qualifier and were able to dodge the rain on a warm July afternoon. After deciding to play on the handicap, the game kicked off and players were determined not to waste any time. Tomas Aubone for Blackberry, took the ball out of the bowl-in to put his team on the board. Aubone continued playing strong for the remainder of the first chukker, with Timmy Murphy following closely. When Murphy found the ball for himself, the heat was on, and he calmly passed the ball to teammate Anna Alworth, who took the ball down the field. The ball bounced over the boards out of Alworth’s control. With the first chukker coming to a close, Aubone found the ball again, scoring for Blackberry. During the second chukker, with teamwork from Murphy, Jack Aubone, and Stefanie Lueders, Twin City was up by one at the end of the second chukker. In the second half, a quick foul for Twin City changed the game’s momentum, giving Blackberry a chance to convert. In the last chukker, Murphy returned to his strategy of passing the ball to teammate Alworth, but the defense was trying to lock things down. After a ride-off by Carlos Font, Murphy found the ball again and drew a foul for his team, quickly converting it. The Blackberry team not ready to accept a loss stole the ball out of the bowl-in. Tomas on the ball, working through the Twin City defense, drew a foul for Blackberry. Tomas easily converted the penalty 2 and urged his team back to the bowl-in, knowing there was a .5 handicap for Twin City to start. However, Twin City took the game on handicap to win the 2016 Blackberry NYTS Qualifier.

Foxlease Polo Club- Upperville, Georgia
NYTS Qualifier July 16-17, 2016

Winners: Foxlease White
Arianna Soresi
Juan Giminez Vilamil
Sofia Bignoli
Jack McLean

Runners-Up: Middleburg Polo
Tiernan Tognini
Juan Semper
Nathan Church
Tenzin Tognini/Juan Semper
Jim Deal
*Paul de Charry (subs. for Jim Deal in finals)

Third: Maryland Rebels
Maddie Grant
Abbie Grant
Sophie Grant
Parker Pearce

Fourth: Foxlease Blue
Noemie Eisenchteter
James Firestone
Laszlo Pouille
Paul de Charry

Fifth: QCF
Olivia Reynolds
Hannah Reynolds
Will Green
Pelham Hardie
Inaki Campo Silva

All-Stars
Juan Giminez Vilamil
Maddie Grant
Paul de Charry
Jack McLean
Sophie Grant
Sofia Bignoli
Tenzin Tognini

A five team NYTS Qualifier is rare, especially for first time hosts, but the Foxlease NYTS Qualifier was met with unprecedented demand. Twenty players signed up for the tournament. In the final game, Foxlease White faced off against Middleburg Polo. Foxlease White quickly found their openings and the dynamic duo of McLean and Bignoli, kept their team in the lead. Keeping the defense tight on Middleburg, Foxlease White kept their opponent from scoring until the second half, when Juan Semper finally put his team on the board, adding two goals to the Middleburg score. Moving into the fourth chukker, the score was tied at 2-2. When a foul from McLean gave Middleburg a chance on goal, Tognini scored. On one final run to goal, an overenthusiastic foul from Church stopped the clock with less than one-minute left. Bignoli, knowing this shot would tie the game, came through to convert the penalty 3 and tie the game up. As the game was tied, it moved into a shoot-out. The shoot-out lasted three rounds, with players from both teams hitting cleanly and staying in the game, until McLean (the last to hit) knowing it was down to the line, put the ball through to win the tournament for Foxlease White.

Gardnertown Polo Club- Newburgh, New York
NYTS Qualifier July 17, 2016

Winners: Green
Matt Forbes
Julianna Gallo
Taylor Palacios
Matteo Chaux
John Dencker

Runners-Up: Grey
Joseph Post
Winston Painter
Nick DiValentino
Ben Bruce
Matthew Byrne

Third: Yellow
Morgan Palacios
Michael Koski
Delaney Bates
Elizabeth Owens
Fiona Sills

All-Stars
Morgan Palacios
Michael Koski
Winston Painter
Joseph Post
Taylor Palacios

The Gardnertown NYTS Qualifier kicked off on Sunday, July 17 with three evenly matched teams for an exciting round-robin tournament. During the first round of play, Green defeated Grey. Enthusiastic from their win, Green returned for their second match-up against Yellow and wasted no time with a team play from Taylor Palacios and John Dencker, scoring the first goal for Green. Some sibling rivalry boiled to the surface, when Morgan Palacios responded by scoring the first goal for Yellow. The second chukker continued to pin the Palacios brothers against each other, but fantastic defense from both Winston Painter and Taylor Palacios kept Morgan at bay to end the chukker with no change in score. The teams went to a shoot-out to determine the winner. After winning the first game in a shoot-out Green knew what to do and Taylor Palacios kept his head down to hit a clean shot to win the game. With two wins, Green were the champions of the Gardnertown NYTS Qualifier.

Louisville Polo Club- Louisville, Kentucky
NYTS Qualifier July 21, 2016

Winners: Augustus Hill
Stuart Boland
Max Muir
Harry Caldwell
Trent Lott

Runners-Up: Sophisticated Living
James Boland
Ford Middendorf
Tomas Dowling
James Roth

All-Stars
Trent Lott
Harry Caldwell
Tomas Dowling
Ford Middendorf

After a week-long rain delay, the Louisville NYTS Qualifier was finally played. Augustus Hill faced-off against Sophisticated Living. Players from Lexington, Kentucky; Columbus, Ohio; and Nashville, Tennessee joined local youth players in the Louisville Polo Club’s first NYTS Qualifier. The tournament started off off with some impressive teamwork from Augustus Hill scoring the first goal of the game. Not to be outdone, Sophisticated Living answered quickly with Tomas Dowling displaying outstanding ball control and working the ball through the crowded field to take it to goal. Returning to the field after the half, Augustus Hill made it clear they had quite a pep talk, and Caldwell and Lott putting three unanswered goals on the board. The teamwork from Augustus Hill was impressive and paid off as Sophisticated Living was unable to defend. In the last chukker, a foul in front of goal from Augustus Hill made it easy for Dowling to convert the penalty 2 and add to his team’s score. As the seconds ticked by, Augustus Hill returned to their scrappy technique, with Dowling working the ball through the field, trying to free it for his teammate Middendorf to go to goal. However, the defense from Muir and Caldwell kept Sophisticated Living from adding to their score. The final horn sounded with Augustus Hill in the lead by four goals to win the tournament.

Santa Barbara Polo Club- Carpenteria, California
NYTS Qualifier July 16, 2016

Winners: Santa Barbara Blue
Luke Klentner
Nico Escobar
Mia Sweeney
Liam Lott

Runners-Up: Santa Barbara White
Petra Teixeira
Cory Williams
Jake Klentner
Alonso Cruz

All-Stars
Cory Williams
Alonso Cruz
Jake Klentner
Nico Escobar

Many of the spectators at the Santa Barbara Polo Club NYTS Qualifier had no idea they were watching youth polo until after the game, the level of play exhibited from both teams was outstanding and thrilling. Santa Barbara Blue took the field and converted a penalty shot to score the first goal of the game. Santa Barbara White hustled and stayed in the game with Cory Williams and Luke Klentner adding three goals before the chukker was over. As the second chukker kicked off players from both teams were hitting huge passes of over 80 yards, to teammates but no one could find the goal. Finally, Nico Escobar capitalized on an opportunity and scored for Santa Barbara Blue to end the first half. Going into the last chukker, Santa Barbara Blue, eager to keep their lead, was up by one. However, when Luke Klentner found the ball he wasted no time to take it to goal for Santa Barbara White and tied up the game. With the clock ticking down, Escobar was determined to win and after working the ball through the field, took the ball to goal and scored for Santa Barbara Blue to win the Qualifier.

Southampton Polo Club- Southampton, New York
NYTS Qualifier July 20, 2016

Winners: Southampton
Mackenzie Weisz
Christian Weisz
Jed Cogan
Sophia Neis

Runners-Up: Meadowbrook
Andrew Beck
JP Vasquez
Catie Stueck
Kurt Mion

Third: Gardnertown
Joe Post
Winston Painter
Matteo Chaux
John Dencker

All-Stars
Mackenzie Weisz
Christian Weisz
Andrew Beck
JP Vasquez
Joe Post

In the match-up to determine the winner of the Southampton NYTS Qualifier, Meadowbrook faced off against Southampton. Vasquez and Beck made team plays and contributed to runs on goal for Meadowbrook, but neither could convert the attempted goals. Finally, Mackenzie Weisz found his window and snuck by Beck to put Southampton on the board before the end of the chukker. Moving into the second chukker, Mackenzie found another opportunity and added another goal for Southampton. With the clock ticking down, Beck found the ball, and with seconds remaining, managed to find the goal. It was too little too late, and as the final horn sounded. Southampton was in the lead by one goal to win the Southampton NYTS Qualifier.

St. Louis Polo Club- St. Louis, Missouri
NYTS Qualifier July 17, 2016

Winners: Dragon Fly
Madelyn Porter
Maria Sansone
Vaughn Miller Jr.
John Hand

Runners-Up: Little Creek
Max Weiser
Ava Sansone
Ronnie Puente
Cinderella von Falkenhausen

Third: Spirit Valley
Max Beuck
Willem Smith
Tomas Aubone
Vance Miller

All-Stars
Ronnie Puente
Vaughn Miller Jr.
Vance Miller
Max Beuck
Tomas Aubone

The first round robin match up featured Little Creek and Spirit Valley. Strong plays from both team kept the score close, but Little Creek came out ahead, winning 3-2. The second line-up of the day pinned Spirit Valley against Dragon Fly. With good defense by both teams, it was difficult to get shots on goal. There were great ride offs and hooks by all players as they did their best to read the plays unfolding ahead of them. Finding small gaps in the defense, each team managed to squeeze in a goal from the field- Vaughn Miller, Jr. scored the first for Dragon Fly and Max Beuck followed quickly with a goal for Spirit Valley. Each team had opportunities on goal in the second chukker, but struggled to score. Finally, Vance Miller converted a penalty 3 for Spirit Valley and his team ahead for the win, with a score of 2-1. The final match-up round robin featured Little Creek against Dragon Fly. Wasting no time at all, Vaughn Miller Jr. opened the game by scoring for Dragon Fly with a goal from the field. Following a handful of unsuccessful attacks on goal by Little Creek, Vaughn Miller Jr. drove another goal through the posts for Dragon Fly. Little Creek tried, but were unable finish any planned attacks on goal and remained scoreless in the first chukker. Once players switched horses and returned to the field, Puente took advantage of his fresh mount and broke away from the pack to score the first goal for Little Creek. While there was a valiant effort by Little Creek in the second chukker, could not score another goal to close the gap. After spending the remaining minutes of the chukker attempting to finish attacks on goal, neither team was able to put the ball through the uprights and the chukker ended with score of 2-1 for Dragon Fly. As the three teams in the round robin all had the same win-loss record and the same net goals, the game went to a shoot-out to determine the outcome. After a nail-biting shoot-out between the three teams, Dragon Fly came out ahead to win the St. Louis NYTS Qualifier.