Arianna Delin, Sharon Robb for Grand Champions Polo Club
The USPA Kay Colee Memorial, one of the nation’s oldest polo tournaments, begins Friday at Grand Champions Polo Club.
Four teams are entered in the two-day tournament.
Two games are scheduled for Friday. Postage Stamp Farm, the most successful team of the fall season, will play Dutta Corp. at 3 p.m. on Field 8 followed by Audi playing Casablanca at 5 p.m.
On Sunday, the consolation is 10 a.m. followed by the final at noon.
Team rosters are:
Audi: Timmy Dutta, Marc Ganzi, Carlitos Gracida, Guille Aguero
Casablanca: Grant Ganzi, Tony Calle, Leo Mandelbaum, Jesse Bray
Dutta Corp.: Tim Dutta, Martin Estrada, JJ Celis, Wes Finlayson
Postage Stamp Farm: Annabelle Gundlach, Brandon Phillips, Julio Ezcurra, Nacho Lezica.
Postage Stamp Farm is the early favorite. The team has advanced into all three fall tournament finals, capturing two titles.
The tournament will mark the fall debut of up-and-coming player Tony Calle, a student at Lynn University in Boca Raton.
The USPA Kay Colee Memorial is named after player-coach Joey Casey’s grandfather, a teammate and friend of polo legend and Hall of Famer John T. Oxley.
Started in 1964, the tournament was played at the now-defunct Royal Palm Polo Sports Club in Boca Raton for more than 20 years before moving to Grand Champions Polo Club.
In last year’s USPA Kay Colee Memorial final, Flight Options (Melissa Ganzi, Jesse Bray, Juan Bollini, Julio Gracida) defeated Audi/Palm Beach Equine (Nic Roldan, Carlitos Gracida, Marc Ganzi, Scott Swerdlin), 8-7. Bollini scored the winning goal and was named MVP.
ChukkerTV, leaders in polo broadcasting, is live streaming the entire fall schedule worldwide with entertaining polo broadcasters Toby Wayman and Dale Schwetz.
ChukkerTV’s state-of-the art technology also features team challenges and instant replay which made their debut at Grand Champions in January, 2014.
Grand Champions, with five well-manicured fields and turnkey facility, expects to have its finest fall season in the nine-year history of the club.
Grand Champions is one of only four clubs in the nation to stage 20-goal tournaments. The club will host the Nov. 1-15 USPA North American Cupand Nov. 11-22 USPA National 20-Goal tournaments.
Jesse Bray. Photo by Alex Pacheco.
The medium goal tournaments are this weekend’s USPA Kay Colee Memorial; Oct. 27-Nov. 1 Pedro Morrison Memorial and Nov. 3-8 USPA Fall Plates.
The first three tournament winners were Postage Stamp Farm (Annabelle Gundlach, Leo Mandelbaum, Guille Aguero, Brandon Phillips) in the Tackeria Invitational; US Trust (Marc Ganzi, Grant Ganzi, Luis Escobar, Jesse Bray) in the US Trust Cup and Postage Stamp Farm (Julio Ezcurra, Brandon Phillips, Leo Mandelbaum, Annabelle Gundlach) in the USPA Fall Classic.
Roster lineups change from tournament to tournament with evenly-matched teams to help improve player skills and performance.
The 2015 fall schedule also features a world-class doubleheader on November 28th featuring the fourth annual International Cup which has become a holiday weekend tradition marking the end of the fall season.
Team USA, which has won the first three International Cups against England, Chile and Mexico, will host South Africa in the featured game.
This year’s U.S. team features Marc Ganzi, Jeff Hall, Julio Arellano and Nic Roldan. South Africa’s lineup is Selby Williamson, Chris MacKenzie, Gareth Evans and Tom de Bruin.
In the opening doubleheader game, the legacy of polo great Carlos Gracida continues with the Carlos Gracida Memorial Legends of Polo game, featuring some of the sport’s greats.
Grand Champions is one of the busiest and most innovative clubs in North America catering to men, women and youth polo players at all levels.
Its expert staff can customize a complete playing experience including horses, pros and certified umpires in addition to lessons and practice sessions.
The Polo School, a 501c3 organization, is dedicated to teaching polo to all ages, particularly grass roots youth. Its mission is to provide individuals opportunities in polo. The Polo School operates in Wellington January through June and September through November.
2015 FALL SCHEDULE
Friday-Sunday: USPA Kay Colee Memorial; Oct. 27-Nov. 1: Pedro Morrison Memorial; Nov. 1-15: USPA North American 20-Goal Cup; Nov. 3-8, USPA Fall Plates; Nov. 11-22: USPA National 20-Goal Tournament; Nov. 28: Carlos Gracida Legends of Polo Memorial and International Cup, Team USA vs. South Africa.
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