The 2016 Polo Season at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club ended on a lively note with ten teams competing in the Last Chance Tournament. Players and teams from all across California joined in on the fun playing two games over the course of the weekend. Participants enjoyed a traditional Argentine asado, compliments of birthday boy Matias Doorn on the California Polo Club team.
In the 2-4 goal fight LV Polo and HYT Polo went head to head over eight highly competitive chukkas. Each goal by one team was answered by the opposition. The score remained tied or within goal for the majority of the eight chukkas, a rare feat considering the number of chukkas! In the final seconds of play, Blumenthal led LV Polo to victory, scoring the final goal as the horn went off. Doug Blumenthal’s horse “Vladmir Putin” was awarded Best Playing Pony. LV Polo teammate Sean Goel was named Most Valuable Player.
After a series of playoff games between the eight teams entered into the 0-1 goal, World Gym and Klentner Ranch emerged from the pack. World Gym demonstrated great defence throughout the tournament and held the high scoring Klentner Ranch team to only one goal in the final two chukka playoff game. Luke Klentner scored the only goal of the final round, leading his team to victory. Melanja Jones was awarded MVP for her strong defensive efforts. Jake Klentner’s mare, “Flora,” was named Best Playing Pony. Justin Klentner was presented with a special participation award following the game. His Klentner Ranch team participated in every level of polo offered by the club throughout the year.