The first game of the U.S. Open Polo Championships began on Wednesday and saw Daily Racing Form (Jared Zenni, 5, Agustin Obregon, 5, Mariano Obregon, 6, Hilario Ulloa, 10) challenge Colorado (Rob Jornayvaz, 1, Juan Britos, 7, Diego Cavanagh, 9, Magoo Laprida, 8) in an exciting kick-off game. From the start of the game, it was clear that both teams came to win, but it was Daily Racing Form who came out victorious.
For the entirety of the game, both teams demonstrated fast, open polo with numerous impressive plays by both teams. Daily Racing Form and Colorado continued to match each other goal-for-goal during the first half of the game. At the end of the first half it was anyone’s game with a score of 6-5, with Colorado in the lead with just one goal.
From the start of the second half it was clear the Daily Racing Form made a game plan to win, with Ulloa scoring two quick goals early on in the fourth chukker and Mariano Obregon adding one more behind him. Scoring was at a standstill for Colorado during the fourth and fifth chukkers, but in the final chukker they made one last impressive push for a win, scoring four quick goals to match the score 10-10. However, it was Ulloa who continued his scoring streak for Daily Racing Form and in the last three minutes of play scored two more goals and Britos added one more to finalize Daily Racing Form’s 13-11 win.
On Thursday April 4th, the second game of the U.S. Open Polo Championships took place where Audi (Marc Ganzi, 2, Mike Azzaro, 6, Nic Roldan, 8, Polito Pieres, 10) challenged US Polo Assn. (Grant Ganzi, 2, Juancito Bollini, 4, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 8, Juan Martin Nero, 10). It was clear that Audi came to win, which they ultimately did with a final score of 13-7.
US Polo Assn. began the game with two quick goals within the first chukker. Play between the two teams was fast and open, and while the US Polo Assn. held the lead for the majority of the first chukker, Audi staked their claim in the last two minutes by scoring two goals to tie up the game.
The rest of the half continued with Audi dominating play. The team, especially Roldan, demonstrated bold goals and strategic defense that stopped US Polo Assn. from scoring despite their skilled attempts. At the end of the first half of the game Audi held a strong lead with a score of 8-3.
In the second half of play, US Polo Assn. worked hard to make a comeback, with Nero scoring two impressive goals and a few goals that resulted from penalty conversions. In the final chukker of play, Polito Pieres and Marc Ganzi scored the final goals for Audi, which solidified their win in a game where they dominated the majority of play.