Palm Beach Equine and Stable Door Polo once again battled on the U.S. Polo Assn. Field 1 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach on Sunday, Jan. 12, with Palm Beach Equine getting revenge in an exciting 14-12 victory to capture the Joe Barry Memorial Cup.
In a fast-paced game displaying elite skill, the ball was run from end-to-end in a high-scoring game that once again came down to the final chukker.
Turning the tables from last week’s Iglehart Cup final, Palm Beach Equine was led by the duo of Gringo Colombres and Gonzalo Ferrari, who both finished with an impressive six goals. They scored the final three goals of the game to conclude a match that saw the lead change hands five times. In the back-and-forth match, the final lead change occurred in the sixth chukker in favor of Palm Beach Equine, resulting in the thrilling 14-12 victory to capture the second 18-goal final of the season.
Palm Beach Equine and Stable Door set a lightning-quick pace in the opening stages of the game. Lucas Diaz Alberdi opened the scoring for Palm Beach Equine, but Stable Door responded with consecutive goals to finish the chukker, one each from Santino Magrini and Robert Orthwein. In the only foul-ridden chukker of the game, Stable Door converted two penalties, yet Palm Beach Equine restored the tie with accurate shooting from the field, including two goals from Ferrari, leaving the teams deadlocked at 4-4. Behind an organized team attack, Palm Beach Equine strung together four answered goals, the last three all from different players, to finish the first half holding a 7-5 lead.
The speed on both sides of the ball meant the result was far from over in the open, flowing style of play that was seen throughout the second half. Henry Porter looked to start the comeback effort for Stable Door with his first goal of the game, which was quickly followed by a goal from Santino Magrini. However, minor foul trouble resulted in Palm Beach Equine’s first penalty conversion of the game to maintain their two-goal advantage, a lead which they would keep at the conclusion of the fifth chukker.
In a flashback to last week’s final, Stable Door rushed out of the gate to begin the final chukker, scoring three straight goals, the last two on penalty conversions from Santino Magrini to retake the lead. Unwilling to have a repeat of the Iglehart Cup final, Palm Beach Equine responded thanks to the play of Colombres. Beginning with a penalty four conversion, Colombres scored three unanswered goals, guiding Palm Beach Equine to the Joe Barry title. Resulting from his six-goal performance, Colombres captured Most Valuable Player as well as Best Playing Pony for Coquito.
Play continues this week with the start of the Ylvisaker Cup tournament. Eight teams have entered the third 18-goal tournament. For more information, visit www.internationalpoloclub.com.
