Sotogrande polo season ends on a high

After Polo

Sotogrande’s famous Santa María Polo Club again was the focus of another summer of fantastic world class Polo. The August 41st BMW International Polo Tournament started with the 1st rounds of the Bronze Cup for the Low and medium goal teams and the Silver cup for the high Goal teams on 27th July and ended with a superb High Goal final for the Gold Cup on 31st August. The summer season was brought to a close in September with the surprise arrival of the IX European Championship, which crowned local heroes Spain as winners, ending a fantastic season on a suitably high note.

Crowds flocked to the elegant surroundings of the Los Pinos and El Rio polo fields;

Canchas Los Pinos

Los Pinos with its hospitality areas, shops and bars, and El Rio with the fabulous La Quinta Restaurant and its lovely terrace over looking the fields, and the SCAPA Polo Lounge the focus of chic after polo parties, music and dancing till the early hours. It was clear that everyone who went enjoyed the fine weather and luxurious hospitality facilities as much as the keen sportsmanship displayed on the fields. Beautiful horses, superb horsemanship, champagne, mojitos and pretty girls all came together under the sun as spectators saw up close just how skilled a sport Polo is.

41st BMW International Polo Tournament

The highlight of the international Polo in Sotogrande during the summer is always the High Goal with some of the best professional polo players in the world who come with the sole intention of securing the Gold Cup for their patrons. This year the High Goal teams included the defending champions Las Monjitas of Colombian patron Camilo Bautista, with Eduardo Novillo Astrada leading the team once again, as well as Victor Vargas’s team Lechuza Caracas with Juan Martin Nero as the 10 goal star, Agustin Merlos in Leones Kaptive, HB Polo with the Pailoncy brothers, Michael Redding´s Scapa Polo Team and local credits Ayala Polo Club and Dos Lunas Hublot.

As the polo tournament builds to the crescendo of the Gold Cup finals at the end of August, the teams have already battled it out through the Bronze and Silver Cup competitions. The Holy Grail of the summer campaigns, for the Low, Medium and High Goal teams alike, would be to walk away with all three trophies of the Bronze, Silver and Gold Cups. The balance the teams must always strike is to keep themselves and their horses fit and well for the all important Gold Cup.

The Low Goal was played at the Puente de Hierro Polo fields in the mornings and saw Silex beat Bisontes to take the BRONZE CUP. El Fortin Shakib Polo vanquished El Castanar for the SILVER CUP.  Finally in the exhilarating GOLD CUP final played at Los Pinos, Silex with their patron Richard Fagan, once again beat Bisontes completing Richard Fagan’s collection of all three trophies from the Sotogrande summer tournaments. In three years he has now won two bronze cups, one silver cups and now at last the GOLD CUP. Can he take the triple in 2013?

The Medium Goal tournaments looked set for a whitewash for Seven Sevens Polo team as their pros Espain and Iturraspe proved to be unstoppable throughout the Bronze and Silver cup competitions. Seven Sevens took the Valecuatro BRONZE CUP  beating Marques de Riscal and took the Valecuatro SILVER CUP by beating the Entrecanales brothers of Santa Quiteria. However in the Gold Cup, Seven Sevens were finally beaten in the semifinals by Saint Mesme who made to to the final of the Valecuarto GOLD CUP only to lose to Marques de Riscal.

The High Goal saw Ayala Polo Team take the Hublot SILVER CUP. Patron Iñigo Zobel’s Ayala Polo team defeated Lechuza Caracas in the final by 7 to 6 goals in a real tough game. The 31^st August saw Venezuelan Victor Vargas’s team Lechuza Caracas come back to defeat one of the local teams Dos Lunas Hublot 12-8 to win the High Goal Nespresso GOLD CUP of the 41^st BMW International Polo Tournament at the Santa María Polo Club.  Frenchman Ludovic Pailloncy of HB Polo Team was named Best Non-professional Player of the Tournament while the professional title went to the young Uruguayan Santiago Stirling, who won the Nespresso Gold Cup for the third time in four years.

IX European Championship
During the summer season full of top-level international competition, a surprise announcement that the FIP IX European Championship was to be played at Santa Maria Polo Club during September was made. The stage was set for this exciting competion which would see, Spain, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy competing over 2 weeks for the imppresive trophy. Hosted at Los Pinos and after storming  their way through the group matches unbeaten, home team Spain became the sensation of the tournament, defeating Italy 7-2 en route to a semi-final showdown with Germany.

The local team proved too strong a match for the Germans, though, running out 15-3 winners to set up a final against Austria. As yet unbeaten, Spain took to the field against the in-form Austrian team on 14^th September, knowing that their momentum could carry them to a famous victory to seal another great summer season. In front of a packed house at Los Pinos, they remained unstoppable, taking the European crown in style as they ran rampant: 8-2! Well done to Pelayo Berazadi on a fantastic summer of polo.

Andalucía Championship
At the same time as the European Championship, the annual classic polo competition organised by the Andalusian Polo Federation was won by Dr. A. Shakib Polo, who overcame La Isla Bayswater London Gin by 7-5 in the final on 15^th September at the Los Pinos de Santa María Polo Club grounds.

If you are interested in learning more about Polo in Sotogrande you can contact the Santa Maria Polo Club through their website. Santiago Torreguitar is the club manager and polo pro, click on the following link www.santamariapoloclub.com

Special thanks to Camilla S Photos, on “Facebook”, for her photos.