Tag Archives: Polo

Team Guardian Tops the Field at PRO DerbyCross in Wellington

Team Guardian. Photos: Stockimageservices.com

Wellington, FL – January 21, 2012 – It was an epic night for Team Guardian who dominated PRO DerbyCross at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.

A team event with teams of five made up of three eventing riders, a show jumper and a polo player, jumped a hybrid cross country and show jumping course and the fastest combined score won.

Captain Karen O’Connor’s squad was so impressive that she didn’t have to jump for a score (one eventing score gets dropped) but she led her team to a dominating effort on Team Rebecca’s Veronica – impressing the crowds as the final competitor.

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USEF Network Presented by Smartpak to Live Stream PRO DerbyCross in Wellington

Canadian Eventer, Kelly Plitz, Is Featured Artist for the Event

Featured artwork by Canadian Eventer Kelly Plitz

Wellington, FL – January 17, 2012 – The PRO DerbyCross Team Competition will be live streamed on the USEF Network presented by Smartpak on January 20 at 7 PM. Film production is being provided by CatchRide.

“We are very happy to team up with the USEF Network presented by Smartpak, who will be hosting the live stream broadcast,” said Samantha Lendl, Executive Director of the Professional Riders Organization. “DerbyCross is so much fun and we hope that this allows people all over the world to see what this extreme sport is all about.”

Kelly Plitz, a member of the 1984 Canadian Three-Day Event Team, is the featured artist for PRO DerbyCross and has created a unique painting, which is acrylic on board. The painting will be auctioned off with all proceeds benefitting Operation Homefront Florida. Kelly is married to Canadian Eventer Ian Roberts and with their son Eventer Waylon Roberts operate Dreamcrest Equestrian near Port Perry, Ontario.

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Village of Wellington Extends Domestic Partnership Benefit

Wellington, FL – December 27, 2011 – The Wellington Village Council has completed a comprehensive policy revision to include registered domestic partners of Village employees as family members.

The action was taken at the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, which has been working with the Village on domestic partnership issues for the past year. The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has been the leading advocate for domestic partner benefits in Florida since 1992, when the City of West Palm Beach became Florida’s first public employer to provide domestic partnership benefits.

Domestic partners of Village employees and their children are now eligible for the same health, dental, vision and supplemental dependent life insurance coverage as employees’ spouses and their children. In addition, Village employees may now take extended medical leave to care for their domestic partners and may utilize bereavement leave to grieve for an employee’s domestic partner, as well as the partner’s children, parents, siblings and grandparents.

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La Dolfina Wins 2011 Hurlingham Open Final, Argentina, in a Dramatic 19-18 Win

La Dolfina and Ellerstina faced off, once again, in an Open Championship Final for the second time in one month. Following a closely fought Tortugas Open Final, where Ellerstina snatched victory away from La Dolfina with a last-second goal, the two teams were ready for a repeat match.

The first two chukkas saw both teams go head-to-head, with all eight players displaying enormously high levels of skill and class in a closely fought competition. It wasn’t until the third chukka that La Dolfina broke away following a string of goals from Adolfo Cambiaso and Pablo MacDonough.

Leading the next four chukkas, La Dolfina extended their lead to 19-14 in the final chukka, and looked certain to secure their first Open Final win of 2011. However, when Ellerstina’s, Facundo Pieres, scored four goals La Dolfina’s lead was reduced to 19-18. With only seconds remaining La Dolfina defended the ball deep in their own half following wave after wave of attacks from Ellerstina to win the match at the final bell.

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The Equestrian Aid Foundation Announces the 2012 Sidelines Annual Equestrian Tetrathlon

Wellington, FL – October 24, 2011 – The Equestrian Aid Foundation is pleased to announce the 2012 Sidelines Annual Equestrian Tetrathlon, Sunday, February 5, 2012. The second annual event will be held at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, Florida to benefit the Equestrian Aid Foundation. The event will feature the best of Palm Beach’s restaurant fare and cocktails as well as guest chefs preparing food that will entice your palette. The event will also include both live and silent auction items in tandem with exhilarating entertainment.

Bruce Duchossois and Scot Evans have dedicated their time as Co-chairs for the event to help raise awareness in the equestrian community and raise funds to assist those in need. The Tetrathlon will focus around a “Wild, Wild West” theme, the Gold Rush. The highlight of the evening will be the world-class horsemen and women in the greatest discipline switch to ever be anticipated. The four disciplines include dressage, reining, show jumping and polo.

“This is our major fundraiser for the year,” said Co-chair Duchossois. “This event brings all disciplines together to participate in the fundraiser and give back to the equestrian community.”

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Ellerstina Wins 2011 Tortugas Open Final in Argentina with Last Second Goal

La Dolfina and Ellerstina were playing out the additional 30 seconds in the last chukker of the Final of the Tortugas Open in Argentina on Saturday 15 October 2011. La Dolfina, who led throughout the match, missed a big chance to seal what could have been their first title in the opening competition of the Triple Crown in Argentina, when Adolfo Cambiaso failed to convert a 60-yard penalty, with less than a minute to go on the clock.

In a dramatic final chukker, Facundo Pieres scored two goals that allowed Ellerstina to tie at 13-13, after being outscored by La Dolfina during the whole game. But with only two seconds left on the clock and with everyone expecting extra time, Gonzalo Pieres Jr took the ball and scored the goal that meant not only a 14-13 win over La Dolfina, but also Ellerstina’s fifth consecutive title in the Tortugas Open.

Ellerstina have now won a total of six Tortugas Open Finals, with five of them consecutively (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011). This win also keeps Ellerstina’s hopes alive of completely a back-to-back Triple Crown victory as they now prepare for the second leg of the title – the Hurlingham Open, from October 18 – November 6, 2011.

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Team Audi Victorious in Julius Baer Beach Polo World Cup Sylt 2011

New champions have been crowned at The Julius Baer Beach Polo World Cup Sylt after the Audi team of Siegfried Grohs from Germany and Argentina’s Gastón Maiquez overcame Julius Baer in the final to take the title.

After two close chukkas, the Julius Baer team of Germany’s Sven Schneider and fifteen year old Lukas Sdrenka opened up a 5-3 lead in the third, but six handicap Gastón Maiquez kept his side in the match scoring three unanswered goals to lead 5-6 going into the fourth chukka.

The final chukka saw Maiquez in devastating form, scoring two more goals to take a 5-8 lead and despite a late surge from team Julius Baer, Audi held on, eventually winning 7-8.

Maiquez performance saw him named the Julius Baer Leading Scorer, and with Julius Baer contributing €200 for every goal scored by the Leading Scorer, Maiquez’s outstanding total of 14 goals over the tournament raised €2,800 towards the event’s official charity, Coastal Protection Foundation Sylt. When combined with additional donations made during the weekend, over €15,000 was handed over to the charity by Julius Baer during the prize giving ceremony.

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Julius Baer to Face Audi in the Julius Baer Beach Polo World Cup Sylt 2011

Lukas Sdrenka from Team Julius Baer competes for a high flying ball

Saturday 11 June 2011 — On the opening day of the Julius Baer Beach Polo World Cup, played on the stunning island of Sylt in Northern Germany, team Julius Baer saw off strong opposition to win Pool B and will now go on to face Audi in The Final on Sunday 12th June.

The six teams in the competition were split into two Pools and under the American Tournament system, played each other in a series of two chukka matches. The Julius Baer team of fifteen year old Lukas Sdrenka (Handicap 0) and Sven Schneider (3) both from Germany came through to win Pool B, whilst their opponents in The Final will be the Audi team of Argentina’s Gaston Maiquez (6) and Germany’s Siegfried Grohs (0).

Established in 2008 and now in its fourth year, the Julius Baer Beach Polo World Cup is Germany’s most popular polo event and is watched by over 10,000 spectators during the weekend. The tournament has strong links with the community of Sylt and is a leading supporter of the Coastal Protection Foundation Sylt; a charity established to protect the eroding coastline around the island.

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South Africa Wins First International Weekend at International Polo Club Palm Beach

South African Polo Team at International Weekend at International Polo Club Palm Beach. Photo Credit: Lila Photo

Wellington – South Africa showed off its toughness and strength by winning four sports, including men’s rugby and polo, to defeat the United States 11-10 and capture the inaugural International Weekend championship Sunday at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

The polo match was the deciding factor for the International Weekend, a series of seven sports between teams from South Africa and the U.S. South Africa rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the U.S. 7-4 in the series finale and clinch the overall title.

South Africa earned two points in polo, men’s rugby, tennis and women’s rugby. The United States won the golf, croquet and women’s field hockey competitions.

Wayne Ferreira of South Africa, a former Top 10 singles player, was caught up in the excitement of the entire weekend, watching rugby, cricket and polo in addition to playing three tennis matches.

“I play an individual sport so to play on a team and a team representing your country, is very special,” said Ferreira. “It’s been a wonderful weekend.”

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South Africa Takes 8-7 Lead over the United States during International Weekend at IPC

South America rugby players and staff celebrate their victory at the first annual International Weekend. Photo Credit: Lila Photography

Wellington, FL (April 23, 2011) – Fueled by their rugged rugby “sevens” and scintillating tennis, South Africa took an 8-7 advantage over the United States after the first day of the inaugural International Weekend Saturday at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

Four men’s rugby teams featuring world-class players rarely seen in South Florida entertained an appreciative crowd of more than 500 spectators. The hard-hitting, fast-paced sport was compared to American football without pads and drew frequent applause from the crowd.

Top-seeded South America, featuring several young Brazilian national 7s players, defeated No. 2 seed South Africa 24-14 in the final. They were joined by the U.S. and Great Britain as the four teams played in a round-robin to determine the final seedings. South Africa, led by Emerging Springboks Earl Lewis and Cameron Peverett, rallied from a 12-0 deficit to defeat the USA 33-12 in a first-round match.

“Spectators who had never seen rugby before had a sense of awe about the sport,” said Gavin Curtis, head coach of the Fort Lauderdale rugby club who refereed the tournament. “Rugby people said what a great facility this is.”

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