POLO NEWS

A rematch of last year’s U.S. Open Polo Championship final between father and son, Adolfo and Poroto Cambiaso, unfolded on Sunday, April 20, in front of a sold-out crowd at the National Polo Center (NPC) in Wellington, Florida. Taking to U.S. Polo Assn. Field One, La Dolfina/Tamera (Alejandro Poma, Matt Coppola*, Diego Cavanagh, Adolfo Cambiaso) came out on top 12-8 over La Dolfina/Catamount (Scott Devon, Rufino Merlos, Poroto Cambiaso, Jesse Bray*).

La Dolfina/Tamera arrived at the final with a win in the first leg of the Gauntlet of Polo presented by TruBar, the C.V. Whitney Cup. Last season's losses to his son Poroto and La Dolfina in both the USPA Gold Cup and U.S. Open were still fresh in Adolfo Cambiaso’s mind prior to the rematch. He had certainly been keeping track—and not just because he was in line for a tenth U.S. Open title. “He’s been beating me a little bit too much,” he said of his son. “But the last game I beat him. Last year I lost two finals against them [La Dolfina]. I won one, I lost two important ones. And now we are 1-1 [for the season] but he beat me in England in the quarterfinals of the Queen’s Cup.”

La Dolfina/Catamount’s journey to the final was notably rockier than La Dolfina/Tamera, which reached the finale undefeated. The two teams’ paths crossed earlier in a tight preliminary match, where La Dolfina/Tamera secured an 11-10 win to move to 2-0, while La Dolfina/Catamount fell 0-2 and faced an uncertain fate. “I think we started the U.S. Open badly,” said Poroto Cambiaso. “We lost a couple of games [to Park Place and La Dolfina/Tamera]. With Park Place we were winning by five or six then we lost at the end.”

An 11-10 overtime win against BTA (Ignacio "Nachi" Viana, Tomas Panelo, Steve Krueger*, Kelly Beal, sub. Max Torokvei) kept La Dolfina/Catamount in the running for one of two remaining spots in the quarterfinals, which was finally secured via a penalty shootout. Adolfo Cambiaso attributes Poroto’s change of fortune down to him taking a leaf out of his father’s playbook. “He [Poroto] is using his teammates more than playing by himself,” he observed. “This is a team game, and I think the last couple of games he did that.”

A C.V. Whitney Cup final rematch, La Dolfina/Tamera entered the semifinals against Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Lorenzo Chavanne, Polito Pieres, sub. Lucas Criado Jr.), who came to the field with a significant lineup change. Forced to substitute Julian De Lusarreta, due to yellow cards, the team struggled to find rhythm and communication, ultimately falling 9-4. Meanwhile, USPA Gold Cup champion, Park Place (Louis Hine, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez Jr., sub. Gabriel Crespo), proved the final hurdle for La Dolfina/Catamount in its pursuit of the U.S. Open final. Dolfina/Catamount jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first chukker and never trailed, holding off Park Place for an 11-9 win.

True to form, La Dolfina/Catamount came out swinging at the start of the championship final, with Merlos sinking two field goals. “I think we started off really strong in the first chukker,” said Bray, an American 7-goaler. La Dolfina/Tamera leading moving into the second chukker, were in danger of entering halftime behind by a goal until Poma electrified the crowd in the closing seconds of the third chukker, capitalizing on a pass from Adolfo Cambiaso to even the score 6-all, shifting the energy on the field.

By the end of the fourth chukker, an 8-6 advantage soon stretched to a 10-7 lead for La Dolfina/Tamera in the fifth. The margin extended to 11-7 before Bray found the posts in the sixth, only to have a field goal from Coppola seal the win. “I thought we did really well today,” said Bray. “But it was just tough to play against that team. It's a very good team, and they had a really good season.”

By the final horn, all four players on La Dolfina/Tamera had contributed goals to the scoreboard—testament to the mindset of Adolfo Cambiaso in cultivating his team and extracting the best from each player. No one appreciated the experience more than Coppola. “I think it's every player's dream to have an opportunity to play with him [Adolfo],” Coppola said. “I am so lucky I did. I got the chance, I took the most of the opportunity and I'm so grateful. He wants you to play your game—he wants you to have confidence. I'll never forget we were playing our first team practice, and he said, ‘I'll never yell at you unless you're timid. So, if you mess up doing what you thought was right, I'll never yell at you.’ Since then, I just kind of got my confidence every game […] and I think my game playing with him has come on a lot.”

Coppola’s second U.S. Open Polo Championship came on the back of his third C.V. Whitney Cup title—in a season that also saw him become a father for the first time. “I mean it’s years of working, riding, playing, investing money, you know, trying to be the best player that I can be,” Coppola stated. “This year is going to be hard to top.”

For his significant role in the victory, Alejandro Poma was presented the Seymour H. Knox Most Valuable Player award. “You’ve got to wake up and make it happen,” he reflected on his linchpin goal to close out the first half. “You need 6-6, and you can't get unfocused, you can't give up one inch, and that's what Adolfo was telling us, you know, ‘come on guys, let's get it going!’ We came out focused and motivated [in the second half]. This was very, very special. It is a dream come true.”

The Willis Hartman Trophy Best Playing Pony, presented by Palm Beach Equine, was awarded to 9-year-old mare Dolfina Binter (Dolfina Lapa x Dolfina Guitarrero), played by Adolfo Cambiaso in the first and sixth chukkers and owned by La Dolfina. While there were a multitude of horses fieldside, Adolfo Cambiaso explained that he usually depended on just half a dozen. “I know which horses I’m going to play,” he said. “I didn’t double much. I have my list of six and I try to keep on that list of six.” The talented horse list was recognized as the Best Playing String in the National Polo Center’s End of Season Horse Awards, reflecting an outstanding performance of an entire string throughout the Gauntlet.

In partnership with USPA Global, both finalists selected a charity of their choice to receive a $2,500 donation with La Dolfina/Catamount contributing to Replay Polo and La Dolfina/Tamera to the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame.

The U.S. Open Polo Championship final is now available On-Demand.

*Matt Coppola, Jesse Bray and Steve Krueger are Team USPA alumni. Team USPA is a USPA program designed to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities leading to a pool of higher rated amateur and pro players and the resultant giveback to the sport of polo.

All photos courtesy of ©David Lominska.