Alex Webbe — International Beach Polo Association

Yellow Cab claims 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup

May 5, 2012 by Alex Webbe 5 Comments

Yellow Cab wins 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup

By Alex Webbe

For the first time in history the Miami Beach Polo World Cup ended in a whimper rather than a bang—at least on the playing surface. After three days of beach polo competition in the 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup, the finals were rained out with 30+ mile-per-hour winds whipping torrents of rain into the event’s massive VIP tent and soaking the playing surface to a point that made it unplayable.

With no options left for the final play-off on the beach, it was proposed that the Yellow Cab Polo Team and The Raleigh polo team faceoff in dryer climes, at the arena facility at Palm Beach Polo in Wellington, to the north.

With only one team able to assemble, a forfeit was reluctantly agreed upon and Simon Garber’s Yellow Cab Polo Team (2-0) was declared the winner of the 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup.

“This certainly isn’t the way we wanted this to be decided,” said Garber, “but we fought hard and were confident about our chances going into the finals.”

“It’s always difficult to reset playoffs when players, horses and personnel have tournament schedules to keep,” said Alex Webbe, Director of Polo. The Raleigh team captain, Bash Kazi, had business appointments to keep and teammate John Gobin had already shipped his horses north to compete in tournaments in Aiken, South Carolina.”

The sport of polo is a transient one as it moves from club to club, country to country following one tournament after another. The Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup has traditionally been the culmination of the highest level of polo played in North America, putting an exclamation on the high-goal season of the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida and sending many of these players in different directions as they become part of new teams in new competitions while the Florida polo season take a respite for the summer.

An annual favorite that attracts fourteen teams in two tournaments, this year’s finals ended up being a celebration of the previous four days of play in a hurricane-like party at The Raleigh hotel, the assigned “clubhouse for this year’s tournament.

“We were prepared to play on,” offered Bruce Orosz, President and CEO of The Polo Life, the producer of the event, “but sometimes Mother Nature wins out. We’ll be back stronger than ever next year, and the tradition will continue.”

Filed Under: Featured News, International Beach Polo Association, Miami Beach Polo World Cup, News Tagged With: 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup, Alex Webbe, Bash Kazi, beach polo, Bruce Orosz, Gringo Colombres, John Gobin, Juan Monteverde, Kris Kampsen, Miami Beach, Miami Beach Polo Club, Simon Garber, Yellow Cab

MASERATI Miami Beach Polo World Cup Kicks-off Men’s Tournament

May 4, 2012 by Alex Webbe Leave a Comment

The Maserati team (Lance Vetter, Wesley Finlayson, Guille Usandizaga and Facundo Obregon); Raleigh team (Bash Kazi, John Gobin and Gringo Colombres) and the team from Yellow Cab (Simon Garber, Juan Monteverde and Kris Kampsen) all scored opening wins in the first day of the men’s competition on Friday, April 27th at the Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup, set against the ocean between 20th and 22nd Streets on Miami Beach.

Facundo Obregon and Guille Usandizaga scored six goals apiece as Maserati defeated a talented HEYS Luggage / SLS Jets trio in the closing match of the day. Kris Kampsen led the Yellow Cab attack with 13 of the team’s goals in their 15-11 victory over a game Gascon team.

The Raleigh scored a 9-6 win over Lufthansa Private Jet in defense of its 2011 World Cup title. Gringo Colombres led the offense with six goals. The competition will continue on Saturday with Maserati (1-0) playing Gascon (0-1) at 1:00pm. At 2:00pm, Yellow Cab (1-0) will meet Lufthansa (0-1). The Raleigh (1-0) will close out the day with a 3:00pm match against HEYS Luggage / SLS Jets.

Day three of the MASERATI Miami Beach Polo World Cup starts with its annual Horse Parade and culminates with the “Blank Silk by Meghan Walsh” Fashion Show at The Perry Hotel

The third day of the Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup starts on Saturdy, April 28th, with the annual Horse Parade of all the colorful participating Polo teams, together with a fleet of Maserati vehicles, along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. A Police escort will accompany the trotting hoofs as the Polo Ponies walk from 20th Street and Collins Avenue up to 22nd Street and back on to the sand-filled arena.

The competition continues with Maserati (1-0) playing Gascon (0-1) at 1:00pm. At 2:00pm, Yellow Cab (1-0) will meet Lufthansa (0-1). The Raleigh (1-0) will close out the day with a 3:00pm match against HEYS Luggage / SLS Jets.

After the daytime match-play has finished, a red carpet arrivals ceremony will commence at 8:30pm on the rooftop of The Perry Hotel, located at 2377 Collins Avenue, when Meghan Walsh, daughter of TV personality John Walsh (host of America’s Most Wanted), will showcase her “Blank Silk” line of Indian-inspired evening wear, in front of Miami’s discerning audience of fashion aficionados and media.

Filed Under: Featured News, International Beach Polo Association, Miami Beach Polo World Cup Tagged With: 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup, Alex Webbe, Bash Kazi, Brandon Phillips, Craig Pirtle, Facundo Obregon, Gringo Colombres, Guille Usandizaga, Jamie Morrison, Jeffrey Garber, John Gobin, Juan Monteverde, Kris Kampsen, Lance Vetter, Lindor Novillo Corvalan, Luis Escobar, Miami Beach Polo Club, Nic Roldan, Shaun Garber, Simon Garber, Tommy Kato, Wes Finlayson

Maserati South Beach Women’s Polo Cup

May 4, 2012 by Alex Webbe 2 Comments

Eight teams of some of the country’s top female polo players took to the sands of South Beach on Thursday, April 26th to compete in the opening day of the eighth annual Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup. Day one brought the Maserati South Beach Women’s Polo Cup to an ecstatic audience of Polo enthusiasts. The title was taken by the HEYS USA team of Cecelia Cochran, Diana Jack and Alicia Harden, who took top honors with a hard fought 3-1 win over a talented Lufthansa Private Jet team of Valerie Biehl, Pamela Flanagan and Laura Wilson. Cecelia was named MVP of the match.

The Bulgari team of Scarlet Davenport, Cristina Hosmer and Maggie McNamara edged past the Ciroc team (Josefina Gonzalez, Daniella Sciretta and Liselotte Sandberg) in a 1-0 defensive battle. Maggie McNamara was honored as MVP. Joining the competition were teams from Gascon WIne, E! Entertainment, The Raleigh and Maserati.

Filed Under: Featured News, International Beach Polo Association, News Tagged With: Aimee Waters, Alex Webbe, Alicia Harden, Annaleisse Atwell, Bash Kazi, Brandon Phillips, Cecelia Cochran, Craig Pirtle, Cristina Hosmer, Debra Atwell, Diana Jack, Facundo Obregon, George Olivas, Gringo Colombres, Guille Usandizaga, Jamie Morrison, Jeffrey Garber, Jennifer Williams, John Gobin, Jolie Liston, Juan Monteverde, Kris Kampsen, Lance Vetter, Laura Willson, Lindor Novillo Corvalan, Liselotte Sandberg, Luis Escobar, Lynn O'Connor, Maggie McNamara, Marina Wambold, Melissa Hornung, Misty Allen, Nic Roldan, Pamela Flanagan, Phin Stubbs, Scarlet Davenport, Shaun Garber, Simon Garber, Slaney O'Hanlon, Stephanie Kraml Suttle, Tara Lorde, Tara Lordi, Tommy Kato, Valerie Biehl, Wes Finlayson

Guille Usandizaga leads Titan Commercial to 2011 Grey Goose Chicago Beach Polo World Cup Title

October 22, 2011 by Alex Webbe Leave a Comment

By Alex Webbe

Both Lufthansa and Titan commercial scored one-sided wins in the early round of
competition in the 2011 Grey Goose Chicago Beach Polo World Cup play, and
anticipation was high for a tightly contest finals, but such was not the case
in the 11-3 titan win.

“They (Tavi and Guille Usandizaga) just kept coming at us,” said Lufthansa team captain Scott Devon. “Every time you turned around one or both of them were right there,” said the 4-goaler from Michigan.

Titan commercial got off to a fast start, picking up goals from Guille Usandizaga and
Ben Rosenfield while holding a talented Lufthansa team scoreless. At the end of the first chukker, Titan commercial led 2-0.

A penalty conversion from Guille Usandizaga put titan commercial up 3-0 before Lufthansa finally got on the scoreboard. Two consecutive penalty goals from former Canadian team captain Brandon Phillips cut the Titan lead to a single goal, 3-2, at the end of the first half, and an enthusiastic crowd looked to be in for an exciting finals.

An energized Titan commercial team returned to the sand arena in the third chukker. The Titan attack caught the Lufthansa team still in the hanger as it rolled up six unanswered goals on its way to a commanding 9-2 lead with four goals from Guille Usandizaga and single goals from Tavi Usandizaga and Chad Middendorf (splitting the Number 1 position with Rosenfield).

Devon finally got Lufthansa back on the scoreboard with his first goal of the
afternoon in the fourth, but it was a case of too little too late. The Usandizaga brothers continued to soar through the arena like a pair of Kamikaze pilots, with each scoring a final goal in the fourth chukker for the resounding 11-3 win.

Guille Usandizaga led all scoring with seven goals on the day while brother Tavi
scored twice. Middendorf and Rosenfield added single goals.

Phillips scored twice for Lufthansa and Devon added a goal in a losing effort.

Guille Usandizaga captured MVP honors for his performance while Cliff Yandell’s Trifecta (ridden by Brandon Phillips) took Best Playing Pony honors in the
2011 Grey Goose Chicago Beach Polo World Cup.

GREY GOOSE TAKES CONSOLATION ROUND

A Ruben Coscia-driven Grey Goose team captured the consolation round of the 2011 Grey Goose Chicago Beach Polo World Cup scoring wins over Gascon and Amstel
Light/Comcast in round-robin play.

Gascon opened the competition, scoring a 3-2 win over Amstel Light/Comcast as Chad Kraml scored all three goals in the win. Nadir Khan and Claudio Gauna scored single goals for the Amstel Light/Comcast trio.

The second round of play had Grey goose scoring a narrow 1-0 win over Gascon in two chukkers of play dominated by defensive blocks and hard-riding that featured a
single goal from Coscia for the win.

The final round of the round-robin had Grey goose running over a stubborn Amstel
Light/Comcast team 5-2, with Amstel Light/Comcast getting a single two-goal
score from Gauna. The enthusiastic crowd was treated to a fabulous opening to the final two chukkers of play as Grey Goose opened the match with Coscia scoring a two-point shot that traveled the entire length of the arena for the early 2-0 lead. Marcelo Cabeza scored to make it 3-0 before Gauna scored a two-pointer for Amstel Light/Comcast to cut the Grey Goose lead to a 3-2, single goal lead.

Two more goals from Coscia went unanswered in the final chukker as Grey Goose took the game, 5-2.

Coscia led the scoring with four goals. Teammate Cabeza added a goal in the win.

Gauna, the Culver Military Academy polo coach, accounted for both points for Amstel Light/Comcast in the loss.

Filed Under: Chicago Beach Polo, International Beach Polo Association, News Tagged With: Adam Kaminski, Alex Webbe, Alvaro Font, Bob McMurtry, Brandon Phillips, Chad Kraml, Claudio Gauna, David Wigdahl, David Wolf, Guille Usandizaga, Guillermo Font, Marcelo Cabeza, Nadir Khan, Ruben Coscia, Sarah Knapp, Scott Devon, Tavi Usandizaga, Tod Rackley

Crowds clamor for more beach polo action in Grey Goose North Beach Women’s Cup Finals

October 22, 2011 by Alex Webbe Leave a Comment

By Alex Webbe

Warmer weather and light breezes greeted the nearly two thousand spectators that
showed up at Chicago’s North Avenue Beach for Sunday’s final round of play in
the debut of the Grey Goose North Beach Women’s Polo Cup.

The finalists had been determined in Saturday’s contests with Gascon and Lufthansa Private Jet scoring wins over Grey Goose and Trump Residence, respectively, while Titan Commercial and LufthansaPrivate Jet emerged from the five teams in contention for the world cup.

The highly-touted Gascon polo team of Melissa Hornung, Tara Lordi and Angela York
arrived in Chicago as the odds-on favorite in the Grey Goose North Beach
Women’s Polo Cup, and did little to tarnish their image as York scored the
opening goal of the game for a 1-0 lead after the first period of play.

Lufthansa Private Jet responded with goals from Megan West and Whitney Vogt (penalty conversion). Hornung’s first goal of the day had the score knotted up at 2-2 after the first half of play.

Valerie Biehl opened the scoring in the third to give Lufthansa Private Jet a 3-2 advantage, but Gascon fought back to get the tying goal on a penalty shot from York. The score was all even at 3-3 with one chukker left to play in regulation time.

Vogt’s second penalty goal of the game came in the fourth chukker and gave Lufthansa Private Jet a 4-3 edge with time running out when Tara Lordi scored her first goal of the game to knot it up at 4-4 as time expired.

A confident Gascon team stepped up for the overtime shoot-out, a formula that would allow each member of each team an opportunity to score on a penalty shot with each
team taking turns until the winner emerged.

Hornung, Lordi and York had captured the South Beach Championship in April in the same manner, and were confident of their chances in Chicago. With five of the first six shots going wide of the mark, and all three Gascon shots missing, it would be Vogt who would prove the difference scoring her third goal of the day for the Lufthansa Private Jet win.

Vogt led all scoring with three goals. Teammates West
and Biehl added single goals in the win.

York led the Gascon team with a pair of goals. Hornung and Lordi scored single goals in a losing effort.

Vogt was named MVP for her efforts while Marcelo Cabeza’s Negrita, played by Tara Lordi, was named Best Playing Pony.

GREY GOOSE TAKES CONSOLATION ROUND OF
PLAY

In earlier action, Grey Goose scored a narrow 4-3 win over Trump Residence on a penalty shot from Samantha Falbe in the final seconds of regulation play to capture the consolation round of the Grey Goose North Beach Women’s Polo Cup.

Trump took the early lead on first chukker goals from Nigeria’s Neku Atawodi and Tracy Regas, with Grey Goose settling for a lone goal from Brazilian Paula Chermont. Falbe tied it up at 2-2 in the second chukker, but Regas closed out the first half scoring with her second goal of the game for a 3-2 halftime lead for the Trump Residence trio.

Both teams pressed the attack in the second half of play, but defense held firm. Penalty conversions from Aimee Waters in the third and Falbe in the fourth accounted for the final scores of the match. Falbe’s penalty shot came with seconds left to play and secured the win for the Grey Goose team.

Filed Under: Chicago Beach Polo, International Beach Polo Association, News Tagged With: 2011 North Beach Women's Polo Cup, Aimee Waters, Alex Webbe, Angela York, Chicago Polo Club, Emily Guiza, International Beach Polo Association, Megan West, Melissa Hornung, Neku Atawodi, Paula Chermont, Samantha Falbe, Tara Lordi, Tracy Regas, Valerie Biehl, Whitney Vogt

Adolfo Cambiaso Captures 2011 Ibiza Beach Polo Cup

July 20, 2011 by Alex Webbe Leave a Comment

By Alex Webbe

Following five days’ action in which six male teams and four female teams took part, La Dolfina, under the leadership of Adolfo Cambiaso, the world’s most revered player, overcame Nassau Beach Club 5-4 and clinched the 2nd Ibiza Beach Polo Cup, in Spain.

“It was a great pleasure to play polo in Ibiza, “Cambiaso offered. “This is an incredible place, terrific beaches, and the people are very special,” he added after the deciding match.
“I came to play because the tournament was organized by my friend, Gabriel Iglesias, but I was surprised by the number of people the event attracted. The final turned out to be a competitive match against a talented team,” he added, “like all the rest of the teams that took part in the tournament. I’ve had a great time and I know I’ll be returning here.”

Marianela Castagnola led her Casino de Ibiza team to a 5-3 win over Fashion TV in the ladies’ final for the Custo Barcelona Cup.

The second edition of the Ibiza Beach Polo Cup took place from June 13th to 18th, and was organized by 4Polo Management. The event included fashion parades and exclusive polo parties. During the days in which the matches took place, more than 5,000 people were present, and they were able to enjoy the action of such players as Cambiaso, Ignacio Tillous and Julio Novillo Astrada, and many others.

Filed Under: Beach Polo in Ibiza, Featured News, International Beach Polo Association, News Tagged With: Aldofo Cambiaso, Alex Webbe, Casino de Ibiza, Custo Barcelona Cup, Gabriel Iglesias, Ibiza Beach Polo Cup, Ignacio Tillous, International Beach Polo Association, Marianela Castagnola, Nassau Beach Club, Novillo Astrada

HUBLOT TEAM TAKES MIAMI BEACH WOMEN’S POLO CUP

July 19, 2011 by Alex Webbe Leave a Comment

By Alex Webbe

Hublot’s Tara Lordi scored six goals, but none as important as the winning goal in a second

overtime shootout to defeat a tough AMG-Mercedes team in the finals of the 2011 Miami Beach

Women’s Polo Cup on Thursday afternoon for the opening day of the AMG Miami Beach Polo

World Cup and the sands of South Beach.

Hublot (Tara Lordi, Melissa Hornung and Angela York) took an early 3-1 lead, but AMGMercedes

(Anis Jamaludin, Costanza Marchiorello and Natascha Baecher) battled back to score

three goals, tying at 4-4: Hublot’s Tara Lordi scoring the tying goal to force the first overtime

period.

After five minutes without a score, the teams settled on a shootout, with every member of each

team getting a penalty shot opportunity.

Anis Jamaludin put the first shot wide for AMG-Mercedes while Hublot’s Melissa Hornung

connected for a goal. Costanza Marchiorello’s second shot also went wide for a second AMGMercedes

miss. In a winner-take-all attempt, Hublot’s Tara Lordi connected for the tie-breaking

goal and a well-deserved Hublot Championship 5-4 win. Lordi was named MVP for her efforts.

In Bracket I play, The Raleigh Hotel (Stephanie Kraml-Suttle, Libby Scripps and Valerie

Biehl) scored a tournament opening win over Gilt City (Abi Beaux, Aimee Waters and Kristina

Gustafson), 3-0 before shootings down Jet Blue (Paula Chermont, Debra Atwell and Katherine

Campos) in the finals with a 2-0 score. The Raleigh’s Libby Scripps taking MVP honors.

Merchant Hub (Whitney Ross, Cristina Hosmer and Jeanne Blackwell) scored a 6-3 win over

Gilt City in the Bracket I consolation match.

Panama Jack (Lynn O’Connor, Debbie Nash, Jennifer Williams and Amy Deupi) bounced back

from a 5-2 opening loss to AMG to record an 8-0 win over Grey Goose (Bobette Martin, Scarlet

Davenport and Uneku Atawodi) in the Bracket II consolation round of play.

Filed Under: International Beach Polo Association, Miami Beach Polo World Cup, News, Women's Beach Polo Tagged With: 2011 AMG Miami Beach Polo World Cup, 2011 AMG South Beach Women's Polo Cup, Abi Beaux, Aimee Waters, Alex Webbe, Angela York, Anis Jamaludin, Bobette Martin, Christina Hosmer, Costanza Marchiorello, Debbie Nash, Debra Atwell, Hublot, Jeanne Blackwell, Jennifer Williams, Katherine Campos, Libby Scripps, Lynn O'Connor, Melissa Hornung, Natascha Baecher, Paula Chermont, Scarlet Davenport, South Beach, Tara Lorde, Tara Lordi, Uneku Atawodi-Nigeria, Valerie Biehl, Whitney Ross

Hublot Scores Exciting Win in World Cup Finals

May 12, 2010 by Alex Webbe 1 Comment

By Alex Webbe

A seven goal performance by Argentinean Matias Magrini lead the way for the Hublot team as it scored an exciting 11-9 over the previously undefeated AMG side in the finals of the 2010 AMG Miami Beach Polo World Cup.

Hublot jumped out with a quick 5-0 lead in the opening chukker getting 3 goals Guille Usandizaga and a long 2 point goal from Magrini before AMG got on the scoreboard.

Pelon Escapite scored the first goal for AMG followed by a penalty conversion from team captain Michael Liss to win the chukker with Hublot ahead 5-2. Three consecutive goals from Magrini opened the second chukker of play as AMG struggled to break through the Hublot defense.

Nacho Figueras who had been so effective for the AMG offense in the opening rounds of play scored 3 goals for AMG, with Usandizaga heading a single goal for Hublot to end the chukker. Hublot rode off the field with a commanding 9-5 half time lead.

Both defenses tightened in the third chukker with Escapite scoring for AMG followed by another goal from Magrini. Hublot continued to control the game holding on to a 10-6 advantage going into the final chukker of play.

Magrini notched his seventh point of the game on a penalty conversion in the fourth chukker just before AMG mounted a final rally. Three straight goals from Escapite brought AMG to within striking distance but Hublot controlled the ball for the final 30 seconds of the game preserving the 11-9 win in the 2010 AMG Miami Beach Polo World Cup. Magrini lead all scores with 7 goals and was named Most Valuable Player for his efforts. His 10 year old chestnut mere, Crucera, was honored as Best Playing Pony in the event.

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE 11, SETAI 6

John Gobin scored the first two goals of the match as Bombay Sapphire defeated the Setai 11-6 in the Carl Fischer International Challenge Cup at the beach area of the Miami Beach Polo Club. A combination of Gobin and Luis Escobar accounted for 10 of the 11 goals with Angela York, playing the first 2 chukkers for team captain Lance Vetter, scoring a single goal in the second chukker.

Bombay Sapphire held a 6-3 half time lead as the Setai fought to stay in the game. Bombay went up 8-4 at the end of three and got 3 straight goals from Gobin to lock the game up in the fourth and final chukker of play.

MORGAN STANLEY 5, FERRETTI 3

In a low scoring event, Morgan Stanley got 4 goals from Brandon Phillips to defeat Ferretti 5-3 in the Fleischman Memorial Cup at the Miami Beach arena. Ferretti struggled throughout the match to mount a consistent offense as it was shut out in both the second and fourth chukkers. Simon Garber and Phillips closed out the scoring with single goals in the Morgan Stanley win.