| | Upcoming Events & News
| December 2014 |
| | Dear POLO Magazine Readers,, This month we have pre-season polo tournaments on the grass every weekend. Spectators are welcome to attend the matches. The games are spread out on different fields, so visit www.EmpirePolo.com for our daily game schedule and field locations. Our Sunday Polo begins in January with a soft opening on January 4th, followed by Opening Day & Hat Day on Sunday, January 11th. Please contact me if you have any questions about the upcoming season. Sincerely, |
| News ... The Empire Polo Lifestyle Magazines are scheduled to arrive next week. The Magazines should be available to pick up by Wednesday, Dec. 10th. Complimentary copies of the Magazine will be available in the Tack Room Tavern, Polo Office and Marketing Office at Empire Polo Club.
Empire Polo Club would like to welcome Cambria as a 2015 Season Sponsor. Cambria is the presenting sponsor on Opening Day.
Pre-Season Tournaments
Dec. 6th & 7th, 2014: 4-Goal Desert Challenge
Dec. 13th & 14th, 2014: 4-Goal Coyote Classic
Dec. 20th & 21st, 2014: 4-Goal Tack Room Tavern Tournament Dec. 27th & 28th, 2014: 4-Goal Holiday Cup
 | | The Haymakers won the USPA Masters Qualifier on Thanksgiving Weekend. Aly Payan, Hayward Pardue and Lolo Payan. |
 | | 4-Goal Desert Challenge Winners: Shane Flock, Deb Vermoch, Tim Rudy & Peter Blake. |
 | | 1-Goal Desert Challenge Winners: Cameron Smith, Kim Kelly Dayelle Fargey & Eileen Duffy. |
|
Sunday Polo 
Sunday Polo is scheduled from Jan. 4th - March 29th, 2015.
Jan. 4th, 2015 - Soft Opening of Sunday Polo Jan. 11th, 2015 - Opening Day & Hat Day
Sunday Polo will continue each weekend through March 29th, 2015. There won't be any polo on March 1st, as we are dark that weekend.
The featured Sunday Polo matches are held at 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM. General Admission and Tailgating are FREE with a $10 per car parking fee. Picnic fare, chairs and blankets are allowed in the General Admission & Tailgating area. VIP seats are $25 per person and includes parking, a seat and a complimentary Champagne divot stomp. No outside food or beverages are allowed in the VIP area. For VIP reservations call 760-393-7298 or email tonyschieffer@empirepolo.com.
Friday Night Polo
Friday night "Polo Under The Lights" is held on the second Friday of each month. Admission and parking are free for Friday night games. There is no VIP seating during these games. The featured match on Friday night starts at 5:30 PM in Jan. & Feb. and at 6 PM in March. Friday night games last about 1 hour.
Tailgaters are welcome and bleacher seating is available for spectators. Tailgaters and spectators are welcome to bring in their own picnic fare. Bar service is available during the Friday night games.
To access the Friday night games enter the Empire Polo Club from Monroe St. between Ave. 50 and Ave. 51. The Friday night game is held on field #3. Click here for directions and a map.
Friday Night 2015 Game Schedule 5:30 PM Friday, January 9th, 2015
5:30 PM Friday, Feb. 13th, 2015
6:00 PM Friday, March 13th, 2015
Please refer to the map below for directions to the Empire Polo Club.
|
Polo Playing Memberships
 Often described as one of the most beautiful polo facilities in the world, the Empire Polo Club offers players affordable polo with all the benefits of a five star club. Empire hosts 1-Goal, 4-Goal and 6-8 Goal Leagues during the winter season. USPA Tournaments include the annual USPA 6-8 Goal Champions Cup and the USPA 4-Goal Lions Cup on March 20-29th.
For more information, please visit our website at www.EmpirePolo.com or contact our Polo Manager, Vicky Owens at 760-342-7755, or email vickyowens@empirepolo.com. |
Social Memberships
Empire Polo Club Social Memberships include a variety of benefits including VIP admission to all of the Sunday Polo games. Click here to read more about Empire Polo Club Social Memberships. If you are interested in a Social Membership, please contact Tony Schieffer at 760-393-7298 or tonyschieffer@empirepolo.com. |
Learn to Play Polo ...
2 for 1 Polo Lesson Special
Group and private lessons are available Tuesday through Sunday by appointment.
If you would like to learn to play polo or to sign-up for one of our lessons or clinics, please contact us at losangelespolo@gmail.com or call the Los Angeles Polo Training Center and Polo School at 760-464-3744. If you are a first time student you can sign-up for our 2 for 1 polo lesson special. This is only available for first time students and some restrictions apply. Use the form below to sign up for this special offer. |
| Field Location Map & Entrances There are multiple entrances to Empire Polo Club. The entrance for Sunday Polo games is on Ave. 50. Please refer to the directions and map below for gate locations. Sunday Polo Entrance From Interstate 10 take the Monroe St. exit. Head south on Monroe St. Take a right on Ave. 50 and you will see the Empire entrance gates on the left side of the road. Use GATE B for tailgating access and General Admission parking. If you are a cabana holder, have VIP reservations for a table or if you are part of a group with reservations, use GATE A to access the VIP parking area. |
|
|
| |
|
Aspen Valley wins first leg of 2014 USPA Fall Plates
By Alex Webbe
Aspen Valley (Gene Goldstein, Wes Finlayson, Brandon Phillips and Roberto Gonzalez) won Thursday afternoon’s round-robin to capture the first leg of 2014 USPA Fall Plates at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida Thursday afternoon. Aspen Valley scored wins over La Indiana (Melissa Ganzi, Michael Bickford, Nic Roldan and Juan Bollini) and Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, Patrick Uretz, Jesse Bray and Julio Gracida).
In the opening three chukkers of the round-robin Aspen Polo received one-half goal by handicap from the 14-goal La Indiana lineup and wasted little time, adding a goal from the field from Roberto Gonzalez and a penalty conversion from Brandon Phillips in the first three minutes of play for an early 2½-0 lead. Melissa Ganzi scored on a pass from Nic Roldan at the 2:02 mark and Michael Bickford added a second goal for La Indiana with 1:02 left in the period. The chukker ended with Aspen Polo on top, 2½-2.
Juan Bollini scored the opening goal of the second chukker to give La Indiana their first lead of the game, but the lead was short-lived. Phillips converted another penalty shot for a goal and a 3½-3 edge. Wes Finlayson went on a tear in the final two minutes of the chukker scoring twice to give Aspen Valley a 5½-3 lead.
Nic Roldan scored on a pair of penalty shots for La Indiana but a goal from the field from Phillips was all Aspen Valley needed in the final chukker for the 6½-5 win.
With Aspen Valley retiring to the sidelines for the ensuing three chukkers, La Indiana would hold the field and face Casablanca.
Casablanca 6½, La Indiana 5
Casablanca received one and-a-half goals from La Indiana on handicap before two first chukker goals from Jesse Bray to jump out to an early 3½-0 advantage. La Indiana was held scoreless and was struggling to coordinate an effective offensive attack.
Second chukker goals from Melissa Ganzi and Juan Bollini were answered by a single goal from the field from Patrick Uretz. With one chukker remaining Casablanca continued to lead, 4½-2.
La Indiana pulled out all of the stops in the final seven minutes of play. Final chukker goals from Roldan (penalty goal), Ganzi and Bollini had La Indiana in front, 5-4. A great individual effort from Julio Gracida in the final 27 seconds of the game lifted Casablanca to the 6½-5 victory.
Aspen Polo 6, Casablanca 5
In the final round of the three-team round-robin, Aspen Polo and Casablanca would faceoff to decide the game winner.
Both Aspen Valley and Casablanca had won their opening matches, with the winner of the final three chukkers between the two teams to decide the first tournament finalist.
Casablanca received one goal by handicap and promptly scored the opening three goals of the game for a 4-0 lead. Grant Ganzi opened the scoring in the first chukker with a goal from the field at the 4:45 mark. Less than a minute later Julio Gracida made it 3-0. A great bit of teamwork saw Jesse Bray pass the ball ahead to Uretz who sent it up to a streaking Grant Ganzi who added his second goal of the game for the 4-0 opening chukker lead.
Wes Finlayson showed streaks of brilliance as he shredded the Casablanca defense for a pair of goals in the second chukker. The period ended with Casablanca leading by two goals, 4-2.
The final chukker belonged to Aspen Valley. Two more goals from Finlayson and single goals from Phillips and Gonzalez went unchecked as Aspen Valley rode on to win the game by the margin of one-half goal, 6-5½.
USPA Fall Plates continues with another round-robin on Friday, with action getting underway at 2PM with CT Energia (Marc Ganzi, Alessandro Bazzoni, Felipe Viana and Kris Kampsen) playing Palm Beach Equine (Carlitos Gracida, Leo Mandelbaum, Guille Aguero and Scott Swerdlin). Palm Beach Polo (Glenn Straub, Alejandro Gonzalez, Piki Alberdi and Juancito Bollini) will play the final three chukkers of the day with the winner going on to meet Aspen Valley in the final on Sunday at 3PM.
The Grand Champions Polo Club is located on the corner of Lake Worth Avenue and South Shore Boulevard in Wellington, Florida, and everyone is welcome to watch the games.
