Held over two days due to a rain postponement, the finale of the U.S. Open Polo Championship featured a clash between Park Place (Andrey Borodin, Juan Britos, Hilario Ulloa, Jason Wates) and Valiente (Bob Jornayvaz, Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez, Adolfo Cambiaso, sub. Agustin Nero, sub. Rufino Merlos) battling for American polo’s most coveted title. Gathering under stormy skies on Sunday, April 23, at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC), an electric sold-out stadium at U.S. Polo Assn. Field One celebrated the apex of the high-goal season. Unfortunately, what started as a light drizzle quickly turned to a deluge forcing the suspension of play at the end the first half. Resuming action on Monday, April 24 on the Isla Carroll East field, a riveting and high-scoring contest ultimately came down to the power and athleticism of the two 10-goalers, with Ulloa placing a meticulous hook on Cambiaso at the goal line in the final seconds of play to protect Park Place’s lead and deliver their first U.S. Open Polo Championship title 12-11 along with $100,000 in prize money.
“We’re always there fighting in the semifinals and finals and close to winning, but we were killing to win one of the big ones.” – Park Place’s Juan Britos
“Hilario was amazing, scoring goals—man was on fire! Providing him with the space to get that done was what worked for us. He was hot and we kept him going.” – Park Place’s Jason Wates
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#PoloPlayer #PoloPony #HighGoal #NationalPoloCenter #WellingtonFL
#WellingtonFlorida #PalmBeachFL #ThePalmBeaches #HilarioUlloa #albadiamagazine
