La Dolfina have won the U.S. Open Polo Championship for the first time. On Sunday 21 April, in front of a record crowd at the National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida, they beat Valiente 10-7 to complete a strong American season.
Line-ups and scorers
La Dolfina were Alejandro Aznar, Poroto Cambiaso, Rufino Merlos and Tomás Panelo. Valiente fielded Adolfo Cambiaso, Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez Jr, Paco de Narvaez Jr and Joaquin “Pelo” Vilgre La Madrid. Panelo led all scorers with six goals, Poroto Cambiaso scored three, and Merlos added one in his first tournament appearance for the team.
A family occasion
This was the first time that Adolfo Cambiaso and his son Poroto had faced each other in a U.S. Open. A final of this size in the United States made it a particular occasion. It also continued a good run for La Dolfina against Valiente this spring, since they had beaten them in the USPA Gold Cup a month earlier after losing the C.V. Whitney Cup final.
The title is also a first for the La Dolfina organisation in the U.S. Open, which is a major landmark for a team that has dominated Argentine polo for the best part of two decades.
The season in Wellington
The tournament ran from 22 March to 21 April. The final was shown on ESPN platforms, with a rebroadcast on ESPN2 the following Sunday. U.S. Polo Assn. also reported donating around $100,000 to polo and equine welfare charities across the season, which has now become a regular feature of the Wellington calendar.
For the winter circuit as a whole, the key points were a close, high-quality C.V. Whitney Cup, a Gold Cup that went to La Dolfina and now a U.S. Open that went the same way. Valiente won the first final of the season and lost the next two, and they will look back on all three as matches that could have gone either way.
Heading to Europe
The Florida season is done, and many players now turn their attention to England and Europe. Guards Polo Club hosts the Cartier Queen’s Cup in June, and Cowdray Park runs the British Open in July. Both will be worth following, and we will have updates as the season builds.
Sources: Newswire (U.S. Polo Assn. release)
