March began in Wellington with the same team lifting the trophy twice. Valiente, who now have Adolfo Cambiaso and Facundo Pieres on the same side, beat Colorado in both the C.V. Whitney Cup final and the Butler Handicap final, a week apart.
C.V. Whitney Cup final: Valiente 9, Colorado 4
On Sunday 4 March, Valiente (Cambiaso, Pieres, Tommy Beresford and Jornayvaz) beat Colorado 9-4 to win the first 26-goal event of the season for the second year running. Pieres hit a 70-yard shot to goal in the first chukka followed by a deep neckshot, and Cambiaso worked the ball downfield to set up Jornayvaz for the only goal of the second. Colorado missed chance after chance and overrode the ball, leaving them scoreless in the first half, which finished 5-0.
Diego Cavanagh drove through for two goals in the fourth and Magoo Laprida got his first goal in the last chukka, but the gap was too wide. Pieres scored five of Valiente’s nine goals and was named MVP. Cambiaso’s Mentolada, owned by J5 Equestrian, took Best Playing Pony. Beresford said the horses were getting fitter and he was playing faster as the team got to know each other.
Butler Handicap final: Valiente 11, Colorado 8
A week later, on 11 March, the same two teams met again. Colorado began with a one-goal lead from the handicap, and the play was quick and even. Cambiaso tied the score at 4-4 early in the second chukka, but Colorado led 6-4 at half-time after Laprida scored two field goals in a row and Cavanagh passed to Juan Britos for another.
After the break, Pieres converted a penalty and added four unanswered goals before the end of the fifth chukka. Valiente led 9-6 going into the last, and Cavanagh converted a penalty 2 for Colorado. Cambiaso hit a big shot just inside the posts, and although Laprida scored the last goal, Valiente won 11-8. Cambiaso was the MVP with five goals, and the Best Playing Pony award went to Tanita, an American Thoroughbred owned by J5 Equestrian that Cambiaso rode in the fifth.
Next up
The USPA Gold Cup, the second leg of the Triple Crown, starts on Saturday 17 March, with Valiente heading in as the team to beat. Can anyone stop Cambiaso and Pieres when they play on the same side?
Sources: Town-Crier (Whitney Cup), Town-Crier (Butler Handicap)
