San Diego Polo Club Wins Match in Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships

On Saturday, October 24th, nearly 12,500 spectators attended the Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships: Horses & Horsepower, taking in all of the sights and sounds of the “world’s most interesting polo event.” This year’s attendance set a new one-day record. Celebrating its fifth anniversary, the event featured some of the world’s best polo players. Six competitive polo teams traveled to compete in three highly-contested matches, including the San Diego Polo Club. Some of the players included top American player Nic Roldan of the Aspen Valley Polo Club, top ranked player Andres Camacho of the Arizona Polo Club, collegiate player of the year Kareem Rosser, and Wales’ top rated player Pete Webb.

The day’s festivities included more than just polo. Fans also took advantage of The Canine Couture dog fashion show, the Larsen Art Gallery LIVE Art Auction, the World’s “Longest” Catwalk Fashion Show, and a preview of the world famous Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. It also featured ballroom dancing field side for the first time ever, as well as a Phoenix Symphony quartet performance along with play, and a High Tea Tent by The Phoenician. This year also saw the debut of the Triyar Ivy League Lounge, packed throughout the entire day with over 1,000 people dancing and drinking in a nightclub like atmosphere.

The first match on Saturday began at 11:00 AM with Barrett-Jackson Automobile Auction Company Chairman and CEO Craig Jackson making the first drop in the match between Polo Azteca and Club Polo Cabo, presented by One & Only Palmilla of Los Cabos, Mexico. In that match, Club Polo Cabo beat Polo Azteca, 9-8, and was led by the play of team founder and San Diego Polo Club member, Tony Yahyai.

In the match that followed, local favorite Arizona Polo Club took on rival San Diego Polo Club. Six-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amy Van Dyken made the first drop to get the exciting match started. Despite the tremendous play of Andres Camacho in the match’s second half, San Diego Polo Club beat Arizona Polo Club by a score of 9-3. San Diego Polo Club’s first half lead proved too much for Arizona Polo Club to overcome. Alvaro Tadeo led San Diego as he executed both offensively and defensively.

The Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships’ Featured Match presented fans an opportunity to witness two of the world’s best polo teams face off against one another. Defending champion Clogau Wales Polo Team, featuring players Ricky Cooper, Pete Webb, and Roddy Matthews, faced Aspen Valley Club, led by Nic Roldan, Melissa Ganzi, and Juan Bollini. The Phoenix Suns’ Tyson Chandler, an NBA Champion and Olympic gold medalist, provided the first drop for the day’s most thrilling match. From the start, Aspen Valley dominated their counterparts and won 9-5 to be crowned the new champions of the Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships. Roldan scored six of Aspen Valley’s nine goals.

In one of the most unique elements of the day, the Phoenix Symphony provided the musical backdrop to one of the featured match’s chukkers. Fans were regaled with classical music all while witnessing the two teams take on one another.

“Even though we weren’t able to defend our title, the Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships have become one of my favorite polo events to compete in,” said Clogau Wales Polo Team captain Ricky Cooper. “It was a great crowd and we enjoyed ourselves fully.”

5th Annual Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships: Horses & Horsepower

Polo-Party

The The Fifth Annual Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships: Horses & Horsepower returns bigger, badder and better than ever, and is less than two weeks away! Last year the Scottsdale Polo Championships drew the biggest crowd in the country for a two-day polo event with over 12,000 fans, enjoying the four-match showdown at the annual Polo Party.

Tracee-Brunetti

On Saturday, October 24th at the WestWorld of Scottsdale, our players from San Diego, including Tony Yahyai, Tracee Brunetti, Alvaro Tadeo and Kimo Huddleston will be playing in front of the thousands of specators. At 11:00am, catch Tony Yahyai and his team Club Cabo take on Polo Azteca.

Make sure to catch the San Diego Polo Club in action as Tracee Brunetti, Kimo Huddleston, and Alvaro Tadeo take on the Arizona Polo Club at 1:00pm. At 3:00pm, the reigning champions, the Clogau Wales Polo Team vs. Aspen Valley Polo Club, with SDPC friends Melissa Ganzi and Nic Roldan. A Polo Clinic by some of the Valley’s top professional players will follow.

Kimo-Huddleston

This year, attendees are in for a treat with sneak previews of the 2016 Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show and Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction along with local car clubs lining the field, Larsen Gallery’s LIVE Fine & Contemporary Art Auction and the Phoenix Symphony!

Alvaro-Tadeo

Nearly 15,000 people are expected to attend this year’s event! For a full schedule of the day’s festivities, please click here.

Tickets for the matches and other festivities can be purchased here.

We look forward to seeing you in Scottsdale!