Mike Kerley

Chukkers for Charity to benefit Prince Harry’s Sentebale

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We had the pleasure of hosting Chukkers for Charity to benefit Sentebale on Sunday, June 24.  Sentebale was founded by Prince Harry and Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso to help the forgotten victims of poverty and of the HIV/Aids epidemic.  Sentebale means “forget me not” and aides orphans and vulnerable children in Africa.

“Lesotho is fighting for survival. Nearly one third of Lesotho’s people are infected with HIV/AIDS – the third highest rate in the world. There are an estimated 400,000 orphans and vulnerable children in a country of 1.8 million. Life expectancy has plummeted to 34 years.”

Although Prince Harry was not able to attend the event, the San Diego Polo Club looks forward to the innagural event and counts on his presence in San Diego in the years to come.  For an exclusive interview with SDPC’s Creative Director and Living Polo, follow the link here.

We started the event with a Cancha Pequena match with students from our Polo School.  Cancha Pequena is one of two new leagues at the San Diego Polo Club, which gives arena students a chance to progress on to grass polo.  We also introduced a 3-goal league this summer.

West Coast Aerospace’s family sponsor, Jake Brumby played the captain, flanked by Hawaiian pro, Kimo Huddleston in the defensive position number 4.  The two blondes, Kerstie Allen and Jocelyn Parker played offense.  The teamwork between players led them to victory over San Fernando/San Judas.

The feature match was a close one.  Family Sponsor, Colton Bancroft scored a high of 5 goals on the afternoon, but it wasn’t enough for the team to win.  In Chukker 2, Diego Cossio made a phenomenal defensive move when he backed the ball out of the goal mouth and took it to the other end of the field for a point his team.  Patron and the Club’s Sweetheart, Tracee Brunetti, score the most important goal of them all in the 6th chukker to win the match for La Pasion/Southwind.

After the match, Lena Evans of Sentebale announced the winner of the $17,000 diamond and emerald earrings donated by CJ Charles Jewelers of La Jolla.  Guests also bid on silent auction items throughout the day.  In total, we raised over $30,000 for Prince Harry’s charity, Sentebale.

Willis Allen Memorial Cup Kicks Off in San Diego…

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We are playing with a fantastic group of people in September.  If you’ve never followed the season of polo in San Diego, September is the best month to see action-packed games.  We welcome new players and new competition.

The first match on Sunday brought Hanalei Bay versus Southwind Adeptus.  Ron Bonaguidi, our President and Patron of Hanalei Bay played well, scoring 1 for the team in the first chukker.  Mariano Fassetta, now called the “Argentine Assasin” by our announcer Steve Lewandowski, scored 3, and Alvaro Tadeo scored 2 for Hanalei Bay.

Southwind/Adeptus played beautifully on Sunday afternoon.  Pedro Orellano scored 5 for Southwind/Adeptus, Colleen Wilson scored 2, Chris Collins scored 2, and even Mike Kerley got one.  Needless to say, Southwind Adeptus came out on top.  They are looking good this week, defeating Hanalei Bay 10 to 6.

During intermission, the San Diego Polo Club observed 9/11 by presenting the Rainbow Riders Drill Team of Poway.  The 8 women mounted horses decorated in sparkling red, white and blue colors and paraded the field with gorgeous American flags.  In addition to their performance, we asked all current armed forces, veterans, and emergency responders to join us on the field.

Congressman Martin Garrick gave a wonderful speech in remembrance of those effected by the tragedy of 9/11.  Our announcer, Steve Lewandowski brought the audience to tears as he congratulated each one of our heroes for dedicating their lives to helping others.  It was a very special day to remember the tragedy of 10 years ago and to count our blessings.

TRINITY: Rick Paicuis 0, Patrick Uretz 1, Jared Sheldon 1, Mariano Gutierrez 5

On Friday, Trinity met in our Clubhouse to watch a previous practice game against Starmeadow in order to prep for their Sunday match.  They talked strategy and how to handle one of our best and most aggressive players on the field, Graham Bray.

STARMEADOW: Graham Bray 5, Jesse Bray 3, Jessica Bailey 1, Colton Bancroft -1

The feature match started out slow, with Jesse Bray, Colton Bancroft (subbing for his mom, Joy Bancroft), and Graham Bray each scoring 1 for Starmeadow.  Trinity scored 2 (Jared Sheldon and Mariano Gutierrez).  Jared Sheldon spiced things up in the second chukker by getting bumped off his horse.  He got right back on and continued playing.

Fans celebrated the half time Divot Stomp with tastes of Rose Champagne sponsored by Korbel California Champagne.  Every Sunday we hide  a decorated champagne cork on the field and the person who finds the cork gets a bottle of Champagne!

Starmeadow and Trinity took the half time to form a game plan, and both teams came back stronger than the first half.  Jesse Bray scored 3 for Starmeadow and Colton Bancroft (only 14 years old!) scored one.  Meanwhile, Rick Paicius, Jared Sheldon and Mariano Gutierrez  each scored one for Trinity, bringing the game up to 7 to 6, Starmeadow in the lead.

In the 5th chukker, things heated up again and Sheldon had another fall.  Again, a little bruised, but not seriously hurt, Sheldon continued playing.  Jesse Bray scored a few more, totaling 7 goals that afternoon.  Mariano Gutierrez put 2 through in the 6th chukker, but it wasn’t enough for the win.  Graham Bray did the honor of scoring 2 more in the 6th chukker, just to be sure Starmeadow walked away victoriously.