San Fernando Archives - San Diego Polo Club

Chambord Vodka Classic 2014 Recap

December 13, 2014July 10, 2014 by

Sunday, June 29th was another beautiful day here at the San Diego Polo Club– a bright, breezy polo-filled afternoon. With our fantastic sponsor Chambord Vodka in attendance, we had a festive purple and pink theme to the tents to match their blackberry flavored liqueur and vodka. Patrons enjoyed tastes of Chambord Vodka & Liqueur while watching the action on the field.

The PEERS Network & Challenged Athletes Foundation were also in attendance as proud supporters of Sunday Polo.

The first match at 1pm between Starmeadow/MonteVerde and Twin Palms/San Judas, started of with a bang when Jennifer Alexy scored the first goal for her team, Twin Palms/San Judas. Colton Bancroft also scored for Starmeadow/MonteVerde. The match ended with at Twin Palms/San Judas at 9 and Starmeadow/MonteVerde with 10, taking the win.

Guests of all ages attended the Sunday Polo event, from tailgating to the VIP tent!

At intermission we had a fun and informative polo demonstration by Diego Velarde and Diego Larrreglia. They showed us all some great moves and demonstrated the basic hitting positions and rules, while announcer, Steve Lewandowski broke down the line of the ball and a bit about strategy.

Anthony Ballard, a long time polo fan and a San Diego resident with 20 plus years of singing, locally and abroad, sang our national anthem beautifully.

A representative of the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Jeffrey Odom, did the honor of throwing in the first ball. Jeffrey is a former F-16 Crew Chief for the United States Air Force and Captain of Team USA Wheelchair Rugby. The Challenged Athletes Foundation also have a space at the event that showcased how they help those with physical disabilities.

It is the mission of the Challenged Athletes Foundation® (CAF) to provide opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics. CAF believes that involvement in sports at any level increases self-esteem, encourages independence and enhances quality of life.

The second match of the day at 3pm was an exciting one with San Fernando vs Team Chambord. San Fernando dominated, scoring the first 3 goals of the match in the first chukker. The talented John Eicher scored 4 of the 9 goals for his team, Team Chambord.

However, San Fernando was still able to capture the win. The match ended with San Fernando at 11 and Team Chambord at 9.

Pan-American Cup Finals & Local Heroes Celebration

December 13, 2014July 7, 2014 by

The patriotic spirit was everywhere on Sunday as we enjoyed The Pan American Cup Finals on Sunday July 6^th. It was the perfect way to cap off an amazing 4^th of July weekend. Red, white and blue was abundant, from our lovely patrons stylish attire, to the tablecloths and trophy decorations.

In the first match at 1:00pm, Topo Mendez scored the first goal in Chukker 1 for his Team Twin Palms/San Judas. Followed by John Eicher with one for Leisure Society. Then another by Virgil Kyle for Leisure Society and the last by Ashton Wolf for Twin Palms/ San Judas, wrapping up Chukker 1. In Chukker 2 Jennifer Alexy bringing one in for Twin Palms/ San Judas, followed by anther for Leisure Society by John Eicher.

Ryan Robertson finished it off by scoring a goal for Leisure Society in the last chukker, bringing the final score to 11 to 9, Leisure Society.

During our intermission, we had a wonderful demo by The Oceanside Police Canine Officers Association.

Spectators were on the edge of their seats watching the dogs go through their amazing skills. Demonstrating a variety of tactics to assist their human counterparts in the safe and efficient handing of dangerous situations. Spectators were then invited to enjoy picture ops with the dogs and service men and woman.

The Oceanside Police Canine Officers Association thanks you for being here this afternoon. Their nonprofit, established by the officers in 2013, bridges the gap for our K9s healthcare, training tools, and retired police dogs. In the line of duty, sometimes our dogs get injured requiring expensive veterinary care. Their goal is to be able to have funds available for each of our 4 canines should a medical emergency occur. Thanks to donations from our generous community members, their dogs can stay healthy and safe, while they protect and serve.

We also hosted the Del Mar Lifeguards, Del Mar Ranger, San Diego Fire & Rescue and local EMTs.

The Lifeguard Department serves the community with a wide variety of community service programs. The Department staffs permanent and seasonal lifeguards. Lifeguards patrol and oversee 2.5 miles of beach. Each day, lifeguards establish and maintain safe swimming and surfing areas. They warn visitors of dangerous swimming areas, rip currents, and unstable cliffs and bluffs. Environmental conditions are constantly monitored and weather and surf are updated and posted throughout the day. The Del Mar beach has very strong rip-currents and several inshore holes. The department averages 1,400 water-related rescues and 1,100 medical aids per year.

The Lifeguards are highly trained in several areas. Qualifications include being emergency medical technicians with advanced airway and defibrillator accreditation. The department operates year-round cliff, swift water and scuba rescue teams. The Department also cross trains for mutual aid responses with the Aerial Support to Regional Enforcement Agencies (ASTREA) and the United States Coast Guard.

Our national anthem was sung by the lovely, Rhianna Wilson, a 16 years old and just finished her Sophomore year at Ramona High School. She has had the honor to sing the National Anthem for the SD Padres, Ceremonies aboard the USS Midway, KSON Radio and many community events.

The feature match of the day at 3:00pm was between San Fernando and MonteVerde/Starmeadow. The match started with Diego Cossio scoring the first goal of the match for San Fernando in the first Chukker. Followed by one by Diego Velarde and one by Roberto Estudillo. With Chris Collins scoring one for his team MonteVerde/Starmeadow. Followed by Colton Bancroft and Graham Bray coming in to score 4 goals each for MonteVerde/Starmeadow. It was a close game ending with Diego Velarde scoring 3 goals for San Fernando and taking home the win.

Written by Cara Helminski

San Fernando wins Fernando Gutierrez Memorial Tournament!

December 13, 2014July 30, 2013 by

Fernando Gutierrez once played polo on the lush fields at the San Diego Polo Club with his brother-in-law, Roberto Estudillo. After his passing, the Gutierrez and Estudillo families created a memorial tournament in his honor. Roberto Estudillo has since named his team San Fernando, meaning “Saint Fernando.” Fernando’s wife, and sister to Roberto, Monique Estudillo and son, Fernando (Fernandito) Gutierrez support this wonderful event annually.

The entire Estudillo Family was present, including their 101 year old Grandmother. We are honored to welcome the family and friends of the Gutierrez & Estudillo families each year.

Senora Estudillo had the honor of throwing in the first ball to begin the final match of the Fernando Gutierrez Memorial Cup.

Things started off hot in the first chukker with Nick Mathers scoring 2 and Mariano Fassetta scoring 1 for Hanalei Bay/Sycamore. Diego Velarde of Twin Palms/San Fernando scored 1. By half time, the score was even 5 to 5. Chris Maloney played a great game, scoring two on the afternoon for Twin Palms/San Fernando.

After half time, things really started heating up with back and forth goals throughout the last chukkers. The 6th chukker proved to be an exciting one with Diego Velarde and Gaston VonWernich scoring 3 for Twin Palms/San Fernando and Ashton Wolf, Mariano Fassetta, and Krista Bonaguidi scoring 3 for Hanalei Bay/Sycamore. The crowd was loving the cat and mouse game, each team chasing each other down the field. The game went into over time.

In overtime, Twin Palms/San Fernando’s number 2 position, Diego Velarde took the ball to the goal and scored the winning team for Twin Palms/San Fernando!

Chris Maloney’s horse in the 4th chukker won Best Playing Pony.

During intermission earlier in the day, John Brokenshire of the Free Wheelchair Project introduced this fantastic charity. The San Diego Polo Club was honored to welcome the Free Wheelchair Mission to our Sunday polo event. After learning about the Free Wheelchair Mission and the inexpensive cost to literally lift spirits and lives, we knew we had to promote this charity in front of a large group of people.

Having Vietnamese wheelchair recipient, Lihn Nguyen in attendance was truly special for our audience and tugged on the heartstrings of many. When you see the enthusiasm and passion behind the charity’s volunteers and staff, you know their mission is true and important. We are thrilled the San Diego Polo Club helped save the lives of over 100 disadvantaged individuals and families across the globe. There are some things you just know to be true in your heart, and this charity is one of them.

Through live and silent auction, we are able to donate 115 wheelchairs to those in need!

In addition to this absolutely fantastic day, Land Rover of San Diego display their luxury vehicles throughout the event. Visit them and say hi to owner, Jason Puga for us!

We also had a HUGE crowd of Ivy League Alumni in attendance, especially from Harvard and MIT. If you’d like to host an alumni mixer or event at SDPC, comment and let us know!

Thank you for a wonderful start to our season! We’ll return on August 18 with Aloha Sunday, a fun, island-inspired family event. If you can believe it, the best has yet to come!