July 12, 2012

MVP - 8 goaler Polito Pieres scored the final goal to win the Gold Cup on bay stallion "Rolinga" voted the best playing pony in a thrilling final yesterday on Lawns 1 polo ground at the cathedral of European polo Cowdray Park Polo Club in Midhurst, West Sussex . A full house of polo fans and celebrities turned out for high goal thriller by Major Chris Hanbury's El Ramanso led by Argentine Open champion David "Pelon" Stirling rated 10 goals in Argentina & the USA but 9 goals in the UK and Adrian Kirby's Cortium with the explosive combination of Elizalde (6 goals) and Polito Pieres (8 goals) both will never see their current rating again for a long time with may be Pieres destined to the maximum handicap 10 like his uncles Gonzalo & Alfonso and cousins Gonzalito & Facundo.

The common factor in the 2012 English high goal season has been the "unsettled" weather combined with a few well balanced teams with under rated players "stealing" handicaps more on that later. Most high goal experts gave the superb quartet of El Remanso the edge in yesterday's final particularly after they beat by 2 goals in a deluge of rain "The Maestro" 10 goaler Adolfo Cambiaso AKA as the best player in the history of polo. El Remanso has an unbeatable combination youth, horse power, team work, vastly under rated players is like a 26 goal team not 22 goals once again the weather was a factor not due to rain but due to the ground being very heavy & soft despite the herculean efforts of the Cowdray Park Polo staff.

El Remanso had the edge in the final all the day leading by 2 going into the sixth and final chukka but then Polito Pieres came out again on stallion "Rolinga" and gave an exhibition of individual polo talent combined with horse power and great heart. According to the late John T. Oxley of Royal Palm Polo in Palm Beach the difference in a top rated players is the the second, third & fourth effort. He gave Gonzalo Pieres ( Polito's uncle)his first opportunity at high goal polo in America when Gonzalo needed to make the winning the goal he did it just like Polito did yesterday.

The elephant in the room in this years English high goal season is the great number of young under rated players like Hanburys, Alec White of Dubai etc and even the patrons are stealing handicap with many playing above their rating like the Hanbury's & Adrian Kirby yesterday. Even the top players like Pelon Stirling and Nachi Heguy are under rated by a goal. It seems like a an Argentine high goal player told me yesterday" The Argentine high goal players want to be 10 in Argentina and 7 in England not possible or fair".

Pieres the most famous polo family in today's game find their name once again engraved in the most important polo trophy in Europe. Congratulations to Adrian Kirby who over came some personal issues a couple of years ago to lift the 2012 Gold Cup yesterday: winner take all!!

Article source: Alberto van der Mye, United Kingdom
Image source: www.polonline.com