White Birch, Greenwich Polo Club’s home team, came from behind to defeat Palm Beach Equine 11-8 for the East Coast Bronze Cup on a hot but picture-perfect Father’s Day that saw the start of summer. All afternoon, White Birch’s Pablo Llorente Jr. and Palm Beach Equine’s Gringo Colombres mixed it up in what was a seesaw match for many of the chukkers. But in the end White Birch pulled away to remain undefeated in tournament play, anchored by MVP Chris Brant, son of club founder Peter Brant.
Odelay, out of Los Machitos, took the blanket for Best Playing Pony. Los Machitos is an Argentine breeding and training center for high-goal polo ponies, co-owned by White Birch mainstay Mariano Aguerre and fellow player Nick Manifold. Max Gundlach of fourth-place finisher Level Select CBD was named the tournament’s amateur MVP.
Nacho Figueras, the Ralph Lauren Polo spokesmodel who was such a memorable opponent to Prince Harry in the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup in 2013, was on hand to present the awards.
The season continues on select Sundays through Sept. 12.
For more, visit greenwichpoloclub.com.
– Georgette Gouveia
