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Greenwich Polo Opening Day Kicks Off With White Birch Win

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Santino Magrini of White Birch, left, charges down the field ahead of Mariano Gonzalez of Goose Creek during Sunday afternoon's match at the Greenwich Polo Club. (John Ferris Robben photo)
Santino Magrini of White Birch, left, charges down the field ahead of Mariano Gonzalez of Goose Creek during Sunday afternoon’s match at the Greenwich Polo Club. (John Ferris Robben photo)

By Liz Leamy
Sentinel Correspondent

Last Sunday was one for the books as White Birch, the world-renowned Greenwich-based high-goal polo team, kicked off the 2016 summer season in winning fashion, edging out Goose Creek 9-8 in a dramatic overtime showdown to advance in the prestigious U.S. Polo Association Monty Waterbury Cup.

Just nine seconds into the seventh (overtime) chukker, Hilario Ulloa, the talented Argentian number-two White Birch player who is listed as one of only 10 athletes in the world to currently hold a 10-goal ranking, knocked in the winning point, a statement that not only meant victory for his team, but also showed they mean more serious business than ever this season.

“We would like to repeat what we did last year, but also win the East Coast Open,” said Mariano Aguerre, the team’s iconic Argentinian number-three veteran who has been a main driving force for the team since the late 1980s and has also helped establish White Birch as one of the most prominent high-goal polo contingents in the U.S. today.

Based upon the exceptional playing quality of this Greenwich-based polo squad last Sunday, it seems that all systems seem to be a ‘go’ in terms of the group achieving their goals this year.

Throughout the entire game, Aguerre, a nine-goaler, and his skilled colleagues flew around the legendary Conyers Farm field (said to be more than three football fields long) on their ponies with the ease, power and speed of National Hockey League star players as they claimed their fifth Monty Waterbury title, a citation that would designate them as only one of two teams to ever hold this many wins for this trophy. (The other troupe to list as many wins was Gone Away Farm, a Maryland-based contingent that dominated the U.S. high-goal arena during the 1980s and 1990s.)

“It’s always amazing to be here and watch all of the players,” said Mercedes Bassani, a longtime Greenwich Polo Club attendee and resident who is a global real estate expert for Keller Williams Realty.

For the players, it’s just all about doing their best.

“It’s great to be here again and we’re looking forward to a good season,” said Aguerre, who, along with Ulloa and the other White Birch players, seemed thrilled at the prospect of winning the Monty Waterbury Cup, as it signifies the first step in their quest toward fulfilling their goal of clinching the East Coast Open Perry Cup trophy later in the season. (Last year, White Birch had been narrowly edged out by Team Audi USA, 14-13, in the East Coast Open Final, an edge-of-your-seat match held at the Greenwich Polo Club that had been nationally televised by NBC Universal Sports and ended with an exciting sudden-death showdown.)

Meanwhile, on this particular Sunday afternoon, Goose Creek managed to put up a valiant fight against White Birch and appeared to do everything they could to take over the leaderboard.

“Today was bittersweet,” said Tomas Garcia del Rio, an Argentinian eight-goaler whose charge, Cali Nuez, had been awarded the Best Playing Pony citation at the conclusion of the match. “The level of playing doesn’t get any higher than what you have here at the Greenwich Polo Club. It’s very competitive, but that’s what makes it so exciting.”

Without a doubt, the superb playing standard seemed to resonate well with the crowd, which was said to have totaled more than 3,000 individuals in all, a group who appeared to be fully engaged with what was happening on the field right from the start through to the end of the match.

“These players are incredible,” said Bassani, whose interest in the sport had been sparked by her father and brother, both of who played polo in her native country of Uruguay with the former having been a two-time national champion. “Santino Magrini also played exceptionally well today.”

Greenwich Polo Club a Top U.S. High-Goal Destination

Certainly, the playing standard of White Birch and the other high-goal teams on this year’s roster, including Airstream, Goose Creek, Team Postage Stamp Farm and Beluga, among others, is the reason why the Greenwich Polo Club, established in 1981, has come to be known as a premiere U.S. high-goal summer polo destination in the sport.

Sunday afternoon was a gorgeous day and the Greenwich Polo Club was a great place to be, as White Birch kicked off the season with a match against Goose Creek. White Birch, the Greenwich-based high-goal polo team, came away with the 9-8 victory and kept the goal of capturing the U.S. Polo Association Monty Waterbury Cup within reach. (photo by John Ferris Robben)
Sunday afternoon was a gorgeous day and the Greenwich Polo Club was a great place to be, as White Birch kicked off the season with a match against Goose Creek. White Birch, the Greenwich-based high-goal polo team, came away with the 9-8 victory and kept the goal of capturing the U.S. Polo Association Monty Waterbury Cup within reach. (photo by John Ferris Robben)

Based at the picturesque Conyers Farm field on North Street, this iconic New York-metro area club has, over the years, come to be known as such a popular high-goal destination because it offers everyone, including the players, organizers, sponsors and spectators, such a great deal in every regard.

“The Greenwich Polo Club is a main [high-goal] spot,” said Brandon Phillips, a Canadian-born five-goaler and the number three player for Team Postage Stamp Farm who lives in Wellington, Florida. “I played here when I first started and although it was big then, I would say it’s much bigger now with all of its publicity, sponsors, media coverage and everything else. It’s really exciting to be here.”

Garcia del Rio echoed Phillips’ sentiment.

“This is an incredible place, the people are very nice, the players are great, the club is fantastic and the town has everything to offer,” said Garcia del Rio in his characteristic convivial tone. “I always look forward to coming back here.”

Bassani agreed.

“Having a club like the Greenwich Polo Club is special and something not to be taken for granted,” she said.

No doubt, the Greenwich Polo Club has become a major high-goal polo force largely due to the Herculean efforts of its founder and primary engineer, Peter Brant, the esteemed business mogul and White Birch patron who is based here in town. (Last Sunday, Brant had decided to let the young rookie, Justin Daniels, take his spot as the number-four White Birch player, a move that worked out well, since the former wound up being named Most Valuable Player at the end of the match).

Hole in the Wall Gang charity luncheon lights up GPC

During the match, there was also a great deal of goodwill happening along the sidelines as the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp held its 15th annual Polo for Children Benefit luncheon in a sprawling tent past the main entry gate.

This high-energy event drew more than 250 people that included a host of families and children and featured a silent and live auction, informational program, giving tree and delicious snacks such as fried donuts and watermelon lemonade, among other things.

Sunday afternoon was a gorgeous day and the Greenwich Polo Club was a great place to be, as White Birch kicked off the season with a match against Goose Creek. White Birch, the Greenwich-based high-goal polo team, came away with the 9-8 victory and kept the goal of capturing the U.S. Polo Association Monty Waterbury Cup within reach. (photo by John Ferris Robben)
Sunday afternoon was a gorgeous day and the Greenwich Polo Club was a great place to be, as White Birch kicked off the season with a match against Goose Creek. White Birch, the Greenwich-based high-goal polo team, came away with the 9-8 victory and kept the goal of capturing the U.S. Polo Association Monty Waterbury Cup within reach. (photo by John Ferris Robben)

It was held on behalf of the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a non-profit organization that offers a residential summer camp at a 300-acre site (with a 44-acre lake) in Ashford, Connecticut, as well as a year-round center to children and their families facing serious illnesses such as cancer and other conditions.

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp organization had been founded in 1988 by Paul Newman, the legendary Hollywood actor who had lived for many years in Westport with his wife, actress Joanne Woodward and family and who had sadly, passed away in 2008.

Newman had named the organization endearingly after the gang who had been portrayed in the iconic 1969 Hollywood award-winning film he had starred in with Robert Redford, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.’

“What the [Hole in the Wall Gang Camp] does for the campers as well as their families is quite something,” said Daniel McLeod, one of the four Co-Chairs for this year’s Polo for Children Benefit. (The other Co Chairs included his wife, BB McLeod, and Kate and Scott Eichel.) “Paul Newman started a phenomenal organization and wanted to be part of this legacy.”

Certainly, Newman’s magic seems to have had a powerful effect on this organization, that’s for sure.

According to reports, the Polo for Children Benefit alone, established by Founding Chair Ursula Gwynne, is said to have raised a total of more than six million dollars to help support Hole in the Wall Gang Camp programs since 2002.

According to organizers, much of the success of this event is due to the great efforts of all of the people who have been involved with it, especially its board and committee members.

“We have a great benefit committee which does a phenomenal job of rallying,” said Beth Stearkin, Manager of Communications for the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, whose offices are located in New Haven. “It’s been a great experience and we’ve had a perfect day here.”

Daniel McLeod agreed.

“It’s been great up here,” he said. “Everyone has been having a lot of fun, especially the kids. It’s been a real family day with wonderful people who are here for the purpose of helping others and that’s everything.”

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