Posted:
Monday, January 8, 2001
Florida High Goal Underway
By Sarah Dukes
Andy Busch's Grant's Farm Manor launched their Florida campaign with an opening win in the Challenge Cup at Palm Beach Polo and Country Club defeating FarmVet.com 8-4 - Jeff Blake contributing half of the winning tally.
Seven teams compete in this 22-goal tournament concluding on January 27. Goshen - a well-balanced line up of Sugar Erskine (7), Julio Arellano (8) and Tommy Biddle (7) with Kentucky patron Irvin Abell - also claimed a victory on opening day, 12-9 against Gillian Johnston's Coca Cola.
Palm Beach Polo's highlight of the season will be the US Open Championship running from March 17-April 14 sporting a provisional entry of some 10 teams featuring seven of the world's 10-goal players. Memo Gracida - the record 15-time winner of the coveted 26-goal tournament is among them, this year lining up for Tommy Boyle and Busch with nine-goal Hector Galindo. Other star attractions could include three of the Heguy family - Bautista, Marcos and Eduardo - each playing for a different team.
Main games at Palm Beach have been moved to Saturday afternoons freeing polo followers to spend Sundays at neighboring Royal Palm Polo where a particularly good season is on the cards with the USPA Gold Cup the main event from March 1 - 11. It is not only spectators that will move down to Royal Palm for some high goal polo. The 22-goal Sunshine League running from January 7 - February 25 has new additions in Skeeter Johnston's Everglades and Jonathon Ingram's Novogen - more familiar names to the Palm Beach scene.
