McClure River Ranch Wins Craig Sakin Memorial In Overtime Thriller; Roberto Poma Named MVP, Most Improved Player
CARBONDALE, Colo., July 14, 2025---In a thrilling finish, McClure River Ranch rallied to win the Craig Sakin Memorial Sunday at Aspen Valley Polo Club.
By Sharon Robb
In front of a good crowd, McClure River Ranch (Roberto Poma/Ale Poma, Grant Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Hilario Figueras) tied the game with 30 seconds left in regulation and went on to defeat The Setai (Melissa Ganzi, Jason Crowder, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini), 10-9, in overtime.
Roberto Poma, who clinched the victory with the winning goal in overtime, was named Most Valuable Player. He was also selected Most Improved Player for the week. At 14, he is one of the youngest players to earn MVP honors at Aspen Valley Polo Club.
Poma, the son of reigning U.S. Open champion and patron Alejandro Poma of La Dolfina/Tamera, has only been playing polo for less than a year. During his family's stay in Aspen, Poma played at The Polo School, Saturday's Kidz Polo and tournament final.
"The season in Wellington he was with me and took all of that in," Poma said. "He was able to ride and was inspired by everything going on and my teammates. Coming here Meli was super supportive of getting him going. He took it all in. He is super passionate about it, super dedicated and he loves it."
It showed on Sunday when he scored two goals in the first two chukkers of the game. His father added two goals in the last four chukkers of regulation. Poma went back in for his overtime heroics.
"We improvised at the very end and it worked out great," Poma said. "The first improvisation was having him play the first two chukkers of the game which was a great idea I hadn't thought of. It was suggested. I'm super happy that Melissa and the club were open about it and accommodating.
"For me watching that and having Roberto's grandmom here being able to see it and take it all in was a dream come true. It was a super special moment for all of us."
When asked about his son playing in the pivotal overtime period, Poma joked "Why not throw him in with the sharks and see what happens?"
Grant Ganzi and Roldan are repeat winners of the tournament, winning last year with Casablanca.
In a rollercoaster of a game, the lead changed hands eight times. The Setai jumped out to a 2-0 lead with back-to-back goals from Melissa Ganzi. The Setai pulled away for leads of 3-1 and 4-2 in the second chukker with two more Ganzi goals. Alejandro Poma and Grant Ganzi reeled The Setai in the third chukker for a 4-4 halftime.
After getting shut out in the third chukker, The Setai came back for a 4-2 fourth chukker for leads of 8-5 and 8-6. McClure River Ranch came back in the sixth chukker with a goal from Figueras and Grant Ganzi's 30-yard penalty conversion to tie 8-8. With 1:14 left, Crowder stole the ball and scored for a 9-8 lead. In the closing minute, The Setai was called for an uneven rideoff. Grant Ganzi converted the penalty to tie 9-9, sending the game into overtime.
Overwatch, an 8-year-old Chestnut gelding, played by Astrada and owned and bred (Javi/Luisa) by Wellington, Fla.-based Santa Rita Polo Farm, was the American Polo Horse Association Best Playing Pony.
Little Nell, an 8-year-old Bay mare played by Grant Ganzi and owned and bred (Open Quarzo/Fresh Scent) by Santa Rita Polo Farm, was the club's Best Playing Pony.
Grant Ganzi had a team-high four goals and Figueras had one. Melissa Ganzi had a game-high five goals and finished with 12 goals in two games. Astrada had three and Crowder added one.
In the Friday's semifinals, McClure River Ranch advanced with an 8-4 win over Mountain Chevrolet and The Setai defeated Audi, 10-8, in the other semifinal.
In the subsidiary Just For The Fun Of It Cup, Audi (Enrique Guzman, Tomacho Pieres, Santi Toccalino) defeated Mountain Chevrolet (Michael Payne, Sugar Erskine, Santos Bollini, Nacho Novillo Astrada) in the closing seconds to win 11-10. Toccalino had tied the game with 1:30 left.
Guzman, who scored the winning goal after a nice run with five seconds left, was Most Valuable Player. Pieres had three goals, Toccalino had two and Guzman the game-winner. For Mountain Chevrolet, Erskine led with four goals, Payne had three, Bollini two and Astrada one.
Vodka (aka Taita Genaba), a 7-year-old gray mare, played by Pieres and owned by Santa Rita Polo Farm, was Best Playing Pony.
The biggest highlight of the day was the unveiling of new, first-of-its-kind "Polo Is Beautiful" Beach Club. The fun field-side area featured lounge spaces furnished by Arhaus; cool plunge pools by Crystal River Spas; imported sand; beach chairs; handcrafted cocktails and traditional Argentine asado. Beach Club will be open every Sunday during the season from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. VIP Beach Club tickets are available.
The tournament is named in honor of Craig Sakin, who passed away on Feb. 11, 2014 at age 52. The former president of the Homeowners' Association of Sopris Mountain Ranch, was instrumental in helping the Ganzi family secure their first polo field. In 2015, some of Sakin's ashes were released over the polo field.
The 12th season kicked off July 5th and 6th with world-class polo and unforgettable summer vibes. 3 Graces Polo, making its Aspen debut, won both the The Independence and ChukkerTV Cup.
Among season AVPC highlights are the Twilight Polo Series featuring Tuesday Night Arena and Twilight Polo, an exclusive series from July 29 to August 26 at the nation's fastest growing club; and Aug. 17th Summer Polo Charity Classic to benefit Aspen Valley Health Foundation.
Other highlights are the Aug. 21-24 Triple Crown of Polo-Aspen and Silver Queen Invitational doubleheader, July 10-13 Craig Sakin Memorial and August 26 Aspen Arena Series Final.
The remaining summer tournaments are the July 17-20 Basalt Handicap, July 24-27 Emma Challenge Cup, July 31-August 3 High Alpine Cup, August 7-10 Mount Sopris Cup, August 7-17 Rocky Mountain Open, August 14-17 Carbondale Classic and Aug. 28-31 season-finale Maroon Bells Cup.
With a vision for the community and surrounding areas, the Ganzi family resurrected the club and polo in 2014. Since then polo has increased in popularity in Aspen and surrounding cities with the club's offerings of various weekly grass and arena tournaments, Arena & Asado Nights, Kidz Polo, Kids Wheelie Polo, Gymkhana, Christmas In July, The Polo School at AVPC and Polo On Demand.
In addition, the club offers practice sessions for teams competing in club tournaments on more than six world-class fields. There are also indoor and outdoor polo arenas.
Aspen Valley Polo Club caters to men, women and youth polo players at all levels. Its' expert staff can customize a complete playing experience including horses, pros and certified umpires in addition to lessons and practice sessions as part of its' Polo On Demand program.
For more information on leagues or Polo School contact Polo School Director Juan Bollini at 561-346-1099.
