Basalt Handicap Tournament Begins Friday At Aspen Valley Polo Club

CARBONDALE, Colo., July 20, 2023--The fourth  tournament of the exciting summer polo season gets underway Friday at McClure River Ranch.

By Sharon Robb

With the breath-taking 12,965-foot summit of Mount Sopris as a backdrop, the Basalt Handicap, one of eleven tournaments the club is hosting in July and August with an exciting array of players, opens with two round robin  games.

Six teams are entered: ST8, making its summer debut; Santa Rita, Los Amigos, Mountain Chevrolet, Tonkawa and NetJets.

Team rosters for the Basalt Handicap are:

Los Amigos (14): Alejandra Foster, Jason Crowder, 5, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7, Stewart Armstrong, 2.

Mountain Chevrolet (13): Fran Spinacci, Michael Payne, 1, Pablo Spinacci, 6, Sugar Erskine, 6.

NetJets (15): Marc Ganzi, 1, Ale Poma, 1, Nacho Figueras, 5, Nic Roldan 8.

Santa Rita (13): Artemio Figueras, Vinny Sangaline, 1, Martin Jauregui, 6, Tomacho Pieres, 6.

ST8 (13): Melissa Ganzi, Dominic State, 2, Nacho Novillo Astrada, 8, Juan Bollini, 3.

Tonkawa (13): Santos Bollini, 2, Grant Ganzi, 3, Hilario Figueras, 5, Jimmy Seward, 3.

Two preliminary round robin qualifiers are set for Friday. At 10 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, ST8, Santa Rita and Los Amigos will play followed by Mountain Chevrolet, Tonkawa and Net Jets at 12:45 p.m. On Saturday at 11 a.m., The Just For The Love Of It Cup features Victory Polo and Sopris.

A tripleheader is set for Sunday at McClure River Ranch. At 9:45 a.m. the Just For The Thrill Of It kicks off the action followed by the final and subsidiary games at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

In addition to ST8 making its summer polo debut, Alejandro Poma returns to Aspen Valley Polo Club in his first tournament of the summer. Poma competed in last year's U.S. Open with Segundo Saravi, Magoo Laprida and Diego Cavanagh. His Tamera team had a great run all the way to the semifinals before being eliminated. The El Salvador native is also a frequent player at AVPC sister club Grand Champions in Wellington, Fla.

Last season Brookshire (Scott Wood, Ale Poma, Nacho Figueras, Torito Ruiz) led from start to finish to defeat Mountain Chevrolet (Michael Payne, Stewart Armstrong, Nic Roldan, Alex Gooding), 12-7, in the championship final of the Basalt Handicap. It was Brookshire's second tournament win in its Aspen summer debut.

Figueras was named Most Valuable Player. Chancho Va, owned and played by Figueras in the second and sixth chukkers, was selected Best Playing Pony. Chancho Va, named after a card game, is part of Figueras' Cria Yatay world-class horse breeding operation he started in 2004 outside Buenos Aires. The horse, played by Hilario Figueras, was Best Playing Pony last weekend in the Craig Sakin Memorial.

The Basalt Handicap honors the former railroad town which was named for the basaltic rock formation on Basalt Mountain. Basalt is known as a vacation mecca for families and sports enthusiasts.

Located between Glenwood Springs and Aspen, sports and cultural opportunities are only minutes away. Amid the variety of activities, Basalt still preserves it original, quaint charm. The fishing paradise sits at the junction of two Gold Medal rivers, the Frying Pan River and Roaring Fork River, which begins on Independence Pass and flows through Aspen.

The 2023 season has attracted some of the world's top pro players including Martin Jauregui, making his Aspen debut; Gonzalito Pieres, Juan Martin Nero, Nic Roldan, Alejandro and Nacho Novillo Astrada, Tomacho Pieres, Nacho Figueras, Hilario Figueras, Sugar Erskine, Pablo Spinacci, Jason Crowder and Grant Ganzi, as well as world-class horses.

The highlight of the season is the August 27th Summer Polo Charity Classic, benefitting the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation. It is the club's summer marquis event and one of the city's most anticipated social summer events. The event has raised $3 million since it began in 2016.

Other summer tournaments are the Emma Challenge Cup, High Alpine Cup, Mount Sopris Cup, Rocky Mountain Open, Carbondale Classic, Triple Crown of Polo-Aspen and Silver Queen Invitational.

Three 2023 champions have already been crowned. Victory Polo (Becky Schmeits, Grant Ganzi, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini) won the Independence Cup with a 4-3 win over Mountain Chevrolet (Riley Ganzi/Santos Bollini, Michael Payne, Nic Roldan, Jimmy Seward). In the ChukkerTV Cup final, Santa Rita (Melissa Ganzi, Tito Gaudenzi, 2, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7, Juan Bollini, 3) defeated Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Jimmy Seward, 3, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Martin Jauregui, 6), 9-7. M.A.G. Polo (Govinda Quish, Dominic State, 2, Nic Roldan 8, Jason Crowder, 5) defeated NetJets (Santos Bollini, 2, Marc Ganzi, 1, Nacho Figueras 5, Hilario Figueras, 5), 8-7, to win the Craig Sakin Memorial.

Last summer Aspen Valley Polo Club finished its most successful and historic season in club and Rocky Mountain Circuit history with a record 13 tournaments.

Los Amigos won three tournaments and Brookshire and NetJets each won two tournaments. Los Amigos won the season-opening Independence Cup, High Alpine Cup and Triple Crown of Polo-Aspen making the Texas-based team the winningest team during the 2022 season.

Wellington, Fla.-based ChukkerTV (CTV sports) will live stream the entire 2023 polo season Mountain Standard Time with announcer Dale Schwetz calling the action. Aspen Valley Polo Club is the only USPA club live streaming its entire summer schedule.

The family-friendly club welcomes spectators. All matches, food and refreshments are free and open to the public.
 
Since Marc and Melissa Ganzi resurrected the club and polo in 2014, 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, Kids Polo, Kids Wheely Polo, Gymkhana, the Polo School headed by former 8-goaler Juan Bollini, and Polo On Demand. In addition, the club offers practice sessions for teams competing in the club tournaments on more than six world-class fields. There are also indoor and outdoor polo arenas.

The Polo School is for all ages and ability levels amd operates in Carbondale. For more information on tournaments or Polo School contact Director of Operations Juan Bollini at 561-346-1099 or club manager Cale Newman at 561-876-2930.

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.

When not playing or watching polo, there's all kinds of outdoor activities in a true adventurer's playground including hiking, mountain biking, paddle boarding, water rafting, swimming, fly fishing and golf.