Aspen Valley Polo Club Goes For Eighth Title Saturday At Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., November 3, 2023---Aspen Valley Polo Club will try to add another chapter to the history books Saturday when it competes in the 12th annual Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships presented by Talking Stick Resort.
By Sharon Robb
The nation's fastest growing polo club will go after an unprecedented eighth title before an expected sellout crowd of more than 12,000 on The Polo Field at WestWorld.
Aspen Valley Polo Club features 8-goaler Nic Roldan, the second highest ranked American polo player; and father and son Marc Ganzi and Grant Ganzi. They will play the Wales Polo Team, captained by Ricky Cooper, Jason Crowder and Pete Webb in the signature game. It will be Cooper's tenth year at the event.
"It’s an honor to come out every year,” Cooper said. “Some of the best players come out including Nic Roldan. The organizers mix up the polo. I’ve always said this is the best polo event we attend, hands down, across the world.
"They have the unique ability to pull together events within an event. It’s a party within a party. Everybody dresses up. There’s never any trouble. Everybody is there to enjoy the sunshine, albeit a little cooler. It’s all worked out extremely well.”
In another featured game, Texas Garland Polo Team will play PRIDE USA Polo Team, featuring actor Sterling Jones, Ryan Corin and Juan Bollini, at 61, one of the oldest active players in the U.S.
The schedule of games and festivities that feature Barrett-Jackson's 2023 World's Greatest Collector Car auction, halftime and chukker performances, divot stomping, Mini Horses and Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show is:
10 a.m., Match 1: Texas Garland Polo Team vs. PRIDE USA Polo Team
11:55 a.m., The World’s “Longest” Fashion Show produced by Phoenix Fashion Week.
12:15 p.m., Match 2: Arizona Polo Club vs. USA Women’s Team
1:45 p.m., Canine Couture: A Dog Fashion Show Like No Other, presented by Lugari Pet Salon
2:15 p.m., Match 3: Aspen Valley Polo Club vs. Wales Polo Team
3:45 p.m., Match 4: North Scottsdale Polo Team vs. New Orleans Polo Club
4 p.m., "Birds Nest Style" Sunset Afterparty, organized for the first time by Top Event Promoter Walter Productions, featuring Grammy nominated Electro-Funk duo Chromeo and Burning Man favorites Walter the Bus, Kalliope and Flame Effects.
The general admission features are the Sanderson Lincoln Black Label Lounge, Grimaldi's Pizza Disco, and Riot House Polo Day Club.
There are also three different VIP experiences: The Barrett-Jackson Champagne & Jazz Lounge, Prime: A Luxury Tent Experience by Maple & Ash, Neiman Marcus, Barrett-Jackson and Bentley Scottsdale, and Molina Fine Jewelers Drivers & Players VIP Lounge.
Event founder, owner and Scottsdale public relations executive Jason Rose continues to raise the event’s bar every year since he started it in 2011.
“We are excited for another fantastic afternoon at the Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships and can’t wait to show off all of the pomp and circumstance that has been planned,” Rose said.
“It’s really a lifestyle event is what it’s become. When you look at the sponsors, exotic cars, the fashion shows, the dog fashion shows, it’s polo and a whole lot more.
“We always try to do things that you can’t find anywhere else," Rose said. "And I guarantee you, a Burning Man approach to concerts is something that’s probably never been done at a polo event anywhere in the world.”
Last year the team of Melissa Ganzi, Grant Ganzi and Nic Roldan won an unprecedented seventh title defeating Palm Beach Polo (Scott Wood, Jason Crowder, Juan Bollini), 7-5, for the coveted Molina Cup.
The most attended polo event in the United States is one of the most extravagant outdoor sports spectacles in not only Arizona but the United States and has helped increase polo's exposure and popularity. It's been billed as "Polo for the Masses."
Last year's event attracted a record 12,144 fans, increasing ticker revenue.
“This is a great way to showcase polo to the masses,” Roldan said. “We want to show people our passion for the sport and horses. We want to share the game with people who may have never seen polo before and we want them to have fun with it. It’s big-time exposure for the sport and really puts polo on the map.”
The event has grown every year with about a quarter of a mile worth of tents set up for Saturday. Tickets start at $30. For more information go to thepoloparty.com.
“Just before the game, they usually play the national anthem and when you’re out there every year and the sun’s beating down on you and you look around, see the mountains, see the big crowd, I don’t think there’s a better feeling,” Cooper said. “I’m being serious. It’s the best polo event in the world.”
Aspen Valley Polo Club finished another successful season in club and Rocky Mountain Circuit history this past summer. With the majestic 12,965-foot summit of Mount Sopris as a backdrop, Aspen Valley Polo Club has become the world's destination spot for summer and snow polo.
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, Kidz Polo, Kids Wheely Polo, 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.