Independence Cup Kicks Off Summer Polo Season Sunday At McClure River Ranch

CARBONDALE, Colo., July 2, 2022----Aspen Valley Polo Club's much-anticipated ninth summer polo season begins Sunday with the Independence Cup at McClure River Ranch.

By Sharon Robb

Los Amigos, NetJets and Casablanca will compete for the season-opening title in a round robin at 11 a.m. MST. Los Amigos and NetJets will play first.

Team lineups are:
Los Amigos: Paul Foster, Marc Ganzi, Gonzalito Pieres, Tomacho Pieres.
NetJets: Melissa Ganzi, Nacho Figueras, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini.
Casablanca: Alejandra Foster, Grant Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Torito Ruiz.

The world's destination spot for summer polo has attracted some of the top players in the world including 10-goaler Gonzalito Pieres, 8-goaler Nic Roldan and 7-goaler Alejandro Novillo Astrada as well as world-class horses.

The horses arrived early to acclimate to playing 7,908 feet above sea level. Much like elite athletes, horses benefit from playing in high altitude, enhancing blood oxygen-delivering capacity and improving vitality that has consistently translated to improved performance, aerobic power and stamina.

With the majestic 12,965-foot summit of Mount Sopris as a backdrop under a bright summer sky, polo returns to the valley July through September with a record thirteen tournaments.

Other summer tournaments are ChukkerTV Cup, Craig Sakin Memorial, Basalt Handicap, Emma Challenge Cup, High Alpine Cup, Mount Sopris Cup, Rocky Mountain Open, Carbondale Classic, Triple Crown of Polo-Aspen, Silver Queen Invitational, Maroon Bells Cup and Ute Challenge.

The highlight of the season is the Aug. 28th Summer Polo Benefit for the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation. Last year's event raised more than $500,000 after a year's hiatus because of the pandemic. It is the club's summer marquis event and one of the city's most anticipated social summer events.

Wellington, Fla.-based ChukkerTV will live stream the entire 2022 polo season Mountain Standard Time with announcer Dale Schwetz calling the action.

The family-friendly club welcomes spectators. All matches, food and refreshments are free and open to the public.

Last summer Aspen Valley Polo Club finished a successful and historic season in club and Rocky Mountain Circuit history and hopes to top that this season.

The champion of last year's Independence Cup was La Karina with Sugar Erskine, Brian Boyd, Marc Ganzi and Nic Roldan. The foursome defeated Casablanca (Govinda Quish, Grant Ganzi, Torito Ruiz, Pablo Spinacci) and McClure River Ranch (Lauren Sherry, Alex Gooding, Nacho Figueras, Nacho Novillo Astrada) in round robin play. Roldan was MVP.

The other 2021 tournament champions were: Chukker TV Challenge Cup, NetJets (Michael Payne, Alex Gooding, Sugar Erskine, Nacho Figueras); Craig Sakin Memorial, Casablanca (Lauren Sherry, Alex Gooding, Torito Ruiz, Grant Ganzi); Basalt Handicap Cup, Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Grant Ganzi, Torito Ruiz, Jimmy Seward); Emma Challenge, Rancho Los Amigos (Paul Foster, Juan Bollini, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Gussie Busch); High Alpine Cup, Santa Rita (Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Alejandra Foster, Lauren Sherry, Tomacho Pieres); Mount Sopris Cup, NetJets (Juan Bollini, Gussie Busch, Govinda Quish, Pablo Spinacci); Rocky Mountain Open, Casablanca (Marc Ganzi, Grant Ganzi, Gonzalito Pieres, Torito Ruiz); Carbondale Classic, White Claw (Waqaas Al-Siddiq, Vinny Sangaline, Gonzalito Pieres, Nacho Badiola); WPL Triple Crown of Polo-Aspen, Tonkawa (Marc Ganzi, Jeff Hildebrand, Gonzalito Pieres, Juan Bollini); and Silver Queen Invtational, NetJets (Brian Boyd, Juan Bollini, Nacho Figueras, Pablo Spinacci).

Independence Day, also called the Fourth of July, has been a national holiday since 1941. The annual celebration of nationhood commemorates the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

On Monday, Aspen will celebrate with its traditional parade at 11 a.m. in the Community Village. New this year, Aspen is hosting a Community Village through the downtown streets and Wagner Park. The free event will feature a car show, live music and surplus of community organizations. There's also a laser show at Wagner Park at 9:15 p.m.

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 on more than six world-class fields. There are also indoor and outdoor polo arenas.

Aspen was founded as a silver mining town in the 1800s and was named for the abundance of aspen trees growing in the area and famous for their tall, thin trunks and golden leaves. Conde Nast Traveler's Reader's Choice Awards recognized Aspen as the No. 1 Small City in the U.S.

The Polo School for all ages and ability levels operates in Carbondale July through September. For more information on tournaments or Polo School contact Director of Operations Juan Bollini at 561-346-1099.

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, water rafting, swimming, fly fishing and golf.