USPA National Arena Handicap Begins Tuesday At Aspen Valley Polo Club; Flexjet Looks To Three-Peat

CARBONDALE, Colo., July 29, 2019---Defending champion Flexjet will be looking for the three-peat when the USPA National Arena Handicap Polo Championship begins Tuesday at Aspen Valley Polo Club.

Several of the top players in the world including Argentine brothers Alejandro and Nacho Novillo Astrada and American players Kris Kampsen, top-ranked arena player at 9 goals and Nic Roldan are among the four-team field.

The tournament gets underway Tuesday with the semifinal round. Flexjet will open up against Audi at 5 p.m. and Casablanca plays McClure River Ranch at 6:30 p.m. The final is Tuesday, Aug. 6.

The teams and sponsors are:

Audi: Marc Ganzi, Kris Kampsen, Lucas Lalor.

Casablanca: Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Nic Roldan.

Flexjet: Melissa Ganzi, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini.

McClure River Ranch: Daren Tamplin, Pablo Spinacci, Nacho Novillo Astrada.

In 2018, Flexjet (Melissa Ganzi, 1, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 8, Juan Bollini, 6) rallied in the second half to defeat The Polo School (Aiden Meeker, A, Carlitos Gracida, 5, Nic Roldan, 8), 14-10, in front of a good crowd and worldwide USPA Polo Network audience.

Fourteen-year-old Aiden Meeker of Fort Worth, Tex., playing well above his "A" handicap in his arena championship debut, was named Most Valuable Player. Meeker, then a freshman at Culver Academy, scored two goals in the semifinals and one in the final while defending some of the sport's top players including Argentine brothers Alejandro and Nacho Novillo Astrada.

For the second year in a row, Flexjet was the most dominant team in the four-team field scoring 32 goals in two games. In 2017, Flexjet scored 43 goals in three games.

In 2017, the Flexjet trio of Ganzi, Bollini and Astrada defeated Audi's Marc Ganzi, Nacho Novillo Astrada and Stewart Armstrong, 12-9, in an action-packed thriller.

Bollini, a veteran pro for more than 30 years and cancer survivor, was named Most Valuable Player after dominating the game and scoring two 2-pointers.

Alejandro Novillo Astrada was named Tournament Most Valuable Pro Player. He finished with 19 goals in three games including three goals in the final. It was Astrada's summer polo season debut.

Armstrong, a USPA member since 1973, was named Tournament Most Valuable Amateur Player.

The annual event dates back to 1980 and is a national USPA tournament played at medium goal level. In the past, the tournament has been played as a subsidiary to the U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship at Country Farms Polo Club in Medford, N.Y.

Part of the challenge of arena polo is the arena itself, a confined area of 150 feet by 300 feet. The fast-paced, spectator-friendly four-chukker game features teams of three playing on a dirt/sand surface with a larger polo ball, more like a mini-soccer ball.

USPA Polo Network will live stream the two-day tournament with Dale Schwetz calling the action.

The USPA National Arena Handicap is the eighth of eleven grass tournaments and three arena tournaments being staged at AVPC in what is expected to be its best season.

Coming off its most successful summer season, Aspen Valley Polo Club lined up a star-studded field of players including Hilario Ulloa, Sapo Caset, Alejandro and Nacho Novillo Astrada, Tincho and Sebastian Merlos and Nic Roldan for the summer to compete with and against patrons and amateur players.

The 2019 summer tournament champions are: Los Amigos Blue (Alejandra Foster, Alejandro Poma, Salvador Ulloa, Juan Bollini), Emma Challenge; Piocho Ranch (Gussie Busch, Nacho Figueras, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Tom Barrack), Basalt Handicap; La Karina (Brian Boyd, Carlitos Gracida, Sebastian Merlos, Kris Kampsen), USPA North American Cup; Mountain Chevrolet (Michael Payne, Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Nacho Novillo Astrada), ChukkerTV Challenge; Los Amigos Red (Hilario Figueras, Paul Foster, Lucas Lalor, Nacho Novillo Astrada), Craig Sakin Memorial; and Piocho Ranch (Tom Barrack, Gabriel Gracida, Nacho Figueras, Salvador Ulloa), the season-opening Independence Cup winners.

Among 2019 summer highlights is the 119th USPA Silver Cup with some of the world's top players. The Aug. 11 final, set for one of the club's two new fields at McClure River Ranch in front of a sellout crowd, will be paired with the annual Chukkers, Champagne & Caviar fundraiser. Other top tournaments are this week's USPA National Arena Handicap, Aug. 7-14 Arena World Cup and Sept. 1-8 Triple Crown of Polo.

The club's summer marquis charity event, hosted by club owners Marc and Melissa Ganzi and Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation, has raised $1 million dollars in the last two years to benefit Aspen Valley Hospital.

With the majestic 12,965-foot summit of Mount Sopris as a backdrop, Aspen Valley Polo Club is one of the busiest and fastest growing USPA-sanctioned clubs in the nation with a membership increase of 75 percent over four seasons.

Since Marc and Melissa Ganzi founded the club in 2014, polo has increased in popularity in Aspen and surrounding cities with the club’s offerings of various weekly grass and arena tournaments, Tuesday Arena & Asado Nights, Kidz 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 weekend tournaments.

Aspen Valley Polo Club has had a positive impact in the area hosting kids polo camps, teaching lessons and several charitable events at the club that have benefitted local charities.

The Ganzis are avid players and patrons and "have created a polo paradise" according to Piocho Ranch padron Tom Barrack. "You can go all over the world but you can't have these kind of people, players and horses in this setting. It's really a gift." Players, sponsors, community leaders and fans share Barrack's sentiments.

All ages are welcome to enjoy polo at Aspen Valley Polo Club. Admission, food and refreshments are free for fans in a relaxed, laidback atmosphere. An added feature is the club's Jumbotron which made its debut last summer for the fans' enjoyment, Aspen Valley Polo Club Boutique and new electronic scoreboard.