Silver Queen Invitational Begins Friday At Aspen Valley Polo Club
CARBONDALE, Colo., September 1, 2022----The second annual Silver Queen Invitational gets under way Friday at McClure River Ranch.
By Sharon Robb
Five teams will compete Friday in the two-day tournament. The 12th tournament of the summer will feature a round robin and one game.
At 10 a.m. on Friday at McClure River Ranch Field 2, a round robin featuring Victory (15 goals), La Karina (14) and Casablanca (15) will be held followed immediately by Los Amigos (15), going for its fourth tournament win of the season, against Mountain Chevrolet (15).
Tournament action continues on Sunday Funday with the champion final at 11 a.m. on Field One, followed by Kidz Wheely Polo at 12:45 p.m. and Just For The Love Of It round robin at 1 p.m.
The teams and rosters are:
Victory (15): Kevin Schmeits, Vinny Sangaline, Pancho Bensadon, Torito Ruiz.
La Karina (14): Brian Boyd, Juan Bollini, Sugar Erskine, Jason Crowder.
Casablanca (15): Alejandra Foster, Grant Ganzi, Juan Martin Nero, Santos Bollini.
Los Amigos (15): Paul Foster, Marc Ganzi, Tomacho Pieres, Nic Roldan.
Mountain Chevrolet (15): Fran Spinacci, Michael Payne, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Nacho Novillo Astrada.
Last year NetJets (Brian Boyd, Pablo Spinacci, Nacho Figueras, Juan Bollini) defeated Quite On Z (Alecia Seidler, Victoria Seidler, Gussie Busch, Torito Ruiz) , 8-4, in the tournament's season debut. Boyd was Most Valuable Player. Channing Tatum, an 8-year-old bay gelding played by Bollini and owned by Santa Rita Polo Farm, was Best Playing Pony.
The Silver Queen Invitational is named after the Silver Queen Gondola. The popular gondola takes about 15 minutes to get to the top of the 11,212-foot Aspen Mountain and offers spectacular views of the Maroon Bells Mountain. It is a must while in town during a winter or summer trip. It opened in 1987 and is the longest single-stage gondola in the world. It travels 2.5 miles to the top of Aspen Mountain and drops people off among hiking and biking trails, a full-service restaurant and the live-music stage.
Aspen Valley Polo Club kicked off its ninth season nine weeks ago. So far, Los Amigos is the winningest team of the season with three wins. Brookshire has won two tournament titles.
In the season-opener Los Amigos (Paul Foster, Marc Ganzi, Gonzalito Pieres, Tomacho Pieres) won the Independence Cup with a round robin victory over Casablanca (Alejandra Foster, Grant Ganzi, Torito Ruiz, Nic Roldan) and NetJets (Melissa Ganzi, Nacho Figueras, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini). Los Amigos (Paul Foster, Marc Ganzi, Gonzalito Pieres, Nacho Figueras) won its second tournament of the season with a 6-4 victory over Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Brian Boyd, Nacho Novillo Astrada/Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Jason Crowder). Pieres was MVP.
Brookshire (Scott Wood, Jason Crowder, Nic Roldan, Juan Bollini) won its club debut in the ChukkerTV Cup with an 11-7 win over Los Amigos (Paul Foster, Vinny Sangaline, Gonzalito Pieres, Nacho Figueras). Brookshire (Scott Wood, Ale Poma, Nacho Figueras, Torito Ruiz) won its second tournament of the season in the Basalt Handicap with a 12-7 win over Mountain Chevrolet (Michael Payne, Stewart Armstrong, Nic Roldan, Alex Gooding).
McClure River Ranch (Marc Ganzi, Jason Crowder, Pancho Bensadon, Stewart Armstrong) won the Craig Sakin Memorial with a 9-8 victory over Santa Rita (Melissa Ganzi, Vinny Sangaline, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini).
Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Nic Roldan, Grant Ganzi, Blas Bensadon) won the Emma Challenge with an 11-8 victory over defending champion Los Amigos(Paul Foster, Vinny Sangaline, Nacho Figueras, Tomacho Pieres).
La Karina (Lauren Sherry, Brian Boyd, Torito Ruiz, Tomacho Pieres) won the Mount Sopris Cup with a 9-8 win over NetJets (Melissa Ganzi, Vinny Sangaline, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini).
NetJets (Melissa Ganzi, Jason Crowder, Nic Roldan, Juan Bollini) won the NetJets Rocky Mountain Open with a 7-6 overtime win over Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Marc Ganzi, Tomacho Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres). Roldan earned his third MVP title of the season. Brookshire/Mountain Chevrolet (Michael Payne, Fran Spinacci, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Nacho Novillo Astrada) won the Carbondale Classic with a 6-5 win over La Karina (Brian Boyd, Pablo Spinacci, Pancho Bensadon, Stewart Armstrong) for third place. Nacho Novillo Astrada was MVP.
Last weekend, Los Amigos (Paul Foster, Jason Crowder, Grant Ganzi, Nic Roldan) won the coveted Triple Crown of Polo-Aspen with a 5-4 win over Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Marc Ganzi, Tomacho Pieres, Juan Martin Nero). Grant Ganzi was MVP.
In the Maroon Bells Cup, Victory (Kevin Schmeits, Vinny Sangaline, Torito Ruiz, Nacho Novillo Astrada) defeated Santa Rita (Melissa Ganzi, Alejandra Foster, Gonzalito Pieres, Alejandro Novillo Astrada), 20-19. Ruiz was MVP.
The world's destination spot for summer polo has attracted some of the world's top players, sponsors and world-class horses.
With the majestic 12,965-foot summit of Mount Sopris as a backdrop under a bright summer sky, polo has returned to the valley July through September with a record number thirteen tournaments. The final tournament of the summer season is the Ute Challenge on Sept. 10 on Field 1.
Wellington, Fla.-based ChukkerTV will live stream the entire 2022 polo season Mountain Standard Time with announcer Dale Schwetz calling the action.
Last summer Aspen Valley Polo Club finished a successful and historic season in club and Rocky Mountain Circuit history and is on its way of topping that this season.
Since Marc and Melissa Ganzi resurrected the club and polo in 2014, polo has increased in popularity in Aspen and surrounding cities and is the epicenter for polo in the valley. The club's offerings include various weekly grass and arena tournaments, Arena & Asado Nights, Kidz Polo, Gymkhana, Kidz 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 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.
The family-friendly club welcomes spectators. All matches are free and open to the public. Free food and refreshments are available on Sundays.
When not playing or watching polo, there's all kinds of outdoor activities in a true adventurer's playground including hiking, mountaineering, camping, mountain biking, paddle boarding, water rafting, swimming, fly fishing and golf.