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The James Rice Trophy is played
each year in honour of the legendary James Rice, one of the great
characters of Santa Barbara Polo in the early 1980s. James was
there on Sunday to watch the final and present the trophy with
his great friend, Dr. Madison Richardson, himself a renowned
Santa Barbara polo player.
The consolation prize was played for in a round-robin on field
2 at 12.30pm. The sun came out after a dull few days and a good
crowd watched Emerald Bay, Long Beach and Immi Pictures in very
good 6-goal polo. In the final played in brilliant sunshine at
3pm, Gehache beat Nicoma 8-7 in a cliff-hanger of a match.
Trophy Final Match
Report
The two finals teams were extremely
well matched - with Artie Cameron at back and Alfonso Giannico
at 3 teaming up cleanly with Ron Singer and Dr. Toby Mayer at
1 and 2 in red for Gehache. Nicoma was anchored by Matthew and
Henry Walker in the middle at 2 and 3 with the husband and wife
team Doreen and Joel Ladin at 1 and 4.
Gehache shot to a three goal
lead in the first chukker with a field goal from Giannico
and two penalty goals from Artie Cameron including one
huge penalty 5 shot to goal of at least 150 yards. Nicoma was
off to a slow start but made it all up in the second chukker
with a full four goals (good goals from Doreen Ladin and
Henry Walker, and a 40 yard penalty goal from Matthew
Walker). Another goal from Matt Walker in the third
saw the two sides all tied up at half-time at five goals each.
The pressure was on when the players came back onto the field
and good defensive play from each saw the score unchanged at
the start of the fifth chukker. A goal each from Matt Walker
and Alfonso Giannico saw these two well - matched teams
at 6 each going into the sixth and final chukker. The game's
characteristic plays - huge backshots from Artie Cameron,
clever ball-handling from Alfonso Giannico and great teamwork
from the Walker-Ladin combination intensified as the minutes
ticked by. Giannico took the Gehache team into the lead
with a terrific penalty 6 goal, but the score was evened again
by a stunning fourth goal from Matthew Walker.
All tied up again with a couple of minutes to go, the spectators
were talking about overtime, when Toby Mayer broke free
from Doreen Ladin's determined defence to make a lovely
goal supported by Giannico putting Gehache ahead by one
goal. Nicoma was on the offensive and running to goal when the
final whistle blew, but was thwarted by the bell. The final score
was 8-7.
The players' thanks go to the umpires, Jake Jacobson and
Dan Walker, and the third man John Van Schaik.
Keep your eye on this site for photos as they come through from
Kim Kumpart.
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