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The final of the Hogar del Niño polo tournament was among the first activities of the hugely successful Hogar del Niño fundraising weekend which took place last Friday and Saturday the 17th and 18th of February, an exciting game which Casa de Campo’s villa owners and supporters of the cause enjoyed at sunset with a few glasses of champagne – the perfect start to the weekend!
The Hogar del Niño polo tournament, one of the many fundraising activities of the Hogar del Niño weekend (click here for an overview of this event) began on Wednesday the 8th of February and ended on Friday the 17th of February with the finals.
The Hogar del Niño Polo Tournament by Tania Evans (illustrated with photos by Herbert Schoderbock)
It was a thrill to watch the Finals this weekend of Hogar del Nino polo. The red team La Potranca was so organized in both offense and defense. Their discipline paid off with a win. The Captain of this team was Tony Rivera. Guille Cochon strategized in the One spot and the pro Pedro Soria at No. 3 (chosen MVP) was a key element in the team’s success. Local player Dennis Santana filled out the talented 14-goal team (the sum of all the individual’s rankings). The Dominican team (in white) took advantage of fouls against them. There were 4 penalty shots executed successfully by 4-goal Casa de Campo Club Manager Cali Garcia-Velez, who also scored one from the field. Despite a good showing from the whites (KIWI), captained by Leo Matos, their goal-scoring opportunities were reduced by the tight defense run by La Potranca. In the stands to watch the Finals, I was pleased to find Alfonso Paniagua on the same bench with me. He was explaining the game to neophyte villa owners and guests from Switzerland and Germany. Alfonso gave a fantastic blow-by-blow of the best plays and the fouls. He exhibited a delightful and passionate knowledge of the game that only a longtime player possesses.The post-game party in honor of Hogar del Nino was beautifully decorated, white curtains softly billowing against the darkening sky. The champagne and beer were chilled. Better still was the grilled Dominican sausage. How do they make that Dominican sausage so tasty? The evening was a great ending to my polo week because I played in the low goal tournament. I rode 3 fine horses bred by Casa de Campo – which is a great showing, 3 out of 4.
In Club games, I often gallop safely along on horses I’ve never ridden before because they are well bred by the Club, sound in mind and body and trained by Casa de Campo 2-goal pros Mancho and Dean. During the week, I rode with other Casa de Campo Club members, among them Jose Lopez, Rafa Perez, Herbert Schoderboeck, Jose Cedano, Anton Tejeda and also many local and visiting pros.
Herbert Schoderbock, Tania Evans and Guillermo Cochon
Back on the bench during the Finals, Anton Tejeda and I talked between chukkers of his happy days on the Yale polo team as an undergraduate and of the great ponies donated to that program. I am a supporter of the University of Michigan team where my daughter Olivia Fajen played as an undergraduate. She learned her polo at Casa de Campo. As both a player and an advocate of Club de Polo games, I was pleased to be involved and sorry to go home to the States so soon on Saturday.
Tania G Evans Riverbend Equine Services: Consulting, Sales, Research, Appraisals riverbendfarm@comcast.net www.riverbendequineservices.com
The “10-14 goal” final at the Casa de Campo polo fields
In the finals of the 10-14 goal division, La Potranca (the red team) quickly pulled ahead of opposing team “KIWI” to steal, what can only be described as an easy victory, finishing ahead by 6 goals, with a final score of 14 – 8.
3 teams took part in the “10-14 goal” division: • KIWI: Leo Matos, Enrique Bonetti, Nicolas Millan, Calixto Garcia-Velez • Pitirri: Rafa Perez Diez, Anton Tejeda, Carlos Cortes, Matias Vial • Potranca: Tony Rivera, Guille Cochon, Dennis Santana, Pedro Soria — the winners!
The “Central Romana” team were the winners of the 2-6 goal division
Also at the event were the participants of the “2-6 goal” division, which was won by the “Central Romana” team, captained by Dr. José Lopez, director of the Centro Médico in La Romana, with our favorite Austrian Herbert Schoderbock, crowned the “Most Valuable Player”!
Following the end of the game, the players joined their friends, families and fans in the ‘party tent’ where a celebratory cocktail and prize giving was held with free-flowing champagne, beers and picaderas. Helping out during the prizegiving was Xiomarita Matos, president of the Patronato Benefico Oriental (the umbrella charity for the Hogar del Niño) and Erika Villain who presented the trophies (adorable bronze statues in the shape of the Hogar del Niño logo).
Xiomarita Matos with former Miss Dominican Republic, Eva Arias
Also taking part in the event and adding rather a lot of glamor and beauty was Eva Arias, crowned Miss Dominican Republic in April 2010.
What a fantastic celebration! Congratulations to all who took part, here you can enjoy our photos:
Click here for photos and an overview of the entire Hogar del Niño event!
The Hogar del NiñoThe Hogar del Niño is a children’s daycare and educational center for over 1500 children, located in La Romana town, just outside of Casa de Campo. Children from as young as just a few weeks old up to 18 years old are cared for and educated daily, from as early as 5:30am and staying as late as 7pm. The organization also provides special schooling to over 75 hearing impaired and blind children, as well as a vocational school where over 235 students receive classes in different areas like: sewing; industrial preparation, installation and electrical maintenance; plumbing and management of computer office programs.
Contact the Hogar del Niño on: Tel: (809) 523-8901 or (809) 556-3181 Email: info@pbo.org.do Website: www.hogardelnino.com