This post is also available in:
Spanish
Last Saturday the 7th of April 2012, otherwise know as “Sábado Santo” a day when celebrations in the Dominican Republic rival those of New Year’s Eve, one of the many parties Casa de Campo villa owners and visitors were treated to was that of the “Semana Santa Polo Tournament”, celebrated in spectacular style at the Casa de Campo polo fields.
The 7th annual “Semana Santa” Polo tournament was played from Wednesday March 28th through to Saturday April 7th, with the best players from across the Dominican Republic competing in 9 teams; 4 in the “high” 10-14 goal division; La Carbuccia Dewars 12, La Chamuscada, Office Depot and Propagas and 5 in the “low” 4-6 goal division; Dinosaurs, Baja Broncos, PT Hyundai Cabrera, La Lopera and Code Make-Up.
And so following a heated and passionate round of games battled out on the Casa de Campo polo fields the final of the “low” 4-6 goal division was played between “La Lopera” and “Broncos” at 3pm, whilst the final of the “high” 10-14 goal division was played between “La Chamuscada” and “La Carbuccia Dewars 12” at 5pm on “Sábado Santo” to an enthralled crowd of several hundred, who sipped on champagne whilst engrossed in the action.
Here the Casa de Campo Polo Club brings us an account of the finals of the Semana Santa Polo Tournament played in Casa de Campo:
Two Great Finals and Two deserving Champions: by the Casa de Campo Polo ClubIn the first Final, “La Lopera” came back from a four goal defecit to beat the Broncos 9-8. After an early scare on a hard fall by young Rafa Garcia the momentum started to go in favor of La Lopera and led by an incredible performance by MVP (most valuable player) “Lagrima” Constanza defeated the heavily favored Broncos polo team on a goal by Enzo Giviliano. Meanwhile, in the heavily anticipated 14 goal final the “La Chamuscada” polo team overpowered the “La Carbuccia Dewars 12” team in a very fast and physical game. The umpires let them play a bit and it got “Western” as they say. Juracy Santos was the MVP of the match, but Zenon Zorilla for La Carbuccia played incredibly and was the fan favorite. A great day as thousands of spectators spilled across the polo grounds watching the matches and enjoying the champagne that never seemed to end. Another incredible “Semana Santa” Polo Cup! “La Lopera” equipo ganador celebran su gloria!
Celebrating in the crowd we found the son of Dr. Jose Lopez, the Health Vice President of Central Romana and Director of the Centro Médico, Julio Lopez, who as a member of the winning “La Lopera” team, proudly told us: “Polo has always been a huge part of my life…..and winning the biggest tournament of the Dominican Republic has to go down as one of my greatest moments in the sport.”
As the sunset and the finals ended the celebration continued (thanks to the champagne that never ended) and the Casa de Campo spectators enjoyed a fashion show followed by the prize-giving celebration with trophies and speeches, a light sprinkling of champagne and a shower of silver confetti. Once the prizes had been awarded and the players cleared the stage, the party continued with even more champagne as the guests floated off into the night to enjoy the Luis Fonsi concert at the Altos de Chavón amphitheater, as well as much later the annual “Semana Santa Beach Party” at Minitas Beach!
The following photos were taken during the final celebration of the “Semana Santa Polo Tournament” on Saturday April 7th 2012 in Casa de Campo:
Participants of the 7th annual Semana Santa Polo Tournament in Casa de Campo were: • OFFICE DEPOT: Jesús Arredondo, Guillermo Cochon, Agustin Maiquez and Alfredo Bigatti • LA CARBUCCIA-DEWARS 12: Alex Schad, Luis Arturo Carbuccia, Zenon Zorrilla and Fermin Iturrioz • PROPAGAS: Enrique Bonetti, Alesandro Basoni, Pedro Montoya and Dennis Santana • CHAMUSCADA: Alejandro tirado, Pedro Ozoria, Juracy Santos and Carlos Cortez • DINOSAURS: Macho Seliman, Luis A Paniagua, Federico Ramos and Anton Tejeda • HYUNDAI CABRERA PT: Pedro Pablo Cabrera, Alfredo Vargas, Carlos Cortes and Luis A Borbon • CODE MAKE-UP Herbert Schoderbock, Fabio Acampora, Leo Cortes and Calixto Garcia • BRONCOS Rafa Garcia, R Garcia, Alfredo Bigatti and Roberto Garcia • LA LOPERA Enzo Giviliano, Julio Lopez, Ramon Espinal and Jose Cedano