Attention Casa de Campo community! The DR Polo Challenge is back for a third season and will be held from January 13th to March 30th, 2018. Last year’s Polo Challenge 2017 was exceptionally great, with great matches all around, a beautiful vintage car show, live music, kids activities, a spectacular lounge for viewers, and the undefeated Lechuza team closing the season winning the finals of the Caribbean Open, and we are sure this season will be even better!
The first game will take place this Saturday, January 13th starting at 4 pm on court No. 2, place where an exciting match will be played between Lechuza and the local Casa
de Campo team. Juleice Yan, the winner of the AVERO musical festival, will be singing the National Anthem to inaugurate the first Cup of the season, which bears the name of the remembered and beloved Dominican polo player Héctor Vargas.
The 2018 season brings us 4 Cups:
Héctor Vargas Cup: January 13th -27th (16/18 handicap goals). Bronze Cup: February 3rd – 17th ( 6/8 and 16/18 handicap goals) Silver Cup: February 24th – March 10th (6 & 22 handicap goals) Gold Cup: March 15th – 31st (6 & 22 handicap goals)
Bete Donovan and Juanchi Ambroggio (ph: Matías Callejo)
Some of the best polo players of the world have been confirmed to be participating in this year’s polo season: the stars Juan Martin Nero and David Stirling, both with 10 goals of handicap and penta champions of the Argentine Polo Open; as well also the former 10 goal handicap Agustín Merlos, the Ignacio brothers, Santiago Toccalino and Fred and Julián Mannix.
The Polo Challenge in Casa de Campo, Fernando Arata, has predicted that this third season will be a success, like the previous ones, and that it will become a must-see event for all Dominicans, foreigners and the general public. The RD Polo Challenge has positioned the Dominican Republic as one of the 4 destinations of high handicap Polo that includes Glass of the Queen, England; Palm Beach and Sotogrande, Spain.
Teams for the Héctor Vargas Cup are as follows:
Lechuza Caracas: Víctor Vargas 1, Luis Alfonso Paniagua 0, Gonzalo Von Wernich 7, Juan Martin Nero 10. Total 18 goals. Casa de Campo Polo Team: Leo Matos 0, Rafa Perez Diez 0, Agustín Merlos 8, Fred Mannix. Total 17 goals. Agualinda – El Milagro: Federico Tomasevich 0, Alfredo Vargas 1, Julián Mannix 5, David Stirling 10. Total 16 goals. Monterosso Polo Team: Siri Nysveen 0, Alesasandro Bazzoni 0, Ignacio Toccalino 8, Santiago Toccalino 8. Total 16 goals.
So there you have it! Polo is back and we are sure it’s going to be better than ever!! Don’t miss the first games, and refresh your memory on last year’s games here.
DR Polo Challenge 2018 – Héctor Vargas Cup
What: First game of the Héctor Vargas Cup
When: Saturday, January 13th, 4pm (POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN – NEW DATE WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON)
Life in Casa can be summed up in a few simple concepts; it’s a place where one comes to embrace the beauty of the outdoors, relax with a good cigar, wear a bathing suit inside, and revel in year around sporting events. Polo plays a big part of that. In fact, what debuted in January of last year as polo’s first high season in Central America and the Caribbean, the Polo Challenge, based in the Dominican Republic, has been phenomenally well attended and heightened the prestige of sporting life within the resort. Continue reading here.
Venezuelan patron Victor Vargas and his team did it once again, winning its sixth consecutive title in the Dominican Republic since the Polo Challenge started in 2016. The big day kicked off at 2pm with the subsidiary finals between Sebucan HPA and Cinque Terre. The first half of the match was favorable for the Canadian team, but Cinque Terre turned the game around in the fourth chukka and dominated every period. The final score was 13-11 to the Italians. Continue reading here.
