USPA Pacific Coast Governor’s Cup The USPA Pacific Coast Governor’s Cup dates back to 1936, and is a much-loved tradition at the Eldorado Polo Club. Played at the end of March and into early April, the tournament culminates each polo season, and is one of the most sought-after trophies in the West. In the last decade, the most dedicated sponsors and teams have brought home the Cup, including Ronai White’s Casa Blanca team, Bob Bradley’s Bulldogs, Stuarts’ Carnation Farms, Fred P. Mannix’s Fish Creek, Lee Pettigrew’s Mercari, Pacius’s O.C. Polo, Jornavazy’s Valiente and Reg Whyte’s Misty Vale. Governor’s Cup 2011 Ten teams vied for the 2011 Governor’s Cup at Eldorado. Cam Clark Ford came in strong with anchor Marcelo R. Abbiati. Coldwell Banker/ Menlo had an impressive record of wins throughout the season between Manny Rodriguez and Lyn Jason Cobb. As to be expected, Ronai White put in a strong Casa Blanca team that was anchored by the Galindos, and Cotterel Farms enlisted Topo Mendez and young ringer Jimmy Wright. Reg Whyte hoped to defend his Misty Vale title from 2010 by landing Nicolas Maciel, Miguel Gutierrez, and Steven Sadler on the Temecula/Thermal Polo team. Having lost to Misty Vale in 2010, Pat Powell entered a strong Blazers team of Alvaro Tadeo, Kyle Fargey, and Patrick Uretz.
The final between the Blazers and Deco Polo was dramatic from the outset, with both Rodrigo Moran and David Ragland going down in the first few minutes of play. Tiamo Hudspeth entered as a spare for Ragland, and Deco Polo managed to retain a 1-goal lead at the end of the first. The Blazers battled back with 3 goals in the second chukker, and the teams remained within a goal of each other at the half. The Blazers came on strong in the third chukker, with Tadeo scoring a goal and converting a penalty. At the end of the third chukker, it was 6–4 in favor of Powell’s Blazers. A Governor’s Cup win had previously eluded all of the players on the Blazers team: Tadeo was playing his sixth Governor’s Cup, Uretz and Fargey were both playing their fourth. The fourth chukker of the final game revealed that they were simply not going to let this opportunity pass them by, and they could barely contain their excitement as Patrick Uretz scored a deep neck shot in the final chukker to put the game out of reach. The final score was 8–6; the Blazers had won their first Governor’s Cup!
2010 USPA Governor’s Cup Winners: Misty Vale: Reg Whyte, Caroline Anier, Pierre Henri Ngoumou, Jake Devane As the tournament progressed, it came down to a battle between the Blazers and Cam Clark Ford for a spot in the finals against Ragland’s Deco Polo. With a narrow and hard-fought win over Cam Clark Ford, Powell’s Blazers were off to the finals, for the second year in a row.
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2011 USPA Governor’s Cup Runners Up: Deco Polo: Tiamo Hudspeth (sub for David Ragland), Santiago Tahier, Rodrigo Moran, Charlie Petersen