WELLINGTON, FL., March 6, 2025---In front of a packed house, Alex Photo and Tackeria came up big at the Major Collin Memorial and Blanco, TX Cup tournaments Monday at Santa Rita Polo Farm.
By Sharon Robb
Photos by Candace Ferreira
Alex Photo (Benja de la Fuente, Alejandro Ontiveros, Antonio Villamil, Aitor Jauretche) defeated World Polo League (Inaki Wulff, Inaki Gonzalez, Santos Valent, Lorenzo Nero), 3-0, in the final to capture the Major Collin Memorial.
Benja de la Fuente, 13, earned his first-ever Most Valuable Player honor. Geronimo Rider of Rich Properties was awarded the Sportsmanship Award. Lorenzo Nero's first chukker horse, Picarona, owned by Polito Pieres, was Best Playing Pony.
Other teams were: Nano's Mallets (Emilia Wulff, James Peponis, Inda Pieres, Silver Novillo Astrada) and Rich Properties (Charlotte Peponis, Fred Mannix, Alfonso Nero, Geronimo Rider).
In the Blanco TX Cup, Tackeria (Sailor Schwaber, Benjamin Obregon, Harrison Reicher, Joseph Schwartz) defeated Mayer Ranch (Joaquin Vilgre, Amelia Massey, Ava Hinkson, Milo MacDonough), 4-2, to win the title.
SMU-bound Harrison Reicher, 19, was Most Valuable Player. Joaquin Vilgre earned the Sportsmanship Award. Milo MacDonough's second chukker horse Yatay Chevy was Best Playing Pony.
Both de la Fuente and Reicher have honed their skills growing up playing with and against friends and peers in the Polo Training Foundation tournaments, now celebrating its 58th anniversary.
De La Fuente has been playing in the PTF since he was eight years old.
"I love horses and playing polo," said the St. Ann Catholic School eighth grader. "I've been riding horses since I was little. I like playing in the tournaments. I think it's better playing players your own age and getting to play people your level."
De La Fuente was impressed by the players he played with and against.
"When I saw the teams I thought it was going to be a tough tournament because all of the teams had really good players," de la Fuente said. "In the end we pulled through."
De La Fuente feels fortunate he is around adult players as well including top pros. His dad Gonzalo is manager for Curtis Pilot's pro team.
"I watch Pilot almost every Sunday," de la Fuente said. "I play in tournaments like the Thai Polo Cup in Argentina. My dad coaches me a lot. I like that. I think it would be a good goal to play pro polo someday. There is something about the adrenaline that makes your blood go better."
Reicher has also been playing in the PTF since he was young and has developed into a top player.
"There is absolutely nothing like the PTF," Reicher said. "It's such a well-organized community and events. It's always a pleasure to play against talented kids similar in age.
"I definitely credit where I am today to the PTF organization and all the incredible people behind it," Reicher said. "I have learned so much, not only the sport itself but overall. The people there only want to help you and do whatever it takes to push you to that next level. It's so welcoming there."
Reicher will be heading to Southern Methodist University in August. He will join Landen Eckbo Daniels, who also grew up playing PTF. Reicher hopes to make an impact his freshman year.
"Landen reached out and told me I should check out SMU," Reicher said. "I feel like I already know everybody there. I couldn't be more excited. I'm looking forward to it so much."
Other game winners and award recipients on Monday were:
(Isabella Pettinato, Marcos Lisioli, Francisco Ontiveros, Pedro Lisioli) def. (Felipe Teves, Antonio Dorignac, , Milo Vilche, Martino Milanese), 2-1, overtime. Marcos and Pedro Lisioli, shared MVP honors. Isabella Pettinato was awarded the Sportsmanship Award. Antonio Dorignac horse Manmba was Best Playing Pony.
Alex Photo (Rafa LaPrida, Cailyn Salandro, Hilario Ontiveros), 2-0 winners. Hilario Ontiveros was MVP. Rafa LaPrida earned the Sportsmanship Awad. Rafa McDonough's fourth chukker horse Torita was Best Playing Pony.
Walk Trot: CTV Sports (Francisca Obregon, Beltran Nero, Torino Calamari, Justo Zedda), 2-0 winners. Beltran Nero was MVP. Francisca Obregon won the Sportsmanship Award. Justo Zedda's horse Ceresita was Best Playing Pony.
Leadline winner: Santa Rita (Lorenzo Novillo Astrada, Seve Colombres, Kalani Gomez Romero, Pier Saenz).
The well-organized tournaments under the direction of PTF Executive Director Jennifer McLeavy, attracted a large field of players of all ages, not to mention their fathers and mothers, grandparents and friends.
Santa Rita Polo Farm was the perfect venue to watch a showcase of talent, have fun and enjoy a delicious asado provided by Grand Champions Polo Club.
Among award presenters were Juan Martin Nero, Santi Toccalino, Gonzalito Pieres and Alejandro Novillo Astrada.
The nation's oldest and most successful junior youth program has been instrumental in the growth of junior and youth polo players. The PTF encourages the sport‘s development with training programs, lessons and tournaments for boys and girls.
Grand Champions Polo Club President and PTF Chairman Melissa Ganzi is a longtime supporter of grass roots polo. Several of the PTF events are hosted at Santa Rita Polo Farm.
The PTF was created in 1967 by Palm Beach Polo and Country Club founder and former 7-goal amateur Bill Ylvisaker to teach polo to youth by promoting youth clinics, interscholastic and intercollegiate competition.
The PTF offers much more than just an introduction to polo. These young athletes are learning valuable life lessons, from teamwork and sportsmanship to the responsibility of taking care of the horses, all key aspects that contribute to their development both as players and individuals.
The Polo Training Foundation is a 501(C) 3 organization and relies on tax deductible donations for financial support. The PTF has an annual budget of $600,000 of which $400,000 is funded yearly by tax-deductible donations. For more information go to www.polotraining.org. Other Florida events are the: March 24 Buzz Welker & Sunset Polo Cup and April 19 Jimmer Newman Memorial. The season-opening Johnston Cup was postponed because of rain.
For those interested in participating in upcoming events, there is a Florida Junior Polo Registration Form available on the website or contact McLeavy at JMcLeavy@polotraining.org.
Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm is the largest and most unique private 102-acre polo facility in Wellington with 212 stalls in nine self-contained barns, two tracks, five climate-controlled tack rooms, vet room, staff quarters, guest house and four polo fields with state-of-the-art underground irrigation and short work arena. The club has 10 well-manicured world-class fields at GCPC and Santa Rita.