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CRAB ORCHARDS WINS THIRD OUTBACK 40 GOAL CHALLENGE POLO BENEFIT

February 16, 2008

WELLINGTON, FL – One day after Gonzalo Pieres became the first Argentine to be inducted into the United States Polo Hall of Fame, he watched his eldest son Gonzalito score the winning goal at the buzzer for Crab Orchard in the highest-rated polo competition in America, the Outback 40 Goal Challenge at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

“It's good, but I think it's better to put the winning goal in the U.S. Open,” joked Gonzalito, who defeated his younger brother Facundo's EFG team 10-9 and helped Crab Orchard win this tournament for the second year in a row. Crab Orchard also won the benefit tournament in 2004.

Rounding out today's competition, the Pieres brothers were joined by Adolfo Cambiaso, Miguel Astrada, Mike Azzaro, Sebastian Merlos, Mariano Aguerre and Pablo MacDonough, all players who hold or have held the world's top rating of 10.

Now in its fourth year at International Polo the top rated players donated their time to play in the 40 Goal Challenge, which raises funds for the Polo Players Support Group, a non-profit organization created to provide financial assistance to seriously injured or ill polo players and grooms. To date 25 players and grooms have benefited from the organizations support.

“It's a great cause,” said Crab Orchard's Mike Azzaro, who along with Miguel Astrada was named the day's most valuable player. “It's a great opportunity to play with great players and raise money for a great cause.”

The match was a very tight one, especially during the final chukker when the younger Pieres scored two consecutive goals to give the EFG team the advantage at 9-8. But with less than two minutes left in play Cambiaso closed the gap and tied the score. The elder Pieres sealed the deal for Crab Orchard with his first and most important goal of the day.

The day's polo for charity action actually began with the Jimmer Newman Memorial Tournament. This round robin format featured three teams in a nine-chukker playoff. Spencewood Ranch won on net goals over its opponents, Audi Polo and Just World International.

In the opening three chukkers against Audi, the Spencewood foursome of Toby Wayman, Brad Blake, Sugar Erskine and Todd Offen easily ran away with the victory 8-4. Offen led his team's scoring with three goals. The middle three chukkers saw Audi eliminated by the Just World team of Weston Gracida, Brandon Phillips, Jeff Hall, and Chris Nevins 4-2 in a low scoring contest. The show down chukkers between Spencewood and Just World saw Spencewood take a 2-0 lead following two chukkers of play but Just World battled back in the final moments to tie the score at three as time ran out. Based on Spencewood's margin of victory in the first game they were awarded the Jimmer Memorial Trophy.

North American Polo League action will continue tomorrow with the semifinals of the Ylvisaker Cup as Catamount will take on Isla Carroll at 10 a.m. at International Polo Club Palm Beach and Bendabout will face Skeeterville at 3 p.m.

The Ylvisaker Cup is named in honor of William T. “Bill” Ylvisaker who founded Palm Beach Polo and Country Club in the late 1970's, is a former chairman of the United States Polo Association, was elected to the Polo Hall of Fame in 1996 and won numerous major polo tournaments including the U.S. Open in 1972.

International Polo is located at 3667 120 th Avenue South in Wellington and hosts professional polo tournaments until April 20. The premier game of the week is played at 3:00 pm every Sunday on the Stanford Field and Stadium. Information can be obtained by calling 561-204-5687 or on the web at www.internationalpoloclub.com or www.northamericanpololeague.com .

CRAB ORCHARD 2-0-1-4-0-3=15 (1 penalty goal) Adolfo Cambiaso, Miguel Astrada, Mike Azzaro - 3
EFG BANK 0-3-2-0-2-2= 9 (3 penalty goal) Facundo Pieres 6
MVP's Mike Azzaro and Miguel Astrada
Best Playing Pony Cicatriz owned by Cambiaso

SPENCEWOOD RANCH 3-4-1=8 AUDI POLO 1-1-2=4
JUST WORLD INTERNATIONAL 2-0-2=4 AUDI POLO 1-0-1=2
SPENCEWOOD RANCH 0-2-1=3 JUST WORLD INTERNATIONAL 0-0-3=3