When two people are in love, nothing can stop them. That is the lesson to take from Cotterel Farms' victory at the March League of the Eldorado Polo Club. The team of married couple Jenny Luttrrell-Benardoni and Francisco Benardoni, along with Ruben Coscia and Juan Curbelo, had a rough start in the 12-goal tournament, losing their first two matches. A solid victory against Farmers & Merchants allowed them to qualify for a round-robin shoot-out against F&M and RH Polo, with the chance to play against the undefeated Highwood (Ron Mathison, Marcelo Rodríguez Abbiati, Gerónimo Obregon and Mariano Gutierrez) in the final as a reward. Their good accuracy allowed Cotterel Farms to move on to the final.
Sunday 11th saw a very close final match, with the teams tied on the scoreboard until the very last minute, until a goal from Francisco Benardoni (awarded MVP) broke the parity for the couple to raise their first trophy at this level. As a consolation for Highwood, the stallion Euro, owned by Mathison and played by Rodriguez Abbiati, won the BPP blanket.
Quotes from Eldorado
Jenny Luttrell-Benardoni
“Francisco and I are a team both on and off the field. Our entire life revolves around our horses and polo. I love playing with him, even when we have differing opinions on the field, and trust me we have many! But we leave all those disagreements on the field when the game is over. Win or loose we have each other!”
Francisco Bernardoni
"We are very happy to have won this tournament, for it is my first time playing with my wife at this level (I didn't play 12 goals in 2017) and because it was my first one after having Bell's Palsy in December. I didn't only have facial paralysis, but also overall balance issues for 45 days, so we really celebrated this victory."
Juan Curbelo
"It was a great match, and the people who were watching loved it. Highwood has a great team and it was a very tough match, but fortunately we managed to keep our lead, and, when they tied it, Francisco managed to hit a great backhander to take it. We're very happy and ready to face the next tournament at Eldorado: the Skins, where we'll do our best."