As the start of the International Polo Club Palm Beach’s high-goal season nears, the “team” here at Palm Beach Illustrated has some rather exciting news: We have a polo team!
No, you won’t see our team of editors riding high in chic riding boots, jockeying for position and letting loose a midfield one-timer. Rather, we’re sponsoring four world-class athletes for three 20-goal tournaments, starting with the season opener, the 2014 Herbie Pennell Cup on January 2 against Villa del Lago/Casablanca.
The Palm Beach Illustrated team consists of Jared Zenni (2 goal), Tommy Collingwood (4 goal), Facundo Obregon (6 goal) and Cristian “Magoo” Laprida Jr. (8 goal). Every player is younger than 30; the youngest is 18-year-old Zenni, a high school senior, and the eldest is Laprida, 28.
Despite their youth, all four have been battle tested in serious tournament play. Laprida and Zenni played together in 2012, winning the Iglehart Cup at IPC. While playing for Coca-Cola last season, Collingwood and his teammates came out on top in the Herbie Pennell Cup and the Ylvisaker Memorial Cup. Obregon played through to the final of the U.S. Open Polo Championship with Lechuza Caracas in 2012, where he fell to Laprida and his Zacara teammates, back-to-back winners of the U.S. Open Polo Championship in 2012 and 2013.
This year, the 20-goal field is crowded with 17 teams in the mix, all vying for bragging rights within the tight-knit polo community. On top of the Herbie Pennell Cup, team PBI will battle it out in the Joe Barry Memorial Cup beginning January 5 and the Ylvisaker Memorial Cup tournament beginning January 29.
Join us at IPC this season for high-goal polo play—team PBI will be representing the shield with style, class and a serious dose of horsepower. See you on the field!
Polo photo by LILA PHOTO.
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