It was only fitting longtime patron Scott Devon and his Catamount team capture the prestigious Ylvisaker Cup.
In an emotional final, the foursome of Mia Cambiaso, Santi Torres, 10-goaler Poroto Cambiaso, and Devon, led Zapican BMW for most of the game to clinch a thrilling 13-12 victory in front of a good crowd at National Polo Center’s windswept U.S. Polo Assn Field One.
“This one was for your mom,” Poroto Cambiaso told Devon after the game. Devon missed the semifinals after his mother, Nancy Devon, died from heart failure at age 85 in Naples.
“She loved polo and was here with my dad at the beginning of Palm Beach Polo in Wellington,” Devon said. “She is in polo heaven with all the other greats that have died. They are watching over us today. So many great memories.”
One such memory was William T. “Bill” Ylvisaker, which the Ylvisaker Cup, established in 2003, pays tribute to. Known as a visionary and pioneer, Ylvisaker was responsible for developing Wellington into the high-goal winter polo capital of the world. Rated as high as 7 goals at the height of his playing career, Ylvisaker contributed to the sport’s resurgence in the 70s and 80s. He created Palm Beach Polo and Country Club on the edge of the Florida Everglades. The club flourished and attracted successful patrons such as Devon.
In the late 1990s and early 2000, Catamount was one of the sport’s top teams featuring a pair of 10-goalers, Mike Azzaro and Carlos Gracida Sr. Devon, a second generation polo player, won several high goal 22- and 26-goal tournaments. He was 2004 USPA Amateur Player of the Year and raised to four goals. In 2004, Catamount made it to the semifinals of the U.S. Open, narrowly missing the final with an overtime loss to powerhouse White Birch. He last played high goal polo in 2012. After a seven-year hiatus, Devon returned to polo in 2021.
What sealed Devon’s return to polo was when he rented an old school horse called Cloudy from a friend in Grand Rapids, Mich. to stick-and-ball one summer. “Sometimes it’s the simplest things,” Devon said. “The basics of stick-and-balling are something I really missed.
“After taking a break, you just don’t realize until you’re out there trying to participate just how really athletic the players and horses are,” Devon said.
Catamount finished the the 15-team Ylvisaker Cup undefeated at 7-0. Zapican BMW was 5-2.
Against Zapican BMW’s foursome of Max Torokvei, Costi Caset, Facundo Llosa and Felipe Viana, Catamount had four-goal leads in the fourth (10-6), fifth (11-7) and sixth (13-9) chukkers. Zapican BMW reeled them in and cut the lead to one with 1:20 left in the game when Llosa converted a 30-yard penalty and Caset connected with Llosa on a great pass to score with 33 seconds left but ran out of time.
“It was a tough game but our team is resilient and they all play with amazing ability,” Devon said. “Zapican BMW was outstanding. I’m sure we’re probably going to see them again. They are a really tough team and I feel fortunate to win.”
Torres, who played well above his 5-goal handicap rating, was Most Valuable Player. Torres scored a team-high seven goals, including five penalty conversions and 100-yarder from the field. He was 100 percent in penalty shots for the tournament.
Dolfina Alula, played by Poroto Cambiaso in the fifth chukker and owned by La Dolfina, was the USPA Best Playing Pony. DS Altamira, played by Mia Cambiaso in the second and sixth chukkers, and also owned by La Dolfina, was the Argentine Best Playing Pony.
Llosa scored a game-high 11 goals including five penalty conversions. Mia Cambiaso and Poroto Cambiaso each had three goals.
In the semifinals, Zapican BMW advanced with a 10-7 win over Flying H and Catamount edged Kaia, 11-10, in a game where Hope Arellano replaced Devon and Diego Cavanagh filled in for Adolfo Cambiaso.
“We had to do a little switching around but it’s a dream team to play with both Adolfo and Poroto and we have Mia, so we have the whole family contributing,” Devon said. “Polo is one big family. The organization is incredible. They are committed to polo 24-7. I feel very honored and it’s a pleasure to have this in a later part of my career.”
As for Ylvisaker, he began polo with two National Interscholastic Championships in the 1940s, continuing polo at Yale. His notable wins include the 1972 U.S. Open Polo Championship, USPA Gold Cup and two Coronation Cup titles (Great Britain vs. United States), among many others. Ylvisaker co-founded the Polo Training Foundation in 1967, and served as its first Vice President. He also served as Chairman of the USPA from 1970 to 1975. He was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in 1996.
The Ylvisaker Cup served as the second qualifying leg of four prestigious national tournaments (Joe Barry Memorial, Iglehart Cup, Outback Cup) culminating in the NPC 16-Goal Championship. Qualifiers are played across multiple clubs, with the championship final hosted on Sunday, April 12, at the National Polo Center. Participating clubs include Port Mayaca Polo Club and Wellington Polo Tour (WPT) led by Patagones Polo Club and series of private fields falling under the WPT umbrella.
Devon and his Catamount teammates have entered the Iglehart Cup as the team North Wales named after Devon’s new farm in Warrenton, Va., 1,500 acres with 100 stalls and in the Historic Register (1718). Devon is the third polo player to own the property, the last was Mike Prentiss in the 1980s.
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