Winning “Cheeki” team (Whitney Ross, Cristina Hosmer and Tiffany Busch with Robert Kiger, Owner of “Elegante Polo”) Credit: The Polo Life/Mitchell Zachs.
The ninth annual La Martina Miami Beach Polo World Cup, the world’s largest and most prestigious Beach Polo competition, opened with a day of sweat and tears during the La Martina South Beach Women’s Polo Cup V as eight women’s teams fought hard to claim the prestigious title.
Team Cheeki, consisting of Whitney Ross, Cristina Hosmer and Tiffany Busch, fell behind The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue team, 3-1 but scored five goals in the final chukker to capture the coveted trophy. Cheeki made their way in to the finals on an opening 6-0 win over The Raleigh Hotel team, while The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue trio defeated an aggressive Grey Goose side, 13-1.
The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue team took an early lead in the two chukker final getting a pair of goals from Laura Willson and a single score from Alicia Harden. Cheeki was limited to a single penalty goal in the chukker by Tiffany Busch.
Cheeky rallied in the final chukker, taking advantage of The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue team’s fouls to score five goals — three on penalty conversions by Tiffany Busch and single goals from Cristina Hosmer and Whitney Ross. The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue team came up with a single goal from Alicia Harden in the 6-4 loss.
Cheeki’s Tiffany Busch earned MVP honors for her efforts while The James Royal Palm Hotel/Jet Blue team’s Laura Willson’s horse “Dash” was named Best Playing Pony.
In Lower Bracket matches, the W South Beach Hotel, made up of Marina Wambold, Slaney O’Hanlon and Courtney Asdourian, scorched the team of Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ by a score of 9-0 in the finals. The W South Beach Hotel polo team earned an impressive 8-3 opening round win over La Martina to make in to the finals. SLH snuck past a talented E! Entertainment team 3-2.
Courtney Asdourian scored an impressive seven of the team’s nine goals and was named MVP. Maggi McNamara’s horse “Stare” was honored as Best Playing Pony.
The three-day men’s tournament kicks-off the second day of the La Martina Miami Beach Polo World Cup on Friday, April 26th, with eight teams vying for the coveted trophy, ending on Sunday.