The clubs did an outstanding job of organizing the tournament, planning several events in conjunction with the Gold Cup to keep the many spectators busy. The club also hosted a warm-up tournament for the teams, the Aiken Community Polo Trophy, which also went to Millarville, as they overcame Detroit Blues. In that tournament, Millarville team patron 7- goaler Frederick Mannix played with the team before jetting off to Argentina to compete in his first Argentine high-goal season. His spot in the Gold Cup was filled by professional Federico Von Wernich.

Team captain Eduardo Novillo Astrada said he and Rob Roenisch put the team together. Roenisch is the father of Millarville’s No. 4 Daniel Roenisch and also serves as the team manager. The team played together for the first time in Aiken. Novillo Astrada said: “It was the first time we play together but we understood very well from the beginning. It was a very nice atmosphere so it went very well.” Unlike most teams in the tournament, it consisted of four professionals, which certainly was an advantage.

Astrada said the team also had luck on its side. “We had a good bracket because we didn’t have to play against, what for me were the best teams, Skeeterville and Bendabout.” Millarville showed its strength in the first outing, downing Detroit Blues 10-6. Detroit Blues was led by 10-goaler Adam Snow. Millarville’s second match against Chukkerage, the only other all-pro team, was even easier as they steamrolled them 14-6 and secured a place in the semifinals regardless of the results of their third match. Skeeterville was equally successful, tapping Chukkerage 14-11 and New Bridge 9-5. New Bridge won their next game over Bendabout 9-7, and Bendabout aced their second game 11-10 over Detroit Blues. New Bridge and Bendabout would have to win their third games to earn a place in the semifinals, and both were successful.

New Bridge had a tough road against Millarville, but they were motivated, and Millarville, with a semifinal spot, likely wouldn’t be taking unnecessary chances. A win for New Bridge would mean the teams would play each other again for the semifinal. Eduardo Novillo Astrada used the game to confuse the other team. “We were trying not to break any horses for the semifinal because we knew we would have to play against them. … We didn’t want to show everything ... in the first game. It was more important for them than for us. We didn’t want to put all the tactics on the first game, [so] we saved it for the second game.”

New Bridge was led by the cofounders of New Bridge Polo Club, 9-goaler Matias Magrini and club president and businessman Russ McCall. In the first game they lined up with 10-goal superstar Adolfo Cambiaso. Cambiaso, arguably the best player in the world, hadn’t played in competitive tournaments in the United States for a few years because of contractual commitments, with a few exceptions. Fans were eager to catch a glimpse of him in action. When Cambiaso broke his wrist in England earlier in the summer, it looked like he might not make the tournament, but he healed up in time to honor his commitment. “Having Adolfo at the Gold Cup raises the bar of the tournament,” McCall said. “And it gives players an incentive to compete. For most players, having the chance to go up against the best in the world is a challenge they are dying to undertake.” But sadly, after just one game, he flew back to Argentina to be with his brother Salvador Socas, who was seriously injured in a polo accident. Carlos Gracida replaced Cambiaso for the remainder of the tournament.

As expected, New Bridge won, and the two teams met again for the semifinal a few days later. Things were different in that game. Eduardo Novillo Astrada said: “We knew exactly how they were going to play and that they were going to try to do the same thing in the second game, so that helped us a lot. … We played really hard and worked well with [our] team in the semifinal. We played really tough.”

Millarville took the lead in the second chukker 4-2, and never let New Bridge get any closer. Even worse, McCall was hit in the chin in the fourth chukker, requiring stitches, and had to be replaced by 11-yearold Santiago Torres. Millarville’s toughness advanced them to the final and eliminated New Bridge by a score of 12-8.

In the other semifinal it was sister against brother as Gillian Johnston’s Bendabout team took on Skeeter Johnston’s Skeeterville team. Skeeterville started out strong, leading 5-2 in the second chukker, but Bendabout closed the gap to within one at the half. Then Bendabout took control in the fifth chukker, scoring three unanswered goals to take a first-time lead. Bendabout kept up the pressure in the sixth, scoring another three goals while holding Skeeterville to one. Much of the game was played in the driving rain. Still, Bendabout took the convincing 12-8 victory and the other spot in the final.

“It is fun to play Skeeterville,” Miguel Novillo Astrada said. “We always play fair and clean, with no bad intentions. [Even though it is] the same organization, we play competitive.”

Many visitors had arrived for the final weekend by Thursday, when the semifinals were played and the partying was in full swing. A Thursday night cocktail party at the historic Willcox Hotel served as a benefit for the National Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame. The next day the Aiken Polo Pony sale began, with bidders getting an opportunity to inspect horses and play chukkers. That evening, another party, a wild-game dinner, served as a fund-raiser for the PTF. The polo pony auction was on Saturday. Everyone looked forward to the Gold Cup final, sponsored by Land Rover, the next day.

The final would pit brother against brother. Miguel and Alejandro Novillo Astrada would join Gillian Johnston, the only woman in the tournament, and Tommy Biddle. Eduardo and the rest of the Millarville squad would face off against them. The Novillo Astrada family is wellknown throughout the polo community. Four of the five brothers, Eduardo, Miguel, Ignacio and Javier, team up for the Argentine Open in the fall. In 2003 the brothers won the triple crown of polo in Argentina, something few have ever done. Aside from their talent, they are close-knit and one of the most-respected polo families in Argentina.

They take polo seriously and play hard. Having played so much together, they know well how the other plays. “Playing against my brother is fun,” said Miguel. “It’s going to be a good game. Usually when we play against each other the games are clean and fair.”

Eduardo agreed. “It is great because if [my] brother beats me they are the top. If they are the top, they get the cup so the trophy stays in the family. I know them a lot and they know me, but that makes it a bit more fun and more difficult because they know what you are going to do. It is good because all of the family that was playing the tournament was at the top of the game, no?” “Even if we win or lose, I will be happy,”

said Miguel. “I think we have to mark up because the four of them, they can take the ball and score. We have to go to everyone, but mainly Eduardo [because] he is the one who can make the difference. Magoo Laprida is playing very well and he’s also very good to go to goal. Daniel and Federico, they work very hard and they are very disciplined. If we control them, especially Eduardo, then we have a chance.”

Despite the best-laid plans, things don’t always work out. That was the case for Bendabout. In the final, in front of 5,000 spectators, Millarville came on strong early. They changed their lineup for the game and it worked. “We talked the day before [and decided] to take a risk,” explained Eduardo. “We made some changes in our tactics and they really worked. … We sent Daniel Roenisch, who had been playing [No.] 4, with Tommy Biddle. We put him at [No.] 1, and that made a lot of difference. … He played a fantastic final. … Then, instead of me marking Miguel, Federico marked him so I was loose marking Gillian and controlling a bit more, going more for the ball.”

“Tommy was my responsibility,” Roenisch said. “I was looking at him, not the ball. The ball will find him. He’s a great player. You can’t shut him down.”

Bendabout didn’t make any real ground until the fifth when they scored three to Millarville’s one.

“We slowed down in the last two chukkers,” Eduardo conceded. Roenisch said: “In the fifth chukker, I got a little lazy.”

Going into the last chukker it was Millarville 10-6. Bendabout outscored Millarville two to one in the sixth, but it wasn’t enough and Millarville was victorious.

Thinking back, Miguel said: “They were very strong and had good strategy. We didn’t want to run against them. We were rushing too much. They had more time. … Maybe [we should have] marked up more in the beginning and put pressure [on them].”

Magoo Laprida, playing in his first 26- goal tournament, was named most valuable player. “I didn’t expect the MVP award. I’m really happy. The team is great. Eduardo is really fun to play with,” said Laprida.

Roenisch added: “[Eduardo] made me a better player. He’s a real general. Just what I learned in the last month is priceless.”

Skeeterville’s Owen Rinehart received an award for having the best string in the tournament. USPA President Tom Biddle presented the USPA Gold Cup trophy to the winning team. Sid Barron, vice president of Hank Aaron Land Rover in Augusta, Georgia, presented awards to both the winners and runners-up.

Having such a prestigious tournament in Aiken brought the town back to its former glory days. Polo was first played in Aiken in 1882. Some 50 years later polo began drifting south and west. Aiken’s Whitney field, though one of the longest-used fields in America, was until about eight years ago largely forgotten except by those who lived in the area. In recent years, the area has experienced a resurgence, thanks to the polo community. With land prices soaring across the country, Aiken is one of the few places that offers affordable land in a mild climate. Today about 70 players have made Aiken their home.