Grant's Farm win in final chukker
by Alex Webbe

In a season that saw three different winners in the final three California high-goal tournaments, it was Andy Busch’s home Grants Farm team that took top honors by downing a talented ERG team 13-11 in the finals of the 2009 Bombardier Pacific Coast Open Championship at the Santa Barbara Polo Club Sunday afternoon.

With all the pomp and circumstances that could be raised to celebrate the 101st anniversary of the storied California tournament, Grants Farm and ERG battled their way through to the finals with identical 3-1 records. 

The match-up between Scott Wood’s ERG foursome from Texas and local Andy Busch’s Grants Farm team offered some local interest in what would be a real nail biter with raw talent and top horseflesh evident with every swing of the mallet and every turn of the rein.

In a game that began in a 2-2 tie after the opening chukker, ERG managed to hold on for a narrow 7-6 halftime lead as the

Grants Farm came back in the fourth chukker, outscoring ERG 2-1 and knotting the score at 8-8 as both teams struggled to tighten their defenses.

Pedro Falabella scored the first goal of the fifth chukker to give Grants Farm a 9-8 advantage, but goals from Paco de Narvaez and Blake closed the period with ERG on top of a 10-9 score. 

“They’re a tough team,” said Hall.  “And after all, it was the finals, and anything can happen in the finals”

Grants Farm rode into the final chukker needing one goal to tie and two to go ahead of a determined ERG side.

“We just kept putting the pressure on them,” Hall added.  I thought we had the best team, but in a game like this, sometimes that isn’t enough.”

De Narvaez opened the scoring in the final chukker to give ERG an 11-9 edge, and then Grants Farm put it in overdrive.  Goals from Busch, and Hall tied it at 11-11 before Sugar Erskine’s second goal of the game put them on top, 12-11.

Grants Farm took control of the ensuing throw-in and with less than forty seconds on the clock, carried it the length of the field where Hall hammered it through to ice the game, 13-11.

Jeff Blake was named MVP of the finals while Sugar Erskine’s 14-year-old Bay mare Shell Rock was named Best Playing Pony.

Jeff Hall, who averaged 7.25 goals a game throughout the tournament, received the Bob Skene Trophy as “Best Player of the Season”.

“It was a great win,” Hall said, “It was truly a team effort.”