There is no doubt the guys in pink showed up to win. And the other 11 teams that participated in the U.S. Open Championship tournament knew early Crab Orchard was the team to beat. But as the season wound down, people were less sure. In an exciting finale, Crab Orchard overcame another colorful team, Las Monjitas, outfitted in bright orange, 15-12 to take the coveted trophy and reaffirm it ruled the field.

The U.S. Open is the crown jewel of the high-goal polo season in the United States. The tournament, sponsored by Stanford Financial Group, is played at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida, the first three weeks in April. The tournament ends the high-goal season, which begins in mid-January with two 20-goal events—the Joe Barry Memorial and the Ylvisaker Cup—before the 26-goal series begins with the C.V. Whitney, the Gold Cup and finally the Open.

George Rawlings’ Crab Orchard team played its first of two seasons with 10-goal phenomenon Adolfo Cambiaso last year. Cambiaso was red hot, and the team, with Matias Magrini and David Stirling, lost only two games all season. Crab Orchard lost the first game of the C.V. Whitney, sending the team to the subsidiary Iglehart Cup, which it won. It then went on to win the Gold Cup. The team lost just one game in the U.S. Open but had already qualified for the quarterfinals. It eventually won the Open, beating a tough Jedi team.

Usually, at least one member of the winning Open team gets his handicap raised, and since most winning teams play with no less than a 26-goal team, the player is unable to play with the same team the following year. Cambiaso clearly played a goal above any other 10-goaler in the tournament, but his 10-goal handicap can’t be raised any further. He also seems to make anyone playing on his team play a goal better than his handicap. After the season, Magrini was raised from 9 to 10 goals, and Rawlings was raised from A to 1 goal. “Pelon” Stirling remained at 8 goals. Rawlings would have to start over to find another winning team for 2008.

“We are very dependent on [team manager] Rosendo Usandizaga,” Rawlings said. “He has been with us 17 years. We go into a tournament with the objective of trying to win it. Rosendo sets the tone. He brings us options of what he would see as good starting points and then works with those players to assemble a team that works. ... You have to go into the tournament with the idea of a team to win it. You go in with a team that looks like a winner from the beginning. You have to have that attitude to win it.”

Cambiaso is a good core player to have. He is tough on defense and has no difficulty taking the ball from anyone. He is nearly flawless at offense, tapping the ball on the end of his mallet, winding in and around his opponents, or hitting 150 yards down the field—whatever is necessary. He can even back the ball or turn it on a dime. He plays No. 1 in the Argentine Open but just as easily slips into the No. 3 shirt.

With Usandizaga’s and Cambiaso’s help, Rawlings enlisted the services of 6-goal Jeff Blake and 9-goal Nachi Heguy. Heguy hadn’t played much with Cambiaso, but he said, “We have known each other a very long time and have always had a very good relationship [on and off] the polo field. I really enjoyed playing together the Palm Beach season.”

The new team started out similarly to last year, losing its first game of the C.V. Whitney but winning the subsidiary Iglehart Cup. The team was playing well, but it didn’t seem to have the sparkle it had the previous year. Rawlings conceded: “[Coming in with a new team] was difficult. We were so confident and attached to the team last year. We won the Open and had to come in with new players. I thought immediately Nachi and Jeff had a lot of pressure to perform well and win. It took a little while to get their confidence and get used to the team.”

Still the team was having a lot of success. Like last year, it lost one game in the Gold Cup, but it was a semifinal game, so it was unable to advance. It lost at the hands of Camilo Bautista’s Las Monjitas team, which went on to win the tournament.

Crab Orchard was beginning to find its stride by the time the team reached the Open. While last year it was beating teams by an average of seven goals a match, this year it was less convincing, winning by just a goal or two. While last year it wasn’t surprising when Cambiaso single-handedly scored 13 goals in one match, this year he was held to four or five. Nonetheless, the team was still winning games and finished its preliminary matches leading Bracket II with a 2-0 record.

In Bracket I, Skeeterville was leading after edging newcomer Zacara 11-10 and Isla Carroll 12-9. In Bracket III, Las Monjitas led after defeating Lechuza Caracas 13-10 and White Birch 11-10.

Lechuza Caracas had perhaps the biggest mountain to climb after revamping its team prior to the start of the Open. Victor Vargas replaced 9-goaler Pite Merlos and his brother 10-goal Sebastian Merlos with 7-goal Guille Aguero and 8-goaler Sapo Caset, dropping his team from 26 goals to 22 goals. Six-goaler Nicolas Espain remained with the team. Since it is an open tournament, no handicap goals are given. Still, the team played remarkably well, and lost its first two matches by just two goals. Vargas had perhaps his best season.

Zacara and Audi also made lineup changes. Zacara exchanged 7-goal back Tommy Biddle for 6-goal forward Pelon Escapite, and Audi traded away Juan Bollini for Santiago Chavanne.

The three teams with 2-0 records, Skeeterville, Crab Orchard and Las Monjitas, would go straight to the quarterfinals, while the six teams sporting 1- 1 records would play off. Of those, the top five teams would advance to the quarterfinals, while the team with the lowest net goals would be eliminated and drop into the subsidiary Hall of Fame Cup with the three 0-2 teams, Bendabout, Lechuza and Orchard Hill.

The first two games were won by a one-goal margin, some say predictably, allowing both winner and loser to advance. That left White Birch and Isla Carroll in a fight to the finish. Both teams left no doubt they were playing to win. White Birch had a strong first chukker, but Isla Carroll fought back to trail by just a goal, 7-6, at the half. The next two chukkers were a back-and-forth battle with the teams entering the sixth tied 11-11. In the final chukker Isla Carroll converted a Penalty 2, but White Birch answered with the same. White Birch scored, but Isla Carroll answered. White Birch scored again, but Isla Carroll responded to stay tied. With just 35 seconds left 4-goal Martin Aguerre scored, giving White Birch the win.

The quarterfinals were scheduled for four days later. First up was Crab Orchard against Audi. Crab Orchard led 3-1 after the first period, but the teams were tied by the half. Crab Orchard outscored Audi 3-1 in the fourth and held on for the 13-12 win. Next Pony Express faced Skeeterville. The teams were tied in each of the first three chukkers, but Pony Express came on strong in the second half to eliminate Skeeterville, 11-8.

In the White Birch vs. Zacara match, White Birch held a narrow 9-8 lead at the half but came on stronger in the second half and won 16-13.

Las Monjitas, which was playing strongly during the tournament, held a convincing 9- 4 lead after three periods against Black Watch. Black Watch fought back in the second half, scoring seven goals, including five penalty conversions, but Las Monjitas held on to the lead, winning 13-11.

The semifinals would pit Pony Express against Crab Orchard, while Las Monjitas would face White Birch. By now Crab Orchard was finding its groove. Rawlings says: “We were playing our best at the quarterfinals, semis and final. Throughout the tournament we were under control ... We peaked at the right time. Las Monjitas beat us in the semis of the Gold Cup. That was the worst game we played throughout the season. It took longer for us to peak, but we came to win the Open, not the Gold Cup, so it wasn’t discouraging.”

Heguy considered the last three games the most difficult because “having a bad day means the end of the tournament.”

For Las Monjitas 8-goal Nacho Astrada stepped up his game, and the team, threequarters of their Argentine Open team, was beginning to catch people’s attention.

Pony Express would have to bring on its best game if it was going to get in the final. It scored first, but Crab Orchard responded with three in a row. Pony Express, with 2007 Crab Orchard teammates Magrini and Stirling, tried to hold back the Crab Orchard wall, but Crab Orchard scored two more while Pony Express came up empty. Both teams scored a pair of goals in the third, leaving Crab Orchard ahead 7-4. Pony Express cut its deficit by one in the fourth but couldn’t gain any more ground in the fifth. Pony Express outscored Crab Orchard 2-1 in the last chukker, but it wasn’t enough.

For Las Monjitas, Nacho Astrada came on strong, scoring four goals, while White Birch was held to two. Nine-goal Lucas Monteverde converted three open-goal penalties in the second, while Las Monjitas tallied two Penalty 4 conversions. The teams traded goals in the third, with Las Monjitas holding a 7-6 lead. The three Novillo Astrada brothers on Las Monjitas tagteamed the White Birch principals, Monteverde and 10-goal Mariano Aguerre, any time either of them went near the ball. White Birch reached the uprights on just one offensive drive in the second half. It also converted four Penalty 2s, but Las Monjitas scored five to hold on and win.

The final promised to be a battle. Las Monjitas had momentum, and some questioned whether Crab Orchard would be able to stop it. Hours before the start of the match the first of some 8,000 spectators began entering through the club gates.

With much anticipation, the ball was thrown in. Cambiaso wasted no time in putting it through the goalposts. Las Monjitas responded with two to show it wasn’t going to let the game get away. Cambiaso scored again, but Nacho Astrada answered. Nachi Heguy converted a penalty to end the first chukker tied 3-3. Crab Orchard took control in the second chukker. Heguy scored three, added to goals from Cambiaso and Jeff Blake. Las Monjitas was held to two goals from Nacho Astrada, including a Penalty 2. The teams traded goals in the third, ending the half with Crab Orchard sporting a 3-goal lead.

This was not the position Las Monjitas wanted to find itself in to start the second half. Las Monjitas would have to do some damage control to stay in the game. The team marked its opponents closer, but it backfired when its players were whistled. Crab Orchard was awarded two Penalty 2s in a row, which Heguy easily converted. Nacho Astrada converted a Penalty 3, but his team was now trailing by four.

Everyone on Crab Orchard was playing well, but the surprise was how well Blake was playing. He not only brought his best game at 6 goals, but many people thought he played at least two goals better than his handicap, if not more. He didn’t back off from the higher-rated opponents and made several crucial plays, making it necessary for one of the Astradas to mark him. This left just one man each to cover Heguy and Cambiaso, rather than the tag-teaming Las Monjitas had done against other teams.

Las Monjitas made up some ground in the fifth when Javier Astrada scored three goals, including two penalty shots, while holding Crab Orchard to one. Down by just two going into the sixth, Las Monjitas knew it had to strike early. It shot at goal a few times but missed. It was not to be. Cambiaso sent the ball through the uprights from the 60-yard penalty line on two occasions as time was winding down. Javier Astrada scored from the field late in the chukker, but it was too little, too late. Crab Orchard took the 15-12 victory. Blake was named most valuable player. Cambiaso’s mare Sylvia took best playing pony of the final, while Nacho Novillo Astrada’s Pico Blanco took best playing pony of the tournament.

“I have to commend Las Monjitas. They are an excellent team. The three brothers are great, and Camilo played a great game,” Rawlings said.

Nachi Heguy became the first Heguy to win the U.S. Open. He said, “It is an honor to win the U.S. Open. It is quite gratifying to win one of the best three tournaments in the world ... It is more than satisfying. It had been a few years since I played the U.S. season, and I put a lot of effort into being well-organized, and it really paid off.”

Having won the Open two years in a row, Rawlings said: “Every polo player looks at the Open as the pinnacle of U.S. polo. To win it the first time is so exciting. The second time is satisfaction for a job well done—you know it’s not a fluke.” Still, he says, both wins were really special.

Playing with Cambiaso, largely considered the best player in the world today, is just about every player’s dream. Rawlings said: “It was everything you’d imagine. Every player, pros and amateurs, want the opportunity to play with him. It’s just as good as you can imagine.”

Heguy agreed, “[Playing with Cambiaso] was great and we had a lot of fun. Jeff and George are amazing guys and great players, although it took the team a little time to play at its best, but finally we did it!”

Cambiaso has committed to playing in Argentina during the Open next year, so the team won’t try for a three-peat. For next year Crab Orchard will take a break from the 26- goal. “We are going to play the 20-goal and a lot of medium-goal and look at getting reorganized. Some of our horses are getting older. We are going to reorganize that and rebuild our string to compete at that level. Next year we are taking a deep breath and reorganizing.”

Heguy is confident he’ll be back playing in the Open soon. “I am sure I will play and win it again!”