California’s PCAL is a unique event that brings clubs together for some friendly competition and camaraderie. The league spans the summer with each of the competing clubs hosting the competition for a weekend. An awards banquet caps off the season.

While it is not uncommon to see clubs divided, clubs in California have worked together for nearly three decades to enjoy spirited competition. Individual points are tallied throughout the season for year-end festivities that award excellence in several categories.

The league includes clubs along 150-mile stretch from San Diego to Los Osos. Clubs take turns hosting the event over several months. Participating clubs must have a minimum of three players competing at each event. Competition is held at three levels: The C flight is for students with no higher than a B handicap. This flight allows beginning players to get their first taste of tournament play. The B Flight is for teams with a minus-2- to 0-goal rating with no players being above a 1-goal handicap. The A flight is for teams with a 1- to 3-goal rating.

Entry fees are nominal, with a portion going toward league prizes and the year-end banquet. Over 100 players compete each year. Players earn points for winning their games and earning Most Valuable Player, Sportsmanship and Best Playing Pony awards. In addition to the individual flight awards, players are vying for an overall high-point award at the end of the season. At that time, the points are tallied for the many overall league awards. It is a win-win for clubs and players alike.

This year’s league opened on June 11 at the California Polo Club in Los Angeles with 52 players competing in one of seven games: two C Flight, three B Flight and two A Flight matches. Participating clubs included California, Orange County, Poway, San Diego and Central Coast.

Game One

The action got started with Top View taking on Cowboy Polo in B Flight. CPC’s Top View team had Jemma Contreras, Lovive Laverdure and Sri Mummaneni while Cowboy Polo consisted of Holland Baun, Ella Horton, Jack Gaon and Kayla Elliott, with the latter two trading off in alternating chukkers.

Top View started the first chukker off with a goal by Mummaneni, followed by a foul close to the goal that resulted in a Penalty 1 awarded to Cowboy Polo, which tied the game. Laverdure, Contreras and Mummaneni combined for four goals to give Top View a 5-1 advantage at the end of the first chukker. Mummaneni struck early in the second before Cowboy Polo’s Baun scored a penalty. Cowboy Polo was awarded another Penalty 1 but Contreras answered with a pair of goals. A penalty by Mummaneni and a Penalty 1 gave Top View a 10-3 advantage at the half.

Cowboys rallied in the third with a pair of goals by Baun and one by Horton. A Contreras goal kept Top View on top 11-6. Baun and Gaon combined for three goals in the fourth, but Contreras answered with four goals to give Top View the 15-9 win. Contreras took MVP, Baun was Best Sportsman and Gaon’s Pitchola was named Best Playing Pony.

Game Two

B Flight’s CPC, with players Eliza Bird, Robert McGinley and Chuck Stanislowski met Misfits, with players Melissa Rath, Michael Sirjani and Al Vom Steeg and Ilona Rice splitting. CPC’s Stanislowski slammed in two goals followed by a goal by McGinley before Sirjani got Misfits on the board to end the chukker 3-1 in favor of CPC.

Stanislowski and McGinley scored early in the second and Misfits was awarded a Penalty 1. McGinley scored, but this time Rath and Vom Steeg answered for Misfits. Stanislowski got in the last word to end the chukker 7-4 in favor of CPC. In the third, goals by Bird and Stanislowski were matched by Rath and Sirjani for CPC to maintain a three-goal lead at 10-7. Vom Steeg and Sirjani each added two goals but three Stanislowski goals ensured CPC the 13-11 win. Stanislowski took MVP and Rath was named Best Sportsman and Sirjani’s Ne Ne was named Best Playing Pony.

Game Three

A C-Flight round robin included Leisure Society, CPC and Poway Pistols. Leisure Society consisted of Anna Baum, Shane Baum and Erin MacAlpine; CPC had Evan Barron, Troy Crumley and Katty Wong; while Poway Pistols had Larry Vanderploeg, Gillian Young and, splitting the final position, Frances Bryson and Cara Stechmann.

Leisure Society met CPC in the first round. Wong put CPC on the board first, but Shane Baum responded with a penalty conversion for Leisure Society. Shane Baum scored after goals by Crumley and Wong, but Barron finished the first chukker off with a goal to bring the score to 4-2 for CPC.

CPC solidified its lead in the second with hat tricks by Barron, Crumley and a goal by Wong. Anna Baum and Shane Baum each scored but it was not enough. CPC took the match 11-4.

The next round pitted Leisure Society against Poway Pistols. Young wasted no time putting Poway Pistols on the scoreboard and Bryson added three more to end the chukker 4-0. Leisure Society rallied in the second with a goal by MacAlpine and two goals by Shane Baum, but ran out of time and Poway had the 4-3 victory.

The final set of the round robin was between CPC and Poway Pistols. Wong came out strong, sandwiching goals around one from Barron. Poway Pistols charged back with goals by Young and VanderPloeg to end the chukker 3-2 in favor of CPC. The final chukker of the round robin saw CPC surge ahead with four goals by Barron, two by Wong and a goal by Crumley. Young and Vanderploeg tallied goals for Poway Pistols to end the game 10-4 with CPC on top.

The overall scores were CPC, 21, Poway Pistols, 8, and Leisure Society, 7. Katty Wong was named MVP, Best Sportsman went to Shane Baum and Larry Vanderploeg’s Whisper was Best Playing Pony.

Game Four

San Diego and Three’s Company competed for Flight C in the next match. Three’s Company’s Kelly Davis, Matt Davis and Lauren Helpern faced San Diego’s Jack Empey, Drew Hobscheid and, splitting a position, Kylie Kufahl and Paige Kufahl.

Matt Davis started the scoring with three goals for Three’s Company. San Diego came back with a goal each by Empey and Hobscheid to end the first chukker down 3-2. San Diego powered ahead with four goals by Hobscheid and two goals by Paige Kufahl, while shutting out Three’s Company to lead 8-3.

Goals by Matt Davis, Kelly Davis and Lauren Helpern got Three’s Company back in the game, but Hobscheid added a goal for San Diego to stay ahead 9-6. Matt Davis scored for Three’s Company but Hobscheid and Paige Kufahl responded to keep San Diego ahead 11-7 at the bell. Drew Hobscheid was MVP, Lauren Helpern was Best Sportsman and Paige Kufahl’s Bella was Best Playing Pony.

Game Five

The final B-Flight game was a round robin between OC Polistas, SBPRC and Central Coast. The first set pitted OC Polistas’ Shelley Geiler, Mila Herrara and Heather Perkins against SBPRC’s Melanja Jones, Luke Klentner and Cory Williams. Klentner gave his team an early lead with three penalty shots. The defensive plays of both teams kept each other from scoring any other goals to end the first chukker 3-0.

In the second, Williams scored for SBPRC followed by three more from Klentner to jump ahead 7-0. After being awarded a Penalty 1, Geiler put another point on the OC Polistas’ side before ending the first round 7-2.

In the next round, SBPRC took on Central Coast’s Meghan Judge, Allison Robbins and Andie Rupprecht. Williams took SBPRC to an early lead by scoring two goals. Jones followed with a goal before Judge put Central Coast on the scoreboard. Robbins added another but Klentner retaliated with a pair of goals to end the chukker 5-2 for SBPRC.

The next chukker saw another strong showing by SBPRC with a goal by Jones, a goal by Williams and a pair by Klentner, in that order. Robbins added one more goal to Central Coast’s score but it was not enough and SBPRC prevailed 9-3.

In the last round, OC Polistas faced Central Coast. Rupprecht started Central Coast with the first goal. Perkins fired back for OC Polistas before Judge turned in two of her own. Perkins added another two goals to OC Polistas while Robbins gave Central Coast the 4-3 lead.

In the final chukker, Perkins fired back with two goals to edge OC Polistas into the lead. Alternatively, Central Coast turned up the heat with one goal by Robbins and three goals by Judge to take the match at 8-5. The overall scores of the game were 16 goals for SBPRC, 11 goals for Central Coast and seven goals for OC Polistas. Meghan Judge was MVP, Shelley Geiler was named Best Sportsman and Luke Klentner’s Azul was Best Playing Pony.

Game Six

As the evening rolled in, the A-Flight games began. First up were Moonshine Polo’s Julie Empey, Ismael Molina and Jeffrey Trout verses Poway’s Ali Mobtaker Niki Mobtaker and Parker Scott and Andrew Scott, who split positions. Moonshine Polo began with a one-goal handicap but Ali Mobtaker took Poway to an early lead with three goals in the first chukker. A Penalty 1 added to Poway’s score for a first chukker lead of 4-1.

In chukker two, Ali Mobtaker fired in three more goals, two of which were penalty shots. Andrew Scott packed on three goals of his own. With a Penalty 1 added to Moonshine Polo’s score, chukker two ended at 10-2 in favor of Poway.

In chukker three, Molina scored Moonshine’s first two field goals of the game. Poway shot back with a pair of goals by Ali Mobtaker and a goal each by Niki Mobtaker and Parker Scott to end the chukker 15-4. In the final chukker, Moonshine Polo rallied with a goal each from Trout and Empey and another two by Molina. Not to be outdone, Ali Mobtaker added two more goals to bring Poway the final win at 18-9. Niki Mobtaker was named MVP, Julie Empey was named Best Sportsman and Ali Mobtaker’s Cat was named Best Playing Pony.

Game Seven

By the time the last A-Flight match was played, the floodlights were turned on. Though spectators were beginning to get weary-eyed, the action in the arena soon had everyone on the edge of their seats. Central Coast’s Jake Klentner, Meghan Judge and Lizzie Peck faced off against Ragtag’s Skyler Dale, Kirsten Ludwig and Ian Schnoebelen. Ragtag began the game with a one-goal handicap. The teams battled up and down the arena before Dale found the goal for Ragtag. Klentner answered back to put Central Coast on the board. Schnoebelen fired back to give Ragtag a two-point edge. Judge did not allow it to stay that far apart for long and brought her team to within one, 3-2, at the end of the first.

Central Coast showed its determination as Judge tied the score then took the lead early in the second. Ludwig responded to level the score. Schnoebelen and Ludwig each struck again to put Ragtag up 6-4. However, Central Coast did not let that score stand long. Judge shot the ball to goal and a Penalty 1 brought the teams even again. Klentner hit another goal to give Central Coast a 7-6 advantage.

The third chukker saw the teams continue to volley back and forth. Judge increased Central Coast’s lead early in the third, but Dale countered. Judge knocked in another goal, only to be answered by Schnoebelen. Klentner landed one more before the end of the chukker to bring the score to 10-8 with Central Coast holding the narrow lead.

The final chukker found the teams working very hard defensively to stop the other. Schnoebelen slipped through the Central Coast defense and fired in Ragtag’s goal No. 9, cutting Central Coast’s lead down to one. Then Klentner shot in a goal to extend the lead back to two. Dale landed a goal bringing the lead back down to one. With time slipping by, Klentner got one more goal in to clinch Central Coast’s win with a final score of 10-8. Skylar Dale was named MVP, Lizzie Peck took the Sportsmanship Award and Kirsten Ludwig’s Jasmine was named Best Playing Pony.

During the tournament, CPC members Jemma Contreras and Melissa Rath umpired their inaugural games after achieving certification in a recent Steve Lane umpire clinic. The day saw players of many levels compete successfully and safely. The consensus of the day was that CPC’s event was well organized and a lot of fun. CPC thanks all those who came out to play, assist or support the event and players.

By Melissa Rath.