Zippy won the Lady Susan Townley Award
A host of Uruguayan flags in the stands could be seen waving with each attack by La Dolfina during the whole of the match. And once on the podium there was noisy joyfulness during prize-giving, but there’ s no doubt that the greatest commotion was heard when Pelón Stirling was proclaimed Best Player of the Final.
And that was not all for the meritorious 10-goal Uruguayan player: he also won the Gonzalo Tanoira award as best mounted player in the tournament, which was handed to him by Leonor Tanoira. In turn, the Lady Susan Townley Cup to Best Playing Pony of the final went to Zippy, owned by“ La Sterlina” and played by“ Pelón” Stirling, who was handed the prize and the horse blanket by the AAP( Argentine Polo Association) Counsellors, Martín de Narváez and Hernán Agote, who also handed out the Tito Lezcano trophy to the groom of the Lady Susan Townley Cup-winning pony, Mr. Justo Olivera.
I imagine the prize to Zippy was also a happy moment for all those who make up La Sterlina … Yes, of course. At La Sterlina we are a group that work very hard and with great enthusiasm in order to be able to be on a par with my team mates as regards horses. In this case, I played Zippy in two chukkas and her performance was impressive, so luckily she was granted the award.
What chukkas did you play her in and why the choice of chukkas for her? I knew the mare was doing very well and decided to play her in the fourth and eighth, which are always key chukkas regardless of how the match is turning out. Half way through one always tries to put in the best in order to go into the long resting period with a bit of an advantage, and at the end, because as a team we’ d decided that our aim was to win the last chukka whatever the score might be at the start of it, and so I had chosen Zippy.
Many prizes in a row on the podium, you must be overjoyed! Pelon Stirling:“ I certainly am. I can’ t quite believe it. With all these super players on my team and on the Ellerstina team, I could never imagine having a chance of receiving so many prizes. I am truly happy.”
A good way to end the year … Palermo and a prize for Zippy … Absolutely. All this makes me very happy. To be a part of a team like La Dolfina, which is historical, and being able to play with these players with whom you learn a lot in every practice match. And as regards Zippy, it brought joy to all our organization, since we started some time ago to try and seek the best possible level of horses and every day we take a step further in that direction.
247