Mike Azzaro crowns his Wellington return with MVP
Time that passed between an opening match in January of this year and yesterday’s win in the Outback Cup final, told a tale of perseverance and improvement for Mrs Momma Bear/LW Ranch built around the return of legendary player Mike Azzaro to polo in Wellington.
“I hadn’t played at this level in eight years,” said Mike, now 60, with a resume that includes holding a 10-goal handicap for 14 years and winning seven US Opens. “I feel good. I’ve got myself super fit and I’m always thinking one step ahead.”
That forethought – built on experience – was evident as Mrs Momma Bear/LW Ranch held Catamount at bay throughout a fast-paced Outback Cup final at Valiente, which ran into overtime – a penalty from Mike’s son Harrison, sealing the sudden death 12-11 victory.
Scott Devon’s Catamount was centered on the 10-goal prowess of Tommy Panelo – alongside Santi Torres and Mia Cambiaso, who was well-mounted from the La Dolfina string and won Best Playing Pony for DS Altamira.
Despite being down by three goals entering the sixth, Catamount pushed the match into overtime. It was a familiar scenario for Mrs Momma Bear/LW Ranch who had narrowly missed the finals of the previous 16-goal Iglehart Cup, with a 13-12 overtime loss in the semi finals to Kaia.
“It was very similar to our last semi-finals,” Harrison reflected. “We were up three or four goals, and we kind of fell asleep thinking we had the lead, and the same thing happened today. But more so today, we’re playing against a talented player like Tommy Panelo who is unbelievable. He’s a freak. He was able to control that last chukker very well.”
Had Tommy had the same free rein in the rest of the match, the finals could have been a very different story. Mike’s effectiveness in defense contributed largely to his selection as the Most Valuable Player of the game. “Obviously he’s a 10-goal player, he’s quick, he’s super fast. They’ve got him on super horses, so he’s gonna burn one. He may burn two, but if I was there he wasn’t gonna get by me,” Mike said.
The Wellington Polo Tour, with a series of three 16-goal tournaments hosted by Patagones Polo Club, culminating in the NPC 16-goal Championship presented by the United States Polo Association, was hotly contested with 15 teams in the mix. Mrs Momma Bear’s 2-3 win-loss record in the opening tournament for the Ylvisaker Cup, was a far cry from the 5-0 record in the Outback Cup.
“The team has just gotten stronger and stronger. And we’ve developed a very strong string of horses. We dominated them horse wise out there today and they had some breaks to get back. But Harrison and the boys played awesome today ,” said Mike praising teammates Matt Coppola and Jared Zenni. “And just to be on the field with three young players and they all have their great individual ability – we pulled it all together and you know, we were a tough team.”
The Azzaro’s will sit out the NPC 16-goal Championship as they rest their horses at their Lonesome Wind ranch in Texas, and look to a summer playing in Santa Barbara with a full family line up of Mike, Harrison, Mike’s other son Hunter, and his son-in-law, Santi.
For Harrison, having played for five years in Wellington by himself, this winter season proved invaluable.“I’ve learned every game,” he said. “Every day I learn from him [his father] because we’re at the barn all day together. He deserved every bit of MVP today. He was unbelievable.”
This could be interesting: