POLO IN SANTA BARBARA
Winning a tournament is always good. Winning an important tournament is even better. However, being the player who has won a tournament a record number of times is given to very few.
Jeff Hall is one of those few. With his winning the Silver Cup in Santa Barbara, playing with Lucchese and defeating Antelope in a great final, he broke the record for most titles. “It was my 9th win, it is the record for the most wins. I have won this tournament all over the US, won it with my father (John), with my father and my brother (JW), I have won it with my step-mother (Leighanne Schnell Hall.)... The Silver Cup is a very special tournament to our family, and I was actually on the team with my stepmother, who is the first woman to ever win it. It is a very special tournament for us.”
The tournament is not only important one for the Hall family, as Jeff describes the importance of the Cup: “In general, winning any tournament feels good. Our team has been working really hard this season and it feels good to have the hard work pay off. The Silver Cup is one of the best tournaments in the US. It is the oldest tournament, started in 1900. It is 120 years old, older than the U.S. Open. It is special to me and especially after yesterday, it feels even better.”
Jeff Hall. A happy man, who broke a record.
Pic: Santa Barbara / David Lominska
"Holding a record like this is pretty cool"
“It is always exciting to win tournaments. Yesterday was a big win for me, holding a record like this is pretty cool. At 9 wins, I can't really pick which one is most special to me. Although, I would go with yesterday, just because it definitely put me with holding the record. I look back fondly at them all. They are special moments in my career.”
It is difficult for Jeff Hall to decide which Silver Cup title is the most important, as they have all been important to him for different reasons.
However, regarding this year's tournament, he mentioned: “All the teams in Santa Barbara are very competitive. People bring their best horses out here and it is
super competitive. There is not a weak team in the tournament. There are eight teams and any one of them could have won. We are lucky and happy to be in the finals and win to get the record”.
When asked about the final against Antelope, he said: “The final was tough. The first couple chukkers both teams were feeling each other out, finding the right formula to beat each other. Around the third chukker, I think we found that formula and were able to hold onto a lead for most of the way and were able to win. So, it was a good day.”
Pic: Santa Barbara / David Lominska
“We are back on track and fortunate to be playing right now, during the pandemic”
"Polo in the US is very healthy. It was going great before the pandemic hit. Obviously, like with everywhere in the world, these are challenging times, but we are back on track and fortunate to be playing right now, during the pandemic. As a whole, polo in the US is very healthy".
:: 9 ::
1997, Bud Light Billy Busch, Jeff Hall, Hector Galindo and Andy Busch 1999, Old Pueblo John Hall, Jeff Hall, Mike Azzaro and JW Hall 2000, Old Pueblo John Hall, Jeff Hall, Mike Azzaro and Brad Blake 2003, Isla Carroll Julio Gracida, Jeff Hall, Memo Gracida and John Goodman 2004, Pueblo Viejo Leigh Ann Hall, "first woman to win this Cup," Jeff Hall, Roberto Gonzalez and Brandon Phillips 2005, Isla Carroll John Goodman, Chris Nevins, Jeff Hall and Jeff Blake 2006, Isla Carroll John Goodman, Carlitos Galindo, Jeff Hall/Silvestre Donovan and Jeff Blake/Sugar Erskine (the rained-out final was played at IPC in February 2007) 2014, Lucchese John Muse, Jeff Hall, Sapo Caset and Tommy Collingwood
2020, Lucchese
John Muse, Nico Escobar, Jeff Hall and Facundo Obregon.