Coca-Cola’s polo team came from behind to beat Audi’s highly-rated sportsmen, 9–8 in the dramatic finals of the high-profile Ylvisaker Cup. The championship took place on Sunday at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. Julio Arellano, America’s highest-rated polo player, scored the winning goal in overtime while the occasional Ralph Lauren model, Nic Roldan led Audi’s scoring with four goals.
The tournament was named for former Yale polo team captain, Bill Ylyvisaker. Ylyvisaker went on to become a successful businessman after leaving Yale, founding the Palm Beach Polo & Country Club in 1978. Ylyvisaker's namesake championship, however, was not without its tragic side. One of the tournament's grooms (a pony caretaker) was kicked by a horse and died. During the same three week period, another polo pony was injured during a competition and had to be put down.
The International Polo Club Palm Beach has also announced that next month, luxury Swiss watchmaker Piaget will be sponsoring its prestigious USPA Gold Cup for the sixth consecutive year. As the official timekeeper of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, Piaget is launching the new Polo FortyFive Black watch, commemorating the Gold Cup and the 10th anniversary of the Palm Beach Polo Season. Piaget fields its own highly successful polo team, which was unfortunately knocked out of competition in the Ylvisaker Cup quarter finals. Other sponsors of Palm Beach Polo include Maserati, Veuve Clicquot, Belvedere Vodka and the posh Four Seasons Palm Beach resort.
