On Saturday the third edition of the British Polo Day China, presented by Land Rover, took place at Sunny Times Polo Club. It was part of the Beijing International Open Tournament with the four teams China Argentina United, British Exiles, New Zealand and Spain participated competing from October 15th to 19th.
In the final match, that took place simultaneously to the British Polo Day on Saturday, the teams China Argentina United and New Zealand fought for the Land Rover Gold Cup. Team China Argentina United with Pablo Avellaneda Lanusse (+2), Horacio Fernandez Llorente (+5), Marcial Socas (+4) as well as Xia Yang and Wu Zhiwe (0), sharing one position, won by 8-3. Team New Zealand with Ashley Mackenzie (0), Simon McDonald (+2), David Miller (+5) and Jonny Coddington (+4) were placed second. In the match for third place team British Exiles defeated team Spain by 8-7,5 and took the Hackett Queen’s Cup home.
The British Polo Day was attended by more than thousand guests, among them three-tiers of the Chinese government as well as many members of the Chinese and international press. The day ended with a Gala Dinner with officials and selected guests.
Xia Yang, club chairman and host of British Polo Day China: “I’m very happy. The event has been an enormous success. We received a lot of media attention and to see the increase in interest is definitely the highlight of the day. I think Polo development in China is becoming more prosperous and is on the right track gathering in attention and participation. Our partnership with British Polo Day is a perfect equestrian collaboration which combines the assets of Polo as a competition as well as a perfect platform for tourism, culture, sports and businesses.”
Edward Olver, co-founder of British Polo Day: “A polo field in the shadow of the Great Wall of China is a fantasy that we see become a reality here. We are all very moved by the positivity and excitement that exists about the development and re-establishment of this great game in China. The British Polo Day is delighted to be a bridge between cultures and a wonderful platform to celebrate luxury heritage.”
The teams:
Land Rover Gold Cup
China Argentina United (+11)
Xia Yang / Wu Zhiwe (0)
Pablo Avellaneda Lanusse (+2)
Horacio Fernandez Llorente (+5)
Marcial Socas (+4)
New Zealand (+11)
Ashley Mackenzie (0)
Simon McDonald (+2)
David Miller (+5)
Jonny Coddington (+4)
Hackett Queen’s Cup
British Exiles (+10)
Richard Hine (0)
Nick Dann (+1)
Satnam Dillon (+6)
Ben Vestey (+3)
Spain (+6)
Ester Gallostra Salabert (0)
Rosa Girona Whitehead (0)
Jan-Michael Schonlau (+2)
Miguel Amieva Saravia (+4)
Gallery:
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