On the evening of Thursday 14th August, for the first time the event “City Polo” took place on Horse Guards Parade Ground with the iconic London skyline as the stunning backdrop and under the watchful eye of the London Eye.
Clogau/DSTRKT london Team Wales captained by Ricky Cooper backed up by Roddy Matthews and Peter Webb opened play in the first match against Silex Team Ireland, with Captain Richard Fagan flying in from Sotogrande where he is currently competing in the Land Rover International Polo Tournament, alongside teammates Mikey Henderson and Sebastian Dawnay. Despite the rain, there was no dampening of play as the two teams drew level until in the last few seconds of play Peter Webb scored the winning goal for Clogau/DSTRKT london Team Wales. Final score: Clogau/DSTRKT london Team Wales 12-11 Silex Team Ireland.
In the second game of the evening, commentators Karl Ude-Martinez and Sebastian Baker introduced to the crowd EFG England – Chris Hyde (Captain), Max Charlton and Charlie Pidgley and King Power Polo Team Bangkok fielding Argentine professionals Santi Lujan, Antonino Menard and Adolfo Casabal. Once again the two teams battled on the very spot where Henry VIII used to host jousting competitions then from 1749 to the current day the annual ‘Trooping the Colour’ takes place. There was strong play from both teams, but Bangkok managed to hold the lead for the entire game, finishing with a final score of: EFG England 11-15 King Power Polo Team Bangkok.
At the prize-giving Sonia Menezes from Clogau Gold of Wales and David Emanuel presented The Westminster Cup (provided by Steven Sanson of Bezant) and a bottle of Pommery to Clogau/DSTRKT london Team Wales captain Ricky Cooper along with Clogau prizes to all the players. Robert Mehm, Senior Vice President of EFG Bank handed over The London Polo Championships Trophy, a bottle of Pommery and more Clogau prizes to Adolfo Casabal, captain of the winning team King Power Polo Team Bangkok and his fellow teammates.
The Best Playing Pony Indi, a five year old dark bay gelding ridden by Max Charlton in the second chukka of the second game, owned by Richard Blake Thomas and looked after by his groom Victor, was presented with a rug by Georgie Reeves from Uber Polo in conjunction with the Household Cavalry Foundation, the chosen charity for the event. Alison Cryer and Jamal Alazki from Oman Ministry of Tourism and Oman Air presented the Most Valuable Player of the match, King Power Polo Team Bangkok captain Adolfo Casabal, with his prize.
Post-match, England professional Max Charlton (who has just seen his outdoor handicap rise to 7 goals) commented on the game saying ‘it was a good size arena, the surface was amazing, you could go at any speed and turn, it was great footing for the horses and the new rules really helped the flow of play.’
Teams:
Clogau/DSTRKT London Team
Ricky Cooper
Roddy Matthews
Peter Webb
Silex Team
Richard Fagan
Mikey Henderson
Sebastian Dawnay
EFG England
Chris Hyde
Max Charlton
Charlie Pidgley
King Power Polo Team
Santiago Luján
Antonino Menard
Adolfo Casabal
