Thousands flock to Beaufort Polo Club
The annual Beaufort Gloucestershire Festival of Polo got off to a flying start, despite the impending bad weather, with the Jockeys vs Sporting Legends in support of Bath Rugby Foundation. The likes of Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton CBE and Mark Bradburne took to the field for two chukkas of grit and horsemanship. The final score saw the Jockeys win 2-1.
The highlight of the day, the International Test Match, England vs Ireland, got under way with both teams storming out of the first throw-in with the ball flying at pace from one end of the field to the other. Following a series of frustrating missed shots at goal and penalties, the first half ended 3-3 with all to play for.
Ireland began the second half with a strong hold on the ball, but Jack Richardson caused upset with a hugely angled shot through the posts. From there on out it was a tightly contested race to the finish, but with a missed penalty apiece from England and Ireland in the fifth chukka, the final score fell in England’s favour, 5-4 to the roar of the crowd and a celebratory buck from Mark Tomlinson’s pony!
Richard Tyrone was named the Most Valuable Player and his horse Paddy won the Polo Times Best Playing Pony.
The eventful weekend also saw the annual Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy. It was royals a plenty as HH The Maharaja of Jaipur’s Team Dhamani 1969 took on HRH The Duke of Cambridge’s Team Maserati, with Team Dhamani 1969 coming out the victors of the nail-biting match.
Sunday also saw the Javier Novillo Astrada U15 Memorial Tournament, where the players of tomorrow battled it out to win the coveted trophy. In the Final, La Aguada came out victorious over Chapaleufu with a 2-1 score whilst La Dolfina were placed third, winning 1-0 against La Aguada II.
The International Test Match teams:
Flannels England (17): Josh Cork (2), Tom Brodie (3), Jack Richardson (6) & Mark Tomlinson (6)
Magee 1866 Ireland (17): Michael Henderson (3), Niall Donnelly (4), Richard Tyrone (6) & Freddie Horne (3)
The Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy Teams:
Team Maserati (9): Bruce Merivale-Austin (0), Henry Porter (2), Malcolm Borwick (6) & HRH The Duke of Cambridge (1)
Team Dhamani 1969 (10): Karan Thapar (0), HH The Maharaja of Jaipur (2), Nina Clarkin (4) & Olly Tuthill (4)
Javier Novillo Astrada U15 Memorial Tournament teams:
Chapaleufu: George Tomblin, Ben Fleming, Luke Wiles & Cruz Heguy
La Aguada II: Kiki Severn, Tom Jodrell, Ivan De Poligny & Lorna Fleming
La Dolfina: Ollie Heard, Louis Heard, Mia Cambiaso & Benja Quiroga
La Aguada: Marcus Speed, Ed Walker, Alex Horvat & Segundo Darritchon
Photograph: Richard Tyrone storms up the boards. By Charles Westerman