Polo: El Remanso lift Memorial Cup at Cowdray

The annual Jaeger-LeCoultre Trippetts Challenge for the James Wentworth Stanley Memorial Cup is the first high goal tournament of the UK polo season. Seven teams entered the 2017 tournament with El Remanso and Murus Sanctus making it through to the Final on Sunday May 21.
Trippetts El Remanso lift the Memorial Cup / Picture by Clive BennettTrippetts El Remanso lift the Memorial Cup / Picture by Clive Bennett
Trippetts El Remanso lift the Memorial Cup / Picture by Clive Bennett

With El Remanso’s combined handicap of 21 goals, the team received one goal on the scoreboard to start the match. The English pros made a bold start with Ollie Cudmore making a swift goal. Ulloa responded with a goal for Murus Sanctus. The chukka was pacey and as it drew to a close El Remanso had 5 goals on the scoreboard, Ulloa adding one more to his team’s score from a safety 60 yard penalty just before the bell sounded. Chukka 2 saw increased determination from Ulloa.

Beim picked up the ball and sent it to Cudmore who made a superb run down the pitch to score his second goal and move the score on to 6-2. Corrine Ricard then deftly scored. The score remained at 6-3 in El Remanso’s favour at chukka’s end.

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Action in the third chukka was intense. A scramble around the goal resulted in a Penalty 1 shot for Murus Sanctus whose score increased to 4-6. Sola won the ball from the throw-in, Podesta sent it to Ulloa who aimed, but Harper saved it and carried it from end to end to score a super goal. The first half closed with El Remanso ahead 7-4.

In the fourth chukka goals by James Beim and Charlie Hanbury increased their lead to 9-4.

Ricard then made a lovely little goal in the fifth to pull her side up to 5-9. Murus Sanctus won the ball from the throw-in, Ulloa hit it long and made a very quick goal. Another great piece of play by El Remanso was thwarted by Ulloa, the whistle blew and a 60 yard penalty awarded to the blue shirts, the resulting high and accurate shot from Beim increasing El Remanso’s lead to 10-6.

The final chukka saw Cudmore making a neat goal to make it 11-6. The action remained swift and dynamic. A 60 yard penalty was awarded to Murus Sanctus which Ulloa sent hard and straight to score once more.

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Ricard completed a well-deserved hat trick, but it was too late to prevent a convincing win by El Remanso on a final score of 11-8.

Clare Milford Haven presented the James Wentworth Memorial Cup to Charlie Hanbury and prizes to all players were presented by Clare and Zahra Kassim-Lakha, Director Jaeger-LeCoultre UK and Global Strategy. The award for Best Playing Pony went to James Beim’s Kimberley.

* In the Final of the May 4 goal Spring Cup, Maize Dulce made a remarkable come-back from 5-2 down against Madams Farm, the experience of Derreck Bratley clearly demonstated by his four goals in the final chukka, to narrowly win the match on a score of 6-5. In the 8 goal Barrett Cup, Andrew Swaffield’s Alcedo came back from 0-2½ at the end of the first chukka to take the lead 5-3½ by half time and win on a final score of 8-6½ .

- by Liz Higgins

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