Four Quarters Orange played like fluid on the field, making the experience delightful. They managed to grab the Trophy for the second time, thereby infusing their team’s name to Guards Polo Club’s oldest trophy in 2014 – a rare achievement that only a handful of teams have ever managed to drape. Simon Arber received a imperative silverware from HM The Queen and Kevin Rose, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Sales and Marketing.
Four Quarters Orange’s opponents, Poulton Balvanera put up an equally strong fight, persisting hard to acquire their
dream, throughout the five chukkas, even though Ludo Ephson’s team failed to score at all in the first chukka. In fact, this match became so tight that extra time seemed probable, until Mark Tomlinson, outshined the rest, and fired through the last goal of the game with just minutes left on the clock, channelling the audience to skip a beat!
This fifth chukka was so decisive that Mark Tomlinson received the Best Playing Pony prize for Casey, whom he had played in both this chukka and the second period of play. Casey proved to be the head turner, with just the right touch of plush. Mark was accompanied at the presentation by Casey’s owner, fellow six-goaler Tom Morley and Casey’s grooms. This glamourous mare, who seemed to passionately realise the
importance of the occasion, is New Zealand-bred and was trained by Ross Ainsley before heading to the UK, she never let the gloss fade. The Most Valuable Player prize went to Ludo Ephson, the young patron of the Poulton Balvanera team, a true velvety glow of the evening. He had a really mighty second half and it was his goals that kept Poulton’s hopes charged right up until the final whistle.
Although Ludo and his team-mates must have been disappointed not winning this trophy, they should cherish the very fact, that just reaching the final this year was an empirical achievement. Twenty teams entered the Bentley Motors Royal Windsor Cup – the UK’s leading medium-goal competition, a true sensation – and so the standard of play over the past three weeks has been impressive every game.
This was evident in the first of the Bentley Motors Royal Windsor matches today – the subsidiary final for the Mountbatten Trophy. Mark Wadhwa’s Oakley Court narrowly defeated Spencer McCarthy’s Emlor S (rec ½ goal) by just 9-81/2 after five exciting chukkas on The Duke’s Ground. Although Oakley Court failed to score at all in the first chukka, they had a narrow 6-51/2 advantage at half-time. With both teams scoring three goals apiece in the final two chukkas, Oakley Court’s victory was confirmed. The presentations were made by Guards Polo Club’s first Polo Manager, Lord Patrick Beresford and his great-niece Carolina Beresford.
The day traditionally ended with a captivating carriage driving display featuring the class winners of the nearby British Driving Society Summer Show. This year did not disappoint, with an elegant variety of horses, ponies and carriages parading in front of HM The Queen and HRH Prince Philip, seated in the Royal Box, thereby harmonising the entire event!
