Tamodi rode onto Lawns 2 to take on Standing Rock in the historic 18-goal Challenge Cup Final on Sunday 2 August.
In the black shirts for Tamodi, Hazel Jackson (2) rode out at 1, with Harry Muddle (3) at 2, Chris Mackenzie (6) at 3, and 7-goaler Tomas Beresford at Back. Lining up for Standing Rock was Pierandrea Mueller (3) at 1, Jack Hyde (4) at 2, 5-goaler Jose Ramon Araya at 3, and Simon Prado (6) at Back.
Jackson kicked off the first chukka with an opening run to goal, however Prado swiftly responded with an under-pressure shot to leave the scores level at 1-1 heading into the second.
The second chukka was dominated by penalties, with two 30-yard penalties successfully converted by Mackenzie, while Araya converted a 30-yard penalty and Prado added a 40-yard penalty to once again leave the scores level at 3-3.
The third chukka marked a turning point for Standing Rock with a dominant display of polo. Mueller opened the scoring with an early nearside neck shot, quickly followed by a breakaway goal from Araya. Tamodi briefly caught a break with an accurately converted 60-yard penalty by Beresford, but Standing Rock continued their scoring momentum with another field goal from Mueller through heavy traffic, followed by a 60-yard penalty from Prado to leave Standing Rock leading 7-4 at half-time.
The fourth chukka opened with yet another goal from Mueller in the opening minute, however Mackenzie responded with a breakaway goal. Araya continued Standing Rock’s push for victory with his first field goal of the match, followed by a successful 60-yard penalty from Prado. An error by Standing Rock did, however, give Beresford the opportunity to successfully convert a 30-yard penalty, leaving Tamodi trailing 10-6 heading into the final chukka.
The final chukka saw a hopeful opening strike from Muddle to continue Tamodi’s fightback, but it wasn’t enough to catch the dominant force of Standing Rock, who converted yet another penalty before Mueller added his final field goal of the match to seal an emphatic 12-7 victory.
The Challenge Cup was presented to an overjoyed Pierandrea Mueller on behalf of Standing Rock by Jonathan Russell, CEO of Cowdray Estate. The Gusbourne Most Valuable Player Award was presented to Pierandrea Mueller for his outstanding performance, while the Polo Times Best Playing Pony Rug and the Vickers Trophy were awarded to Totti, played and owned by Simon Prado.