The HPA Colts Cup at Billingbear Park
By Victoria Elsbury-Legg
Fast and fun-to-watch polo was the order of the day on Tuesday 11th August when the Hurlingham Polo Association ‘Colts Cup’ was played out at Billingbear Park (King Power’s Polo Grounds). Sixteen players were chosen by the Hurlingham Polo Association’s Development Committee (Chairman Simon Tomlinson) with target ages of 14 – 17 years in age. Players were hand selected for their talent on the pitch and from players who had previously competed in the recent Buckmaster, Hipwood and Pony Club matches, although due to other polo commitments there were some highly talented young players who were not able to participate. Four teams took part in Tuesday’s game, with two going through to Thursday’s Final, one of the aims was to see how the players adjusted and adapted playing together. There was indeed talent aplenty, in matches that many watching commented were some of the most enjoyable and competitive polo they had recently seen. Definitely there were some future England players and high goal team mates amongst those taking part.
Under the watchful eye of umpire Oli Ellis, first up at 12noon was:
HPA Select Blue: Terence Lent (1) Henry Frisby (-1) Florence Berner (-1) and Eric Appen (-1) Coach: Ryan Pemble
HPA Select White: Tom Townsend (0) Charles Cooney (0) Milly Hine (-1) and Freddie Jodrell (-1) Coach: Tom Morley
Final score HPA Select Blue 4 v 5 HPA Select White
In the 1pm match HPA Select Red met HPA Select Black:
HPA Select Red: Hugo Taylor (0) Dominic Lodge (0) Ned Hine (-1) and Jasmine Stanhope-White Coach Tom Morley
HPA Select Black: John Dalton-Morgan (0) Charlie Townsend (0) Johnny Beck-Brown (-2) and Tamara Gibbons (-1) – Coach Ryan Pemble
Final score HPA Select Red 5 v 4 HPA Select Black
So heading into Thursday’s Final are HPA Select White: Tom Townsend (0) Charles Cooney (0) Milly Hine (-1) and Freddie Jodrell (-1) v HPA Select Red: Hugo Taylor (0) Dominic Lodge (0) Ned Hine (-1) and Jasmine Stanhope-White.
Fantastic competitive polo is guaranteed for all, both watching and participating, in a Final filled with young players’ names to note, as they will most definitely be appearing on team lists and in programmes for some of the top polo events around the world in the not too distant future.