Desert Palm retain the Cartier trophy
Under the patronage of Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Desert Palm Polo Club and Cartier hosted the Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge 2011.
After a week of some tough league games – featuring four teams who improved with every match – it was Desert Palm which took the final honours. Patrons Clive Reid and Tariq Albwardy received the Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge 2011 from His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. They were also delighted to be presented some impressive Cartier Calibre watches too. Joining His Highness at the presentations were Louis Ferla, Managing Director of Cartier Middle East, Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAE Minister for Foreign Trade, and Ali Saeed Albwardy, owner of the Desert Palm Polo Club and Retreat.
Regrettably for the event’s sponsors, the runners-up in this final were the Cartier team, who received half a goal on handicap. They were beaten 10 – 5.5, but had put up several great performances during the four-day tournament and were expected to provide some tough opposition for the home team. Unfortunately their title hopes faded when their highest handicapped player, Salvador Ulloa, was injured in the first minutes of the game. Although substitute Hissam Ali Hyder, who had played earlier for the Guards team, did a great job – and received a warm round of applause from his team-mates when he went to receive his runners-up prize – the substitution unsettled the team. At the end of the first chukka Desert Palm had a 2.5-goal lead and they dominated the remainder of the match.
A unique feature of this tournament is that the first ball of each game is thrown in from the back of a car, which this year was a Porsche 911 Turbo, provided by Porsche Centre Dubai. Driving the car on to the ground for the second game was Rodolfo Ducos, a member of the Bank Julius Baer team. Earlier in the day he had been in action on the field against the Guards Polo Club team in the subsidiary Desert Palm Trophy match. This was a much tighter affair, with Guards, who received two goals on handicap, winning 6-5.
His Highness also presented the La Martina best playing pony saddle to Tariq Albwardy for one of his father’s ponies. Cartier’s Nico Petracchi was named Most Valuable Player and received a pair of La Martina boots and kneepads.
Two charities also benefited from this event. The Riding For The Disabled Association of Dubai received a 50,000AED cheque from Tom Meier, CEO of Bank Julius Baer in Asia and the Middle East. Northstar Alliance, a charity which is building a network of roadside health clinics at transport “hotspots” across Africa also received the same amount from Ali Albwardy.
With Cartier providing an impressive guest list and Guards Polo Club providing a taste of an English afternoon of polo, The Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge 2011 once again offered a unique afternoon of sport and glamour.
Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge Finalists
Desert Palm: Clive Reid (0); Tariq Albwardy (1); Martin Valent (5); Peter Webb (5).
Cartier: Mohamed Bin Drai (-1); Adriano Agosti (0); Nicolas Petracchi (4); Salvador Ulloa (7)
Desert Palm Trophy
Guards Polo Club: Aaron Shepherd (-1), Kassem Shafi (0); Vieri Antinori (5); Hissam Ali Hyder (5).
Bank Julius Baer: Amr Zedan (1); Faris Al Yabhoumi (0); Jose Chavanne (7); Rodolfo Ducos (5).