Polo on the Beach at Watergate Bay
Organisers estimate that over 3,000 people attended the free Veuve Clicquot Polo on the Beach event, demonstrating how the sport is increasingly capturing the interest of the public.
With teams composed of professional players and England internationals, spectators were treated to a highly entertaining match which saw over a dozen goals as the players from South West Polo put in a convincing performance to win 10 – 4 ½ over Midas Construction.
The Midas Construction team of Barbara Zingg, Ed Olof and Tim Vaux started the match with a handicap advantage of 1 ½ on handicap, however all the early pressure in the first chukka came from South West Polo, who dominated the opening period of play and managed to convert their pressure with two goals from former England international Andrew Blake Thomas.
Andy Burgess scored again for South West Polo early in the second chukka to take the score to 3 goals to 1 ½ but then it was the turn of Midas Construction to press their opponents with Tim Vaux and Ed Olof both coming close to scoring on several occasions.
The pressure eventually paid off for Midas Construction, with Ed Olof converting a penalty hit to bring the difference back to half a goal, only to see South West Polo restore their lead immediately from the restart. Then all three players from South West Polo produced an extremely well-worked goal, scored by Richard Blake Thomas, to extend their team’s lead to 5 goals to 2 ½ at the end of the second chukka.
The Blake Thomas brothers continued their unrelenting assault on the Midas Construction goal, with Andrew scoring from the opening play of the third chukka. Soon after Richard flew down the Padstow side of the pitch, crossing the ball into the path of Andy Burgess who slotted between the posts for a 7 – 2 ½ lead.
Midas Construction started the fourth and final chukka with victory looking improbable. Two quick goals from Richard Blake Thomas made their challenge impossible, and trailing by 9 goals to 2 1/2 meant the Midas team were playing for pride alone.
Ed Olof, clearly fired up by the uncompromising spirit in which the game was played, scored a spectacular goal, driving an angled ball hard across the pitch and between the posts while riding flat out. He could have scored another soon after, but with the ball bogged down in the churned sand the fleeting chance was gone. Midas continued to pin their opponents back into their goalmouth, eventually forcing a foul from South West Polo which was converted by Tim Vaux to take the score to 9 – 4 1/2. In one final stampede towards the goal, South West Polo’s Andrew Blake Thomas caressed the ball over the line just seconds before the hooter blew for the end of the match, taking the final score to 10 – 4 1/2, and earning his team the Watergate Bay Trophy.
Receiving the award for the Joules Most Valuable Player, Andrew Blake Thomas said: “I’ve only played once before on a beach so it’s fairly unfamiliar territory but it’s good fun, I really enjoy playing on sand. It’s a different way of playing. It’s quite intense, it’s a good battle, you can get really stuck in with the other players. I like playing like that, where it’s tough and constant, very enjoyable. I definitely think there’s a big future for beach polo, I would love to play some more pro beach polo on good sand, it would be awesome to watch and good fun.â€
Winning the prize for the Woof Wear Best Playing Pony was ‘Quaela’, who was played by Tim Vaux of Midas Construction in the second chukka.