Monterosso make history at Guards Polo Club
The Monterosso Polo Team, better known for their high-goal campaigns, made history at Guards Polo Club on Saturday when winning the Club’s first ladies’ tournament. Siri Evjemo-Nysveen and her team were presented with the Lord Patrick Beresford Trophy after defeating Arabella Morris’s Hascombe Stud squad 4-3 in a tight game on The Queen’s Ground.
The addition of this tournament to the Club’s fixture list is testament to the rise in popularity in the ladies’ game. All the teams – 8 entered this open, 18-goal competition – were playing off their ladies’ handicap, including Hascombe Stud’s Nina Clarkin who is rated at 10 goals. Nina’s sister, Tamara Fox, was also in action, playing for the winning Monterosso team.
There was little air between the scores for much of the game, but Emma Boers picked up a ball from a melee with only seconds left of this final, to ensure that victory went to the Monterosso team.
Lord Patrick Beresford, Guards Polo Club’s first Polo Manager in 1955, presented his own trophy to Siri. He also awarded Emma Boers with The Polo Magazine’s Most Valuable Player prize, while team-mate Emma Wood (nee Tomlinson) received the Polo Times Best Playing Pony prize for Javad. He was an impressive, 10-year-old, Ellerston-bred stallion.
Earlier in the day Jasmine Calvert-Ansari won the subsidiary final with her White Crane Team. They defeated Silent Pool Gin (rec 1½) 5-4½ in another close match.
Between these two matches Guards Polo Club hosted a Clubhouse lunch to raise funds for Breast Cancer Haven. This is the fifth year that the Club has supported this leading cancer support charity, working closely with the charity’s own fundraising team to create a money-cannot-buy auction of lots. Some fierce bidding ensued between courses and the final total was still being totted up at the time of writing.
This great day of ladies’ polo concluded with an exhibition game for the Guards Ladies’ Charity Shield. The visiting UAE Hesketh Ladies’ (rec ½ goal) proved too strong for the Guards Ladies, defeating them 3½-1. Sarah Wiseman, who had earlier played off her ladies’ handicap for White Crane in the sub final, was instrumental in UAE’s success in this match. So it was no surprise that she received the Lucy Choi London Most Valuable Player prize – a gorgeous pair of heels – from Dr Caroline Hoffman, Clinical and Research Director for Breast Cancer Haven and Guards Polo Club’s CEO Neil Hobday. Guards Ladies’ Livi Alderman received the Best Playing Pony prize – a wonderfully floral headcollar – for the striking grey Nieve.
Monterosso Polo Team: Siri Evjemo-Nysveen (1); Emma Boers (5); Emma Wood (5); Tamara Fox (7).
Hascombe Stud: Arabella Morris (1); Milly Hine (3); Sarah Hughes (4); Nina Vestey (10).
White Crane: Jasmine Calvert-Ansari (2); Holly Butler (1); Bryony Taylor (5); Sarah Wiseman (7).
Silent Pool Gin: Katie Vickery (2); Rosanna Turk (2); Izzy McGregor (4); Heloise Wilson-Smith (5).
UAE Hesketh Ladies: Kimberley Roche (-2); Lauren Dickson (-2); Kristin Grube (-2); Sarah Wiseman (2).
Guards Ladies: Ines Grund (-1); Jayne Rumsey (-1); Nicola Anderson (-1); Livi Alderman (0).