Guards Polo Club welcomes Cartier’s change of direction
Guards Polo Club is delighted to announce that its long-standing sponsor, Cartier UK, is to continue to support Europe’s leading polo club by sponsoring the high-goal Queen’s Cup tournament from 2012. The Club has already enjoyed a 27-year relationship with the leading jeweller through its sponsorship of the Hurlingham Polo Association’s International Day for the Coronation Cup – an association which has seen that event develop into the world’s leading spectator event. Cartier’s sponsorship of the high-goal Queen’s Cup will enable Guards to continue to attract the outstanding world-class players, including the majority of the world’s few 10-goal players, to this fiercely competitive tournament.
Colonel Paul Belcher, Chairman of Guards Polo Club, says: “We are delighted that Cartier UK is to continue its association with the Club by sponsoring the prestigious high-goal Queen’s Cup. This generous sponsorship will enable Guards Polo Club to continue to develop its leading high-goal polo tournament. Of course, the HPA’s International Day will also remain at Guards Polo Club and will continue to be one of the most prominent fixtures in the English polo calendar, where you have the rare opportunity to see the England Polo Team play against impressive international opposition for many years to come.
“Our thanks at this time must also go to Pat Doherty and Harcourt Developments who have been unfailing in their support of The Queen’s Cup and Guards Polo Club for the past three years. We are grateful for their generosity in devoting this year’s final to the memory of their friend and colleague Ian Wooldridge and our Chief Executive Charles Stisted, who were killed in that tragic helicopter accident last October.”
Cartier UK Executive Chairman, Mr Arnaud Bamberger says, “As the “King of Jewellers”, Cartier has forged a natural and powerful association with this sport of kings. After 27 years of sponsorship of the International Day, we felt it was time to change the formula to one which is more tournament focused. We are honoured to uphold our loyalty to the sport of polo with the high-goal Queen’s Cup and to continue our long-standing relationship with Guards Polo Club.”
This year’s International Day will be held at Guards Polo Club on Sunday, 24 July 2011 and will celebrate the centenary of the Coronation Cup. This year’s event will be one of the highest handicapped matches to be seen on an English polo field this season as Brazil will be fielding a 29-goal team.
David Woodd, Chief Executive of the HPA, said: “Cartier has been a fantastic sponsor for polo in England for almost three decades, making our International Day the envy of the rest of the polo world. However I am delighted to report that the HPA and Guards Polo Club are already in discussion with several leading brands with regard to support of this world-class event from 2012 onwards. This is a unique opportunity to sponsor England’s premier International Test Match, one of three test matches to be played each season. The International Day is a stand-alone event that effortlessly combines history and tradition with a first-class sporting occasion and the most modern of hospitality opportunities. Prospects like this do not come around very often and so the HPA will take its time to select the correct partner who can build on Cartier’s legacy.”