The Duke of Wellington’s favourite horse inspires polo
By Victoria Elsbury-Legg
The high goal season may well be making its presence known on the pitches of Guards and Coworth Park right now, with play being followed by eye, video, camera lens and now drone, but prior to this season’s opening matches it was schools polo which was providing the perfect platform for up and coming young talent to excel in front of the spectators at Smith’s Lawn. Gathering on the grounds over the last weekend were some of the top players from Wellington, Eton, Harrow and Stowe competing against each other in the Copenhagen Cup matches watched by many parents, teachers and friends.
Started five years ago by Amar Sheikh whose son Karim attended Wellington College, the Copenhagen Cup was named after The Duke of Wellington’s favourite horse in the Battle of Waterloo. An apt name indeed for a tournament that was designed to give young players the opportunity to play competitively together in four chukka polo in a setting which would inspire them to excel, given that Copenhagen was a war horse of mixed Thoroughbred and Arabian parentage whose dam was sired by the Epsom Derby winner John Bull and whose sire Meteor finished second in the Derby, and who the Duke rode for the entirety of the Battle.
This year The Copenhagen Cup was again played at Guards and kindly sponsored by BHC Polo, whose patron Mo Sheikh (who is based at Guards) often plays alongside his nephew Karim Sheikh. Hosted by Wellington, the other teams feature players from Eton, Harrow and usually Stowe (in past seasons Millfield have been a substitute team).
Teams lining up to play in this seasons matches were:
Wellington – James Crossley (-2) Alex Stone (-2) Izzy McGregor (1) and Sascha Bahlsen (0)
Eton – Seb Hancock (1) Henry Letts (0) Eric Appen/Max Wheatherby (-1) and Tom Barlow (-2)
Harrow – Hugo Taylor (0) James Emlyn (0) Charles Cadogan (-1) and D’Artagnan Giercke (0)
Stowe – Patrick Robinson (-1) Florence Berner (-1) Henry Frisby (-1) and James Grayson (0)
Winners after Saturday’s matches were Harrow (8 v 5.5) Stowe, and Wellington (4.5 v 4) Eton.
In Sunday’s sub final match is was an Eton side captained by Guards player Seb Hancock who beat Stowe 5 v 1.5, whilst in the main Final, Wellington were narrowly beaten by half a goal by Harrow with a final score of 5 v 4.5.
Handing out the prizes in front of the clubhouse post match and on hand to chat to all the players were George Meyrick and Eduardo Novillo Astrada.
An MVP was awarded to a player from each school, 2015 winners were:
MVP Wellington – Izzy McGregor
MVP Eton – Henry Letts
MVP Harrow – Hugo Taylor
MVP Stowe – Florence Berner
Best Playing Ponies awards went to Seb Hancock’s Sultan and Hugo Taylor’s Felicita.
For more on polo from Wellington which is currently co-ordinated by Clare Edwards, watch out for my upcoming player profiles on www.hurlinghampolo.com