England Reclaims Westchester Cup
Established in 1886, the historic rivalry between Great Britain and the United States began a new chapter of competition and camaraderie in the storied the Westchester Cup. Hosted in conjunction by the United States Polo Association (USPA) and the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), USA (Matt, Coppola, Nicolas ‘Nico’ Escobar, Jeff Hall, Jared Zenni) and England (James Beim, Mark Tomlinson, Max Charlton, Tomas Beresford) descended on the heralded U.S. Polo Assn. Field One at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC) to award one of the most prestigious and coveted titles in international polo.
Played on the flat using the players’ world highest handicap, the two teams came into the final each rated 25-goals. Highly contested in the first half, England and USA matched each other stride-for-stride. Each taking eight shots from the field, England took the edge in open play, but USA utilized two opportunities at the line to outshoot their English opponents in penalty goals. With all eight players reaching the scoreboard, the two countries entered the break tied 6-all.
Creating separation in the second half, Tomlinson led the charge for England outscoring USA 5-1, with the Americans only managing four shots in the field. Trailing by four to open the final chukker of play, Zenni and Hall pushed to keep USA within reach, but Charlton’s fourth goal of the match sealed England’s victory 12-9.
Most Valuable Player was awarded to Tomas Beresford. Best Playing Pony honors were presented to “MC Adele,” played and owned by Matt Coppola.
Photo Credit: David Lominska