Windsor – from Smith’s Lawn to New South Wales
By Victoria Elsbury-Legg
If they’d been playing in Windsor, England in recent weeks rain may well have stopped play, but in the true polo style of ‘following the sun around the world’ several familiar faces at Smith’s Lawn, Windsor Great Park have been spotted ‘Down Under’ at another ‘Windsor’ – this one being Windsor Polo Club, New South Wales, Australia – where the five teams who entered the 16 goal Jamie Mackay Memorial Tournament (which started on Saturday 4th October) have been competing.
Four British players were included in the team line-ups, with Oli Hipwood playing in team Riverpark alongside, Angus James, Dirk Gould and Kelvin Johnson; James Harper in Stanbroke with Rob Archibald, Damien Johnston and Brendan Menegazzo, and Guards players, Max Charlton and Charlie Pidgley playing alongside Sam Hopkinson and Warwick Prendville as Sandalford. Completing the team list were, Guy Schwarzenbach’s Garangula (Guy Schwarzenbach and Patrick O’Dwyer (seen as teammates in Black Bears in the 2014 English High Goal season), Tom Hunt and Jasper White) and Town and Country (Jeremy Bayard, Ric McCathy, Adam Tolhurst and Kit Brooks).
Play opened with Stanbroke narrowly beating Garangula 13-12 and Sandalford winning 10-9 over Riverpark. The following Monday, Garangula (a high handicapped side) won 11-3 over Town and Country, whilst Riverpark scored 13 goals to Stanbroke’s 9. The following day Town and Country then met Max Charlton and Charlie Pidgley and the rest of team Sandalford, with the two young England players helping their team to a 12-8 victory. In the final league matches the scoreboard read, Garangula 10 v 9 Riverpark; Sandalford 7 v 9 Stanbroke and Riverpark 11 v 10 Town and Country.
Three of the British players made it through to the Subsidiary Final, where Sandalford (Max Charlton, Charlie Pidgley, Sam Hopkinson and Warwick Prendville) beat Riverpark (Oli Hipwood, Angus James, Dirk Gould and Kelvin Johnson). Playing on Sunday 12th October in the 16-goal Final (as part of The Spring Polo Festival), England player James Harper alongside Brendan Menegazzo, Damien Johnston and Rob Archibald (who scored the winning goal in extra time) won 11-10, against Garangula (whose polo grounds are the next venue for more British action Down Under).