British Polo Championships

A professional job

Audi England move into top gear to run away with victory at the NetJets British Polo Championships at Coworth Park, reports Antje Derks

Audi England outclassed the Williamson Tea British Lions in comprehensive fashion beating them 8-5 at the second annual NetJets British Polo Championships staged by British Polo Enterprises (BPE). e tournament was held at Coworth Park Polo Club, near Ascot, in almost perfect conditions. e event helped raised money for the Evelina Children’s Hospital appeal.

Building on its successful launch last year, when it got what is believed to be the largest ever television audience for polo, the BPE championship is an all-professional event. It moves away from patron-led high goal polo, allowing the professionals to play against each other at a high level. All the teams were sponsored. e fi rst chukka of the fi nal saw Williamson Tea British Lions and Audi England level with a goal apiece. Audi England’s lineup did not include Henry Brett nor Luke and Mark Tomlinson, all of whom had playing commitments abroad. But it was still a strong line-up. ings certainly changed in the second chukka as James Beim, England reserve at this year’s Cartier International, set the pace alight, scoring three goals in succession. Audi Captain Roddy Williams further increased his team’s lead by breaking away f rom the chasing pack to score a goal that can only be described as perfection. By half time Audi England were comfortably 5-1 in f ront. e British Lions had it all to do if the match was not to be a complete whitewash. Audi England scored a further two goals, extending their lead to 7-1 before the team fi nally pulled their socks up. e fi nal chukka saw them score four goals, including a superb one by their captain, Jamie Le Hardy. Victory, however, was not to be theirs after Audi England scored again making it 8-5. Both Audi England and Williamson Tea British Lions won their places in the fi nal after hard-fought semi fi nals played on the Friday evening. All matches were ‘played open’ with no adjustments for handicap differentials, with a maximum team handicap of 24 goals. Audi England faced Australasia, sponsored by Destination Marketing in their semi-fi nal. e match was a carbon copy of the previous week’s Cartier International, with the match going into a fi fth chukka where the golden goal rule applied. is time it was England who came out victorious after a stunning goal by Nacho Gonzalez.

It was an important day for polo, with a crowd of some 2,000 and Sky Sports fi lming the game for screening a couple of days later. ■

Tariq Dag Khan of NetJets, centre, presents trophy to winners Audi, l. to r., Roddy Williams, James Beim, Nacho Gonzalez, James Harper James Beim gets his shoulder into Rob Archibald