THE AFRICAN PATRONS’ CUP

The Pandemic pours cold water on Fifth Chukker’s breast cancer awareness programme but the show continued on the turf as debutante patrons jostled for two illustrious cups

The 2021 African Patrons’ Cup squeaked though the Covid-19 pandemic to maintain its traditional date in October, the world breast cancer awareness month. Its been a decade now that Fifth Chukker has aligned this most masculine of equestrian sports with the breast cancer awareness campaign in Northern Nigeria and infused it with the added piquancy only such a high profile platform can muster as one of its several corporate social responsibility missions with a strong focus to give back to the communities.

Traditionally pre Patrons cup action Fifth Chukker is usually awash in pink as breast cancer awareness activities get underway. Medical doctors and health professionals take the hundreds of women in attendance though the spectrum of a typical breast cancer course. Inspirational speakers help the women overcome the barriers of fear, cost and misinformation surrounding breast cancer diagnosis and treatment while several cases of breast cancer cures and recoveries are emotionally shared by survivors. The women also get to access complimentary free breast screening as well as clinical and financial support in instances that required further medical examination and intervention.

Back to the Patrons’ cup which is very popular with professional players from Argentina, South Africa and Europe because it affords them the two-in-one opportunity to also take in the Kaduna International Polo which holds one week on from the Patrons’ Cup. After one week of top flight polo from October 13 to 17, hosts Fifth Chukker edged out debutantes Dokaji on goals difference both teams having won all their games in a round-robin shootout with two other experienced sides Trappco Ranch and Haske and Williams.

Triumphant Fifth Chukker captain Atiku Abubakar declared: “All the matches were tough because every one of the teams came here with the preparation and determination to win the cup, so we are very excited for ourselves and our supporters that we came through for them as well”.

Dokaji patron and serving senator Haliru Dokaji extolled the never-say-die spirit of his team. “As debutantes I consider my team the real winners because its not easy for new team to go through an international like the African Patrons’ Cup unbeaten and finish second overall best.”

The battle for the tournament’s second most coveted prize the General Hassan Cup, played in everlasting memory of the late chairman of the Nigerian Polo Association,was decided in a nail-biting cliff-hanger. Golden Alchemy needed a sudden death goal to prevail over fellow Kano City rivals Golden Ranch who had crawled back from a 4 - 1 deficit to tie the game 5 - 5 in the last chukker.