Clé de Peau Beauté Guards Ladies Charity Polo Tournament

SATURDAY 28TH AUGUST 2021 CLÉ DE PEAU BEAUTÉ GUARDS LADIES CHARITY POLO TOURNAMENT

TEAMS UAE POLO TEAM, LA RULETA, GUARDS POLO CLUB, CLÉ DE PEAU BEAUTÉ, NIPAS-ESP, TEAM TONIC/MOUNT LOFTUS

HH Sheikha Maitha’s UAE Polo Team cemented their position as the leading ladies’ polo squad in 2021 by winning the Clé de Peau Beauté Guards Ladies Charity Polo Final. The Sheikha’s team, featuring the 10-goaler Hazel Jackson, defeated Alicia Woods’ La Ruleta (rec ½ goal on handicap) 8-3½ on The Queen’s Ground in late August.

These two teams had met in the 2019 final of this tournament, with La Ruleta taking the honours then. UAE Polo Team were taking no chances this time and dominated the match from the fi rst whistle. Hazel started the goal scoring, with team-mates and sisters, Cata and Juana Lavinia following suit. This ensured UAE Polo Team were 3-½ up after the fi rst chukka. A fabulous fi eld goal from Cata, who was later named the Clé de Peau Beauté Most Valuable Player, put UAE further ahead in the second. When she was hooked out of a play in the same chukka, Hazel was perfectly placed to pick up the ball and fi re through the goal. Nina Clarkin, also playing off 10-goals, successfully converted a 40-yard penalty to get La Ruleta off the mark before the half-time bell but Alicia’s team were now playing catch-up.

The Sheikha successfully converted a 30-yard penalty in the third, while team-mate Cata closed this chukka with another goal. Despite trailing for the entire match La Ruleta never gave up fi ghting. Good teamwork from Nina and Danielle Lussi produced a good goal in the third and some smart play from Nina and Alicia in the fourth secured another goal for La Ruleta. However with Hazel fi nding the fl ags once more in this fi nal chukka, UAE Polo Team’s victory was never

CLÉ DE PEAU BEAUTÉ GUARDS LADIES CHARITY POLO TOURNAMENT UAE POLO TEAM FIND BEAUTY ON THE QUEEN’S GROUND IMAGES: IMAGES OF POLO

in doubt.

Helen Wood, General Manager of Clé de Peau Beauté, presented the prizes, including the Lord Patrick Beresford Trophy to HH Sheikha Maitha. Helen also awarded the Best Playing Pony Prize to Matuza Perry. This seven-year-old was played by Cata in the first and third chukkas and is owned by her father, the professional player Fabio Lavinia.

This was the first year of Clé de Peau Beauté’s generous sponsorship of the Guards Ladies Charity Polo Tournament and so all the players headed home with some fabulous gifts. Non-players also benefited from Clé de Peau Beauté generosity as everyone dining in the Clubhouse received a gift too.

This luxury skincare and makeup brand was also supporting UNICEF UK on finals day and so there were several fundraising opportunities including a live auction in the Clubhouse. The event raised more than £6,000 which will go towards UNICEF’s work with the COVAX initiative, which aimed to deliver two billion covid vaccine doses to some of the poorest nations in the world by the end of 2021.

Lydia Raw and Victoria Roe from UNICEF UK presented the prizes for the second match, for the Clé de Peau Beauté Charity Plate. This match featured several of the Club’s lady patrons and players plus two professional lady players – Nina Clarkin for Clé de Peau Beauté and Lia Salvo for Guards Polo Club. In a much tighter game Guards Polo Club (rec ½ goal) won the match 6½– 3. Elodie Avarguez was named the Most Valuable Player while Clé de Peau Beauté’s Mindi Byrne received the Best Playing Pony Prizes, including a stunning floral headcollar, for Niagara.

Seven teams had entered this year’s 18-goal ladies’ tournament and so the first ladies match of the day was for the equally competitive sub final. This was a win for Annita van der Hoeven’s Nipas-ESP. They beat Team Tonic/Mount Loftus 5-3 in the closest game of the day. ✸

TEAMS

UAE Polo Team: Sheikha Maitha Al Maktoum (3); Juana Lavinia (1); Catalina Lavinia (5); Hazel Jackson (10). La Ruleta: Alicia Woods (2); Danielle Lussi (2); Robyn Evans (4); Nina Clarkin (10). Guards Polo Club: Phoebe Leake (1); Jayne Rumsey (2); Elodie Avarguez (2); Lia Salvo (9). Clé de Peau Beauté: Éclair Chen (1); Mindi Byrne (2); Olympia Paus (2); Nina Clarkin (10). Nipas-ESP: Annita van der Hoeven (1); Bryony Taylor (5); Izzy McGregor (6); Rosie Ross (6). Team Tonic/Mount Loftus: Catherine Isted (3); Georgina Brittain (2); Heloise Wilson-Smith (6); Sarah Wiseman (7).