Horse & Hound – 22 August 2019

66 Horse&Hound 22 August 2019

Pictures

by

Ellie

Osborne

Photography

PONY CLUB

FLANNELS POLO

CHAMPIONSHIPS

9-11 August

Edited by Hannah Lemieux

[email protected]

@ hannah_lemieux1

Flannels Pony Club

Polo Championships,

Cowdray Park, W Sussex

THE South Oxfordshire Hunt

(South) produced a 4-2 victory

over their rivals, the Cotswold

Hunt, during the Gannon finale

at Cowdray Park, with both teams

battling hard to take home The

Daily Telegraph trophy.

Brothers Louis and Ollie

Heard, Fred Thame and Angus

Rowan Hamilton made up the

winning quartet of boys, with

Angus also being awarded the best

player of the season accolade.

“I have been playing Pony Club

polo since I was eight, so winning

the award was a fitting end to my

final year,” said Angus, who runs

his own polo set-up in the south

of England. “Pony Club polo has

allowed me to play with friends

and win with friends — there’s

nothing quite like it.”

Angus’ mount, Taboo, also

picked up the Polo Times-

sponsored best playing pony in the

Gannon section.

“Taboo is very quick and sharp;

every time I play him he feels

electric,” he continued. “He is one

of my favourite ponies; he’s very

sweet but he loves finding mud on

TeamworkcomestotheforeastheSouthOxfordshire

Hunt (South) branchclaimtheGannontitle

thepitch—I thinkhewouldfind

it evenif weplayedintheSahara.”

PonyClubpolochairman

CharlesWhittingtonadded:

“Ona verywindyweekend,the

teamsplayedonthebestgrounds

atCowdrayPark,withmore

than 100 childrenagedsixto 21

enjoyingpoloatalllevels.Allthe

playersimprovedsignificantly

overthesummer,andAnguswon

a richlydeservedsaddleforplayer

oftheyear.”

‘HEHELPEDME

THROUGHIT’

THEunder-11Jorrockssections

sawArchieRoach’smount,Nacho,

winthePoloTimesrugforthe

bestplayingponyatthatlevel.

“Nachois amazing,I gothim

atthestartoftheyearwhenI

startedplayingpoloandhehas

helpedmethroughit all,”saidthe

youngBeaufortHuntplayer.“So

farwe’veonlywona fewmatches

togetherandwhenI tookhimto

campI foundouthebucksa lot,

butI lovehimanyway.”

TheCotswoldHunt’sWilf

Copcuttwastherecipientofthe

RupertThornloeMemorial

Cupforthemostimproved

Jorrocksplayer.

“Itwasa bigsurprisewhenI

foundoutI hadwontheaward,”

saidWilf.“Thereweremanygood

players,includingmyteam-mates.

I loveplayingPonyClubpoloand

I wouldplayit allday,everyday,

if I could.I’mlookingforwardto

nextyearwhenI hopetomoveup

andplayintheSurteessections.”

The 2019 TicTacTrophyfor

thebestJorrockspony/player

combinationwenttoHampshire

ByHANNAHLEMIEUX

‘There’s nothing quite lik

Right: Meynell Hunt A and

Cambridgeshire battle it out

Hunt’sBartBellandhis21-year-

old Welsh section A mare

Rhygwillem Misty.

Described as a “true first pony”,

Misty is a perfect all-rounder for

the Hampshire Hunt, taking part

in mounted games, showjumping

and is often seen on the hunting

field under Bart. She is also

happy pulling a trap and is a

regular Riding for the Disabled

Association pony.

“I was so happy to score a goal

in the final and then win this

award,” said Bart. “We only started

playing Misty because my other

pony wouldn’t. She can be quite

naughty but she canters straight

on the ball and turns really

quickly. We’ve scored 16 goals over

the season — she’s the best.” H&H

The triumphant all-boy quartet from the South Oxfordshire Hunt (South) win the Gannon final and take home The Daily Telegraph trophy