The Gaucho International Polo at the O2

Four International Teams Converged on The O2 for The World’s First Indoor Arena Polo Test Match.

Teams

EFG Bank Team England:

Chris Hyde (9, Capt) Tim Bown (6) Max Charlton (5)

Camino Real Team Argentina:

Adolfo Casabal (6) Nacho Figueras (7, Capt) Oscar Mancini (6)

City A.M. Team Scotland:

Chris Crawford (4) Jamie Le Hardy (7, Capt) Howard Smith (6)

Mantis Group Team South Africa:

Sipho Spilsbury (5) Selby Williamson (7, Capt) Terence Spilsbury (5)

Team Oxford:

Tom Meacher (2, Capt) Max Kirchhoff (1) Tom Mayou (2)

Team Cambridge:

Alex Rose 0 James Hepburn 0 Jeremy Allen (3,Capt)

Celebrity Polo Team

(In aid of British Forces Foundation)

Kenny Logan & Mike Bushell vs Liz McClarnon & Charlotte Christodoulou

The World’s first Indoor Arena Polo Tournament took place at the O2 Arena on February 24^th 2011. Exhilarating matches captivated the crowd and with the teams containing world class players the spectators were guaranteed matches of the highest quality.

Over 10,000 spectators packed London’s O2 arena to cheer on the four international teams that took part in the gladiatorial tournament.

The first match was between Oxford and Cambridge University. The skill of the players promises that the England team will be strong in the future with this fledging talent. Cambridge was victorious in the end winning 13 v 10.

For the early evening match between City A.M Scotland and Mantis Group South Africa, fans of Scottish captain Jamie Le Hardy continued to chant his name throughout the warm-up to entertain the crowd. As soon as the ball went into play, the arena thundered with the sound of hooves as Mantis Group Team South Africa charged toward the goal, scoring twice within the first few minutes. However, City A.M Team Scotland fought back furiously as Le Hardy clinched the final goal in the final 30 seconds of the match. Scotland won the match 14 v 11.

A special celebrity match took place at half time, which saw the likes of Former International Rugby player Kenny Logan and BBC presenter Mike Bushell take on Atomic Kitten starlet Liz McClarnon and socialite Charlotte Christodoulou. All four celebrities, who had been training hard for the past three months, wooed the cheering crowd with their newfound skills in aid of The British Forces Foundation.

In the final match of the evening, you could sense the excitement from the crowd as the players from EFG Bank Team England and Camino Real Team Argentina entered the arena. From the outset, Camino Real Team Argentina put England on the back foot by taking the lead by 3 goals. However EFG Bank Team England slowly began to close the gap in the second chukka thanks to a fantastic penalty by captain Chris Hyde. By the last chukka it was neck and neck between both teams. However a long distance shot by England number two, Tim Bown, put EFG Bank Team England in the lead. In the final 30 seconds of the match, Chris Hyde secured the victory with a fantastic goal, which clinched The Churchill Cup. The final score was England 17, Argentina 16.

The Gaucho International Polo and Ralph Lauren Ambassador, Nacho Figueras commented: “Polo is growing so quickly now and the introduction of such a great tournament to the UK during the winter off-season is a welcome addition. Arena polo is such an exciting form of the game and it will be truly special to play it at such an iconic venue in front of so many supporters.”

HPA Chairman of the Arena Committee / Chairman of the International Arena Committee Captain Michael Amoore commented: “The Gaucho International Polo is the culmination of an incredible arena season. I’ve spent a number of weeks discussing the squads with my relevant counterparts and am pleased to have selected an England Squad that will rival a strong Argentine team. Like many others in the polo community I cannot wait to see how The O2 arena transforms into the host venue for the world’s first internationals in an indoor polo arena.”

The Gaucho Polo tournament was a resounding success and I highly recommend that you visit next year. This summer you can also see spectacular polo action at Polo In the Park, Hurlingham Club, London 3^rd/4^th/5^th June 2011. For more details about this event visit www.polointheparklondon.com.

Also this summer is the British Beach Polo Championships, 8^th-9^th July 2011 at Sandbanks in Poole. For more information visit www.sandpolo.com.