Mon 12th Jan 2015Fun polo and friends at Ash Farm Huge support gained for The Paul Sweeney Memorial Trophy
The viewing galleries at Surrey Club, Ash Farm were jam-packed with spectators and members for the annual Paul Sweeney Memorial Trophy held yesterday, Sunday 11 January. The afternoon match, between two enthusiastic teams, was a fantastic display of what arena polo is all about – fast and fun polo. The Sweeney family 12 goal team was represented by sisters Charlotte and Georgia alongside their ‘hired hit man’, Sebastian Dawnay. Their opposition was in the form of Moor Hall Farms’ 6 goal side, Eclipse featuring Ed and Alec Banner-Eve and Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius. From the minute umpire Howard Smith threw the ball in, there were goals galore. Ed pounced on the ball in the first thirty seconds, scoring the first goal of the match, before his brother followed up with a two-pointer stolen from underneath Seb. Charlotte scored the first Ash Farm goal in the last 10 seconds before the first bell. Dawnay had his best chukka for scoring goals chalking up three for Ash Farm whilst Alec scored a further two goals to add to Ed’s three to bring Eclipse into the lead with a score of 7-4. The second chukka started with a two-pointer out of the line out from Dawnay, which was quickly answered with a cheeky back hander from Ed. A flurry of goals between both teams, including one from Georgia, ensued before the first half of the match finished with a close score line of 12-11 to Eclipse. Jonathan came into his own in the third chukka; despite recovering from burns to his hands from a recent accident, he managed to score three goals, including a penalty spot hit and a two-point shot for Eclipse, keeping them ahead of their opposition. The fourth did not produce any goals until the final two minutes, when Ed managed to free the ball and race the length of the arena to score. A last minute goal from Seb – who, to date, has not yet won this particular trophy – but it wasn’t enough as the final bell rang with Eclipse winning The Paul Sweeney Memorial with a final score of 19-15. Chris Benford, Chairman of Ash Farm and long-term friend of the Sweeneys, presented the trophy to Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius for Elipse whilst the Ash Farm grooms were congratulated for being the Best Turned Out team. Polo Times’ sister publication, The Polo Magazine sponsored the Most Valuable Player prize which included an RJ Polo kit bag, Casablanca skins and a meal for two at PJs Bar & Grill, London. Charlotte Sweeney deservedly won The Polo Magazine MVP for her six-goal contribution to her Ash Farm team. Photograph: Sebastian Dawnay, Charlotte Sweeney, Georgia Sweeney (Ash Farm) with Ed Banner-Eve, Alec Banner-Eve and Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius (Eclipse). By Lucy Wilson
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