With Wimbledon over you may well be experiencing strawberries and cream withdrawal symptoms, a longing for Pimms and another excuse to don your panama hat. Balmy days in SW19 might be over, but tennis isn’t the only thing that makes a British summer feel truly British.
This Sunday (19 July 2015) is the final of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup at Cowdray Park. And if you’re only going to go to one polo match this summer, this is the one. Played to decide the British Open Polo Championship, it is deemed the premier polo tournament in the world at 22 goal (high goal) level.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2015 Gold Cup final
Who’s in the final?
On Sunday King Power Foxes and UAE will battle it out for the British Open Championship title. The all-Argentine UAE team beat Apes Hill (featuring three Englishmen) 14-8 in Wednesday’s semi-final, with King Power Foxes triumphing over the 2013 winners Zacara 15-9.
Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha’s King Power took the coveted Queen’s Cup title in June, narrowly beating Dubai 11-10, and so this weekend they’ll be going for the double. Alongside the patron and 10-goalers Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres will be the only Englishman on the field — 20-year-old Hugo Lewis. All eyes are likely to be on the one-goaler who started his career in the Vine and Craven branch of the Pony Club only breaking into the high-goal in 2014. To add the Gold Cup to his CV at such an early stage of his high-goal career would be quite some feat…
What time does it start?
3pm — giving you plenty of time to enjoy a long lunch.
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What does the weather forecast look like?
According to the BBC we have “plenty of warm sunshine” in store for Sunday, with temperatures hovering at a cool 20 degrees — so the panama hat can come into play but you won’t be darting for the shade or sweating more than the players themselves.
How much does it cost?
Tickets are £20 on the day (under-12s go for free) — a small price to pay to witness the Pieres brothers in action.
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How do you get there?
If you’re coming by car, plug GU29 0AJ into your sat nav. From London take the A3 past Guildford and then follow signs for Haslemere and Midhurst on the A286. The Lawns Polo grounds are situated in Easebourne just north of Midhurst on the A272 between Midhurst and Petworth. Play it safe and allow around two hours.
The nearest train station is Haslemere on the London Waterloo to Portsmouth line, which takes around an hour. From the station it is a 15 minute taxi ride. Try Haslemere Taxis (01428 642221) or 3 Counties Taxis (01428 644321).
What should you wear?
A tricky question, so we asked Jonny Lynn, the owner of polo clothing company Polistas to help us out. “The main piece of advice is to not try too hard. Polo might be posh, but it’s about relaxing and having fun. If you’re not comfortable and enjoying yourself, you’re not doing it right,” he says. That sounds easy enough.
Don’t miss the full report from the Gold Cup final in the 23 July issue of Horse & Hound magazine
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A graduate from Durham University, Madeleine joined H&H in 2011 and became Features Editor — producing content across the magazine and website, including the popular inside back cover article ‘The horse that made me’ and the weekly ‘The best of my fun…’ interview. She has written on topics as diverse as hay making and headcams, to hot totty in the horse world and circus horses. Madeleine now works as a freelance feature writer for Country Life, The Telegraph, Horse & Hound, cntraveller.com, The Spectator and The Field, as well as writing obituaries for The Times.
