Guards Polo Club to recreate historic polo match

A polo match recreating the 1908 London Olympic Games final between Britain and Ireland will be staged at Guards Polo Club later this month.

The match will be held on 29 May in Windsor Great Park, Berks, to mark the centenary of the London games — when polo was still an Olympic sport. It was phased out after the 1936 games in Berlin.

The match is the first of a series of events being held this year by the British Olympic Association (BOA). These will include a restaging in December of the 1908

Olympic rugby final between Britain and Australia.

BOA chief executive Simon Clegg said: “As we focus on preparing Team GB for Beijing 2008, and beyond that London 2012, it’s appropriate to mark the 100th anniversary of the Olympics’ first time in London.”

Diana Butler from Guards Polo Club said: “It is a one-off event and we’re pleased to be doing our bit to help Team GB.”

Jane Addlington from the BOA said: “Polo used to be an Olympic sport so we thought it would be a novel idea to recreate it. We’re hoping to attract up to 2,000 spectators. It should be a great match.”

The GB team is yet to be confirmed, but playing for Ireland will be Charles Beresford, Richard Le Poer, Sebastian Dawnay and Stephen Hutchinson.

Team GB dominated the medal table in 1908, winning 145 medals. The British polo team defeated the Irish 8-1.

Tickets for the polo match cost £25. Tel: 01784 437797.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (1 May, ’08)

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