Polo World Championship squad named

World Championship squad named

The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) have announced and eight-man squad for the World Championships at Chantilly, France in September.

The squad for the 14-goal tournament includes four 5-goalers: James Harper,

Johnny Good, Jason Dixon and the captain, Tom Morley. The four 2-goal players are Ashley Rake, Andrew Blake-Thomas, George Meyrick and Matt Lodder.

Six players are expected to travel to France for the championships, where they face a tough start against reigning world champions Brazil. But Captain Tom Morley believes that they are in with a good chance of bringing home the trophy.

“We’ve got a very strong squad and I know that they are all looking forward to it and very keen to be in the team. As with any tournament, it comes down to good preparation and putting in our best performance when required, as well as getting that little bit of luck that you need to win any tournament, whether it’s polo or football.”

All eight teams competing in the world championships – Pakistan, Brazil, England, Mexico, Australis, France Chile and the USA – will draw for horses, which will be flown to Chantilly from across the world, and will then have three days to prepare for their first match.

Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup Underway

The Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup, which is held at Cowdray Park Polo Club, is well underway, and there have already been several high-scoring matches. The holders, Hildon Sport, however will not be defending the title, although team members Mark and Luke Tomlinson will be playing for Graff Capital and Labegorce.

Fifteen teams are battling it out in the tournament, which culminates in the final on 18 July. Two new teams, Graff Capital and Larchmont make their first foray into the tournament. Both did remarkably well in the Hildon Queen’s Cup last month, and will be teams to watch in this tournament.

• Tickets for the Gold Cup are still available direct from the polo office (Tel: 01730 813257) or at the Gates on the day£50,000 raised in aid of the Countryside Foundation for EducationThe Country Fair at the Beaufort Polo Club last month saw a record crowd gather for the final of the All England Club Championships for the Harvey Nash Argentine Club Cup. This high-goal tournament provides the highest standard of polo outside of Argentina, and Cowdray Park fended off Royal Berkshire Polo Club in an exhilarating final to beat them 10-6½.The second day of the fair brought together the Highgrove team (Prince Charles, Prince William, Brook Johnson and England International Mark Tomlinson) and Graff Capital, with royals succeeding in overcoming the challenge by 4-3 to retain the Calcot Manor Hotel Cup.£50,000 was raised during the course of the weekend for the Countryside Foundation for Education (CFE). The CFE educates children about countryside issues, conservation and farming, bringing the countryside into the classroom.

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