Guards Polo Club Official Yearbook 2017 Official Yearbook 2017 | Page 153

tournament report
ARCHIE DAVID CUP
SLADMORE/
TWELVE OAKS ARE
THE COMEBACK
KINGS
E
dward Horswell and Charlie
Wooldridge’s Sladmore/Twelve
Oaks produced an incredible
comeback in the final chukka to win
the prestigious Archie David Cup – the
UK’s leading 8-goal tournament. With
30 teams entering in 2016, this victory
was even sweeter for Horswell and
Wooldridge. Chris Hyde, later named the
Polo Magazine’s Most Valuable Player,
was inspired in this chukka, levelling the
score to 6-6 in the first three minutes and
then firing home the winning goal. Hyde
also received the Polo Times Best Playing
Pony prize for Promise. Hyde had played
this Australian-bred mare in the crucial
third chukka.
It had all looked such a different story
in the first three chukkas. Limitless/
Silvertown, had dominated this match.
They were 4-1 up at half-time – with
Matias Amaya on particularly good form
riding some fast ponies. Meanwhile,
Sladmore/Twelve Oaks struggled to get
into the game, failing to score at all in the
second chukka.
The tension started to show in the second
half. There were more penalties and the
wonderfully flowing polo was exchanged
for the stop-start game that is more
reminiscent of the high-goal. Sladmore/
Twelve Oak’s fortunes did not improve
either. Not only was Hyde given a yellow
card by the umpires, but he put a couple of
penalties wide. Limitless/Silvertown could
not capitalise on this though, struggling to
convert runs down the field to goals, despite
some deafening vocal support from the
grandstands for both teams.
guards polo club official yearbook 2017
153