British Polo Day @ Singapore

The return of British Polo Day Singapore in conjunction with The Singapore Polo Club recently saw a full house of international guests enjoying a spectacular day of polo and entertainment. British Polo Day Singapore played host to three polo matches and a celebration of British heritage and luxury fashion during the final day of this adrenalin fuelled week of global exposure for Singapore. The British Polo Day VIP guests experienced exquisite hospitality provided by the new luxury W Hotel in Sentosa Cove with a full flowing Taittinger champagne reception.

The first match with hosts Singapore Polo Club playing provided the pipe opener for an afternoon of excellent polo. Both teams were very evenly matched and the score alternated until the exciting 3rd chukka when Lynly Fong - Captain of the Red team - broke away to score 2 quick goals ably supported by Greg Parkhurst. The Black team fought back in the 4th period with Ang Ban Tong scoring but they could not close the gap and the result was victory to the Red team by 5 goals to 4. The second match of W Hotel Sentosa Oxbridge taking on Land Rover Singapore was a close fought affair in the first 2 chukkas with both teams playing some long shots, Jeremy Pemberton connecting well but equally on form was the President of the SPC, Iqbal Jumabhoy, who drove the ball hard to pass the ball for the LR SPC team. Oxbridge shut the door on LR SPC to run out worthy winners by 6 1/2 goals to 4. An excellent match that the crowd enjoyed.

The final match was eagerly awaited and the Baha Mar Eton side looked strong with Alex de Lisle at +3 but his side of Harry Townshend -1, the Yeo brothers Clifton and Keith also -1 and Matt Gottschalk at +1 had not played together before and the Savills SPC side looked tough on paper to beat with Melissa Tiernan -1, Ali Reda and Vinod Kumar sharing +1, Stijn Welkers +1 and the hard hitting Asad Jumabhoy +1. The match got off to a great start with some strong play by de Lisle long hitting which thrilled the crowd. Asad Jumabhoy had some fine hits and the Savills SPC held firm with just two goals in it at half time. However, the Eton team fired on all cylinders in the 3rd and the long passing shots by de Lisle proved decisive with a flurry of goals being scored by Townshend and the increasingly effective Yeo brothers, by the end of the period they led by 6 to 1/12. The floodgates opened though in the 4th period and Eton began punching long shots and goals with increasing confidence. The final score was 11 - 11/2. The Yeo brothers were jointly awarded the Taittinger Most Valuable Player award, richly deserved.

"It is a great honour to be invited to The Singapore Polo Club. The horse is an international language that can bridge culture in a way that traditionally only sport has been able to do. So what better platform of engagement could one possibly find than the opportunity to combine sport and horsemanship in an iconic location," said Edward Olver Co-founder of British Polo Day.

 

 

In recognition of the recent Paralympic endeavours at London 2012, The British Polo Day Singapore Committee & Singapore Polo Club selected The Riding for the Disabled Association (Singapore) & WheelPower as the joint beneficiaries of British Polo Day Singapore in 2012. As a result of the generosity of Club Members & guests, a total of USD$38,000 was raised. The day was made possible thanks to the generosity and support of Land Rover, McLaren, Bentley, Savills, Baha Mar, Taittinger, Ettinger, Roxton’s and Hackett.

 British Polo Days celebrate the history and heritage of the game in a quintessentially British day of polo in various locations all around the world. The next destination is Mexico on 24th November 2012 at the Balvanera Polo Club.