England and Peru go head-to-head for Golden Jubilee Cup
A fantastic weekend for England polo continued on Saturday, 10 June, when the England team took home the Golden Jubilee Cup with a runaway victory from visiting Peru.
The team of Alfie Hyde, Luke Wiles, Dom Lodge and captain Zac Beim showed confidence and maturity to lead from the outset. This was the first time in memory that England have played Peru on home soil, and the opposing side of Iago Masias, Ignacio Masias, Lorenzo Masias, and Rodrigo Vieljeux came extremely well-mounted thanks to all those that supplied horses, which made for a thrilling game in front of the Beaufort crowd.
Alfie Hyde put the first goal on the board at a strong pace, before Iago Masias quickly evened the score for Peru with a decisive swing from well out in front. Against a tough Peruvian defence, Dom Lodge and Alfie Hyde paired brilliantly to set up the next goal, leaving the path clear for Zac Beim to break through and send the ball over the line. A further goal from Dom Lodge put England firmly in the lead to finish the first chukka 3-1.5.
A goal apiece for Zac and Iago followed in the second chukka, before Luke Wiles made it a goal each for the home team, bringing the score to 5-2.5 at the end of the second chukka. A tough third chukka followed; both teams ramping up their defences with just one goal added to the board, leaving England further ahead for a 6-2.5 before half time. With warm temperatures throughout the day it was wonderful to see such exemplary care of the ponies, with even the waiting Young England players being recruited to aid with the distribution of water to ponies and players alike.
After some great coaching from Luke Tomlinson, the England team emerged with all guns blazing for the second half, with Alfie Hyde dominating and scoring two goals for England, to add to another for Luke Wiles. Iago and Ignacio Masias also scored a goal apiece for Peru to bring the score to 9-4.5 with one chukka to go.
The action continued thick and fast into the final chukka, with Peru fighting back to add another two goals to their tally. The England team proved uncatchable, with Alfie Hyde and Zac Beim notching up another goal apiece, bringing the score to 11-6.5 at the final buzzer.
A thrilled England team came forward to lift the coveted Golden Jubilee Cup, with Rodrigo Vieljeux award Most Valuable Player. Mares dominated in the day’s Best Playing Pony stakes, with Lovelocks M, a 9-year-old bred by Charlie Hanbury and owned and played by Luke Wiles, winning the Polo Time Best Playing Pony prize. Zac Beim’s Tottie (racing name Totzo), an 8-year-old mare, took home the Best Playing ROR rug, kindly presented by Toni Vaughan from Retraining of Racehorses.
Young England takes on Young New Zealand
The action didn’t stop there, with barely a pause before the Young England team took to the field to play Young New Zealand. The England team of Toby Bradshaw, Will Millard, Rufus Uloth, and Frank Barlow faced a strong New Zealand side of Oscar Power, Zoe Reader, Lachie Appleby, and George Cronin.
With a storm brewing beyond the trees, it was a charged atmosphere as these two well-matched teams lined up to play for not one, but two trophies; the resurfaced Buckmaster, not played for since 2019, and the historic Gibley Cup, traditionally played for between Young England and Young New Zealand.
Setting a fast pace from the outset, New Zealand were the first to get a goal on the board, but brilliant riding from both teams saw the score 2-2 at the end of the first of four chukkas. New Zealand came out on fire in the second chukka, with the team “all over England” according to commentator Rupert Lewis, including a stunning goal from George Cronin to send New Zealand into the lead 5-4. England evened the score with a brilliant run from Toby Bradshaw, which was saved by New Zealand right on the goal line only to be tapped in by Frank Barlow with the opposition’s backs turned. Another goal for England saw them head into half time with a 6-5 lead and everything to play for in the final two chukkas.
The third chukka saw England continue to hold off their rivals despite increasing pressure, particularly from New Zealand’s Zoe Reader who came to the fore with some brilliant play in the second half. Both teams added a goal each to send them into the final chukka 7-6 to England, and the match wide open. Lachie Appleby, enjoying an “unbelievable game” scored a crucial goal amid strong opposition to even the score to 7-7 with just minutes to go.
In a hard-to-swallow turn of events for the England team, the match would come down to penalties. A penalty for New Zealand from the 40-yard line was sent wide by Oscar Power, before play continued. England had brought the ball away when a backhand from New Zealand was pounced upon by Bradshaw, turning in front of the New Zealand players coming down the line and giving a 60-yard penalty with 30 seconds to go. This was successfully defended by the England side, but a last-minute foul in the goal mouth allowed New Zealand a spot-hit from 5-yards, which was converted with seconds left in the game to give New Zealand the win on a final score of 8-7.
The New Zealand fans who had travelled to enjoy this action-packed international day at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo were rewarded by seeing their team pick up these two coveted trophies after a hard-earned victory, which saw brilliant play from both sides.
The Most Valuable Player award went to Lachie Appleby, while the Bradshaw family were thrilled to see Open Cuba awarded Best Playing Pony. No stranger to the international scene, having played in the 2015 Coronation Cup under Ollie Cudmore, this 15-year-old mare was presented in fine fettle by her groom Maxi to much admiration from the crowd.
The rain had held off, and spectators headed home ready for the final day of the Festival, which would see the Javier Nostrillo Avada Trophy played for by the Juniors on a busy weekend for England polo.
