It was the finish polo writers dream of. On Sunday 22 July, in front of nearly 15,000 spectators at Cowdray Park, the Hanbury family’s El Remanso beat Jean-François Decaux’s La Bamba de Areco 13-12 in the final of the King Power Gold Cup for the British Open Polo Championship. Ollie Cudmore scored the winner just as the final bell sounded.
The line-ups
- El Remanso: Charlie Hanbury, Ollie Cudmore, James Beim and James Harper, the same four English players who reached the final in 2017
- La Bamba de Areco: Jean-François Decaux, three-goal Byron Watson, Polito Pieres (replacing the injured David Stirling) and ten-goaler Juan Martín Nero
The match
El Remanso came through the tournament without dropping a match, and Hanbury set the tone by scoring from the first throw-in. His second goal made it 3-2 at the end of the first chukka. La Bamba found no answer in the second, and the English side led 4-2 and then 6-4 at half-time. Harper began the second half with a neat backhander to make it 7-4.
The game turned in the second half. Watson’s attacking play, Pieres’s strong runs and two 30-yard penalties converted by Nero put La Bamba ahead at 12-10 by the end of the fifth chukka. In the final chukka, Cudmore converted a 30-yard penalty to cut the gap to one, and then Beim won the ball from a throw-in, Harper moved it on, and Hanbury left it for Harper, who calmly levelled at 12-12. Decaux then had a chance for La Bamba and missed. Harper brought the ball back, found Beim, and Beim turned it past a challenge and found Cudmore, who scored as the bell sounded.
Awards
- Most Valuable Player: Charlie Hanbury, with four goals.
- Best Playing Pony: Blanca Nueve, owned by Pelón Stirling and ridden by Polito Pieres.
King Power presented the Gold Cup to Hanbury, who shared the moment with his parents, Christopher and Bridget. A new prize for the best playing patron’s pony was also introduced and presented by King Power.
How they got there
In the quarter-finals El Remanso beat Alfi Investments 16-11 in the inaugural Hungarian Ambassador’s Cup, with six goals in the fourth chukka virtually sealing it, while La Bamba de Areco beat Talandracas 10-8. RH Polo beat Park Place 15-11, and La Indiana beat Valiente in the Centenary Cup, led by six goals from Facundo Pieres.
A team of four Englishmen winning the biggest prize in British polo is a rare treat, and it will be hard to forget how it was won.
Sources: Sussex Express (final), Sussex Express (quarter-finals)
