Arena Polo Nationals
On the first Thursday of term around 300 people in 97 teams from 27 universities descended on the Hand Equestrian Centre near Bristol for three days to take part in the largest arena polo tournament ever staged at university level. The event was organised by the Schools and Universities Polo Association (SUPA) and sponsored by La Martina, the famous polo equipment suppliers. St Andrews had sent three teams this year, one in the beginners section and two in the novice amounting to nine players in total (arena polo is played three-aside); each team was to play four matches.
The beginners were first up on Friday against Newcastle. The whole team would probably admit to feeling slightly disorientated after a long journey the previous day and suddenly having to play in a strange arena on unknown ponies with no opportunity to warm up or practice prior to each match. But Michael Piekos did a sterling job of playing back and hitting the ball up the arena to forwards Dani Ward and Emily Griffiths and they drew their first match 1-1. Next up were the Novice B team with Thomas Fieldhouse and Edward Bellamy up front and Elizabeth Humphreys playing back. With the game under way the Novices could not help feeling slightly outclassed; the ball control of UWE Bristol was excellent and they were very well mounted. Despite some strong forward shots from Fieldhouse St Andrews struggled to match the opposition pace and during hit outs after goals their marking was tight. After a score of 5-0 the team reflected somewhat, decided to change a few ponies round and took comfort in the fact that due to the structure of the tournament they had most likely faced the strongest team of the group first.
Unfortunately for the Novice A team an administrative oversight had presented St Andrews with a problem; it was discovered that Flo Barrow had too high a handicap for the section in which the team were entered. After some negotiation it was agreed that Flo would swap places with a certain Camilla Skogly Swift of Edinburgh who would play on St Andrews' behalf, for which the club is eternally grateful, while Flo would play for Edinburgh in a higher category. Already with this set back in their match against Cambride Novice A suffered a similar fate to Novice B, despite the best efforts of Stuart Hartley with his powerful swing and Emilie Bagnall's considerable riding off skills. Novice B however improved in the next chukka and won convincingly 3-1 in their third chukka of the day against Southampton. The Beginners were unfortunately beaten 2-1 in their second match by Nottingham but would go on to play much better on Saturday.
Despite a heavy night in on Friday Novice A pulled off an excellent victory against Royal Veterinary College on Saturday morning beating them 4-1 with all three team members scoring. The Beginners also did very well, winning both their chukkas with Dani Ward playing especially well in the last one against Exeter. That evening was the Polo Players Valentine Party which promised bouncy castles and bucking broncos to enjoy. However considering Novice B had to play the next day at 0850 the frolicking with the inflatable toys had to unfortunately be cut short!
Frustratingly in Novice B's final match on Sunday the propensity by the opposition to foul was matched only by the referee's apparent reluctance to blow anything except one minor instance of obstruction on Ed Bellamy's part. When faced with such play in polo it's hard to match it without playing dirty oneself, although the game had become so slow and messy that there was no real danger present in any of the fouls. St Andrews eventually prevailed, although the victory had not been as convincing as the team might have hoped. However, Flo Barrow, one of St Andrews' best players, stood out in the Edinburgh Combined team of Edinburgh, St Andrews and Brockenhurst. Later on Sunday this team came second overall in the combined team section; she also received a special mention of her performance in the final tournament report from the organisers. Overall the St Andrews' performance represented a significant improvement from last year, a testament to how quickly many of this year's beginners have improved and also the several more experienced first years who have played prior to university.
The Polo Club in St Andrews has expanded recently and now has a good mix of abilities from people who have only recently learnt to ride to those who have been playing for ten or more years and represent some of the best in their age group in Scotland. With this increase in players St Andrews is looking to put a strong showing in at the SUPA Summer Nationals in June, to be held at Offchurchbury Polo Club in Warwickshire.
The Club's main annual event is the Strathtyrum tournament to be held this year on 3rd May. Players from the club take part as well as some of the best Scottish players in the Exhibition match. It is preceeded by the club's 'Chukka' Party on 24th April which will be just as awesome as the last one as the bucking bronco's already been booked! The tournament is an opportunity for the club to showcase talent and for members of the university and public to come a watch what is, especially at the higher levels, a very good spectator sport. Last year it proved a fun day out for many and attracted large crowds who enjoyed steak and Pimms while watching some of the best polo players in Scotland. This year should be even better.
(written by Ed Bellamy)
The Results for St Andrews at the Arena Nationals:
| Beginners Team: Dani Ward, Emily Griffiths, Michael Piekos |
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| St Andrews VS. Newcastle | 1-1 | ||
| St Andrews VS. Nottingham | 1-2 | ||
| St Andrews VS. Royal Agricultural College (RAC) | 2-0 | ||
| St Andrews VS. Exeter | 4-0 | ||
| Novice 2 Team: Elizabeth Humphreys, Tom Fieldhouse, Ed Bellamy |
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| St Andrews VS. UWE Bristol | 0-5 | ||
| St Andrews VS. Reading | 1-3 | ||
| St Andrews VS. Southampton | 3-1 | ||
| St Andrews VS. Royal Veterinary College (RVC) | 2-1 | ||
| Novice 1 Team: Emilie Bagnall, Camilla Skogly Swift (Edinburgh), Stuart Hartley |
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| St Andrews VS. Cambridge | 0-4 | ||
| St Andrews VS. Royal Veterinary College (RVC) | 4-1 | ||
| St Andrews VS. Nottingham | 0-4 | ||
| St Andrews VS. Oxford Brookes | 1-2 | ||