Meet the winners of The Queen’s Ground polo tournament

Alessandro Bazzoni’s Monterosso Polo Team showed a strong performance to win the 16-goal Duke of Cornwall Trophy on The Queen’s Ground for the first time. They had an impressive performance to win this coveted cup 10-4.5 and the team work of all the players combined resulted in Monterosso taking another trophy home, showing how this team is now here to stay.

Their opponents, Ana Escobedo’s Ojo Caliente (received half a goal on handicap), were also looking to add their name to this trophy for the first time but fought to find their form and any answers to Monterosso’s excellent team-work. The young Santos Merlos was particularly strong, while Jeronimo del Carril did an amazing job of not only keeping Monterosso’s back door shut but making the most of any space he found.

The team’s gameplay definitely showed a great performance in the field and left no room for the other team. This hard effort paid off at the end, when they secured the victory and the trophy by a wide difference in the scoreboard.

Alessandro Bazzoni‘s team fired through four goals in the second chukka to give them a comfortable 5-3.5 lead at half-time. And there was still all to play for as this was a 16-goal tournament and fortunes can change in a moment. Unhappily this was not the case for Ojo Caliente. They failed to score at all in the third while Monterosso added a couple more to give them a convincing 7-3.5 lead going into the final seven minutes.

They secured the victory with that lead and showing confidence in their strategy actually was positive for them. Very strong moves and plays in both offensive and defensive ways gave Monterosso the first place in this important match and left Ojo Caliente on the second place.

The Casa de Campo Polo Club was the setting to successfully celebrate the VI Royal Polo Cup BRITCHAM, dedicated to the memory of polo player William J. Reid Baquero. This made the event very emotional and a few words were dedicated at the end of it that highlighted how important Baquero was for the host of this tournament.

This VI Royal Polo Cup is part of the efforts made by BRITCHAM to combine cultural activities, in order to strengthen ties between the Dominican Republic and the United Kingdom, and promote economic and commercial exchange between both countries,” said Francesca Ortiz, executive director of BRITCHAM. This is an important and interesting approach to improve the relationship of these two countries.

Likewise, Mrs. Ortiz thanked all the sponsors who, with her collaboration, were part of the success of this event, as well as all the people who attended the fair. Everyone placed a little bit of themselves into making this event a success in both attendance and game results.

The emotional words for Baquero were one of the best parts of this day. “Until we gallop together again,” said María Isabel Hernández de Reid, and her children, who paid tribute to the businessman, polo player and founding member of the British Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Reid Baquero who passed away recently and filled the polo world with sadness.

Funds were raised for the Abriendo Camino Foundation through the auction of works of art, luxury garments, polo items and, especially, “La Golondrina”, a mare donated by the Reid family for such a noble cause.

This foundation does a vital work for their community with the most vulnerable population: kids. After 18 years, they have provided holistic education and psychosocial attention to children, teenagers and their families. They have 7 programs dedicated to the well-being of kids and work hard for child-free violence neighborhoods.

It is a great foundation to include in this tournament since it raises awareness on a topic that is not discussed enough and this exposure to the polo world will definitely bring lots of positive good results.

With such a noble goal, it is exciting to say that the fundraising was a complete success and this foundation reached more than expected with their auctions.

Horse Polo history

Polo is a team sport, in which two teams with four players each, mounted on horseback, try to carry a small wooden ball towards the opponent’s goal, made up of two wicker posts, by means of a cue. The objective is to score the most goals.

The traditional sport of polo is played on a grassy field measuring 270 by 150 meters (equivalent to 300 by 260 yards). It is an ancient sport, the practice of which dates back more than two thousand years, and whose origin is probable found in Central Asia. Today, the modern game lasts approximately two hours, and is divided into six or eight periods or times called chukkers. It is played competitively by teams from all five continents.

The origin of the practice of polo has not been defined to this day. It is thought that it was played for the first time by nomadic warriors from Central Asia, who called it chovgan, more than two thousand years ago, despite the fact that the first the historical record of their game dates back to the 6th century BC, when Persians and Turkmens played an encounter with each other.

The practice of polo, at that time, had the objective of training the horsemen of the cavalry units. Particularly in Persia, today Iran, obtained the character of a national sport, being there precisely where this sport began to be associated with the nobility and royalty, after being practiced by the upper class, the military class and, above all, by the royal family.

Thousands of years later, this sport now gathers a huge audience around the world and more and more people are willing to train and play in the most prestigious clubs in the world. Horse polo is now a worldwide sport.

And it is a great thing to hear because this sport could use some diversity in different aspects like new players, new moves and more.

source https://wiredrelease.com/press-release/meet-the-winners-of-the-queens-ground-polo-tournament-2021-03-16