THE HUNT for lost trophies and cups presented to various polo teams over nearly 150 years of Irish polo is on!

As the AIPC prepares to enter its 145th year as Europe’s first official polo club, the search is on for some missing perpetual trophies awarded to winning teams over the years.

Just recently, the location of one of the greatest trophies in the collection, missing for three generations was successfully traced, and negotiations are underway with the family that has kept the prize safe since it was last played for in around 1905.

It’s planned that the winning team will likely be presented with their own trophy or cup, either a replica of the custodial trophy or one that represents the tournament that was won.

Leading figures in the Federation of Irish Polo Clubs (FIPC) including chairman James Kennedy are willing to negotiate custodial terms.

“We would be interested in the present custodians coming forward with the trophies they have,” said James Kennedy. “In an ideal world, any perpetual trophy would be returned to the club it came from but it is understandable that a lot of the present holders wouldn’t be willing to do that.

“All we want to know is where they are and we would be willing to have a perpetual trophy on display at a tournament and present an appropriate prize to the winning team,” added Kennedy.

“The trophy would go back with its guardians until the following year when it would be played for again.”

As recently as 2011, the Wexford Challenge Cup, which was last contested in 1911, surfaced on eBay.

It was recovered by a memorabilia collector who purchased it from a British antique shop.

The Cup was returned to Co Wexford and purchased by Joe Redmond, the Bunclody-based bookmaker who, in turn, kindly presented it to Bunclody Polo Club where he is a member.

Among the missing trophies in the All Ireland Polo Club (AIPC) collection is the Ladies Cup, a recent acquisition compared to the very much present and accounted for Freebooters Cup, one of the first prizes to be played for in the club’s early years.

The Patriotic Cup, missing since before World War II, turned up at a polo club in Britain during the 1990s.

The former Ireland v Britain tournament was restored and teams have held an annual tournament ever since, played in alternate years in each host country.

“It is important that we find out where as many as possible of the missing cups and trophies are in what will be an important year for Irish polo,” said James Kennedy. “We know they are out there. They have been safe in people’s custody and I know we can come to an agreement with their holders.”

Anyone who would like to come to an agreement about the club trophies held for more than one year, may phone James Kennedy at 087-2561372 or David Stone, the All Ireland Polo Club honorary polo manager, at 086-2565671.