THE Curraghmore team from Waterford Polo Club, last year’s winners of the Ballindenisk Cup, were back for the second consecutive year, fully intending on repeating their 2017 win at Ballindenisk Polo Club in Co Cork last weekend.

With six teams playing through qualifying rounds to reach the final, Curraghmore took on Rits, Rocklow, Valley Farm, Ballindenisk and Bunclody to secure the win last Sunday.

Polo at Ballindenisk Polo Club was three-a-side on the smaller than usual, pristinely groomed grass pitch welcoming a beginner and novice on each team, anchored by a senior rider in an ingenious solution to bring on new and emerging players in a tournament context. The polo club not far from Cork City near the Glanmire Road will be once again the venue for new and emerging players later in June.

QUALIFIERS

John Flavin for Curraghmore led Brian Thoma and Senan O’Connell in the final against Bunclody’s Robert Hogg and Paddy Casey with alternates Tadhg Hurley and Jack Sreenan after both teams won their qualifiers against April Kent, Paul Ronan Sr and Winnie Anna O’Sullivan for Rocklow while the Ballindenisk team consisted of Mark Ronan, Jennifer Healy and alternates Aisling Lewis and Daniel MacManus respectively.

While Brian Thoma from last year’s winning team returned to defend the trophy won for the first time last year, Senan O’Connell is a new acquisition and together, they sought to bring it home again to Curraghmore.

Speaking after the final, team captain John Flavin thanked the tournament’s organisers Peter and Ailbhe Fell for the ongoing improvements on the pitch while expanding the scope of training for new and emerging players.

Ponies were stabled at Ballindenisk overnight and novices and beginners had a golden opportunity to compete in tournament conditions without pressure from more highly skilled four-a-side teams holding HPA (Hurlingham Polo Association) handicaps above -2 goals.

“Since the first time I came down here, you have made huge strides and I thank you,” said John Flavin on behalf of the Curraghmore team. “There was a strategy to win and it definitely worked out. We were challenging the goalmouth to score goals and that is what we did.”

Rits was in the subsidiary final following their qualifier and despite losing Sean Reynolds when his son Alex Reynolds pulled out on injury, went on to win their final with substitute Peter Fell, along with Ailbhe Fell and the powerful Rob Hampson on 13 goals to one contributed by the nearly also-ran Ballindenisk.

PRESSURE OFF

The development tournament offered opportunities for novice and new players to improve their skills without the pressure of a handicap to live up to and the higher scoring teammates that come along with it.

“We had an anchor on each team and a middle and novice (player),” said organiser Ailbhe Houlihan when she spoke with The Irish Fieldafter the tournament. “It is to get the novice players out, give them a chance and get going.”

The third place team in the Ballindenisk Cup final was Valley Farm on five goals to four from Rocklow.