The second Polo Club Cuppers of the academic year took place on Saturday 28th February 2015, to light drizzle and the backdrop of the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside at Holbrook Farm in East End, Witney. Teams from five colleges – New, St Catherine’s, Wycliffe, University, MBAs (representing the Saïd Business School) – competed for the chance to challenge for St Peter’s title as the Cuppers reigning champions, who had also returned to defend it. The teams were comprised of players with ranging abilities, from those new to the game at the beginning of Hilary, to seasoned players returning from participation in the SUPA nationals last weekend.
The opening chukka saw Wycliffe pitched against the MBAs, who won 3-0 despite excellent play by Wycliffe’s team. Nevertheless, Wycliffe showed steady determination from chukka to chukka, just losing out 2-1 to New College (winning goal scored by Emmanuel Hermeneus-Efunbote in the closing minutes) before earning a close-fought victory on pen- alties, closing with a 1-1 draw with Univ.
The effective communication between Univ’s players earned them another draw in their chukka against St Catherine’s, whose defensive strategies had redoubled in the face of their previous 5-1 defeat by Peter’s. St Catherine’s continued to improve, winning the penalties, which formed the culmination of their hard-fought chukka against New and earning St Catherine’s third place in the over-all competition. Univ continued to fight as they challenged St Peter’s, with Jack Edwards in particular playing a strong defence in his tenacious ride offs.
Peter’s were eventually successful, however, and went on to the final against the MBAs team, who played a strong, collaborative chukka. Nonetheless, Peter’s ultimately managed to retain their Cuppers crown, scoring 6-1 by the final whistle, which awarded second place to the MBAs. Special mention must go to Adam McKay of the MBAs team, whose player assistance and sharp responses to the changing line of the ball earned him the title of ‘Most Valuable Player’.
The atmosphere was wonderfully upbeat despite the gloomy weather, with spectators cheering on teams, sharing cake, and helping in the changeovers by holding ponies and adjusting stirrups. Particular thanks must go to Peter Derby, for capturing the event beautifully with his photography, and to David Ashby, Tom Meyrick, and the staff at Holbrook Farm, whose hard work and love of the game continues to make the Oxford University Polo Club possible.
OUPC are looking forward to our white tie ball at Blenheim Palace on March 6th, round- ing off a busy Hilary term with celebration and expectation of things to come in Trinity, as the grass season begins again.
Teams: New (Emmanuel Hermeneus- Efunbote, Lucas Wessling, Freddie Hamilton); St Catherine’s (Sally CactuÌs, Sarah White, Eline Thorup Ringgaard); Wycliffe (Nikolas Gower, Katie Paul, Artur Kotlicki); St Peter’s (William Hsu, Kuang Jacky He, Christiaan De Koning); Universtiy (Ryan Mao, Alex Goddard, Jack Edwards); MBAs (Adam McKay, Kasey Morris, Andrew Li)
