The AUDI International Polo featuring the Coronation Cup.Sunday 22nd July.Coronation Cup 2014, Sponsored by Audi for the first time. The Coronation Cup was first played for in 1911 to honour the coronation of King George V, grandfather to our current Queen. From then until 1939, it was traditionally played by the winners of the London Open Tournaments – Hurlingham, Ranelagh, Roehampton and the Inter-Regimental. Polo struggled in the aftermath of the Second World War and matches became a little more sporadic. Although a tournament was played to mark the Coronation of HM The Queen in 1953, mainly at Cowdray Park in Sussex, it was not played for again for a further 18 years.
Early in 1971 Lord Patrick Beresford introduced Col Gerard Leigh, then Chairman of Guards Polo Cluband some members of the Club’s committee, to an American friend and polo player, Michael Butler. Beresford and Butler believed that there were sufficient English players at “the top of the tree” to form a team of around 23 goals who might take on an American team of similar handicap and that such a match would create much public interest. That first game featured a 23-goal English team featuring Hon Mark Vestey, Howard & Julian Hipwood and Paul Withers. However theUSAteam (Ronnie Tongg, Billy Linfoot, Chico & Joe Barry) was not the highest handicapped that the USA could have fielded and so it was agreed thatthese two countries would play for the “mothballed” Coronation Cup instead of the more usual Westchester Cup*. The Americans won 9-6. Click here to learn more…
Live Preview: https://www.coronationcuppolo.com/
