Aravali defeats Mad Dogs and claims Queen Mother´s Centenary Cup

Having been out of the divet stomping circuit for a few months, my general concern was that the winter arena polo would have left my mud treading legs weak. But alas, the sun was out, the lawn was flawless and as I gazed at the expectant crowd, excitement came over my heels and I was ready for the La Martina Queens Centenary Cup final. I couldn't help thinking this is going to be a great summer for polo.

The final was to be held at Guards Polo Club in Windsor this afternoon and with Asprey and Jada playing two tough games earlier on in the cup, knocking out BHC and Seven Sevens, the final matches saw Mad Dogs vs Aravali and Asprey vs Jada in the subsidiary final.
I cannot say i wasn't excited to see the Hipwood duo back on the pitch, the former England Captain and his son who has played alongside HRH Prince Harry, their outstanding playing always leaving a definite impression on me, against Mad Dogs. A team sporting two fine Argentine polo players, Guillermo Cuitino (6 goal hcp) and Juan Cruz Guerva (5 goal hcp)s meant the afternoons events were likely to be for interesting viewing.

As is often the case when the Hipwood duo are playing alongside one another, their territorial roles on the pitch are often established early on in the game. Howard, securing the first move on the ball kicked off the game with a combination of tactful passes to Oliver whilst actively defending his position against the Mad Dogs.
With the two gathering speed towards the goal, once the Mad Dogs were cleared, Oliver slipped in across his father and scored the first goal for Aravali.

The pace was set and now Howard looked for Gairdner as he attempted another shot at the open goal. Unfortunately it fell wide of the mark and was driven hard into the fence by Guevra.
As the ball rolled towards the goal of Aravali, it was saved by Thapar who until now had been playing a passive game. With both teams in close range of the ball, things appeared to become heated and shouts were heard on pitch, however, a sudden fall from one of the players meant the whistle was blown.
The crowd waited in agitation to see if he was alright, but in true cavalier style, he jumped straight back onto the pony and cantered across the pitch to make sure she was in check.

A throw in gave the Mad Dogs a chance at a starting attack. Guevra, on his own seemed lost until Fall appeared to greet an open pass.
It was not quick enough however, and Olivers agile skills meant the ball was passed back into the hands of Aravali.

A whistle was blown and a spot hit awarded in favor of Aravali was declared.
Howard was backed up by Oliver, the two players uniting to attack with purpose, drove the Mad Dog players away from their defensive positions across the pitch. All of a sudden, a gathering speed from Aravali left Mad Dogs with an open goal, and it was Gairdner this time who surged in and scored the second goal of the game leaving the scores 2-0 to Aravali.

It was time for the Mad Dogs to get serious. Gairdner still had control of the ball at this point and it was Guevra who managed to deter the Black shirts and regain possession of the ball. At this point, Guevra and Cuitino showed off their flawless passing, the two Argentines crossing back and forth between the gathering Aravali team.
If it wasn't for Howards outstanding defensive skills, undoubtedly the Mad Dogs would have scored their first goal of the match but Hipwood was not about to let this happen.
Two against one, the Hipwood duo, cutshot Cuitino and the Argentine was no match for the legend that is Howard Hipwood.
Turning his back on the Mad Dog, Howard whisked the ball away only to be stopped by a blow from the referees whistle.
A spot hit in favour of Mad Dogs was called and it was Cleared by Aravali. The ball had not been taken less than a third of the way up the pitch towards Mad Dogs goal, when a backhand from Guevra halted the run and brought the pace down to a trot.

The crowd was joined by the Bentley Owners Club, their magnificent vehicles parked outside the gates, and the Wentworth Golf Club from down the road at Virginia Water, both of whom had to endure the splatter of rain that had begun to fall.
Aravali taking a strong hold of the ball once again in the second Chukka, was positioned by Gairdner who shot the ball clear of the goal mouth and hit it from their own back line.
Another quick pause and the Umpire called play letting the Mad Dogs take their time as the ball was brought back into the middle of the pitch. Cuitino seemed to be in the right place as two of his team mates diverted the Aravali team around the player. With only a second before the Black shirts could reunite in defence, a shot was taken and Mad Dogs finally scored their first goal bringing the points to 2-1 to Aravali.

Hine who was now keeping the ball in motion beckoned to Fall but the Green and White player could not make the distance in time and luckily Guevra managed to save it from an approaching Thapar.
Cuitino drove the ball forward and it hit the post. With his fellow Argentine amigo never far behind, Guevra was there to ensure they had one more shot and successfully put the ball through the goal.

With the teams equal now, Howards motives seemed to change and with a tap and a flick of his mallet, he drove the ball far from his opponents towards an open goal.
An infringement against Aravali, involving Oliver Hipwood meant the referee blew his whistle and the game was paused momentarily.
Cuitino started things moving again, driving the ball back hard from its aggressors, the Hipwood duo, and a spot turn from one of the Mad Dogs resulted in another pause.
Seemingly annoyed with all this stop start nonsense, Oliver showed us his powerful striking by taking a penalty for Aravali and sending it hurtling straight into Mad Dogs goal, perhaps hoping it would resolve any uncertainties about Aravali's prevailing dominance.

Aravali now leading 3-2, championed the ball to their opponents end of the pitch with Gairdner flying across to greet a backhand from Hipwood. It didn't make the connection and although Guevra was there to steal the ball, Oliver was not going to let it get away so easily and corrected the pass by knocking the ball out of Guevras range.

Divets were stomped at half time and those loosing their high heels to the mud learned quickly they were probably better off in the clubhouse.

Howard was once again the first to touch the ball, and with a new pony for one of the Aravali boys, one hoped that things might get pick up pace.
If it was the rain that was to blame for the sudden lack of energy, then so be it, but for some reason the third Chukka seemed to be getting off to a slow start.
Mad Dogs pushed back and Olivers slightly frantic approach meant the Green and White boys were lost for action.
All in a moment the ball was moved to hard and Cuitini managed to pick it up, only to let it fly to high and a throw in from Oliver allowed his father to make a tactile back hand towards the posts and another goal was scored for Aravali, leaving the scoring at 4-2 to the Black shirts.

Between gusts of rain, colourful umbrellas and a slippery pitch, the Mad dogs managed to get the ball into their favour, securing each other from the Aravali boys nicely, however the umpire was not happy and moved the ball into the centre spot.
When the sun finally reappeared it was difficult not to question if it had come out just for Oliver who seemingly occurred to be literally 'playing' with the ball as no was able to get a touch.

Eventually things began to heat up between the two teams once again and an infringement against Mad dogs allowed for a chance to pull it together with a 60 yard penalty taken by Guillermo.
As it went, that is just what happened and the Mad Dogs scored bringing the total points up to 4-3 to Aravali.

The ball went back into play and although it appeared the Hipwood duo were about to repeat their flawless passing techniques that only a father and his son, with a lifetime of polo between them can do, Guevras immediate attack meant the ball went flying and the umpire blew his whistle.

Cuitino, imminent that Mad Dogs were not going to lose this fight, persistently guarded his co player from the looming Aravali team. The umpire dissatisfied with current antics blew his whistle and Guevra who had been trying to control the ball lost it to Gairdner who put it straight into their goal.
5-3 to Mad Dogs.

Now with a two goal advantage, to Aravali, the Mad Dogs had alot to play for.
With the whistle blown, a spot hit for Aravali claimed the ball for Howard Hipwood who with a backhand flick sent it over to Oliver.
Cuitino was fast. He outran both Howard and Oliver, taking the ball with him and finely shooting it into Aravalis own goal.

Things appeared to be looking up for Mad Dogs and they didn't let the ball out of their sight, attacking fast and in turn, taking possession of what was to be the last few touches in the remaining Chukka.
A sense or urgency was seen by Olivers alert and attentive moves towards the ball but a whistle was called before the player could make a touch.
The difficult conditions meant my ink was running whilst trying to watch the horses keep it together on the slippery turf and with two minutes left to go, a spot hit for Aravali was greeted by Cuitino who led the ball away.
Unbelievably the final two goals were scored literally within the last two minutes by Oliver Hipwood and Sam Gairdner.
In the dying seconds of the game, the two Argentines could be seen desperately passing with backhands in last attempt to take the ball from the Hipwood duo who had now definitively gained possession of the pitch.
This was not enough and as the rainclouds began to clear and my writing pad started to dry off, the Aravali team were welcomed back to the posts by cheers and whistles from the crowd.

Becky Simpson from La Martina, the cup sponsors, was there to greet and award the winning team.

Arevali 7 - 5 Mad Dogs

Teams:

Mad Dogs
Green & White
Alan Fall 0
Will Hine 4
Guillermo Cuitino 6
Juan Cruz Guevra 5

Aravali
Black
Karan Thapar 1
Sam Gairdner 4
Howard Hipwood 5
Oliver Hipwood 5