Cartier Queen’s Cup Final 2019
Scone Polo had an amazing debut in UK high goal polo, winning the Cartier Queen’s Cup right off the bat! This was also the first Queen’s Cup title for Nico Pieres, the only one in the Pieres clan not having this trophy on his mantel yet. Their counter-parts, Park Place, were runners-up for the second consecutive year and, on paper, were favorites to lift the trophy.
Scone Polo: David Paradice (0); James Beim (7); Nico Pieres (9); James Harper (6).
Park Place: Andrey Borodin (0); Juan Britos (7); Hilario Ulloa (10); Benjamin Urquiza (5).
I was there to witness it all and had one of my best friends Sophie ( I mostly call her Ponti, a boarding school nickname that stuck) who despite being deadly allergic to horses often accompanies me to polo matches (with her handbag full of antihistamine). We started the day with a delicious lunch in the Guards clubhouse served by Mosimann’s and surrounded by Philippa Davin Fine Art on the walls.
Philippa Davin Fine Art decorating the VIP Guards Clubhouse Lunch
AT 3-o’ clock sharp the band started playing and that meant the beginning of the 2019 Cartier Queen’s Cup Final, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. The game started with Park Place in the lead– they were 2-0 up after the first chukker and although Scone Polo got themselves on even terms in the second (3-3) Park Place seemed to be in the driving seat. By half time we wandered out to stomp divots (who are we kidding, it was to take pictures, haha) and bump into friends. I love a good half time divot stomp, cause I always run into someone I know.
Park Place struggled to counteract Scone Polo’s increasing confidence – failing to score at all in the fifth – and all of sudden, with just seven minutes left to play, this was Scone Polo’s game.
James Harper, from the winning team had a brilliant game at back for Scone Polo, was named the Cartier Most Valuable Player. He also received the Cartier Best Playing Pony prize for Twitter – a Jim Gilmore-owned, seven-year-old chestnut mare.
