No one can stop those brave girls! Under heavy rains, Stobart defeated Goose Creek by a 6 – 6,5 score, and captured the Cirencester International Ladies Tournament, the ladies competition that took place on Ivy Lodge, Cirencester Park Polo Club’s main ground, in Gloucestershire.
The tournament was played under the new ladies handicaps, established by the Hurlingham Polo Association.
America’s Maureen Brennan’s foursome, Goose Creek, had a stronger start. They remained in the lead until the third chukka.
However, Stobart made a comeback in the last two chukka, led by Nina Clarkin, who scored a couple of goals in each chukka to determine the final win.
The Subsidiary final followed, and after a round robin, Foxlease emerged as winners. At least, rain had gone away, and the match was played with a bright summer sun!!!!
Nina Clarkin:
The changes needed to be made. Girls like Sarah, Lottie, Maureen, myself, haven’t been playing with the ladies handicap at all; all of them had a handicap, and I am very pleased it happened, it was a changed we needed.
Despite the weather, it was a great final. I am very happy that girls polo is doing well in England. The game was very exciting, our team was very strong, but the rivals were very hard as well. But we had a great team, Lottie is a very strong player, she’s very well mounted; I played with Lucy a lot, as well, she’s probably one of the best mounted ladies player. Maureen and Sarah were playing at Cowdray swell.
Ladies polo is going really big – I think we can have six or eight tough teams the whole season next year. It will happen, maybe next year we can have a five-goal series, a foreign team, maybe a test match maybe at Cirencester and Cowdray, but maybe we could get a couple of tournaments after reaching a higher level, maybe a high goal and a medium goal tournament at the same time. We don’t want to exclude the lower handicap tournaments, because they are also important. I guess that hopefully in a couple of years we will have tournaments for all three levels.
Now it’s easier, and next year will be even easier, I think it’s going to be even closer and tighter, just like this final. And make it easier to be open, definetly.
Stobart vs. Goose Creek
Final Subsidiary
Awards
http://www.pololine.com/?lang=1&sec=3¬e=7003&pag=0&anoB=2015