Barely a month after the engrossing 2023 Lagos international polo tournament, the game of kings is back in the groove for the 2023 edition of the Easter Cup polo tournament in Lagos.
The holiday event that is the finale of the polo season as it ushers the rainy season is set to gallop off today through the Easter Monday at the foremost Lagos Polo Club in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Organizers said that the tournament that is exclusive to playing members of the club and would be keenly contested by all participants as the Easter Cup traditionally marks the grand finale of the Lagos Polo Club’s season.
Beside the Easter fun fair that usually characterizes the four-day polo fiesta, the Easter Cup traditionally presents the players to begin gradual preparation for the national tour with Ibadan polo tournament as the first port of call.
The Lagos Polo President, Bode Makanjuola who lauded all the sponsors for supporting the activities of the foremost club over the decades , urged all the invited guests, corporate icons, and members of the diplomatic corps and polo buffs to spend the Easter holidays at the club.
“From Good Friday to Easter Monday, the Lagos Polo Club would be alive as everything has been put in place for a memorable 2023 edition of the tourney,” the polo boss declared. “The players are in high spirits and horses are set to thrill in what promises to be one the most contested Eater Cup yet.”
Incidentally, one of the biggest highlights of the 2023 Easter Holiday polo fiesta would be the grand participation of the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who would expectedly spent the Easter weekend at the polo club as the Special Guest of Honour.
Last year members of the highbrow polo club celebrated one of their most memorable Easter holidays in recent years with polo enthusiasts, family members and invited guests present at the Ribadu Road theatre cheering Team Amusan victory in the final of the 2022 Easter Cup polo tournament.
Apart from the Easter Cup, the foremost Lagos Club which remains the oldest polo theatre in the country since 1904, lines up a series of internal tournaments leading up to the prestigious Lagos international polo tournament which is revered as the biggest in the African continent.
These tournaments are open exclusively to playing members of the club including the Windmill Trophy tournament. The Windmill Trophy was donated by Millfield School to the club to be contested for by low handicap players ranging from -2 to +2 handicaps.
It was gathered that the idea behind this tournament was the club’s strong desire to encourage budding youngsters who are playing top class polo in various schools all over the world especially in England .to hone their skills to the highest level.
Others are the highly sought -after The Captains Cup that remains the first tournament of the season. This low goal tournament is a great warm up for players, horses and even guests as a new season kick starts. Teams are named after past captains of Lagos Polo Club and made up of playing members. This tournament is known to set a positive tone for the season.
The last in the series is the President Cup which is usually played after the Lagos International Polo Tournament.
It is a high-octane polo tournament played at a time in the season with both horses and players at their peak even as participating teams in this week-long event are named after past the club’s past presidents.