Los Locos's Clare Tomlinson received the Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup from HM The Queen today (Sunday) after defeating Chris Mathias's Clarita 9-8. However this was not the first time that this influential player has received such an honour. Her Los Locos team won the leading 15-goal competition in both 1980 and 1981, but this year Clare was playing alongside her youngest son, the England international Mark Tomlinson. He created a devastating partnership with his fellow seven-goaler Ignacio Toccalino to give the green and red shirts the edge in the second half of the game. Toccalino went on to receive the Best Playing Pony Award for Americano, a 10-year-old Argentine pony whom he had played in the second and fourth chukkas.
Clarita were always in with a chance throughout the match though and were level, 6-6, at half-time. Not only did the professionals do a great job of keeping Clarita in with a shout – it looked like the game could go to extra time several times during the final fifth chukka – but patron Chris Mathias played an impressive game too. His matchplay was rewarded with The Polo Magazine's Most Valuable Player Award which he received from HM The Queen., who was accompanied at the presentation table by Mr Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group.
The subsidiary final, for the Mountbatten Trophy, was an equally fast game with both teams impressing the spectators on The Duke's Ground. Clare Milford Haven's Jaeger LeCoultre took the honours though, defeating Lamrei 9-6 after five chukkas. However with 20 teams entering this competitive medium-goal tournament – qualifiers were played at Coworth and Cowdray as well as Guards Polo Club – just being a member of the final four is a great achievement.
This great day of polo, which has been supported by the Al Habtoor Group for three years, started with an exhibition game featuring key members of the Dubai-based Al Habtoor family. During the pre-event press conference, Mr Khalaf confirmed that his family was looking for a polo property in Berkshire to consolidate the Habtoor polo operations in the UK. His son Rashid added that they needed to be based near Smith's Lawn because "Guards Polo Club is the Wall Street of polo".
Last year Mr Khalaf's sons - Rashid and Mohammed – teamed up together against their sons, to play in the Al Habtoor Challenge Match. This year, appropriately on the 100th anniversary of Father's Day, Rashid and Mohammed played alongside their sons, Tariq and Habtoor. Both teams boasted a 10-goaler too as Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres also wore Habtoor shirts. Mohammed's Habtoor One team (rec 0.5 goal) took the honours, narrowly beating Habtoor 2 4.5-4.
The day concluded with the traditional parade of British Driving Society class winners. This annual show had taken place in another area of the Park and the winners lined up at Smith's Lawn to receive their rosettes from HM The Queen. The perfect end to a wonderful day of equestrian excellence.
