The Gentleman Magazine Issue 10 | August 2018 | Page 62

FOUR ENGLISHMEN PLAYED FOR GOLD AND WON!
Words By Liz Higgins
In an earlier issue, I interviewed the four Englishmen playing
in the El Remanso team in their bid to bring home the world
famous Gold Cup for the British Open Polo Championship
at Cowdray Park.  They had been training hard since January
both in the gym and on their horses and finally, in 2018, the
gods of polo saw them through each of their league games to
take them to the Final on Sunday 22nd July.

Approaching 15,000 spectators gathered to watch the Final
of the King Power Gold Cup for the British Open in arguably
one of the most thrilling Finals of recent times. Following two
spectacular Semi Final matches four days earlier, the Hanbury
family’s El Remanso team faced up to Jean-François Decaux’s
La Bamba de Areco and few would have been confident enough
to predict the outcome.  El Remanso comprised the close-knit
line-up of four Englishmen, Charlie Hanbury, Ollie Cudmore,
James Beim and James Harper, playing to the same line-up as
2017 when they reached the Final but lost to King Power.

Jean-François Decaux’s La Bamba de Areco side comprised the
enormous talent of 3 goal player Byron Watson, with Argentine
players Polito Pieres substituting for an injured David Stirling
and 10 goaler Juan Martin Nero at Back.  El Remanso had come
through the tournament without dropping a match but it was
not to be plain sailing for the Englishmen as the game changed
fortunes between the first and second halves.

The Patron, Charlie Hanbury, playing the match of his life,
stormed away from the first throw-in to mark the scoreboard
with the opening goal.  His second goal of the match gave El
Remanso a 3-2 lead to close the first chukka. 
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With no answers from La Bamba during the second chukka, El
Remanso went into the third with a lead of 4-2, consolidating
the lead at 6-4 at half time. 
The second half opened with a hit-in from Watson for La
Bamba de Areco, Beim returned the ball which Nero tried to
secure, but Harper won the ball and his neat back-hand shot
took El Remanso on to 7-4.  However, the tables began to turn
as brilliant action from Watson for La Bamba de Areco, strong
attacking play by Pieres and the gift of two 30 yard penalties
which Juan Martin Nero had little difficulty in sending
through, saw La Bamba finally ahead at 12-10 by the close of
the fifth chukka. 

The action raced on through the final chukka, with El Remanso
fighting for every ball.  Awarded a 30 yard penalty, Ollie
Cudmore sent the ball between the posts to pull the side up
to within a goal of their opponents. Beim won the ball from
the throw-in and great teamwork saw Harper move it on and
Hanbury then leave it for Harper