Los Locos’s Clare Tomlinson received the Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup from HM The Queen on 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 Two, 4.5-4.

The Royal Windsor Cup has been played at Guards Polo Club since it was established in 1955 and is the UK’s prestigious medium goal tournament.  The Al Habtoor Group started with its founder Khalaf Al Habtoor – who left a local construction firm in 1970 to start up his first business Al Habtoor Engineering Ltd.  Within the UAE the Al Habtoor Group is now  renowned through its diverse activities in commercial construction, hotels, real estate portfolios, education, publishing, distribution and leasing.  Employing over 40,000 people it is the UAE’s business success story and well respected corporation.  For further information go to : www.habtoor.com

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. It was the perfect end to a wonderful day of equestrian excellence.

Los Locos: Clare Tomlinson (1); Mark Tomlinson (7); Ignacio Toccalino (7); George Gemmel (0).

Clarita: Chris Mathias (1); Roddy Williams (5); Tomas Garcia Del Rio (6); Matt Lodder (3) – total 15.

Jaeger LeCoultre: Clare Milford Haven (0; Gareth Evans (6); Bautista Sorzana (6); Nick Pepper (3) – total 15.

Lamrei: Charles McCowen (2; Tito Ruiz Guinazu (6); Santiago Gaztambide (7);  Juan Ignacio Casero (0) – total 15.

Habtoor 1: Habtoor Al Habtoor (0); Mohammed Al Habtoor (0); Ryan Pemble (5); Facundo Pieres (10) – total 15.

Habtoor 2: Rashid Al Habtoor (0); Tariq Al Habtoor (0); Guillermo Cuitino (6); Gonzalo Pieres (10) – total 16.

Teams and players entered for 2010 not listed above :

Guards :

Aravali : Karan Thapar (1), Sam Gairdner (4), Oliver Hipwood (5), Howard Hipwood (5), total 15.

Dubai : Ali Albwardy (0), Tareq Albwardy (1), Adolfo Cambiaso (1), Matias Machado (3), total 14.

Harilela (The Next Level) : Aron Harilela (1), Max Charlton (4), Hissam Ali Hyder (5), Vieri Antinori (5), total 15.

Lost Boys : Stefan Sund (0), Tomas Ruiz Guinazu (5), Pepe Araya (6), TBA (4), total 15.

Seven Sevens : Dmitry Vozianov (0), Nicholas Espain (8), Tatu Gomez Romero (5), John Kent (2), total 15.

BHC Polo : Mo Sheikh (0), Rafael Villela Rosa (4), Gaston Laulhe (7), Juracy Santos (4), total 15.

Billingbear Park : Roger Carlsson (0), Juan Cruz Guevara (5), George Meyrick (4), Guillermo Cuitino (6), total 15. 

Coworth :

Halcyon Gallery : George Hanbury (1), Charlie Hanbury (4), Nina Clarkin (4), M Fernandez Llorente (6), total 15.

Zacara : Lyndon Lea (1), Gonzalo Deltour (7), Ruki Baillieu (7), TBA     (0), total 15.

Black Bears : Guy Schwarzenbach (2), Thomas Hunt (4), Simon Keyte (7), Edmund Parsons (2), total 15.

Asprey London : Simon Holley (0), Juan Gris Zavaleta (7), Chris Hyde (6), Charlie Wooldridge (2), total 15.

Cowdray :

Broncos : Henry Fisher (3), Richard le Poer (4), Jose Donoso (7), George Milford Haven (1), total 15.

La Golondrina : Paul Oberschneider (0), Jack Richardson (3), Diego Cavanagh (6), Juan Ambroggio (6), total 15.

Emlor : Clinton McCarthy (0), Eden Ormerod (3), Joaquin Pittaluga (6), Nacho Gonzalez (6), total 15.

Tayto : Steven Hutchinson (2), Alan Kent (4), Martin Rodriguez (4), Tom de Bruin (5), total 15.

The Royal Windsor Cup has been played at Guards Polo Club since it was established in 1955 and is the UK’s prestigious medium goal tournament. 

The Al Habtoor Group began with its founder Khalaf Al Habtoor – who, on leaving a local construction firm in 1970 – started up his first business Al Habtoor Engineering Ltd.   Today, the Al Habtoor Group is renowned within the UAE through its diverse activities in commercial construction, hotels, real estate portfolios, education, publishing, distribution and leasing.  Employing over 40,000 people it is the UAE’s business success story and its leading and respected corporation.  For further information go to : www.habtoor.com