• • HH Sheikha Maitha, Ali Albwardy, HRH Princess Haya and Louis Ferla, from Cartier Middle East
  • HH Sheikha Maitha is presented with the trophy by HRH Princess Haya
  • Jonathan Munro Ford receives the Desert Palm Trophy
  • Ali Albwardy, Louis Ferla and HRH Princess Haya at the Royal Box
• • Tournament
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Cartier International Challenge

HH Sheikha Maitha leads Desert Palm team to victory

CNN win Subsidiary Trophy

Her Highness Sheikha Maitha bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum won the prestigious Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge.

HH Sheikha Maitha was a key member of the Desert Palm team which had impressed all week, coming to the final unbeaten and hot favourite for the trophy. In this thrilling final, Desert Palm narrowly defeated last year’s winners Cartier 6.5-6.

HH Sheikha Maitha received the trophy and her winners’ prize from the patron of this event, HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Princess Haya was accompanied by Mr Louis Ferla, Managing Director of Cartier Middle East and Mr Ali Albwardy of Desert Palm.

In addition to awarding prizes to the winning team, HRH Princess Haya also presented Mariano Uranga with the La Martina Most Valuable Player Award. She also placed the La Martina Best Playing Pony Rug on HH Sheikha Maitha’s horse Salinas, which was played by Martin Valent in the 1st and 3rd chukkas. 

Meanwhile, HRH Princess Haya received a special trophy from Cartier in recognition of her long-standing support of this polo event.

Four pro-am teams have been playing hard all week in this prestigious Cartier competition, now in its 8th year, and the many illustrious guests and team sponsors, Emirates NBD, CNN and Desert Palm were today treated to two superb displays of fast paced and exciting polo. This included an earlier subsidiary final, for the Desert Palm Trophy, in which CNN defeated Emirates NBD 7.5-6.