Four 22-goal teams are due to compete in the Warwickshire Cup at Cirencester Park Polo Club, in Gloucestershire, England. The tournament is set to start on Wednesday, June 15. Semper Anticus, Clarinda Tija-Dharmandi’s team that recently won the Cirencester Ladies 22-goal will be among the competitors of the tournament. Clarinda will be joined by the two Castagnola brothers, Bartolomé Jr. and Camilo, as well as by Hugo Taylor.
Cirencester Park Polo Club, one of the oldest polo clubs in England, was founded in 1894 by the Seventh Earl of Bathurst, who was also the first Chairman of the club. The first Warwickshire Cup, a trophy presented to the club by the people of Leamington, was played that same year, and continued until 1913. After a break, the tournament came back in 1932, but in outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the Ivy Lodge ground was ploughed up for the war effort. Polo returned to Cirencester in 1952, but it was not only until 1960 that the Warwickshire Cup was played again. In the 1920s, the first member of the Royal Family to play at Cirencester was the then Prince of Wales, David, later King Edward VIII, until his abdication in 1936. In 1966, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, won the Warwickshire Cup with his team, Windsor Park, and his son Charles, Prince of Wales, was a regular player at the club, competing in tournaments and charity events. The Prince of Wales’ sons, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex, also play at the club at charity games.
The final of the Warwickshire Cup is set to be played on Saturday, June 18.
WARWICKSHIRE CUP – TEAMS
Semper Anticus:Â Clarinda Tjia-Dharmadi 0, Hugo Taylor 4, Bartolome Castagnola 9, Camilo Castagnola 9. Total: 22.
Thai Polo NP: Charlie Hanbury 4, Genaro Ringa 7, Ned Hine 5, Jared Zenni 6. Total: 22.
MT Vikings: Siri Evejmo-Nysveen 0, Mark Tomlinson 6, Diego Cavanagh 8, Juan MartÃn ZubÃa 8. Total: 22.
Black Bears: Guy Schwarzenbach 2, Ollie Cudmore 6, Paco O’Dwyer 6, Alfredo Bigatti 8. Total: 22.
WARWICKSHIRE CUP – FIXTURE
Wednesday, June 15
Vikings vs. Black Bears (time TBC)
4pm: Semper Anticus vs. Thai Polo NP
Saturday, June 18
Subsidiary (time TBC)
4pm: Final Warwickshire Cup