The Henderson Rosebowl 2018

The Henderson Rosebowl

Manton Estate Racing and Los Chinos opened the second 4 Goal tournament of the Season at Beaufort with a tightly contested match that saw Manton just edge ahead in the last chukka to win 5 – 4. The following day Los Chinos also had victory snatched from their hands as Senzaltro made an impressive comeback from 3 – 5 down in the third chukka to win 7 – 5.

Manton attempted to repeat their win the week before, dancing toe to toe with Cotswold Airport. The match was so close that as the final bell sounded it was 6 – 6 and they headed into an extra chukka. Cotswold Airport made the most of the extra time and flew past Manton’s defences to score.

Dawson Group were the next to face Senzaltro, and yet again there was need for extra time to determine the winner. It was like England in the World Cup all over again! Senzaltro proved the stronger team once again, making it 5 – 6.

Dawson Group attempted to redeem themselves against Cotswold Airport in the final league game before the Semi Finals. However, as the score sat at 4 -2 to Cotswold Airport by half time neither team were able to add to the scoreboard in the second half and Cotswold Airport took the win.

The Semi Finals saw Los Chinos take on Manton once again. It was another close match with both teams at 4 – 4 each by the fourth chukka. It looked like extra time would be required once again but Manton sneaked ahead with a fifth goal, sending them into the Final on Sunday.

Senzaltro put in a dominating performance against Cotswold Airport. By the third chukka it was 4 – 1 and the fourth only produced one goal for Cotswold Airport, allowing Senzaltro to be thus far unbeaten.

The Final day dawned with Ben Wilson opening the account for Manton, scoring two goals in the first chukka.  Olly Tuthill for Senzaltro scored an easy goal but Manton were not nervous, with Caspar West driving the ball down to goal for George Meade to score making it 3 – 1. The bell sounded indicating 30 seconds left and it looked like Manton would go into the second half with a comfortable lead, but suddenly Jack Aldridge stole the ball, driving it down to goal. He lost it just before the goal mouth and it looked like Senzaltro’s chance was over but Tuthill was there to finish the manoeuvre and made it 3 – 2. The second half started with a scrabble at the goal mouth, and in the confusion Senzaltro managed to put the ball between the posts. It was now 3 – 3 and there was everything to play for. Manton drove the ball down to goal and it looked as though they would take the lead but a fumble at the last allowed Jack to steal the ball once again and hand the perfect opportunity to Tuthill to score once again. At the start of the fourth chukka Jack, on a roll now, pinched the ball at the half way line and this time completed the move himself, bringing the score to 5 – 3. There was a scrabble at the following line up that gave Manton their golden opportunity to score as they were awarded a 60 yard penalty. With 3 minutes left, this could be their chance to make a comeback. However, it was not to be as Ollie Tuthill stopped the ball in its tracks. As the clock counted down Manton knew they were beat and Ed Walker was allowed to slip through their defences unchallenged to make it 6 – 3 and secure Senzaltro the win.

Prizes from Beaufort Polo Club were kindly presented by Jules VanVegchel.

The Subsidiary saw Dawson Group get their revenge against Cotswold Airport following their league game defeat earlier on in the tournament. Despite powerful hits from Jonny Coddington and Lachie Gilmore, it was the furious play of Mikey Henderson that grounded Cotswold Airport and allowed Dawson Group to win 5 – 4