THE number of participating teams in the recent Derby Tournament held at the AIPC was reduced due to a new HPA rule since suspended for the rest of the season.

Of the six teams in the tournament, three had connections to the Northern Ireland Polo Clubs while the balance were Dublin-based. With Rhone Hill from Dungannon winning the four goal final, Tyrone the subsidiary, a lot of prizes returned to the north.

Rhone Hill’s Patrick Heffron and son Charles, Gonzalo Lopez Vargas and Joaquin Sanchez entered the tournament, a half-goal down from the formidable Tyrone team.

Tyrone’s Eamonn Laverty and son Dan along with Dean Kavanagh and visiting professional Patricio Gaynor lost ground from early on in the first chukka and never recovered, losing to Rhone Hill five goals to one.

While LHK gave up their slot in the high goal final in losing by just a half-goal on 4½ goals to four from Pegus, Sixt won their first round in the zero goal on a score of seven goals to two from Tu Va.

Rhone Hill’s Patrick Heffron is giving his son Charles (11) along with his daughter Jemima (13) plenty of time on the field this summer.

“We need more players in Ireland,” said Patrick when he spoke with The Irish Field at the Derby Tournament. “We need more professionals in Ireland and in the sport, the grounds, and the umpires. If we get more people playing then there will be better polo, faster polo.”

Playing off a handicap average of three goals, Pegus’s David Stone, David J. Stone, Mark Stone and Julie Kavanagh were well able to match Rhone Hill in the high goal final for the President’s Cup. Pegus drew within a half-goal at the end of the second chukka with two goals to 2½ from Rhone Hill, but went on to earn just one more goal after that, eventually losing the final on 7½ goals to three.

Patrick Heffron said of the Rhone Hill win: “The polo was good today, everybody played hard, played clean and the umpiring was good. It is always nice to go home with the cup although we didn’t come expecting to win.”

The zero goal final for the Mumms Cup was a rout, David McCulla, John Flavan, April Kent and Keelan McCarthy for Sixt beating Tu Va’s Derville Meade, Siobhan Herbst, Willie Clarke and Robert Patton in cumulative scoring with 14 goals to six.

Team Captain David McCulla is the first to emerge from the school of NIPC polo manager, Jamie McCarthy with a competitive team, and is expected to be joined by his father Ian at tournaments this season.