RHONE Hill from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, won the Saturday series polo open at Plettenberg Bay, known as ‘the Beautiful Bay’ in South Africa.

The team, representing Ireland in the series, which ran from the beginning of the month, won the league last Saturday – their 15 and 16 goal teams beating all comers in two-goal, eight-and 10-goal tournaments.

The Irish team lined out with Gareth Evans, Chris Lund, Argentine Open player Jacinto Crotto and Patrick Heffron with alternate Jemima Heffron.

“It was a good run,” Patrick Heffron told The Irish Field on returning to Ireland. “In the final, we came back from being behind three goals. We were behind quite quickly and we clawed back to win 6-5.”

Rhone Hill clawed back to win against the South Africa team that included multiple Most Valuable Player winner Chris McKenzie.

Meanwhile, Jemima Heffron, Chris Lund, Matt Page, Sean Brokenshaw and Charles Heffron won their match in the two-goal series.

American WIN

Meanwhile, Team Dublin persevered through six gruelling chukkas recently to win the 2019 Gladiator Polo Championship at the USA Polo Association Coliseum on a final score of 17-14.

The team, sponsored by Tom MacGuinness of Horseware Ireland, included Mariano Obregon, Tito Ruiz, Gallego Martinez Ferrario and alternate Juan Martin Obregon who took on Tommy Biddle, Toro Ruiz, Geronimo Obregon and alternate Brandon Phillips for Team Palm Beach. The championship league began on March 15th when Dublin lost to Palm Beach 8-12. The loss spurred the Irish team on to win their next match against New York 20-18 on April 6th for a place in the championship.

Tying with Palm Beach on wins and losses, Dublin won thanks to their 45 goals scored – four more than Palm Beach. New York scored 33 goals while Los Angeles lost both of their qualifying matches, scoring just 21 times.Gladiator Polo represents the USPA arena polo league where three-a-side teams line out on smaller all-weather pitches, approximately one-tenth the size of a regulation grass polo field.

A prize fund of $30,000 was presented to Team Dublin by the Palm Beach County Sorts Commission and Discover The Palm Beaches Florida.