THE RITS team opened the winter arena season last weekend by picking up where they left off last summer to win the first tournament at Polo Wicklow for the Novice Cup.

The win saw the emerging talent of Alex and Jennifer Reynolds, who formed two-thirds of the winning team, along with their father Sean, the youngsters each scoring a goal among the total of 16 to secure the trophy against 15 from Polo Wicklow.

With so much up and coming talent coming into the arena for the winter season, veteran player and polo manager alternated in for RITS while Ecuadorian acquisition Francisco Acosta did the same for Polo Wicklow, supporting Robert Patton and Caroline Keeling.

The only rule to be instituted on behalf of the new and less experienced players in the Novice Cup and for the rest of the season will be that veteran players, including Herbst and Acosta, must not score a goal; otherwise it will cost their respective teams eight in total.

“It makes sense for the more experienced players to support newer players by backing them up and providing coaching at the same time,” said Polo Wicklow manager Siobhan Herbst about the rule.

“Otherwise they really wouldn’t get a chance to play and score goals, like Alex and Jennifer (Reynolds) did. They get to play in a tournament to win an actual cup, rather than just gaining experience in chukkas.”

The more experienced Caroline Keeling and Robert Patton will probably move to the same position as Herbst and Acosta as the season moves on, but meanwhile they are getting used to being in the arena confines, playing three-a-side following a very successful summer season.

Speaking to The Irish Field about winning the Novice Cup, Alex Reynolds said that it was teamwork and the real-time coaching in the tournament that led to the RITS win, combined with watching the ball and playing opportunities that came his way.

WINNING STRATEGY

“Our strategy was teamwork,” he said. “I saw where the ball was and played it. My part was to stay near the goals and they (RITS team) would hit it up to me.”

Also contributing one of 16 goals was Jennifer Reynolds, the twin sister of Alex adding that along with taking the opportunity to score as it came her way, the team win was about teamwork as well as knowing what to expect.

“It is really good to play with people you know,” she said. “You know what they are going to do with the ball. When you are working with everyone on your team, you always get a better outcome than trying to play on your own.”

Veteran player Micky Herbst, with more than 50 years’ experience, is confirmed as the longest actively playing member in polo, and contributed half of the goals from his back position among the 15 scored by Polo Wicklow with the rest from Robert Patton. Sean Reynolds directed a number of goals to twins Alex and Jennifer with the rest coming from Caroline Keeling.