The delayed exhibition match as part of the CHOGM 2015 celebrations takes place at Flemish Farm
Guards Polo Club was delighted to welcome their friends from Malta Polo Club to play in the rescheduled Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) exhibition match last Friday. This game was originally scheduled to be played at Malta Polo Club in front of HM The Queen and our President, as part of the CHOGM 2015 celebrations last November, but bad weather forced the cancellation of that game. So Neil Hobday and his team at Guards Polo Club invited Karl Galea and his team from Malta to come to Flemish Farm for a rematch. This is a particularly pertinent club for us as it is where our President, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh learned to play polo in the late 1940s.
This rescheduled game may have been a victory for the Hildon Guards team, who defeated the Malta International Airport Malta Polo Team (rec 2 goals) 7-3 on the Castle Ground at Flemish Farm, but this afternoon was much more about the camaraderie and history of these two clubs. In addition, this game was played in memory of Christian Heppe, the founder of Hildon Mineral Water and long time supporter of polo in general and Guards Polo Club in particular. Mr Heppe attended this CHOGM match last November with Neil, just weeks before his unexpected death. So it was wonderful to see several members of the Hildon team supporting this event and continuing the Club's strong bond with Hildon.
Lord Patrick Beresford presented the prizes, including the Polo Magazine's Most Valuable Player prize to Malta's Julian Mamo. Karl Galea then made a special presentation, on behalf of Malta Polo Club, to Neil Hobday.
After the game, everyone headed to the Duke's Pavilion at Smith's Lawn for the traditional post polo feast - an asado. This was the perfect way to conclude a sporting afternoon and no doubt allowed time for the players to plan another rematch back in Malta.
Hildon Guards: Kassem Shafi; Roddy Matthews; Antony Fanshawe; Tunde Karim.
Malta International Airport Malta Polo Club: Martin Arrigo; Julian Mamo; Karl Galea; Desmond Mizzi.
