The Copenhagen Cup attracted a record eight teams in 2017, with Wellington College beating Cheltenham in a hotly contested final

Bad weather may have disrupted the Copenhagen Cup, but nothing could dampen the spirits of the eight teams taking part in this schools’ tournament, the first time so many squads have taken part. The Polo Office quickly reoroganised the competition into a round-robin affair with four highest handicapped teams playing for the Copenhagen Cup, while the remaining four battle for the Copenhagen Cup Shield.

First up were Cheltenham v Radley, with the winner securing a spot in the Copenhagen Cup final. Cheltenham took the honours, defeating Radley 2-0. This lined them up with a finals match against Wellington, who had defeated Millfield 2-1. Wellington, featuring The Polo Magazine’s Most Valuable Player Ned Hine, were 1-0 up at the end of the first chukka. Cheltenham put their name on the scoreboard in the second, but Wellington were on a roll, firing through three more goals to secure a 4-1 win and the Copenhagen Cup. Ned Hine clearly impressed everyone throughout these two matches as he also received the Polo Times Best Playing Pony award from English professional Max Charlton and Philipp Mosimann.

The first match in the Copenhagen Cup Shield saw last year’s Cup winners Harrow play Stowe. The Harrow boys had clearly not lost their winning form, taking this match 3-0 and securing a place in the Shield final. Their opponents in this next game were Marlborough, who had defeated Harrow’s old adversary Eton, 3-2. In the Shield final itself, it was Harrow that won through, but Marlborough put up a strong fight. Both teams scored in each chukka but Harrow’s double through the flags in the first ensured their 3-2 victory at the final whistle.

Wellington: Niels van der Hoeven (1); James Crossley (0); Ned Hine (0); Ossia Montegomerie (-2)

Millfield: William Penfold (1); James McCarthy (1); Nik Rogerson (-2); Taimur Noon (0)

Cheltenham: Edward Walker (-1); Denis Antonov (-1); Tommy Severn (2); Monte Swain-Grainger (0)

Radley: Max Rumsey (0); Dominic Lodge (1); Freddie Jodrell (0); Frank Barlow (-1)

Harrow: Charles Cadogan (0); Valentine Hurley (0); Christian Oberschneider (0); Faiz Kawar (-2).

Marlborough: Danyaal Choudary (-2); Benedict Nott (-2); Oliver Fanshawe (-1); Milo Sweet (0).

Eton: Eric Appen (0); Tom Jodrell (-1); Dolapo Ibitoye (-2); Leo Ljungstorm (-2)

Stowe: Ivan de Poligny (0); Isobel Baillee (-2); Billy Hawkins Byass (-2); Beau Carter (-2).