The 2007 Nationals were held at Western Phoenix’s home grounds of Ashfields Polo and Carriage Driving Club, Great Canfield, Essex. Boasting wonderful facilities and fine weather (at last!), the 2007 Nationals was definitely one to remember and our thanks go to those enthusiastic and committed Western Phoenix club members and UKPA Executive Committee who ran the tournament so well.
With plenty of foreign talent on display that was ably matched by our own top players, the A Grade was won by Kent Target after ‘one of the best finals ever’ against the all-UK Highlanders. This followed hard fought semi-finals against Northern Lions Crusaders and Arden respectively. In the A Plate competition, Welsh Dragons, who lost narrowly to Highlanders in the first round, won in devastating style against a young Pennines side. The B Grade was won by the outstanding Arden side over a young, determined Welsh Dragons team. The B Plate was won by Welsh Dragons second B Grade side, demonstrating their strength in depth.
A Final Winners – Kent Target
A Final Runners up – Highlanders
Best 1 – Todd Weston
Best 2 – Oscar Harding
Best 3 – Beau Moore
Best Horse – Lauren Lee (Guy Robertson)
A Plate Winners – Welsh Dragons
A Plate Runners up – Pennines
Best 1 – Chris Robinson
Best 2 – Joel Sics
Best 3 – Kristy Crook
Best Horse – L’Oreal Lee (Lizzie W-R)
B Final Winners – Arden
B Final Runners-up – Welsh Dragons
Best 1 – Chris James
Best 2 – Tor Philips
Best 3 – Danny Duhig
Best Horse – Erica (Chris James)
The C and D grades proved happy hunting grounds for the newly formed Solent Club, based in Hampshire. Although a young Celyn side pushed them all the way in an exciting final, Solent held on to the C Grade title and their D Grade team beat a competitive Arden team in their final.
The Junior competition was run as a round-robin and although some juniors were playing in the Open competitions, there was still plenty of talent on display producing some exciting polocrosse. Kent Target’s run of success in this division continued, winning all of the games comfortably, with Centaur taking the runner-up spot. The Primary Junior competition was also run as a round-robin, with Pennine taking the honours. Many Thanks also go to our generous sponsors, NFU, Neo-Ice, RHDS Archiving & Storage Solutions, Simple System Ltd, Squoosh Canvas Prints, Risebridge Australian Horse Training, Bombers Equestrian Equipment, Action Shots Photography and Polocrosse X-Treme.
