Limemere sparkle as they host successful first two day tournament

Limemere Sparks hosted their first full two day tournament on the 9^th and 10^th of July at a site just outside Banbury. The club had previously run one day tournaments but this was their first attempt at a two day event and overall it was a big success. It was a relaxed and friendly tournament on a site which, though slightly smaller than most, worked pretty well as both of the pitches, laid out in a L space alongside two sides of the field, were only a stone’s throw from the main camping area, meaning that players could easily keep track of whether games were running to time (editor’s note: an unlikely occurrence in polocrosse despite the best efforts of the UKPA’s chief field marshall  Jan Jenkinson) and spectating could be done with hardly moving from your base camp. It was well attended as well for a new tournament, with 129 players turning out to compete.

The A grade competition was sectional and saw a one-two result for Cotswold as the only team who could beat either of their sections were themselves. They also did well in the best numbers as Rachel Duhig picked up best number 1, Emily Keen picked up best number 3 and Rachel’s Lola won Best Horse.

In the B grade there was a win for a combined Rugby and Arden team as their two sections combined to beat all the other teams, including Cotswold who ended up in second place. Cotswold only actually managed one win but neither of the other two teams in the grade, Celyn and Kent/ Limemere managed more than one win either and so Cotswold grabbed second place on goal difference. Kent were successful in the Best Numbers and Best Horses though, as Charlie Hewitt won best number 1 and his horse Spring Horizon won best Retrained Racehorse, sponsored by Retraining of Racehorses and Alice Kish won best number 3 and her horse, Fanta, won Best B grade Horse.

Cotswold were again in the places in the C grade as this time they combined with Rugby to top the podium. The Northern Lions were rewarded for their long journey south with second place and also saw Sam Chrisp pick up best number 3. Phil Baker of Rugby picked up best horse for Bog Trotter.

The D grade was split into Upper and Lower D. Chiltern won the Upper D grade win Rugby in second place. Chiltern also saw Sophie Biswas pick up best number 1 while Rugby’s Charlotte Guerin won best number 3 and Rolita, owned by Rugby’s Mhedi Mlailki won best horse. Jasper Gale of Kent won best number 2.

The placings for Lower D grade saw two combined teams take first and second team. In the first spot was a combined Rugby/ Bucks Bronco team and then in second place was a combined Chiltern/ Celyn team. Rugby, who also had another full section in the grade as well, cleaned up the best numbers with Nick Johnson picking up best number 1, Nick Hartwell picked up best number 2 and Jayna Henderson picked up best number 3. Kate Mckee of Celyn won best horse.

In the E grade it was a good day for Eastern Pennine, who are a new club this year (though formed by some players who did play for Pennine before they folded in 2015). However, they have also bought new players into the sport in their home county of Norfolk and their E grade team featured a number of these players. They won the grade in a combined team with Chiltern and saw their own full team pick up second place. Craig Pym of Chiltern won best number 1, while Franki Mulcrone of Eastern Pennine won best number 2 and Tigga Gough won best number 3 and her horse, Tots, won best horse.

The Open Juniors grade saw another two combined teams in first and second place. Chiltern/ Celyn were at the top of the podium with Kent/ Arden in second spot. Drew Followell of Chiltern picked up best number 1 and best horse with Tangles while Eve Thomason picked up best number 3. Libby Chrisp of Northern Lions picked up best number 2.

In the Intermediate Juniors there were an arrange of mixed teams and it was the Tigers (consisting of Seren Myalls, Alice Power and Jemina Symonds) who won the grade, with the Lions (Sally Watney, Imogen Cross and Emily Cross) second and the Panthers (Caitlin Heagney, Eloise Stanford and Ellie Wilcock) third. Individual honours went to Ellie Wilcock of Cotswold as best number 1, Emily Cross of Limemere for best number 2 (and also won best newcomer for the tournament) and Seren Myalls of Chiltern won best number 3. Alice Power of Kent won best horse.

The Primary Juniors saw a win for Celyn, with a mixed team in second place and then the hosts Limemere in third. Celyn also managed a clean sweep in the best numbers and best ponies as Philip Watney won best number 1, Yasmin Palmer won best number 2, Katie Davies won best number 3 and Gilly, ridden by Harry Thomason won best pony.

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