A phenomenal combination of majestic weather, international standards of polocrosse action and the picturesque backdrop of the rolling green hills of Shongweni, painted the perfect canvas for the finals of the Land Rover Durban High Goal tournament last weekend.
The tournament which took place between Friday 23rd June and Sunday 25th did not fail to meet the high expectations of spectators and teams alike.
The Land Rover men’s team proved to be unbeatable for the second year running, beating the Rokwil team in a thrilling finale with a final result of 31-23. Second place went to B&G, third place to Rokwil and fourth place to Land Rover Discovery.
“This year’s Land Rover Durban High Goal was a great success. The world-class action was enjoyed by hundreds of spectators over the three-day tournament, culminating in an exciting final, which was won by the Land Rover Durban team for the second year in a row. Congratulations to the ladies’ Rhino Truck Sales team on their winning result in the ladies division,” said Dealer Principal of Jaguar Land Rover Durban, Andre Schrenk. He added that Land Rover Durban look forward to a bigger and better event next year.
In the ladies’ category, team Land Rover Evoque was placed second, then Marriott in third and B&M in fourth place.
The event saw eight teams, four men’s – Land Rover, B&G, Rokwil and Land Rover Discovery– and four ladies’ – B&M, Team Marriot, Rhino Truck Sales and Team Land Rover Evoque – competing in a number of games daily.
Being a High Goal tournament, each team consisted of six players and an option to buy a wild card as their seventh player, thus adding a mystery to the winning team.
Showing its caliber, the tournament welcomed Jannie Steenkamp a10-handicap player, and Nico van Wyk, with a handicap of 9 who were amongst the eight wildcards which were auctioned off to the highest bidding teams at a black-tie gala dinner, which kicked off the event on Thursday evening, 22nd June.
The Best No.1 Woman was won by Charlotte Pykett, then Caroline Minnaar as Best No.2 Woman and Natalie Maclarty winning Best No.3 Woman. “My Boy” (owned by Natalie & Graham Maclarty) won the Golden Pony prize in the women’s division.
Mickey Kraynauw won Best No. 1 in the men’s category, followed by Brent Von Benecke as Best No.2, with Lance Anderson winning the Best No.3. The Golden Pony Award was won by “Honey” (owned by Stef & Damien Harris.)
“It was a fantastic High Goal overall, with world-class polocrosse players bringing their best to the game,” said event organizer and Shongweni Polocrosse club chairman, Brent Von Benecke. “Shongweni experienced superb winter weather and a great turnout with hundreds of spectators coming to watch the fast-paced action.”
There were eight teams, fifty-six players and about a hundred horses which put on a really world-class performance.
Results:
Day 1, Friday, 23 June:
Marriot 21 B&M 27 (Ladies)
Land Rover 26 B&G 22 (Men)
Land Rover Evoque 14 Rhino 25 (Ladies)
Rokwil 35 Land Rover Discovery 21 (Men)
Day 2, Saturday, 24 June
Marriot 23 Land Rover Evoque 24 (Ladies)
B&G 30 Rokwil 25 (Men)
B&M 16 Rhino 27 (Ladies)
Land Rover 34 Land Rover Discovery 23 (Men)
Day 3, Sunday, 25 June
Land Rover Evoque 32 B&M 14 (Ladies)
Marriot 23 Rhino 22 (Ladies)
B&G 28 Land Rover Discovery 25 (Men)
Land Rover 31 Rokwil 23 (Men)
Thrilling Finale at Land Rover High Goal Polocrosse Tournament https://t.co/0vLNa8Nyf3 #ArriveAlive pic.twitter.com/yY1MFnGnp4
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) June 28, 2017