Hawke’s Bay win back to back polo titles

COLLISION COURSE: Marcus Shanks (left) of Poverty Bay Kirkpatrick Farm Feeds prepares to take a swing at the ball as Waitakeo Banks of the BNZ team moves in from the right in the Poverty Bay Harvest Transport Polo Open contested at the Bushmere grounds over the weekend. Picture by Paul Rickard

HAWKE'S Bay A made it back-to-back titles in the Harvest Transport Poverty Bay Polo Open when they beat Waimai at the Bushmere grounds yesterday.

In a good, fast-running final, Hawke’s Bay were 6-4½ winners in the Silver Fern Farms six-goal section.

Big-hitting Waimai three-goalers Matt and Toby Pitts were the power-house in the Waimai side but the overall combination of Hawke’s Bay’s Palam Battumer, Ollie Jones, Jared Thompson and Cody Jones proved decisive.

For Hawke’s Bay, Battumer and Cody Jones each scored twice and Ollie Jones scored once.

For Waimai, Toby Pitts scored twice and Matt Pitts and Paul Lyons each scored once.

In the Eastland Vets no-goal section, Wanstead defeated Hawke’s Bay C 5-1.

Both teams had won well on Saturday, but the team play of Wanstead proved the difference in the final.

Simon Coddington led from the front and had good support from teammates Rob Hunter, Ben Reisma and Wirihana Kururangi. Both Kururangi and Reisma showed the benefits of a season in England.

Hunter, an outstanding winger for Hawke’s Bay going back to the early 1970s, had an excellent game at No.1, scoring a hat-trick. Reisma and Coddington scored a goal each.

Hawke’s Bay C comprised George Wood, his son Monty, Bill Glazebrook and Fred Coates. Coates scored their goal.

In the Coates minus-five-goal grade, BNZ — Kylie Ebbert, Waitakeo Banks, Scott Jolly and Laura Harris-Malone — defeated Farmlands 5-1½.

Both Poverty Bay sides lost their playoff games in the six-goal and minus-five-goal plate sections.

Waimai’s Matt Pitts won awards for player of the tournament and champion pony, while Simon Coddington and Ollie Jones won the awards for team of junior ponies and senior ponies respectively.