Cambridge, Kihikihi road trips for Poverty Bay polo players

Poverty Bay Harvest Transport player Cody Clark collects the ball and some Bushmere turf in front of Hawke's Bay A's Jared Thompson and Clark's teammate Fern McIldowie in action at the Poverty Bay Polo Open. McIldowie played in the New Zealand women's team that beat Zambia in Hastings last week. Photo / Paul Rickard

Poverty Bay Polo Club members are on the road for the next two weekends, making the most of whatever fine weather is on offer.

Last weekend they competed in Hawke’s Bay Polo Club’s Dewar Cup tournament, this weekend some of them are playing in a tournament in Cambridge, and a few are going through to Kihikihi the following weekend.

Poverty Bay Harvest Transport (Poverty Bay A) lost a close game against Lexus of Hawke’s Bay in Sunday’s McKenzie Cup zero-goal final at the Dewar Cup in Hastings.

The team of Neville Clark, father and son Burnie and Scott McNeil and Amelia Shotter were level 3-3 going into the last chukka but Lexus of Hawke’s Bay scored again to win 4-3.

PB Harvest Transport had beaten Rangitikei 6-2 on Friday and Hawke’s Bay Equissage 7-3 on Saturday.

Poverty Bay E.J. Gordon Livestock (husband and wife Paul and Jo Kirkpatrick, Marcus Shanks and Sophie Williams) also competed in the McKenzie Cup zero-goal division. They won their first game but lost the second, against Hawke’s Bay Equissage, on the toss of a coin with the score at 4-4.

Poverty Bay Kaharau (Phillip “Curly” Thompson, Jenny Shanks, Fern McIldowie and a guest player) had two narrow losses in the zero-goal division.

McIldowie also played for the New Zealand women’s team in a match against Zambia on the Thursday before the tournament.

“New Zealand won the game 5-1 and Fern played a big role in the victory,” Poverty Bay Polo Club captain Neville Clark said.

“She also played in Canterbury’s Port Hills team in the Dewar Cup. She’s really hitting her straps. Port Hills won the handicap section of the six-goal grade.”

Poverty Bay Polo Club’s open tournament the week before ended in a tight final in the six-goal grade. The Hawke’s Bay A team beat Poverty Bay Harvest Transport 7-6 in a match that could have swung either way.

Lexus of Hawke’s Bay won the handicap section.

Wanstead beat Poverty Bay E.J. Gordon Livestock 7-3 in the zero-goal final.