CADILLAC COMMONWEALTH CUP

Having spent our last term at RMAS avoiding any semblance of hard work by hiding in the polo yard, 2Lts Kaye and Hicks decided to see whether this trend could continue upon commissioning.

A few well placed phone calls here and an email there and we were told to put down our drill boots and start polishing our knee pads and oiling our sticks as we had been selected for the British Forces Foundation tour to Virginia, USA.

We were kindly given two weeks leave prior to departure to steel ourselves for the physical and spiritual demands of the week ahead. The team was completed by Lt Ben Vestey (4 goals) of the Household Cavalry and Major (Retd) Mark Cann (1 goal) late of the Queen’s Royal Lancers.

We landed at two o’clock on a warm September afternoon and by seven were playing under lights in an outdoor arena in front of 800 spectators. With the sounds and smells of a certain well known venue in London still ringing in our ears we sweated to our first hard fought victory.

Jet lag and hangovers were soon forgotten after the final whistle as we were swamped by teenage girls demanding photos and autographs under the gross illusion that we were a) talented polo players and b) Hugh Grant in uniform.

Our fixtures were against entirely civilian teams however the tour has been going for so many years as to ensure a healthy rivalry on the pitch. Off the pitch we were spectacularly hosted by the polo community.

The first half of the tour was spent in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the best of Virginia hunting country. Nothing was too much trouble for our hosts who even installed swimming pools and polo grounds at every house we stayed in. The anniversary of 9/11 was looming and everyone we met wasted no time in thanking “the Brits” for standing shoulder to shoulder in the intervening years.

Our celebrity status stateside was confirmed when we met the eighties rock legends Journey. Having no idea who they were I quickly congratulated the gnarled bass guitarist on playing in a band and informed him that I too had been in a band, at school no less. It was only when climbing out of a limousine at their concert in front of ten thousand baying fans that I realised they were not actually the local karaoke band.

With the first half of the tour complete and three wins out of three we headed south to Richmond for the finale. Two games on the weekend of which the second was for the Commonwealth Cup against the Commonwealth (State) of Virginia.

Our fundraising for the Goochland Trust was by now well underway and on the Friday night we were faced with attending two sponsors parties three hours drive apart. For teams unused to rock bands, limousines and screaming fans this would have proved a hurdle too far. For us, well we simply hopped on a private jet - generously laid on by a sponsor. Unfortunately this led to numerous girls at the first party being bored to tears by 2Lt Kaye’s protestations that much as he would love to stay the bloody jet was waiting and he simply had to tear himself away.

With our heads metaphorically and practically in the clouds it was unsurprising we suffered our first defeat of the tour. Out-thought, out-horsed and outplayed by a superb Argentine player. It was just the wake up call we needed ahead of the big fixture the next day.

The seriousness of this our last game was brought home by Mark Cann shooing all subalterns into bed without a drop the previous evening. With clear heads and no little nerves we pulled our loyal van into the Goochland ground. The ground itself was surrounded on three sides by raised banks with marquees and tail-gates holding 5,000 vociferous and imposing spectators.

Both teams paraded in front of a crowd which included the British Defence Attache and State Governor. National Anthems were sung and noble and kind words spoken which all added to a razor sharp atmosphere of anticipation.

For all our efforts earlier in the week the success of the tour came down to this one match. We were very generously mounted by the University of Virginia polo club and came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders.

The local team had no answer to our team play in attack and we soon built a healthy lead with Lt Vestey lofting one penalty through the posts from behind the half way line before half time. As the local team faced the threat of humiliation in front of their home crowd they rallied strongly but simply could not break free of our robust and decisive defence.

The British Forces Foundation finished the winners 9 – 5 after a hugely satisfying team performance and the Commonwealth Cup is now safely back in British hands after a twelve year absence.

Having auctioned off our shirts to some ladies of moderately advanced age we were dragged kicking and screaming into one last party.

So many thanks to the British Forces Foundation for so generously taking us along, and to our hosts for such selfless and committed hospitality. The tour raised $150,000 for the British Forces Foundation and the Goochland Fellowship and Family service.