Kingston Polo Club officially kicks off season

THE KINGSTON Polo Club's season officially started on Sunday with a fun day at the Caymanas Estates with five teams vying for the Doc Masterton Trophy.

The players on each team were drawn out of a hat for a match followed by a round-robin tournament. It was a testament to the handicapping system that all the matches were close and the winner was only decided at the very end.

In the first match, Argentine 6 goaler Jorge Donovan, backed up by Steven Laing, Mitta Rousseau and Jason Wates, squeezed out a one-goal victory over Mark Wates, Shane Chin, Brian Phillips and Doc Masterton. Donovan himself opened the scoring in the first chukka, but Chin quickly equalised.

Rousseau then scored to put the White team ahead. The teams were evenly matched in the second chukka with another goal apiece from Donovan and Chin.

The Red, White and Blue team fought back with goals from Mark Wates and Shane Chin in the third to take the lead for the first time, but Jason Wates scored to make sure it was just a one-goal lead. Both teams traded goals in the last chukka but the Whites dominated the last half of the chukka to win 7-6.

ROUND ROBIN

The Yellow team of Randy Mair, Mark Harris, Juan Humbert and Marc Melville opened the scoring in the first section of the round robin against the Red team of Adam Harris, Jordan Samuda, Paul Lalor and Lesley Fong-Yee, with a spectacular goal by Humbert.

However, Adam Harris and Lalor countered in the second chukka to secure the win for the Reds. The Blue team of Jason Wates, John G. Byles, Troy Brennan and Zander Melville came out strong against the Yellows in the second section as Byles put through two goals to take the early lead.

The Yellows controlled the second chukka with goals from Harris and Humbert, but Brennan scored for the Blues to retain the lead and win that section of the round robin.

The Blues were then unstoppable in the last section of the round robin as they held the Reds scoreless while Jason Wates and Byles scored to win the Round Robin and the Doc Masterton Trophy by having the best goal difference.

Thirteen-year-old Jason Wates played on two teams (one was short a player) and ended up with a double victory and is a player to keep an eye on.