The last tournament of the year under the Al Habtoor Polo Resort and Club calendar was filled with festive fun, polo action and gifts for the little ones.
The Subsidiary Final opened with a goal from Federico von Potobsky for Sarissa/D&D Polo and the team carved a 2.5 goal lead by the end of the first chukker. Lamar Polo marked a goal up the board score by Mohammed Khalid during the second chukker. The team caught up with Sarrisa/D&D past halftime with an excellent tail backhand from Rashid Al Abbar. Teams rushed for the win with consecutive goals from each member and in the last 30 seconds of the game, Lamar Polo was able to snatch the win at 6.5 goals to 6.
As a treat, Santa Claus galloped onto the field bringing joy to the children and guests of the day. The Club with Santa’s little helpers had given gifts to all the children and waved Santa off just in time for the next game.
The final match featured Bin Drai and Mahra polo teams with Cristobal Sanchez Duggan scoring first for Bin Drai. Juanji Diaz Alberdi matched this with a goal and the teams were at a tie by the end of the chukker. The score stayed tied until halftime. The penultimate chukker saw Juanji attempt to steal the lead only to be matched with a successful penalty shot from Duggan. The game took an unusual turn due to an injured player from Bin Drai which led to the team’s decision to not continue with the play. Mahra took victory on this occasion in spite of the teams being tied at 3 goals.
Philippe D’Amat, General Manager of Al Habtoor Polo Resort hotel awarded the teams of the day with Cristobal Sanchez Duggan as the Most Valuable Player and Olgasan as the Best Playing Pony.
