The final tournament of the Kenya Polo season is the Manyatta Xmas Tournament held at the Manyatta Polo Club in Gilgil in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya.
Medina Palms very generously sponsored both weekends in December 2009 of the tournament. The first weekend was a low key affair - the emphasis being on promoting up and coming junior players. Medina Palms Team comprised of Michael Camm, the oldest polo player in Kenya at 65 years of age and currently handicapped at 0; 1 goaler, Johnson Asenga, who was playing young horses new to polo; Ashe Ahluwalia, a keen polo player and mountain bike rider, rated at 0 goals; and his 16 year-old daughter, Amber, whose handicap rose to -1 as a result of her performance in the tournament.
Amber Ahluwalia, Ashe Ahluwalia and Johnson Asenga
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On the first day, the Medina Palms Team lost narrowly by a mere fraction of a goal to the eventual winners of the tournament, Livewire.
For the second weekend, more players turned up and the tournament was divided into 3 categories namely junior, intermediate and senior. With the second weekend came the arrival of the big dogs - namely the Medina Palms Team of Gideon Moi; Philip Arungah; Sarah Griffiths and 17 year-old Archie Voorspuy - resulting in a combined handicap of 3 goals.
Unfortunately on the first day of play, there was a raging tropical thunderstorm and all matches had to be abandoned. The second day saw sunny skies, however, part of the ground remained waterlogged and so a decision was taken to play on half of the pitch. This resulted in some tight and fast polo, pushing the players and their ponies to the maximum.
The Medina Palms Team was pitted against a visiting Ugandan side. The visiting side crumbled beneath the onslaught of the hard attacking Medina Palms Team, and were annihilated 9 -1. A large number of the goals were as a result of the handy stick work of young Archie Voorspuy, justifying his winning of the award of the most improved junior player.
Sunday saw 3 tense finals of junior, intermediate and senior polo. In the senior final, Medina Palms Team met the formidable Ndume Team and lost narrowly to them after a gripping 4 chukka match.
A ‘Penalty Shoot Out’ sponsored by Nigel Rowley, MD of Medina Palms, would have provided an opportunity for Kenya’s best to use their polo skills for a good cause, raising funds for The Born Free Foundation - Kenya Lion Project. Unfortunately, rain stopped play on the Friday; all the matches for the weekend had to be re-scheduled, and sadly the charity ‘Penalty Shoot Out’ had to be abandoned. We are hopeful that this charity shoot out will be held at a future date.
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- Amber Ahluwalia, Ashe Ahluwalia and Johnson Asenga
