Cavalry charge excites at inaugural polo event

The action was keenly contested on Elie's sands. Pic by Dennis Penny.

The shoreline has been used in recent months by the Ship Inn’s cricket side who play on it to compete in a pretty unique way.

But now the cricket season is finished, the beach is still being put to good use by sports more often seen on lush grass rather than gritty sand.

An inaugural polo event was hosted by The Ship Inn and welcomed polo clubs from The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards who were pitted against The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry and The University of St Andrews.

The sizeable crowd were kept informed and entertained by commentator Peter Munnoch, who explained some of the finer points of polo.

And with the weather staying dry they were treated to some excellent sport.

In the first match the Scots Dragoon Guards scored a convincing 4-1 win, with the army team, led by Captain Michael Houstoun, proving too strong for the university side.

The crowd then enjoyed the unique polo activity, the ‘divot stomp’.

The crowd are invited to walk the pitch, smoothing the playing surface, and giving them a chance to talk to the players and meet the real stars of the show, the ponies.

The second game saw the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry struggle against the faster students, and in a close-fought game St Andrews won 4-2.

The final game between the two cavalry regiments proved to be the closest of the day, and with the scores at 2-2 at full time, a final chukka had to be played to determine the winner.

The Scots Dragoon Guards held out to win the game and, with it, the tournament.

The trophy was awarded to the Scots Dragoon Guards, and player of the tournament was awarded to Rebecca Kerr-Jarrett of the University of St Andrews.

This was the first of what is hoped to be an annual event at Elie Beach, and certainly the large crowd showed that there would be plenty of interest in this happening again.