TRIBUTE
Windsor Park winning the 1956 Harrison Cup and The Ancient Mariners the 1956 County Cup. The following year, Prince Philip made his first foray into high-goal.
His Windsor Park team contained both Humphrey Guinness and Tito Lalor (an Argentine professional, also mounted and supported by Archie David). They immediately took the British Open (The Cowdray Park Gold Cup), beating Baron Elie de Rothschild’s Casarejo in the finals. Apart from the Vestey brothers, there are not many English amateurs,
or English professionals for that matter, whose name can be found inscribed on the Gold Cup three times. Yet that is what Prince Philip achieved, winning it again with his Windsor Park team in both 1966 and 1969, still playing well up to his 1964 handicap of five goals. In those years there were four other high-goal tournaments. The Queen’s
Cup, The Cowdray Park Challenge Cup, which he won in 1962, the Warwickshire which he won in 1966, and the Midhurst Town Plate (a subsidiary of the Gold Cup), which he won several times. All this was, of course, interspersed with his manifold duties, including lengthy tours abroad. Notably missing is The Queen’s Cup, probably the one he would have
most valued. The nearest he came was in 1964 when, with the famous Argentine Juan Carlitos Harriot, Windsor Park were frustratingly run out if it by a half-goal in the finals against Evelyn de Rothschild's Centaur team. Afterwards, when both teams were invited into the Royal Box, Prince Philip jokingly enquired of Harriot, in the presence of Her Majesty, “Juan Carlos, what does that word ‘carajo’, which I overheard you muttering several times, actually mean in English?” Juan Carlos had to think pretty quickly, but to his credit, almost without hesitation, he replied “Oh, it means well played, Sir”!
Apart from the Vestey brothers, there are not
many English amateurs, or English professionals for that matter, whose name can be found inscribed on the Gold Cup three times. Yet that is what Prince Philip achieved
Though no one rode harder or more competitively than Prince Philip,
after a loss no one was quicker to switch off and forget any rancour that might have been engendered on the ground. His attitude was simply to look forward to the next game and to enjoy whatever après-polo parties were on offer. These were a particular feature of the Goodwood week tournaments at Cowdray, which marked the end of the formal London season. His Royal Highness generally stayed in Petworth, with his friends Robert and Philippa de Pass. Each evening was filled with barbecues and dances, in all of which the Prince, as ever, led from the front. Over the years following his marriage, Prince Philip was appointed
Field Marshal (1953), Colonel of 12 Regiments, Admiral of the Fleet (1953), Captain General of the Royal Marines, and Marshal of The Royal Air Force (1953). As each of these required different uniforms, both full dress and mess dress, the extent of his wardrobe must surely have rivalled the cupboard in which Madam Marcos kept her shoes! Yet unbelievably, despite his increasing age, there has been no need for a tailor to make any alterations – the naval uniform in which he was married, for instance, still fits to perfection. As well as the foregoing military appointments, the Prince in time
became Chancellor of four universities and Patron or President of a whole string of civilian organisations, many of which, such as the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Federation Equestre International (FEI), involved extensive travel abroad. As a result, whenever in a foreign country where polo was indigenous, he
20 GUARDS POLO CLUB OFFICIAL YEARBOOK 2011
Checking badges: Prince Philip with Paul Rayner during a Credit Suisse Royal Windsor Cup presentation. Credit: Centaur Photographic
Presenting grand-daughter Zara Phillips, one of the UK's leading event riders, with a prize during the Windsor Park Equestrian Club Awards in 2008. Credit: Images of Polo
Prince Philip inspects the new offices at Smith's Lawn in 2009, accompanied by the Club's Chief Financial Officer James Neighbour. Credit: Images of Polo
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