TRIBUTE
TRIBUTE
LORD PATRICK BERESFORD
16 JUNE 1934 – 18 MARCH 2020 Major Jamie Hayward pays tribute to a true legend of Guards Polo Club M
y first recollection of Lord Patrick was him delivering meticulous, traditional instruction in riding
polo ponies at Flemish Farm, to a group of fresh-faced subalterns eager to learn polo in the mid-1980s. Mightily impressed by our riding instructor, a little research revealed a man steeped in stature within the military and equine community; Household Cavalry, Special Forces, accomplished amateur jockey, a founding member of our Club, successful high- goal polo player, Chef d'Equpe of the British Three-Day Eventing Team, Chairman of Windsor Park Equestrian Club, fearless in the hunting field and adept cross-country rider..... the list was lengthy and Lord Patrick excelled in them all. Such was the man. Lord Patrick Beresford was born in 1934
and raised at Curraghmore, the ancestral family home in Ireland, the second son of the 7th Marquess of Waterford. He died peacefully at home in Binfield, Berkshire, on 18 March 2020, aged 85, surrounded by his family. During a life spanning more than eight decades, brimming full of accomplishments, Patrick began by being educated at Eton. Back home in Ireland he rode his first winner (the first of more than 50 between the Flags and Under Rules) at the age of 15, with polo likewise coming to him naturally, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who had both played. After gaining the Sword of Honour at Sandhurst in 1954 he was commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards, serving with distinction in Cyprus and Germany before, in the early 1960s, joining first the Guards' Independent Parachute Company (subsequently becoming President of their Association) and then the Special Air Service (SAS). Throughout his military service Patrick was adept at balancing the exigencies of duty
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whilst still excelling on the polo field. Once coming off an arduous Special Forces exercise in Wales he drove straight to a prestigious final when, having barely slept for 48 hours, he stopped in a lay-by near Cowdray Park to grab 40 winks. . . going on to win the Gold Cup that day with our President! Lord Patrick started his military polo at the
instigation of Valerian, Marquess of Douro who, as his Commanding Officer in 1954, instructed him to “look after the polo” within the Guards Saddle Club, which was responsible for officers' hunting in Leicestershire. That first year Patrick ran the polo from a barrack
REMAINING STRONG AND ACTIVE WELL INTO HIS 80S, PATRICK ALWAYS MAINTAINED THIS WAS DUE TO HIS DAILY MORNING RITUAL – A LENGTH OR MORE OF HIS SWIMMING POOL FOLLOWED SWIFTLY BY RELAXATION IN HIS RENOWNED JACUZZI.
room in Combermere Barracks, Windsor, with only a military telephone extension for communication and a potential officer, Lord Willoughby de Ersby, for assistance. Polo was played at Friar Park, Henley, the home of Major Archie David who, besides providing a venue, generously mounted the officers. However, the geographical dis-location to Windsor was not conducive. Consequently, HM The Queen suggested Archie move his ponies to Windsor – which in Patrick’s own words was “the bait” to relocate. So in January 1955 the Household Brigade Polo Club (changing in 1969 to the Guards Polo Club) was founded with ponies being stabled at Windsor Castle, Archie David’s in the top yard, officers’ in the middle yard and HRH Prince Philip’s in the bottom yard. Naturally, given his co-ordination efforts the previous year, at the instigation of HRH Prince Philip and Archie David, Patrick was appointed the Club’s first Polo Manager. With Patrick at the helm the first tournament was held during Ascot Week from 13 – 18 June 1955 and it would be fair to say the Club has never looked back. Patrick’s prowess as a polo player was
growing with one of his first initiatives being in 1959 setting up the Polo Pony Classes at Royal Windsor Horse Show, which continue to this day. Indeed Patrick has been this class’s most prodigious and successful participant, being on the winner’s podium almost annually between 1979 – 2000, often in association with Amberjack, his lifetime favourite polo pony. By now bearing a rather cheeky mermaid tattoo on his upper arm, on the field itself Patrick’s skill was in demand and, in conjunction with HRH Prince Philip, he was in the victorious Windsor Park team that won the Gold Cup in 1966 and 1969. Separately he reached the finals of both the Gold and Queen’s
GUARDS POLO CLUB OFFICIAL YEARBOOK 2020
Images of Polo/Mike Roberts/Press Association
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