Back to Album belonging to Colonel F F Colvin 9L (1860-1936). Contains newspaper cuttings and paper ephemera
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Item 0087
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| Accession number | 912L : 2124/6 |
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Lieute sworth , ns , W. F. rrison , J. C. oir , P. Ussher , E. Adjt . Crabbie , J. , R.M. Webb , A. , ho Q.M. Steele , W , 8. , POLO IN IRELAND . THE ALL IRELAND OPEN CUP . Polo . Play in the first ties , for which the 10th Hussars drew a bye , began on August 29 , and , though the ground was rather slippery , play was fairly fast , and there was a good attendance . The first game was between the 13th Hussars and co . Kildare , who were thus represented : - 13TH HUSSARS . 1. Captain E. N. Pedder 2. Mr. D. F. Aikman 3. Mr. F. Wise Robertson my Umpire : Mr. B. Daly . to see the above tournament this year , and so I am present forced to fall back on friend Hearsay , who has more than once stood me in good stead ; and so my notes about play for the great Irish event are only given second hand . It was a wise decision on the part of the This also proved rather a one - sided game , though the A.I.P. Club to delay the tournament till after the first quarter was not productive of much scoring - the Horse Show , fo rwhen it has been held during that great first and only goal being obtained by Mr. Atcherley Dublin festival experience has shown that you can have within a minute of the ball being thrown in . After this too much of a good thing , and the consequent hurry - play was pretty fair , and Captains Lewis and Maxwell , scurry deprives the polo ground of many spectators . as well as Mr. Joyce , Mr. O'Reilly , and Mr. Atcherley all did good work for their respective sides , but though This year seven teams entered - viz . , the 3rd , 10th , and 13th Hussars , the 9th Lancers , and an Infantry team , the County team played with considerable dash and whilst Irish counties were represented by Kildare and vigour , they could not break through Captain Williams's Westmeath . defence , and at bell - ringing the score stood - Infantry , one goal to love . Co. KILDARE . 1. Mr. A. J. Godley ( Royal Dublin Fusiliers ) 2. Mr. Schofield 3. Captain de Robeck The next match was between the following teams : INFANTRY OF A.I.P.C. 1. L. W. Atcherley ( East Lancashire Regiment ) 2. Captain A. C. Maxwell L. Warren Captain H. F. Fusiliers . Williams ( back ) . ) 3. Mr. C. Royal Munster Captain Steeds ( back ) . Co. WESTMEATH , laurels of recent victory thick on their brows , have now played together as a team for some time , an advantage their adversaries did not possess . Still , that Kildare should have made the good fight they did redounds greatly to their credit . 1. Mr. J. H. Locke 2. Captain Lewis 3. Mr. A. E. Joyce Mr. Percy O'Reilly ( back ) . After some give - and - take play in the second quarter a capital run made by Mr. Joyce , gave Westmeath a chance , and Captain Lewis , availing himself of the opportunity , scored , and shortly after supplemented this performance with a second goal . Then till the end of the quarter , Westmeath had quite the upper hand , and by the time the bell rang , Mr. O'Reilly had added another goal to their score , which stood - West meath three goals to one . Captain K. MacLaren ( back ) . Umpires : Major Reilly and Mr. J. O. Jameson . Of the ponies played I can tell you nothing , for such notes as have reached me are silent on the point , but you know those of the 13th pretty well by this time , so now for an outline of play . The 13th at once forced the fight ing , and after they had taken the ball well down the ground Captain Pedder scored out of a scrimmage . On ends being changed the 13th again assumed the offen sive , but their attack was repulsed , thanks to the energy displayed by Messrs . Godley and Schofield , who worked the ball back to mid - ground . Here for a short time the strife was fairly even , till Mr. Wise took the ball on , and Captain MacLaren coming up into the game - fancy can picture him nipping in through an opening on either Jenny or Beauty - scored a second goal for the soldiers . Soon after Captain Pedder again scored , and then play was stopped for a few moments owing to Captain Steeds and Mr. Schofield both coming down , happily without injury beyond a shaking . No further incident of excitement occurred during the first quarter , except that Mr. Godley made a very brilliant run and seemed to have the Hussars ' goal at his mercy , till he missed his stroke , and when the bell rang the score stood - 13th Hussars , three goals to love . Major Lamont ( back ) . The second quarter began with a smart attack made by the 13th , but Captain Steeds ' defence was capital , and more than once did he foil some energetic adversary . Yet the Hussars pressed on , and twice the Kildare goal must have fallen had not Captain Pedder 1. Captain W. Jenner and Mr. Robertson - Aikman missed the ball . Such mis- 2. Captain M. Little takes are not easily atoned for , and Mr. Schofield , 3. Captain G. Colvin taking advantage of his adversaries ' errors , passed the ball on to Mr. Godley , who got a clear start with it , and , hitting straight and hard , ended a brilliant run by scoring . Encouraged thus , the county team pressed home a vigorous attack , and Captain Steeds scored a second goal for his side with a fine angle shot . But this was destined to be the limit of Kildare's success , for pressing home attack after attack , the 13th soon scored a brace of goals through the medium of Captain Mac Laren and Mr. Wise ; and though towards the end of the quarter Kildare somewhat reasserted themselves , and Captains de Robeck and Steeds fought valiantly , there was no getting past Captain MacLaren , so the score stood - 13th Hussars , five goals to two . each It was quite 4 p.m. before the game began , and for some little time play was confined to mid - ground . Then Captain Colvin got away with the ball and made a good run , till he was ousted by Captain Oswald , who , hitting strong and well , gained some temporary advantage . Soon , however , the 9th again asserted themselves , for Captains Little and Jenner worked the ball down -you know how well they play into other's hands - and Major Lamont , coming up into the game most opportunely , scored . The change of ends was marked by a hot attack made by the 3rd Hussars , and in this Captain Paton Bethune proved the hero of the moment , so vigorously did he work . But in Major Lamont the 9th had a veteran , and though his goal was often threatened , he always managed to avert disaster , till changing defence into attack rapidly , he put the 3rd on the defensive , and soon after Captain Jenner , placing the ball well in front of goal , turned , got on to it , and scored , and directly after the change of ends he wound up a really brilliant run by , again scoring . Nothing more of special interest occurred , but the 9th kept up an attack which ended in their hitting behind , and when the bell rang the score stood - 9th Lancers , three goals to love . The third quarter consisted of a series of attacks made by the 13th , and though they met with a stout resistance , Mr. Wise again scored . Then till the end of the quarter it was much the same , with Kildare ever having to act on the defensive , till Mr. Godley and Captain Steeds broke through the investing ranks and took the ball on till it went out of play . Score - 13th Hussars , six goals to two . wary The second quarter was better contested , and the 3rd held their own , in spite of the fine play exhibited The final quarter began by Captain MacLaren making a fine dart down the ground , and then passing the ball to Mr. Robertson - Aikman , who had a good chance at goal , which he lost through missing the ball . It then fell into the hands of Mr. Godley and Captain Steeds , who worked it up till they hit behind . But the advan tage thus gained was merely temporary , and hitting out strongly , Captain MacLaren gave Mr. Robertson - Aikman by Captain Jenner ; indeed , so hard did they fight that and Captain Pedder a chance . You know how well the at last success rewarded their efforts , and Captain 13th play together , so can fill in the details of how these Paton - Bethune scored after making a brilliant run . two gallant Hussars worked the ball on , till Captain With the ground much cut and the going greasy , play MacLaren saw his chance , and coming up into the game , now slowed down a good deal , and the quarter ended scored a seventh , and soon after an eighth , goal , thus by Major Lamont hitting a fourth goal for the Lancers . winning the game for the 13th Hussars by eight goals to Score - 9th Lancers , four goals to one . two , a result not unexpected , for the 13th , with the A weak hit out by Captain Williams in the third quarter gave Mr. Locke a chance , and getting on to the ball before his adversary could recover from his faux pas , he nipped in and scored . No very tangible advantage was then gained by either side , till a good run made by Mr. Atcherley enabled him to score for the Infantry , and the score then stood - Westmeath , four goals to two . What occurred in the final period it is impossible for me to tell you , for it was evidently played in a drench ing downpour of rain . I know the difficulties of taking notes of play under such circumstances , and though the . friend who sends me those from which this halting account is concocted evidently did his best , Jupiter Pluvius was too much for him , as is testified by the blurred and indistinct pencillings before me . But this much I gather , that though the Infantry played an up hill game very pluckily , they were no match for West meath men or Westmeath ponies , and that when time was called the County team had added four more goals to their credit , the hitters being Captain Lewis ( who was responsible for a brace ) , Messrs . Joyce and Locke , and so , oddly enough , Westmeath defeated their adver saries by the same number of goals that the 13th Hussars had beaten Kildare by - viz . , eight to two . The first ties were continued on Tuesday , August 30 , but the heavy rain of the previous day , and more which fell during the afternoon , converted the ground into a regular quagmire , which naturally precluded play from being fast , and very few spectators were present to see the battle fought out between the following teams : 9TH LANCERS . 3RD HUSSARS . H. B. Paton Bethune 1. Captain 2. Captain St. C. Oswald 3. Captain J. W. Burns Captain W. Goring ( back ) . Umpires : Major Reilly and Mr. J. O. Jameson . * third quarter began by the Hussars keeping up a strong and well - developed attack that the 9th placed more or less on the defensive for some little Captains Paton - Bethune and Oswald both greatly guished themselves , and the latter once very nearly Then some give - and - take play gave way to a determined attack made by the 9th that they penned their adversaries , and the end came by in Jenner dribbling the ball between the posts a scrimmage . Score - 9th Lancers , five goals to one . e 3rd had a hard time of it during the final quarter , though they offered a stubborn resistance , they not roll back the attacking force , and eventually goal fell . Who the hitter was my correspondent ntly failed to ascertain , and so I cannot give his After ends were changed the 9th still continued the aggressors , and twice Captain Little had shots al , which only missed the posts by a narrow margin . till the call of time the 3rd , though their case was less , fought on with such dogged pertinacity that kept the ball more or less near the Lancers ' goal . they could not capture it , and when the bell rang the ad gained a somewhat hollow victory by six goals e . counts of the second ties , played on September 1 , not yet reached me , and so I must defer any int of them till next week . But I can tell you the in these - viz . , 10th Hussars v . Westmeath , 9th ers v . 13th Hussars . The latter match will be a case of meeting Greek , and whoever wins that game d win the Cup . Further prophecy I will not re on , but it must be borne in mind that the 13th have to meet a stronger team of the 9th than they n the Military Cup . DOOKER . Polo . POLO IN IRELAND . THE ALL IRELAND OPEN CUP . F THE SECOND O above tournament must again write vicariously , and ask you to go back to September 1 , when , though the weather held up , the heavy ground militated against any fast play . The crowd , I hear , was a big one , in spite of the matches taking place in mid - week , quite up to the average . Play began between the following teams , and it will be noticed that Westmeath altered the disposition of their forces : 10TH HUSSARS . 1. Lord George Scott 2. Lord Southampton 3. Lord W. Bentinck Hon . T. W. Brand ( back ) . Co. WESTMEATH . 1. Mr. J. H. Locke 2. Mr. P. O'Reilly 3. Mr. A. E. Joyce Captain Lewis ( back ) . Umpire : Major Reilly . The 10th Hussars played much the same ponies that they did in the Military Cup matches . You know them by name from my former account , and it must have taken good animals to beat them . fact , their oppo nents were quite out - ponied , though , I hear , Mr. O'Reilly was well mounted , and played well . Play began at 2.45 p.m. with commendable punctuality , and after some desultory warfare in mid - ground the Hon . T. W. Brand , coming up into the game , made a dash for goal , which , however , only resulted in a hit behind . This was the beginning of success for the Hussars , for , meeting Captain Lewis's hit out , Lord Southampton soon stopped any attempt at a sortie , and shortly after Lord W. Bentinck got a clear opening and scored , and though an appeal for a foul was made by Westmeath it was not allowed . On ends being changed , after having to act on the defensive for some time , Westmeath had again to give way to the vigorous assaults of the Hussars , and their goal fell to a shot of Lord George Scott's . Then came the turn of Westmeath , for soon Mr. O'Reilly got in possession of the ball , and right gallantly he took it on , hitting very true and hard , and wound up by scoring . Indeed , I am told it was a brilliant performance , the goal grandly got , and the applause great . They recognise merit do these merry Milesians , and testify their approval vociferously . The incident , brilliant and exciting though it must have been , was not destined to be repeated , for soon after Lord Southampton , with his front well cleared by Lord George Scott , scored a third goal for the 10th , who , till the end of the quarter , kept their adversaries more or less on the defensive . Score - 10th Hussars , three goals to one . By all accounts Westmeath had not even a " look - in " during the second quarter , and soon after its commence ment a ball missed by Mr. O'Reilly at a critical moment gave Lord Southampton a chance of scoring , of which he promptly availed himself ; and shortly afterwards Lord W. Bentínck supplemented this with a sixth goal . Of indivi dual play for the remainder of the quarter my informant is silent , but one can well fancy how hard all the gallant 10th rode , how well they hit , and how in this latter respect Lord Southampton distinguished himself - I have told you before what a tremendous hitter he is for he again scored with one of those high skying shots , which rivalled the prowess of the mythical Prince Sidwusch . So at bell - ringing the score stood -10th Hussars , six goals to one . Again attacking , the 10th made it hot for their adver saries , till a smart bit of play , and a good run made by Captain Lewis , brought temporary relief to West meath , and success seemed about to reward their valour . But it was not to be . Playing a capital combination game , the 10th rolled back the attack , and , sweeping down the ground in the most determined fashion , were enabled to place a seventh goal to their credit through the medium of Lord W. Bentinck . For the rest of the quarter play was rather of the give - and - take order , and , though no doubt individual deeds of prowess were per formed , yet , not being there to see , and dependent on others for my information , I cannot record them , and the notes sent me briefly terminate by saying that before the bell rang Mr. Joyce had placed a second goal to the credit of Westmeath . Thus the score stood 10th Soon after the preliminary scrimmage in the final quarter , Lord George Scott , getting on the ball , slipped away with a clear lead , and never being headed , wound up a fine run by scoring . The clouds of defeat had now gathered thick round Westmeath , and yet they fought on with dogged perseverance , and twice did Mr. O'Reilly make runs worthy of more success than attended them . Indeed , had the county team played during the earlier part of the game as they now did , they might have reduced the majority by which they were beaten , which , strange to say , was the same as that by which the Infantry team were vanquished in the first ties . You don't often see three matches in a tournament the final score of which is the same , do you ? I cannot recall a similar instance , and I have seen a good many games . But the upshot was that , after losing their goal as afore - mentioned , West meath had much the best of the game till the end , when the 10th Hussars won by eight goals to two . After this came the absorbing event of the day , viz , the match between the 9th Lancers and 13th Hussars . Both had won the Hurlingham Inter - Regimental Cup ; both had high polo characters . The former were veterans ; the latter had recently achieved fame , and made a justly - deserved polo reputation for themselves , and , moreover , had defeated the 9th Lancers in the contest for the Irish Military Cup . On the 1st inst . , however , the 13th had to meet the old 9th team , and for them they proved no match . Ponies of both teams were much the same as were played in the tournament for the Irish Military Cup , and I hear that Lord C. Bentinck's ponies , Algiers and Tangiers , played splendidly with Captain Jenner , who showed quite his old brilliant form . Captain Little had reinforced his stud with the good - looking and speedy Happy Lad , who did such good service at Hurlingham this season with Captain Renton , 17th Lancers , by whom he was sold about a month ago to Captain Steeds . Ah ! my gallant Captain , I did not think Happy Lad was to fulfil for long the role of teazer to Royal Meath ! He was worthy of a better fate , and I am glad to hear he is now the property of one who ever gives a good pony a chance of distinguishing himself . The previous match between the 10th Hussars and Westmeath had naturally not improved the ground , and it was very much cut up when the following teams formed up in battle array : 9TH LANCERS . 1. Captain W. K. Jenner 2. Captain M. Little 3. Captain G. Colvin 13TH HUSSARS . 1. Captain E. N. Pedder 2. Mr. D. F. Robertson Aikman 3. Mr. F. H. Wise Captain K. MacLaren ( back ) . Umpires : Major Reilly and Captain Oswald ( 3rd Hussars ) . Major Lamont ( back ) . Play began by Captain Jenner making one of his smart dashes at the enemy's position , and seriously threatening their goal . Mr. Wise , however , came to the rescue , and the 13th , changing defence into attack , twice hit behind the Lancers ' goal - line . But the advantage thus gained they did not maintain for long . Major Lamont hit out strongly , Captains Little and Colvin took up the fight and rushed the ball up to the front of the Hussars , and though Captain MacLaren averted disaster for the moment , it was not long before Captain Little scored . The 13th now seemed quite demoralised , and not even Captain MacLaren played a good game , and you know his usual brilliance . The cause I know not , but the fact remains , and I fear what my corre spondent says , viz . , " The 13th played badly , and were unlucky , " about sums up what occurred . At any rate , by the time the quarter ended the 9th had placed three more goals to their credit , Captains Little , Colvin , and Jenner being the hitters . Score - 9th Lancers , four goals to love . Carrying on their victorious progress , the 9th soon scored a fifth goal , hit by Captain Colvin in very pretty style . Then , on ends being changed , the 13th played more in their old form , and attacked vigorously . In fact , they quite penned the 9th , whose goal was once fairly at the mercy of Captain Pedder , but he missed the ball , and Captain Colvin , who had been very busy all through the game , made a flank movement which brought relief . The game now improved in pace , and was fairly even till just the end , when the 13th had once more to act on the defensive . Score - 9th Lancers , five goals to love . |
