Sport
14 June, 2024
25 Years of the Cooke O’Leary Cup celebrated
Last weekend saw polo teams gather at the Clifton recreation grounds to compete in the 25th Cooke O’Leary Cup.
Founded by the Cooke and O’Leary families from the Clifton district, the Cooke O’Leary Cup has been hotly contested at the Downs Polo Club for 25 years and hopefully for many more years to come.
Over the weekend two grades of polo were played at the Clifton grounds culminating in two finals games played on Sunday.
The first final saw two local teams in Downs Blue and Downs Webster Cavanagh go head to head in the Black Toyota B grade final.
The Downs Blue side consisted of players Matt Kilmartin, Pip Gilmore, Justin Rous and Damian Johnson.
They were set against the Downs Webster Cavanagh side of Hannah Billet, Erin O’Rourke, Shaun O’Rourke and Shane Martin.
Both sides took to the field with their eyes on the prize but, on the final whistle, it would be the Downs Webster Cavanagh side that took the top spot in the B grade competition.
The AEW Horse Walkers A grade final saw three teams do battle in the
A grade round-robin for the Cooke O’Leary Cup.
Two visiting sides in Goondiwindi (Andrew Coulton, Katie Porteous, Derek Gilmore and Will Gilmore) and Brinks (Steve van den Brink, Bill Taylor, Indi Bennetto and Nick Keyte) took on local side Downs Pursehouse Rural made up of local polo players Mark Adamson, Max O’Leary, Beau Skerrett and Jack Mantova.
The sideline crowd was treated to a thrilling A grade final as all teams gave it their all to secure the win.
They left nothing on the field, but it would be the visiting side Brinks which would take the win in the A grade competition of the 25th Cooke O’Leary Cup.
Champion pony prizes were awarded to Shane Martin and his gelding Napoleon, for Champion B Grade Pony, and to Indi Bennetto and Skippy (owned by Justin Matthews) for Champion A Grade Pony.
Polo will return to Clifton for the Silvershop Bracelet tournament hosted at the Clifton Recreation Grounds on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th July, followed by the Sapphire Shield on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st July.
The winter polo season will conclude in Clifton with the Downs Shield on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th July.
- Jessica Rea
