Eight teams entered to play for the inaugural White Horse Trophy, resulting in a weekend filled with great matches. The tournament format had to change slightly, with the teams being randomly drawn into two leagues. The four winning teams from Saturday were playing on Sunday for the White Horse Trophy; they played the other winning team from their league, with the overall winners decided by goal difference. The four losing teams from Saturday were playing for the Aspiga Trophy. Similarly, goal difference between the winners of each match on Sunday decided who would take the trophy.
The first match on Saturday saw Ridgebacks take an early lead over Fyfield Flyers, and they managed to keep the lead throughout to win 7-3, and secure a place in one of Sunday’s finals. Propero took on White Horse in the second match as the rain cleared, and after a tight first chukka, White Horse continued to score to run out the winners 9-5.
Xanthos faced Canonbury next, in a close match that saw Canonbury edge ahead in third chukka, to reach Sunday’s final with an end score of 7-6. In the last match on Saturday, Dragonfly x The Marque took on Seahorses. Holding the lead at half time, Dragonfly x The Marque had a team change, with Harold Hodges replacing Eden Ormerod due to injury. Undeterred, Dragonfly x The Marque ran out the winners 5-1.5 to become the fourth team playing for the White Horse Trophy on Sunday.
Sunday saw White Horse face Dragonfly x The Marque in the first game, this time with Roddy Stanning playing for Eden Ormerod who was relegated to commentary duty. A strong second chukka with a pair of goals from Sarah Glover saw White Horse pull ahead 6-3 at half time. Goals came from both teams in the second half, but White Horse were able to maintain the advantage with a final score of 8-5.
Canonbury took on Ridgebacks in the second match, where a win by more than 3 goals would secure either team the White Horse Trophy. Ridgebacks held a slight lead at half time before further goals from Dante Simoni and Roddy Stanning secured them the win by 7-1, and so by virtue of goal difference, Ridgebacks took home the White Horse Trophy, with White Horse in second.
Seahorses played Propero in the first of the subsidiary finals to determine the Aspiga Trophy. The scoreline stayed even until the fourth chukka, when goals from James Haigh and Steve Spiller saw Seahorses pull ahead to win the game 5.5-3.
Fyfield Flyers took on Xanthos in the final game of the weekend, where the score was still tied at half time. A pair of goals from Johann Spendier saw Fyfield Flyers hold the lead briefly before Xanthos were able to respond, with goals from Lottie Harper and Robin Ormerod in the second half seeing them run out the winners 8-5. With only half a goal between them, Xanthos took home the Aspiga Trophy.
