The Malta Polo Club recently travelled to Flemish Farm to play against the Guards Polo Club. This game was originally scheduled to be played at the Malta Polo Club but bad weather forced the cancellation of that game. So Neil Hobday and his team at the Guards Polo Club invited Karl Galea and his team from Malta to Flemish Farm for a rematch.

Karl Galea, Lord Patrick Beresford and Neil Hobday.

The two clubs are closely associated as the president of the Flemish Farm, the Duke of Edinburgh, learned to play polo in the late 1940s at the Malta Polo Club.

This rescheduled game may have been a victory for the Hildon Guards team, who defeated the Malta International Airport Malta Polo Team (rec 2 goals) 7-3 on the Castle Ground at Flemish Farm, but this afternoon was much more about the camaraderie and history of these two clubs.

In addition, this game was played in memory of Christian Heppe, founder of Hildon Mineral Water and long-time supporter of polo and Guards Polo Club in particular. So it was wonderful to see several members of the Hildon team supporting this event and continuing the club’s strong bond with Hildon.

Lord Patrick Beresford presented the prizes, including the Polo Magazine’s Most Valuable Player prize to Malta’s Julian Mamo. Mr Galea then made a special presentation on behalf of the Malta Polo Club to Mr Hobday.

After the game, everyone headed to the Duke’s Pavilion at Smith’s Lawn for the traditional post polo feast – an asado. This was the perfect way to conclude a sporting afternoon and no doubt allowed time for the players to plan another rematch back in Malta.

Martin Arrigo, Julian Mamo, Karl Galea and Desmond Mizzi during the match.