GGS
Polo A touch of England hit Geelong Grammar School when Polo arrived at Corio. The event was staged by Old Geelong Grammarians who play professionally and was supported by the Victorian Polo Association. It was a dream of Year 12 GGS student Harry Mann (P’08) that one day a Polo tournament would be played at Corio before he departed the School. His dream was realised at 3.00pm on Saturday 8th November when the first ever ‘Chukka’ commenced.
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Biddlecombe Oval was the venue. Due to its dimensions the number of horses per team was reduced from the normal four to three. Four teams lined up consisting of: Darriwill Team: Harry Mann (P’08), Stephen Mitchell (FB’81) and Sam Baillieu (Cu’91); Vectrix: Louise (Cl’99)/Charles Mann (P’02), Arthur Yencken (M’70) and Matt Leary; Hexham: Angus Wilkinson (M’08), Anthony Blakeley (M’77) and Mark Mackinnon (M’85) and La Martina: Myles Gillespie (M’08), Steve Sprague (M’83) and Rob Abbott (M’92). The crowds came, sausages sizzled, each team played against each other, Harry Mann fell off his horse, goals were scored and a tremendously festive atmosphere was the order of the day.
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Michael Collins Persse wrote a booklet titled ‘Geelong Grammarians and Polo’ for the occasion. Michael detailed the remarkable involvement Old Geelong Grammarians have had in the evolution of Australia’s commitment to Polo (refer to page 30). The School thanks Harry Mann for his vision, persistence, organisational skills and preparedness to engage such a diverse range of interesting parties. Myles Gillespie (M’08) gave him great support along with David and Marina Oman. It was a very special day. Harry has already contacted the Head of Corio, Mr Scudamore, to see if he can meet to discuss the future of Polo at Corio. Perhaps this event is the start of something bigger.
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For the record Winning Team: Darriwill. Best Horse/Rider: Angus Wilkinson (M’08). CAPTIONS 1. Darriwill (Blue) vs Hexham (Red) on Biddlecombe Avenue 2. Harry Mann (P’08) 3. L to R: Miles Gillespie (M’08) and Harry Mann (P’08) 4. Post Match 5. L to R: Stephen Mitchell (FB’81) and Sam Baillieu (Cu’91)
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