Rugby Polo Festival

POLO: Rugby Polo Club is hosting its inaugural three-day Midlands Polo Festival starting on Friday in association with Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA).

Over the three days the Club will play host two five different tournament levels; High Goal, Inter-Clubs eight goal, Inter-Clubs four Goal, Universities and Schools.

The festival will also help unveil new facilities at the centre including a restaurant and cafe, classroom, rug wash, polo and farm shops and large viewing areas into both the large and small indoor arenas.

As part of the festival there will also be a Charity ball and auction on the Saturday night to help raise vital funds for WNAA.

The crew from WNAA regularly attend equestrian incidents within the local community and in January they were called out to Onley Grounds after a 10-year old boy fell from his horse and was airlifted to hospital suffering injuries to his lower back and abdomen.

Tracy Grunwell, Head of Fundraising for The Air Ambulance Service, said: “For any equestrian enthusiasts, this promises to be a fantastic occasion.

“With the club’s support, our charity will be able to continue our lifesaving work within the community. "One in five rescue missions that WNAA carried out in 2013 was a sporting incident and the majority of those were equestrian incidents. We are really grateful to the club for their support.”

Rugby Polo Club's manager, Huw Beavan, said: “Our club has been working really hard to raise the profile of polo across the country and hopefully, this festival will be the peak of all of that hard work.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for people to find out more about the sport and see some of the most talented players that this country has to offer

"We are also looking forward to raising lots of money for the air ambulance. They provide such a valuable service and it’s only right that we should support them given how much work they do in rescuing horse riders within the local community.”

WNAA receives no Government funding and relies entirely on public donations especially from events like the polo festival.

On average, they attend three rescue missions a day, with each rescue mission costing approximately £1,700.

You can read more about WNAA’s latest rescue missions by visiting the Charity website: www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk.

Tickets for the ball on the Saturday night are £40 each and can be purchased by calling the Equestrian Centre directly on .

The festival will run from March 28-30 at Onley Grounds Equestrian Centre in Rugby and entry is free.

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