Press release Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup – Prince Harry led the Sentebale ISPS Handa team to victory in the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup on May 4 at Valiente Polo Club. Valiente owner Bob Jornayvaz, Royal Salute World Polo Ambassador Malcolm Borwick and Melissa Ganzi rounded out the team, which defeated the Royal Salute team 6-3.
Despite intermittent downpours, the pristine fields at Valiente provided safe and exciting play. The second event of its kind to be held in the United States, the match was a round robin among three teams. Sentebale Ambassador Nacho Figueras captained the Royal Salute team, joined by teammates Marc Ganzi, Teodoro Calle and Joe DiMenna. Nic Roldan captained the Valiente team, which included Tommy Kato, Martin Cregg and Curtis Pilot.
For the past six years Royal Salute has been the title sponsor of the Sentebale Polo Cup. ISPS Handa, Valiente Polo Farm, United States Polo Association (USPA), Merchant Hub and American Airlines also provided sponsorship this year. Royal Salute guest of honor His Grace Torquhil Campbell, the 13th Duke of Argyll, presented the trophy.
Over 300 guests attended the exclusive event to watch Prince Harry raise money and awareness for his charity, Sentebale, which supports young people living with HIV/AIDS in Lesotho, Africa. Speaking at the post-tournament dinner held in the spectacular stables of Valiente Polo Farm, Founding Patron of Sentebale, Prince Harry, said: “The Mamohato Children’s Centre in Lesotho, which we opened last year, would not have been built without the generosity of Sentebale and its partners, particularly the Sentebale Polo Cup. This year we will expand our camp program into Botswana, a country I have been visiting regularly for almost two decades and genuinely feel I need to give as much back as I can.”
The funds and awareness raised from the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup
will help send 1,500 youth from 10 to 19 years old to Sentebale’s monthly club and five-day residential camp at the newly opened Mamohato Children’s Centre. It is committed to the belief that if children with HIV are educated about the virus, they not only learn about their condition but also can educate their peers about the disease, enlightening a generation and leading the way to ending the AIDS epidemic.
Royal Salute supports over 18 international polo events across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.
Source: Press release Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup
