2022 Review – Bethersden Bulls
As we prepare for the 2023 season, our Clubs take a look back at their 2022 successes! Bethersden Bulls Polocrosse Club, based in the South East, tell us all about their 2022 season:
Another year, another National Title!
Let me start by saying this club does not exist to win, it’s the taking part, it’s the horses and above all it’s about having fun! That’s what this club stands for. That said, a win makes the fun even more fun!. So to take the B Grade crown was an amazing achievement. This follows on from C Grade champs in 2021 and D Grade champs in 2019. That is pretty impressive for a very small club!!
A ‘veteran’ section in the B grade of Mikey Turner, Wayne Henning and David Beekes was definitely the oldest section in B grade, possibly in the whole Nationals! A number of small miracles need to happen for this section to compete successfully. Mikey needs to be able to get on his horse, David needs a sound horse, and Wayne needs to be on time!! These 3 miracles happened enough this season for us not to let our young guns down. Our aim was to keep the game tight, hoping the young guns scored some goals!!
Our French import and rising star Gael Beaufils led the charge. Collecting a number of best number 1 awards through the season he was on fire throughout. A goal scoring machine! It was a welcome back to polocrosse for Ashley Harwood. Matt Fynn was that solid bit of glue you need sometimes!!. Also a welcome back to George Parish, great to see him on the pitch again. I don’t know why, I always think of George as the Roger Federer of polocrosse! Graceful, but powerful!
A surprise Nationals title win really, we were at the bottom end of the handicap and ( I think ) we hadn’t won a tournament all season. In fact, most of the season had passed before we could win a single match!!
Unlike the B grade, the C grade actually had a very consistent season this year.
Oli Spoor, Henry Burrows, Kate Henning, Jen Chilton, Tilda Beaufils formed the backbone of our team with guest appearances and magical moments along the way.…who could get most line out ball (Oli or Henry?), best interception (Kate), best dismount (Jen), craziest player (Tilda). The list goes on…
Our D grade might not have won the title this year, but they were definitely the most organised team of our club. A welcome to the club to Becky Porter who has the most tidy and organised truck in the club! Laura Mills (another welcome back to polocrosse!) has the most organised drink selection for after chukkas. Natalie Robertson that little terrier of a player, and finally the D team led by polocrosse mastermind Sally Beekes.
A thank you to Wayne and Kate Henning who horsed a lot of our players throughout the season. It was great to see the return to polocrosse from players like George, Ashley and Laura who have been out of the game for so many years. It was great they could come back and play and it was a privilege that they chose the Bethersden Bulls club for their return!
