UKPA Trophies – The Flecha Peron Trophy
As we approach our 35th anniversary of the UKPA, we have been looking back across our rich history of the sport in this country. Our Membership Secretary, Jan Jenkinson, has been taking a walk down memory lane for us during lockdown, and the result is a fascinating look at the origin stories of our annual awards and the familiar names that have appeared on those trophies over the years!
The Flecha Peron Trophy is presented annually to ‘ the Best Veteran Horse at Nationals ‘.
The trophy was donated in 2010 to the UKPA by the Stansfield family in memory of a wonderful horse of the same name, to honour the veteran horses that are so valuable within our sport. These horses have such a special job to do helping beginners to develop their skills and learn to love the sport of polocrosse.
Flecha Peron was an Argentinian thoroughbred, who came to the Stansfield family when her owner, Dawn Goodfellow, very kindly offered her as a first polocrosse pony for James Stansfield. She helped him as she had helped many before him to learn the sport. James’ mother Christine recalls how her kind, gentle nature made her a favourite amongst the polocrosse family, while a turn of speed on the pitch made her a force to be reckoned with during a match!
“She will always have a place in our hearts”, says Christine, “and after her we were lucky enough to also have Beau, another amazing veteran, from Guy.”
James acknowledges how lucky he was to have been able to learn so much from his veteran horses during his early years in the game. “After Flecha, Beau taught me so much about polocrosse and riding as a whole. He really knew the game and you could tell he loved his job. He’d be heading after the ball before I or anyone else on the pitch realised it was on the floor. He was definitely an big advantage to a game just like any veteran horse is because they know what they’re meant to be doing. So for younger players they help you so much as you don’t have to concentrate on the horse. They know their job so you can focus on learning yours. I will always be grateful for what Flecha and Beau taught me over the years I owned them!”
Past Winners of the Flecha Peron Trophy
Year| Winner
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2010| Luna , owned by the Smith family and played by Celia Price
2011| Tallie , owned by Gill James and played by Tanis Loutsiou
2012| Tia , owned and played by Charlie Ralli
2013| Tiny , owned by Charlotte Marsland and played by Emily Goding
2014| Star , owned by the Kish family and played by Charlie Kish
2015| Polo , owned and played by Boy Wilson Fitzgerald
2016| Tangles , owned and played by Joao Evora & Shelley Horse , owned by the Rudge family and played by Barney Rudge
2017| Pepper , owned and played by Tegan Bristow
2018| Serroco , owned by the Hall family and played by Cara Williams
2019| Petra , owned by Jeanette Mitchell and played by Graham Ward
Like many of the UKPA award honour rolls, the Flecha Peron is full of some of the best known horses and ponies in the polocrosse world. Many of them will have been playing their whole lives, and will have been ridden by a number of different people.
The first winner of the Flecha Peron trophy was Luna in 2010. This little black mare was owned by the Smith family, and within the Vale Impi club she helped bring through a host of new players. In the early years of the club she could regularly be seen out on the pitch with a very small Ronnie Smith!
Following Luna in 2011 came Tallie, the complete physical opposite! This gentle giant of a horse, owned by Gill James, was partnered by Tanis Loutsiou and the pair could be found out in the Arden colours most weekends as he gave Tanis a great introduction to the game.
In 2012 it was the turn of another nippy little mare, pocket rocket Tia owned by Charlie Ralli. At just 14.1hh, size was no barrier as she helped Charlie through his junior years and into the grades, and also to victory at the Pony Club championships.
For 2013 the winner was Tiny, who at over 16 hands helped her little jockey, Emily Goding, learn how to play the game. Despite Emi’s feet barely coming past the saddle, the duo dominated the novice junior grade that year and Tiny’s owners, John and Charlotte Marsland, were delighted to see the big mare gain the recognition she deserved. Originally brought into the game by the Simkin family, Tiny was another horse who had moved down the grades over the years and brought a number of Celyn players into the game.
In 2014, 2015 and 2017 the award was dominated by the smallest of our polocrosse ponies – Star, Polo and Pepper, who have each brought on so many small players over the years.
Star, the 2014 winner, was a pony beloved of any polocrosse families over the years, including Bryony Cross, Danny and Agi Duhig, Will and Oli Halcrow, the Kish family (where she was ridden by Madi, Alice, Bella and Charlie!) and then on to their cousin Jack Webb.
Alice Kish remembers her fondly as a pony who was exactly what a veteran polocrosse pony should be: “She was the first pony Charlie played polocrosse on, and I remember Mum just letting him go off the lead rein as she knew Star wouldn’t do anything wrong!”
Both Polo and Pepper, who need no introduction to current polocrosse players, can still be found out on the pitch with the tiniest of jockeys. Partnered by Boy Wilson Fitzgerald and Tegan Bristow respectively, each of these ponies provided a great start to the careers of each player. In 2015 both combinations were selected to play for the English team in the Pony Club Home International event, and five years later both Boy and Tegan were selected to play for the UK U16s, hopefully in part thanks to the great groundwork they received from their veteran ponies in their early years!
Pepper and Tegan at 3 with Polo and Boy at 1 in the white shirts
For 2016 the judges found it so difficult to select one winner of the trophy that they decided they had no option but to award it to two horses, so Tangles and Shelley Horse shared the honours!
Tangles was originally brought over from Australia by Jason Webb, and before he came to Joao he was owned by Kerry Bean and Nadine Bristow.
“He was on the tall side 16.3 and had the weirdest confirmation. He was such a pleasure to ride though,” says Joao. “When Lynette first rode him, she knew instantly that we was perfect for me, a non rider wanting to get into the game. That’s exactly what I was able to achieve with him. He knew the game inside out and was always a step ahead of my game play. Sometimes he pulled of some spins which I had no idea where even coming. He had such a soft temperament and took a lot in his stride. He won best horse in a few tournaments whilst I rode him, he also won Best Chiltern Horse 2015. Haven’t had another Tangles and miss the boy dearly!”
Owner Vickie Rudge also recounts why Shelley Horse is so special to her family:
“My mum bought me Shelley Horse when I was competing to make the U21 squad and needed ‘that’ horse to get me there! We bought her off a friend, Shelley King, so she had sentimental value from the start. I have owned Shelley Horse for 16 years and in that time she has taken me up the grades, we have been in winning teams and have won a number of best No. awards but what this mare is partially special at is recognising her rider. Her ability to change up her style depending on her jockey, one day she could be playing B grade with me and the next she’ll be asked to play D grade with a friend and will totally relax and accept what they ask of her.
“Her final years of playing saw her teach my husband to ride and learn to play Polocrosse. Watching Shelley look after and teach Barney was brilliant to watch and made me very proud. At her Final Nationals in 2016 they were part of the winning E grade team, Barney picked up Best Male Player and Shelley was presented with the Flecha Peron Trophy.
“Although she is retired she still likes to show off in the field (doesn’t act 26!) and my son now likes to get on her. I know she would look after him on a pitch, shame she’s not a few hands smaller (and younger)!”
As we come into more recent times, our 2018 and 2019 winners were each played in the E grade, having moved down gradually over the years from top level polocrosse to a more sedate lifestyle. Serroco and Petra, having both played in the higher grades, introduced Cara Williams and Graham Ward to the sport and triumphed at Nationals in their respective years. You can read more from both Cara and Graham about their veteran horses at </resources/news/horses-of-polocrosse-golden-oldies> .
UKPA Horses Hall of Fame
Watch this space as over the coming weeks we will start to put together our ‘Horses Hall of Fame’, featuring those who have won the UKPA Horse awards over the years, including the Flecha Peron!