Power of Polo Change Your Line Charity Cup 2023

Power of Polo Change Your Line Charity Cup 2023 - Film

Windsor, 26 June 2023 - Power of Polo held its end of season polo tournament, the Change Your Line Charity Cup, at the prestigious Guards Polo Club on 26th June 2023.  The tournament, sponsored and hosted by OUT-SOURCING UK (OSUK), brought together inner-city youth from Lambeth as well as serving members of the Metropolitan Police and vulnerable or homeless military veterans to celebrate the completion of three Power of Polo camps they participated in earlier in the year.

 The 28 participants played a four-chukka game with mixed teams from the three different camps, along with players from Ebony Horse Club.  The Guards Polo Academy provided expert ponies, kit and umpires, ensuring everyone had the opportunity to play and support each other during the tournament.  The Change Your Line Tournament Cup was presented to the winning team by Mr. Yuya Ono, Director OSUK, Managing Executive Officer, OUTSOURCING, Inc and prizes were awarded to all the participants.

“Today was a great way to celebrate such an amazing experience. What a unique opportunity it is for me and my fellow officers to have the chance to spend time with the guys from Lambeth and really be able to engage with them in an environment in which none of us was familiar - learning together and supporting each other,” said PC Ella Davenport, Community engagement officer from Southwark and Lambeth, Metropolitan Police.

Through Power of Polo’s model of partnership and collaboration, we were able to bring together four charities and three polo clubs to participate in this year’s camps. The charities,  ML Community Enterprise, South Central Youth, the Armed Forces Equine Charity and Alabaré, worked in cooperation with Rugby Polo Club, Oxford Polo and Cool Hooves Polo to hold the three camps and participate in today’s tournament.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Power of Polo; it’s been incredible. I had never ridden a horse or done anything like this before. I’ve made memories for life,” said Mark, a veteran who has been living with Alabaré. “Taking part has given me confidence to try new things; once I’ve got over my initial anxiety, I always give 110 percent. Looking forward, I definitely want to look for employment opportunities in the equine world now!”

Throughout the tournament, representatives from partnering charities, polo clubs, Metropolitan Police, local and national government as well as members of the OSUK team supported the players from the stands.  A lunch to celebrate the participants and introduce them to invited guests was held in the Clubhouse at Guards Polo Club after the tournament.

“It is amazing to see all of these young people and adults coming together, working together and really enjoying themselves today,” said Katy Hayward, CEO and founder of Power of Polo. “The progress they have made for themselves, both on the pitch and off, is overwhelming, and to be able to celebrate all of that here at Guards with this tournament really is spectacular. I can’t thank enough all of our partners, volunteers, Guards Polo Club, the Guards Polo Academy, and especially OSUK and our annual donors Amelie Draper and Richard Farmiloe for all of their support this year.”

“OSUK is very proud to support the work Power of Polo is doing to help people and happy to host this tournament to give camp participants the chance to celebrate in a place as special as Guards. We understand the importance of giving people real experiences to help them in their journeys and we are happy we can do that through hosting this tournament,” stated Charlie Bruin, Director, OSUK.