After years of preparation, the 2019 Adina World Cup has sadly come to an end. Here is a brief write up from Ladies Captain Sarah Desai.
We began the competition playing against Zambia, the runner-up in the 2015 World Cup. This was a hard fought match from the start and unfortunately we fell short in the end. Megan Waggener came away with the Best Lady Player award which was an awesome achievement. We then played Australia, who in the end, won it all and held the championship trophy high. Next was Zimbabwe which was a very close match all the way to the end. We had a couple of bad bounces which put us behind by 2 at the final whistle. Megan and her horse Matilda (owned by the Wells family) managed to pick up a Best Playing Ladies Horse award which is always exciting for a rider and horse owner. In the semi final round we played the UK and unfortunately did not have our best game while the UK capitalized on their opportunities. The loss put us into the 7th / 8th final where we once again played Zimbabwe. While the US came out quite a strong in the first half of the match, Zim’s vast experience helped them dig deep and claw their way back where they ultimately won the game in the end. Despite our placing, there was very good polocrosse played in all of our games and the USA received many compliments on our play and our improvement from 2015.
Our team could not have competed in this event without the support of so many people. Our coach, James Hackland took time away from his family to come to the states on multiple occassions for training weekends / preparations. He drastically changed the way that the team prepared compared to years past and held us to a very high standard. We will forever be grateful for his dedication, commitment, and help.
Our assistant coach, Jean Hackland was also extremely helpful in preparing us, especially in terms of the mental aspect of the competition. No matter the situation, Jean always had a smile on her face and carried a positive attitude. Our horse manager, Megan Mitchell, worked all hours, day and night to ensure that our horses were cared for as best possible. Thanks to her oversight, the USA was one of the only countries that completed the competition with all 16 pool horses sound and healthy. Without her help we would have been lost.
Mary Ladnier, our manager, worked very hard for months leading up to the competition to make arrangements, secure sponsorships, secure gear. While at the World Cup, Mary worked tirelessly to ensure that we were taken care of (meetings, meals, etc). We certainly could not have done it without her.
We also owe a huge thanks to all of the horse owners who provided us some fantastic horses to play. We thoroughly enjoyed riding your amazing athletes! All of the horse volunteers who helped us care for the horses during the week were fantastic and worked tirelessly to assist us in any way that they could. They were always smiling, cheerful, and eager to help. We really appreciated their support throughout the competition.
We also had an incredible group of American (Canadian and Mexican!) supporters who traveled to Australia on their own dime and went out of their way to support us. Hearing them cheer for us on the sidelines while playing made us proud and made us want to play that much harder!
Last but not least, we could not have done this without all of the help from our generous sponsors. You are all legends and this trip would never have been possible without your generosity. You are so appreciated and we can not thank you enough for your support! #triplecrownfeed #olatheboots #saussyfarm #gameclothing #jackrabbittack #teambombers #ExcelProElite #thisisit