With the summer coming to an end, Habtoor Polo brings some great news for the nation to be proud of. Being great patrons of Polo, Rashid Al Habtoor and Mohammed Al Habtoor CEO of Al Habtoor Group, represented UAE at the prestigious Sotogrande 2007 Summer Season and brought home some exciting victories.

When it comes to the premium sports of Polo, Sotogrande in Southern Spain grabs the world’s attention. Mohammed Al Habtoor, after heading Habtoor Polo at the tournaments played during the month of July at Sotogrande said, “It was a matter of pride for me and my brother Rashid Al Habtoor to get invited to Sotogrande, which is usually described as "The Empire of Polo and Sun". We are even more proud as we represented UAE at seasons’ tournaments in Sotogrande.”

Being the Polo patrons, Habtoor brothers along with two Polo professionals from Argentina – Justo del Carril and Santiago Torreguitar played the Kapa Polo Tournament, Fundador Zobel Tournament and Tonanejo Tournament during this season at the Santa Maria Polo Club in Sotogrande, Spain between 6th and 22nd July 2007. Habtoor Hotels, the leading the Middle East chain of hotels based in Dubai, sponsored Habtoor Polo for all the Sotogrande tournaments.

Rashid Al Habtoor and his team won all the three games of the Kapa Polo Tournament (8 handicap) held from 6th to 8th July 2007. It was interesting to watch the young Tarik Al Habtoor, son of Rashid, hitting the first spectacular goal for Habtoor Polo at the Kapa tournament’s opening game. Habtoor Polo won the match at a 9-7 score. After defeating Woodchester at the second game of the tournament, UAE’s Habtoor Polo entered the third and final match of the tournament against Dr. A Polo Team, and won the game with an 8-5 score at the end of the sixth chukker.
 

Proud moments followed when Mohammed Al Habtoor played in one of the toughest, oldest and most prestigious tournaments during the season for Habtoor Polo at the Santa Maria Polo Club in Sotogrande. He headed Habtoor Polo as Captain for the Tonanejo Tournament (15 handicap) on the 20th to 22nd of July2007, with his team members Justo Del Carril, Gabriel Iglesias and Nacho who is one of the greatest professional players. Nacho also had the honour of being the only Spanish player during the tournament in Sotogrande.

It was a fierce and intense game with Habtoor Polo behind in the third chukka 5-1. As the game continued team headed by Mohammed progressed defending their goal with flare, pushing them to drive forward and ending the match at 8-5 to Habtoor Polo, defeating Captain Karim Abbar, Dr A, and Santiago Cernada Pipi of the opposing Mindsift team.

Having the world’s best polo grounds, Sotogrande get the best players and also the most distinguished guests as audience. Sotogrande is the only place in Europe where it is possible to play polo all year round. Meanwhile, Santa Maria Polo Club, where the Habtoor Polo played all the 3 games, is one of the most important polo clubs in Continental Europe and it prides in having some of the best players in the world. A season filled with sweet and sour experience, each game played at Sotogrande and Santa Maria Polo Club was an honour for Habtoor Polo and for the UAE as well.