Prince Harry and Team Black Rock were among the many highlights from Sunday's event. PHOTO BY CLINT SPAULDING/PATRICK MCMULLAN

Governors Island, NY – The sport has terms unlike any other sport taking place today. Chukkers are what periods or quarters are in football, basketball and hockey. There are four chukkers in the game of Polo each 7 ½ minutes long. There are three minute breaks between the chukkers with a 15 minute break at halftime. Teams consist of four players with positions one and two being the forwards. Position three is the pivot (he being the best player), while position four, he responsible for defending the goal. The ground the players participate in is 300 yards long and 160 yards wide.

Players have two horses each that they switch after each chukker for the safety of the animal.

The 3rd annual Veuve Clicqout Polo Classic took place Sunday afternoon on Governors Island between BlackRock and BlackWatch. His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Whales returned to defend the title as a member of BlackRock. Prince Henry and the British Royal Family created a charity in 2006 dedicated to the people in Lesotho. They have the 3rd highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world. Senteble means “forget me not” and the charity has worked to identify, support and educate the people of Lesotho.

The challenging team BlackWatch is headed by captain Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras the face of World of Polo fragrances and ready to wear clothes. At age 17, Nacho first played on the professional stage in Paris. BlackWatch was founded in 1996 and he has played in Spain, England, Argentina and the U.S.A.

Although it was considered an exhibition match, both teams were aggressive from the start. Halfway through the first chukker, Prince Henry took a tumble off his horse bringing gasps from the estimated 14,000 folks in attendance. Play was stopped briefly as the Prince dusted himself off composing himself on his knees. He got back on his horse leading his team to an early 2-0 lead. BlackWatch rallied to go ahead 5-4 before BlackRock tied the score sending the match to an overtime chukker. Like American football, sudden death was the rule in this match with the first team to score declared the winner.

Celebrity sightings were abounding. Val Kilmer abd Susan Sarandon take in the action. PHOTO BY CLINT SPAULDING/PATRICK MCMULLAN

Figueras, known as the Le Bron James or Kobe Bryant of polo, led his BlackWatch team to victory in overtime 6-5. "It was a very tight match. We didn't know who was going to win so it was very exciting to play,” he said.

One of the more interesting aspects of the sport is what happens at halftime. Divot stomping is a long standing tradition as the spectators are allowed on the field stomping down the torn up turf. It smoothes out the turf for the last two chukkers.

Not lost on the excitement of the match were the people who would benefit from the charity. Said Prince Henry, “the United States has always protected the downtrodden, the poorest, those most in need of help in the world.” As competitive as the match was, Figueras added, “today we all won because today was about those kids in Africa.”

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