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Tim celebrating his win with the COWhorn

Compton Open Weekend, Eastbourne: weather hottish; lawns fastish; hoops easyish - almost an ideal formula for a weekend's gentle croquet? The only blot on the scene was the discovery that the Harvey's container had leaked onto the carpet, leaving the clubhouse smelling strongly of beer and thirsty ale drinkers deprived on the Sunday. However, they bravely soldiered on with a variety of lesser beverages and no civil disorder resulted.

On the lawns Tim Wilkins progressed to meet Ian Vincent in one semi-final. The first game saw both players come to grief with their triples but Tim emerged the winner +3 and went on to win the second. In the bottom half of the draw Rutger Beijderwellen was busy peeling his way to the other semi-final where he beat Tom Weston. Only his first round game against Mick Belcham failed to produce a peeling finish; Rutger made a sextuple leave (opponents closely cross-wired at hoop 1, red for 1-back but hard against a wire and unable to run the hoop, yellow north of 1-back) whereupon Mick shot at yellow and missed. Rutger hit the boundary ball and then spent some time lining up for the croquet stroke in which he contrived to nudge red to 3 inches in front of the hoop with yellow a foot away with a perfect rush through 1-back to hoop 1. This was achieved, but even though he failed at hoop 6 with three peels completed he went on to win the game.

The final between Tim and Rutger made for one of the best 3-game matches seen at the COWhorn. Tim seemed to have the first game won but failed the peg-out allowing Rutger to snatch victory with a triple. In the second Rutger went to 4-back in the third turn and laid up on the east boundary below hoop 2 with all three balls in an east-west line. Tim hit from A-balk and went to the peg, peeling red and pegging it out. A cat and mouse duel ensued from which Tim emerged the winner by just 4 hoops. Now Rutger embarked on his second sextuple attempt. He took his red to 1-back in the fourth turn and laid himself a rush to 1-back from corner 3 with the opponents cross-wired at hoop 1. Tim shot and missed into corner 3. Rutger then executed a text-book turn in which he completed all 6 peels. The rover peel was made from an angle when yellow was itself for rover, and the peelee only just went through the hoop with yellow still somewhat to one side. Yellow scored the hoop with a jump but just tipped the red leaving it plumb behind rover. Rutger tried to peg red out with an Irish peel through the hoop, but it sailed by and the turn finished with all four balls still on the lawn. From the contact Tim took black to 4-back. Rutger replied by pegging out yellow. Tim then played a beautifully controlled 3-ball break ending with the blue clip on the peg, red near corner 1, blue and black near corner 3. Rutger narrowly missed the peg into corner 3. Tim ignored red, played a 2-ball break to the peg but was obliged to lie up on the south boundary. Rutger again narrowly missed the peg and Tim went out to win +1 to much applause from a crowd which by now, 2025, had dwindled to three.

The battle for supremacy in the Swiss was between Louise Bradforth and Paul Salisbury who each arrived at tea on Sunday afternoon having lost only one of their six games to date. Louise won a close fought 'final' and duly carried off the COWbell trophy. Rutger was a clear winner of the Ace Peeler award.

Knockout for the COWhorn

Round 1

Paul Castell beat David Hopkins +1
Tim Wilkins beat Gordon Hopewell +25
Rutger Beijderwellen beat Mick Belcham +19
Louise Bradforth beat Stuart Romeril +18

Round 2

David Mundy beat Samantha Symonds +26
Ian Vincent beat Celia Steward +25(TP)
George Noble beat Tim Dutton +13
Tim Wilkins beat Paul Castell +21
Rutger Beijderwellen beat Louise Bradforth +7(TPO)
Jack Davies beat Martin Leach +11
Mark Gooding beat Paul Salisbury +20
Tom Weston beat David Kibble +17

Quarter-Finals

Ian Vincent beat David Mundy +4
Tim Wilkins beat George Noble +15
Rutger Beijderwellen beat Jack Davies +20(TP)
Tom Weston beat Mark Gooding +19

Semi-Finals

Tim Wilkins beat Ian Vincent +3 +14
Rutger Beijderwellen beat Tom Weston +5 +12(TPO)

Final

Tim Wilkins beat Rutger Beijderwellen -2(TP) +4(TP0) +1

3rd Place

Tom Weston beat Ian Vincent +17

Swiss for the Cowbell

6 wins: Louise Bradforth
5 wins: P Salisbury
4 wins: M Gooding, D Kibble
3 wins: D Mundy, S Symonds, T Dutton, P Castell
2 wins: M Leach, G Noble, G Hopewell, J Davies
1 win: M Belcham, S Romeril, D Hopkins

Ace Peeler

Rutger Beijderwellen