THE worlds of music and movies clashed in the third International Charity Day at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, Florida, in aid of The British Forces Foundation.

Flying the flag for the UK was the legendary Mike Rutherford of Genesis and Mike and the Mechanics fame, with award-winning Hollywood star Tommy Lee Jones playing for the USA.

The event, held on January 28, proved hugely successful and raised in excess of $30,000 for the Charity.

More than 300 guests were in the stands on Stanford Field for the match sponsored by International Fine Arts Expositions and Catena Watches – and they didn’t have to wait long for the action to explode.

In a fast and furious opening, Gillian Johnston drew first blood for USA. Having picked up the ball in her own half she charged the length of the rest of the field to run the ball across the line.

But 30 seconds later Adrian Wade levelled the scores after first Julian Hipwood and then Mark Cann missed the chance to slot the ball home.

With two and half minutes to go before the end of the first chukka Hipwood put the UK into the lead with a superb backhand.

It was a good opening chukka for the visitors but one of too many missed chances that they would come to rue at the end of the game.

In the second chukka it was a tight start. Former ten-goaler Adam Snow missed a penalty and the UK capitalised when Wade scored his second - the team’s third.

And they increased that lead through Mike Rutherford with a fantastic shot after the ball was played through by Wade to make it 4-1.

The American side responded to the challenge through Snow who needed no second invitation to score a soft goal after the UK side inexplicably stopped playing 30 yards in front of their own posts.

And the lead was diminished still further when Johnston scored her second on the stroke of half-time to make it 4-3.

After the interval the USA rang the changes bringing on John Goodman for Tim Gannon. Snow made it 4-4 with a free hit which he struck sweetly from 60 yards.

There was worse to come for the UK side when Hipwood took a hit and had to dismount and take a minute to recover. Snow made the misery complete when he converted the resulting penalty to give the USA a 5-4 lead.

Wade looked like he levelled the scores when he put the ball between the posts but the whistle had already blown for a UK infringement and the ‘goal’ didn’t count.

And with just 30 seconds of the third chukka remaining Snow increased the USA lead to a more comfortable two goal cushion.

The fourth and final chukka was a tight affair and the closest anyone came to altering the score-line was John Goodman with a shot that went just wide, and a missed penalty from Snow. The final score 6-4 to the USA.

Nick Korniloff of International Fine Arts Expositions congratulated both sides on a tremendous game. There were Catena watches for the winning team presented by sponsor Bill Kraft, President of Catena USA. Most Valuable Player went to Gillian Johnston who received her award from Wellington’s Vice Mayor Lizbeth Benacquisto. And there were presentations too from International Honorary Chairman, CeCe Farris.

Following the presentations Wade described the match as a hard fought game. “Both teams clearly wanted to win,” he said. “We went up in the beginning but Adam Snow wasn’t ten goals for nothing.”

Before the game, guests enjoyed a champagne reception and ‘lunch by the bite’ in the pavilion. After the action on the field, they retired for ‘Decadent Desserts’ in the club’s lavishly decorated marquee and entered into the spirit of both silent and live auctions. The lots included polo packages in the US and the UK, a signed Winston Churchill picture, Catena watches, and tickets to the Royal Variety Gala Performance in London.

British Forces Foundation Director Mark Cann addressed the gathering, highlighting the importance of the work of The British forces Foundation.

The UK team was: Mark Cann, Director of The British Forces Foundation, Mike Rutherford of Genesis and Mike and the Mechanics, Julian Hipwood, who at nine goals was once the highest handicapped player in Britain; and Adrian Wade, who has represented his country all over the world.

The American team was: Adam Snow of Techno Marine, Tim Gannon of Outback Steakhouse, Gillian Johnston of Bendabout, Hollywood legend Tommy Lee Jones of San Saba, and John Goodman of Isla Carroll and owner of International Polo Club.