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Clevedon-based Auckland Polo Club is again appealing to the public in efforts to reclaim a lost treasure, the iconic New Zealand Polo Open trophy.
While the Times understands that police have exhausted lines of enquiry, they are encouraging anyone with new information to step forward.
As previously reported, a club member had the trophy for safekeeping in late February. Planning to return it to the club, it was last seen in her car before she realised it was missing.
It is thought to have been taken by someone between February 19 and 22, days after the 2026 NZ Polo Open.
Despite a $3000 reward on offer, no progress has been made in recovering the prized accolade.
“We’re desperate for its safe return,” the Open’s director, Pukekohe’s Lucy Ainsley said at the time. “It has a lot more sentimental than monetary value.”
While she has not given up hope, Ainsley says the chances of its return now appear slim.
“As time’s gone by, it’s sunk in that the trophy [still hasn’t been] returned. It’s a 50-year-old trophy with all this historical data on it of all these winning teams; it’s a piece of New Zealand history that appears to have gone forever – it’s a real shame.
The club has contacted companies in New Zealand and the United Kingdom with a view to sourcing a replacement.
“It’s not easy, there’s been a lot of back and forth trying to find something similar. One quote we received from England was for £45,000 pounds, about $90,000 New Zealand, so it’s not cheap.”
Anyone with information about the trophy’s disappearance or its location should contact police by calling 105 or the club – contact details at aucklandpolo.co.nz.
“Everyone is distraught by its loss, and no questions will be asked,” Ainsley said in February. “We want it returned so that it can carry on representing all of its past winners and continue to represent future winners.”
