Ponylines

In 1999, Mohammed Al Habtoor received an invitation to attend a match and was seated next to Ali Albwardy, who heads the Dubai Polo Team. Albwardy convinced him to start playing and, the next day, he began to practise. Ten years later, he started the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series – a tournament with six teams up to 12-goals.

This year, the tournament has increased to 18 goals, with 10 teams taking part. Before the Gold Cup Series, United Arab Emirates’ patrons were only playing practices in their own clubs with a few horses; now, however, they have a full organisation that attracts the best players in the world. These days, the UAE is very much on the polo map, with the Gold Cup Series considered one of the most important and prestigious polo events in the region – a huge achievement in just six years. ‘We still want to increase the number of teams to 12 or 14, and 20-goals will be even better,’ says Al Habtoor. ‘We broke the barrier that existed between clubs and patrons, and now everybody plays together.’ Gonzalo Etcheverry

The 2015 season is now upon us, but first a quick look back at the closing stages of our off-season. At the end of March in Chile, the England team met the USA in the semi-finals of the FIP 14-goal World Championships. A well-drilled American team ran out the comfortable Brits but then, rather unexpectedly, lost in the final against the home side.

Then in April, an England team of Luke and Mark Tomlinson, Max Charlton and Ollie Cudmore took on Rest of the World and Argentina in the Copa de las Naciones. There was optimism that England would retain their 2014 title, but they started badly in the final against Argentina and never really recovered. Max Charlton’s penalties were standout moments for the team.

With 12 teams entered for the Cartier Queen’s Cup, it is excellent to see a team of all-English professionals sponsored by Somerton – and if they are drawn at any stage against El Remanso, there will be seven English players on the field at the same time: a rare sight in the high-goal these days.

The first test match, sponsored by St Regis, was played at Cowdray Park against The Americas, led by Jaime Huidobro. The game took some time to get going, but England captain James Beim sped things up in the last chukka, leading his team to a 6–3 win.

Mention of the England team raises the reluctant withdrawal of Audi from their sponsorship of the Pony Club, the England team and the Coronation Cup. It has been an excellent sponsor for 10 years, making the England team the envy of other countries. Inevitably, there has been a lot of work behind the scenes, and we are delighted we have been able to sign a three-year agreement for sponsorship of the Coronation Cup with Royal Salute, which has established itself as a great supporter of polo worldwide.

There has been much discussion throughout the winter across the AAP, USPA, FIP and HPA, the result being a renewed enthusiasm to work towards one set of rules for the game, particularly within high-goal, this summer. Good progress is being made.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very good season.

{ INTERNATIONAL ALUMNI CUP The London Alumni Polo Club and Polo Valley Resorts hosted the first International Alumni Polo Cup, in Sotogrande, on the weekend of 18–19 April. Six teams from around the world flew in to compete, network and enjoy the first edition of one of the year’s biggest tournaments.

The chosen teams – Cambridge, London Alumni I, London Alumni II, Netherlands, Oxford Brookes and the UK – competed for the trophy on the Río Sotogrande fields at the prestigious Santa María Polo Club.

The tournament started with a round robin on the first day to allow all teams to compete against each other. After a closely fought contest, Oxford Brookes were crowned champions on the Sunday, despite a strong challenge from the UK team, led by MVP Niels van der Hoeven and sponsored by Peruvian restaurant Coya. This left the London Alumni I team and the Dutch to battle it out for the Takito Polo Mallets-sponsored third place, with London Alumni I the victors. Chris Byrne

{ INAUGURAL CHARITY POLO CUP IN VIETNAM The first Charity Polo Cup Vietnam match took place at Long Thanh Golf & Residential Estate on 20 March. It was an exciting game that saw the Royal Pahang Polo Club narrowly beat Viet Thai International Thai Polo 10–9.

The guest of honour was the Queen’s eldest grandson, Peter Phillips, second left, who presented the cup to the winners. The Vietnam Airlines MVP award was won by HH Prince Amir Nasser Ibrahim, following an outstanding performance. The Mercedes-Benz BPP award, meanwhile, was given to Macano, ridden by Dato’ Mohamed Moiz, far right, and owned by Dato’ Harald Link, third from left, of Thai Polo & Equestrian Club, who generously sent a fleet of ponies over 1,000km from Pattaya to Ho Chi Minh City for the game.

An impressive $189,000 was raised for the charities Stop Ivory, Save Vietnam’s Wildlife and the Business Association of Vietnam Veterans.

Thijs Povel founded the London Alumni Polo Club in 2012. The group brings together graduates from different UK universities, and now boasts more than 300 international members aged 23 to 33 who live and work in London. ‘I learnt a little about polo while growing up in the Netherlands, where there are plenty of flat fields and many horses. While at university, I went along to a try-out session and enjoyed it so much that I booked a three-week trip to Argentina to get a proper introduction to the game.

‘Polo has so much more to offer than any other sport: it requires horsemanship, ball control, tactics and athleticism. It has the difficulty of golf, but with a moving ball, while riding a horse – and with an opposition that will come charging down on you as quickly as possible.

‘Since setting up the London Alumni Polo Club (LAPC), there have been many memorable polo games. One that sticks in my mind was a trip to the Genghis Khan Polo and Riding Club in Mongolia last summer. Eight of us travelled to compete against the country’s 1st Cavalry unit and its national team. Playing Mongolian horses on a polo field that is surrounded by grasslands and rivers was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

‘Polo is not just a sport for me any more – it has become a way of life. As Churchill aptly put it: ‘There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.’ Even though this is the case for most people who try the game, many friends were forced to stop playing after they graduated, due to time and monetary constraints. In order to keep these players in the sport and to bridge the gap between varsity and patron players, I set up the LAPC. We organise training sessions, tournaments and overseas trips.’ alumnipolo.co.uk y HELVETIA POLO

During the first weekend in April, Brazil’s Helvetia Polo Country Club hosted the inaugural edition of the Helvetia Polo International. The competition welcomed 48 players, with 11 international guests visiting São Paulo from Egypt, USA, Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Italy. All teams held 6–8 goal handicaps.

The primary aim of the event was to promote and strengthen the relationship between the Brazilian teams and those from other countries; with this in mind, each guest was hosted by a local player, who was responsible for making arrangements for their accommodation and horses.

A total of 12 teams took part in the tournament, each playing within one of three zones. The final champions were teams Guabi (zone A), Cuatro Vientos (zone B) and Tigres (zone C). Silvio Coutinho, Helvetia Polo Country Club’s director, was delighted that the tournament had been such a huge success and intends to make it an annual event.

The club was founded in 1975 and is now the leading polo venue in São Paulo. Situated 10km from Viracopos/Campinas International Airport, it is the largest such club in Brazil, with an impressive 10 full-sizes fields and a further 25 private fields. Players from all over the country come together between April and October to play fixtures ranging from 2- to 26-goal handicaps. The club also offers polo lessons as well as other equestrian opportunities in the surrounding countryside. helvetiapolo.com.br

{ EAST COAST OPEN 2 015 This year’s 20-goal East Coast Open – one of the most prestigious tournaments in the US – will be held at Greenwich Polo Club over three consecutive Sundays, starting on 23 August.

‘We expect the 2015 tournament to draw the best high-goal players from around the globe to compete for the title and have their names added to the Perry Cup,’ said Peter M Brant, founder of both the Greenwich Polo Club and the adjacent Brant Foundation Art Study Center, above, which, over the years, has displayed works from its collection by the likes of Rob Pruitt and Jeff Koons. ‘Fans will get to experience world-class polo at a beautiful venue and, for the first time ever, the tournament will be streamed live and will culminate in a nationally televised broadcast.’

The USPA will live-stream the semi-finals on ChukkerTV, and NBC Sports Network will air a 60-minute broadcast of the final on 13 September. ‘This historically rich and now nationally televised tournament is a key opportunity to bring attention to polo,’ said USPA CEO Peter Rizzo.

The East Coast Open was founded in Rhode Island in 1905 and was played until World War I. It had a renaissance in 1978, when Donald Little, then president of the USPA and captain of the Myopia Polo Club, resurrected the tournament, bringing it to the Myopia Polo Club in Massachusetts, where it was played until the early 2000s. At its height, 13 teams played in the 14–20 goal tournament, and it attracted 10-goal players such as Mariano Aguerre, Mike Azzaro and Gonzalo Pieres. greenwichpoloclub.com/ECO

CHUKK AS

The British Polo 10-Goal Championships will be played for the Diamond Jubilee Trophy as the morning match on International Day, Saturday 25 July, at Guards Polo Club. The aim of the tournament is to provide an opportunity for both existing and up-and-coming British players. The handicap limit for the team is 8–10 goals, with a minimum handicap of 0. All sponsored players must have a current UK passport and be a member of the HPA, and an entry fee of £5,000 will be charged. Team Patrons will be invited to the Coronation Cup Dinner at Guards on Thursday 23 July, after the semis, and will be accorded eight complimentary seats in the South Stand.

In 1932, Michael Grace Phipps achieved a remarkable feat by winning the Intercollegiates, the US Open, the Argentine Open and the Copa de Americas, the latter two with an all-American team. He was raised to 10 goals in 1938 and, in 1994, was posthumously elected to the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame.

On 12 May, La Felisa, the home of Juan Carlos Harriott in Coronel Suárez, was destroyed by a fre. Despite the eforts of frefghters, accompanied by 18 fre engines, 50 years of polo history was consumed by fames, including 20 Argentine Open Cups. Juan Carlitos is currently living in his fat in Buenos Aires and planning to rebuild La Felisa.

In mid-May, the USPA again prevailed in its long-running trademark battle with the Ralph Lauren Corporation. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled that the USPA cannot be held in contempt for selling sunglasses with its distinctive Double Horsemen mark around the globe. This decision reversed a fnding of contempt by a lower-court judge and is the third federal court ruling in eight months to reject Ralph Lauren’s overly aggressive litigation tactics.

Chris Hyde was raised from a 9 to a 10 in the HPA-arena handicap meeting this spring. He is the frst British player to reach 10 goals in the arena, and he and American player Tommy Biddle are the highest rated in the arena in the world. Hyde had a very good 2014/2015 season, winning the Arena Gold Cup and the annual test match against Ireland at Hickstead as the captain of the English team.

As is well recorded, the frst organised game of polo in England took place on Hounslow Heath on 28 June 1870. Then, for a few short years, the epicentre of English polo was a small ground at Lillie Bridge, near Earl’s Court. However, the Hurlingham Club was already considering expansion to incorporate polo as well as pigeon shooting. The frst match was played on 6 June 1874 and the sport was so popular that, on 1 May 1875, the Hurlingham Club Committee published the frst ofcial rules of polo. y AU D I E N D S S P O N S O RS H I P Following an impressive 12-year term supporting polo, Audi has made the commercial decision not to renew its sponsorship of the England polo team, the Audi International Series and The Pony Club Polo Championships. ‘We are very proud to have been a significant supporter of polo in the UK for more than a decade,’ says Jon Zammett, head of PR for Audi UK. ‘We believe Audi has made a positive impact on the development and growing success of the England squad, as well as the sport as a whole, over the years. After a very consistent period of support, which began with visiting international team sponsorships as far back as 2002, Audi of course wishes the sport – including the HPA, with whom we have greatly enjoyed working – the very best of luck.’

Audi will continue to host its Audi Polo Challenge – a series of exclusive events that have raised more than £1.7m over the years for various charities supported by the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry. John Tinsley, who has been chairman of the HPA’s International Committee throughout Audi’s involvement in polo, says: ‘Audi has had a huge impact on the sport, particularly the England squad, which has been transformed in the past 10 years and has become the envy of all other countries. Its sponsorship of the Pony Club has been crucial to the development of our young players, and the Hurlingham Polo Association would like to thank Audi for its unstinting support.’

{A L A N C O R E Y The 3 April 2015 was a sad day for the international polo community. Alan Corey III, 73, who had been part of Aiken Polo Club for decades, was playing the first practice of the year when he collapsed after the fourth chukka, suffering a fatal heart attack.

On Aiken’s board of directors for more than 15 years, Alan had contributed hugely to the club and was a true ambassador for the sport.

He had grown up playing polo in Aiken and on Long Island and was from a distinguished polo family: his father, Alan Corey Jr, was a legendary 9-goal player who was inducted into the Museum of Polo Hall of Fame in 1992. Alan had polo in his blood, playing through his teenage years and going on to be a member of the intercollegiate team while studying at Yale.

After college, he entered the fast-paced world of Wall Street, but continued to pursue the sport. Playing off a 4-goal rating, he competed in both high- and low-goal polo at clubs up and down the East Coast of the USA.

He was a quick and clever player, with a sense of humour and a deep respect for the game and its traditions. Alan especially loved his horses and had a sincere regard for horsemanship and proper animal care and training.

He and his wife Pat moved to Aiken full time in the 1980s. There, he became indispensible to Aiken Polo Club in his role as player and director. He will be greatly missed by Aiken and, indeed, by the entire polo world.

Alan is survived by his wife, Patricia Ellis Corey, as well as his four children, two stepchildren and seven grandchildren. Pam Gleason

I started playing when I was 11 years old. I grew up on my mother’s family farm in Uruguay and used to play at the Rio Negro Polo Club at weekends. I was introduced to polo by my grandfather, David Stirling, who supplied me with horses.

I’m close to my cousin Pelón Stirling and have learnt a lot from him – and from Adolfo Cambiaso, the best player in the world.

I’m playing in the Sotogrande 12-goal season in June–July, and in August in the high-goal in Dubai with Rashuri, Adolfo Cambiaso and Facha Valent.

The final of the US Open in 2015, in which I was named MVP.

We started badly, losing early in the first two tournaments against Orchard Hill in the CV Whitney Cup and against Alegría in the Gold Cup. Cambiaso was injured at the start of the US Open, but returned to us for the quarter-finals, which helped us work better as a team. While Cambiaso was playing, I was in charge of taking the short penalties; luckily, the last one went through, though it was nail-bitingly close to the post.

Polo should be more popular, as it’s a great sport that anyone can practise at their own level. It would be great if some of the bigger tournaments had more TV coverage. Dolfina Caridad is a beautiful 15-year-old bay mare bred by Adolfo Cambiaso and owned by Valiente. Her parents are the Australian thoroughbred Karenza, and stallion Rainbow Corner. She first played with Mariano Aguerre for La Dolfina in the Argentine Open at the age of five. Cambiaso went on to play her in the Argentine Triple Crown and she then continued her career in the UK, where she was for many years Cambiaso’s best mare, receiving BPP in the 2010 Gold Cup.

Dolfina Caridad has been with Valiente in the USA for the past four years and we are very fortunate to have her in our breeding programme: her first offering, Dolfina Solidaria, has already played in the 2014 Argentine Triple Crown.

In 2014, Dolfina Caridad was awarded the Best Bred Argentine Polo Pony of the season, and was later named BPP in the 2014 US Open

Final. She is an incredibly dependable mare – an all-rounder in terms of speed, turning ability and temperament. She plays at a 9 every chukka – she may not be a 10, but she’s never a 7! A horse that performs so well in every chukka is priceless. A wonderful mare, she helped Valiente in our successful run to the 2015 US Open win, where she was played by Cambiaso. Bob Jornayvaz

{ LAWYERS POLO CUP IN BANGKOK The Lawyers Polo Association was founded on three main pillars: polo, law and friendship. Formed in 2008, it provides a unique opportunity for international polo-playing attorneys to convene, dine, swap stories, compete and, most importantly, to bond. ‘The idea was to create a networking event for lawyers around polo. It worked out very well – so well, in fact, that today the sportive and friendship spirit around Lawyers Polo has eclipsed its original objective,’ explains Eduardo Bérèterbide, club founder and attorney at Shearman & Sterling in Paris.

The club’s latest tournament took place in Bangkok from 16 to 21 March 2015. A total of six teams participated, with players flying in from all over the world. Matches took place on the topquality polo fields at VR Sports Club. In an exciting final on Saturday 21 March, King Power (led by Khun Tal Srivaddhanaprabha) won the 2015 Lawyers Polo Cup after defeating The Peninsula, 8–5. The second-place final was between Regent Law (fourth place) and Kerres Partners (third). Argentine lawyer Pablo Guiñazu, captain of The Peninsula, was awarded the MVP trophy.

‘We would like to thank our event manager, Carolina Bérèterbide, for the outstanding organisation of Lawyers Polo 2015, and our sponsors, King Power, The Peninsula Bangkok and La Martina. We also want to specially thank the Srivaddhanaprabha family, the Thailand Polo Association and Lucas Lujan for their invaluable assistance during the organisation of the tournament,’ said Bérèterbide.