SPOTLIGHT
Lance Anderson
Lance with Sophie at Epsom Polo Club
Words and pictures by Alex Kelly
South African born polo player, Lance Anderson, can regularly be seen galloping up and down some of the world’s finest polo fields, but he is also building a reputation for himself as an instructor at his home and base at the Epsom Polo Club. Alex Kelly went along to meet him and to find out what the future has in store for Lance. Match time at Epsom Polo Club
Lance with Pedro and Sophie at Epsom Polo Club
E
psom Polo Club in Surrey is home of the Great Meadow Polo field and the largest indoor Polo Arena in the South East of England and it is where 29-year- old, Lance Anderson is based. South African born Lance is a professional polo player, instructor and founder of LMA Polo. Having spent his formative years in Cape Town, Lance moved to the UK eleven years ago. He grew up around horses and polo (his step-father, Kevin Rixon and his siblings all play), but as a youngster his passion was rugby and he did not take up polo seriously until he was 17. Finding he had a talent for the fast-paced and adrenalin fuelled game he started playing regularly for his family team. In 2004 Lance was awarded Young Player of the Year, after competing in the Pony Club Gannon final. His professional career snowballed from there, now handicapped at a valuable three, he is in-demand as a freelancer and plays for a number of teams in both high and medium goal matches around the world. Career highlights so far for Lance include, helping Epsom Polo Club to win the Waterloo Cup and team Veuve Clicquot come out on top in the Bentley International. He often plays for the South African based, Val De Vie team and was part of the squad which finished runnersup in the Four Nations tournaments.
Polo & Pimms This season has been spent concentrating on his career as an instructor and overseeing the growth of LMA Polo’s reputation. Lance strongly believes that Polo should be more accessible and he aims, “to encourage people to try the game”. Despite Polo being for all ages, he is heartened to see an increase in younger people wishing to take up the game, very often being introduced via university teams. From complete beginners, to those wishing to improve their game, Lance offers lessons and an opportunity to ride some of his successful ponies in some practice chukkas. As LMA Polo’s Epsom home is within convenient reach of London their “Polo and Pimms” days are proving very popular for corporate events. 18 Localrider SEPTEMBER 2013
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