PT September2010

PT Cover 5.5mm

18/8/10

16:40

Page 1

Polo Times September 2010

PT Cover 5.5mm

19/8/10

15:23

Page 2

PTSept 2010 p2 - 3 contents YC GM

18/8/10

18:20

Page 3

Contents

POLO TIMES

Publisher Margie Brett margie@polotimes.co.uk Editor Yolanda Carslaw yolanda@polotimes.co.uk Deputy Editor James Mullan jamesmullan@polotimes.co.uk Art Editor James Wildman james@polotimes.co.uk Advertising Tom House tom@polotimes.co.uk Editorial assistant Georgie May georgie@polotimes.co.uk Marketing and PR PJ Seccombe pj@polotimes.co.uk Accounts Debbie Mason accounts@polotimes.co.uk Intern Sophia Heath sophia@polotimes.co.uk Contributors Michael Amoore, Carlos Beer, Andrew Dent, Antje Derks, Arthur Douglas-Nugent, Mark Emerson, Tony Emerson, Lorna Jowett, Clare Milford Haven, Jamie Peel, Brian Perry, Tony Ramirez, Mia Randall-Coath, Herbert Spencer, Caroline Stern, Carlie Trotter

Front cover The England team on Cartier International Day at Guards, by Tony Ramirez

22 Cartier International Day News 4

All the latest news

Comment 10 12 14 16 18

Backchat with Clare Milford Haven Herbert Spencer’s Global view Arthur Douglas-Nugent’s Umpire’s corner Letters: more of your strongly worded opinions Interview: JP and Nina Clarkin

Reports 22 28 36 40 42 45 46 48 50

Cartier Day: England beats New Zealand Pony Club Championships Warwickshire Cup at Cirencester Caribbeans in Calgary Goodwood Week: Harrison and Holden White Berkshire Polo Festival National Women’s Tournament at Ascot Heritage Cup at Sandhurst At home and abroad

Designed and typeset by Wildman Design – www.wildmandesign.co.uk

Features

Printed by Stones – Banbury, Oxfordshire

52 56

Mailers Jordan & Co – Witney, Oxfordshire

The knowledge

Subscription per annum UK £55 Europe & Ireland £65 Rest of the World £75 Subscribe at www.polotimes.co.uk

60 63 64 66 69 70 72 73 74 78

East End Farm, North Leigh Oxfordshire OX29 6PX Tel: 01993 886 885 Fax: 01993 882 660 email: admin@polotimes.co.uk © Polo Times Limited 2010 and Database Right 2010 Polo Times Limited holds the copyright & database right to the information it publishes in Polo Times and on the Polo Times website. No content may be reproduced or distributed without the consent of the Editor. ‘Polo Times’ is the trade ISSN 1461-4685 mark of Polo Times Limited.

Ex-racers that rule the roost Over 60s who play polo and love it

Playing around: Ascot Park Your game with Jamie Peel: handicaps Duty vet with Mark Emerson: wind sucking Pony power: Harry, the 41-year-old star Feeding with Lorna Jowett: ex-racers Gear: 15 of the best alpargatas Review: a Franglais guide to polo My Travels and As Mad as Polo Property: high-profile polo pads What’s on in September and club contacts

Out and about 80 98

11 pages of sideline activity A week in the life of OCdt Doug White

28 Pony Club champs

48&86 Vintage fun

52 Ex-racers www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 3

PTSept 2010 p4 -5 News JM YC

18/8/10

18:12

Page 2

News

from the Editor Congratulations to England on their win against New Zealand at the end of July: it rounded off a good year for the home team and provided by all accounts one of the best displays of high-goal action of this summer.

You can read all about it in Georgie May’s report on page 22; and on page 18 we interview NZ captain JP Clarkin and his wife Nina, England ladies’ captain, who leads a female squad at the FIP championships in Austria this month. Meanwhile in our news pages we look behind the scenes at the England team’s organisation. We seem to have easily the most sophisticated approach to our national squad of any polo-playing country, so I’m not surprised – as James Mullan discovers on page six – that the likes of Australia and New Zealand are eager to know how we’ve built the system.

Looking back on another UK summer – though of course there’s still a good month to go – I’m still confused about the impact of the recession on polo. To over-simplify this, on the one hand numbers taking part in Pony Club (see page 28) are down; on the other the number of clubs continues to rise and the memory of 20 Gold Cup teams remains fresh. HPA figures for numbers of registered players hit an all-time high in 2008 with more than 3,200; in 2009 there were around 3,000 and this year there are about 2,950.

We have nearly 70 clubs – the most ever. Yet to make a living as a two- or three-goal player, I am told, is a serious struggle. Can anyone shed light on a pattern here?

Finally, I hope you will have spotted that our Letters page has been getting livelier every month this year, reflecting strong views among PT readers on plenty of pressing issues. This month in particular, feelings are running high towards the end of a provocative season (see page 16). Keep ’em coming: we’ll always print the goodies – provided they’re not libellous, of course. We think it’s vital that everyone who loves polo has somewhere they can speak their minds – where the “powers that be” as well as the general polo world will read what you say with interest. If you can be brave enough to put your name at the bottom, as most people now do (see our publisher’s letter and our cartoon), even better!

Yolanda Carslaw

4 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

A shortage of hay and rising diesel costs could make wintering a horse three times more expensive than usual

Hay prices rocket as winter approaches “Winterers” who do not have their own supply AN EXTRAORDINARILY DRY spring and early are even more concerned. Guards polo manager summer this year has left hay and haylage stocks in danger of running low. This, combined with rising Oliver Ellis is going to try to winter only 40 or 50 ponies rather than 70 at his base in Sussex. Oliver diesel costs, means hay prices are already soaring commented: “Everyone is in the same boat, but and the UK polo world appears to be heading for there are an awful lot of horses out there and they an expensive winter. have to go somewhere.”

In 2010 the UK has reportedly experienced its Hampshire-based player Aurora Eastwood said, driest first six months of the year since 1929. The “I have no choice but to put up my livery prices as result is simply that not as much grass grew, so not as much hay and haylage has been made. The it is going to cost me three times as much to winter a horse. I have just other problem is that, with “A large haylage bale been quoted £50 for a the lack of grass growth, this time last year cost large haylage bale, which some people are already this time last year cost me substituting their ponies’ me £15. Now it’s £50” £15.” This appears to be grazing with hay or – Aurora Eastwood a familiar story. haylage. Therefore, winter Rosemary Gibson-Miller, who winters ponies supplies are being depleted, leading to a possible and makes hay on her 1,250 acres of Surrey further shortage. grassland, says: “Normally we’d have hay for sale Alan James, a hay and straw contractor in the all winter but this year, apart from our own stocks, south-west, has directly experienced this lack of it’s all promised. Stables who are on the ball have growth. This year the firm was only able to take already pre-ordered. This winter could be tough.” one cut of hay instead of its usual two, meaning Ian Ashbridge, business editor for Farmers direct customers suffered a price rise and the firm has no surplus to sell.

Weekly, commented: “People will have to accept Polo folk who make their own haylage are that first-quality hay will be much harder to get experiencing similar problems. Vivian Evens, who hold of, and will to have to accept second-quality winters 150 horses in Hampshire, is in the and still pay a higher price for it. It’s simple fortunate position of making his own haylage. But economics and there is a genuine problem with this year he was only able to make 1,500 bales supply and demand.” instead of the normal 2,200. As a result, all of the ◗ How will you and your ponies cope this winter? haylage will have to be used for the horses, while Have hay prices gone through the roof where you his other livestock will be fed oat-straw and are? Tell us at letters@polotimes.co.uk molasses supplement.

PTSept 2010 p4 -5 News JM YC

18/8/10

18:13

Page 3

Umpires call for ‘the Deauville rule’

News in brief

AN EXTREME RULE designed to stamp out “backchat” players in defence “slowing the game” by turning the on the field is being considered by the HPA having ball and retaining possession instead of making a been adopted by Deauville in France. The club, where backhand pass to a team-mate. The new the 20-goal Coupe d’Or was taking place as Polo interpretation was copied from Argentina after a Times went to press this month, operates a rule “treatise” by experienced and outspoken Argentine whereby the best player on a team is sent off if any player Javier Tanoira picked apart the current rules. team accumulates three technicals in a match.

“We have to refine the rule on turning,” says HPA chief umpire Robert Graham says: “This is under Robert. “It seems unfair that logical plays, particularly consideration in the UK, and David Woodd [HPA chief positive, attacking plays, are being blown. If a player executive] is keen we should get as close to zero is going across the field and wants to cut the ball to tolerance as we realistically can. It’s fairly radical but goal, and the person behind knows this is what we’d like to see an end to the talk-back, which is a they’re going to do, that shouldn’t be a foul. Indeed, particular problem in high-goal tournaments.” towards the end of the season, we have already been In Deauville a team is awarded the technical for saying that if a person cuts it but doesn’t slow down bad behaviour or backchat, rather than an individual. we should let it go.

On the third technical, the highest-handicapped “We also need to blow turning left, as they do in player is sent off for the following chukka. the US, where you can’t turn either way. I’m told that Umpire Julian Appleby, who introduced the rule in in low-goal and Pony Club people think you can turn Deauville with Nick Williams two years ago, would like to the left and shove the ball towards someone who’s to see the rule in the UK. “It has worked very well in ‘in the way’ to ‘force’ a foul, but this is unfair. Overall, Deauville, but this has been down to consistency – we need to make the game quieter and faster.” there are two of us umpiring in Deauville but there are many umpires during the UK season. I’m not sure ◗ Give us your readers’ views on the rules in time for how the HPA will do it, but what is most important is next month, by writing to letters@polotimes.co.uk that it is made clear what exactly is a technical and what isn’t; everyone has a different level of tolerance.”

Another member of the pro umpire group, Peter Wright, follows up Appleby’s point. “I’m all for it; anything that makes our job easier is great, as long as we are consulted,” he says. “One thing they do not have in Deauville is the yellow card system; if the HPA introduce this new rule they’d need to keep the yellow card rule in place as well – Deauville needs to introduce it.”

The issue is likely to be under consideration by the HPA this month when its Umpire and Rules Committee meets on 28 September.

A major point of debate will be the interpretation of the rule on turning to the Action from Deauville in 2008, when rules on technical fouls for right, which was designed to prevent backchat were introduced, to good effect, which the UK is considering

◗ GET CLICKING and get winning by entering

Polo Times’s inaugural amateur Polo Photo Competition. There are six potential categories to enter: Best Overall, Best Action, Best People, Best Horses, and Best Junior (under 21). Prizes up for grabs include Olympus’s most powerful ultra-zoom compact camera (the SP-800UZ), lessons and prints from three leading professional photographers, and a case boutique champagne from Soutiran.

Email your best photos, with a 30-word caption for each and the categories they should be considered for, to competition@polotimes.co.uk. Photos only need to be over 500KB (not 500MB as was incorrectly stated in the last magazine). The photo must have been taken between 1 July and 31 December 2010, when entries close. ◗ MARKETING FIRM Polo America is looking

to set a world record for the “longest polo game” in a “Dawn to Dusk Chukka Challenge” in Aiken, South Carolina, on 6 November, writes Herbert Spencer.

Randy Russell of Polo America announced that the first of 30 regulation chukkas will start at Storm Branch Equestrian Club at 8am and that play will go on until 7pm. The day will involve 60 amateur and professional players and 240 ponies.

Russell said the event hopes to raise at least $250,000 (£156,500) for America’s Wounded Warriors Program and the Morale, Welfare and Recreation service at Fort Gordon, a big US Army base near Aiken.

WANT TO LOOK AT a back issue of Polo Times? Or has someone pinched your current issue? If you’re a subscriber, wherever you are in the world, you can read our online editions, including more than a year of archives, by logging on at www.polotimes.co.uk. If you’ve lost your password, email georgie@polotimes.co.uk

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 5

PTSept 2010 p6 - 7 News GM YC JM

18/8/10

18:13

Page 2

News AIMING HIGH

SOUTH AFRICA: the HPA is sending a 22-goal England side to compete against South Africa in a Test match at Kurland, Plettenburg Bay, on 30 December.

PRESS & TV COVERAGE: polo has featured strongly in the mainstream media in the second half of the summer, with a colourful six-page supplement in the FT Weekend, a buoyant beginners’ article in The Guardian and a Channel 4 documentary on Amish children set at Kirtlington Park. Also recently confirmed was the Argentine Open on British television for the first time, to appear on Horse & Country TV (Sky 280) this winter.

JOHN KENT: the 18-year-old Cowdray player won his fourth Gannon title in a row last month. See page 28.

LONDONERS: Ascot Park will once again take polo ponies and instructors to the heart of the big smoke this month as part of the annual Regent Street Summer Festival (26 September), where the public can try the game for free.

LEARNERS & IMPROVERS: Hugh Dawnay’s highly recommended instructional book Playmaker Polo has been reprinted due to popular demand.

SWINGING LOW

20-GOAL POLO: Since the end of the Warwickshire Cup, which enjoyed a healthy entry of eight teams, there has been bad news for 20-goal tournament organisers, with the Beaufort 20-goal and the Cowdray Park Challenge Cup cancelled because of a lack of interest.

PICTET FAMILY: Sacha and Fabian Pictet have each suffered injuries ruling them out of action for the 15th Hublot Polo Gold Cup in Gstaad, just getting underway as PT went to press.

RAGWORT: Agriculture minister Jim Paice raised the issue of the dangers posed by common ragwort to horses last month, and recommended that landowners, conservation and community groups work together to control the spread, by looking out for the toxic yellow-petalled weed.

THIEVES: following the news in the August issue about website www.its beennicked.co.uk, this month news broke of the launch of the National Equestrian Crime Database, which has been given approval and funding after two years in development. The database aims to deter criminals by making stolen equestrian items harder to sell on.

6 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Something English worth envying THE GOVERNING BODIES of the Australian and New Zealand polo teams have approached the main men behind England’s international side to enquire about forming similar set-ups to support their own national squads.

England has picked its sides and has paid its players and coaches through an official HPA-funded and Audi-sponsored system for six years.

Now, with a broadly successful summer behind the squad, and the recent announcement that Englishman Satnam Dhillon will play off seven goals next season, the extent to which the country’s infrastructure is envied overseas has come to light.

“There have been considerable advantages to forming the official England squad in 2004,” explains Andrew Tucker, England’s chef d’équipe. “First, having that infrastructure allowed us to establish an extra two Test matches a season [at Cowdray and Beaufort], which has given our side more opportunities to play together in four-man polo.

“Second, there’s added exposure for sponsors, which has helped encourage key players like Audi and Crew to form strong links with the squad, where in the past the team’s sponsorship was constantly in a state of transition.

“Third, having a squad that benefits the players gives another incentive for new players coming through the ranks to aspire to.

“Finally, having structured training sessions, more high-profile official internationals and a budget for games overseas has given greater prominence to the national side, as is the case in other sports. This has put the team and its matches at the top of polo’s newsreels, making it one of the game’s primary vehicles for promoting polo to wider audiences.”

Andrew Tucker’s responsibilities relate principally to sponsorship, PR and logistics, taking that pressure away from the team entirely so each player can simply focus on playing. Also charged in recent years with the smooth and professional running of the

strengths and weaknesses. We also sit down for regular DVD sessions, where we look at our games and identify mistakes.

“It was helpful this year to have the tapes from our contest with New Zealand in February. It gave us a real starting point for forming the right tactics to beat them at the Cartier.”

Hine is responsible for reviewing the success of each season alongside Fernandez Araujo and team captain Luke Tomlinson. Next year they will have the difficult decision regarding whether to pick Satnam Dhillon. His new handicap rates him higher than six-goaler Malcolm Borwick. However,

“No England player is guaranteed his place. Each is picked on form and in order to create the right balance in the side” – England manager, Andrew Hine

side is former England captain and now manager Andrew Hine, whose main focus is on horse logistics, organising practice sessions and supporting the team’s coach and tactican, Milo Fernandez Araujo.

“I arrange it so there are always at least two proper practices before each international,” says Hine. “This means finding tough opposition and this year, for the first time, we even put the team up against a side including Milo, so he could gain another perspective on their

should the coaches pick the best four players, or the best “team” to face each specific opposition? Are they obliged to pick Dhillon now?

“Of course we consider handicaps,” says Hine. “But the priority is to pick the best combinations, with the best chance of victory, so no one is guaranteed their place on handicaps alone. We want the right blend and balance that gives us our best chance against specific opposition.

“The results this year look better

Austria approaches ENGLAND’S ALL-FEMALE challengers are busy gearing up for the FIP European Polo Championships (2-12 September) in Austria. They are the only all-female team entered at Polo Club Schloss Ebreichsdorf, and the first the 8-goal competition has ever seen. Team captain Nina Clarkin believes they have a good chance of victory (see page 18).

The squad was originally made up of a shortlist of 10 Schloss Ebreichsdorf near Vienna, where England’s ladies players and, as Polo Times went to press, the players due will be in the minority at the FIP European Championships to represent England will be Clarkin (4), Emma Tomlinson head out at the end of August ready for their first game on (2), Tamara Vestey (2) and Clare Milford Haven (0). Flying Friday 3 September, against Slovakia.” out as reserve is 0-goaler Claire Brougham, as well as The other countries taking part are Austria, France, Bobby Dundas as Clarkin’s back-up.

Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Spain and “We [the HPA] have partly funded the trip, while Clare Switzerland. England has been drawn in a group with Milford Haven has funded transport for the players and Austria, Italy, Slovakia and Spain. ponies,” said David Woodd. “The players are playing their A full report will feature in our October issue. own ponies, instead of borrowing them, and were due to

PTSept 2010 p6 - 7 News GM YC JM

18/8/10

18:14

Page 3

England coach Milo Fernandez Araujo and manager Andrew Hine with the England Polo Team on Cartier International Day (l-r: James Beim, Mark Tomlinson, Malcolm Borwick and Luke Tomlinson) and Jon Zammett of official sponsor Audi

than last, largely because the opposition were more realistic. That was the main difference.

“However, though the selected team for Cartier Day this summer was the same as the one beaten convincingly

by Argentina in 2009, we did look at other options and combinations.

“For example, we gave a trial to four-goaler Max Routledge, which shows that handicaps are by no means the only selection factor.

Malcolm kept his place on the basis of his form in the Gold Cup. He made the semi-final and was the second top scorer in the whole competition, so he was there on merit. But the side is always under discussion.

“One factor which can be decisive is how capable we think a player is of adapting to unfamiliar horses, especially when we are playing

overseas. All our top pros are wellmounted at home and are wellconnected and knowledgeable when it comes to finding backup and rental horses, but when we go away it is important players are able to cope quickly on strange horses.

“Though there is an emergency horse budget for these games to help us top-up our horse lists, the players people are most happy to lend horses to are also those who make themselves pickable.

“One of my biggest tasks is then communicating with those players that don’t get picked.

“There are half-a-dozen other players currently knocking at the door to the international team, so my job is to explain to them that they are still very much on our radar and the reasons why they missed out. Selection

at the moment is difficult, but it’s a good problem to have.”

Andrew Tucker reports that discussion is underway about moving to play all three internationals against the same country, rather like a Test series in cricket. It could be played over several handicaps and could help encourage American players to play the UK high-goal season.

Andrews Hine and Tucker and the HPA now must decide how much advice to divulge to the intrigued antipodeans that want to set up a similar infrastructure.

“I’m sure we will try and help them,” says Tucker. “It will be good for the sport and will help ensure good relations with both Australia and New Zealand, who we already play regularly and whose players are regulars in the UK high- and medium-goal.”

High-end polo homes go on sale SEVERAL MAJOR POLO properties have been launched to the market this month in the UK and beyond. Two Trees Farm in New York state, where Bridgehampton Polo Club is based, has an asking price of US$75m (£48m) through Sotheby’s. The property, which belongs to real estate magnate David Walentas, includes two polo grounds, two houses and eight grooms’ apartments.

Devereaux Farm in Australia, currently owned by former Geebung patron Rick Stowe, has put his sprawling polo and cattle estate on the market for AUS$68m (£36m), through Savills. The 20-room main house is set in 6,104 acres. Millamolong East – part of the late James Ashton’s Millamolong estate – is another Australian property for sale. It is set in 4,482 acres and will be auctioned by Meares and Associates on 30 September.

In the UK, spectacular Cowdray House is on the market for £25m (see p74). Graffham Court (£10m, JacksonStops and Staff), next door to Cowdray Park’s Ambersham grounds, is an equestrian property with its own stick and ball ground and grand main house (see p76).

Cowdray House (£25m) is among polo properites for sale

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 7

PTSept 2010 p8 - 9 News JM YC.qxp

18/8/10

18:18

Page 2

News News in brief ◗ DISCIPLINARY ACTION WAS taken against a

player during the Pony Club Polo Championships in August. Tom Small, playing for the Vine Hunt in the Rendell section, was banned from playing in the rest of the championships after using “foul language” towards another player following a game.

Although the team did not reach the finals, they had to find a replacement to play the remaining games on the Saturday and Sunday.

The HPA has not had to discipline anyone heavily this season. Little Bentley in Essex took out its own disciplinary action against an Argentine player after he used excessive whip. ◗ THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL Polo Academy on

English soil, supported by Virgin Galactic, was underway as PT went to press. Following the success of two academies run in Argentina and Russia, 16 young students, including two Russian siblings, were undergoing five days of intensive training at Hurtwood Park. A team of coaching staff, including six-goal player Roddy Williams, high-goal umpire Roddy Mathews and fitness coach Winston Squires, has been brought in to help develop the young athletes.

Discover more in PT’s October issue. ◗ RLS POLO CLUB in Warwickshire is hosting

its own Polo in the Park event (nothing to do with Daniel Fox-Davies's London venture) on 19 September. The day has run for the past five years and this year it hopes to attract more than 5,000 spectators as 18 teams contest two tournaments. Alongside the polo there will also be a jousting display by the Knights of Middle England, a bouncy castle and plenty of trade stands. For more information, telephone 01926 812409. ◗ THE FOURTH VEUVE Clicquot Beach Polo on

Watergate Bay takes place this month, when 3,000 spectators are expected to watch two teams play an exhibition match of arena polo on the evening of 16 September. Contact Claire Davies on 01637 861239 for more.

8 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Latest from the HPA HPA chief executive David Woodd rounds up the news from UK polo’s headquarters Home nations victories Thank you to all those who played and produced ponies for Cartier International Day at Guards and congratulations to England for their victory over New Zealand 9-7.

Congratulations must also go to Young England, who beat Young New Zealand 6-2 for the John Cowdray Trophy a week beforehand at Cowdray Park Polo Club on Gold Cup final day.

See page 22 for Cartier details. The lineups for the Young Internationals were as follows: Young England (13): Jack Richardson 3; Max Charlton 4; Lanto Sheridan 3; Eden Ormerod 3 Young New Zealand (13): Mikey Henderson 4; Angus McKelvie 4; Glen Sheriff 3; Charlie Wood 2

Annual award for young talent This year’s Ferguson Trophy for the HPA’s best young player has been awarded to three-goaler Ollie Cudmore.

England in European Champs The following players have been selected to represent England at the FIP 8-Goal European Championships in

Vienna in Austria this month, 3-12 September: Nina Clarkin (Capt), Tamara Vestey, Emma Tomlinson and Claire Milford Haven.

Bobby Dundas will travel as a reserve for Nina, and zero-goaler Claire Brougham will step in should there be an injury to any of the others.

Meetings and courses End-of-season handicap changes will be decided on Monday 13 September. Changes from the meetings will be made public as soon as they are confirmed by the committee but please note that all handicaps are subject to endorsement by Stewards and that changes to handicaps can still be made for any player still playing up until the end of the season. As usual, they become effective from 1 January 2011.

The club chief umpires’ meeting and umpire grading meeting will be held on Wednesday 8 September at RCBPC. The club chiefs will meet at 11am, with the umpire grading meeting to be held afterwards.

There will be a three-day coaching course this month, due to take place at Beaufort Polo Club from 22-24 September (Wednesday to Friday).

UK high-goal set for changes WORD HAS REACHED PT of a number of dramatic changes to established teams in next year’s UK highgoal, though many are still be absolutely confirmed.

We're reliably informed, however, that Gold and Queen's Cup winners Dubai will field Lucas Criado and Ollie Cudmore alongside Adolfo Cambiaso next year.

Cambiaso’s 2010 team-mate Pablo MacDonough will play for Ahmibah, which returns to the scene with Bahar Jefri of Brunei, reportedly fielding young English pro Max Routledge and Argentine Alejandro Muzzio.

Lyndon Lea's Zacara, we understand, is taking on Hilario Ulloa and Nachi du Plessis, while longtime Zacara player Javier Novillo Astrada moves to Sumaya, pairing up with Juan Gris Zavaleta.

Marcos Heguy has retired from UK high-goal, selling his ponies to a patron, and in place of him and brother Bautista for Azzurra (in 2010 renamed Piaget) comes the trio of Cristian Laprida, Joaquin Pittaluga and Ignacio Toccalino.

Juan Martin Nero moves to Enigma – James Beim and Malcolm Borwick have parted with the French patron Jerome Wirth – making way for his brother Agustin in Loro Piana, who will play with Lucas James.

Milo Fernandez Araujo will play for Talandracas, we are told, with Lucas Monteverde; Guillermo Terrera, a longtime face in the team, is off. Ellerston, we understand, have delayed their comeback until 2012; both Pieres brothers remain with La Bamba for 2011.

PTSept 2010 p8 - 9 News JM YC.qxp

18/8/10

18:19

Page 3

The end of a life-long union? Castagnola and Cambiaso will part company in 2011

Serious shake-up in prospect for 2011 Argie Triple Crown WHILE WE SHOULD be firing up for the final countdown for the 2010 Triple Crown, everybody in Buenos Aires and the surrounding polo areas is already talking almost exclusively about what will happen in 2011, writes Carlos Beer.

That's because rumours are rife of some remarkable high-goal team line-up changes that have already been agreed for after this year’s Argentine Open. And these rumours have sent a tsunami of chatter through the polo world.

These suggest that Adolfo Cambiaso’s La Dolfina side will recruit Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martín Nero to join the world number one and this year’s new boy, David “Pelon” Stirling. They will replace Bartolomé Castagnola and Lucas Monteverde. They are dramatic for two reasons: first, most anticipate that the new line-up would be virtually unbeatable and, second, it goes against two family bonds.

The first such bond is between Adolfo Cambiaso and Bartolomé “Lolo” Castagnola, who have played together since they were boys, and are brothersin-law since Lolo married Cambiaso’s sister Camila. They began high-goal together for Ellerstina in 1996, and won Palermo the two following years. With La Dolfina the pair has since won the Argentine Open in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009.

Another family connection set to break is between Pablo MacDonough and his cousins, the Pieres brothers.

Gonzalito and Facundo are reportedly set to call up younger brother Nicolás, with both MacDonough and Juan Martín Nero making way. Nero’s contract with Ellerstina expires this year, and MacDonough played this season’s UK high-goal (to great success) with Cambiaso and is now apparently in search of fresh air.

Polo Times loves… …flag-themed polo helmets, in the month when 10 European nations meet for the FIP European Championships in Vienna (2-12 Sept, see page 6).

The hats are custom-made in Argentina for UK-based luxury polo and leather goods specialists Pampeano (www.pampeano.co.uk), which takes custom-orders. If a flag doesn’t appeal, you can have instead team colours, the pattern of your choice or even your company colours and logo. Text can be added and a mock-up of what the helmet will look like is sent for approval pre-production.

It remains to be seen whether participants at the FIP showdown arrive in coordinated flag-emblazoned hats: PT wonders if a fashion-conscious nation such as Italy might go in for this. Hats take three weeks to order and cost £135-155 for a canvas cover or £155-175 for leather. For beauty on a budget, or if you’ve just invested in new headgear a “pampa band” (£6) is also available.

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 9

PTSept 2010 p10-11 CMH YC PJ

17/8/10

16:51

Page 2

Comment Backchat With amateur player Clare Milford Haven, from the saddle and the sidelines

Why the AB demographic has plenty of pluses for polo team managers/chefs d’équipes, not to mention wives, girlfriends, children and nannies. Midhurst is once again a sleepy town and the the lanes and roads around it are a safer place to drive along again.

Was it all it was cranked up to be this year with 20 teams in the mix and bigger crowds than ever watching even the quarter-finals? Many would rightly

T

A SUNNY MONTH OF MAS O MENOS So the Gold Cup high-goal circus has left town along with its entourage of sports therapists, personal trainers,

10 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

‘

with justifications of saving horses for the more important games and enabling a better draw and others slamming it as downright boring and unsportsmanlike.

Regardless, those who had had enough polo headed off to “Glassonbury” (see page nine, July issue), the alternative rock festival organised on the back of an envelope

The danger of “mass marketing” polo is that it loses its appeal and becomes vulnerable to commercial opportunists

Were the recent FT supplement’s highend ads at odds somewhat with its “polo for all” stories?

praise the quantity of teams along with the quality of play, but for others the games were distinctly “mas o menos”.

The end result of Dubai winning the “double” was perhaps a predictable climax to a wonderfully sunny month of games.

Polo pundits pondered the merits/demerits of the new rule (did it now slow the game down more as players just turned the ball to the left instead of to the right?) and muttered about match fixing – some defending it

‘

he Financial Times ran a special six-page supplement on polo (www.ft.com/polo) with the heading “Game of kings takes a shot at the mass market” trying to put across the point that polo is making strides towards appealing to a “wider audience” and “making it accessible to people who would not normally attend matches”.

Interspersed with the editorial were large half-page advertisements for luxury watch brands, a top-of-the-range international car company and fine art.

Hardly mass market. Personally, I feel there is a danger of trying to make polo into something it simply isn’t.

Polo is essentially an aspirational game on all levels and it fits well with brands needing blanket exposure to an affluent AB audience – luxury labels, private banking and so on. It’s very unlikely that “mass market” brands would want to get involved in polo and if they did it would only diminish the magic and idealistic position the sport presently holds.

By all accounts Polo in the Park, attracting 32,000 spectators, has been a commercially successful venture with its food markets, jousting, cheerleaders and stunt riders but it is not presenting polo in its pure form – it’s a bit like selling a cartoon rather than a Canaletto.

The danger of “mass marketing” polo is that it loses its appeal and it becomes vulnerable to commercial opportunists who have their own best interests in mind rather than the best interests of the sport.

A couple of recent polo “event organisers” have simply run off with funds or not paid bills and it would be a shame if polo fell victim to evasive exploitation rather than ethical enterprise.

by James Glasson, Henry Brett and Ruki Bailleau. Everyone said it was by far the best party of the season and far better value than the International after-party held by Chinawhite, which stung you for £100 before you even bought a “Jack and Coke”. F Read Clare’s Backchat columns in our online archive. Subscribers can access current and back issues with their personal login. Contact georgie@polotimes.co.uk if you need to track down your password.

PTSept 2010 p10-11 CMH YC PJ

17/8/10

16:51

Page 3

PTSept 2010 p12-13 Herbert YC PJ

17/8/10

16:59

Page 2

Comment Global view With Herbert Spencer, who has been following polo around the world for 40 years

Why catching the family fanaticos is a tough prospect only six six-goalers. Argentina has – count ‘em – more than 75.

Why am I throwing all these handicap statistics at you? It’s simply to emphasise what everybody knows, that Argentina is miles ahead in the highhandicaps stakes. About as many miles ahead as an East African star athlete is in the London Marathon, leaving a charity runner dressed as a banana far behind in his wake.

So what gives Argentina such a massive lead? People talk about the

I

12 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

‘

Of the top 30 professionals ranked by the World Polo Tour (international rankings based upon major tournaments played in and won), 26 are from Argentina and more than half of those come from five families: Novillo Astrada, Heguy, Pieres, MacDonough and Merlos.

Look further down the AAP’s list of players handicapped at six goals and above, add a few more famous family names such as Araya and Laprida and you’ll see where I’m coming from. Genes play no part in the development of polo

Hanut said any player with talent and dedication can get to five, but needs to do much more to go higher. England and the US each have six six-goalers. Argentina has more than 75

‘

was intrigued to read in last month’s magazine the long-range crystalballing of the future state of English polo by Simon Tomlinson, chairman of the HPA’s Development Committee, which is responsible for bringing new talent into the sport.

In 10 years, Simon says, England aims to be able to field a 30-goal national team of players all under 25 years of age. He didn’t predict what their individual handicaps might be, nor did he hazard a guess which higher-handicapped older English players might be about then. But the maths of a 30-goal team indicate that in 2020 England would have to have developed players handicapped at least at eight goals.

The fact is, England can already field a 30-goal team by calling upon their three seven-goalers (four come January) plus nine-goaler Eduardo Novillo Astrada from Argentina who was born in London and holds a UK passport. How much better can England get in the next decade?

The US currently ranks a bit better in the high handicap stakes. US citizen players listed by the US Polo Association (USPA) include one nine-goaler, three eights and four sevens.

And Argentina? What can one say? The Asociación Argentina de Polo (AAP) list of homegrown players includes 11 ninegoalers, 18 eights and 40 sevens – not to mention all the world’s eight 10-goalers (discounting the one Brazilian, strangely listed as a 10-goaler by Brazil only).

The late Rao Raja Hanut Singh of Jodhpur, an astute nine-goaler, once told me that any player with a degree of talent and dedication should be able to achieve a five-goal handicap, but needs to do much more to go higher.

To get just one goal higher, to six, seems a struggle for anyone outside Argentina. England and the US each have

players, to the extent that they do in the breeding of Argentine polo ponies that also dominate the market. A polo player is made not born. But families do count.

An aspiring player has a massive headstart if his grandfather, father, brothers, uncles and cousins are or were high-goalers, as is the case in so many Argentine families.

It’s unlikely that the more urbanised societies of the UK and the US will ever be able to catch up with agrarian Argentina in producing so many higher handicapped polo players. F ◗ Do you agree? Is there hope for aspiring Predicting the handicaps of players in the future: is it realistic or rash?

country’s agricultural economy, in which the horse has played such a part, and about all those thousands of horses from which polo ponies can be made, all that open land, and all those hundreds of polo grounds. Some think a hungrier work ethic – polo can be a good earner in this country of lower wages – has played a part. But I think it’s more about family opportunities.

players who don’t have fathers, uncles and grandfathers in the game? Which player has done best without a “polo heritage”?

Tell us at letters@polotimes.co.uk Read past Global Views in our online archive. Subscribers can access current and back issues with their personal login. Contact georgie@polotimes.co.uk if you’ve lost your password.

PTSept 2010 p12-13 Herbert YC PJ

17/8/10

16:59

Page 3

PTSept 2010 p14-15 Umpire YC PJ

17/8/10

16:43

Page 2

Comment Umpire’s corner With Arthur Douglas-Nugent, deputy chief umpire for the HPA

When a snapshot sums up a phenomenon to hit the ball into a melee and follow the line in the almost certain knowledge that a penalty in his favour will ensue.

Why does a player who is clear near the boards hook up and let the shoal of players past and then make his way tapping towards goal with the shoal in his path? He could cut or pull the ball towards the centre, but with no player in front of him the chance of exacting a penalty is lost.

Photograph by Rory Merry

T

WHEN THE WHISTLE AWAITS On other points raised in the July issue of Polo Times it would seem we have made some progress in changing rules and being stricter in the interpretation thereof, but the HPA and umpires can only do so much; it is up to players to play the sort of polo we yearn to watch.

Somehow we have to make it advantageous to play open polo with the long hit replacing the tap and dribble. The worst aspect is the dribble to goal, which draws in the exasperated defender, who fouls, leading to a Penalty 2. Can we say that any cross within the 60-yard area if the attacker is moving slower than a canter will not be blown? In every game I’ve seen, as a melee of players approaches goal I have waited for a whistle followed by a foul awarded to the attackers and I have rarely been disappointed. This encourages a player

14 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

IDEAS ON TRIAL Other ideas, some of which have been trialled at the Berkshire, have been discussed within the Pro Umpire Group.

These include a hit instead of a throw-in if the ball goes out over the sidelines; all penalties to be one hit (particularly the 5b: the tapped penalty nearly always breaks down into a melee); redefining the “onetap” to include scrapping the let-out

‘

‘

he excitement of the Gold Cup is but a memory revived by some telling coverage in the last issue.

Apart from the letter from my lifelong friend Hugh Dawnay, the most telling of all was the picture of Cambiaso making a point to Julian Appleby, which illustrates what is meant by a picture being worth a thousand words.

Throughout the season the Pro Umpire Group has been constantly reminded of the Cambiaso effect; his ability not only to bamboozle the players, which is probably fair enough, but also the umpires. And here we see him in action: the body language is terrific – “What, me?” – and Julian Appleby's response with the raised hand: “I am not interested in what you have to say”.

But the damage is done, as the opposing team see him working the umpires, who have to be superhuman not to be influenced by a barrage of well mannered but subliminal abuse. This behaviour is not limited to one player: nearly all are using the technique, but some are less subtle.

As a melee of players approaches goal I have waited for a whistle followed by a foul awarded to the attackers This picture, reprinted from our Gold Cup report in the last issue, depicts an alltoo-familiar scene

clause which allows a player being ridden off to tap as often as he likes; adopting the Argentine rule allowing a player to hook a backhander as long as his opponent's stick head is below the shoulder; and to delete the rule which allows the captain of a team to ask for clarification about a particular foul as this is an open invitation to him and indeed others to query the decision. F Read past editions of Umpire’s Corner in our online archive. Contact georgie@ polotimes.co.uk if you need your password.

Play goes on until the whistle blows…

This month’s puzzle When does the clock stop during a chukka?

This may seem an easy enough question but it is included in the current Rules Test and more than 50 per cent get it wrong!

Last month’s solution A player is being ridden off and at the same time another opponent hooks his stick. Is this a foul?

Rather surprisingly, no. The rule states: “A player may hook legitimately the stick of an opponent at the same time as the opponent is being ridden off by a team mate.”

PTSept 2010 p14-15 Umpire YC PJ

17/8/10

16:43

Page 3

Passion for Polo

Polo School

Schools and Uni Polo

Corporate

Polo Holidays

Breeding

Polo Team

Polo Gear

Lodge

Comprehensive polo services Argentina

USA

England

Open all year

Open all year

Open all year

Locations – 25 de Mayo & Pilar

Locations – Atlanta

Polo Holidays

Polo School & Clinics

Locations – Lacey Green Polo Club, Kirtlington Polo Club & Fifield Polo Club

Polo School & Clinics

Pony Hire

Tournaments

Livery

Lodge

Tournaments

Golf, fishing,

Polo Management

Corporate Days

Corporate Days

Horse Sale

Horse Sale

+54 911 5180 1759

+1 770 330 1459

Polo School & Clinics Pony Hire Livery Tournaments Polo Management Corporate Days Horse Sale +44 7947 725 305 + 44 7946 360 569

mfdarritchon@lamariposapolo.com.ar

www.lamariposapolo.com.ar

PTSept 2010 p16-17 letters YC PJ

17/8/10

16:50

Page 2

Comment Your views

Letter of the month Handicaps: let’s challenge the shibboleths

Letters letters@polotimes.co.uk or The Editor, Polo Times, East End Farm, North Leigh, Oxon OX29 6PX Please include your postal address or nearest town on all Letters to the Editor

Young players need a better example than the world’s best

I am on the SUPA committee and have been playing polo for a number of years. I am concerned that our young players will not get the best out of their opportunities. I would like to raise three points in your excellent magazine.

First, the new or amended rule on not turning the ball to the right. This has resulted in a significant improvement in the game at all levels. The HPA is to be congratulated. But it now needs fine-tuning. Players are turning the ball to the left, so keeping control but slowing the game down, which the “new” rule was meant to eradicate. Teams that use backhanders, as seen in the International at Windsor (in both games) make polo marvellous to watch and much more fun to play. The umpiring differs from club to club on the rule’s interpretation, but that is being ironed out thanks to HPA umpires going around the clubs.

Second, intimidation of umpires, as seen in the semi-final (second game) and final of the Gold Cup. To see the greatest player in the world galloping up and haranguing the umpires is not on.

There are young future players watching and what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander!

Third, why can’t we have more British players in high-goal? There must be a way around this conundrum. Just because Señor X

16 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

I was pleased that someone of the stature of Luke Tomlinson has finally mentioned Voldemort out loud, in a recent issue of Horse & Hound. I have been in English polo all my life and have always found that handicaps are mentioned in the same breath as “smoke-filled rooms”, “done with mirrors”, “self interest”, “we need to preserve jobs” and many more disreputable epithets. There is also another constant theme in that criticism is rife, but I have never seen any public effort to suggest how it can be improved. So let’s try.

There are three important issues with committees: composition, responsibilities and accountability. Let’s examine each in turn.

Composition: Committees should be small (up to six people and a chairman?). We all know the story about a camel being a horse designed by a committee. Nobody who has achieved less than five goals should be allowed to serve: it is frankly ludicrous to expect a three-goal player to judge whether Too often there are stories about another player is worth six or seven. There should be two top Argentine players who players being kept or brought have experience of playing in both down to guarantee a place in a countries (Pepe Araya or Santiago team: the committee is not an Gaztambide, to take two at random). This employment gives balance and experience, which is clearly needed.

The chairman is crucial and should be appointed for his skills as a chairman, but does not necessarily know a great deal about polo. Sir Michael Rake is generally considered to be one of Europe’s finest chairmen, but no one would seriously ask him to be an expert in the details of fibre optic cables, or the metallurgical properties of the jet engine, yet BT and Easyjet feel honoured to have him at the helm.

Responsibilities: These should be clearly and narrowly defined. They should judge purely on a person’s playing skills and the quality/number of his horses. Too often there have been stories about players being kept down or brought down to guarantee a place in a particular team the following year. The committee is not an employment tribunal and this should have no bearing on a person’s handicap. Indeed, en passant, an intriguing point is whether the HPA is inadvertently involved in match-fixing through giving an unfair advantage to the team which employs such an under-handicapped player?

Members of this committee should never accept written or verbal representations from players, patrons or other “interested parties”, and should be forbidden to discuss handicap issues with anyone, excepting other members of the committee, designated HPA officials such as the chairman of the international committee or the development committee, and the chairmen of club handicap committees. This would remove all pressure points, which are usually driven by self-interest.

Accountability: Those under scrutiny by the committee (and this should perhaps be limited to players of handicap five and above) should have the right to challenge decisions made that pertain to them. There should be a two-week “challenge period” where the committee might be asked for a detailed and well reasoned explanation about a particular decision, and thus give an opportunity for re-examination. This right to challenge should be open to the player, the HPA CEO, the captain of the England team and the chairman of the handicap committee of the club who put forward the original recommendation. To simplify this process, no others should have this right. I suspect the threat of having to write such a report with finely focused reasoning would deter many “shockers”, to quote Luke Tomlinson. But if the composition and responsibilities of the committee are correct, there should be few challenges.

Maybe these few thoughts might help one of the most difficult areas of our sport.

Michael Howe (four goals) Windsor The writer of the letter of the month wins a bottle of La Chamiza Argentine red wine

PTSept 2010 p16-17 letters YC PJ

17/8/10

16:50

Page 3

had a great-great-great granny who was Italian, Spanish or some other EU nationality and so qualifies, seems ridiculous.

Lavinia Black Gloucestershire How to outlaw manufactured fouls

I fully support Hugh Dawnay’s comments regarding current highgoal polo [August issue, Polo Times].

I do not bother to watch such matches any more. It was far more fun this year watching the final of the top level of Pony Club polo!

In my day (the 1970s) only the captain of each team was allowed to address the umpires, and then only to ask what the foul was and against whom.

Abusive players should be banned from acting as captains.

I would like to see a rule introduced that outlaws the manufactured foul; in other words, if the umpires judge that a play is deliberately designed to create a foul they should award a penalty against that team. This would not, of course, include riding a line created in normal run of play.

It is such a pity that some top players cannot be seen in this country using their skills in fourman fast polo.

Sandy Milne Dorchester On anonymous letters

I feel I must respond to John Wright’s letter about people sending anonymous letters to Polo Times (August issue) - not only because he took the trouble to write, but also accosted me at Cartier International Day about the subject!

First, it is not unusual that anonymous letters are received by magazines and newspapers and are published – it happens quite often.

Second, it is sadly true that many people in the polo world would like to express opinions that they are reluctant to put their name to. Countless have been the times when I have been telephoned by people expressing an opinion which they would like Polo Times to espouse on their behalf.

When asked to contribute a letter on their own behalf they more often than not decline the invitation. Usually, but not always,

Some people find writing to Polo Times a secretive business

they are parents who are terrified of jeopardising their child’s opportunities and would rather stay “mum” about some perceived injustice or moot point.

Third, if the anonymous letters are ill-informed or axe grinding then the columns of Polo Times’s letters page are the perfect place for John Wright and other polo aficionados to “put them right” and educate us all!

Margie Brett Publisher, Polo Times

Afghan polo scene. So, trusting this advice and promises to set things up, I got my gear together, got a job with a “Logistics” company and flew to Kandahar “International Airport” with a plan to contact the nearest club on landing. Admittedly my stick bag got some funny looks and in hindsight alarm bells should have been ringing. It was like the start of a Casualty episode.

I realised all was not well as I walked up the ramp into the

A special thank you to Glen Gilmore

I decided I needed help with my polo, so I booked the legendary Glen Gilmore for a lesson. I have to say it was fantastic; the teaching style was clear and well demonstrated. Glen kindly stayed to watch some chukkas and was kind enough to give me some pointers on tactical plays and where I should be on the pitch at each stage of play. Fantastic.

In typically robust style, Glen ended the session by telling me that the best place to show case my “unique riding skills” and “individual swing” and where I could really “make a difference to the UK polo community” was to “showcase my potential” on the

cavernous shell of a C130 military transport plane. I asked directions only to be ushered to a canvas bucket seat and was strapped in.

Two hours later, as we went into what felt like a near vertical dive and flares were fired from the back of the aircraft to draw heat-seeking missiles, I replayed Glen’s words and it slowly dawned on me that what he had actually meant was: “You make riding look infinitely harder than it is and you are, frankly, a ballchasing simpleton so intent on attempting and failing to hit the ball that your unwitting mayhem would be better unleashed on the Taliban than getting in nice people’s way!”

I was met from the plane and taken to my accommodation (a 20ft shipping container); it was 46 degrees and a tad dusty. They have given me guns. This is, as medical staff will testify at the inevitable enquiry at some point in future, a monumental mistake.

There is surprisingly little polo in either Kandahar or Helmand provinces. My shipping container is by the poo pond. It isn’t, as you can imagine, a nice place to be. The plane has now left and there are no flights out for three months. “Could be worse,” I thought, almost as some men in turbans and big beards several kilometers away shouted “Allah Akbar” and fired the welcome gift of six rockets at me.

Gilmore: one day you, me and an enigmatic figure in black will have a “chat”. It will almost certainly involve power tools and a chainsaw.

Luckily I have Polo Times to cheer me up or utterly depress me – depending on how you see it.

Nick May On operations Family fun

Congratulations to the team on your July edition (which arrived finally via a rather tortuous deviation) – it gets better and better! As we are a family of three polo players there’s always a rush to get the first peek – then we all end up arguing over some peace and quiet with PT! Nick May: does PT cheer or depress?

Jo Lister Cape Town

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 17

PTSept 2010 p18-21 As I see it YC JM PJ

17/8/10

16:26

Page 2

Comment Interview

JP and Nina Clarkin Polo’s golden couple The New Zealand captain and the world’s best female player talk frankly to James Mullan What went wrong for New Zealand on Cartier Day and who was Nina supporting?

Nina (née Vestey): I was obviously supporting John Paul, so I was behind New Zealand. But it was nice that I could, for once, be slightly pleased either way who won.

JP: The game showed up our side’s lack of highgoal polo experience. Particularly in the first half, when there were backhands from either side, our boys always seemed to be running onto them second. Our anticipation wasn’t as good, though it improved once we got more into the game. But then, when we did all that work to come back and still lost, it was almost worse!

Photograph by Tom Reynolds

Did you feel extra pressure, JP, as the only one with great high-goal experience?

JP: Not really. I wasn’t too disappointed with my personal performance, aside from missing a few goal shots early on. We had two or three really good opportunities before England built up their lead just before half-time – and so, if we could have scored then and made that early breakthrough, it might have been a very different game and the pressure would have been off for us that much earlier.

As it was, while it was disappointing to lose, the speed and style of the game made it really enjoyable to play. England tried to play open polo, and it was probably us who were forced to try and slow it down to find a way back in, especially as they probably had marginally better horsepower. The huge crowd makes it exciting and there were a few more nerves than normal beforehand, but it’s funny, once you’re out there, you don’t notice the surroundings and its just

18 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

eight guys – you could be anywhere!

Can pro-am 22-goal polo ever be played in such an open style?

JP: It’s inevitable top pros will try to do more of the work when patrons are involved, but that is more of a mindset than anything else. Over the last five years, the level of patrons has improved. So, far from trying to play despite them, if they don’t put in their percentage, it’s difficult to win.

That said, one of the downfalls of the way most teams work is that the patron is up front so if you look to play open, you leave your weakest player to run to goal. That is why the patron’s job is often restricted to clearing the way for the professional taking the ball on behind. But it’s not great for viewing, and I can appreciate that.

How does New Zealand’s polo future look?

JP: Not that great, to be honest. We're lacking strength in depth and, because polo back home is played as a low-key pastime and people need to make a living, fewer players are being introduced.

The game is rooted in farming families and, because farmers are struggling and the game is getting more segregated geographically, the future isn’t so bright in that respect.

How and when did you two meet?

Nina: John Paul started coming to the UK when he finished school aged 18. We met and pretty much dated straight away, when I was 16.

As two “unusual” professionals (a four-goal female and an eight who isn’t Argentine), how hard is it to find work in high-goal?

Nina: I haven’t played high-goal for a few years and I’m probably well out of it. I don’t feel my horses would still be up to it: I haven’t done as much as I should in terms of renewing the horsepower, which I regret slightly. I’m still well mounted, but preparing horses for 12 high-goal games a season is very different from the preparation I give my horses for up to 60 lowand medium-goal games.

Now, whenever JP and I share horses, they are simply not on the same page. I actually gave him a couple of mine straight out of my eight-goal string on the Saturday for 28-goal polo in the international on the Sunday! It’s asking too much and I realise it wouldn’t be easy for me to make the transition back to high-goal. But I miss it.

JP: The other tough thing is that the role Nina

PTSept 2010 p18-21 As I see it YC JM PJ

17/8/10

16:27

Page 3

Clockwise from far left: Nina and JP Clarkin at a Warwickshire Cup match this year; JP at St Moritz; Nina at the 2010 Cowdray British Ladies’ Championships

play with – he's put in plenty of work and deserves to be doing well.

Nina: I’d never heard of Matt until he spent time with Malcolm Borwick in Argentina last autumn and then in

more recent but that was amazing. I loved that moment. It was so unexpected. Since then, the best bits have been winning the Holden White and the Gerald Balding with the girls, winning the New Zealand Open in February 2009 with John Paul and going to four goals. It’s great to have had two huge highlights playing with JP, but we tend to fight a little on the pitch, so it’s hard to know if there will be more such notable triumphs together…

JP: For the sake of harmony in the homestead,

“Our girls have had domestic success in eight-goal, and I wouldn’t be taking a team to the FIP European Championships in Austria this month if I didn’t think we stood a realistic chance” – Nina Clarkin Australia with Ruki Baillieu. He’s gone from one to two goals, is still young, and looks good.

JP: Max Routledge also looks exceptionally good.

Nina: I agree. He stood out. In terms of young females, there are lots of promising ones around Gloucestershire, such as the Woodd girls and Claire Brougham.

I hope they make it.

used to play so well in high-goal has changed.

When we won the Gold Cup in 2003, the third and fourth-highest handicapped players still got involved. These days it’s more about dominating the man and the game is more physical. It’s not pretty either, and that’s a shame.

Do you enjoy watching Cambiaso in the 22goal, when he slows the game down?

JP: No. He’s number one in the world for a reason and unfortunately, that is for his ability to adapt to any game and make sure his side wins.

He’s a great tactician but that means he doesn’t always play the pretty style of polo he is capable of, if he doesn’t think it will be effective. Look what he's won in the last year, though – he’s doing something right!

Nina, how did you come to form an all-female side for September's FIP eight-goal Championships in Austria?

Nina: I was approached by the HPA, who suggested that if we could organise funding, it would be a nice opportunity. Initially I didn’t like the idea of organising a trip like this (team, horses, funding) on my own, but the HPA and people in Vienna have been really helpful. Our girls have had domestic success in eight-goal, and I wouldn’t be going if I didn’t think we had a realistic chance. If we don’t finish in the top four I’ll be disappointed – although it's guesswork about the quality of horses, fields and opposition, so anything is possible. We’re going in blind to some extent, but with the attitude that it'll be an experience to relish.

What have been your career highlights to date?

Which young rising stars have you spotted?

JP: I’ve had the pleasure of playing with Matt Perry in 18-goal. He’s a great kid and brilliant to

Nina: I’m going to live forever on winning the Gold Cup in 2003 [playing with JP, and Luke and Mark Tomlinson]! Perhaps now I need something

we tend to limit ourselves to one tournament a year together!

My biggest highlights have been captaining New Zealand, winning the subsidiary of the 30goal Cámara de Diputados in Argentina last December and winning the snow polo a couple of times. The all-time playing highlight was the winning goal in St Moritz the first time I played there [volleying the ball all the way down the ground and firing home a high-pressure underthe-neck shot]. I won’t beat that!

However, you never stop learning and I hope there are highlights to come. My big aim now is to go to nine goals: if it doesn’t happen in the next couple of years I doubt it will. You need the right opportunities, being in the right team at the right time, so we’ll see. You’re always a foreigner to the Argentines, so getting involved with their infrastructures for a chance in the Open is tough, but you can only keep going and hopefully, once you’ve beaten enough of them, someone will give you an opportunity.

Will you go to Argentina this winter?

JP: We’ll probably give it a miss, because last year we had so much travelling between New Zealand and England, and to Europe in January for snow polo. As much as I enjoy Argentina, I’ve gone recently under my own steam and the benefits can be hard to justify. So, while playing the qualifiers for Hurlingham and Palermo is a goal, financially playing in Argentina is a strain.

Spending more time in New Zealand also gives us X

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 19

PTSept 2010 p18-21 As I see it YC JM PJ

17/8/10

16:28

Page 4

Comment Interview The 2003-winning Gold Cup team of (l-r) Nina (then Vestey), Mark and Luke Tomlinson and JP Clarkin. Below: pictures from Nina and JP’s wedding that same year

“There was a time after Dad’s accident when I didn’t know where my polo was going, but I recovered my love for it” – JP Clarkin X a chance to sift through the many horses I have

there, which is long overdue. I don’t know what’s going on over there anymore! Plus, we have building work planned, so we can be there to boss them around and ensure it goes to plan.

It’s a shame about the snow polo [St Moritz is cancelled for 2011], but it's quite an ask to travel over for a week, so it’s maybe not such bad news for me. I’ve had offers for tournaments in Australia, and possibly in Thailand and Dubai.

Travelling is part of the job, and it's good to visit new places.

Nina: …although you do see a limited side – we rarely get far beyond the polo fields!

Photographs by James Mullan, Swiss Image, Yolanda Carslaw and courtesy of the Clarkins

Are you thinking about a family eventually?

Nina: Definitely. It’s hard to make those decisions now but the next few years will be split mainly between the UK and New Zealand. Hopefully at some point we will put down slightly more permanent roots, though we are still arguing over where that will be at this stage!

Do you have horse-breeding programmes?

JP: Not really. New Zealand is like England in that there is an abundance of reject Thoroughbreds, and they are cheaper there. So it’s easier to bring the best to the UK once they come of age rather than to breed. We breed literally just one or two.

The “catch 22” is that you either breed from mares whilst they are still in New Zealand before they are 100 per cent proven or you don’t bring them and so can’t play them. I always want to bring the best over and get them playing.

We have a couple of yearlings and two-yearolds we bred through embryo transfer out of our

20 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

best mares in the UK, but it's an experiment at this stage because it is such a costly process.

What do you do outside of polo?

Nina: The restaurant I set up in Cirencester [Soushi, see Jan/Feb issue of Polo Times] takes up a fair amount of time. I’m there about three times a week, in the kitchen, while John Paul sits at the bar keeping us financed! We’re gradually getting more regulars – the reception has been very positive.

JP: We don’t do that much outside polo. I’m back and forth between Black Bears [near Henley], where I keep my horses, and our cottage in Gloucestershire, and when I’m not playing or working on my horses, I’m usually watching polo of some sort. One thing we could do more is review the DVDs of our games, as it helps identify our mistakes as individuals and as a team.

Nina: We have a personal trainer twice a week, which has helped my core strength and flexibility.

Everyone now is much more athletic.

JP: Sometimes we visit a friend in Majorca or my brother in Bordeaux, where he plays professional rugby. He got to one goal in polo, but today we’d need a big horse – he plays number eight, is as tall as me and twice as wide!

Do you ever get the chance really to unwind – or is your next game always at the back of your mind?

Nina: I think it’s always at the back of your mind.

JP: At some times of year the pressure eases.

New Zealand is relaxed, and it’s not the end of the world if you want to have a beer or two the night before a game. Elsewhere, there is some kind of constant pressure – you’re not playing for yourself and for fun, but as a job, for your team and you are expected to perform.

Nina: These days, being a professional is not just about what happens within the confines of the polo field. You need to have your horses right, your grooms happy, your set-up and organisation secure, your fitness at its peak, and you also now need to increasingly consider your dealings with sponsors.

Each of you has a parent who has had a serious accident riding. Do you ever get scared playing the game?

Nina: I can see people might imagine that could be the case, but I don’t. You can’t. Of course, every now and again there is a play where you think “Oh my God, that was close” but generally, if you have fear you’re in the wrong job. There simply isn’t room for it; you can’t be second-guessing all the time. If ever I feel fear, I’ll quit, or drop down about five levels and play at a more tame pace. But I don’t see that happening.

Luckily, I never feel fear.

JP: Nina’s right. There was a time after Dad’s accident when I didn’t know where my interest in polo was going, but I recovered my love for it. Dad loved it too, and it took up his whole life. I don’t see I am going to be different. It hasn’t changed me in that respect. But, if the day comes when I’m scared, I’ll look to do something else. F

PTSept 2010 p18-21 As I see it YC JM PJ

17/8/10

16:32

Page 5

PTSept 2010 p22-27 Cartier YC PJ

22 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

17/8/10

17:03

Page 2

PTSept 2010 p22-27 Cartier YC PJ

17/8/10

17:04

Page 3

Mark Tomlinson (left) and Sam Hopkinson do battle on the Queen’s Ground

Georgie May rejoices with the sell-out crowd at Guards, where the hosts gave a masterclass in classic, old-fashioned team-play, beating New Zealand in a thrilling, open, galloping, end-to-end contest week after crowds witnessed a mostly unsatisfactory style of play from some of the world’s best players in the Gold Cup final, the HPA’s showpiece event of summer on Cartier International Day renewed hope in exhilarating and expansive high-goal polo.

Where Cambiaso and Pablo MacDonough

A

navigated Dubai to their second successive title of the season with close skill over the ball at Cowdray Park, it was a big-hitting, fourman team performance that led England to victory at Guards in the international.

The same England side had endured a disappointing result in their last Test some five weeks earlier, beaten by The Americas 9-81/2, but Luke Tomlinson and his side found their rhythm in this game right from the word go.

Led by an on-song James Beim, the hosts capitalised on a misfiring and chaotically organised Kiwi side in the first half and steamed ahead to a seemly-untouchable 6-1 lead as the 25,000-strong side went out to tread in.

New Zealand had missed a hatful of chances and even the team’s captain, powerhouse John Paul Clarkin, looked to be feeling the pressure. With the rest of his team X

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 23

PTSept 2010 p22-27 Cartier YC PJ

17/8/10

17:05

Page 4

Report Cartier International Day: England vs New Zealand X lacking the same high-goal experience as himself, it

was down to the eight-goaler to give his teammates the confidence they needed. It wasn’t until they changed things round for the second half that his team started to look like a threat.

“England were better organised early on,” said John Paul Clarkin afterwards, “but it worked much better for us in the second half, when we moved Simon Keyte to back after careful deliberation with our coach, Cody Forsyth. However, while that definitely helped, none of us still really played where we were meant to!”

Nevertheless, New Zealand’s haphazard tactics began to have a positive effect, particularly defensively, and the Kiwis gradually applied some effective pressure and came back into the game.

Malcolm Borwick scored the first goal of the second half to put England 7-1 ahead, but thereafter the visitors staged a remarkable comeback to claw back to equalise early on in the sixth chukka. England were their own worst enemies, particularly in the fifth chukka, when they conceded two penalties to bring the New Zealand goal tally back within range.

Sensing the comeback, New Zealand stepped up the pace in the final chukka to catch up.

Clarkin broke away to score twice, searing up the

field on Gumboot – his own pony that was awarded best playing pony at the end of the day – to score his fifth and sixth goals of the match.

Simon Keyte then had his moment of glory, following up Clarkin’s work with an excellent backhand goal to make it 7-7.

With five minutes left on the clock, and the momentum now firmly against them, it was the

“My ponies were ridden hard in the Gold Cup and were raring to go. I owe a lot to my speediest geldings, Yacht and Rubics” – MVP James Beim moment of truth for England. Beim and Luke Tomlinson answered New Zealand’s challenge, putting two field goals through the posts in the closing minutes to win 9-7.

England appeared to have the horsepower when it counted, and the side looked comfortable passing the ball between each other. They were also fortunate to be able to rely on the predatory instincts of James Beim in front of goal, who was named most valuable player.

“I was really pleased with the game and how it went,” said Beim afterwards. “We’ve been working hard these past couple of weeks and it’s good to come back after a few losses. Our coach Milo Fernandez Araujo taught us not to play with the ball too much and the team’s new mentality to let the ball do the work seemed to be effective. One of our practices was at Coworth Park, which plays like the Queen’s Ground, so that was a great help in the run-up to playing this kind of open polo.

“The other difference was that we didn’t have our best ponies at the Beaufort Test Match, but this time for Cartier we had a lot of speed and power.

My ponies were ridden hard in the Gold Cup so they arrived at Cartier raring to go. I owe a lot to my two best and speediest geldings, Yacht and Rubics, who I played in the second and fifth and sixth chukkas.”

John Paul Clarkin echoed this assessment, explaining that they weren’t so fortunate: “It was great to come back in the way that we did,” he said, “but ultimately England were marginally stronger overall in terms of horsepower. It wasn’t easy to get ponies for this level and we were always running a horse’s length behind. That was the difference.”

However, PT columnist and deputy chief umpire Arthur Douglas-Nugent suggested that the Kiwis’ general lack of high-goal experience meant they X

L-r: Luke Tomlinson, Malcolm Borwick, HPA chairman Nicholas ColquhounDenvers, HRH Prince Charles, Cartier’s Arnaud Bamberger, James Beim, Mark Tomlinson and Audi’s Jon Zammett

24 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

PTSept 2010 p22-27 Cartier YC PJ

17/8/10

17:07

Page 5

Clockwise from top: the two pairs of Malcolm Borwick (red hat) and Sam Hopkinson and JP Clarkin and James Beim (grey hat); the pre-match New Zealand Haka; James Beim (left), who was named most valuable player, and NZ captain JP Clarkin; returning Army Navy and RAF servicemen and women from Afghanistan

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 25

PTSept 2010 p22-27 Cartier YC PJ

18/8/10

16:45

Page 6

Report Cartier International Day: England vs New Zealand

Pre-match chat ◗ AFTER COWDRAY’S MISTAKE at the first Test match of the summer, when the organisers played the wrong South African national anthem, Cartier Day had its own hiccup. A technical problem with the sound system meant the rendition of the New Zealand national anthem was only audible to close bystanders, and not by the crowd in the stands.

◗ NEW ZEALAND BROUGHT their own culture to the day with the Ngati Ranana London group, who performed the traditional Mauri haka to lay down the challenge to the England team. Despite the English team picking the ponies they thought would deal best with the confrontation, it was only Malcolm Borwick’s Polito and Luke Tomlinson’s Carbonilla that stood still to face it. After they danced, Annie Colquhoun-Denvers – wife of HPA chairman Nicholas – received a black box containing a pauashell earring and necklace set, thus accepting the Kiwis’ challenge against the HPA’s England side.

X relied too heavily on their captain. “England worked

very well in the first three chukkas, playing as a team,” he told Polo Times. “New Zealand, meanwhile, were slow to warm up and were behind the pace for most of the game. Without JP Clarkin, their team wouldn’t have held together.”

Nevertheless, England’s Malcolm Borwick admitted to concerns that they might have let the game slip: “I was worried in the final minutes, but it’s never over until the final whistle blows.”

When the final whistle did blow, it was England that could celebrate, though even the hardiest Kiwi supporters in the grandstands had to concede their side had helped produce a fantastic game. So the question must be asked: could pro-am high-goal competition ever be played to this quality? The four-man game certainly makes for a better spectator sport than when the patrons are reduced to mere blockers at times in the two-man game at the 22-goal level. Is this unavoidable? F ◗ Was this the best match of summer? Tell us what

you think by writing to letters@polotimes.co.uk

Photographs by Tony Ramirez, Centaur Photographic and Tom Reynolds

◗ THE OFFICIAL CHARITY of the day was the British Forces Foundation (BFF), which was established to help raise the morale of serving British troops. More than 30 Army, RAF and Navy servicemen having just returned from a tour in Afghanistan received a standing ovation from the crowd in the warm-up parade before the international – the third such “lap of honour” after similar parades at Wembley and Cheltenham races.

The England and New Zealand teams showed their support by wearing the BFF logo on their whites. Raffle tickets were sold throughout the day and an auction took place in the HPA tent – hosted by comedian and BFF’s founder Jim Davidson. Altogether £24,500 was raised for the charity. The charity’s patron HRH The Prince of Wales was joined in the royal box by one of the charity’s trustees, opera singer Katherine Jenkins, to mark the occasion.

Other charities supported on the day were the Prince of Wales Trust and the HPA’s Polo Charity Trust, which was set up by the late Viscount Cowdray.

◗ OLIVER CUDMORE HAD a great day, scooping the most promising young player award for his efforts in the Golden Jubilee Trophy game. His How to Spend It Hurlingham side defeated The Westbury Mayfair Hotel Prince of Wales team 7-6 in the game that preceded the Coronation Cup. Cudmore scored the winning goal of the match in extra time, following a 6-6 draw in the fifth chukka. Previous winners of this trophy include this year’s Hurlingham captain Satnam Dhillon as well as all four members of the current England team.

26 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

England’s Malcolm Borwick takes a solid nearside backhand swing

Cartier International Day; 25 July 2010; Guards Polo Club, Surrey Result: England beat New Zealand 9-7 Principal sponsor: Cartier Handicap level: 27-goal Chukka scores (England): 1-0; 3-1; 6-1; 7-2; 7-4; 9-7 Most valuable player: James Beim Best playing pony: Gumboot, owned and played

by JP Clarkin England (27): James Beim 7; Mark Tomlinson 7; Malcolm Borwick 6; Luke Tomlinson 7 New Zealand (27): Simon Keyte 7; Tommy Wilson 6; John Paul Clarkin 8; Sam Hopkinson 6 Golden Jubilee Trophy Result: Hurlingham beat Prince of Wales 7-6 HPA most promising young player award: Oliver Cudmore Hurlingham (18): Oliver Cudmore 3; Richard Le Poer 4; Satnam Dhillon 6; Ryan Pemble 5 Prince of Wales (18): Max Charlton 4; Roddy Williams 5; Nacho Gonzalez 6; Lanto Sheridan 3

PTSept 2010 p22-27 Cartier YC PJ

18/8/10

17:11

Page 7

PTSept 2010 p28-35 Pony Club YC captions missing

18/8/10

17:27

Page 2

Report Audi Pony Club Championships

Quality beats quantity A Gannon final decided by a 10-goal-style shot concluded a championships in which numbers were down but the standard was up, says Tony Emerson his summer Pony Club polo welcomed Audi as its chief sponsor for the next three years. The prestige car firm’s support not only ensures the continuity of the Pony Club Championships, but underpins a programme of improvement for young players: those of us shopping for cars should now think Quattro – or, rather, as today’s models are called, Allroad.

The recession and the hike in fuel prices took

T

Valentine Hutley of the Surrey Union branch on Sweepie, winner of the Jambo Trophy for best polo and hunting pony, joins Adrian “Sage” Thompson, huntsman of the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Hunt

28 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

their toll on Pony Club polo this summer. As a result we saw about 100 fewer players taking part in friendly and qualifying tournaments, and did not have the pleasure of hosting players from Scotland.

If last year’s qualifiers were bedevilled by rain, this year’s were characterised by rock-hard going.

At Junior HPA level section managers were at their wits’ end trying to find grounds that were both playable and within easy driving distance for their teams. Their task was made more difficult thanks to pushy parents and team managers trying to gain advantage by refusing to go to

some grounds and “arranging” alternative venues which suited them better. The result was often the classic sequence of order, counter-order and disorder, accompanied by unwarranted rudeness towards volunteers who are giving up their time so that all the young can enjoy themselves.

One advantage of fewer teams was that at Cowdray all the matches could be held on the Lawns and River grounds. Junior HPA were no longer exiled to Ambersham and the spectator value was much improved. A new well mown campsite was provided and all the grounds held up excellently.

X

PTSept 2010 p28-35 Pony Club YC captions missing

The Jorrocks Championships were highly privileged in that Kenney Jones gave them the number one ground at Hurtwood Park. Sadly only 12 teams availed themselves of the privilege.

For the Old Berks team it was a dream tournament. They had failed to score in any of their previous matches, and when they slotted in two goals in their opening chukka their supporters’ cheers must have been audible in Guildford: on top of that they won the Texaco Trophy for the best turned out team.

The Beaufort Buff team gave an admirable example of supporting play. Daphne Schrager, riding Harry, a 41-year-old veteran (see page 66), also had the chance to score her first goal and was promised a financial reward if she did. The team got the ball into the goal-mouth, then as they all took a man they shouted: “Hit it, Daphne!” She got her goal and her reward.

There were two outstanding teams, the Tiverton and the Cotswold Foxes, who had shared the previous tournaments between them. They met unbeaten for the last match, and no goals were scored until the last three minutes when the heavens opened. Being trained at Longdole, the

17:28

Page 3

Photographs by Michael Chevis

Jorrocks – under 11s

18/8/10

Cotswold were quite used to impossible weather, and first Tom Severn and then Dominic Lodge literally rowed through to clinch victory.

The Rupert Thorneloe Cup for the most promising 10-year-old was won by Toby Addison of the Old Surrey and Burstow (OS&B).

Handley Cross – under 14s; “fluffies” only; one-chukka polo The eight teams that qualified for Cowdray were so equal that they were not separated into divisions until Sunday.

The top two slots were filled by the Beaufort and the Devon and Somerset (D&S). In the first of their two chukkas Hannah Parry Jones opened the scoring for the D&S with a shot from the acutest of angles. The Beaufort number three, Plum Schrager, replied by taking the ball from the lineout and leaving it for Mali Gravell to put through.

Then Plum received a hard blow on the wrist of her stick hand. She bravely continued without a stick, totally neutralising the talented Tom Dalton-Morgan, but on medical advice did not play the second chukka on Lawns Two. This was largely conducted in the Beaufort’s half with little open play, and in the last minute the ball came X

Jorrocks I winners, Cotswold Foxes (l-r): Tamara Gibbons, Tom Severn, Oscar Luard, Dominic Lodge

Jorrocks II winners, Beaufort Blue: Freddie Joderell, Willa Gravell, Milo Sweet, Jasmine Stanhope-White

Jorrocks III winners, Beaufort Buff: Daphne Schrager, Charlotte Walker, Hal Pitman, Sophie Shepherd

Handley Cross I winners the D&S: Tatiana Renfold, Tom Dalton-Morgan, Tilly Fitzwilliams, Hannah Perry-Jones

Handley Cross II winners Cotswold with Pony Club chairman Cherry Mitchell: Patrick de Barros, Richard St Pierre, Hector Chamberlain, Edward de Barros

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 29

PTSept 2010 p28-35 Pony Club YC captions missing

18/8/10

17:29

Page 4

Report Audi Pony Club Championships

Club chatter TWO POLO TIMES BEST PLAYING PONY RUGS were presented at prize giving. One was given to Rascal – real name Diptford Trina. Rascal is a 21-year-old, 13.1hh mare owned by the Dalton-Morgan family. Tom Dalton-Morgan, a member of the Eggesford Hunt branch, played her in the Handley Cross section for the Devon and Somerset team. The family acquired her when she was 18 after she had been turned out for four years. They say she is a speedy, brilliant little pony which Tom has also ridden in pony club races. Tom was grinning from ear to ear when he heard his beloved Rascal had won a prize.

The second rug was given to Sky, who was played by John Kent in the Gannon I section for Cowdray. She is a 15.1hh eightyear-old grey Thoroughbred mare bought in Ireland by John’s father (former eight-goaler Alan) as a three-year-old. Alan trained her and John has played her for two seasons.

“She is very level, gallops flat, easy to hit a ball off and very fast” says Alan. “She has been sourced by several high goal teams but we don’t want to sell her. She has the greatest temperament you could ask for in a polo pony.”

This was John’s fourth successive victory in Gannon.

ON THE SECOND DAY of the qualifiers at Cirencester the umpires were all high-goal, namely Jason Dixon, Julian Appleby and Tim Keyte. Julian Appleby had come straight from adjudicating at the Cartier International to overseeing the fluffies!

Other umpires included Shaun Brokensha, Harold Hodges, Robin Spicer, Derreck Bratley, Nick Goode, Nick Winterton, Guy Verdon, Thady Duff, Hamish Denton, Phil Meadows, Matt Perry, John Kent, Francis Hurley, Nick Pepper, Jack Richardson and Stephen McCraith, 18, of the Avon Vale Rendell team, who was named best Pony Club umpire at the end of the tournament.

THE WYLYE VALLEY PONY CLUB, with Jenny Blakey as branch manager, benefitted this summer from their successful championships in 2009. The branch’s Jorrocks team of Matthew Limmond on his pony Bee, Elizabeth Boher on Bonnie, Brigitte Boher on Twiglet and cherubic Harry Gascoigne on 28-year-old Biscuit won the best turned out award last year, so enjoyed the great honour this July of leading the parade at Cartier International Day. This year’s winners were the Old Berkshire Hunt.

A HOBBY HORSE RACE on the Saturday evening before the final, a BBQ and disco raised almost £200 for equestrian charity Brooke Hospitals. Organised by Jenny Blakey (see above), the “Grand National” hurdle race was run for under-sevens, under 11s, under-14s, under 17s and Open, for parents. Entry was £5 and each “horse” was “hired out” at £1. Jenny, who has been collecting her brightly coloured hobby horses for years, built an imaginative array of jumps over a 150yd “course”, including a “canal turn” and “water jump” – using vegetable crates, jump poles and weed from the nearby river. Forty children took part and prizes were donated by the various trade stands. Tatiana Renfold, 13, from the South & West Wilts branch provided a lively commentary as children “saddled up” and raced off.

Brooke hospitals (www.thebrooke.org) was founded by Dorothy Brooke after the First World War to help horses that were not repatriated but left behind as work horses in appalling conditions. The charity’s aim remains to prevent horses, mules and donkeys suffering. Soon after the championships Jenny set off on a self-funded 140-mile trek on Icelandic ponies to raise even more. Good luck, Jenny!

30 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Surtees I winners Beaufort Blue with section manager Jo Whittington: Issy St Aubyn, Max Dear, Lollie Stanhope-White, George White

Surtees II winners OS&B Red with Pony Club polo chairman Theresa Hodges: George Hervey, Danielle Thorpe, Fraser Wickes, Harry Revell

Loriner I winners HH Black with Dr Nigel Berman of the Worshipful Company of Loriners: Hector Fair, Nell Jacob, Georgina Wood, Max Nastasi-Grace

Loriner II winners the Beaufort Buff with Dr Nigel Berman: Tarka Carew, George Lodwick, Matilda St Aubyn, Alexander Van Der Steen

Hipwood Smail Trophy winners the OS&B with section manager Bridget Baxter: Jack Hyde, Sebastian Hancock, Tim Pearce-May, Charlie Holley

PTSept 2010 p28-35 Pony Club YC SH

19/8/10

15:16

Page 5

Action between the Devon and Somerset and Beaufort Blue in the Handley Cross Division I final

John Kent (in orange) and the Irish TB Cranberry Sky, best Gannon pony, with PJ Seccombe of Polo Times

X out of a Jorrocks-style goal-mouth scrum to give

the D&S a deserved victory.

Surtees – under 14s; polo ponies; one chukka This was the best attended of all the sections, and the Cotswold, who had only just been promoted from division two, were surprise finalists against the Beaufort. In an open, though not very accurate, first chukka a good team attack by the Beaufort was started by a long penalty shot from Lolly Stanhope-White and completed by Max Dear to give them a goal advantage.

The second chukka was largely played by eight dots on the far side of Lawns One with neither team looking like scoring. The Beaufort were happy with the result, but a lot of the league chukkas had been of better quality.

Tom Dalton-Morgan with his 21-year-old 13.2hh mare Rascal, who was named best Handley Cross pony

Matching and marvellous: the best turned out Jorrocks team, the Old Berks, with section manager Chris Eaton

Loriner – under 17s; one-chukka polo

Rendell – under 21s; two-chukka polo

Four closely matched teams played a league for the Loriner Challenge Trophy. Any three could have won as the last chukka was played on Lawns Two. The Pytchley entered with a goal advantage over the Hampshire Hunt, but a good team attack by the HH allowed Max Nastasi-Grace to equalise. He then secured the result with a well taken 40-yarder and his team won the trophy.

As befits a section run by the wife of the Cirencester Park polo manager the Rendell was set up in a cross-league format which left the uninitiated scratching their heads and the initiated biting their fingernails.

The declared finalists were the Avon Vale and the Cheshire. Undoubtedly the Avon Vale were the best team, and they demonstrated this with a well-drilled performance in the final. Their clockwork team play with all players on the scorecard led to a one-sided victory 6-11/2.

Ledner – under 21s; one-chukka polo This fun section, won by the the Berkeley, was reduced to two teams who played five chukkas over the championship. Though the scoreline heavily favoured the Berkeley over the Cheshire Hunt, the games were good to watch and the standard much higher than last year.

Hipwood – under 15s; three-chukka polo Prior to Cowdray all six teams in this section played each other as a league.

The Hurtwood team had shone in all the

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 31

X

PTSept 2010 p28-35 Pony Club YC SH

18/8/10

18:34

Page 6

Report Audi Pony Club Championships The exciting Gannon I final between Cowdray (in orange) and the Grafton. Izzy Parsons (left) comes in to ride off John Kent (green hat)

Hipwood Plate winners Longdole with Tony Emerson from SATS: Jack Severn, Ollie Severn, Harry Davies

Best Pony Club umpire Stephen McCraith (Avon Vale Rendell) with HPA chief executive David Woodd

Nell Jacobs accepts the Sylvia Shepherd trophy for the most promising Loriner girl from Charlotte Horne

Daphne Schrager, whose pony Toby Addison from the Old Surrey and Burstow Harry won the Sportsmanship receives the Rupert Thorneloe award for most improved 10-year-old boy from Veronica Thorneloe Award, with Chris Eaton

X league matches until a hiccup in the last one,

when they had already won the Daily Mail Trophy and were guaranteed a place in the finals for the Smail Trophy at Cowdray.

Third and fourth in the league were Longdole and the Vine, who played at Cowdray for the Emerson Tankard: sadly the Vine team was depleted by an accident to Robin Ormerod, and Longdole won a very one-sided match.

Second in the league thanks to their surprise defeat of Hurtwood were the Old Surrey & Burstow, and these two teams faced each other on Sunday. In a match overly interrupted by the umpire’s whistle, the OS&B showed themselves better at converting penalties and built up an early lead.

32 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Only in the last 10 minutes did the game begin to flow, and Jack Hyde showed some remarkable skill on lively ponies as the OS&B extended their lead. Hurtwood came back toward the end, but it was too late and they lost by 21/2 goals.

Langford – under 18s; four-chukka polo The semi-finalists were decided in league matches prior to Cowdray, and on the strength of those performances the Cowdray Hunt and Grafton were fancied to meet each other in the finals. But in a very close match the hard-riding players of Ladyswood neutralised the individual talents of the Cowdray Hunt and earned a final place against Grafton.

In their previous meeting Grafton had won by

Johny Beck-Brown receives the Polo Times rug for best Jorrocks pony from PT editor Yolanda Carslaw

51/2 goals, and they started well enough. But an excellent second chukka from Ladyswood gave them a 11/2 goal lead at half-time. Although Grafton dominated the midfield in the second half thanks to Will Berner, excellent penalty taking from Roddy Seymour-Williams held them at bay. In the last chukka a bad blow on the elbow meant that Vere Harmsworth could no longer hit the ball for Ladyswood, but he fulfilled his riding off duties and his team heaved a sigh of relief when the hooter went and they were still half a goal in front.

Gannon II – under 21; four-chukka polo Last year the Old Berks were unbeaten in this section until a surprise loss in the final, so this

X

PTSept 2010 p28-35 Pony Club YC captions missing

18/8/10

17:33

Page 7

Club chatter EDMUND PARSONS, the 19-year-old two-goaler who plays for the Grafton, won the Baileys Horsefeeds Saddle for the Pony Club Polo Player of the Year, writes PJ Seccombe. He has been playing outstanding polo throughout the championships month, yet says modestly: “I haven’t won anything, not a single final.”

This was particularly gruelling for him at the Gannon I finals when Grafton were leading Cowdray 41/2–4 at the end of the fourth chukka. They thought they had the trophy in the bag, when Jack Richardson hit a perfect penalty, snatching victory for Cowdray.

Edmund was asked to trial for both Dubai and La Bamba highgoal teams at the start of the season. “Dubai didn’t want me, which was the right decision as they went on to win everything!” he says. “But playing for La Bamba was amazing. Playing in the Queen’s and Gold Cups you learn a lot about horses.”

Edmund plays with his sister, Izzy, regularly in an eight-goal team and they have nine ponies between them. He says he does not intend to make polo his career. He is currently reading French and Spanish at Edinburgh University and would like to become a big earner after graduating, returning to polo later in life, possibly as a patron. This modest and exceptionally talented player is a wonderful ambassador for Pony Club Polo, a testament of which was his being chosen to take the salute on behalf of all the Pony Club teams at the parade before the final.

IZZY PARSONS, Edmund’s younger sister, the only girl in the final, proved to be a tenacious, feisty player fearlessly riding off the much bigger Cowdray boys Jack Richardson and John Kent.

Like her brother, she started playing polo through the Pony Club when she was 10 and has worked her way up. Two of her ponies were noticeably speedy; her favourite is Nati, a dun, whilst Macanita (little machine), a brilliant little grey, is now for sale as she is a bit too small at 14.1hh.

Izzy, who is at Uppingham School, was nervously awaiting her AS-level results. Next year, after taking Spanish, politics and history A-levels, she hopes to go on to Bristol or Edinburgh universities, where she will keep up her sports: hockey and netball as well as polo. Meanwhile she is persuading her younger sister, Louisa, to carry on where she and Ed have left off!

Rendell Cup winners Avon Vale with Audi’s Kaulai Harwood-Scorer: Andrew Gebbie, Stephen McCraith, Alex Cary, Orlando Wethered

Maime Powell receives the Catherine Yates prize from Cherry Mitchell

Cowdray’s winning Gannon I team accepts the Daily Telegraph Trophy from David Woodd: Matt Perry, John Kent, Jack Richardson, Ralph Butler

A LUNCH was given by the chairman and committee of Pony Club Polo before the parade and finals of Gannon I. Guests included HPA and Pony Club officials, representatives from title sponsors Audi and officials of the Worshipful Company of Loriners as well as branch managers. Pimm’s preceded a superb buffet of beef Wellington, dressed crab and salmon, followed by profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce and strawberries, then everyone piled into the stands for the big match.

THERE WAS GREAT excitement after prize-giving as 16 names were read out, making up four teams to play in The 21 Cup at Cowdray on 10 and 12 August. The teams were Young England Red (Roddy Seymour-Williams, 0; Chris Pritchard, -1; Vere Harmsworth, 0; James Hudson, -1); Young England White (Freddie Dear, 1; George Pearson, -1; Max Stacy, -1; Faisal Rifai, -1); Young England Black (Charlie Scott, 0; Ralph Richardson, 0; Jack Taylor, -1; Charlie Walton, -1); Young England Blue (Rex Woodhouse, 1; Will Batchelor, 0; Alex Boucher, -1; Saskia Meadows, -1).

In the final Young England White beat Young England Black 5-4, and in the subsidiary Young England Blue beat Young England Red 7-11/2. The 16 were picked from a list of young players the HPA has “spotted”. A further 24 were selected to play in the the Stagshead Trophy at Ham, the Whitbread Trophy at Rutland and the Alan Budgett Trophy at Kirtlington.

Gannon II winners the Old Berks, with Kaulai Harwood-Scorer: Mark Baldwin, Oliver Powell, Rupert Lewis, Maime Powell

Hipwood League winners Hurtwood with the Daily Mail’s Lord Rothermere: Kiera Bosley, Bella Hutley, Izzie McGregor, Tom Brodie

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 33

PTSept 2010 p28-35 Pony Club YC captions missing

18/8/10

17:34

Page 8

Report Audi Pony Club Championships

The Jorrocks parade in front of Hurtwood Park’s clubhouse. This year the under-11s played on the club’s number one ground

Photographs by Michael Chevis

Push-cart and Dawnay tests gauge young talent RUGBY POLO CLUB hosted the National School Team selection in early June to pick those who would play in the top representative sides at July’s SUPA Polo Festival. Schools could send one player (two for mixed schools) to the day of teamwork and skill tests, from which four teams were formed (a girls’ team, a boys’ British Schools team, a boys’ England Schools team, and a combined Young England side).

Twenty children took part in front of a selection team including Charles Betz, Hugh Dawnay, Lavinia Black and Mike Hobday. First, they had to complete the “Dawnay Test” around a timed course performing a series of hits. Next was teamwork, where teams of four navigated a reverse-steering push-cart – two pushers were blindfolded, one steered blindfolded and one directed. This showed who worked as a team and was able to take instruction. The final assessment was five-minute trial chukkas.

“We aim to make the day fun, not tedious,” said co-organiser Jane Phelps. “It is the second year we have used these tests and we’ve found the trials very successful.” Participants came from Bloxham, Bredon, Cheltenham College, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Dauntsey’s, Eton, Harrodian School, Marlborough, Oakham, Prince Henry’s High School, Rugby, Sherborne, Woldingham and Wycliffe.

34 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Matt Perry (left) and Broughton Spirit, best exracehorse pony in the Gannon section, who won the RoR saddle, presented by Lycetts’ Piers Plunkett

X year when they won all their matches on

the road to Lawns One, the light blue supporters were particularly edgy. Their opponents were Cowdray Park, who had recovered from a four-goal thrashing in their first match to end up beating their more fancied stable mates Cowdray Hunt in the semi-finals.

The good attacking partnership of Mamie Powell and Rupert Lewis gave the Old Berks a healthy lead, but when in the fourth Cowdray Park got back to half a goal there was a feeling of déjà vu, until a coolly taken penalty by Mark Baldwin ensured a deserved victory for the Old Berks.

Gannon I – under 21; four-chukka polo All three teams in the senior section beat each other in the qualifiers, so it was bad luck on Cirencester that goal difference kept them out of the final.

However, that match could hardly have been more exciting since only at half-time

Terence Lent (OS&B), 12, most promising player in the U14/15 sections, with the Young Telegraph Award

was there more than half a goal difference between the Grafton and Cowdray.

At that point, thanks to the opportunism of Max Hutchinson, Grafton led 31/2-2. In the second half the pony power of Cowdray and the class of Jack Richardson wore down the Grafton’s resistance and the home team took the lead.

But, against the run of play, in the fourth chukka an angled under-the neck shot from Freddie Dear restored Grafton’s advantage, and it looked as if they had held out when they put the ball over their back line as the final hooter went.

However, the umpires decided that there was still time for a safety 60, to be taken

by Jack Richardson.

The spot was only 30 yards in from the boards, but his shot under pressure was worthy of a 10-goaler at Palermo. It sailed over the posts and between them to give Cowdray the narrowest of victories. F

PTSept 2010 p28-35 Pony Club YC captions missing

18/8/10

17:35

Page 9

Andrew Gebbie with ex-racer Sam Power Sage, who won the RoR bridle

Ladyswood, winners of the Langford Lithgow Trophy, with Jilly Emerson: Theo Wethered, Vere Harmsworth, George Meade, Roddy Seymour-Williams The youngest and oldest prizewinners: Zac Beim, best pony/player combination in Jorrocks, with pony Ben, and (top) Piers Fox-Andrews, organised team manager (Cowdray Hunt branch)

TEAM RESULTS: Jorrocks I – 1. Cotswold Foxes; 2. Tiverton; 3. OS&B; 4.

Cottesmore. Jorrocks II – 1. Beaufort Blue; 2. Grafton; 3. Wyle Valley 1; 4.

Cotswold Hares; 5. Heythrop. Jorrocks III – 1. Beaufort Buff; 2. Grafton; 3.

Wyle Valley II. Handley Cross I (Handley Cross Cup) – 1. Devon & Somerset; 2. Beaufort Blue; 3. Surrey Union; 4. New Forest. Handley Cross II – 1.

Cotswold; 2. Berkeley 3. OS&B; 4. South Dorset. Surtees I (The Cooper Cup) – 1. Beaufort Blue; 2. Cotswold; 3. Cheshire; 4. OS&B Green; 5. OS&B Yellow; 6. New Forest. Surtees II (The Surtees II Trophy) – 1. OS&B Red; 2. Bedale; 3.

Cottesmore; 4. North Cotswold; 5. Hampshire Hunt; 6. Beaufort Buff. Loriner I (Loriner Challenge Trophy) – 1. HH Black; 2. Beaufort Blue; 3. Pytchley; 4.

Cottesmore. Loriner II (Hillingdon Hall Cup) – 1. Beaufort Blue; 2. Vine; 3. Old Berkshire Hunt; 4. Cowdray; 5. OS&B. Loriner League (Gig Horswell Trophy) – 1. HH Black; 2. Pytchley. Hipwood Plate (Emerson Trophy) – 1. Longdole; 2.

Vine. Hipwood League (Daily Mail Trophy) – 1. Hurtwood; 2. OS&B. Hipwood (Smail Trophy) – 1. OS&B; 2. Hurtwood. Langford Plate – 3.Cowdray; 4.

Cowdray Park. Langford (LT. Col W.S.P Lithgow Trophy) – 1. Ladyswood; 2.

Grafton. Ledner I (The Ledner Cup) – 1. Berkeley; 2. Cheshire. Rendell League – 1. Avon Vale; 2. Cheshire. Rendell (The Frank Rendell Cup) – 1.

Avon Vale; 2. Cheshire; 3. Vine; 4. Surrey Union; 5. Cotswold; 6. VWH. Gannon I (Daily Telegraphy Trophy) – 1. Cowdray; 2. Grafton. Gannon II (Jack Gannon Trophy) – 1. Old Berkshire Hunt; 2. Cowdray Hunt SPECIAL PRIZES: Jorrocks: Rupert Thorneloe Award for most improved/ promising 10-year-old boy – Toby Addison (OS&B). Texaco Trophy for Best Turned Out – Old Berkshire Hunt. Sportsmanship Award – Harry played by Daphne Schragar. Tic Tac Award for Best pony/player combination – Zac Beim and Ben. Polo Times Best Playing Pony – Peanut played by Johny Beck-Brown, (Grafton). Older Sections: Tony Gilks branch manager award – Piers Fox-Andrews (Cowdray Hunt). Young Telegraph award for most promising U14/15 – Terence Lent (OS&B Yellow Surtees). Sylvia Shepherd Trophy for Loriner Girl with most promise – Nell Jacobs (HH Black). Andrew Older Memorial Trophy for most promising Langford player – George Pearson (Cowdray Park). HPA Millennium Trophy for best Pony Club umpire – Stephen Macraith (Avon Vale Rendell). Catherine Yates Prize – Maime Powell (Old Berkshire Hunt). Baileys Saddle for Best Player of the season – Ed Parsons (Grafton). RoR Bridle for runner-up best ex-racehorse pony – Sam Power Sage played by Andrew Gebbie (Avon Vale Rendell). RoR Rug – You Little Miller played by Harry Revell (OS&B Surtees). RoR Saddle for best ex-racehorse pony – Broughton Spirit played by Matt Perry (Cowdray Gannon). Polo Times Rug for best Gannon Pony – Sky played by John Kent (Cowdray). Polo Times Rug for best Handley Cross Pony – Rascal played by Tom Dalton-Morgan (D&S). Jambo Trophy – Sweepie played by Valentine Hutley (Surrey Union).

Ledner winners the Berkeley with Pony Club chairman Cherry Mitchell: Daniel Turk, Alicia Wyer, Emma Bowers, Brad Rainford-Blackett

Best player of the season Ed Parsons (Grafton), 19, receives the Baileys saddle from Baileys founder George Knowles

Harry Revell (OS&B Surtees), whose ex-racer You Little Miller won the Retraining of Racehorses rug, with sponsor Lycetts’ Piers Plunkett

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 35

PTSept 2010 p36-39 War Cup JM PJ

17/8/10

18:23

Page 2

Report Warwickshire Cup

Emlor goes out on a high

Salkeld’s Jose Donoso and Emlor’s Joaquim Pittaluga ride off hard in the tightly-fought final, as Nacho Gonzalez and Rob Archibald watch on behind in the final

Spencer McCarthy’s hugely successful 20-goal side take their last title in present form – due to handicap changes – in a final controversially shifted to a morning start outside Cirencester’s historic park, writes Herbert Spencer irencester Park Polo Club’s number one ground, Ivy Lodge, is the oldest in England, dating back to 1894 when the club was first formed. It is also famous for having the country’s oldest clubhouse; the thatched-roofed hut that is now the bar was there when the ground was built 116 years ago. And to top it off, the ground sits in one of the most idyllic setting for polo in the country, in the middle of the Earl Bathurst’s beautiful, 3,000-acre Cirencester Park.

C

36 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

What a very great pity, then, that August’s final of Cirencester Park’s premier tournament for the Warwickshire Cup had to be moved, at short notice, from Ivy Lodge to one of the club’s irrigated grounds at Aston Down more than six miles away. Ivy Lodge, like the rest of the grounds in the park, is not irrigated and in exceptionally dry weather is considered too hard on the ponies in high-goal polo.

The recent long spell of little or no rain in the area meant that the Warwickshire Cup matches

were played away from the grounds in Cirencester Park, at Aston Down or at the Schwarzenbachs’ private grounds, 60 miles away at Lower Shiplake near Henley-on-Thames.

“We let the teams in the final decide whether they wanted to play the final on Ivy Lodge or at Aston Down and both chose Aston as the safer bet,” explained polo manager Nick Musgrave. “The subsidiary teams chose Ivy Lodge instead.” As it turned out, however, the rain came and the Aston ground was heavy going and cut up.

PTSept 2010 p36-39 War Cup JM PJ

17/8/10

17:40

Page 3

Patrons unmasked:

Nick Clark

Spencer McCarthy, Nacho Gonzalez, Joaquin Pittaluga and Luke Tomlinson celebrate a second successive Warwickshire Cup

As a result of the rescheduling of the final to 11am at Ashton Down, relatively few of the large crowd that usually attends the final got to watch Spencer McCarthy’s Emlor/CRL defeat Nick Clarke’s Salkeld by 9 goals to 7 to win the

hand was an experienced and well-oiled side that had won the 20-goal Deauville Gold Cup in 2008 and the Warwickshire in 2009, so they were the clear favourites.

For much of the final, however, it looked like

“We let the teams decide whether to play on Ivy Lodge or Aston Down” – polo manager Nick Musgrave Warwickshire Cup for the second year running.

Eight teams were entered for the 20-goal Warwickshire this year. Both Emlor/CRL alkeld came through to the final undefeated. It was Clark’s first-ever high-goal final, with a new team line-up. McCarthy’s team on the other

Salkeld might pull off an upset. It was a very open encounter with players strung out over the ground and little close marking, but in the early chukkas the underdogs managed to keep possession and stay in their opponents’ territory for much of the time.

X

NICK CLARK, above, was philosophical about his loss in the Warwickshire Cup. “I’m still in the process of building up a better organisation,” said the 49-year old former oil and gas engineer, now head of the international Carbon Resources Management Ltd. “This was Salkeld’s first high-goal final and we were a new team, so I’m happy to have got this far to play against such an experienced team as Emlor.”

He has been playing polo for 15 years now and has been in and out of high-goal with little success. “Salkeld first played for the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup, with the late Gabriel Donoso, in 2004,” Nick said. “We played in the Queen’s Cup and Gold Cup in 2009 and the Gold Cup this year, losing most of our games. The only major tournament I’ve won is the Royal Windsor.”

Salkeld is a family name and also the name of a village in the north of England “which is why we use the Yorkish rose on our shirts.”

“We live in London and at Blackdown Park near Cowdray where I play most of my polo. I also have a farm next to Alan Kent, with a ground and stables and about 24 ponies and have started breeding there. I also have a house in Mexico and have played there and in Argentina.”

Nick is married with three children. “My 19-year-old daughter by my first marriage is the top Norwegian dressage rider and in the best 15 in Europe. She rides much better than I do.” www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 37

PTSept 2010 p36-39 War Cup JM PJ

17/8/10

17:42

Page 4

Report Warwickshire Cup Patrons unmasked:

Photographs by Tom Reynolds, Cheryl Miller and Herbert Spencer

Spencer McCarthy

SPENCER MCCARTHY’S Warwickshire Cup was tinged with sadness. “This was our last game together,” said the 44-year old patron, pictured. “We’ve won 15 of our last 16 20-goal games, taking the Deauville Gold Cup in 2008 and the Warwickshire last year and this. But my handicap is going up to 2 goals in 2011 and Joaquin (Pittaluga) goes up to 7, so the line-up will have to change significantly if Emlor/CRL plays at this level next year. I’ll decide between now and next season.”

“Emlor is named after my brother Clinton’s daughters, Emma and Lora, and was our company name,” Spencer explained. “The company is now CRL, Churchill Retirement Living.

“I’ve been playing 15- 18-, 20and 22-goal and Clinton has taken the team for 15-goal and 18. We [Emlor] lost all our matches in the Queen’s Cup this year, but we won all four in The Prince of Wales Trophy and won it.

“I’ve got around 30 ponies now,” Spencer said, “10 playing plus youngsters and I’m breeding at my place in the New Forest. My son and daughter both play in Pony Club Polo.”

Spencer believes the price of high-goal ponies is a big cost factor at the top level of the game “and, contrary to what you hear, the fees of professionals have not come down.” He thinks removing the 22-goal cap in high-goal, raising the handicap to 25 or 26 goals, “would price a lot of people out – but do we really need as many as 20 teams at the top of the sport?”

38 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Clockwise from left: the McCarthy men – Clinton, Spencer and John – celebrate Emlor’s successful defence of the title; action from the subsidiary final controversially played on Ivy Lodge between HB Polo Team and Laird (won by Laird); Henry Brett (left) and Mark Tomlinson clash in that same game

X

Salkeld took an early lead with field goals by Australian Rob Archibald and Chilean José Donoso.

Emlor/CRL held them scoreless in the second chukka and equalised after McCarthy and England international Luke Tomlinson found the posts.

Salkeld shut their opponents out in the third and regained the lead with a safety 60 by Donoso.

The scoring was equal in the fourth. Donoso increased Salkeld’s advantage with a penalty conversion, Tomlinson converted two penalties to equalise, and Salkeld regained the lead with a field goal by Archibald. Emlor/CRL pulled out the stops in the fifth, holding Salkeld scoreless and building an 8-5 lead with two field goals from Argentine Joaquin Pittaluga and a goal from the field and a penalty conversion by Tomlinson.

Salkeld fought to the end in the sixth and final chukka with a safety 60 and a penalty conversion

by Donoso, while Nacho Gonzalez scored a field goal to leave Emlor the winners 9-7.

“We’ve taken time to get going in every match this tournament,” Emlor/CRL’s Luke Tomlinson said after the game, “and Salkeld were a very strong team. But we’re a team with a big heart and we got it together.”

“I don’t think we played our best game today,” lamented Salkeld’s José Donoso. “We started well but then missed some good opportunities.”

Donoso, who scored five of Salkeld’s seven goals, was named most valuable player of the match and his mare Pulga was best playing pony. Tomlinson’s thoroughbred Aurora took the Retraining of Racehorses award. F Warwickshire Cup, 21 July-8 August 2010; Cirencester Park Polo Club, Gloucestershire Result: Emlor/CRL beat Salkeld 9-7 Handicap level: 17-20 goal Chukka scores (Emlor): 0-2; 2-2; 2-3; 4-5; 8-5; 9-7 Most valuable player: Chilean José Donoso, Salkeld Best playing pony: Pulga, 9-year old mare played and owned by José Donoso ROR award for best retrained racehorse: Aurora, South African mare played and owned by Luke Tomlinson Final teams: Emlor/CRL (20): Spencer McCarthy 1; Joaquin Pittaluga 6; Nacho Gonzalez 6; Luke Tomlinson 7 Salkeld (20): Nick Clarke 0; James Beim 7; José Donoso 7; Rob Archibald 6

PTSept 2010 p36-39 War Cup JM PJ

18/8/10

15:02

Page 5

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 39

PTSept 2010 p40-41 Canada YC JM PJ

17/8/10

17:10

Page 2

Report Bajans in Canada

Here comes the sun James Mullan reports from Canada, where a visiting side from Barbados brought the weather with them, lit up Calgary Polo Club and vanquished their hosts battling Barbados team triumphed against their Canadian hosts last month. The island’s youngest touring team, three of whom are under 25, successfully defended the Barbados Challenge Trophy, making it four wins from five in the first milestone anniversary of this popular fixture. The allure of international competition, fresh faces from the Caribbean, VIP hospitality, an imaginative polo-specific auction, an internationally renowned jazz musician and the chance to win a free trip to Barbados brings a bigger crowd to Calgary each summer.

Almost 1,000 spectators fought their way to

A

Calgary Polo Club through appalling weather on the morning of the event, and arrived brandishing waterproofs, cowboy hats, umbrellas and, in some cases, even wellies. Despite the withdrawal of many of the well-known high-goal faces and

The Canadians looked as much use in front of goal as Naomi Campbell would be behind the till at DeBeers much of Fred Mannix’s financial backing during the recession, it appears to be simply the game itself, even displayed in its basic and largely amateur format, that resonates with the horse-

Photographs by James Mullan

Meet a Gay Polo League winner GORDON ROSS, who operates a successful Calgary residential real estate firm, was a member of the winning Equestrian Life side at the inaugural Gay Polo League (GPL) in Florida in April (see PT, May issue). Having tried several equestrian disciplines, he first sampled polo five years ago and knew at once he couldn’t resist.

He joined Calgary Polo Club and has been playing competitively since 2007.

“I was a fairly late addition to the Gay Polo League,” explains Ross. “I only heard about it through [Calgary professional and coach] Kyle Fargey’s girlfriend, Megan Kozminski, and organised to go to Florida less than a fortnight before the start of the Senator’s Cup and try out Ross: “Some questioned whether the for a team with two of the tournament’s main gay community needed its own league” organisers, Chip McKenney and Tom Landry.

“I was delighted to be picked, given that the only polo I’d played since the end of last season was on a trip to the Val de Vie wine and polo estate in South Africa before Christmas. I play in Calgary five days a week in July and August, where the atmosphere is totally inclusive and supportive, but I lease all my horses, so I do very little in winter. This year, going to Argentina is an aim, especially as we are going back to Florida as the same side to defend our title at the GPL’s second Senator’s Cup next April. The organisers are expecting lots more teams, so it will be a tough ask, but it’s great that the event has taken off and that the reception both from within polo and the local community has been largely positive.

“Some people questioned whether the gay community needed its own league, and extra security was hired for the event as a precaution against expected protests. However, there were no problems and our final attracted more than 1,500 spectators, which was fabulous. There are more gay players than many people think, so it’s great to acknowledge that publicly through the tournament and give those players a level playing field to compete on where they can be proudly gay and no longer feel isolated.”

40 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

loving Albertans in what has traditionally been a region given over to rodeo.

Their hardy interest was rewarded with the kind of dramatic change in the extreme weather that is Canada’s trademark. Pouring rain and hail

that blew in from the glorious Rocky Mountains gave way to beautiful clear skies and sunshine in less than 30 minutes. Spectators’ moods were also lifted by the excellent and entertaining commentary of regular visitor, Bryan Thomas, who comes to play each season from his home in Florida, and by the appearance of Fred Mannix’s youngest son, Julian – brother of six-goal Fred Jnr. The wiry teenager caught the eye on my last trip to Calgary, two years ago, when he teamed up well with former five-goaler Daniel Roenisch to sweep to a home victory against the Bajan side of 2008. I also witnessed him play a decisive role as he took victory in the Canadian Open final earlier that same day, when his goals helped ensure a 10-7 victory for the Hawks.

So, with all the local eyes on Julian at the start of the contest (he has gone up two goals since 2008), the Bajans took to the field for the Barbados Challenge Trophy with the minimum of fuss. They had stick and balled on their borrowed horses only once since their arrival and so began the contest with instructions from their pro (and the only non-Bajan in the team) Martin Jauregui to keep the game tight.

It was anything but. With the Bajans looking out-horsed and relatively disorganised in the first two chukkas, and with the umpires clearly monitoring the game with instructions to let it flow, it was a miracle that the Canadians didn’t score. They missed more chances than Emile Heskey and looked about as much use in front of goal as Naomi Campbell would be behind the till in De Beers.

As it was, fine goals from youngsters Marc Atwell and Adam Deane against the run of play gave Barbados an improbable 2-0 lead at halftime. They owed their success largely to the work rate and quality of Jauregui at the back, who was a constant thorn in the side of the Canadian

PTSept 2010 p40-41 Canada YC JM PJ

17/8/10

attacks and whose long-range passing ability was always going to provide his teammates with opportunities to score.

Nevertheless, spectators were reminded of what a quick game polo can be, when the Canadians finally broke their jinx and Gordon Ross, Julian Mannix and Daniel Roenisch all successfully found the posts in a quick-fire two minute spell at the end of the third chukka to take the lead going into the last.

Then it was all about one thing. Horsepower.

Demonstrating how well and generously Calgary Polo Club players and staff had mounted the visitors, Marc Atwell scored all three goals in the final chukka to bring the Bajans a 5-3 victory, thanks to best playing pony Tricky, provided to him free-of-charge by minus-one-goaler Pat Powell. The team’s fourth goal, and Atwell’s third, stood out in particular when he galloped more than half the length of the field with the ball and scored a tricky under-the-neck to reclaim the lead.

The performance of Atwell, whose brother Danny had been on the winning side back in 2009, had much to do with the Bajans’ success in retaining the trophy last month.

The visiting Caribbean victors (l-r): Damian Luke, Adam Deane, Marc Atwell and Martin Jauregui

17:10

Page 3

However, if Atwell looked good off a one-goal handicap, then Martin Juaregui must be the best value off four goals in the whole of North America. And he might not be west of the Atlantic for much longer though, as the good news for patrons is that Jauregui is angling for work in the UK next summer. Read right and form an orderly queue. F

The Barbados Challenge Trophy; 8 August 2010; Calgary Polo Club, Alberta – Canada Result: Barbados beat Canada, 5-3 Handicap level: 6 goal Principal sponsor: Barbados Tourism Authority Other sponsors: Hyatt Regency; West Jet; Audi; Mount Gay Rum; Piper Heidsieck; Mango Bay; Ocean 2; Trivento

Jauregui: “Canada’s been a great place to work, and valuable for my game: I recommend it”

The Argentine view

Chukka scores (Barbados): 1-0; 2-0; 2-3; 5-3 Best playing pony: Tricky, owned by Pat Powell and played by Marc Atwell Teams: Canada (6): Gordon Ross -1; Anne Evamy 0; Julian Mannix 3; Daniel Roenisch 4 Barbados (6): Damian Luke 0; Adam Deane 1; Marc Atwell 1; Martin Jauregui 4

MARTIN JAUREGUI, who has played five summer seasons in Canada, was the standout performer of the Barbados Challenge Trophy. Originally from near Open Door in Argentina, Martin was brought up on polo at the family farm, where his older brother José, a fellow four-goaler, runs their huge breeding operation.

Martin first came to Canada in 2003 when, as a 17-year-old two-goaler, he worked for four months in Toronto for six-goaler Pablo Falabella, a friend of Martin’s polo-playing dad. Since then Martin has witnessed first-hand the gradual, steady rise of Canadian polo.

“Players such as Pablo have been bringing horses from Argentina every year,” says Martin. “He has been known to bring 75 to 200 a year, such is the demand. He always sells them.

So, even though there hasn’t been much of an increase in the number of patrons, Canada now has better horses, more and more excellent fields and a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere to recommend it.

“Snow in winter makes the game totally seasonal, but in Toronto the grounds are in great shape by May, and the season runs until September.

It’s shorter in Calgary, with competitive polo only played in July and August.

“Canada has been a great place to get a job. The highest-handicapped polo here is 12-14 goal – those are mainly exhibition games with a patron on each side – but all games are played hard and competitively. Coming here has been valuable for my game and I’d recommend it. However, I feel now is the time for me to find a job in Europe. I’m 24 now and I’m ready!”

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 41

PTSept 2010 p42-43 Goodwood JM PJ

17/8/10

17:11

Page 2

Report Goodwood Week

Harrison Cup winners Emlor (l-r: Nacho Gonzalez, Joaquin Pittaluga, Eden Ormerod and Clinton McCarthy) are all smiles as they collect their prize from Patricia McCowen

The great and the good Cowdray’s late-July action yielded two worthy winners from a strong and pleasingly abundant field, says Clare Milford Haven ntries were up for both Goodwood Week tournaments at Cowdray in the balmy days of late July, with 10 sides in the 15-goal Harrison Cup (up from six in 2009) and 36 in the eight-goal Holden White Cup (up from 29).

After 10 days of qualifying rounds and both semi-finals decided by just a goal, the Harrison final was played out between Emlor and Tayto on Lawns Two. Tom de Bruin, Alan Kent, Martin Rodriguez and Northern Irish patron Stephen Hutchinson made an impressive start for Tayto, scoring three quick goals, and were only briefly threatened by a successful run to goal from the throw-in by Joaquin Pittaluga. At 3-1 going into the second, a foul by Tayto led to a lofted 60yard penalty by Emlor regular Nacho Gonzalez, but Martin Rodriguez retorted by running all the way on a speedy little chestnut.

Now at 4-2, Tayto had the edge but Pittaluga

Photographs by Clive Bennett

E

42 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

turned on the gas and with end-to-end play, the black shirts of Emlor equalising late in the second. The third chukka was similar in style with nifty cat-and-mouse play and Emlor briefly taking

Tayto’s grasp. Too late, though, for the potato crisp king from Co Armagh: the bell went and Emlor – who are having a storming season – were the happy Harrison winners for 2010.

Nick Dann’s run to goal was heralded by cheers from a stag party, but they may have put him off the lead. Another goal by Hutchinson resulted in a 7-7 stand-off by half-time.

A couple of blunders in the fourth cost Tayto two precious goals and the tide turned: the final chukka got underway with the score 9-7 to Emlor.

To add insult to injury, a great under-the-neck by Ormerod gave Emlor a lead that looked unassailable, though after a spot of Irish luck, with a ball bouncing off an Emlor pony and popped in by Hutchinson, plus a successful long shot by de Bruin, victory was almost back in

In the Holden White, it was down to Broncos and Four Quarters Orange to battle it out on home territory in the final. Local entries did remarkably well in this year’s hugely competitive preliminaries, with Midhurst teams dominating the semis. With the much fancied River and Hollycombe out of the mix, it was anybody’s final.

Broncos came out strong, with James Harper scoring the first and second goals without too much opposition but before long a corner hit for Four Quarters led to the first for the orange

PTSept 2010 p42-43 Goodwood JM PJ

17/8/10

17:12

Page 3

Clockwise from left: Nick Dann leads the line for Broncos during the Holden White final; action from the Harrison Cup decider between Emlor and Stephen Hutchinson’s Tayto; George Milford Haven, James Harper, Henry Fisher and Nick Dann get their hands on the Holden White trophy, beating 35 other sides to the prize

shirts. Nick Dann’s run to goal for Broncos was heralded by cheers from a stag party at the sidelines, but they may have put him off. Broncos went on to score another three in a great second chukka and by half-time Four Quarters were trailing badly at 1-5.

After the break, however, captain Tom Morley was having no more of it and after one more Broncos goal he stepped up the pace, helped by Jack Richardson, and managed to lessen the gap, taking them to 4-6 going into the fourth and final. Great quick play by Henry Fisher, though, sealed Four Quarters’ fate and in spite of a matched goal in the last minute of the game, Broncos took the trophy at 7-5, making James Harper this year’s winner of the two finest national eight-goal tournaments, the Archie David and the Holden White.

Fisher, who had flown back from Sotogrande three times that week to play, said: “Having a

good start gave us the edge and we managed to play good, open polo.”

The 36 teams fielded plenty of British pros from one to five goals, from Bobby Dundas and Ed Hitchman to Roddy Williams and Richard Le Poer. While the runner-up Four Quarters Orange had a “sister” team Four Quarters Black, with Romilla, wife of Simon Arber, in the patron spot, several other teams had a strong family theme with two or more relatives playing together, including James and Amelia Scott Hopkins, Patrick and Martin Ephson, Richard, William and Andrew Hine, Stephen and Raymond Hutchinson, Oliver, Lucy and Howard Taylor, Chris and Clare Mathias, George and Lila Pearson and Lulu and Francis Hutley. F ◗ To see the dizzying array of teams in full, and

look at full results, visit the Tournaments section at www.polotimes.co.uk

Harrison Cup, 19 July to 1 August; Cowdray Park, West Sussex Result: Emlor beat Tayto 10-9 Handicap level: 12-15 goal Number of team entries: 10 Chukka scores (Emlor): 1-3; 5-5; 7-7; 9-7; 10-9 Finalists Emlor (15): Clinton McCarthy 0; Eden Ormerod 3; Joaquin Pittaluga 6; Nacho Gonzalez 6 Tayto (15): Stephen Hutchinson 2; Alan Kent 4; Tom de Bruin 5; Martin Rodriguez 4 Holden White, 17-31 July Result: Broncos beat Four Quarters Orange 7-5 Handicap level: 4-8 goal Number of team entries: 36 Chukka scores (Broncos): 2-1; 5-1; 6-4; 7-5 Finalists Broncos (8): Nick Dann -1; Henry Fisher 3; James Harper 5; George Milford Haven 1 Four Quarters Orange (8): Charlie Scott 0; Simon Arber -1; Jack Richardson 3; Tom Morley 6

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 43

PTSept 2010 p44-45 Fest JM YC PJ

17/8/10

17:14

Page 2

Don’t get behind this winter

HPA Coaching for beginners to advanced - Tournaments - Chukkas - Stabling - Corporates 10 minutes from Guards - 30 minutes from London For bookings and enquiries call Charlotte Sweeney on 0779 981 2739 or Royston Prisk on 0779 971 1336 Office 01932 872 521 Fax 01932 872 006 Email ashfarmpolo@hotmail.com Ash Farm, Bousley Rise, Ottershaw, Surrey KT16 0LB www.arena-polo.com

WWW.EQUIBUILD.COM Tel: 01367 820 960

“Complete equine construction worldwide” Polo arenas indoor and outdoor, canter tracks, stabling – traditional and American barn, full design-and-build package

Indoor arena, Polo del Sol, Jerez

100m x 50 metre floodlit arena

Hugh Daly, MD of Equibuild, has been constructing equestrian facilities for some 20 years and has been involved with many prestigious projects.

Working throughout Europe, recent polo projects have included the resurfacing of the Emsworth Polo Club arena at Barton Lodge Farm with “Softrack Wax Polo” and resurfacing the canter track. Currently JeanFrançois Deceaux’s La Bamba team are training on the facilities and are extremely impressed; Hugh Daly also built “La Arena” at La Baille in France for Monsieur Decaux some 10 years ago.

44 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Gallop/canter track in Deauville

Equibuild is also behind the new canter track at Anningsley Park for Christopher Hanbury’s El Remanso team and the canter track and arena at Todham stables for Jerome Wirth’s Enigma team. Both installations are considered first class by the owners and players.

Other achievements include a full-size outdoor floodlit polo arena at the Sowiniec Polo Club, Poznan, Poland, and the 100x50m covered polo arena at Polo del Sol, near Jerez, Spain, one of the largest covered arenas in Europe. Further projects are shortly to be underway as far afield as Sri Lanka and Oman. Construction is also

underway of the Mellon Stud Complex, near Oxford, for some £2.5 million.

Hugh Daly works closely with Softrack and is well placed to provide the perfect balance of ingredients to make the waxed polo surface required for the demands of polo. Owners and riders alike all comment on its unique ride and recommend us whenever possible. Hugh now splits his time between construction of world-class equestrian facilities and promoting the Softrack throughout the world for all equestrian disciplines.

Visit www.equibuild.com & www.softracksurfaces.com

PTSept 2010 p44-45 Fest JM YC PJ

20/8/10

11:28

Page 3

Berkshire Polo Festival Report

With entries up, as Michael Amoore describes, teams had to dig deep to find their way to victory in the early August highlight of RCBPC’s season As ever, the activity at the parties was almost as much of a highlight as the action on the grounds.

There was a themed Havana Club party on Saturday 31 July and then Ivan The Terrible vodka cocktails provided the lubrication at the official closing down bash after the final on 8 August. F

T

Berkshire Polo Festival 2010; 26 July – 8 August

L-r: Simon Holley, Jonny Good, Olivia Mallach and Chris Hyde enjoy their extra-chukka win in the 10-goal

little resemblance to the re-match in the final, where five-goaler Hissam Ali Hyder was clearly keen not to be beaten again. He played out of his skin, displaying his scoring aptitude from the penalty spots as well as from open play, giving great confidence to his teammates as they convincingly swept to the title, 8-31/2.

Simon Holley’s Asprey London successfully defended the 7-10 goal title, overcoming Sara Hale’s Broadoak side in the final, despite trailing by five at half-time after a ferocious first-half display by Broadoak’s Peter Webb. Asprey’s Chris Hyde and Jonny Good masterminded the recovery in the third and fourth chukkas but it was the team’s amateurs who made the game’s most decisive contributions.

Holley scored an under-the-neck equaliser to take the game into an extra chukka and Olivia Mallach put in the decider after a fine pass from Hyde.

Result: Asprey London beat Broadoak, 10-9; Kit 4 Kings beat Eagle, 8-31/2; Rigby & Rigby beat Ausherra, 7-5 Handicap levels: 10-goal; 8-goal and 2-goal Sponsors: Tally Ho Farm, Martell Cognac, Havana Club and Ivan The Terrible Vodka Number of team entries: eight in 10-goal; 10 in 8-goal; six in 2-goal Most valuable players: Olivia Mallach; Hissam Ali Hyder; Phil Seller Finalists at each level: Asprey London (10): Simon Holley 0; Jonny Good 5; Chris Hyde 6; Olivia Mallach -1 Broadoak (10): Sara Hale -1; Tristan Pemble 2; Peter Webb 5; Sebastian Dawnay 4 Kit 4 Kings (8): Ben Riordan -1; Clare Hudson -1; Hissam Ali Hyder 5; Jamie Le Hardy 5 Eagle (7): Jonathan Munro Ford/Nadeen Wellard -1; Gonzalo Bazan 0; Martin Fiol 4; Daniel Otamendi 4 Rigby & Rigby (2): Steve Rigby -2; Phil Seller 0; Pablo Frias Silver 1; Matias Ballesteros 3 Ausherra (2): Tom Swerling -2; Tom Meacher 0; Oliver Browne 1; Lucas Fernandez 3

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 45

Photographs by Gillian Hughes

he three handicap levels that form the Berkshire Polo Festival welcomed a total of 24 sides this year, producing slightly fewer than 50 matches in the two weeks of the competition. Each level comprised round-robin league matches, before giving way to knockout semi-finals in the final week and the finals on Sunday 8 August.

At the -2 to 2-goal level, Steve Rigby’s Rigby & Rigby side and Tom Swerling’s Ausherra booked their places for Sunday’s showcase with semi-final victories over Paul Knight and Jinny FeatherstoneWitty’s Foxy Knights and Jeremy Pemberton’s Chunngis respectively. The final belonged to Rigby & Rigby, thanks largely to three-goaler Matias Ballesteros and Phil Seller in support, who consistently dominated the game and paved the way for a 7-5 victory.

Fine prizes for both the winners and runners up of the eight-goal competition, sponsored by Tally Ho Farm, ensured several strong sides amongst the largest number of entries in the festival and a healthy level of competition throughout all the games. It was two teams from the group of four that eased their way onto RCBPC’s number one field for finals day, Clare Hudson and Ben Riordans’s Kit 4 Kings and Jonathan Munro-Ford and Nadeen Wellard’s Eagles.

The Eagles had triumphed in their earlier meeting in the group stage, but that game bore

PTSept 2010 p46-47 Ascot JM PJ

17/8/10

18:11

Page 2

Report UK National Women’s Polo Tournament

Winners Pink Power (l-r: Rosie Ross, Sarah Wiseman, Kirstie Otamendi and Mandie Beitner) with Ascot Park’s Peter Grace and Pippa Gillard and 1-2 goal runners-up, Silverwood

Saddle up girls!

Mia Randall-Coath and Sophia Heath report on a fun-filled and actionpacked weekend of women’s polo, where Rosie Ross scored a double victory or the 22nd year Ascot Park Polo Club in Chobham staged the UK National Women’s Tournament last month – and with 22 teams in the fray, the tournament remains the largest of its kind in the world. The club welcomed players from across the UK and Ireland and from all levels of the game, who, as well as competing for titles, were pleased to support tournament charity SANDS, which conducts research into stillbirth and neonatal death.

F Photographs by John Applegate/squeezephotography.co.uk

Four male polo pros had their heads and other parts shaved for charity Play started early on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, with the first balls thrown in at 9am ahead of extremely full days of polo.

Competition was fierce, with two of the titles decided by just half a goal.

At the top of the levels ladder, the Stickhedz Polo Apparel 1-2 goal title was won by Pink Power, who beat Silverwood 71/2-7 in an exceptionally exciting final. Pink Power’s Kirstie Otamendi was named Elemis MVP while Lucy Taylor’s grey Dublin, playing for Silverwood,

46 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

picked up the Andros best playing pony award.

The Foxhills 0-goal final was won in style by Los Gatos over Eagle in another thrilling final: final score 51/2-5. Heloise Lorentzen from Los Gatos won the most valuable player award.

In the Uber Polo –2 to –1 goal final, Keelings beat Manor Farm Angels, while Oberoi Polo beat Wowdray in the Westwood Rocks –3 to –4 goal.

In the Touch of Ginger –5 to -6 goal, Dark Horse Polo beat Longdole, with Emma Boers of Longdole named MVP. In the Chobham Rider -8 goal section, Antarus beat Andros.

The Best Turned Out award went to Mandy Beitner’s triumphant 1-goal team Pink Power, who arrived in fantastic coordinated shirts, bandages and saddle blankets.

Pippa Grace, chairman of the IWPA said: “My thanks go to all the sponsors, who donated remarkable prizes and to the professional players who supported the tournament. To every player who travelled the length and breadth of the country, and to players across the levels who came together to showcase all that is good in women’s polo, thank you and well done.”

One of the many highlights of finals day was the spectacle of polo professionals Oli Hipwood, Gaston Devrient, Charlie Wooldridge and Richard Blake Thomas having their heads and other parts shaved for charity!

“To have ladies only weekends like this makes the season a bit easier,” said England international Rosie Ross. “It really helps the female pros and gives everyone a chance to see the good girls coming through.”

After such a successful event in 2010 Ascot Park is looking forward to another brilliant turnout in 2011 and beyond. F

UK National Women’s Polo Tournament; 31 July - 1 August; Ascot Park Polo Club Principal sponsors: Stickhedz, Foxhills, Uber Polo Handicap levels: 1-2 goal; 0-goal; -2 to -1 goal; -4 to -3 goal; -7 to -5 goal; -8 goal Number of team entries: 22 Results: 1-2 goal winners: Pink Power 0-goal winners: Los Gatos -2 to -1 goal winners: Keelings -4 to -3 goal winners: Oberoi Polo -7 to -5 goal winners: Dark Horse Polo -8 goal winners: Antarus 1-2 goal finalists: Pink Power (1): Mandie Beitner -2; Rosie Ross 2; Sarah Wiseman 1; Kirstie Otamendi 0 Silverwood (2): Hayley Hyde-Andrews -1; Amber Clutton-Brock 0, Marianela Castagnola 2, Lucy Taylor 1

PTSept 2010 p46-47 Ascot JM PJ

17/8/10

18:11

Page 3

Clockwise from left: Oli Hipwood has his head shaved for charity by Janet Jaker; Silverwood’s Amber Clutton-Brock gets hooked during the 1-2 goal final; Longdole and -5 goal winners Dark Horse Polo (in black), being congratulated by Pippa Gillard

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 47

PTSept 2010 p48-51 Home & Abroad-YC JM PJ

18/8/10

16:48

Page 2

Report HBL Heritage Polo Cup and Navy round-up

Vintage event comes of age Five years old and inspired by a photo taken 125 years ago, polo’s answer to the Goodwood Revival has become a Sandhurst showpiece, says Yolanda Carslaw he magnificent backdrop of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst provided a glorious setting last month for one of polo's most imaginative, international and enjoyable fixtures, the HBL Heritage Polo Cup, sponsored by Habib Bank UK. This year's staging marked not only the event's fifth birthday, but celebrated 125 years since a collection of stylish polo-playing officer cadets were immortalised in a photograph on the steps of Old College, an image that provided inspiration for polo's showpiece vintage event.

Six six- to eight-goal teams, mostly fielding three amateurs and a professional, assembled at the Camberley training academy for the weekend on 7-8 August, a celebration of polo, history and fashion organised by Sandhurst's energetic Swiss-born polo manager Barbara Zingg.

For the teams, as in previous years, Zingg commissioned British shirtmakers TM Lewin to tailor shirts modelled on those worn by the 1885 players in “that” photo. Matching silk ties were neatly tucked in and a few dug out traditional baggy breeches.

The home side, EFG International British Army Officers, wearing white luxury twill shirts and regimental belts, fielded Capt Matt Eyre-Brook, a serving officer with the 9th/12th Lancers who learnt polo at Sandhurst 10 years ago; OCdt Doug White, the best of the current crop of polo-playing officer cadets (see page 98); EFG Bank's best player Robert Mehm, an American who learnt polo in Boston and lives in Switzerland, and Army Association polo coach Gaston Devrient.

The “newcomer” this year was Luxembourg, to Polo Times’s knowledge the first team representing the fledgling polo nation (one club, 20 players and rising, 120 social members) to travel to the UK for an

Photographs by Centaur Photographic, Tony Ramirez, Peter Meade and Joanna Sweeney

T

“international”. “It’s special to be here,” said Bert Poekes (0). “Guillaume, [the hereditary] Grand Duke of Luxembourg, studied at Sandhurst quite recently, so it means something to us.”

HBL Pakistan was the only nation to field four players of one nationality; 141 Dubai Falcons included rising patron Saeed bin Drai and his cousin Omid Jamaei; EIM Helvetia featured three Swiss and an Argentine, while the USA Destinations of Polo Virginia side took on Englishman Adrian Wade as its hired gun.

Swiss player Gilles Leraille, playing for the cup for the third time, said: “We love it here, and it’s special because it’s a revival. We play in the US, Argentina and

The canny Barbara Zingg has trademarked Heritage Polo in the UK around Europe, but the location and atmosphere here are different: it has a lot of style.”

In Saturday’s three four-chukka games on the Round Ground in front of New College Dubai beat the US 8-41/2, the British beat Luxembourg by a goal and Pakistan beat Switzerland by half-a-goal, putting Dubai and the British through on goal difference.

Pony power this year, for the first time, was organised by each team’s pro rather than a collection of hire ponies, and officer cadets manned the scoreboard, clock and goalposts.

In gorgeous sunshine the following day, with umpires resplendent in toppers and tails and a brown vintage-style marquee providing some shade at the sidelines, Luxembourg and the US drew for joint fifth and EIM Helvetia narrowly beat HBL Pakistan into third place. The cosmopolitan crowd was entertained by the Band of the Bugles and Action on the Round Ground in front of New College

Rifles, a parade of hounds by the RMAS Staff College Drag Hunt, the Shetland Pony Club and two sword men of the King’s Royal Horse Artillery. Before the final they witnessed the real eyecatcher: two ladies’ teams playing in splendid vintage-style tunics and waistcoats (for more, turn to page 86).

In the final, Doug White was the star, scoring the home side’s first two goals and displaying quickness and sense on the field that must have made his teacher – Zingg – thoroughly proud. Though EyreBrook took one tumble and narrowly missed coming off a second time during the first half, to the consternation of commentator Lt Col Simon Ledger, the foursome settled into their stride easily against Dubai. At half-time they led 31/2-1, and they held onto their lead to win 61/2-5.

As Heritage tradition dictates, teams were photographed afterwards posed on the same steps as in the photo of 125 years ago: and talking of tradition, in case anyone wants to nab this brilliant idea, beware: the canny Zingg has trademarked Heritage Polo in the UK and hopes to cast the net wider one day. F ◗ See also pages 86 and 98 Heritage Polo Cup, 7-8 August; Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Surrey Result: EFG International British Army Officers beat 141 Dubai Falcons 61/2-5 Handicap level: 6-8 goal Number of team entries: six Chukka scores (EFG International British Army Officers): 21/2-1; 31/2-1; 51/2-4; 61/2-5 Teams EFG International British Army Officers Team (7): OCdt Doug White 0; Robert Mehm 1; Capt Matt Eyre-Brook 1; Gaston Devrient 5 141 Dubai Falcons (8): Omid Rajaei –1; Saeed bin Drai 1; Charlie Muldoon 5; Nicolas Petracchi 3 EIM Helvetia (8): Gilles Leraille –1; Francisco Lalor 3; Justo Saavedra 5; Markus Graff 1 HBL Pakistan (7): Azan Noon 1; Ahmed Tiwana 2; Hamid Ali 3; Col Talha Saeed 1 USA Destination of Polo Virginia (7): Tripp Donnelly 0; Doug Barnes 2; Alan Adler 0; Adrian Wade 5 Luxembourg (7): Yves Wagner –1; Bert Poekes 0; Martin Riglos 4; Oliver Taylor 4 Ladies’ teams Liberty Freedom United Kingdom (–2): Maj Lucy Anderson –2; Alice Gipps 0; Charlotte Christodoulou 0; Aurora Eastwood 0 Vanilla Rose Four Nations (–2): Irene Graff 0; Mahzna Malik –1; Allison Robbins –1; Cariane Hoffie 0

48 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

PTSept 2010 p48-51 Home & Abroad-YC JM PJ

18/8/10

16:48

Page 3

Tidworth and Guards

Lord Nelson would be proud JULY WAS AN excellent month for the Royal Navy’s polo players. They enjoyed an unbeaten run in three of their biggest fixtures of the summer to complete a clean sweep of the three principal polo tournaments played between the services.

Early in the month they defeated the Army 41/2-2 at Tidworth for the Rundle Cup on 10 July before moving to Guards Polo Club for a final the following day to beat a strong threegoal Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment side to scoop the Inter Regimental Tournament.

The side then knew the rare chance of a triple was on in their final fixture of the trilogy at Tidworth

Clockwise from top: OCdt Doug White, Sandhurst’s strongest player; Dubai’s Saeed bin Drai with the ball; the EFG British Army Officers (Gaston Devrient, Robert Mehm, Capt Matt Eyre-Brook, OCdt Doug White); runners-up 141 Dubai Falcons

RMAS

Cadets meet action men ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY Sandhurst hosted three “Leadership and Excellence” polo matches on the afternoon before Cartier International Day, 24 July, showcasing polo of three very different levels of experience and handicap.

Sandhurst’s current crop of officer cadets fought it out in the first game for the Al Attiyah Trophy, playing against the higher-handicapped RMAS Alumni invited back by polo manager Barbara Zingg. The returning soldiers triumphed comfortably, 8-41/2, though they commented on the advantage the current cadets will now have that polo is so extensively on offer to them during their training. This did not used to be the case.

A two-goal match followed for the Excellence Cup. Norton Rose LLP were the victors, beating Lloyd’s of London 3-2 thanks largely to terrific teamwork between Claire Brougham and Daniel Ottamendi.

Finally, the real highlight of the afternoon was a 12goal exhibition match. The Images of Polo team, despite being captained by Glen Gilmore (the sevengoal captain of the Australian international team), were unable to breakdown the structured play of the

Minotauro Polo Team. Pepe Riglos, who also won the most valuable player award, managed to captain the Minotauro Team to a 51/2-4 victory.

A Red Arrows display team flyover completed an enjoyable afternoon for the spectators, who went home having seen some of the British polo season’s top players in action and had a glimpse of the future talent to come in the shape of the cadets at various stages of their training and their individual polo journeys.

Teams Alumni (0): Lt Col Howard Flood (Gren Guards) –1; Capt Cristian James (Gren Guards) –1; Capt Alistair Walker (Scots GD) 1; Maj Guy Marot (Royal Engineers) 1 RMAS La Martina Polo Team (-1): Ocdt Watson –1; Ocdt Harris –2; Ocdt Purbrick 2; Ocdt White 0 Norton Rose LLP (2): Martin Davison –1; Fiona Reilly –1; Claire Brougham 0; Daniel Ottamendi 4 Lloyd’s of London (2): Edward Barker –1; Chris Fagan –1; Ivan Rubinich 4; Ton McCallum 0 Images of Polo (12): James Scott Hopkins 0; Kelvin Johnson 4; Glen Gilmore 7; Rhys Cole 0

Action from the Royal Navy’s unbeaten run

on 24 July, as the Royal Navy lined up to face their adversaries from the Royal Air Force for the Duke of York Cup. A victory would mean the first Navy Triple Crown since 1996.

However, with the pressure on, the Navy made a poor start and were forced to come from behind, eventually triumphing 6-31/2.

“The Navy victories are a testament to the training, discipline and great rapport between the players,” said a delighted Cdr Arnie Lustman. Slt Hiro Suzuki won most valuable player for his outstanding performances throughout the campaign.

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 49

PTSept 2010 p48-51 Home & Abroad-YC JM PJ

18/8/10

17:24

Page 4

Reports At home and abroad X

St Albans

Heroic charity effort cheered by celebrities MORE THAN 500 people enjoyed a celebrity polo charity event at St Albans Polo Club on 24 July, raising an estimated £25,000 for the Services charity Help for Heroes.

TV chef Tristan Welch, from Saturday Kitchen, prepared a tasty feast while spectators enjoyed two matches that showcased military talent and various polo-playing celebrities. Ex-world middleweight and super middleweight boxing champion Steve Collins, who owns and manages St Albans Polo Club, formed a Civilian Team to play The Army in the opening game of the day, which was won 5-2 by the “civvies”.

Hurtwood Park’s Kenney Jones, former drummer with rock groups The Small Faces and The Who, led one of the sides in the celebrity fixture, as they then reminded Steve Collins what it feels like to lose after Collins’s victory in the earlier game, beating him and his pals, 7-4.

To maximise the funds raised, everyone involved volunteered their services from the players, umpires and commentator right down to the car parking assistants and waitresses. An even bigger event is planned for 2011, when they hope to raise even more.

Help for Heroes, which supports injured servicemen and women of the British Armed Forces, was founded in 2007, with the aim of raising £1million. To date, Help for Heroes has raised a staggering £65million, and counting. ◗ Find out more at www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Former Miss UK and Welsh schools national 100m and 300m hurdling champion Amy Guy takes the ball on for the celebrity side in the second game of the day at St Albans’ Polo for Heroes Day. She is also new TV Gladiator, Siren

Teams: Army Team (1): Maj Ben Marshall -1; Capt Mathew Blakiston 0; Capt Mathew Eyre-Brook 1; Capt Robert Gourlay 1 Civilian Team (3): Neil Warwick 0; Nick Henry 0; Niall Donnelly 3; Steve Collins 0

Celebrity Team (-2): Kenney Jones 1; Johnny Lynn 1; Amy Guy -2; Hormoz Verahramian -2 Steve Collins Warriors (-1): (from) Steve Collins 0; Natalie Talbot 0; Susi Boyd 0; Roy Abrams -1; Karen Perkins -1; Phil Jenkins -1

Lynt

A hunt challenge, a £1,000 prize and sumo wrestling

Photograph by Mike Webster

THE INAUGURAL SEASON at Lynt Polo Club (formerly Inglesham) has involved a busy schedule and a variety of successful events.

The VWH hunt descended there in late July, when Guy and Charlotte Verdon’s base hosted the VWH Show and a hunt polo match between the VWH and the Cotswold, alongside the club’s own Potting Shed

50 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Families tournament. VWH took victory against their neighbours, even though the VWH secretary, who was drafted in to play, had never played a “proper” polo match before. In the family tournament it was the Davies family that finished top of seven sides, as Antonia Davies and her two sons Hugo and Harry took home the cup and tankards donated by the pub.

As Polo Times went to press, preparations at Lynt were underway for the end-of-season sumo wrestling barbecue on 29 August. A four-goal £1,000 cash tournament is also still to be played the weekend of the 11-12 September so it looks set to be a busy finale for the fledgling club – especially as the Verdons were expecting their first baby in late August.

PTSept 2010 p48-51 Home & Abroad-YC JM PJ

18/8/10

16:49

Page 5

Home & abroad in brief ◗ TOAST FESTIVAL’S annual celebration of

Above: St Albans Polo Club’s owner Steve Collins (centre, in green) gives chase to one of the Army players en route to a well-earned victory by the side made up of Civilians Left: the large turnout of spectators look on in the background as Kenney Jones (brown hat) takes the ball on as his celebrity side (in blue and navy) make gradual progress up the ground on their way to goal. They won 7-4

France and Italy

Action hots up in Euro glamour-spots THE ST TROPEZ POLO Trophy was won 3-1 by Team Jnan Amar, amidst the beautiful backdrop of the blazing sun and rolling hills of the glamorous Cote d’Azur, writes Leah Ludlow.

The 5-8 goal competition on 31 July was a multinational affair, with four teams mixing players from Argentina, France, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and female player Annika Murjhan from Germany.

The flavour of the winning side was very much Arabic, with all their players hailing from the UAE, except Argentine Guillermo Willington. Dubai’s Al Habtoor family teamed up with the impressive Amr Zedan from Saudi Arabia (who caught the eye earlier in the year at the St Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow).

“We are really happy with the victory,” said Zedan, having recovered from a fall. Both he and Parisian Paul Miliotis took tumbles in quick succession during the same chukka, though both remained cheerful afterwards.

Said Miliotis: “The tournament has brought together such a wonderful group of people and created a great ambience, all put together in less

than two months. The contest was really a memorial game in honour of [polo-loving French playboy] Jerome Thibaud, who died recently, and we would love to keep it going in his memory. We have also initiated polo tournaments in his honour elsewhere in France, and one in Berkshire.”

TUSCANY’S ARGENTARIO Polo Club hosted the Coppa Italia FISE 4-6 goal tournament from 28 July to 8 August, and welcomed nine sides to compete. The games are played in the evenings, thanks to eight beacon-lit towers that provide illumination of the ground.

La Ginevra managed an impressive victory over La Mimosa Green Season in the final to take the Coppa Italia FISE 4-6 goal cup 8-51/2. The highest scorer of the tournament was Argentinean six-goaler Federico Teves, who fired home a remarkable 35 goals.

Next on the agenda at the Italian club is the Monte Argentario Gold Cup, which rounds off the season at Argentario Polo Club from 24 September to 3 October.

international polo, food, wine, culture and live music from the southern hemisphere takes place again this month on Clapham Common in London. The event, which runs from 24-26 September, follows a celebration for the 10th Toast New Zealand event on 12 June, which included a friendly game between England and New Zealand at Ham Polo Club.

The festival this month celebrates not just New Zealand, but all the countries in the tri-nations, with each day dedicated as follows: Australia on Friday 24 September, South Africa on Saturday 25 September and New Zealand on Sunday 26 September.

Great Britain will also take on the Toast Nations in three arena-style international polo matches. Ascot Park Polo club will be there to help introduce spectators to the sport. Visitors will be treated to some of the best native bands and musicians performing live. Standard tickets for single days start from £20.

For more information contact 0871 230 5591 or see www.toastfestivals.co.uk ◗ A RECORD 40 TEAMS

battled it out for nine different cups in Nigeria last month. The Katsina International Polo tournament marks the start of the Nigerian polo season, and with so many entries, a strong sponsor and plenty of local interest, the enthusiastic festival atmosphere at this first tournament has inspired great optimism for the country’s polo for the year ahead.

The matches were all played at the Usman Nagogo Polo Ground, between 30 July and 7 August, and the event was once again sponsored by Nigeria’s biggest communication group, MTN. Team Air Max ultimately finished on top of the huge number of entries, beating Kaduna Keffi Ponies on the first Saturday in August to win the prestigious Nigerian Cup. The tournament was popular, not only with players and sponsors, but also with bookmakers, who took bets on the action throughout. ◗ THE SUNNY ISLAND of Ibiza followed in

the sandy footsteps of other seaside spots last month,hosting its first Beach Polo Cup from 29 July to 1 August.

Six teams, 18 players and more than 60 horses participated. The winner was only decided in extra time, when JaegerLeCoultre’s three-goaler, Horacio Laprida, fired home the winner.

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 51

PTSept 2010 p52-55 ROR YC PJ pls remake p54

18/8/10

15:11

Page 2

Feature Ex-racers that excel

Jack Richardson on Elliebow (left) and Lanto Sheridan on Top Hat at a parade of former racehorses at Ascot Racecourse organised by the charity Retraining of Racehorses

From parade ring to pony lines Photographs by Mel Fordham and Yolanda Carslaw

Antje Derks discovers how the winners of this year’s Retraining of Racehorses polo prizes embarked on speedy, successful “second careers” ears ago, when I was in racing, many of the Thoroughbreds that didn’t make an impression on the track had pretty bleak futures.

However, thanks in great part to the sterling work of the charity Retraining of Racehorses things are looking up. Far more exracers are now rehomed than in the past and are re-educated to compete successfully in a number of disciplines, including polo.

Indeed, an impressive line-up of ex-racehorses now enjoying life in another equestrian discipline paraded at Ascot Racecourse on King George Day this July. Two days earlier, six ex-racehorses judged to be the most successful on the polo

Y

52 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

circuit were each awarded £1,000 by the charity at the HPA Cartier Dinner.

Three-goaler Lanto Sheridan’s Top Hat was one of the winners. The nine-year-old gelding ran five times as a two-year-old, without success. Lanto has a strong racing background, being related to the Pritchard-Gordon family; surprisingly, though, Top Hat is the only ex-racehorse currently in his string. He bought the gelding three years ago as a six-year-old from Kim Richardson (father of Jack, see below).

Lanto explains: “I got Top Hat when he was still green but I was lucky because Kim had already done a lot of groundwork. Top Hat had seen a polo stick and was playing chukkas. It was

up to me gradually to increase the amount I did with him, starting with slow practice chukkas and low-goal: the process converting horses from track to field can’t be hurried.” Lanto says that although the process of retraining is slow, it is not unduly difficult. “It is important not to rush the horse and scare him,” he adds.

Lanto, who plays mostly low- and mediumgoal, including for the Cowdray Vikings, says Top Hat’s best attribute is his acceleration and he is extremely powerful in ride-offs. Despite Lanto’s connections within the racing fraternity (his uncle is a bloodstock agent) he has yet to add more exracers to his string. “I would like more retrained racehorses in future,” he says, “because they are

PTSept 2010 p52-55 ROR YC PJ

17/8/10

16:20

quick and that is one of the main attributes needed in a polo pony.” Lanto and Top Hat played on the Prince of Wales Team that narrowly lost to Hurlingham on Cartier International Day at Guards this July. Top Hat also took part in the Ascot Racecourse parade.

Three-goaler Jack Richardson’s Magic Genie was also an RoR cash prize winner, although in the Ascot parade he rode the less jumpy exracer Elliebow – an eight-year-old from trainer Tim Easterby that ran three times on the flat.

Most of Jack’s string comes from the track – he and his father buy and make the ponies themselves – and he has acquired 10 more this summer. “I normally get the horses when they are three, but this year I also have a five- and six-year-old too.” Milo Watson (Lord Manton)

Page 3

about racing. Eventually we bring them in and ride them for a little while before turning them out again.” In early winter they introduce them to the polo stick and may do a little stick and balling. The ponies then go back out until summer. After more stick and balling, they will go on to do slow practice chukkas. It takes up to two years before they are playing and longer before they are properly “finished”. Some horses Jack keeps and plays, while others are sold before they are finished so other players can take over the process.

Lighted Smile or Sonrisa, Malcom Borwick’s mount, now owned by Jerome Wirth, patron of Enigma, was another prizewinner this year. The seven-year-old mare ran 18 times, winning a race in France and was also placed a handful of

“I was lucky as Kim did the groundwork: Top Hat had already seen a stick and played chukkas” – Lanto Sheridan from the Yorkshire racing family, sources most of the horses for Jack and his father. According to Jack, Milo tends to go directly to trainers; a word-of-mouth network is in place that alerts him of potential candidates.

Magic Genie, or Magic as he is known, came to Jack as a four-year-old. The now eight-yearold bay mare ran three times before being deemed unsuitable for racing. Jack says she is the most agile Thoroughbred he has ever ridden, with enormous powers of acceleration.

He adds that the process of “conversion” is a long one and can take four or five years.

“Usually we turn the horses away for a couple of months to de-stress them and let them forget

times. According to Malcolm, Lighted Smile is “everything you want in a polo pony – she refuses to be beaten, but the minute you drop your hands she comes back to zero”.

Malcolm has four other ex-racehorses in his string. He sources them mostly from Lt Col Roger Horne, a Somerset-based player who supplies the horses with most of the groundwork done. Malcolm also finds and buys his own.

The ex-racers come to him between four and five years of age. Malcolm schools them and stick and balls them before playing chukkas. He says: “It takes two to three years before they are ready to play properly. It’s not easy taking on a X

Alan Kent with Blazing Mask (left) and Penperth, both of which came from Tattersalls

More track-to-field success stories THERE ARE VARIOUS options for polo players seeking ex-racehorses to retrain. The bloodstock agent Tattersalls (www.tattersalls.com) has been increasingly pushing its regular year-round sales to the polo community, with prominent results.

Former eight-goaler Alan Kent has added two ex-racers to his string, both purchased from the Tattersalls sales in the last couple of years. One is an Irish mare, Blazing Mask, who had nine starts before Kent purchased her in the autumn of 2008.

“She started playing tournaments this season,” he told PT. “I have been very pleased with her progress. And my second ex-racer, Penperth, is already at the stick-and-ball stage and is playing small chukkas, though I only bought her last autumn.”

The price of Thoroughbreds has dipped in recent years, and more and more are being sold through sale rooms rather than privately, making buying somewhere like Tattersalls an economic option. Alan believes prices have halved, on average. “You run the risk of picking up a horse with bad habits that need correcting,” he says “but it is increasingly a tempting alternative to home breeding.”

KIRTLINGTON-BASED two-goaler Martin Fewster knows wells the advantages of buying at a sale. “I always have between 12 and 20 horses at home, and sell four or five a year,” he says.

“All those I have now were bought at sales, including Tattersalls, and some I have bought from trainers.

These days I always make sure the horses I purchase are English Thoroughbreds. My best mare at present is a pony called Jazz, retrained for polo after a career with a trainer in Yorkshire.”

Fewster chooses fillies that are never older than three or four years old to bring on for polo and has recently sold them on as fully developed playing ponies to the likes of Tommy Wilson and English pros Malcolm Borwick and Henry Brett.

“I usually spend around £1,000 on each horse. In some cases I’ve picked up bargains at four or five hundred.

They can be broken or unbroken and raced or unraced – as long as they are English Thoroughbreds I don’t mind!”

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 53

PTSept 2010 p52-55 ROR YC PJ pls remake p54

18/8/10

15:11

Page 4

Feature Ex-racers that excel More track-to-field success stories HENRY BRETT HAS just started playing Madrinka, a six-year-old Thoroughbred gelding bought from Tattersalls three years ago.

“He’s going to be a very good horse,” the six-goaler tells Polo Times.

“Normally you bring a horse through the ranks, playing eight-, 12- and 15goal before you put him in a big tournament, but this season I knew after just a few practices and chukkas that he was ready, so his first competitive polo was actually in last month’s 20-goal Warwickshire Cup! He went very well.

“I’m not saying it always works to buy at a sale, and you will make mistakes, but it is by far the cheapest way to buy a horse. You just need to be prepared to buy some that won’t work out as well and then gradually, as you learn from your mistakes, you can find good horses. I buy on type and the advantage of a huge sale like Tattersalls is that you can see 500 horses in a day. Mandrinka just looked like a polo pony.

“An ex-racer won’t suit everyone, and they don’t make good patrons’ ponies, because Thoroughbreds are rarely easy and they need a lot of work.

It can also be a long process, but I’ve bought loads and there are a couple in my string that are already well proven.

So it does work.”

ANOTHER SUCCESS STORY is Dee Powell’s Miss Boogie Woogie. The mare came to Dee as a three-year-old and now, two years later, is fast becoming her one-goal son Ollie’s best pony. Ollie played her when he won the Gannon Section Two final with the Old Berkshire Hunt Team at this year’s Pony Club Championships.

Dee found the pony through the Oxfordshire-based charity HEROS (Homing Ex-Racehorses Organisation Scheme; www.heroscharity.org), which is dedicated to ensuring that former racehorses have a future when their racing days are over.

Dee commented: “The great thing about HEROS is that they know the horses so well.”

Grace Muir, who set up the charity, which is based near Wantage, says: “Thoroughbreds are just amazing and so willing to learn new things, whether as Riding Club horses, eventers or polo ponies.”

54 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Henry Brett’s Mandrinka, bought three years ago through Tattersalls. “I buy on type,” says Brett, “and at a huge sale like Tattersalls is that you can see 500 horses in a day. Mandrinka just looked like a polo pony”

green horse that needs a lot of time spending on it. There just aren’t the facilities or openings to play green horses in the UK.” Eden Ormerod’s mount Endless Chimes or Sabo – another RoR prizewinner – belongs to Tidworth player Tim Brown, who is a friend of the family.

Eden says: “I saw her play and approached Tim, who kindly allowed me to play her.” The seven-year-old mare, who ran three times over six and seven furlongs, is a great hitting platform, according to Eden, with impeccable balance and lots of guts.

Eden has several retrained racehorses and generally produces six per year. The Ormerod

good blood and speed”. He sources his ponies from various contacts: Lolly came to him via his vet. Others have made their way to his yard through friends, sales and wordof-mouth.

“Most of the horses I get are very green,” says Ed. “I tend to try them and if I like them, I will buy. Depending on the horse, it can take up to five years to make a polo pony. I tend to turn them out so they forget about racing and then ride them to get them quiet.”

He says he first introduces a polo stick at the end of a ride, when they are tired. “It’s important to introduce things slowly, so they don’t get frightened,” he adds.

Ed Hitchman first introduces the polo stick at the end of a ride, when the horse is tired. “It’s important to introduce things slowly, so they are not frightened” family source most of their mounts directly from trainers or by word-of-mouth. He has been to the sales at Ascot, but plans to head also to less frequented bloodstock sales.

He generally buys three-year-olds and like Jack Richardson prefers the slowly, slowly approach. He likes to have his horses playing “proper” polo by the age of six or seven, although he says it depends on the horse.

Ed Hitchman, who is playing his first season off five goals, is especially proud of his mare LOL Draper (stable name Lolly). Ed, who has five ex-racers in his string, says he prefers them because “Thoroughbreds have

Lalapaanzi, a wedding present to fivegoaler Jonny Good from Robert Thame, was also honoured. According to Jonny, Lalapaanzi adapts to the level of polo she is playing – thus the higher the level, the more impressive she is. The 10-year-old mare ran nine times as a two- and three-year-old and was placed over five furlongs first time out.

The story goes that he and Robert agreed to split the profits when she was sold, but because the mare is such a class act she remains where she is: Jonny declares that he loves her because she has “such a high top speed and such a big heart”. F

PTSept 2010 p52-55 ROR YC PJ

17/8/10

16:21

Page 5

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 55

PTSept 2010 p56-59 Over 60's YC PJ

17/8/10

16:22

Page 2

Feature Seasoned and successful

Sixty-plus, and still in the saddle Some of us already feel doddery at 40 but, for a great many players, polo is a game that age cannot wither. Caroline Stern asks a handful of “seniors” for their secrets to ensuring play goes on as long as it's enjoyable and safe n the words of 19th-century American author Oliver Wendell Holmes, not a polo player, “Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing”.

Surely this is well illustrated in polo, where many men – and women – keep at it well beyond pensionable age. And while we often read about youngsters coming through, what about the oldies? Who are they, how did they start, who's been playing the longest and what's the secret to staying happy in the saddle post-60?

Two of the longest-playing figures in UK polo are female: the most famous is Claire Tomlinson, 66 and still one goal (though a record-breaking five goals at her peak), who has played for more than 50 years and continues to compete, coach and innovate at her Beaufort Polo Club and elsewhere. Also Gloucestershire-based is Lavinia Black, 65, who learnt in Africa aged 14, played in Pony Club and won tournaments up to mediumgoal level, including the Royal Windsor Cup. Both Claire and Lavinia continue to win decent titles: Lavinia, for example, was part of Simon England’s Flying Pigs team that won big five years ago. She says: “I am now also very busy with SUPA [for whom she serves as chief umpire and welfare officer], but I still love tournaments.”

At the other end of the scale is Essex-based Nigel Miller, 61, who first rode aged four but took up polo aged 57. An experienced horse-breaker and Thoroughbred stud manager, he “got out of horses for two years, missed it and decided to take up polo!”

“I immediately fell in love with the game,” he says. “I went to Argentina at the end of my first season and bought four ponies.” He plays lowgoal and his handicap was raised to -1 in 2009.

How does he cope with the physical demands of the game? “I don’t go to the gym nor stretch

Illustration by Kate Scurfield. Photographs by Polo Photo and Yolanda Carslaw

I

56 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

George Knowles, 68 in action. The Baileys founder took up polo in his thirties at Woolmers Park

-2 to 0 overnight. When I started coaching in 1980, I passed on to my students everything he had taught me! I won my first cup in 1976 and have won all the low- and medium-goal cups at Cowdray. I am still playing polo at over 60, still commentating four games a day at weekends and must have seen more matches than anyone.”

His best handicap was three, “but I asked to be put down to two as I didn’t want to buy any more horses!” Terry also played high-goal once as substitute for Maple Leafs patron Galen Weston.

“All I could think of was that I didn’t have the money and the horses to be out there!”

Baileys Horse Feeds supremo George Knowles started in his thirties at Woolmers Park, Hertfordshire. “There were no polo schools then– you just had to get on with it!” The pinnacle of George’s polo was playing 15-goal with Pancho Marin Moreno in Argentina. Now aged 68, he plays at Frolic and Suffolk Polo Clubs.

“I get laughed at for the time and seriousness I devote to exercise,” he admits. “Exercise is vital, both before and after polo, for me, it’s mainly a

“I get laughed at for the time I devote to exercise. It's vital, before and after polo. I do a series of stretches, plus swimming and doing the horses” – George Knowles pre-or post-play, but I do exercises every morning,” says Nigel.

Enduring players who began somewhere in between – and have put polo at the centre of their lives – include the “voice of polo” Terry Hanlon, Baileys Horse Feeds founder George Knowles and instructor Robert Burke.

Terry came to polo later in life: “I started playing in 1975, in my early thirties. I had my first lesson with Howard Hipwood and went from

comprehensive series of stretches, plus swimming and doing the horses.”

Terry Hanlon takes an alternative view: “Prepolo exercises? I am a marine! I get on a horse and go out and play and I’m still faster than some young players – mental quickness is the great asset in polo!”

Schools and Ascot Park instructor Robert Burke began at 45. He counts his career highlights as X twice winning the Duke of York Trophy as RAF

PTSept 2010 p56-59 Over 60's YC PJ

17/8/10

16:23

Page 3

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 57

PTSept 2010 p56-59 Over 60's YC PJ

17/8/10

16:24

Page 4

Feature Seasoned and successful X team captain against the Royal Navy and more

recently the USA’s West Coast Seniors.

Like many older players, Robert “used a polo handicap as a passport to the world”, in the words of Winston Churchill, and has played in five continents. “For the last 13 years, polo has played a major part in my life,” he explains. “I gave up tournaments when I cracked a vertebra in my back two years ago but still play chukkas – I keep playing in order to keep on coaching.”

For some, attitudes to horses change as you get older. Lavinia Black expresses a preference for “reasonable” mounts at this point in her playing career, saying: “I like my horses tame now.” Regarding their management, she says: “The older you get the more you know, but I still have lots to learn.”

For Robert Burke, it’s a question of experience not age regarding good horse care and training. “I now play quieter horses, but due to past injury not old-age horses.”

As both a player and equine nutrition expert, George Knowles finds it easy to get on with older horses. “I especially understand their aches and stiffnesses, as we are so similar! It is terrible how many players treat their horses, particularly withholding water and food after play – one wouldn't treat a human so badly.”

Terry declares: “If I haven’t got four good horses, I don’t want to be out there.”

And how do the experienced players rate their behaviour and attitudes when playing past and present?

“I would not say my attitude or behaviour on the pitch has altered over the years,” muses Lavinia. “When I started, I saw older players as people to learn from and a great form of education – if I didn’t know something, I would ask. Now I am just treated like anyone else playing, though.”

Robert Burke respected older players when he started out and is now treated with more respect in old age – “but that’s probably because I am well known as a coach,” he adds. Personally, his attitude towards playing remains unchanged: “I am almost unique in that I never swear nor lose my temper on the pitch.”

Lavinia Black, 65 who has played since she was 14, and Terry Hanlon. “Pre-polo exercises? I’m a marine!” says Terry. “Mental quickness is the asset in polo!”

George Knowles admits to being “less vocal” these days! For him, now, “The great thing is proving to oneself that one can do it. But being sensible and not taking risks is important.”

As a newer player, Nigel Miller continually seeks self-improvement. “I did an excellent clinic this season and took a lot away from it,” he says.

“As you get older, you learn to read the game more and start to think instead of riding around like a headless chicken. I've never had any remarks about my age on the field. I have many friends who took up polo in their 50s. I would like to work at it and get up to 0 goals.”

All the players I spoke to have witnessed great changes in the sport as a whole.

“What has changed is the professionalism and number of people making a living from polo,” says

“When to stop? If you don’t give 100 per cent in a ride off or want to gallop, it’s not fair on a team” – Lavinia Black

Robert Burke (left) teaching at Ascot Park; Nigel Miller, who took up polo aged 57 and aims to reach 0 goals

58 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Lavinia. “When I started, everyone just played for fun. Horses, grounds and equipment have also improved beyond recognition.”

The new backhand rule interpretation, she believes, “will make play better, it’s how we used to play.”

Terry Hanlon agrees that the latest rule change is “superb.” He continues “The rule has always been there and now they are using it. Lower goal players now can’t hit a backhand so they will have to practise!”

What are the criteria for deciding when enough is enough?

“It’s not a criteria, it’s a feeling,” says Robert Burke. “You will know when it’s time to stop.”

“Simple,” says George Knowles, “I’ll stop when my son or a close friend says that I am a danger to others.”

Terry Hanlon has wound down to playing chukkas on his own Ambersham Academy field.

“After 30 years, the urge to get in the car and drive to Cirencester leaves you. But I have had 30 years at Cowdray Park and enjoyed every moment of it.”

“I will keep playing until my body says stop,“ says Nigel Miller. “You can play at your own speed and at the level you want to: as long as you are fit and have the desire, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t keep going.”

Lavinia’s view is that whether or not you are physically able to keep playing is a matter of luck.

“I still love playing and want to win,” she says.

“When to stop? When you get frightened and don’t give 100 per cent in a ride off or want to gallop, it’s not fair on your team and it’s a team game. Otherwise, keep on playing as long as you enjoy it. I made wonderful friends in Pony Club and they are still my best friends today – it’s a wonderful sport.” F

PTSept 2010 p56-59 Over 60's YC PJ

18/8/10

15:08

Page 5

Good luck to our team in the European Championships This is Girl Power beyond Posh Spice’s dreams.

ATS We’ve got everything for polo Look on our website:

www.satsfaction.com Phone us on: 01285 841 542 Fax us on: 01285 841 546 Email us on: sats@lineone.net South American Trade Services, Sandpool House, Sandpool Lane, Tarlton, Cirencester, Glos GL7 6PB

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 59

PTSept 2010 p60-61 Playing JM PJ

17/8/10

17:16

Page 2

The knowledge Playing around – Ascot Park Our intrepid improver Carlie Trotter (–2) works her way around the UK’s clubs

Fancy a go? Well, that’s all they olo is a nasty and vicious game,” says instructor Robert Burke to a captivated audience of newcomers, “which is why so many women are taking it up and being so terribly good at it.” If I wasn’t laughing I’d say he was on dangerous ground, what with Ascot Park being home to the International Women’s Polo Association and world’s biggest ladies tournament (see page 46).

There’s no question that Ascot’s training centre, which has welcomed around 30,000 Our contributor, Carlie, gets hooked as she tries to hit the ball, riding Negro, one of many Ascot’s schooling ponies (below) people through its gates, takes beginners straight to the heart of the sport and, as throws in for the first chukka, I’m impressed to Robert condenses 25 pages of rules and 2,000 hear Eran the Australian calling team plays. Rod years of heritage into 30 minutes, I watch explains: “This is hands down the best polo excitement replace confusion on each face in the group I have joined for the day.

“Even though Adam the The club clearly structures tuition - from arena instructionals to outdoor academy American suffers ‘the chukkas to club chukkas – so players can sickness’ (he’s leftbenchmark their progress. In turn, pros frequent handed) he wins the the club looking for well-trained patrons. longest hit challenge” Ascot’s introductory clinic – Discover Polo – academy in the world; in my view Peter Grace is a birthday gift or auction prize for many in and Robert Burke deserve OBEs for their service the 10-strong group of non-riders, tourists and to the sport”. city slickers, and the club records suggest two Later, during academy chukkas on the stick of those 10 will be hooked for life. Even though and ball pitch I tussle with players of two Adam the American suffers “the sickness” (he’s months and others of two years, and we lap up left-handed) he hangs on every instruction and coaching wisdom from Peter and Victoria Grace. wins the longest hit challenge when we stand Fouling is rife but we’re not moving at speed. atop upturned crates. The arena feels spacious Later when I’m drafted in last-minute for extra when we move onto riding practice and, as chukkas, academy member Alex Mayson former South Africa captain Rod Gutridge

Photographs by Carlie Trotter

‘P

60 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

explains: “Rod once told me I needed TITS (Time In The Saddle), and you certainly get that here.” Thrice weekly academy sessions allow novices to improve their riding in a relaxed team scenario. Renowned instructor Peter keeps one nervous rider behind for a masterclass, and explains afterwards: “You can’t use the same methods for every player, so for one person I translate ‘stand up into a half seat’ to ‘screw down into a half seat’”.

I then giggle my way through club chukkas aboard Ascot favourite Negro: I’m sure Claus Mikkelsen has the potential goal in mind, and not Katie Bateman’s rather colourful underwear, when he shouts: “Katie, I’m behind you, and loving every minute of it!”

Mia Randall-Coath then makes a great run on her star 23-year-old pony by screeching at pro Henry Collins: “For God’s sake Henry, go away!”

Our game goes a good pace, but it’s not as competitive as a Champagne Challenge. The 2to 8-goal four-chukka competitions, in which each side plays with one pro for the coveted cava, have this year proved a popular alternative to full tournaments.

Reasonably priced and run like clockwork, these matches – much like the club as a whole – ensure everyone who wants to play makes the line-up. F Read past editions of Playing Around in our online archive. Subscribers have access to back issues on the web using a personal login.

Contact georgie@polotimes.co.uk if you need your password.

PTSept 2010 p60-61 Playing JM PJ

18/8/10

15:05

Page 3

need to know Soundbites from the sidelines Peter Grace Club founder “I love to see the enjoyment this sport can give. It’s a great thrill for me when someone achieves things they never dreamed of, but I can get really tough!

The success of the training centre starts from the camaraderie between our instructors. It has taken 21 years to turn a derelict dairy farm into this club, and it’s pleasant to watch people enjoying it. Perhaps there’s not the same joie de vivre since the downturn but we’ve been lucky because we try to keep the game affordable.”

Nick & Mandie Beitner Members “I (Nick) came here for my first lessons at university. Now we make the onehour drive from central London four times a week, and have gone from having two to owning eight ponies. This is probably the best beginner club in the country and, although it’s not designed for higher level polo, the low-goal is of a very good standard and we play with several different pros. It’s such a laugh with the crowd here, and you can play as much or as little as you want.”

Alex Mayson Academy chukka champ “I started here three years ago and bought my first pony last year. I like the farm polo approach, in that it’s professionally run but relaxed. Here learning is a three-stage process so you’re always improving. I recently joined a four-day clinic, which was genuinely intensive – I only managed 48 hours straight! There are always people around after chukkas at the marquee bar, and sometimes the guys play guitar while Juan Muriel cooks up a lamb over the bricks.”

Ascot Park vital statistics Playing members 75+ in summer; 65+ in winter Non-playing members No social membership (it’s free) but there are around 35 regular academy players Facilities Four full-size boarded grounds plus stick & ball field; 100x50m all-weather arena; marquee bar serving hot food; commentary box; mechanical wooden horse; nice loos; all equipment provided except boots.

Location Set in 120 acres of Surrey countryside just off the M3 near the Four Horseshoes pub, 15 minutes from Guards Polo Club and Heathrow, 40 minutes’ drive from outer London or 10 minutes from Sunningdale train station (which is just 50 minutes from London Waterloo).

Philosophy Family-friendly low-goal haven working to take polo public Running the show Since he was introduced to the game by wife Elisabeth, New Zealand-born former Olympic showjumper and Ascot Park founder Peter Grace has been working to grow British polo. While he tries to find time to revise his celebrated book on polo, daughter Victoria oversees operations as club director.

Victoria puts the club’s “polo-for-all” ethos into practice at events such as Toast Festival while sister Pippa heads up the International Women’s Polo Association, which she founded in 1997. Together club manager Kathy Vivian and polo manager Jenny Blake-Thomas co-ordinate a year-round teaching and tournament schedule. Long-serving instructor Robert Burke is joined by an enthusiastic clan of pros and grooms.

Crowd Cosmopolitan mix of polo virgins from London, a large female contingent, school kids, and improvers aspiring to Guards membership. Learners range from age five to 79, while supporting professionals include well known four-goalers, Tarquin Southwell and Daniel Otamendi.

Seasonal highlight The UK National Women’s tournament now attracts 20-plus teams and swarms of male spectators every August. See page 46.

Livery On-site full livery through a club pro from £110 to £170 a week. Renting one of the 80 club stables, or a grass corral, costs around £25 per week. Over 50 ponies are available for hire.

Full membership Annual membership £1,500. Winter membership £500. Players are not required to join until they reach club chukka level.

Contact info@polo.co.uk; 01276 858545

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 61

PTSept 2010 p62-63 Game YC PJ

18/8/10

18:24

Page 2

Enter now!

Prizes

Last month Polo Times launched the magazine’s first amateur Polo Photo Competition, with some fantastic prizes to be won, including an Olympus camera with a super-powerful optical zoom. We’re looking for eyecatching, lively, bright and charismatic pictures to fit into our four categories (see right).

Best Overall An Olympus SP-800UZ camera Best Action Complete polo photography lesson with Vanessa Taylor, including tuition in editing and photoshopping: www.vanessataylor.co.uk Best Horses An A3 mounted polo print by Alice Gipps: www.alicegipps.com Best Junior (U21) An outdoor polo photography lesson with Tony Ramirez and one of Tony’s polo prints: www.imagesofpolo.com Best At the Sidelines A case of delicious Soutiran Champagne

All you need to do to have a chance of winning is email your photos to competition@polotimes.co.uk. Photos must each be at least 500KB in size and each individual can submit up to five photos. No professional photographers may enter. The photo must have been taken between 1 July and 31 December 2010. With each submission you need to tell us which category you are entering and enclose a 30-word caption about when and where it was taken, who it features and why you like it.

Entries close on 31 December and judges will include Polo Times staff and several leading professional polo photographers. The best photos and the winners will be featured in our January/February edition. So what are you waiting for? Get clicking!

Email competition@polotimes.co.uk

PTSept 2010 p62-63 Game YC PJ

18/8/10

15:38

Page 3

Your game The knowledge Vital riding and playing tips from Jamie Peel, three-goal pro and 2008 Gold Cup winner

Why Nacho, Javier and Lucas are in luck ith the season drawing to a close, many of us are starting to make plans for next season. The airwaves are flat out as the wheeler-dealers start to work their magic!

Personally, I love this time of year. It is peak season for gossip – though it can be hard to know what to believe. At any rate, it always makes for great conversation.

Many changes to high-goal teams for next year have been made that should really freshen things up. Loro Piana, Sumaya, Enigma, Zacara and Azzurra have all changed their line-ups.

Ahmibah are back and Ellerston are hopefully not far behind. All this, plus several controversial changes in the handicaps, promise to make for a really exciting 2011 season.

In particular, Javier Novillo Astrada and Nachi Heguy on eight goals will definitely be two to watch, as will Alejandro Muzzio and Lucas Criado on seven. They should all be extremely good value.

In high-goal, the majority of teams for the following summer are confirmed by the end of August. In low- and medium-goal, it can be more relaxed. Every professional player would like to have some tournament polo confirmed for 2011 before they depart for the winter, but it is not as easy as it may seem. It can be hard to know who to commit to, or even to get

W

Pablo MacDonough (left), who arguably “did well” out of his drop in UK handicap from 10 in 2009 to nine in 2010

down or even to try and go down a goal? It sounds negative – but it appears to be the case.

MY TAKE ON THE RULE CHANGES It would be interesting to get more subscribers’ opinions on how players and spectators thought the rule changes affected the game this season.

The turning rule certainly needs amending.

In defence it has encouraged players to hit backhanders and to move the ball more quickly. However, in attack it breaks the game

Is there an incentive to try to go down a goal? It sounds negative – but it appears to be the case up and slows it down: as it stands, if you are running with the ball towards the boards and need to turn to the right, you must check up and turn to the left or hit an open back hander. Both plays disrupt the flow of the game and slow it down, which has a really negative impact on the game for both spectators and players.

Surely if a player is making a positive play in attack, the game should continue. Spectators reputedly want to see fast, open polo – so players must be allowed to run with the ball, even if they are going to the right. Why not let

◗ Tell Jamie what you think or ask him a question

by writing to letters@polotimes.co.uk Read past Your Game columns in our online archive. Subscribers can access current and back issues with their personal login.

Contact georgie@polotimes.co.uk if you’ve lost your password.

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 63

Photograph by Abbey Walmsley

someone to commit to you at all. You always need to have an edge, a bargaining tool to help you get the deal you want.

Of course, what you really need is to be great value on your handicap. Your horses also play a big part, but if you are in demand teams will always make an effort to help you get mounted. Over the last couple of years, players who have dropped a goal in the handicap changes have come out on top.

Pablo MacDonough, Jaime Huidobro and James Harper are all good examples. Is there more of an incentive to keep your handicap

the player continue on an angle at speed and allow them to run with the ball? This for me would help encourage attacking polo. But what do you think?

It is hard to see what difference the “no contact” rule has made. Players are still trying to mark each other before the ball is in play, but it commonly goes unnoticed and doesn’t get blown until brought to the umpires’ attention. The intention behind the rule is fair, but the reality is that polo has become an extremely physical game.

At the start of the season, I was under the impression that blocking could become a thing of the past. Far from it. If anything, in some ways it is now even more important. The top players require even more protection than ever, so that they create sufficient space and time for the high-handicappers to do what they want with the ball. Is that improving the spectacle? F

PTSept 2010 p64-65 Duty Vet YC JM

18/8/10

17:43

Page 2

The knowledge Duty vet Mark Emerson MRCVS is a two-goal polo player and an ambulatory equine vet

Wind sucking: an ill-advised high Pleasure-giving endorphins tempt polo ponies into this most common of stable vices – but turnout, collars and, in extreme cases, surgery can prevent or manage the behaviour ind sucking is an abnormal stereotypical behaviour, or stable vice, that is not uncommon in polo ponies, particularly Thoroughbreds that may have been stabled from a young age.

Also known as “cribbing”, it is probably the most common stable vice in polo ponies, although others that are seen include wood chewing, “weaving” and pacing.

Although in many cases playing performance may not be affected by stable vices, such behaviours are generally considered undesirable. In extreme cases there does appear to be an association between stable vices and poor performance and/or poor body condition, particularly if the vices are not adequately managed. Although stable vices are learned behaviours that can be can be classified as compulsive addictions, there is undoubtedly a physiological component.

The action of stable vices is known to release endorphins, chemicals in the brain that act like opiate drugs such as morphine and produce a natural “high”. Using drugs to block the action of endorphins experimentally has been shown to halt stable vices temporarily.

Many people suggest stable vices can be attributed to boredom. However, we must be

The most notable damage caused by wind sucking is wear to the incisor teeth caused when the horse holds on to fixed objects – but the wear rarely affects their ability to eat and is more of hindrance to vets trying to age the horse by looking at their dentition!

W

How can it be prevented?

Above: to wind suck a horse fixes its teeth on a firm object such as a gate. Left: a polo pony wearing a collar to prevent it from wind sucking

behaviour is re-directed and channelled into something that gives them some sort of “release”.

What is wind sucking?

Wind sucking involves the horse sucking air through its throat, which in so-doing makes a belching sound. The horse uses its teeth to gain a purchase on a fixed object such as a stable door, which enables it to contract its neck muscles in order to draw in air.

There are concerns that wind sucking may lead to colic and other health problems. Some voracious wind suckers do not keep weight on easily but it is

Photographs by Mark Emerson

We mustn’t think of boredom in human terms – hanging out at pasture would be blissful for horses careful not to think of boredom in human terms – I dare say humans would find hanging out in open pasture for a lifetime rather boring, whereas to a herd of horses it would probably be blissful and thoroughly entertaining.

Vices are really mechanisms developed by horses to cope with life when they are denied the ability to express natural behaviour – their

64 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

unlikely that wind sucking in itself predisposes horses to colic. Studies using endoscopy and fluoroscopy suggest that air is not swallowed into the stomach but drawn in only as far as the upper oesophagus. However, there appears to be evidence in certain individuals of an association between wind sucking and gastric ulceration, and gastric ulceration has been implicated in causing colic.

The most common approach to dealing with wind sucking is to use a specially designed collar or strap that fits around the horse’s throat that physically prevents a horse from contracting its neck muscles and thereby wind sucking. Although this method does not address the underlying cause of wind sucking, in many cases it works quite successfully.

For horses that continuously remove their collars, there are even surgical procedures that involve the partial removal of some neck muscles and nerves.

In order to prevent wind sucking, ideally one should address the underlying causes; however, in long-established and severe cases it is almost impossible to break the “addiction”. The principal in dealing with the underlying causes is to allow affected horses to express natural behaviour.

This is best done by allowing them turnout on pasture with other horses. In polo this is not always possible, but at the very least some sort of turnout and access to ad lib forage is recommended.

Investigating the presence of gastric ulcers or even instigating treatment and management for gastric ulcers may be worth pursuing.

Some people suggest horses should not be denied the ability to wind suck and that they should be offered cribbing boards where they can perform the behaviour to their heart’s content without damaging stable doors or fence posts. This is not an idea many polo players would likely entertain, particularly as some people believe the behaviour may be copied by other horses. F ◗ Mark Emerson works as an ambulatory equine

vet based near Ascot and has polo clients across the south of England. Tel: 07973 800358 or email: mark@emersonequine.com Read past editions of Duty Vet in our online archive. Contact georgie@polotimes.co.uk if you need your subscriber login and password.

Alex-polo-times.pdf 1 20/08/2010 09:38:58

Alexandra’s Finishing School C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

From Lords & Ladies to Authors, Polo Players, Publishers and Eccentric Francophiles, Alex Smallman has seen her fair share of exclusive properties - home and abroad, but one imagines that not many of their exclusive guests know the dark secrets hidden behind those walls as well as Miss Smallman.

CMY

K

Crumbling cornicing, hidden damp, sloping walls, matching a patch of Victorian paint or even landscaping an award winning garden at Hampton Court – it’s all in a day’s work for Alexandra’s Finishing School.

By working with her clients closely from concept to completion, and brought in at the same time as your builder, Alex has been working on site long enough to know what is needed and when, to ensure that your build or renovation runs without a hitch, saving you time and money in the process.

“Working with Alex saved us not only valuable time but also a considerable amount of money.

With her foresight, planning, advice & undoubted skills, we now have a beautiful home.”

Tom Morley

Project Management | Planning – From Approval to Completion | Concept Design | Colour & Fabric Consultation Design & Build | Painting & Decorating | Plastering | Tiling | Bathroom’s & Kitchen’s | Outbuildings Space Design Oak Structures | Conservation & Restoration | Fixtures and Fittings | Finishing | Flooring | Hard Landscaping Renovation & Refurbishment & any post building site beauty tips you may need.

T: 01730 858682 M: 07909 542280 W: www.alexandras-finishing-school.com

PTSept 2010 p66-67 Pony power YC PJ

17/8/10

16:18

Page 2

Photograph by Peter James Photography

The knowledge Pony power

Harry Sophia Heath talks to Daphne Schrager 10 (rider), her mother Nickie, and Claire White (owner) about a long-living minimachine, who won the Sportsmanship Award at the Pony Club Jorrocks Championships

Vital statistics Name: Height: Age: Colour: Breed:

Harry 12.2hh 41 years old Dark bay Exmoor pony

Why are Daphne and Harry such a special combination?

Nickie Schrager: Daphne was born very premature and is the only known survivor of her particular lung condition. She spent four months in Great Ormond Street Hospital and months after that at home on oxygen. As soon as she came off oxygen we put her on a pony.

It is just fantastic for her to get to play Jorrocks and it’s lovely because the pair of them seem to look after each other.

What has it been like playing Harry this summer?

Daphne Schrager: He has been a darling, and at the Jorrocks final I scored my first goal on him. We were cantering towards the goal and one of my team-mates missed it. I leant out and hit the ball into goal. Harry looked really pleased – he knew I had scored.

Mum also had to pay me £50 because she had bet that we wouldn’t score all tournament.

When we get him from the field he trots out as if to say, “I hope I’m being taken to polo!”

During games it’s quite easy to make him go, and he did well in a rundown we had to do at Tidworth. Because of his age we save him between chukkas, just walking him around –

also his tail’s a bit sparse, as he has sweetitch, so he’s quite hard to plait!

When did Harry start his polo career?

Charlotte White: Amazingly, only two years ago.

He was given to me by a work colleague six years ago to help rebuild my son’s confidence after he had a nasty fall.

He was fantastic and all four of my children have ridden him but never really played polo on him. Daphne needed some confidence two years ago so I suggested she rode him in Jorrocks. The lady before me owned him for 20 years and I think he did all sorts of Pony Club activities with her two children.

What is Harry like at home?

CW: As he is the oldest member of the yard he gets lots of privileges. He is allowed to wander around loose most of the time helping himself to what he wants to eat. He even follows us on hacks with the other ponies like a dog.

I think it is his free will that has kept him alive and healthy for so long. I worried this year that maybe the trips in the trailer would be too much, but he still loves being out and about. F ◗ Do you know a pony we should feature in Pony

Power? Write to jamesmullan@polotimes.co.uk

Page sponsored by Baileys Horse Feeds - experts in polo nutrition Tel: +44 (0)1371 850247 www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk 66 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

PTSept 2010 p66-67 Pony power YC PJ

17/8/10

16:18

Page 3

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 67

PTSept 2010 p68-69 Feeding YC PJ

68 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

18/8/10

15:50

Page 2

PTSept 2010 p68-69 Feeding YC PJ

17/8/10

16:17

Page 3

Feeding The knowledge Lorna Jowett, specialist equine nutritionist, gives expert advice on all things edible

Are ex-racehorses prone to feeding foibles?

Lingo Lesson

y en español...

Photograph by Mel Fordham

EX-RACEHORSES ARE becoming more and more popular in the polo world, which is great to see, and they really seem to have made their mark in transitioning from racehorse to polo pony at all levels.

However, they are Thoroughbreds, which generally means they have plenty of their own natural energy and need to be fed to aid power and stamina without exacerbating the natural energy levels they already have.

Therefore it is best to consider feeding a high-energy cube, such as a conditioning cube, rather than a highoat-based diet. If stamina is lacking, or excitability is an issue, these types of horses may even benefit from a highoil-based diet – consider using endurance feeds or adding oil supplements to higher fibre cubes, instead of standard mixes.

If putting condition on your Thoroughbred is proving a slow process since it has been out of training as a racehorse, it is possible to speed things up. Ensure the fibre part of the diet is being used to the maximum by aiding gut health and using prebiotics and/or probiotics such as Digest Plus, Protexin or Bio Gold. And when the horse can utilise fibre well, you are very likely not to have to feed as much hard feed to get good results, which will save cash!

Lanto Sheridan with his ex-racer Top Hat As many horses out of training are doing a polo demo at Ascot this July known to have gastric ulcers (see my article in Polo Times, November 2009), addressing this problem will benefit the individual long-term, aiding performance and condition. I would recommend seeking advice from your vet.

Enjoy your Thoroughbred, sin = without cater for its needs and I am sure el caballo de carrera = racehorse it will flourish in its new life as a polo pony! F comprar por adelanto = to buy in advance falta de fardo = lack of hay Read past Feeding columns by este verano = this summer Lorna in our online archive. All paja de avena = oat straw chaff subscribers have access to back la fuerza = power issues, using a personal login. If you’ve lost your details, contact georgie@polotimes.co.uk.

ES BUENO VER que cada vez hay mas caballos de carrera que se adaptan al polo a todo nivel.

Los pura sangre de carrera por naturaleza suelen tener mucha energía y lo recomendable es darles una ración que les de fuerza y resistencia sin excitación.

Una opción son "conditioning cubes" en lugar de una dieta a base de avena y otros cereales; a través de una ración alta en contenido de aceite como son los "endurance feeds" o bien agregando aceites directamente a una dieta de cubos a base de fibra.

Si al dejar las carreras a tu caballo le costara mantener su peso o engordar, podes ayudarlo asegurándote que la fibra que consuma sea aprovechada al máximo. Agregando prebióticos y/o probióticos como Digest Plus, Protexin o Bio Gold entre otros, vas a mejorar la eficiencia y funcionamiento de los intestinos lo que mejorará la absorción de nutrientes.

Es sabido que muchos caballos de carrera suelen tener úlceras gástricas (ver articulo en la edición de Noviembre 2009). Investigar esta posibilidad y tratarla cuanto antes con la ayuda de un veterinario mejorará el rendimiento y la condición general del animal.

Disfrutá de tu pura sangre de carrera, si respondés a sus necesidades particulares estoy segura que va a prosperar como caballo de polo! F

Tip of the month Horses “at grass” this summer are already being fed hay as the grass supply has depleted somewhat after unusually dry weather. The consensus is that hay and haylage may be in short supply this winter – so be organised, chat up your supplier and, if possible, buy in advance! Consider fibre replacers – sugar beet, Ready Grass, Just Grass, Mollichaff Veteran, Badminton Ultra Grass, Dengie Alfa Beet, mix and alfalfa chaff and oat straw chaff: these are all ideas to ensure fibre doesn’t fall short in your horses’ diets!

Debido a la sequía que sufrimos este verano, es muy probable que haya falta de fardo y haylage este invierno. Organizate y hablá con tu proveedor para no quedarte sin pasto, de ser posible comprá por adelantado. Considerá el uso de reemplazantes de pasto como ser sugar beet, Ready Grass, Just Grass, Mollicahff Veteran, Badminton Ultra Grass, Dengie Alfa Beet, alfalfa en bolsa o paja de avena, todos productos ideales para asegurarte que a tu caballo no le falte la fibra que necesita!

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 69

PTSept 2010 p70-71 Products YC PJ

20/8/10

11:26

Page 2

The knowledge Gear

Clockwise from top, grouped as shown Classic striped canvas From Love Espadrilles (www.loveespadrilles.com; 020 7603 1187) Made in France with a slim rubber sole beneath woven rope pad and classic string stitching. Soft cotton canvas upper; snug fit. Wedge heels, patent leather finish and patterns also available. Pictured here in red, natural and blue mix stripe marra.

The damage: £14 The real deal From Gaucho Clothes (www.gauchoclothes.com) Shipped worldwide from Argentina – and seen on the feet of grooms from Suffolk to Sotogrande. Hard70 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

wearing cotton with matching elastic tongue and a meaty sole; machine washable. Also available from Sats (£9.50, www.satsfaction.com; 01285 841542) in red, navy, black, white or green.

The damage: $26 Bright and girly

By Las Maneas, from Roxtons (www.roxtons.co.uk; 01488 682885) In summery colours or fun stripes, with grippy though insubstantial white sole and white elastic tongue and stitching. We’d save these for the sidelines: they’d suffer on the yard. Also available from Sats (£9.50, as before) in light pink and light blue. Made in Argentina.

The damage: £14 (plain); £17 (pattern)

Ethical luxury From Toms (www.toms-shoes.co.uk) This US trend-setter gives shoes to a child in need for every pair sold – a concept inspired by the founder’s visit to Argentina in 2006. Grippy sole and hardy uppers in great patterns and fabrics, with the sole shaped to the instep. Pictured: Seaport and Tangier.

The damage: £39 Spotted and striped From EGF Polo (www.egf-polo.co.uk; 01865 301897) Custom-made in Argentina in lively split colour and dots (as shown); also in narrow stripes. Cotton upper and slim sole. May feel tight at first, says EGF, before they become “the most comfy shoe you have worn”.

The damage: £14

PTSept 2010 p70-71 Products YC PJ

18/8/10

17:55

Page 3

PTSept 2010 p72-73 Review YC PJ

17/8/10

16:42

Page 2

The knowledge Book review – Polo Technique

Photographs and analysis of experts in action are used liberally throughout the book, to give players an idea of how to develop their own technique

Pas mal, ce guide de polo!

Produced in both English and French, this instructional guide by a former highgoaler and a seasoned horseman pays great attention to detail, says Jamie Peel y first impression of Polo Technique, with its eyecatching and original front cover, was excellent. Flicking through, I was struck by the good balance of text and photographs – and some very amusing sketches. It is not easy to make a book like this one easy to read, given how much information it is packed with. But the authors, French former eight-goal player Stephane Macaire and Dominique Pan, Chantilly Polo Club’s resident polo riding teacher and a former Cadre Noir instructor, have succeeded. It is colourful, informative and accurate.

The attention to detail taken by the authors is impressive. For example, the way they have described the grip of the mallet in a dedicated section might seem excessive, with photographs of “the world’s best grips”, but I felt it was a great idea. Often, when a coach explains details such as this, it is down to their personal preference. These pages clearly show how the best players in the world grip the mallet, and it is interesting to see there are actually a few different styles. To me, this indicates that as you improve you develop your own technique – the important part is that you are taught correctly when you are starting out.

There follows great detail on the importance of the “plane of the swing”, illustrated by examples with sketches and photos: by far the best is the clock face. I have seen this used by coaches in England and Polo Technique has

Photograph by Yolanda Carslaw

M

72 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

convinced me once again that it is the best image to help players envisage what they are trying to achieve. When talking about the strike zone, it’s broken down into two stages, before and after impact. This is complicated and could be confusing for a beginner but it is well explained here.

Rather surprisingly, when writing about “holding the reins”, the authors only cover the

These pages show how the world’s best players grip the mallet, and it’s interesting to see a few different styles Argentine style. This is disappointing, as it would have been a good opportunity to cover the alternative styles and their benefits.

However, the main point is successfully made: the importance of having the reins symmetrical on the left and right sides.

A section on strategy gives a clear picture of the different jobs involved in each of the four playing positions. It is geared around the number three taking most of the responsibility on the field. For the hit-in, the authors explain how the number three is often the player bringing the ball in. This is true – although this

is a low-goal view, where in reality the best player will usually try to do everything. When the four players are more balanced, the number four will usually knock in, demonstrated in the book thanks to a photograph of Juan Martin Nero playing for Ellerstina.

One crucial piece of advice the authors give beginners is to try riding off a more experienced player instead of concentrating on the ball. It will help teach you how to position yourself. I agree that this is absolutely true, and will make a big difference to the way you play polo!

I came across one howler, however. The book features a photograph of a stud, but it is one that is illegal for us to use in the UK. All in all, Polo Technique would make a great present for any player making a start in polo. And, if nothing else, for English readers, the French translations alongside could also prove useful for your language skills! F

PT RATING: ★★★★ ◗ Hardcover: 200 pages; publisher: Lavauzelle

(21 Jun 2010); language: French and English; ISBN-10: 702515150.

ISBN-13: 9782702515150.

Dimensions: 25.8 x 24.6 x 2cm

PTSept 2010 p72-73 Review YC PJ

17/8/10

16:15

Page 3

Travel and leisure The knowledge

My travels with Jon Zammett

PR chief for Audi, new sponsor of Pony Club polo, tells Georgie May about private jets and hangovers How much do you travel for Audi?

I fly to Europe frequently, and travel abroad about twice a month. Our headquarters are north of Munich, and we have a conference centre in Munich airport so I go for meetings, normally for one-night stopovers.

Fortunately Audi charters its own planes so we can travel from private terminals, saving time and hassle. Audi charters 22 planes a year, carrying 30-40 people, for instance taking motor journalists to our car launches abroad. We also send chauffeurs out so it’s always a treat to have them ferry us around.

Are there any annual events you always attend?

There are three motor shows I go to every year – in Detroit (January), Geneva (March) and Paris (September). They are usually only three- or four-

on business in the past. Carlos Gracida and Canadian six-goaler Fred Mannix looked after me there at a polo event.

Audi has been involved in polo for eight years and it was good to see what the polo scene was like there. I’m often in America – Las Vegas, LA, Phoenix and Miami – for launches so I will probably go again – when the diary allows!

Where do you go on holiday?

I love Barbados and the Caribbean, particularly Bequia – a little hideaway island – but I don’t get there enough. I went to Florida last December after a business trip in Miami, and I like Spain for short breaks, for instance to Marbella – to the quiet part of the coast, I’d like to add!

I book late, as my diary changes daily; this is good, though, as I can decide where to go depending on the weather.

What is your next big trip?

In early September we’re launching the new Audi A7 in Sardinia so I will go out for that – it’s the bigger version of the A6 and it should be a great success. We held the world debut for the car in July in Munich but Sardinia will be the big launch.

I’ll then go to Paris for a few days for the annual motor show.

One of Jon’s favourite places is Hotel du Castellet, close to the Paul Ricard motor racing circuit

day trips but always worth it. It such a buzz to reveal cars for the very first time, especially as we get to do it twice – first abroad for the left-hand drive and then for the right-hand drive in the UK. Polo-wise, I make sure I’m in the UK for Cartier Day. I was proud to see the Pony Club children parading before the Coronation Cup with the Audi logo on their shirts. It’s great we’ve instigated sponsorship with the Pony Club; we like to add to the bottom of the pile as well as the top and we’re in for the long haul.

Are many of your trips polo-based?

My trips abroad are usually car-related, although I have been hosted at Palm Beach whilst in the US

Where is your favourite hotel?

I have two favourites; I couldn’t put one above the other. The first is Hotel du Castellet, near Toulon, a hotel right next to an airstrip and car circuit – the Paul Ricard Circuit.

The downside is that the trips are rather short and sweet so there isn’t much time to make use of the facilities – golf and tennis courts, swimming pools and activities. It’s an ideal place for us, with the racetrack for us to run the test cars on. I fly there about twice a year for various events. La Bobadilla, near Granada in Spain, is a fantastic five-star hotel – it even has its own chapel! The great thing is that we have exclusive use of the place when Audi goes out there.

As mad as polo With adrenalin junkie Andrew Dent I HAVE NEVER wondered what it might be like to be trapped inside a washing machine. However, I have turned a car over, once rolling a Renault 5 off a lane, through a hedge and upside down into a stream. Either of these experiences might bear some resemblance to Sphereing.

This recently invented and now popular activity involves being strapped in a harness into a 12ft inflatable plastic ball, head-to-head with a friend, and rolling down the side of a hill. My daughter and I tried it in the Cotswolds, but there are plenty of other suitably hilly venues around the country.

You start with the usual Elf and Safety briefing – as with any sport there is a small potential for injury, but you’d probably have to do something daft to incur it. Then you remove watches, belts, shoes and the contents of your pockets and the

“After you are clipped in place, the bubble is given a hearty shove downhill” enthusiastic team harnesses you up. After diving through a trapdoor into a twin-wall plastic bubble you are clipped in place, then the bubble is given a hearty shove downhill. Gravity does the rest.

The outside world starts to rotate and the next 30 seconds are hilarious and bumpy: as you approach 30mph an adrenalin rush is guaranteed.

It may be the longest or the shortest half-minute of your life, but after the hilarity and screaming dies down, and once you tumble back out at the bottom of the hill, you’ll be glad you did it.

A gentler and wetter variant is AquaSphereing, where the same ball is part-filled with 30 litres of water and the harness is dispensed with. It has a lower minimum age limit and is popular with children and teens, being somewhat akin to a self-contained water slide. It’s a novel and inexpensive thrill-generator for the school holidays. And if someone you know has always had a morbid fear of falling into a washing machine, after doing this, it will probably vanish. www.spheremania.com www.virginexperiencedays.co.uk

What are your travel essentials?

I wouldn’t be anywhere without my mobile phone, so one thing I never forget is my phone charger.

Secondly: Ibuprofen. We do a lot of entertaining on our business trips, which always means a few drinks in the evenings and one or two hangovers the next day!

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 73

PTSept 2010 p74-77 property YC PJ

17/8/10

16:12

Page 2

The knowledge Property

Yours for £25m: the birthplace of modern polo It's not often polo folk have a chance to buy such a significant piece of polo history – and, hopefully, future – as Cowdray House, says Yolanda Carslaw

ho will be next to preside over Cowdray House? In 1909 the engineer Sir Weetman Dickinson Pearson, who was later made Viscount Cowdray, paid £340,000 for the 16,500-acre estate, just £40 more than the Egmont family paid in 1843 when they bought it from the Poyntz sisters, whose Montague ancestors had owned the property for four centuries. Under the first Viscount Cowdray's illustrious polo-playing descendants, Cowdray Park The 16 bedroomed Cowdray House; its beautiful lake, has evolved into the “home” of British polo. with the avenue of Wellingtonias in the background Now, 100 years after it came into the family, the department, who is handling the sale. “What an fourth Viscount, Michael Pearson, is to break from opportunity for somebody! Cowdray Park is one of his 16-bedroom ancestral home. Two months ago, the mainstays of the polo world, and nobody would Pearson, 66, told Polo Times (see July issue) the believe you could buy Cowdray House.” family planned to lease the house and immediate The striking house, originally the keeper's lodge, grounds to a tenant for 20 years (while retaining the was enlarged after Cowdray House in Midhurst was estate and polo club). He explained: “While we still destroyed by fire in 1793, and further extended in have the energy, we want to live somewhere more manageable. It will be a wrench, but life moves on.” the 19th century. The army moved in during the second world war, after which the third Viscount Since then the family has opted to sell, to avoid made gradual refurbishments. In 1995 when the putting the burden of the house on Perry, Michael's heir (now 15). In an article on 1 August Pearson told fourth Viscount inherited, he completed the renovation and revitalised the wonderful gardens.

The Sunday Times: “[Renting it out] was only Fanshawe says: “A penthouse in Mayfair recently pushing the decision further down the road.” Now Cowdray House, plus 110 acres, including the House sold for £135m. For a fraction – well, at least, a percentage – of that you can buy Cowdray House, Ground, setting for the first polo match at Cowdray the home of Lord Cowdray. It's even more amazing Park in 1910, is on the market for £25m. because if it was any other stately home you'd “Talk about the birthright of polo,” says Robert suspect it was a sign of the times; but in this case Fanshawe, head of Knight Frank’s equestrian

W

74 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

it's a sign of real honesty.”

The spectacular centrepiece is Buck Hall, with its barrel-vaulted ceiling and minstrels' gallery; adjacent are the dining room, three south-facing sitting rooms, a magnificent study and a billiards room. An array of further rooms also lie on the ground floor – from a kitchen of commercial proportions and equipment, to a playroom, domestic offices, wine cellars and a bowling alley.

Upstairs are at least 16 bedrooms, from the twobedroom master suite and six further suites on the first floor to the six-bedroom nursery wing and third-floor staff rooms. There are indoor and outdoors pools, a tennis court, a riding arena and a cricket pitch. There's stabling, cottages, flats and outbuildings aplenty. And while the House Ground may slope slightly, and was superseded long ago for match play by the Lawns, River and Ambersham, it

“What an opportunity!

This has all you’d want on 110 acres” – Robert Fanshawe remains a great stick-and-ball and chukka field – used up to the present by Martin “Sticky” Glue's happy band of clients. Long, winding driveways approach the house from both upper (the A272) and lower (the back road from Midhurst to Todham) entrances, and there's a shady track to the Lawns and River grounds. Views to all aspects – to the Downs, to Midhurst and across the lovely rolling gardens or the House ground – are sensational.

Fanshawe declares: “The property has everything you'd ever want on only 110 acres. If you gave someone eight polo fields they might think, 'What will I do with all these?' but the house comes with just the most historic of all.”

He says that he hopes Cowdray House will go to somebody in polo. “Interest will come from all over the world,” he adds, “but I wouldn't be surprised if an Englishman bought it. A lot of people are talking about it; we've even had calls asking if it's possible to buy the lordship. Some of the contents may be part of the negotiations; items that fit the property but that the family does not want.” F ◗ Contact Robert Fanshawe on 020 7861 1373

PTSept 2010 p74-77 property YC PJ

17/8/10

16:13

Page 3

PTSept 2010 p74-77 property YC PJ

17/8/10

16:13

Page 4

The knowledge Property

A game on the doorstep You don’t even have to cross any roads to reach two very different polo clubs from two properties new to the market and steeped in the sport, says Georgie May hen we first bought Graffham Court in 1997, it was a shell with a sign on the door saying, “Enter at your own risk’!” says Dorothea Haverhals, the owner of Graffham Court in West Sussex. Since then the family has completely renovated the property, and it is on the market through JacksonStops for £10m.

The 132-acre property, featuring a stick-and-ball ground and set among woods and paddocks right behind Cowdray’s Ambersham polo grounds, features 41 acres of paddocks, 12 stables and barns for storage. All the facilities were put in by the current owners, including an all-weather school, an exercise track and the “bones” of a cross-country course, which could be expanded.

The property couldn’t be closer to the heart of polo country: beyond the six Ambersham polo grounds, plus the adjacent Brooksfield, Ellerston patron Jamie Packer is laying a further two grounds, and a couple of miles away as the crow flies is Cowdray House – now on the market for £25m (see page 74) – and the Cowdray’s Lawns grounds. Heyshott Common provides miles of sandy bridleways and the South Downs are within easy hacking distance.

‘W

Graffham Court (£10m), just minutes from Ambersham by bridleway, has 41 acres and its own stick-and-ball field

and attractive gardens, where there is also a pool (currently not in use). Two further properties in the grounds – with three and two bedrooms respectively – could house grooms or players.

Another substantial property at the heart of polo country – albeit a lower-key district – is Sharrads

“It’s business as usual for Rutland Polo club, which has a lease until September 2014” – Edwin de Lisle “A bridleway leads straight to the Ambersham polo fields,” says Dorothea, a former District Commissioner of the Cowdray Hunt branch of the Pony Club whose daughters play polo, “but we still box our ponies the half-mile to save them and their bandages from getting dirty.”

The magnificent main house, a late 19th-century build approached by a rhododendron-lined drive, is set over three floors, with four reception rooms, eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, a games room and a wine cellar. The building has been completely and stylishly renovated by the Haverhals family. An orangery added by the family overlooks flat lawns

Farm (£2.1m through Fox Grant) in Rutland. The 234-acre property’s three match grounds are leased to Rutland Polo Club, two of them until 2014. The farm, which has been in the Anker family since the polo club was set up there in 1971, comprises six lots, which can be bought together or separately.

The long-leased Rutland grounds sit in the 73.5acre Lot 1B (£550,000), which also includes a paddock, a stick-and-ball ground and arable land that could be developed for polo purposes.

“It’s business as usual for Rutland Polo Club,” said Edwin de Lisle, vice president of the club.

“The polo club has a lease until September 2014,

For further information with regard to equestrian property sales contracts, please contact Mark Charter at Blake Lapthorn directly: on 023 8085 7116; via email, at mark.charter@bllaw.co.uk; or write to Mark Charter, Partner, Real Estate, Blake Lapthorn, New Kings Court, Tollgate, Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, SO53 3LG

76 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

so the club is secure until then. It will be ideal if someone comes along and buys the whole thing for polo purposes, so there is an opportunity for greater things.”

Lot 1A features a three-bedroom bungalow with scope to extend, 16 stables – some of which are liveried to polo ponies – an indoor school and two further polo grounds. The final part of Lot 1 – 1C – compromises 33 acres of paddocks next to Lot 1A’s stables. Lots 2, 3 and 4 are arable land currently let to a farmer whose agreement ceases at the end of this year’s harvest.

Also in a prime polo spot – with equestrian rather than polo facilities – is New Barn Farm (£2.25m through Knight Frank) in the village of Chedworth, seven miles from Cirencester, convenient for several Gloucestershire clubs.

The 140-acre property includes a four-bedroom converted Cotswold barn; an annex, cottage and two flats; 17 stables in an American barn, a horse walker, all-weather manege and cross-country course, plus post-and-rail paddocks. The village is already home to a polo-playing family: 0-goal patron Simon England lives just across the valley. F

PTSept 2010 p74-77 property YC PJ

17/8/10

16:14

Page 5

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 77

PTSept 2010 p78-79 Whats on JM YC PJ

17/8/10

16:04

Page 2

The knowledge Dates for the diary

What’s on in September Principal fixtures at home and abroad UK highlights High-goal Cirencester Park – Cheltenham Cup (8-12 goal): 24 Aug – 5 Sept Guards – Kerry Packer Autumn Nations (10-12): 28 Aug – 12 Sept Cowdray – Autumn League (8-12): 6-19 September Intermediate-goal RCBPC – The Lambourne Trophy (7-10): 13-19 September RLS – The Warwickshire Gold Cup (4-8): 10-12 September Ascot – Pro-Am City Polo Championships (4-8): 11 September Low-goal RLS – Royal Leamington Spa Gold Cup (4-6): 3-5 September Lynt – Farm Cash Tournament £1000 Prize (0-4): 11-12 September Special Events Watergate Bay – Veuve Clicquot Polo on the Beach (Open): 16 September RLS – Polo in the Park (Open): 19 September Clapham Common – Toast Festival (International): 24-26 September

Overseas Austria Schloss Ebreichsdorf Polo Club, near Vienna – FIP European Polo Championships (8-goal): 2-12 September Intermediate 12 Goal Guards Autumn Nations - KP Cirencester Cheltenham Cup Cowdray Autumn League

28 Aug - 12 Sept 24 Aug - 5 Sept 6-19 September

Intermediate 10 Goal RCBPC The Lambourne Trophy

13-19 September

Low 8 Goal Ascot Pro-Am City Polo Champs RLS The Warwickshire Gold Cup

11 September 10-12 September

Low 6 Goal Cirencester Kingscote Cup Kirtlington Hunter Jones RLS Royal Leamington Spa Gold Cup Beaufort The Sidebottom Cup RCBPC 4-6 Goal Trophy Lacey Green The Bucks Trophy RLS The Farewell Trophy

17 Aug - 4 Sept 1-5 September 3-5 September 4-12 September 7-12 September 11-12 September 17-19 September

Low 4 Goal Druids Lodge Codestone Trophy Edgeworth Hayden Tovey Trophy Epsom The NATO Cup Tidworth Cavalry Cup Vaux Park End of Season Tournament Ascot Pro Am City Polo

4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 11 September

78 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk-

Dhillon, Satnam: Garcia del Rio, Tomas: Pittaluga, Joaquin:

6 to 7 6 to 7 6 to 7

Going to five Araya, Marcos: Crotto, Jacinto:

4 to 5 4 to 5

Going to three Jauretche, Juan:

2 to 3

High-goal handicap changes in full (effective 1 January 2011)

Going to two Marchini, Alfio: Albwardy, Rashid: Beresford, Will: Jackson-Stops, William: McCarthy, Spencer: Perry, Matt:

3 to 2 1 to 2 1 to 2 1 to 2 1 to 2 1 to 2

Going to 10 MacDonough, Pablo:

9 to 10

The end-of-season HPA handicap meeting is scheduled for Monday 13 September.

Going to nine Caset, Guillermo:

8 to 9

Polo on TV

Argentina La Aguada Polo Club –Novillitos Cup (Open): September TBA Various – Hurlingham and Palermo qualifiers (29-34): 26 September onwards Tortugas Country Club – Tortugas Open (34-40): 28 Sept – 10 Oct France Chantilly – Jaeger-LeCoultre Open de France (14-16): 4-19 September USA Santa Barbara – Pacific Coast Open (Open): 7 September – 20 October

Handicap changes

Going to eight Heguy, Bautista: Heguy, Ignacio: Novillo Astrada, Javier:

9 to 8 9 to 8 9 to 8

Going to seven Criado, Lucas: Di Paola, Marcos: Heguy, Alberto: Muzzio, Alejandro: Cavanagh, Diego:

8 to 7 8 to 7 8 to 7 8 to 7 6 to 7

Beverley End Of Season Tournament 11-12 September Cambridge Salon De Refuse/Newmark 11-12 September Frolic Club Tournament 11-12 September Kirtlington Chairmans Trophy 7-12 September Knepp Club Tournament 11-12 September Lynt Cash Tournament £1000 prize 11-12 September Hurtwood End of Season 14-19 September RLS The Ardencote Trophy 17-19 September Dundee Autumn Tournament 18-19 September Frolic Farewell Tournament 18-9 September

Low 3 Goal Ham Billy Walsh Tournament

7-19 September

Low 2 Goal Hurtwood Septtember Cup Kirtlington Dashwood Trophy Beverley John Nash Cup Barcombe The East Sussex Trophy Cheshire Ken Irlam Memorial Cup Dedham Vale Henleys Cup Knepp Club Tournament Lacey Green Club Tournament Lynt Roxtons Challenge New Forest Holly Hill Cup RLS The Argentine Cup

1-5 September 1-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September

Highlights on Horse & Country TV (Sky 280) 2 September, 7pm: 2009 Polo Masters UK 6 September, 2pm: 2009 Queen’s Cup 7 September, 11pm: 2009 Queen’s Cup 9 September, 7pm: 2009 Queen’s Cup 13 September, 2pm: 2009 Queen’s Cup 14 September, 11pm: 2009 British Open Gold Cup 16 September, 7pm: 2009 British Open Gold Cup 19 September, 9pm: The Polo Kid (film, UK TV premier) Silver Leys Puckeridge Hunt Cup Suffolk Raging Bull Tournament W Wycombe Lakeside Cup Hurtwood Stable Challenge Burningfold Chiddingfold Challenge Ascot Pro Am City Polo Champs Cheshire Lovatt Claret Jug Epsom St Francis Day Cup Lacey Green The Bucks Trophy Rugby The C Cup Rutland Ranksboro Cup Sussex The Banking Trophy Taunton Vale Mixed Doubles Tidworth Polo Captain's Trophy RLS The Sosiego Cup Beaufort 2 Goal Festival Barcombe The Farewell Tournament Dundee Autumn Tournament Haggis Farm Chairman's Cup Lacey Green Club Tournament Silver Leys Survivors Amateur St. Albans Sir Stanley Odell Trophy Taunton Vale End of Season Tidworth Valete Cup

4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 7-12 September 9-12 September 11 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 17-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 25-26 September

PTSept 2010 p78-79 Whats on JM YC PJ

17/8/10

Low Below 0 Goal Sussex 3 A Side Novices Edgeworth Wednesday Night Intro Vale of York Chatsworth Country Fair Ascot Ascot Park Trophy Lacey Green Club Tournament Longdole Emerging Tournament Silver Leys Puckeridge Hunt Cup Tidworth Cavalry Cup Waterford Ronan Group W Wycombe Lakeside Cup Asthall Farm Kencott Challenge Ham Billy Walsh Tournament RLS The Silchar Trophy Ascot Pro Am City Polo Champs Binfield Heath Farewell Tournament Cambridge Salon De Refuse/Newm Edgeworth The Last Chance Lacey Green The Bucks Trophy Frolic Club Tournament Rugby The Winwick 2 plus 2 Vaux Park Charity Day Frolic The Farewell Tournament Lacey Green Club Tournament Silver Leys Survivors Amateur St. Albans Sir Stanley Odell Trophy Wicklow End of Season Tournament Lacey Green Farewell Cup Rugby The Mountbatten Cup Sussex League Finals Beverley John Nash Cup Binfield Heath Club Tournament Silver Leys Puckeridge Hunt Cup Donaghadee End of Season

30 Aug - 8 Sept 31 Aug - 1 Sept 3-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 7-19 September 10-12 September 11 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 25-26 September 25-26 September 25-26 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 4-5 September 11-12 September

Picture of the month

16:04

Page 3

Beverley End of Season Tournament New Forest Farewell Match Rugby The Winwick 2 plus 2 Rutland Sandicliffe Cup Sussex The Banking Trophy Vale of York Air Ambulance Cup Tidworth Polo Captain's Trophy Ascot Pro Am City Polo Champs Vale of York Northern Racing College Ascot Rangitiki Trophy Dundee Autumn Tournament Silver Leys Survivors Amateur Vale of York San Pan Suzi Vase FHM Falcon Equine Feeds Tournament Rugby The Otono Cup Tidworth Valete Cup Lacey Green Beginners Cup Vale of York North East Construction Vale of York Crown Hotel Mid Week

11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11-12 September 11 September 12 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 18 September 25-26 September 25-26 September 25-26 September 26 September 29 September

Combined Services Taunton Faulkner Cup (RN v Taunton) 4 September Guards Major Generals Cup 3-5 September

Schools & Universities Edinburgh SUPA Scottish Challenge Cup

Ladies Vale of York Granger Appleyard Ladies 25 September

Open Tidworth Grooms Tournament Haggis Farm Porsche Centre Druids Lodge Clock Tower Trophy Kirtlington Blind Date Sussex Grooms Revenge Farewell W Wycombe Farewell to First Season Hurtwood Farewell Tournament

3 September 4 September 11-12 September 14-19 September 18-19 September 18-19 September 21-26 September

taken by Neil Egerton of Images of Polo

Max Charlton defies gravity, stretching for a ball whilst playing for the Westbury Hotel/Audi Prince of Wales Team in the Golden Jubilee Trophy, on Cartier Day (25 July). Despite this daring play, his team went on to lose the match in extra-time to the How to Spend it Hurlingham Team, 7-6. For a full round up of all the action on Cartier International Day see our match report (page 22) and our social report (page 80).

Club

contacts (UK and Ireland)

AEPC, Hickstead – 01273 834315 All Ireland – +353 (1) 6896732 Apsley End – 01462 712444 Ascot Park – 01276 858545 Ash Farm – 01932 872521 Asthall Farm – 01367 860207 Beaufort – 01666 880510 Belmont, Mill Hill – 01344 829955 Beverley – 01964 544455 Binfield Heath – 01491 411969 Border Reivers – 01890 840777 Brannockstown – +353 45483708 Barcombe – 07872 058095 Bunclody – +353 876605917 Burningfold – 01483 200722 Cambridge & Newmarket – 07769 976781 Carlton House – 01986 892231 Cheshire – 01270 611100 Chester Racecourse – 01244 304602 Cirencester Park – 01285 653225 Cowdray Park – 01730 813257 Coworth Park – 01344 875155 Curraghmore – +353 51387102 Dedham Vale – 01473 280900 Donaghadee – 02891 882521 Druids Lodge – 01722 782597 Dundee & Perth – 07831 365194 Edgeworth – 07879 825660 Edinburgh – 0131 449 6696 Epsom – 01372 748200 FHM – 07778 436468 Fifield – 01628 620061 Foxhill – 0115 9651790 Frolic Farm – 01223 812922 Guards – 01784 434212 Haggis Farm – 01223 460353 Ham – 020 8334 0000 Hertfordshire – 01707 256023 Hurtwood Park – 01483 272828 Kinross – 07831 365194 Kirtlington – 01869 650138 Knepp Castle – 01403 741007 Lacey Green – 07947 725305 Ladyswood – 01666 840880 Limerick – +353 872373903 Little Bentley – 01206 250435 Longdole – 01452 864544 Lynt – 07957 468220 Maywood – 01962 885500 Moyne – +353 851313224 New Forest – 02380 811818 Offchurch Bury – 07785 223383 Orchard – 01258 471000 Park Lane – 01491 411969 Ranksboro – 01572 720046 RMAS – 01276 412276 Royal County of Berkshire – 01344 890060 RLS – 01926 812409 Rugby – 01788 817724 Rutland – 01572 724568 Silver Leys – 01279 652652 St Albans – 07710 262435 Stewarton – 01560 483411 Suffolk Polo – 07990 576974 Sussex Polo – 01342 714920 Taunton – 01823 480460 Tidworth – 01980 846705 Toulston – 01422 372529 Vale of York – 07788 426968 Vaux Park – 01460 242684 West Wycombe – 01865 858475 White Rose – 01430 875750 Wicklow – +353 (0) 404 67164 ◗ To contact the HPA, tel: 01367 242828 ◗ To contact SUPA, tel: 01344 625124

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 79

PTSept 2010 p80-81 Out and A Cartier JM PJ

17/8/10

18:15

Page 2

Out and about Cartier International Day Guards Polo Club – Sunday 25 July

Celebs set social soirees alight As the sun shone, 25,000 spectators descended on the Queen’s Ground at Guards, where for many the social scene was just as important as the polo, writes Sophia Heath. Visitors comprised the usual mix of royalty, celebrities, corporate guests, polo aficionados, networking businessmen, their young and beautiful companions and hordes of Londoners. There was the familiar display of designer frocks, stilettos and flash suits, with more suntans than even the surprisingly good English summer could have been responsible for.

The luckiest guests were those with tickets to Cartier’s invitation-only lunch, or the HPA tent. Others picnicked, some “overdoing it” on fizz or Pimm’s in the sunshine. For those made of sterner stuff there were two lively after-parties. Queues from as early as 6pm snaked out of the Chinawhite marquee (£100), which welcomed the likes of opera diva Katherine Jenkins who went along to enjoy a headline set from DJ Pete Tong. Most of the regular polo fraternity, however, were to be found dancing the night away at the £40 alternative, the International Party at the Berkshire. Organised by Henry Brett and Jack Kidd, the bash was sponsored by Havana Rum and carried on until the sun came up – though PT heard that a mid-party generator problem meant that things went rather quiet for a while!

Ros Packer, Cartier’s Arnaud Bamberger and Francesca and Urs Schwarzenbach, owners of Black Bears polo team

Prince Charles with comedian and charity guru Jim Davidson

Opponents Richard Le Poer and Nacho Gonzalez warm up for their clash in the early game

TV Presenter George Lamb

Geri Haliwell spices up the guestlist

Photographs by Cartier, Rory Merry and Helen Couchman

Clare and George Milford Haven

Welsh warbler Katherine Jenkins meets Welsh royalty

80 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Polo Times’s art editor James Wildman, with children Henry and Emily

Amber Le Bon

PTSept 2010 p80-81 Out and A Cartier JM PJ

19/8/10

15:28

Page 3

In association with AprĂŠs Polo

Members of the New Zealand and England polo teams (minus Mark Tomlinson) pose for pre-match photos at the New Zealand embassy

England’s Luke Tomlinson lifts the historic Coronation Cup Left: Pete Tong DJs after

The entrance to the ever-popular Chinawhite after-party enclosures

Polo lover Tommy Lee Jones, Arnaud Bamberger and Sir Ben Kingsley

American actress Leslie Mann

Arabella Musgrave

Paloma Faith and Cat Deeley

Guards-based five-goaler Ryan Pemble with girlfriend Catherine Schreier

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 81

PTSept 2010 p82-83 O and A Ham & Sussex JM YC PJ

17/8/10

16:08

Page 2

Out and about ‘Cirque du Polo’ Summer Ball Ham Polo Club, 23 July

Revellers fill bright big top Ham Polo Club, eight miles from Hyde Park Corner, is well placed to tempt a growing number of people based in London into watching or playing polo. And the organisers of its annual summer ball this July also did their best to demonstrate that the historic Richmond club has a vibrant social side that can also recommend it.

Held – as recent tradition dictates – on the Friday before Cartier International Day, the event welcomed Ham regulars and members, their guests and an influx of people who were in the capital for Sunday’s big game at Guards. Strong demand meant the ball’s 250 tickets (including a seafood dinner and extravagant charity auction) sold out a week before the event.

Sarah Pillar, Laura Aalen, Hannah Albrow and Bruno Parodi

For the “Cirque du Polo” theme, organisers had installed a full-sized bumper-car ride as well as – within the bright red and orange “big top” tent – a coconut shy, dramatic floral table arrangements and giant horses and elephants around the dance floor.

The guest list included revellers from Australia, India, Africa, Germany, Thailand and the US, as well as three of the British players due to play in the Golden Jubilee Trophy on Cartier International Day.

Shane Younger and Naomi Krell

Ham and HPA chairman Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers with Rachael Whittaker and Astrid Schmitt-Bylandt

By name and by nature: Courtney Smart and Barnaby Younger

Deborah and Adolfo Casabal

Hugo Davis bravely takes on the vodka luge

Photographs by Mark Greenwood

Geoffrey Godbold shocks Julia Thain on the dodgems

Bumping: Nicola Donnelly and Barnaby Parker

Annabel and Mike Trippitt

82 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Ian, Sophia, Julia, Ollie and Toby Yates arrive

Charly Spry and John Rendall

PTSept 2010 p82-83 O and A Ham & Sussex JM YC PJ

17/8/10

16:08

Page 3

Charity Polo Tournament Sussex Polo Club, 31 July - 1 August

Weekend for a worthy cause has Sussex locals digging deep Home insurance services specialists Brolley.co.uk sponsored a charity polo tournament in aid of Kent’s Hospice in the Weald, which culminated at the beginning of last month. The hospice provides specialist palliative care advice and clinical support for people with life limiting illnesses, and also gives help to their families and the bereaved. With this cause in mind, guests gave generously, and the weekend raised £2,700 towards Brolley.co.uk’s total funds of £4,200 for the charity to date.

On display during the course of the weekend was competitive low-goal polo, a bouncy castle, facepainting and massage. Guests at the club’s asado lunch were able to enjoy a champagne reception, traditional beef and tropical fruit dessert in the VIP marquee. They also took home a gift bag from Padani Jewellers, complete with goodies.

Miss Teen Kent Hannah Coleman, decoraring the sidelines with Billy Mahoney, Sussex Polo Club owner Sallie Anne Lent and Sarah Sewell

The Equifirst best playing pony, Donald, with his Sussex-based two-goal owner, Nick Clague

Diana Ferguson-Ross and Lucy Bressard catch-up in the sunshine

Duane Lent with Tasha Coote

Aquila, winners of the Brolley Charity Cup (l-r: Duane Lent 0; Kwan Lo -1; Jimmy Mulligan 2; Telmo Maidana 1)

Hospice in the Weald’s Amanda Wyatt with Jean-Luc Bressard of tournament sponsors, Brolley.co.uk Photographs by christophergphotography.co.uk

Stephen Hill from Padani Jewellers

Richard Swift, Katie Jenkins and Doug Ross

Guest’s make use of Brolley.co.uk’s umbrellas www.polotimes.co.uk september 2010 83

PTSept 2010 p84-85 Out and A Calgary JM PJ

17/8/10

17:57

Page 2

Out and about The Barbados Challenge Trophy Calgary Polo Club – 8 August

Music, medals and money Quite apart from the polo at this year’s Barbados Challenge Trophy, there was much to recommend spending the afternoon at Calgary Polo Club for what is fast becoming the biggest social highlight of the season.

Barbados brought jazz and reggae saxophonist Arturo Tappin, a regular performer to the stars in New York and a collaborator with the likes of Roberta Flack, Eddie Grant and Luther Vandross. His smooth sounds echoed round the clubhouse and across the grounds before and after the polo, playing well known classics accompanied by a pre-prepared backing track and creating a tropical holiday feel to the day’s events.

Calgary’s VIP guest was none other than the Canadian Olympic Team’s brand new chef de mission for the London 2012 games, Mark Tewksbury. It was his first public appearance in the role, having been appointed just three days previously, and he seemed at ease on the sidelines. Tewksbury took the 100-meters backstroke gold in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, as well as a relay bronze the same year.

Former Olympic swimming gold medallist Mark Tewksbury, polo co-ordinator Karen Kranenburg and art dealer Rob Mabee

Recognising they were in good company, the 200 or so guests in the VIP section of the sidelines and clubhouse then dug deep as bidding began in boisterous fashion for the auction lots after the match. Lots including flights on a private jet to Las Vegas and a fishing trip in the great lakes helped raise a remarkable $26,000 (approximately £16,000) for the club.

Three-goal player Kyle Fargey

Dayelle Fargey’s dog Sidney keeps guard of the players’ sticks

Arturo Tappin makes his magic

Photographs by James Mullan

A guest from Select Wines enjoys the action

Commentator Bryan Thomas, cigar in hand as usual

84 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Samantha Sprott and Damian Luke

Jennifer Brathwaite and Gail Quinn from the Barbados Tourism Authority with the Barbados-bound raffle winner

PTSept 2010 p84-85 Out and A Calgary JM PJ

17/8/10

17:58

Page 3

Open action from the Barbados Challenge Trophy contest between Canada (in white) and Barbados, played almost entirely at a gallop

Marc Atwell ahead of his superb goal-scoring game

Calgary’s club photographer, 22-year-old Kaylee Scherbinski

Stacking ’em high: a wellequipped tack room Left: James Mullan of Polo Times and Martin Jauregui at the Backstreet Boys after-party on the evening of the game

Hannah Smart singing the Canadian national anthem An American-style horse trailer, which carries up to 14 ponies

Young Calgary flag-bearers lead the teams out for the international

Derek Dalton, student Townsend Lloyd and her polo-playing father Bill

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 85

PTSept 2010 p86-87 O and A Heritage YC TH SH

18/8/10

17:59

Page 2

Out and about HBL Heritage Polo Cup, 7-8 August Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Substance as well as style Fashion, history and polo collided in spectacular fashion at the fifth anniversary of the HBL Heritage Polo Cup, sponsored by Habib Bank UK. For six nations taking part (see page 48) the dress code was tailored shirts and silk ties specially made by TM Lewin; for two ladies’ teams, who played an exhibition match, it was elegant tunics and waistcoats.

The weekend was masterminded by the Royal Military Academy’s dynamic polo manager Barbara Zingg, whose own background in fashion and interest in history spurred her to start the event in 2006.

USA Destination of Polo Virginia’s side. Adrian Wade is on the right

Participants began the weekend in style with a visit to the Household Cavalry Museum and a kit handout at TM Lewin’s Jermyn Street store, before the draw at the Cavalry and Guards Club on Piccadilly. Supper was at Grange Hotels St Pauls London before players headed back to Pennyhill Park Hotel near Sandhurst. After Saturday’s play-offs Zingg staged dinner and a fashion show in the magnificent Indian Army Memorial Room in Old College. Among the girls modeling quirky tweed skirts, shorts, jackets and coats by British label Liberty Freedom was willowy player Charlotte Christodoulou, who was once a catwalk model.

The girls’ playing outfits - which they deemed comfy for polo - were made by Liberty Freedom’s founder Upender Mehra. The Bolton-based designer, at the event for the first time having been involved since 2006, is offering versions of the outfits for sale. “The girls' costumes have got better over the years because we understand more now what they're for,” said Mehra. Zingg herself mounted up side-saddle to umpire the ladies' game, the picture of elegance in a voluminous skirt split to the thigh to reveal leggings and high-heeled black boots.

L-r: Mahzna Malik, Irene Graff, Cariane Hoffie and Allison Robbins

Playing for Liberty Freedom UK were four British girls, including Maj Lucy Anderson, who learnt at Sandhurst and serves in the Royal Logistics Corps. They faced the international Vanilla Rose, with Swiss Irene Graff, British-based American Allison Robbins, Dubai-based German Cariane Hoffie and one of Pakistan’s handful of female players, Mahzna Malik, a lawyer who learnt at Cambridge University and whose grandfather played. In the event the action wasn’t quite as competitive as the men's, but when two girls sportingly swapped sides to even things up play livened up, Liberty Freedom winning by just half a goal. ◗ For full team details and more on the tournament turn to page 48. For

Photographs by Tony Ramirez, Peter Meade, Centaur Photographic and Yolanda Carslaw

more on Sandhurst’s best officer cadet, see page 98.

The winning EFG British Army Officers (l-r): Robert Mehm, OCdt White, Capt Eyre-Brook and Gaston Devrient with EFG’s Keith Gapp

Umpires happily dressed the part; they were Matt Hine, Tomas Iriarte and Maj Ben Marshall (Gurka Rifles)

Col Talha Saeed (right) of team HBL Pakistan

The parade of Shetland Pony Club ponies

86 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Organiser Barbara Zingg makes an entrance

Alice Gipps, who played on Sunday, and Swiss reserve Alan Morello

PTSept 2010 p86-87 O and A Heritage YC TH SH

18/8/10

18:45

Page 3

Eight of Sandhurst’s 30 polo-playing officer cadets parade at Saturday’s gala dinner

Above: play took place on the Round Ground, to the backdrop of New College Left: both adults and children enjoyed the company of Shetland Pony Club ponies at the sidelines

Heritage Polo’s founder and polo manager at Sandhurst Barbara Zingg umpiring the ladies’ exhibition game

The girls’ teams, Liberty Freedom United Kingdom (in tunics) and Vanilla Rose Four Nations (waistcoats)

Player Charlotte Christodoulou, once a pro model, on the catwalk in the Indian Army Memorial Room

Luxembourg, with Bert Poekes (far right) and Yves Wagner (second left) leading its first “national” team on an overseas tour

Liberty Freedom’s Upender Mehra with the models

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 87

PTSept 2010 p88-89 Out and A Lawyers JM PJ

19/8/10

15:18

Page 2

Out and about Third annual Lawyers Polo Tournament Pampa Norte polo fields, Toronto – Canada

Power of attorney: crossexaminers’ contest in Canada Run in conjunction with the International Bar Association’s annual conference, which takes place in a different loaction every year, this summer’s annual Lawyers Polo Tournament (the third of its kind) moved to Canada. The conference actually isn’t until early next month, in Vancouver from 3-8 October, but seasonal conditions in North America demanded that the tournament was played before then, so organisers Eduardo Bérèterbide, from Argentina, and Canadian Justin Fogarty laid on an impressive schedule and welcomed a large number of teams for four days of polo and parties in late July. They also picked Toronto as the most appropriate venue (since Vancouver has no polo club and Toronto is so much easier to access for lawyers travelling from Europe). Next year it’s Dubai.

Team Dolce: Kevin Brown (Canada), Andrew Rivkin (Canada), Martin Jauregui (Argentina) and Fernando Massalin Sr (Argentina)

Reed Asset Management finished top of the six sides that entered (two more than at 2009’s tournament in Spain). The prize for the most gentlemanly player was awarded to Alain Cléry from Paris, France.

Shades and a smile: William Shawn

Eduardo Bérèterbide Jr, Alfredo Boden, Rebecca Castaneda, Fernando Massalin Jr and models

Tournament organiser Justin Fogarty with Helen Ching-Kircher

Katie Lister and Freen Butt

Photographs by Mo Govindji

Six teams took part in the 2010 event, sponsored by La Martina, Porsche and Calvin Klein, amongst others

Eduardo Bérèterbide Sr and gentlemanly Parisian Alain Cléry with co-founder Eduardo Bérèterbide Jr 88 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Alexandra Fogarty, Justin Fogarty, Helen Ching-Kircher and Dr Peter Kircher

Susanna Dietrich watches on

PTSept 2010 p88-89 Out and A Lawyers JM PJ

17/8/10

15:59

Page 3

PTSept 2010 p90-91 O and A PT day YC JM PJ

18/8/10

18:46

Page 2

Out and about The inaugural Polo Times Challenge Cup East End Farm, Oxfordshire – 24 July

Georgie leads Akuma to victory A day ahead of the high-profile Cartier International at Guards, which attracts crowds of 25,000, PT’s hard-working team launched one of UK polo’s lowest-profile events, the invitation-only Polo Times Challenge Cup at the Brett family farm in Oxfordshire.

Members of the usually inseparable PT office staff split into factions to form three teams for a round-robin assault on the hastily procured trophy.

Editor Yolanda Carslaw led OJ Polo, advertising manager Tom House formed a Roxtons-backed side that also included deputy editor James Mullan, and web editor Georgie May teamed up with her boyfriend George Walker, who has just completed his first term at Sandhurst – in her Akuma Cougars. Pony power was in the form of Henry Brett’s school horses; keeping the rabble in order were Mariano Henry and Alex Shestakovskiy.

Tom House, polocrosse player Charlie Zygmunt and James Mullan

A day of fun and furious and fun polo ensued, witnessed by a select crowd of picnicking friends and family. At lunchtime Roxtons led the chase, having narrowly beaten Akuma and drawn with OJ Polo despite a fouland-fall flip from his horse by captain Tom House. However, Akuma found their rhythm after woofing down a cocktail of quiche, sausages, Doritos and Pimm’s, and propelled themselves to a clean sweep in the afternoon games, thumping OJ Polo 8-2 and edging past Roxtons 3-2.

Congratulations to Georgie and her brilliant team – and roll on 2011.

Georgie May and Katie Macrae

Low-key: a modest crowd gathered at the Bretts’ Oxfordshire ground

Winning team captain Georgie May, who took up polo this year

Photographs by Anjella Henry

Buster, PT publisher Margie Brett’s cheeky Jack Russell

Army major Tristan Halse, trainee lawyer Rosanna Brown and Polo Times editor Yolanda Carslaw

90 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

A determined Tom House breaks out of a walk

George Walker, a lifelong rider who plays at East End Farm and Sandhurst

PTSept 2010 p90-91 O and A PT day YC JM PJ

18/8/10

15:07

Page 3

OJ Polo and Roxtons. Pre-match rain allowed play on grass, rather than in the arena

Georgie May, backed up by boyfriend George

Firm but fair: umpire and organiser Mariano Henry

Umpire Alex Shestakovskiy, who is originally from the Ukraine

The Akuma Cougars (l-r): Katie Macrae, George Walker, Georgie May, Margie Brett and Tom Lockton

Virginia Mullan and PJ Seccombe

Tristan Halse (blue hat) and James Mullan (right)

Tom House, Helen Couchman, Emily Cannon (l-r, foreground) and a gang of happy picnickers www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 91

PTSept 2010 p92-93 Classifieds

18/8/10

15:34

Page 2

Club information

DESIGNER GOODS

Rob Cudmore England Coach, 2 HPA Instructors • International Equitrack Polo Arena • Fantastic clubhouse with licensed bar & excellent viewing of the arena • Polo Pony Hire, School Ponies • Chukkas and Matches - call the office for Info • Individual Coaching, Group Lessons, Social & Corporate Events For information on membership, polo lessons and general enquiries please call: Tel: (office) 01452 864 544 Mobile: 07974 532 841 email: rob@longdolepolo.com Longdole Polo Club, Birdlip, Gloucestershire, GL4 8LH

92 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

PTSept 2010 p92-93 Classifieds

18/8/10

15:35

Page 3

Classifieds RUG WASHING

DESTINATIONS

LIVERY

Polo Ponies taken for Fitness Work, Rest and Rehabilitation Excellent 5* facilities and treatment which include: indoor stables with storage and secure tack room outdoor school - indoor school individual turn out paddocks good hacking and all within easy access of Junction 11/M40 Please give me a call – each package tailored to your individual needs.

References available Abigail K Walters - Culworth Grounds Stables, Culworth, Oxon OX17 2HW Tel: 07792 311464 abiwalters@abiwalters.com

www.abiwalters.com

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 93

PTSept 2010 p94-95 Classifieds

18/8/10

15:36

Page 2

Classifieds LIVERY

GROUND MAINTENANCE

PROPERTY TO RENT

TO RENT IN CENTRAL OXFORDSHIRE Up to 15 stables with super facilities. Horse walker, all weather exercise track, superb 60m X 40m all weather arena, polo/stick and ball ground, turnout and on site groom’s accommodation. Also beautiful 2 double bed barn. Tel: Brett family on 01993 886885 or email hugh.brett@btinternet.com ART

INSURANCE

94 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

PTSept 2010 p94-95 Classifieds

18/8/10

15:36

Page 3

Classifieds EQUIPMENT

You could be advertising here

Call Tom on 01993 886 885

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 95

PTSept 2010 p96-97 Classifieds

18/8/10

18:05

TRANSPORT AND MACHINERY

NON HGV IVECO HORSEBOX Takes 5/6 ponies.

Replacement engine and g/box under 20,000k's.

New doors, newly painted, 11 months plate. One owner for 12 years. No expense spared! Fully serviced and ready for work! £8995 ono.

Tel: 07775 511555 FORD IVECO CARGO HORSEBOX 1996 Ford Cargo. 11000Kg Gross Plated until May 2011 Taxed September 2010. Partitioned for 6. Large Tack room. Could be removed and carry 8 legally.

Hydraulic ramp. Drives perfectly. Uses no oil or water. £9000.00 Call Tony 07765 254652.

01638 660025 PROFESSIONAL HORSE TRANSPORT DEFRA approved. Hants/Wilts based. 20+ years horse and transport experience in UK and Europe. Also freelance drivers/grooms. 01794 323195 or 07786 475123/07786 255538 MAN 02 PLATE 7.5 TONNE 5 speed gear box, 208082 km, 3 year old box custom built entirely out of aluminium to be legal for 6 polo ponies, storage in 3 tack lockers, 2 camera CCTV system, hands free phone system, cruise control.

Immaculate box on a brilliant chassis only for sale as owner has given up polo, £15900 plus VAT. Call Ed Jefferson on 07989 749835.

17.5 TONNE IVECO FORD PARTITIONED FOR 9 HORSES Converted 4 years ago, with tack area

Page 3

and washing off shower/pump for horses. Spring ramp. Robust and reliable. MOT and Tax till April 2011. £12,000. Call 07979 494553. Would consider part-ex for 7.5 or 11 tonne truck.

PROPERTY

YARD FOR RENT Potential polo yard for rent, stabling for 16 horses possibly more. Great facilities and location to the polo network, including Guards polo. For more information, contact Louise 07870 584381. Windsor.

EQUIPMENT

SCOREBOARDS AND CLOCKS ESPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR POLO Outdoor and arena sizes.

Fully electronic, displaying the time counting down, both scores and chukka number.

Automatic bell/horn. Controlled wirelessly by a remote control you can even wear on your arm.

Visit www.SportingDesigns.co.uk or call +44 (0)7860 303217 LIVERY

WINTER GRAZING ON WELSH HILLS Winter grazing available in Wales for polo ponies, 800 hectares. Dry sloping ground. Haylage supplied daily and horses will be checked daily all inclusive. More info contact Janet 01398 315006 or staghunter1964@talktalk.net

Advertisers in September 2010 Ascot Park Polo Club 01276 858545 www.polo.co.uk Ash Farm Polo Club 01932 872521 www.arena-polo.com Polo Shack 01327 314880 www.online-equine.co.uk

Ivycast 07793 919395 www.ivycast.com Jackson-Stops & Staff 01730 812357 www.jackson-stops.co.uk Jeremy Curling Fencing 01483 894888 www.jcfc.co.uk

Audi www.audi.com

Kate’s Art 07887 678421 www.katesart.com

Baileys Horse Feeds 01371 850247 www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk

Kestrel Ltd 01256 880488 www.kestrelcontractors.co.uk

Blake Lapthorn 023 8090 8090 www.bllaw.co.uk

Knepp Castle Polo Club 01403 741007 www.kneppcastlepoloclub.co.uk

Bulthaup www.bulthaup.co.uk

Knight Frank 020 7629 8171 www.knightfrank.co.uk

Cartier www.cartier.com Culworth Grounds Stables 07792 311464 abiwalters@abiwalters.com Druids Lodge Polo Club 01722 782597 www.druidspolo.co.uk EFG Private Bank www.efginternational.com Equibuild 01367 820960 www.equibuild.com Equine Logistics Company 01264 810782 www.equine-logistics-company.com Financial Private Clients 01242 820738 www.financialprivateclients.ltd.uk/polo Fox Grant 01722 782727 www.foxgrant.com

La Mariposa 07947 725305 www.lamariposa.com.ar La Martina www.lamartina.com Laundry Machine Ltd 01214 863566 www.laundry-machine.com Longdole Polo Club 01452 864544 rob@longdolepolo.com Lycetts 01672 512512 www.lycetts.co.uk Marshall Earthmoving 01264 782176 marshall.earthmoving@virgin.net Pampeano 0871 200 1272 www.pampeano.co.uk Patey Hats 01285 841250 www.pateyhats.com Piaget www.piagetpolo.com

Generations 01509 210321 gordon@generationsinc.co.uk

Polo Permits 01798 869 496 www.polopermits.co.uk

Gladiator Sports 020 3371 8428 www.gladiator-sports.com

Polo Plates 07917 802322 chris@poloplates.com

Hololio +64 (9) 292 8650 www.hololio.co.nz

Quality Shoe Repairs 01892 670228 www.qualityshoerepairs.com

Horse First 02830 848844 www.horsefirst.net

Retraining of Racehorses 01780 740773 www.ror.org.uk

Images of Polo 01273 834159 www.imagesofpolo.com

SATS 01285 841542 www.satsfaction.com

Scott Dunn 020 8682 5400 www.scottdunn.com Sebastian Ucha +54 11 4780 1816 www.sebastianucha.com Shahira Industries +92 52 459 7606 www.shahiraind.com Sotheby’s International Realty +1 631 283 0600 www.sothebyshomes.com Sydney Polo Country Club +61 24 588 5000 www.sydneyinternationalponysale.com T&S Harker Horse Boxes 01325 332649 www.tandsharkerhorseboxes.co.uk Tally Ho Farm 01344 885373 www.tallyhofarm.co.uk Tattersalls 01638 665931 www.tattersalls.com The New Muscovy Company www.newmuscovy.co.uk The Polo Lifestyle Company 020 7730 6868 www.thepololifestylecompany.co.uk Tuffa International 01953 880914 www.tuffaboots.com Uber Polo 01428 643534 www.uberpolo.com Van Oppen Family 07976 252991 mlvanoppen@btopenworld.com White Horse Contractors 01865 736272 www.whitehorsecontractors.co.uk Wildman Design 0781 802 3211 www.wildmandesign.co.uk Yardandgroom.com 020 8144 1636 www.yardandgroom.com

www.polotimes.co.uk September 2010 97

PTSept 2010 p98 week JM YC PJ please remake!

18/8/10

15:12

Page 2

The last word

A Week

in the life of. .

I’M HALFWAY through my year at Sandhurst: I started in January after doing agribusiness at Newcastle and working in bloodstock near Lambourn. My family is into horses – we hunted with the Beaufort. My parents know the Tomlinsons and when I was 16 I worked two summers at Down Farm.

There couldn’t be a better person to learn from than Mrs T: she runs a tight ship and it was also great preparation for Sandhurst! I played a little at Cheltenham College and a summer in Pony Club, too.

Photograph by Yolanda Carslaw

POLO WAS ONE of my motivations for joining the army. Playing at Sandhurst has exceeded all my expectations. Polo manager Barbara “Barbie” Zingg is fantastic - it’s hard keeping 30 cadets under control! We play or practise Wednesdays and Saturdays and we’ve had a few army matches. I’m the Academy’s highest-handicapped player, so it was inevitable I’d play in the Heritage Cup. THAT WEEK I was duty cadet for my platoon (16 platoon in Inkerman Company). On the Monday I was up at 5.45am. I checked everyone was signed back in from the night before, found out who was going on sick and had breakfast: a good fry-up, with hash browns and everything; it gets you off to a good start. We eat 5,000 calories a day. I then reported to the company Sergeant Major at 6.40 on the dot and then the academy Sergeant Major, who check the paperwork is in 98 September 2010 www.polotimes.co.uk

Doug White

The 25-year-old 0-goaler, the only officer cadet on the HBL Heritage Cup-winning team, tells Georgie May about drill, fryups and swimming in full combat kit order. At 7.30 we had a muster parade and inspection. The dreaded log race took place that morning: each platoon carries two logs from Old College around the campus perimeter. The rest of the day was spent preparing for the upcoming Passing Out Parade, so we had a lot of drill – basically, being shouted at. The day finishes at 6 or 7pm and we’re allowed out in the evenings – though not in Camberley itself: we sometimes eat out or I’ll visit my parents’ house or my girlfriend, Alice.

TUESDAY I HAD lectures, such as war studies, then in the evening I had spare time so another cadet and I went stick-and-balling on the Staff College field – the main Round Ground is only used 20 times a year and reverts to a rugby

pitch in winter. Wednesday morning we learnt to use live grenades for the first time.

Wednesday afternoons are for sports: in summer my obvious choice is polo. Normally 20 of us are there at once and the club has 10 ponies, so we take turns. We always tack up: Barbie is keen for us to learn that side, and a few players are new to riding, so it’s important. The Golden Pot pub in Eversley is a favourite for many cadets for a drink and bite, and we headed there that evening.

AFTER A TWO-HOUR MILITARY written test on Thursday morning we had double PT [physical training]. Swimming was first, and a military and combat test: we learn to swim in full combat gear while carrying a rifle. One of the hardest tests is treading water for five minutes while holding our rifles in the air.

Our second session was on the assault course. The aim is to get your platoon around as fast as possible. I cleaned kit on Thursday evening ready for Friday’s drill competition for which we’ve trained all term.

It’s a series of marches and inspections; 19th-century stuff, but it has to be done. We passed inspection but messed up the drill and our platoon came last – it was a relief when it was all over. Friday afternoon we had a two-hour defence and international affairs lecture. Lectures are always hard work, and people regularly drop off. You are made to stand if you are seen sleeping, but plenty of us have even fallen asleep standing up!

SATURDAY MORNING WE practised for the Passing Out Parade for those leaving Sandhurst the next week. The six-team Heritage Cup began after lunch. We [EFG International British Army Officers] beat Luxembourg Polo Team and made the final on goal difference. That evening there was a black-tie dinner, brilliantly organised by Barbie, for teams, sponsors and guests. We had church parade on Sunday morning.

Everyone is inspected beforehand.

Unfortunately I had an item that was incorrectly polished so I had to go on “show parade” for my Colour Sergeant at 9pm the next evening. After church, I watched the Heritage Cup play-off games before our final against 141 Dubai Falcons at 4pm, featuring Saeed Bin Drai and his cousin Omid Rajaei, which we won. They were higher rated, at eight-goals while we were seven, and Gaston [Devrient] had warned us that they were a good team. Our team had never practised or played together but Gaston, an AAP coach, told us what to do and we worked well together. After the presentation we had a photo shoot on the Old College steps before our team went to the Academy bar. I hope I’ll continue polo: I’m joining the Queen’s Royal Hussars, who are based in Germany and have a team. I’m also hoping to go point-topointing this winter – as an amateur. F ◗ Turn to p48 and 86 for more on Sandhurst.

Riding Holidays Worldwide • Polo • Safaris

• Western ranches • Dressage & Tuition

• Beach rides • Groups / Singles

Call us: 01462 701110

• Trails • Based stays

PT Cover 5.5mm

18/8/10

16:40

Page 1

Polo Times September 2010