News
News special
Welcome return of polo Yolanda Carslaw in West Sussex
P
olo is returning to a historic West Sussex property that was once home to one of the most successful organisations in high-goal. Westerlands Stud, a 10-minute horsebox drive to Cowdray Park’s Ambersham grounds and 15 minutes from
the Lawns in Midhurst, is undergoing a revamp to prepare for the return of polo in 2013. Westerlands, which sits beneath the South Downs at Graffham, belongs to David Jamison, the former co-patron of polo teams Centaurs and Southfields and the celebrated Tramontana, which won the Gold Cup five times and dominated high-goal in the 1980s. Since David retired from high-goal in the mid1990s, the Coca-Cola and Sumaya teams have spent several summers using some of the facilities. Now, under the direction of David’s daughter, Antonia, a hundred acres of the property, complete with two practice grounds, an all-weather exercise track and 60plus stables are being made ready for a new, long-term occupant. “Everything is being prepared for 2013,” says Antonia, who previously worked in venture
Jockey Club. Mrs Nagle bought Westerlands in 1942 and bred and trained horses there, working them on the South Downs gallops and rearing them on well-draining, sand-based paddocks until she retired in 1976. However, it wasn’t the history, but the sight of a level, prospective polo field half-way up the drive that caught David’s eye in 1984. “I had started playing at Cowdray with Alan Kent,” says David, who is a former chairman of Cowdray Park Polo Club. “Alan heard about Westerlands and we went to see it. As we came up the drive I saw a field on my left. We stopped to look from the car and I said I wanted to buy the place. I fell in love with it instantly – we didn’t even look at the house. Once the team was installed, we found that one of the great benefits was being so secluded, well away from other teams but on Cowdray’s
“I saw a field as we came up the drive and fell in love with it instantly – we didn’t even look at the house. One of Westerlands’ great benefits is being so secluded, away from other teams but on Cowdray’s doorstep” – David Jamison capital and grew up surrounded by polo. “It’s a secluded, family-run place and would best suit someone who aspires to win the Gold Cup. We are offering a private set-up for a patron and his team. Matches can be played at home, and it’s only a few miles from the Cowdray grounds, as well as one hour from Guards.” When David Jamison bought Westerlands, it already had an illustrious equestrian history as the home of Florence Nagle (1894-1988), who in 1966 became the first woman to be accepted as a trainer after a 20-year battle with the Left: father and daughter David and Antonia Jamison, who are reviving polo at Westerlands after a hiatus dating back from the last millennium
doorstep, and we could go hell for leather on our own ground, in private.” Last winter the grounds were given a substantial makeover, having been home to yearlings as well as sheep for the past 17 years. They have been regraded and reseeded by the local specialists Les Searles and Keith Parks, whose previous projects include the grounds at Manor Farm in Selham, and Cowdray. They will be irrigated and boarded, with pony lines, washdown areas and truck parking for visiting teams. “We were advised not to laser-level the ground because it has such good natural drainage and if you mess about with what’s underneath you can spoil it. These days the weather is so unpredictable. You have to be
Westerlands time line 1942
1942 Florence Nagle buys Westerlands
18
PT p18-19 News5 JM PJ MB-line required.indd 2
1950
1976 Mrs Nagle retires, but lives on the estate, at Hunter’s Moon cottage, until her death in 1988 1960
1970
1980
1966 After winning Court of Appeal fight against Jockey Club, Mrs Nagle secures first female trainer’s licence
www.polotimes.co.uk
22/06/2012 18:08