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Volume 16 • Issue 10 • November/December 2011 • £5.50

WORLD CUP SPECIAL

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HOSTS WITH THE MOST Argentina wins record fourth World Cup title

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Contents

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Contacts Publisher Margie Brett margie@polotimes.co.uk Editor James Mullan jamesmullan@polotimes.co.uk Sub editor John O’Sullivan john@polotimes.co.uk

What’s inside...

Nov/Dec 2011 News 6

All the latest news

14 The big picture

Comment 16 Backchat with Clare Milford Haven

Assistant editor Georgie May georgie@polotimes.co.uk Advertising manager Harriet Kay harriet@polotimes.co.uk Art editor Nicki Averill nickiaverill@polotimes.co.uk Marketing & PR PJ Seccombe pj@polotimes.co.uk Subscriptions Sarah Foster sarah@polotimes.co.uk Accounts Philippa Hunt - accounts@polotimes.co.uk

Tel: 01993 886885 Fax: 01993 882660

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18 Herbert Spencer’s Global view 20 Arthur Douglas-Nugent’s Umpire’s corner 22 Your views: letters

Features 24 Cover story: Interview with England’s FIP World Cup team

Reports 28 Cover story: The FIP World Cup, San Luis – Argentina 34 Cover story: FIP World Cup team-byteam analysis 44 The Tortugas and Hurlingham Opens 48 Home and abroad Cover photograph: Argentina’s 14-goal FIP World Cup team celebrates victory at Estancia Grande (l-r: Pablo Llorente, Alfredo Capella, Martín Inchauspe and Salvador Jauretche). Image from Sergio Llamera

Youth polo 54 Goldin U18 International tournament, Metropolitan PC – Tianjin, China 59 SUPA in Italy

Knowledge 60 Playing around: Fifield Arena 62 Know your horse 64 Know your game 66 Ones to watch 67 How to spend it 68 Products: winter fashion special 70 Products: Christmas gift ideas 75 Review: Polo for the 21st Century 76 Motoring: something for everyone with cars of all shapes and sizes 84 What’s on

Sidelines 85 Gossip: Don’t be the last to know 86 Social: FIP World Cup; African Patrons Cup; Bike polo at El Remanso 88 Social: Emirates NBD Cup, Dubai; UberPolo shop opening, Haslemere 90 Social: U18s in China; action in Arizona; start-of-season at Longdole 98 Passions: Charlotte Sweeney Polo Times, November/December 2011

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from the Editor If you haven’t got the remotest interest in the World Cup, then this issue’s going to be slightly annoying for you.

We’ve gone big with our coverage. But I think with good reason: it may not be the best polo each country is capable of producing (the tournament is handicapped at 14-goal), but the tribal nature of the event and the largely effective system for allocating horses I believe makes it the best possible large-scale test currently available in our sport for discovering the strength of each nation engaged in regular action on the international polo landscape.

The system for allocating horses is the one which was first successfully instigated by Jim Gilmore at the sixth FIP World Cup in Melbourne, some seven years ago. An independent board of experts tries the complete list of horses hired for the tournament and then divides them into a set of pony pools that are intended to be as equal in strength as possible. The pools are then allocated randomly via a draw, designed to ensure no country receives any significant advantage in terms of horsepower. Inevitably it’s not foolproof and, predictably, it’s not uncommon to see the hosts and – just like the Eurovision Song Contest – their friendly neighbouring nations come out of it pretty well.

But, it has to be said, in San Luis they didn’t do a bad job.

Also encouraging in terms of progress was that, for the first time I can think of, the organisers invited an English umpire – the aimiable (and Spanish-speaking) Peter Wright – to officiate a major tournament in the Argentine.

However, it was by no means perfect. At times, some of the FIP officials taking charge of the logistics of the tournament treated the teams as little more than commodities in their “Estancia Grande” project. They were disappointingly ungracious and could even be accused of laziness with their operational standards and their internal and external communications.

Nevertheless, on the grounds (which were superb), the talent on display was of a much higher quality than its 14goal price tag. Read just how it unfolded on pages 28-42.

Back home, having been bowled over by the impressive number of people (male and female) sporting wonderful moustaches in aid of prostate cancer for “Movember” at the Cheltenham Races this November, and not wishing to feel left out, you can see my pathetic attempt below.

The last thing of course is to wish you all a very happy Christmas. May it be merry and bright, wherever you are.

I, for one, will be looking forward to settling down in front of the fire with the family to watch The King’s Speech.

Anything to avoid speaking to them.

China takes its place at polo’s top table

J

ust eight short years ago, China did not even have a single polo club to it’s name. But, after another whirlwind year for the growth of the sport in the powerful Asian nation, there are real signs that it has already positioned itself as the next polo superpower.

Ever since Xia Yang – inspired by watching Prince Charles play the sport – founded the country’s first club, Beijing’s Sunny Times, in 2004, the polo world has watched the game’s development in China with great interest. Shanghai’s Nine Dragons Hill club followed two years later and 2010 was a marquee year for the sport with the formation of two big-spending clubs – the Goldin Metropolitan in Tianjin and Tang in Beijing.

But it’s not the sheer number of polo clubs in China that makes the growth of the game so remarkable, rather it is the ambition, scale and rapid development of these clubs. This has been epitomised in the last year by the two newest clubs. The Metropolitan, backed by billionaire Hong Kong property magnate Pan Sutong’s Goldin Group, famously spent US$2m on creating

artificial snow for Asia’s first snow polo tournament in February. Meanwhile Tang, run by one of China’s few recognisable polo players, Liu Shilai, held the country’s highest handicapped tournament, the 16-goal Royal Salute Gold Cup China Open last month.

Both clubs have also spent tens of millions of pounds this year on creating the best facilities money can buy and attracting top international players to grace their tournaments. China’s defining moment on the world stage came last month when the game’s worldwide governing body, the FIP, bestowed Tianjin the honour of hosting the first fully sanctioned FIP Snow Polo World Cup. Snow polo has been played in St Moritz under the moniker of the “World Cup on Snow” for the last 27 years, but this is the first time in its 29 year history that the FIP has officially endorsed a snow tournament.

It may be a bone of contention in some polo quarters that the FIP has awarded this honour to a country that does not yet have a national polo association, but the Tianjin-based club is affiliated to the HPA and paid the FIP handsomely – believed to be in the

Word of warning if you’re thinking about doing something similar: apparently jokes about stammering are a big big no no.

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Spencer McCarthy, left, in action for the quickly renamed AMG Emlor team at Tang Polo Club recently

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Delegates from the FIP and representatives of all 12 countries competing in next February’s inaugural FIP Snow Polo World Cup travelled to Tianjin at the end of October for the official launch of the tournament. Seated in the front row are: Harvey Lee, vice chairman of Goldin Group; Dr Richard Caleel, FIP Executive Committee member; Marcos Uranga, founder and former president of FIP; Rowland Wong, president of Metropolitan; and Peter Abisheganaden, FIP Tournament Director

region of £2.5m – for the privilege. In a time of economic uncertainty in the West, this kind of commitment is difficult for the FIP to ignore.

The event itself – the FIP Snow Polo World Cup Invitational Tournament – promises to be full of glitz and glamour, building on the success of Tianjin’s first snow polo event this year. A total of 12 international teams (double the amount of 2011) will play at 16-goal level over nine days, starting on Saturday 4 February. The five-star Goldin Metropolitan hotel will house the teams, just a stone’s throw from the grounds, and the club will supply all of the ponies from their impressive string, which is 157 and growing. Harvey Lee, vice chairman of Goldin Group, who own the Tianjin club and are hatching plans to build further clubs in Shanghai, Shenzhen and in Hong Kong, said: “I am very confident that the FIP Snow Polo World Cup will become an annual event here in Tianjin and I hope to see many more events of this kind at Metropolitan Polo Club, further raising its international profile.”

By courting the FIP and the HPA, the bigwigs at Metropolitan have shown a willingness to work with the polo’s traditional governing bodies. Tang Polo Club has gone down the same route and were granted provisional HPA affiliation in May. However, last month’s China Open showed that the new club still has lessons to learn.

The well-sponsored event attracted the likes www.polotimes.co.uk

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of seven-goal Argentine Salvador Ulloa and English six goalers Nacho Gonzalez and Tom Morley. But the club fell foul of the HPA by including a team named “AMG Ireland” without the approval of the Stewards. Tang averted a showdown with the HPA by changing the name to AMG Emlor, after English patron Spencer McCarthy’s polo brand. The club has now made a commitment to bring 22-goal polo to China within the next two years.

The national and international polo associations – whose coffers have been welllined – are not the only winners in the polo world due to the growth of the sport in China.

With a lack of specialist polo knowledge in the country, vast employment opportunities

Plans for more large-scale Chinese polo developments are afoot, including in HK are opening up across all levels of the game, from grooms and players to equine specialists and management. The new clubs also yearn for huge quantities of top-quality polo ponies.

They are willing to pay top-dollar and they want them now, causing a stampede of the world’s leading breeders to China.

Next June is set to see the official opening of another club in China’s capital, the Beijing

International Polo Club, which is being driven by a clever foreign-based venture, hoping to cash in on China’s new love for the sport.

Anticipating a boom in the number of polo clubs in the country, the Argentine-backed company World Polo Clubs has effectively created a template of everything you need to do if you want to build a polo club from scratch in China – covering design, development, marketing and playing polo. The company, set up by Agustin and Sebastian Juarros, is hoping to get the backing of the Chinese government, and currently offers tailor-made clubs in three sizes – 30, 60 and 90 hectares.

Historically, the three most influential polo playing countries in the world have been the nations with the most home-grown polo players – namely Argentina, home of 3,130 players, USA (3,138) and England (2,790).

China presently boasts only several dozen home-grown players, but with the infrastructure for quick development, plus unparalleled levels of new wealth and vast employment opportunities for the polo world, China has shown itself to be a “special case”.

Already hailed as an economic and industrial superpower, China has shown itself to hold extraordinary influence in the polo world too. F w See the next edition of Polo Times (January/ February 2012) for an indepth interview with Goldin Group vice chairman Harvey Lee Polo Times, November/December 2011

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FIP at a crossroads THE BUENOS AIRES based administration of the Federation of International Polo (FIP) has been strongly criticised for lack of proper consultation and communication with the federation’s officials and member countries, writes Herbert Spencer.

The criticism of poor communications arose during a meeting of the FIP’s Council

Members have complained that they have not been consulted on key decisions of Administration in Buenos Aires before the federation’s General Assembly in October.

Some members of the council and the Executive Committee have also complained privately that they have not been fully advised about, or consulted on, key decisions involving

the running of the federation.

It was lack of consultation by the then president of the FIP, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, that was partly responsible for plunging the federation into crisis three years ago when the three largest associations, those of England, the US and Argentina, left the FIP, returning only after the president resigned.

Now the FIP’s current president, Eduardo Huergo, right, has assigned David Woodd, chief executive of the HPA and a member of the federation’s bylaws

committee, to make recommendations for changes to meet the latest criticisms.

Woodd said he would be looking at both current administrative procedures and federation by-laws.

Meanwhile, the federation’s General Assembly approved an operating budget of £228,416 for its 2011/2012 financial year. This includes fees of just under £40,000 to a UK sports consultancy to advise on the FIP’s branding and marketing.

The financial summary for the coming year, however, did not take note of the £2.5m deal signed with China’s Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club for the FIP Snow Polo World Cup Invitational in February (see previous page) that, after expenses, is expected to produce substantial net income for the federation.

St Moritz snow polo Major Hugh Dawnay retires returns to familiar format MAJOR HUGH DAWNAY, chairman and chief umpire of Waterford Polo Club in FOUR MAJOR SPONSORS have been secured for the 2012 St Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow. It was announced at the end of September that Cartier, BMW, Bank Sal. Oppenheim and Ralph Lauren will sponsor the four teams taking part in the 28th year of the Swiss tournament, which is due to take place from 26-29 January.

This means that the tournament will return to its original format, with teams playing under their sponsors’ names. Late organisation of the 2011 event, due to safety issues on the frozen lake, meant that no title sponsors could be secured in time and teams played in a new “Nations Cup” format.

However, despite organisers and players praising the new format – where teams represented their patrons’ nationality – it has been scrapped for 2012 and the old format will make a comeback. It is not yet known who will be playing in the tournament but the polo community will certainly be saddened not to see patron Philipp Maeder, who died this August (see September 2011 issue).

Maeder was best known to most for his support of the tournament over the past five years.

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Ireland, officially retired, aged 78, this autumn. Dawnay, inset, founded the club in 1976 and took the decision to retire this year due to health problems. The next chairman will be elected at the club’s AGM next season. Meanwhile, vice chairman James Kennedy will act as interim chairman.

The club hosted a retirement party at Waterford Castle, attended by 25 members. Kennedy presented Dawnay with the Playmakers Cup, which will be awarded to a club player next season. Performance in Dawnay’s Playmaker Challenge (see the news pages of the April 2011 issue) will be taken into account when selecting a winner, as well as their overall performance.

Dawnay has published two books during his career – Polo Vision and Playmaker Polo – and hopes to write his memoirs in the coming year.

Ollie joins the HPA team OLLIE HUGHES HAS been appointed as the HPA’s new deputy chief executive. He will leave his position as Beaufort Polo Club polo manager to take up his new full-time post at the HPA in the new year. Hughes, left, will work alongside chief exec David Woodd and will primarily be focusing on development, including Pony Club and SUPA, throughout next year.

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England to play Chile next March AN ENGLAND TEAM will travel to South America in March to play Chile in an international Test Match, the HPA confirmed in November.

The match will be played at 18-20 goal level, as decided by Chile who wanted to use the contest as an opportunity for their young players to gain more experience at international level. The HPA confirmed that they will be sending a similarly youthful group of players to the Test.

It is not known who will represent either side and it is also unclear whether this Test will replace the frequently played spring Test Match between New Zealand and England, though it seems unlikely a team will take on New Zealand this winter.

Chile met England at 14-goal level during the group stages of the recent FIP World Cup in

Argentina. On that occasion England came out on top 13-7. However, the last time the two sides met in a top-level Test Match was in 2007 when they played for the Coronation Cup. A 25-goal Chile side beat a 26-goal England side 9-8 in a thrilling match at Guards, played in memory of Gabriel Donoso who died the previous winter.

Jaime Huidobro, pictured here with his wife Cata, is likely to play in the Test

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wC HUCK WEAVER HAS been elected as the new chairman of the USPA’s Board of Governors.

Weaver, who has previously served as the USPA’s president for four years and has also been a board member and a treasurer, has extensive experience in the world of polo and remains a one-goal player today. Weaver took over from the previous chairman Tom Biddle senior in September. w FOUR NATIONS WILL be taking part in next year’s British Beach Polo Championships, held at Sandbanks in Poole from 6-7 July. It will be the first time that four nations – England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales – will go head-to-head.

Preliminary hearing into the crash that killed Guards CEO A PRELIMINARY HEARING into the helicopter crash that killed Guards CEO Charlie Stisted, Ian Wooldridge and their pilot Anthony Smith last year was held at Belfast coroner’s court at the beginning of October. The inquest heard that the helicopter was suffering from possible engine trouble and residents said it seemed to be flying low before hitting the Mourne Mountains in Ireland.

However, following the hearing, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) published a report, which found that a ground proximity warning system was not in use on the helicopter.

News in brief

Therefore, the pilot would not have been alerted by the presence of high ground ahead. The report also found that there was no reduction in speed when the helicopter hit the mountains suggesting that Smith was “content with the visibility ahead… or believed he had cleared the high ground.”

However, the AAIB added that a technical fault with the Agusta helicopter could not be ruled out.

A full inquest will be held before a jury in February.

It is expected to last a week and the jury will listen to various witnesses including residents, a pathologist, experts from the AAIB, hill walkers and the police.

w HORSES ARE NOW allowed to travel via the Eurotunnel. Since 1 November, international horse transport company Equine Travel Agency (ETA) is authorised to transport horses on shuttles between Britain and Europe.

The crossing takes 35 minutes, as opposed to 90 minutes by ferry. w WITH THE THAI polo season underway, Thai Polo and Equestrian Club has expanded its mix of major tournaments, low-goal contests and international challenges. Making its debut on 18 February is British Polo Day. The main highlight of the season is the 11-14 goal Thai Polo Open, which is due to take place from 11-24 January, and from 3-4 March, an England side will take on Malaysia for the Anniversary Cup.

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Aiming high < SPEN SNOW POLO: after the < Aorganisers of the Aspen World Snow Polo Championships were refused a permit for this December’s event, an appeal was won and it will go ahead as planned from 17-18 December HARLIE HANBURY: the < Cfour-goaler scooped the Copa El Remanso and Copa Diamante in Argentina with his Lovelocks Polo Stud and El Remanso polo sides respectively this autumn ECORD ENTRIES: Druids < RLodge received a record number of entries this summer and played 578 chukkas – 230 more than 2007 ames Beim: the English seven< Jgoaler is to become a father. His wife Lauren is due to give birth in April – see page 85 for more AM POLO CLUB: the London< Hbased club is launching the London Polo and Equestrian Academy next summer, in celebration of the 2012 Olympics

Swinging low = DOLFO CAMBIASO: thieves = Astole seven ponies from the 10-goaler’s ranch, La Dolfina, in November. The ponies belonged to his children POLO CLUB: the = SclubINGAPORE was caught up in scandal in September when a surprise inspection found 21 Indian nationals were not doing the jobs stated on their work permits USA TEAMS: the USA had = mixed fortunes in October. After the U18s won the inaugural Goldin U18 International Tournament in China (see page 54), the USA went on to finish last in the FIP World Cup (see page 28) UDE-MARTINEZ: = KtheARLone-goaler was knocked unconscious when a Knights of Middle England stunt he was partaking in went wrong. See page 85 to find out more PANISH PATRON: Robert Calle = SGracey is reported to have gone bankrupt. According to the Daily Mail, Cowdray three-goaler Josh Tuthill had to sell 11 of Gracey’s ponies to help pay off debts 10

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Excitement as climax of Argentine high-goal season looms large The climax of this year’s so-far thrilling Triple Crown is scheduled for Friday 9 December, when – whether-permitting – Palermo will play host to the final of the Argentine Open.

Having fought back from seven goals down to win their fifth consecutive Tortugas Open, some wondered whether Ellerstina could do the seemingly impossible, and pull off a defence of the entire Triple Crown, which they won last year when they lifted the trophy at the Tortugas, Hurlingham and Palermo Opens. They had been the first side to complete a rare clean sweep of Argentina’s three biggest tournaments since the Novillo Astradas did so with La Aguada in 2003.

However, of course Ellerstina’s biggest rival today – since the emergence of the team led

by Gonzalito and Facundo Pieres in the mid noughties – is Adolfo Cambiaso’s La Dolfina.

La Dolfina has never won the Triple Crown and traditionally peaks for the Argentine Open itself, having featured in 10 finals in the last 11 years, and won five of them, in so doing killing Ellerstina’s hopes of a clean sweep on three occasions.

This year, however, La Dolfina has scuppered Ellerstina’s ambitions with their first victory in the Hurlingham Open since 2006. And so, for the first time in the compelling competitive antagonism between the two teams, they go into the Argentine Open sharing a victory each in the Triple Crown’s earlier two tournaments. Read how that happened at Tortugas and Hurlingham on pages 44 and 45.

The action at Palermo was getting underway

Gonzalo Pieres will be hoping his three sons can do the business at Palermo

on the weekend that Polo Times went to press and so there can be no knowing whether it will be Ellerstina and La Dolfina in the final again (for the fifth consecutive time). However, if it is (as expected), there will rarely have been more excitement around their clash.

La Dolfina on paper are the stronger side (at 39 goals, and with 12 Argentine Open winner’s medals between them). However, even though Cambiaso and Ellerstina defector Pablo MacDonough have had phenomenal success playing together in the UK (in 2010), they are still a very new side.

Ellerstina (at 37 goals, and with just eight Argentine Open winner’s medals between them) are undoubtedly less experienced. They too have made changes to their side since last year. They’ve brought in yet another Pieres, Nico – who knows all too well what it’s like to play with his brothers – and the considerable wisdom of four-time Open winner Nachi Heguy.

And, as La Dolfina knows all too well from their experience so far in this year’s Triple Crown campaign (see page 45), Ellerstina never know when they are beaten.

If you’re lucky enough to be going, or can get near ESPN, it should make for unmissable viewing. w R ead what happened – and how and why – in our in-depth coverage in the next issue

Pampeano opens shop in Berkshire WITH THE RESULTS of Polo Times research revealing that the average polo player spends almost £7,000 a year on polo and horse-related equipment, it seems online retailer Pampeano’s shop opening in November was particularly timely.

The shop, on Ascot High Street in Berkshire, is the first permanent space in which everything advertised on their website is stocked and sold, plus new gear.

Pampeano was launched in 2008 by co-founders Luis and Jennifer Ferrarese, who began by selling luxury leather goods from Argentina online, and then had success attending trade shows throughout the year, supplying leather boots, accessories, dog collars, a sheepskin children’s range, gifts and cowhide homeware.

The new shop will be open for trade from Monday to Saturday – although, if there is high demand, it may open on Sundays too. In the run up to Christmas, they’ll also be seen at the Country Living Christmas Fair in London from 9-13 November and Olympia International Horse Show from 13-19 December.

The view inside Pampeno’s first shop, on Ascot High Street

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USPA drop proposed helmet rule JUST THREE MONTHS before it was due to take effect, the US Polo Association (USPA) has dropped its pending rule requiring players to wear helmets of a certain standard, writes Herbert Spencer.

The abandoned rule, originally due to kick in on 1 January 2012, specified that any player competing in any USPA event must wear a helmet that has passed polo-specific tests by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE).

This would have been the first time that any governing body of polo had adopted a rule making standards for helmets mandatory. Other horse sports, as well as the likes of ice hockey and American football, have long had mandatory standards for protective headgear.

At the USPA’s autumn meeting, however, the ruling Board of Governors scrapped the mandatory rule. The board opted instead for a new member’s declaration to be signed by players, leaving choice of helmet to the player and absolving the USPA of any legal responsibility in case of injury.

“This decision was made for a number of reasons including what we considered to be a lack of sufficient product availability in the marketplace as well as the need to conduct further research and analysis,” said Chuck Weaver, the new chairman of the USPA elected at the autumn meeting.

Thus far, only two helmets have passed the NOCSAE tests: the Casablanca C6; and the Falcon FFA. Weaver declined to specify the other reasons for dropping the mandatory rule, but it appeared clear from the language of the new membership declaration that the question of legal liability played a part.

In the UK, rules of the HPA require players to wear protective headgear but make no recommendations as to specific standards.

The Blue Book does however recommend that players take note of British Horse Society advice, that helmets complying with one of several recognised UK, EU or international standards “offer the best protection”. HPA chief executive David Woodd said the association has no plans to change its helmets rule.

Piers Plunket, a leading expert in polo insurance, expressed disappointment at the USPA’s decision. “All available data shows that, in sports that carry the risk of head injuries, the incidents of serious injury dropped significantly when mandatory standards for protective headgear were adopted,” he said.

Polo Times loves... …Fabtek Solutions. The company manufacture Mudtek and Meditek Silver Wound Dressings ranges for horses, both of which contain Zorflex – an antibacterial fabric that draws out and removes bacteria from the skin.

Zorflex holds bacteria away from their source of food and they die, a process accelerated by the silver particulates that the Zorflex contains. The fabric has undergone extensive antibacterial studies and is proven to be effective against several bacteria types including Dermatophilus Congolensis – the bacteria that causes Mud Fever.

The Mudtek range uses Zorflex in stable boots, pastern wraps and bandage pads. Each product is washable and has been designed to be used for day-to-day management. Whilst Mudtek Antibacterial Stable Boots and Pastern Wraps can be used in the stable after a day in the field, Antibacterial Bandage Pads can be used under travel, stable, exercise and polo bandages. Prices for the Mudtek range start at £28.80.

For more information, see www.fabteksolutions.com. w R ead our Letter of the month on page 22 to see how Fabtek Solutions helped Alice Gipps’ pony Ketty. www.polotimes.co.uk

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Polo Times, November/December 2011

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News News in brief ◗ MEMBERS OF GUARDS and the Windsor Park Equestrian Club raised £6,270 for The Colonel’s Fund Grenadier Guards and handed HRH Prince Philip the cheque at WEPC’s 40th anniversary reception at Windsor Castle in October. Prince Philip handed the cheque straight to Major Bernie Broad, who served 28 years in the regiment and is currently recovering from injuries he suffered while serving in Afghanistan. ◗ A POLO-THEMED nude calendar has been produced by Nottingham University Polo Club. The 2012 calendar features girls from the club and two males – La Mariposa’s Mariano Darritchon and the club’s Dan Joplin. The money raised will go to the club and Help for Heroes. See page 72 for purchase information. ◗ FROM 3 JANUARY Emirates will be offering faster flights from Dubai to Argentina, with its new daily non-stop service from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro, which includes an extension to Buenos Aires. Polo players and spectators flying from Buenos Aires and Rio will also be able to connect to Emirates’ global network via its hub in Dubai. ◗ HORSE RIDING IS good for your health, a survey commissioned by the British Horse Society (BHS) discovered.

The research found, unsurprisingly, that regular horse riding and the activities associated with it expend sufficient energy to be classed as moderate intensity exercise, and that it stimulates positive psychological feelings – until you fall off that is!

Latest from the HPA HPA chief executive David Woodd rounds up the news from UK polo’s headquarters HPA Office Ollie Hughes, who has been at the Beaufort Polo Club for the last three years, has been appointed as Deputy Chief Executive of the HPA. He will start work in the New Year.

HPA Discretionary Grants The following grants have been awarded: Taunton Vale Polo Club – £2,000 towards new boards CSPA (Combined Services Polo Association) – £16,000 Overseas China The Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club in China will be hosting the inaugural FIP Snow Polo Invitational World Cup from 4 to 12 February, 2012.

The following countries have accepted the invitation to send a team: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, England, France, Hong Kong SAR, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.

polo abroad this winter: Charlie Scott, Charlie Walton, Max Stacy and Tom Harris.

South Africa The following players have been selected for a one week intensive training course with Buster MacKenzie in South Africa in December: Terence Lent, Thomas Brodie, Harry Hickmet, Jack Hyde, Sebastian Hancock, Lolly Stanhope-White, Izzy McGregor.

Mid-season arena handicap meeting The mid-season arena handicap meeting will be held at RCBPC on Thursday 12 January.

Christmas period The HPA office will be closed from midday on Wednesday 21 December until Tuesday 3 January.

Chile An England team have been invited to play a Test Match in Chile at 18-20 goals at the end of March next year.

Work Experience Bursaries The following players have been awarded bursaries to work and play

Taunton Vale Polo Club has been awarded a £2,000 discretionary grant by the HPA

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For stockists, call Equine Management: 01825 840 002 To buy, call: 01825 841 303 or visit www.bombersbits.co.uk / www.worldwidetack.com 12

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Obituary

8th Earl Bathurst 1927 – 2011

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Photograph by Rex Features

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he 8th Earl Bathurst, who died at the age of 84 on Sunday 16 October after a long period of ill health, was a keen countryman who ran Cirencester Park Polo Club, having re-established the club in 1952, following the Second World War, with the help of his brother the Hon George Bathurst, writes Paula Griffiths.

Henry Allen John Bathurst was born on 1 May 1927, the eldest son of Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley, and his wife Violet. He was educated at Eton and Christchurch College, Oxford. Henry inherited the earldom of Bathurst The 8th Earl Bathurst on horseback at Cirencester Park and Cirencester Park from his grandfather, the 7th Earl, in 1943, the year after his father, Lord Apsley, DSO, MC, MP had been killed in combat in Malta.

Bathurst’s duties at Cirencester Park included riding as Master of the Valley of the White Horse Hounds, the Gloucestershire pack kept by his family since the 1830s. Bathurst was the first English peer to ride a Russian horse to hounds, keen to introduce Russian-bred horses to the local hunting fraternity. In 1965 he merged the Valley of the White Horse Hounds with the Vale of the White Horse Hunt to reduce costs.

Bathurst is probably more recently known for an incident in 2003 involving a young hoodlum speeding through Cirencester Park. A chase ensued in which the Earl was apprehended by the security team protecting the car’s driver – who turned out to be Prince William.

“I don’t care who it is, royalty or not – speeding is not allowed on my estate. If I was to drive like that in Windsor Park, I’d end up in the Tower,” he famously told an interviewer.

His son Allen Christopher Bertram Bathurst, Lord Apsley, has succeeded to the Earldom and is now also the new president of the polo club. The new Earl Bathurst’s eldest son Benjamin has succeeded to the title of Lord Apsley.

“Allen and I and the whole family look forward to continuing a long and happy relationship with Cirencester Park Polo Club,” the new Countess Bathurst told Polo Times.

A memorial for the 8th Earl Bathurst was held on Thursday 10 November at the Church of St John Baptist in Cirencester. The memorial was well attended by the polo world and HM the Queen was represented

by Lord de Maulay. F

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the

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Hyde goes seeking This action shot shows Ocho Rios–Altyon’s Chris Hyde going in search of a goal in the final of the 2010 Arena Gold Cup at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club (RCBPC), pursued by Jamie Morrison of eventual winners Cold Smoke.

Gillian Hughes, who was at the other end of the lens, has been RCBPC’s official photographer for five years. She also attends the snow polo in St Moritz, has spent three years photographing polo in Sotogrande and has worked for English high-goal team La Bamba de Areco for two summers, snapping her favourite player Facundo Pieres. A low-goal polo player herself, Gillian played in the National Women’s Championships at Ascot Park Polo Club this summer. Gillian’s own polo pony, Vanity Fair, was bought from the late Paul Castle. She hopes that her passion for horses and their individual personalities is conveyed in the photographs she takes. ◗ Gillian can be seen at the HPA National Championships at RCBPC later this month. See more of her work at www.gillianhughes.co.uk

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18/11/11 10:42:06

Comment

Backchat with Clare Milford Haven

Don’t cry for me Argentina, but the truth is I’ll miss you this December

H

aving just made the difficult decision not to go and spend my annual three weeks in Argentina next month, I find myself, for the first time in a decade, at a total loose end in the polo department. I feel slightly bereft and out of the loop – my only point of contact seems to be through hacking around the farm on my 20-year-old retired pony, Tequila, and keeping in touch with polo friends around the world on Facebook.

Not that I should complain.

I have just returned from a whistle-stop tour of Barbados on a writing assignment. The fact that the island is etched with white sandy beaches and surrounded by an azure blue sea was hugely influential in my decision to travel quite so far for only five days.

The polo season hasn’t even begun there, but I did manage to check out every single blade of grass on each field and was amazed to discover no less than four polo clubs – Apes Hill,

Main photograph by James Mullan

I feel a yearning for the kamikaze driving, the strict diet of beef and the Open’s social whirl Holders, Clifton and the laserlevelled Lion Castle.

My first night was spent in a fantastically luxurious Apes Hill (www.apeshillclub.com) villa overlooking the golf course, before moving to the heavenly colonial-style hotel, Coral Reef (www.coralreefbarbados.com) – a stone’s throw from the beach.

Barbados is great. Even without any polo. I was entertained warmly by various members of the 16

Clare Milford Haven (second from left) at the 2010 Argentine Open with Elina Donoso, Francesca del Balzo, Harry WentworthStanley, Fred Coleridge-Cole and José Donoso. Clare will miss the big event at Palermo this year for the first time in a decade

My jet-setting continued to Mallorca to stay with some friends near Soller. Aware of my pining for a polo fix, they kindly drove me along the lethal hairpin bends on the coast road to visit the private field owned by property magnate Christian Völkers.

Stunningly located on the north west coast of the island at Port des Canonge, Finca Son Coll has breathtaking views over a blue plumbago hedge to the Balearic sea on one side and a stone terraced wall with lemon trees on the other. Every July, the dashing Mr Völkers invites 400 guests all dressed in white to his annual three-aThe beautiful port settings of Barbados (pictured) and Mallorca managed to satisfy Clare’s winter polo fix side tournament. extensive Williams family, Karen Kranenburg was my official tour guide and constant companion, Andrew and Lucy Tucker were enjoying their last few weeks of freedom before the early arrival of twins Ned and Jack (see page 85), and Apes Hill polo manager Jamie Dickson and I reminisced about the summer of 2001 when we swept the board in the 8-goal at Cowdray, winning no less than five cups. Those were the days.

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His breathtaking video of the event makes polo look far more glamorous than the Baftas and the Oscars put together.

But, despite all that, I do feel a yearning for the kamikaze-style driving on the Panamericana, the diet of beef for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the social whirl of the bar under the stands at the Open, the constant amazement and awe watching the skill of the best players in the world competing at Tortugas, Hurlingham and Palermo, as well as the trips to Fagliano, Zapalla and Cesar.

Surely there must be someone who needs a middle-aged, female, zero-goal player on their team somewhere in Argentina? F w Read more “Backchat” from Clare at www.polotimes.co.uk www.polotimes.co.uk

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18/11/11 16:52:14

Comment

Global view with Herbert Spencer

New snow polo “World Cup” deal brings into question ethos of the FIP

Photograph by James Mullan

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he decision of the Federation of International Polo (FIP) to establish a new “World Cup” to accommodate one wealthy polo club in China (see page 6-7) raises questions about the ethos of the body representing the sport worldwide.

What was in the minds of the FIP hierarchy when they negotiated a mega-bucks deal with the Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjin to inaugurate the first FIP Snow Polo World Cup Invitational there? Until now, the FIP has never shown the least interest in arena polo, the long-established three-man game on which snow polo is based, much less snow polo itself.

The federation’s highly successful 14-goal world championship on grass has given respectful meaning to the term World Cup, just as World Cup has in other sports. It seems inappropriate to lend that appellation to the China event.

Over the years the FIP’s Polo World Cup competition has impressively involved a total of 36 of the FIP’s member countries in geographical playoffs. But there will be no geographical playoffs for the snow polo World Cup – hardly feasible given the few snow polo venues around the world. Instead the FIP has invited national teams without their having earned their places through competitive qualifiers.

The FIP has also ignored the federation’s nationality rules to accommodate the Chinese club’s owners, by including a Hong Kong SAR team composed entirely of foreign players who are not citizens of that Special Administrative Region of China.

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From one World Cup to another: the new snow polo ruling agreed at the FIP meeting in Buenos Aires followed hot on the heels on the World Cup in San Luis, but has the FIP taken its eye off the ball to focus on other factors surrounding the polo?

Can this be right? The FIP’s decision to cater to one Chinese club’s appetite for prestigious international events must be viewed in the context of the current state of polo in the Peoples Republic of China, a country that has few players of Chinese nationality, no national polo association and so is not a member of the FIP. Polo was played in China in the Han dynasty some 2,000 years ago and flourished in the Tang dynasty during the seventh-

If some other club coughs up the cash, will the FIP devise another World Cup? 10th centuries. Many westerners also played the sport there in the 20th century before the Japanese invasion, World War II and the Mao-led revolution.

Some 70 years later, in 2005, the sport finally returned to China with the establishment of Sunny

Polo Times, November/December 2011

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Times Polo Club in Beijing and the Nine Dragons Hills club south of Shanghai, the latter being part of a coastal resort development.

The Metropolitan Polo Club came into being last year; it is part of a gigantic commercial and residential project by the Hong Kong-based properties company Goldin. A fourth club, Tang, was founded this year in Beijing.

The Chinese clubs have been hiring dozens of foreign professionals from countries such as Argentina, Australia and England to work as polo managers, instructors, umpires and grooms, not to mention scores of foreign pros to play in their events. Obviously this is good for the polo industry.

My impression, however, is that some of China’s clubs are less interested in developing grass-roots polo in the country by bringing Chinese nationals into the game than in attracting a social following of newly-rich, status-seeking individuals to promote the business interests of the clubs’ owners. Six years after

polo returned to China, there are still only a few dozen players, at most, of Chinese nationality.

Nonetheless, the FIP appears to have been seduced by the chance to get involved in polo in China.

As the mantra goes – a big country like China cannot be ignored.

Money talks and the federation and national associations sending teams for snow polo at the Metropolitan stand to gross more than two million dollars which, after expenses, will provide useful funds to plough back into the sport around the world.

Does this mean, however, that if some other polo club somewhere wants to cough up the cash, the FIP will devise another “World Cup” of one sort or another to accommodate them?

To my mind, this is not in keeping with the ethos of the body meant to represent the sport worldwide in line with the Olympic ideal. F w Read more from Herbert at www.polotimes.co.uk www.polotimes.co.uk

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17/11/11 11:05:06

Comment

Umpire’s corner with Arthur Douglas-Nugent

Umpiring improvements in high-goal must filter through to the lower levels

Photograph by John O’Sullivan

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nother season has drawn to a close that, despite the rather in and out summer weather, has been generally successful. There have been few discipline incidents of note, which would indicate that the umpiring has been good, but as always it was not good enough, particularly at the lower levels.

Yes, there has been improvement, not least thanks to the introduction of the paid umpire, a rare beast indeed 20 years ago, but the good work that they do needs to be more accountable and to spread further down the chain. This is our aim.

Criticism of umpires still comes rolling in and is taken seriously, particularly if supported by both teams rather than just the losing one. I am a bit more sceptical when the criticism emanates from spectators, however experienced they may be. As a spectator you can see the extent to which the umpires keep up with the play and judge their control of the game.

But unless you are in an elevated position you are likely to be guessing about fouls. Nonetheless, reports from the sidelines are welcomed, though may be taken with a pinch of salt, particularly when they concern points of law.

Time for change It is at this time of year that we have a look at possible rule

Officials at the Goldin U18 International Tournament in China last month umpired according to HPA rules, as do many other clubs around the world. This must be considered by the HPA Chief Umpires whenever they think about making rule changes

changes for next year, taking a lead from suggestions put forward at the Chief Umpires meeting and, of course, any raised in Polo Times (we are expecting a flood of these after the letter in the last edition).

We take into account that players

Paid umpires need to be more accountable and help spread their good work further down the food chain are a conservative lot and, on the whole, don’t like change. Also, and perhaps more importantly, as polo is played under HPA rules in many countries, we have to look at the wider picture. Finally, we must stay as close as we can to the Argentines, who are ultra-

conservative, and the Americans, who do things their own way.

We have always resisted having a different set of rules for each different level of polo, but a club is at liberty to set its own rules for any tournaments outside the Victor Ludorum, as long as any such changes are clearly set out in the tournament schedule. Recent examples have been the trials for the throw-in from the sidelines and the hit-in after a goal.

It is early days yet but, apart from a few tweaks, it looks as if the only significant change may be the placing of the ball by the umpire for the Penalties 5a (hit from the spot) and 5b (hit from the centre).

However, we are open to suggestions and any ideas for rule change or clarification will be carefully examined.

Rules refresher These points from a pro umpire meeting in the summer are worth considering as a reminder: • For a penalty 3 the goal judge should be well back in the centre of the goal. The umpire with the striker (the other umpire being on the back line) has to make the call: “goal or no goal”.

• With player dismounts, stop play immediately if interfering with the play (consider penalty if frivolous). If not interfering, stop when play is neutral (Rule 29a) • Umpires should stay on the field between chukkas (except when changing) and keep together. At the end of the match they should ride off together, but allow players to say thank you.

• Go for the perfect throw in – low and hard, down the line.

• Discourage players from hitting the dead ball.

• Watch out for the player who tries to work the umpires.

• When giving a technical penalty raise your arm and, if on the radio, name the referee.

• A cut shot executed at speed when the striker takes up the new line is unlikely to be a foul.

• Be lenient with the No 1 who collects the ball goal-side of the back and strays a bit off the line.

• If acting as referee do not be afraid to criticise the umpires. F w Read more from Arthur at www.polotimes.co.uk

Foul for thought…

This month’s puzzle The referee or the umpires, after consultation, rule “No Foul”.

Where will the throw-in be taken?

Last month’s solution A player starts to place the ball for a penalty but his pony shies away.

A teammate finishes placing the ball and the penalty is taken. What should the umpire do?

The answer is the umpire should blow the whistle and award a Penalty 7 (a throw-in) see rule 39b and 39d.

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Comment

Your views

Letter of the month

Letters

Ketty’s on the mend

letters@polotimes.co.uk or The Editor, Polo Times, Holbrook Farm, North Leigh, Oxon OX29 6PX

Sir, your readers might remember my pony Ketty?

Polo Times featured her on the Pony Power page in July 2010. Well, we had a bad crash playing polo at the end of the 2010 season and her leg opened up into a large wound that would not heal. Until now that is.

Please include your postal address or nearest town on all Letters to the Editor

We’d tried everything, she even went to O’Gorman’s Alice’s pony Ketty had more than a year on the sidelines veterinary hospital to check if there were any fragments of bone which were preventing it from closing. Nothing could be found so they debrided the wound and implanted skin grafts. Unfortunately, again it didn’t do well, when it was close to healing over suddenly it would go backwards for no reason and open up again.

The Ralph Lauren pony has bolted

Then at the end of July, almost one year on from the accident it went really backwards with an infection, opening up the wound larger than ever. Previously we’d tried every potion, lotion, manuka honey etc and nothing was working particularly well. It was time to start thinking of the mare’s welfare, although she seemed quite happy in herself.

Sir, I feel inclined to share my thoughts with you regarding the intellectual property conflict over the polo pony image and its use by Ralph Lauren and other fashion product manufacturers, which Herbert Spencer wrote about in the Polo Times October 2011 issue [page 14-15, below].

Whilst I don’t think that Ralph Lauren should have exclusive rights to trade products bearing polo names and logos - the famous pony has bolted a

Luckily for Ketty, Alicia the vet looking after her, consulted Professor Derek Knottenbelt who suggested trying a new antibacterial activated carbon wound dressing with silver in it called Meditek Silver and its done the job! The wound immediately started to heal quickly and, although still delicate, it healed over completely for the first time in 14 months!

I just wanted to share this information as I’m sure it would be of interest for anyone who has horses, but also more for this time of the year the same Fabtek Solutions company also manufacture special mudfever boots and wraps which I’m sure would also be of huge help to anyone wintering polo ponies. The website is www.fabteksolutions.com Alice Gipps Berkshire Editor’s note: like Alice, if you have discovered any “miracle cures” for your ponies, we’d love to hear about them: letters@polotimes.co.uk The writer of the Letter of the month wins a bottle of La Chamiza Argentine red wine

long time ago and they are quite deserving of their place.

Other sportswear manufacturers like La Martina, Polistas and Peter Polo etc use the polo name and a variety of polo logos as well and this does not seem to bother either Ralph Lauren – who have a dominating market position – or professional organisations like the US Polo Association.

The only winners in these conflicts are the patent and trademark lawyers. Polo, as a sport, “wins” as well through such indirect public endorsements. Plus ça change!

Dr Karl H Pagac Villeneuve-Loubet, France 22

Our newest fathers really have a g’Lynt in their eyes

Sir, I thought the Polo Times readers might be interested to see a picture of all the new babies we have had at Lynt Polo Club in the past year with their respective fathers.

The picture shows (left to right) Guy Verdon with Florence, Corin Gibbs with Olly,

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Lolo should have gone to Specsavers

Stuart Latham with Lyra, Matt Eyre-Brook with George and James Nicholson with Molly.

I think it’s safe to say that the future of the club is in good hands!

Sir, was it just me, or did anyone else notice in last month’s Polo Times [page 31] that Lolo Castagnola seems to like ladies’ sunglasses? Of course it’s important to protect one’s eyes, but it made me laugh – as he’s clearly hoping some chunky Raybans will make him look cool. And perhaps they would, if he hadn’t picked up his wife’s pair!

Charlotte Verdon Lynt Polo Club, Wiltshire

Charla Weaver Sarasota, Florida www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 15:30:15

Your views

Comment

Time to ensure insurance Sir, I read with interest Georgiana Crofton’s article “Establishing a Standard for teaching at grass-roots level” in the Polo Times August issue (page 10). It concerns and astonishes me to discover that I have launched into a sport in which the governing body only regulates certain elements of clubs and coaches. I have also subsequently discovered that teaching, coaching and club insurance is invalid without a council riding school licence.

It is beginners such as myself who need maximum guidance and protection, as we are most likely to crash for no apparent reason, making insurance vital!

Bureaucratic red tape affects us all and this is inevitably an expensive business, but it should be fair across the board.

I am pleased to read that Georgiana is working on establishing an official body, but in the meantime would it not be prudent to enforce current legislation? The HPA could surely put a simple monitoring system in place? After all, the councils are doing the work.

I do hope that the HPA and Polo Times will work to avoid this potential uninsured situation arising, by guiding those of us starting this great sport towards the compliant clubs and coaches.

Those that do appear to deserve considerable recognition, especially with the “cowboys” Georgiana refers to openly advertising the cheapest and riskiest lessons.

William Proctor Pimlico, London Editor’s note: we’ll certainly follow this story with interest William and will “name and shame” those without insurance once the anticipated Association of Polo Schools and Pony Hirers is established

“All I want for Christmas... is a job lot of awful weak puns”

England home to polo’s oldest tournament Sir, I read with much interest your feature “A Calcutta above the rest.” [Polo Times, October 2011, page 34, inset]. It is a well-written and informative article.

However, allow me to point out some discrepancies with current historical knowledge about the oldest extant polo club. Firstly, the Ezra Cup is not the oldest polo tournament in the world. That distinction belongs to the Inter-Regimental Tournament in England, first played for in 1878.

Secondly, the Calcutta Hockey Club, as it was originally known, was started by a group of English players

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A brother of Capt Robert Stewart, Lt (later Maj Gen) George Stewart, played on the Calcutta Maidan as a member of the Barrackpore Polo Club, where he was stationed in 1863.

He learnt polo whilst visiting his brother in Cachar. amongst whom Mr CB Stewart was prominent.

Other pioneers were Elliott Angelo, Col Richard Beaton, RS “Bobby” Hill, an Old Rugbeian, and John Thomas.

Another Stewart, Capt Robert, Commissioner of Cachar, and Lt Joseph Sherer, Deputy Commissioner, founded the Silchar Retreat Club, along with some British tea planters.

Horace Laffaye Wellington, Florida Editor’s note: looks as though I need to fire our fact-checker!

Thanks for bringing this to my attention Horace. As the game’s foremost expert on polo trivia, I bow to your superior knowledge and will always happily correct any errors

Polo Times, November/December 2011

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Feature

Interview – England’s FIP World Cup team

All four one, for Queen and country England’s World Cup foursome reflect on beating seven countries in 21 days, consider what might have been, and discuss how they’ve gelled as a team, how they’ve got on as individuals, how they rate the FIP, and how their coaches contributed to their successes

James Mullan in San Luis, Argentina

Photographs by James Mullan

I

n terms of genuinely sanctioned international competitions in polo, this is as big as it gets. Not since the game last formed part of the Olympics – way back in 1936 – has there been a more rigorous test for discovering the health of a country’s polo.

Though international Test Matches are often played at higher-handicap levels, and of course one country in particular is home to all five of the world’s 10-goal players, by limiting the World Cup to 14-goal and to players of a five-goal handicap and below, nations are examined for their ability to handicap effectively and produce sides that are balanced and players that can perform on unfamiliar horses.

It’s not an easy mix to get right, and so is an incredibly difficult tournament to win, let alone even qualify for. However, in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last month or so, England’s boys this year got painfully close. They finished fourth after only just missing out on their chance to contest for the top honour, losing the semifinal to Brazil in the cruellest of fashions.

But how did the side come together, how did they make it work on the field, and how much did it work off it? I sat down with Nick Britten-Long, Jack Richardson, Max Charlton and Ed Hitchman in their hotel the day after their semi-final to try and find out.

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So, how was this team selected, and by whom?

Nick Britten-Long (NBL): I had very little to do with it at its embryonic stage. Once the HPA had agreed how the team for this tournament and the qualifiers that preceded it would be funded [a mixture of HPA money and funds provided privately, some of which came from the Britten-Long family] they approached Alan Kent to put together a side.

Between Alan and [HPA steward] John Tinsley, the original idea was for a squad captained by Johnny Good, and I was fortunate enough that they included me in their plans.

Jack Richardson (JR): Alan was then the person responsible for recruiting Max and me as well, and we all first had the chance to play together in the John Cowdray Trophy [for England FIP Europe] on Gold Cup day, which follows the final. We won that game [against Young England] but it wasn’t quite as smooth as we would have liked.

Max Charlton (MC): A week later, Jack, Johnny and I were part of the Golden Jubilee Cup game on Cartier Day, playing

“With a similar standard of horses, more than normal it’s about how you connect as a team” – Jack Richardson together against Ed, and it was then that Alan started to consider if the formation we had could work better.

JR: It seemed that Ed might fit in well, given the kind of polo we were hoping to play and so, after the Cartier Day game, we had a couple of practices with him, and it went from there.

NBL: The only problem was that when Ed was originally approached, he was unsure that he’d have the horses to bring to take part in the qualifiers [in Italy at the end of September].

Ed Hitchman (EH): It’s the wrong end of the season to be taking a string of horses abroad, but you play your own ponies in the qualifiers [– unlike in the World Cup itself, when each team is allocated a pool]. So we had to call in some favours. Luckily, George Meyrick, Billy Jackson-Stopps and John Horswell were generous enough to lend us some horses, and Nick also brought a few spares, so Max and I were able to mount ourselves with a couple of extras that definitely helped us.

So, the four of you, plus Alan and, what, 25 horses, went out to Italy?

MC: In total, we took 27, and John Kent came as our substitute. He couldn’t then make it for the trip out here to Argentina, because he’s at university and had to go back.

JR: So Mark Baldwin got the call up instead, and I think he’s been a great sub.

NBL: Yes, he’s been a very positive part of the squad. It can be difficult to come in, especially immediately after we’d been together as a group for several weeks in Italy and beforehand, but he slipped in well, integrated himself and has done his job helping the team excellently.

EH: As has Anthony Fanshawe, who replaced Alan as coach at the last minute when Alan realised he’d be required on some business elsewhere [organising some horses for a deal in China].

NBL: Ant kindly delayed his trip back home in u Right: Jack Richardson and Nick Britten-Long (back row) line up with Max Charlton and Ed Hitchman (in helmets)

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17/11/11 11:55:57

Interview – England’s FIP World Cup team

Photographs by James Mullan

Feature

England’s boys enjoy a warm-down with their accommodating stretching expert after their game against Australia, in which they finished strongly to win 10-5; Jack Richardson

u order to help us, and – like Alan – I have to say that he did a really good job.

Though presumably Anthony didn’t seek to change too much from your winning ways in Italy? If not, what were his responsibilities?

JR: Anthony [pictured inset below] and Alan obviously spoke about the ways that we played best from the Italy trip, and so he just helped make sure we kept that momentum for flowing polo and a good team dynamic.

MC: And, with that in mind, it was he that divided up the horses from our pool and worked out how best we could use them.

EH: Broadly speaking, he gave me the ones with handle, Max the ones with run and power, and Jack and Nick made do with what was left.

JR: Which wasn’t a lot! However, to be honest I had low expectations about the horses before I arrived but, given that it is the season in Pilar, they weren’t too bad. The organisers didn’t do too badly on that front.

NBL: I agree. There’s got to be about 300 ponies that they brought in for this tournament – it’s a hell of a thing to organise and so I don’t think we should complain. We certainly didn’t have the best horses but neither did we have the worst. Not by any means.

What have been your general impressions about the organisation by the FIP? MC: It’s been alright. There was more going on when we were in Italy compared to here, and the hotel out there was a lot nicer, but we’ve 26

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generally been well looked after on both trips.

JR: Yeah, you’ve got to be impressed by Estancia Grande as a venue for the polo. It’s in a lovely setting and the views around are incredible. It’s also got four grounds, whereas in Italy all the games took place on just one. But San Luis is a funny little place – it needs more life, and you wonder how much polo there usually is in this area. It’s the sort of venue you could imagine the Argie pros bringing their horses out to for a tournament for a couple of weeks at most, but nothing more.

MC: I doubt they’d even do that. There’s no time. The season in Pilar is already running at a full schedule, so this place can never make money that way. Rather, they’d have to hire in the polo. There’s supposed to be some good dove shooting around this part of Argentina, so perhaps that can recommend it, but we didn’t get the chance to go. Italy was twice the fun in terms of what went on aside from the polo.

On the grounds then, how does playing this tournament rate in terms of your career highlights to date?

NBL: For me, as one of the few amateur players here, it’s undoubtedly been right up there and will certainly be one of my most memorable polo experiences.

I’m 34 now so I doubt I’ll get the chance to take part in anything so uniquely exciting again. The chance to represent England and be a part of an event bringing on some of our brightest young players has been a

thrill. I’ve also enjoyed the fact that I’ve not been treated like a patron here. You’re playing against four-man teams here so I’ve very much been expected to do my bit.

EH: That’s no mean feat either, because the polo here has been played faster than it was in Italy and I’ve got massive respect for Nick, ‘cos he’s put in the hard yards, on difficult horses and stayed amazingly cool under the pressure [Nick scored England’s final goal in the game against Brazil, breaking away to tie the game at 14-14]. As tournaments go, aside from the ultimate dream of playing on Cartier Day, undoubtedly this is one of the top ones that you want to win. Having been part of it twice before [in Mexico in 2008 and in Chantilly in 2004 as the sub], I did think twice about doing it again. Playing pool horses is such a lottery. But, once you’re here, it’s a tournament you really get into, and to have made the final would have been epic. It’s been great to play with these boys.

MC: I’ve played in an England shirt in Thailand, India, New Zealand and in the Gaucho International at the O2, but those have been Test Matches. The way this tournament builds, surrounded by all the other teams, makes it much more exciting.

Hopefully by the time the next World Cup comes around, I’ll be ineligible [as a player with more than a five-goal handicap], so I think I’ll look back on this event and this team with fond memories, as a once-in-a-lifetime www.polotimes.co.uk

17/11/11 11:56:14

Interview – England’s FIP World Cup team

Feature

and Max Chartlon keep their eyes firmly on the ball in the third/fourth playoff against Italy; and the team celebrates victory against the USA with two of their grooms

experience. We had a really good team, but were just really unlucky.

Has it helped you to have come straight from the qualifiers in Italy or would you rather have had more time to prepare, knowing you were in the tournament?

JR: We had just four days at home between the two trips but I think it’s been good to go straight into it.

MC: So do I. We’ve been well prepared for every game, and playing in Italy was really what gelled us as a team. Funnily enough, the practices we had didn’t go that smoothly, but as soon as we got to the qualifiers, it clicked. The team worked, our tactics remained consistent for both tournaments and under the direction of both coaches, and we developed some set-play routines as the weeks went on that definitely helped to give us the edge over some of the other nations.

JR: Because everyone is supposedly on a similar standard of horses, more than normal it comes down to the talent of each team’s players and, particularly in my view, the style of polo those teams play and how they connect.

NBL: If you look at it, it’s probably no surprise that the teams that played together for more than three weeks going into the World Cup were the ones that reached the top four. Italy and England came straight from playing the qualifiers, and Argentina and Brazil were practising together heavily at training camps in their respective countries in the build-up to the tournament. www.polotimes.co.uk

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So, given that length of time, will there be a sense of melancholy when it’s all over and you go your separate ways?

EH: What does melancholy mean?

NBL: I’d never played with any of these guys before, so – given the age range – it’s been a pleasant surprise that we’ve all got on so well.

And so, yes, I will be sad to disband our little “World Cup lads” Blackberry messenger group.

Things will be made even more depressing by the fact that I’m going to have to go straight back to the office when I get home.

JR: It will be sad, though Max and I will see quite a lot of each other still. We’re both playing the season in Pilar, though are based separately [Jack is with the Di Paolas and Max is at Memo Gracida’s].

EH: I’d played with Jack before, in Polo in the Park this summer, but I won’t play with any of them again until next season in the UK at the earliest, as I’m straight off to New Zealand for the winter.

So that’s that. What about any of the other teams? Will you miss any of them?

NBL: The socials in Italy were great fun and the way

the nations came together – in particular the Germans and the Dutch – was brilliant. Over here it’s been much quieter. The Aussies, predictably, have been quite good value, but mainly the teams have kept themselves to themselves actually.

JR: I thought the Chileans were good fun.

EH: Yes, they were actually. In fact, I’d say it was all just getting better, but only at about the time the teams started to leave. It took a long time!

NBL: In fact, your main story shouldn’t be that we lost out in the semi-final with Brazil, but that we went through the whole qualifiers and World Cup unbeaten in the drinking stakes. We beat the Germans and the Dutch in two team boat races in Italy, the French and the Italians wouldn’t participate so they’re out, and then we took down Australia, Chile, the USA and the Mexicans here in Argentina.

EH: We might have been beaten on the field, but never in the bar.

JR: And that’s even with usually a non-drinker in the team in the shape of Max! F w Good old booze Britain. Read just what a credit the team were to Queen and country with their polo in our full report from Estancia Grande over the page Left: Substitute Mark Baldwin

Polo Times, November/December 2011

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17/11/11 11:56:30

Reports

FIP World Cup, Argentina

A Capella on song as maintains Status Quo

The same weekend that Argentina’s incumbant President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was returned to office for a second term in the national general elections, there was also little surprise at the outcome of the ninth FIP World Cup in San Luis, when hosts Argentina marked their return to the tournament with victory

James Mullan

in San Luis, Argentina

Photographs by James Mullan

Argentina Brazil

A

12 11

rgentina’s prolific dominance at the top of the world ratings in polo was underlined this October, when they won the FIP World Cup for a record fourth time, beating Brazil in an enjoyable final, 12-11.

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The final bell sparked wild celebrations amongst the hordes of spectators at Estancia Grande, near San Luis, where the conclusion of the World Cup also marked a moment to reflect on the country’s admirable ability to host such a tournament successfully.

Argentina’s victory came at the end of 11 days of competition, in which 10 nations in two groups fought out 22 games on four grounds, utilising some 300 horses hired from Pilar (at a cost of US$360,000).

Thumping wins in the tournament’s first four fixtures – all by six goals or more – quickly established Argentina, Italy, Brazil and England as the clear favourites for the

championships, and little would change as the tournament progressed. Each with three World Cup titles to their names already, Argentina and Brazil were always likely to be competitive, and Italy and England came Most valuable player

Alfredo Capella straight from three weeks of playing and practising together at the European Zone C qualifiers, which only concluded 10 days before the start of the championships.

Italy’s inclusion at those qualifiers, played www.polotimes.co.uk

17/11/11 11:23:24

FIP World Cup, Argentina

Argentina

Reports

World Cup winners 1987

Buenos Aires, Argentina Winners: Argentina

1989

Berlin, Germany Winners: USA

1992

Santiago, Chile Winners: Argentina

1995

St Moritz, Switzerland Winners: Brazil

1998

Santa Barbara, USA Winners: Argentina

2001

Melbourne, Australia Winners: Brazil

2004

Chantilly, France Winners: Brazil

2008

Mexico City, Mexico Winners: Chile

2011

Estancia Grande, Argentina Winners: Argentina

England were drawn in the same World Cup group as Brazil, as well as defending champions Chile, who were something of an unknown quantity, fielding a very young side, changed completely from the their World Cup triumph in 2008. As it was, while their slight 16-year-old Felipe Vercellino impressed

The Argentines struggled to contain Brazil’s long-limbed playmaker, Pedro Zacharias, who was superb all tournament

in Italy at Villa a Sesta, was controversial, since half of the side could make very little claim to their newly-purchased Italian passports: brothers Francisco and Manuel Elizalde speak no Italian, have never lived in Italy and qualify only tenuously by the nationality of one of their grandparents.

It was even worse in the World Cup itself, when Juan Jauretche replaced Goffredo Cuttinelli, and so the Italy team was comprised of – to all intents and purposes – three Argentine professionals.

England however fielded a suitably AngloSaxon-looking outfit, funded for the first time by a joint venture between the HPA www.polotimes.co.uk

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Above: Argentina’s Pablo Llorente, Alfredo Capella, Martin Inchauspe and Salvador Jauretche prepare for the World Cup final during the anthems

and private investment. Alan Kent eventually settled on a team made up of amateur patron Nick Britten-Long, promising young talents Jack Richardson and Max Charlton, and seasoned professional Ed Hitchman for the trip to Italy in September, with Alan’s son John as substitute. The two Kents were then unavailable for the trip to Argentina after the successful qualifying campaign, replaced

by Anthony Fanshawe and Mark Baldwin as coach and sub respectively.

with consistently classy and composed performances at back, it was fortunate the Chile team didn’t have a dog, because they seemed incapable of holding a lead and slipped to defeats against Brazil and Australia from commanding winning positions, eventually finishing 8th. Despite the most vocal support from the sidelines in the group stages – “Chi, chi, chi; li, li, li; viva Chile!” – the Chileans managed just one victory, over the USA, in their four games.

The England team made light work of Chile in their opening encounter, but then showed both sides of their personality in stop-start wins over the USA and Australia. At times the foursome from the UK were simply unplayable but – with eerie similarity to the England rugby team also engaged in a world u Polo Times, November/December 2011

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17/11/11 11:23:37

Reports

FIP World Cup, Argentina

Estancia Grande

Photographs by James Mullan

Hosting the FIP World Cup is a serious undertaking for one club to take on by itself, let alone a virtually unknown polo venue that has been cut out of the mountains of San Luis and landscaped all within the last two-and-a-half years. It’s a formidable achievement.

And, as you climb from the relatively humble historical architecture that largely exists in and around San Luis’s eponymous capital city itself, up to the 220 hectares that make up the whole Estancia Grande complex, you are immediately struck by its salubrious feel.

The San Luis province itself is rich in minerals and natural resources but is economically undeveloped compared to nearby Mendoza and Córdoba so, while the community has welcomed the investment and jobs Estancia Grande has created, it has also proved controversial. With the help of the financial backing and political power of the long-serving Governor (Alberto Rodriguez Saa), who wanted to use polo in his campaign to display San Luis as a thriving province, a Jack Richardson makes a superb hook on Pedro Zacharias during the thrilling encounter between England and Brazil number of poorer families in the area were reportedly paid off and moved on so as not to contaminate the up-market image the between England and Brazil on Wednesday u cup campaign in the southern hemisphere development aims to create.

19 October, a straight shoot-out in which the – at others they also threatened to be their “The land was expropriated from its victor would earn the right to face Argentina own worst enemies, gifting their opposition historical owners by compulsory purchase, in the final. multiple penalties through ill-discipline and but for touristic purposes rather than the civic England coach Anthony Fanshawe believed allowing them back into the games. ones they originally claimed,” said one local who did not wish to be named. his side could manage the Argentine threat Meanwhile, on the other side of the draw, Those at the World Cup were undoubtedly results all went Argentina’s way as they swept and so, coupled with the arrival of David generally impressed by Estancia Grande but, Wood and John Tinsley at the tournament to simple victories over Mexico, Pakistan and in terms of tourism, San Luis offered little (despite an ash cloud from Chile that had India.

As predicted, only their penultimate for the visitors to occupy themselves when group game, against Italy, posed problems for forced them to drive from Buenos Aires), they weren’t at the polo, and the discussion England’s boys arrived at Estancia Grande the hosts. They won 8-7, but Italy had led amongst most was that it was very surprising that Argentina hadn’t opted to host the without needing any bigger incentive to beat 7-5 going into the final chukka and looked championships in and around Pilar, with the the Brazilians. comfortable – until some uncharacteristic final played at Palermo.

Cue the fireworks. Without a shadow of misses from the enigmatic Francisco Elizalde Indeed, many might wonder why the kind doubt, the two teams provided the game and a calamitous defensive knock-in by his of investment ploughed into Estancia Grande brother Manuel with three minutes to go gave of the tournament – it was the highestwasn’t done so in an area with more traditional scoring encounter and, indeed, was what the Argentina any hope at all. They capitalised polo interest. There are currently a mere 12 players based at the club, and they will surely need considerably more than 100 in order for something of its size to be sustainable in its own right – yet the club has four Tifton grounds, a well-equipped clubhouse, an inaugural FIP president Marcos Uranga called and Argentina duly took their place in the exercise track, a stick-and-ball field and a fifth perhaps the best match in World Cup history. final but, while some conspiracy theorists ground in the planning.

A surprising choice of venue or not, on a It was high-octane from beginning to were busy scenting the whiff of fish in the purely practical level, one advantage of being end, and wildly entertaining, with both air, the game was significant for the watching further west inland was that the climate was sides playing fast, open polo, peppering the Brazilians and English, who saw the first sign reliably dry. All 22 games in the 2011 FIP goal in a frenetic, full-throttle and fullof vulnerabilities in the Argentine game plan.

World Cup at Estancia Grande took place as blooded spectacle that looked of a much Back in England’s group the following scheduled, on time and without a single rain higher quality than 14-goal. England led day, Brazil recovered from a poor start to delay. As anyone who regularly watches polo in the UK or the Argentine will tell you, that from midway through the third chukka until beat Chile as expected, 12-8. This set up a isn’t something to be sniffed at. F midway through the sixth but, even after winner-takes-all clash in the final group game

England versus Brazil was the highest-scoring encounter of the 2011 World Cup and, without any doubt, was also its best

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www.polotimes.co.uk

17/11/11 11:25:22

FIP World Cup

Reports

How England rated We rate the men in white out of 10, based on their effectiveness in terms of handicap

Nick Britten-Long (2) Britten-Long role at the World Cup wasn’t that of a patron, but as a fullyfledged member of the team. And it has to be said, he didn’t let anyone down.

Though the oldest of the English foursome, and an amateur who would usually have his legs under his desk in London rather than wrapped round the belly of a horse in the autumn, Britten-Long’s fitness impressed me. Having quit smoking through a course of hypnosis in the summer, the 34-year-old covered every blade of grass on the grounds in San Luis, despite riding the worst horses in the English pony pool, and kept his cool to make some decisive contributions on the scoresheet when it counted, most notably at the beginning and end of England’s stunning and highly pressurised game against Brazil.

7

England’s top goalscorer Max Charlton makes yet another fast-paced break to goal from his position at number three

www.polotimes.co.uk

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well-deserved 7-4 lead by half-time. However, a clever tactical switch by Argentina restricted Zacharias to just two simple penalty goals from close range in the final three chukkas, and Argentina clawed their way back to victory. Gregarious and energetic four-goaler Alfredo Capella, Argentina’s number two, was moved to back, taking the pressure off 14-year-old one-goaler Salvador Jauretche, shutting the door on Zacharias and giving the Argentines a better platform to break the ball out of defence.

Thereafter, Capella was the star, giving a most valuable player performance as he not only shored up the Argentine defence, but made a stunning contribution at the other end as well, keeping his cool to land three second-half 60-yard penalties that piled the pressure back on Brazil. His vocal response to one or two umpiring decisions at one stage threatened to ruin his day, but fittingly “A Capella” (as he appeared on the scoreboard) was soon the one conducting his side and ensuring the huge crowd of Argentine supporters were singing from the sidelines.

“That was so tough,” Capella told Polo Times immediately afterwards. “We had a great team and I was happy to hit my penalties when it counted, but whenever you win a game by just one goal, you have to realise also you have been lucky!” u

8

Max Charlton (4) Offensively, he was simply terrific, with “terrifying” opposition defences being the operative word. Tough in the ride off, ruthless in front of goal, and metronomic with his penalty-taking from 30 and 40 yards, his was a potent weapon that other nations struggled fruitlessly to disarm. Max is riding the crest of a wave right now, and if he can stay on the metaphorical surfboard, he’s going to be some player.

9

Ed Hitchman (5) Though it must be hard to dominate when not playing one’s own horses, Hitchman gave a good account of himself, and was steady at back, though perhaps not in his most inspirational form. He certainly didn’t stand out to the same degree as Max above, who will also move to five goals in the new year, a concession acknowledged by Ed himself. He missed two high-pressure 60-yard penalties in the sixth chukka of their crucial match against Brazil.

However, Ed remains the kind of plucky player willing to take on that kind of responsibility in the first place, – a likeable character and a calm and positive influence that can consistently be relied on to make for a good addition to any side.

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Polo Times, November/December 2011

Photographs by James Mullan

Nick Britten-Long scored a magical equaliser to tie the game at 14-14 with just moments left to play, it was eventually the Brazilians that were celebrating at the end of the game, having reached a remarkable sixth straight World Cup final with a 15-14 victory.

“That was an extraordinary game,” said Brazil’s number one, Beto Junquiera. “We scored as many goals as you’d expect to see in an Argentine Open match, so it was very hard work, especially since we were chasing England on the scoreboard for most of it. But we never gave up and that win will give us great strength and belief.”

However, with their horses surely exhausted after two end-to-end games in three days (against Chile and England), and facing Argentina’s formidable fifth man in the shape of the team’s vociferous support from the grandstands, Brazil were undoubtedly the underdogs for the final.

But, after the conclusion of two of the longest national anthems since records began (during which the Italian team could be spotted singing the Argentine anthem), Brazil started the better. The Argentines struggled to contain Brazil’s long-limbed playmaker Pedro Zacharias – whose attacking performances at number two had caught the eye all tournament – and he scored six of their goals as the men in yellow opened up a

Jack Richardson (3) A player I had seen very little of before this trip, Richardson has a fantastic natural eye for the ball. He has a constant willingness to attack and his inspirational energy, aggression and intensity whilst playing was perfectly balanced with an enjoyably humorous and laid-back approach when not. His role in this England team shouldn’t be underestimated and, so long as he can control his emotions on the field, he’ll have a bright future.

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17/11/11 12:01:40

Reports

FIP World Cup, Argentina

Analysis

by Eduardo “Ruso” Heguy The ESPN commentator and former 10-goaler says that tactics and tenacity were key to Argentina’s success “Estancia Grande is an incredible set-up, with four amazing fields. The only thing they have to improve is the quality of the horses, though considering the season is underway in Pilar, they’ve done amazingly well to get 300 here. All the teams seemed to be equally well mounted in my view. I don’t think Argentina had any advantage there, and so it created some incredibly close and exciting games.

In the final, Brazil started much better, leading 3-0 and then 4-1 and 5-2, but Argentina’s coach Martín Zúbia then shuffled things in the third chukka, moving the 14-year-old [Salvador Jauretche] from back to number one, and putting Capella at number four. It had been a big responsibility for the youngster to play at back, and so Capella’s superior experience and ability to hit the ball really well was obviously what persuaded Zúbia to make the change.

It worked, and Argentina then began to play much better, particularly after half time. They kept Brazil’s best player, number two [Pedro Zacharias], much quieter in the final three chukkas, which was important because he had been incredible at the start of the game. And

Photographs by James Mullan

“Winning with the same standard of horses as every other country proves Argentina’s quality” Argentina dominated on the scoreboard, helped a lot by some crucial penalty taking by Capella when it counted.

There were a lot of people at the final and I was impressed with how the Argentine team, particularly the youngsters, dealt with the pressure. When you pull on the Argentina shirt in polo, you are expected to win. But they faced good opposition, must have been very nervous, and had to play to a really good level in order to do it. It will have been an incredible experience for them, particularly the 14-year-old.

All in all, I think the tournament is important, because it allows other countries to compete with Argentina on the same level. As much as we would love to be able to have tournaments like this, but played at the highest possible level, that hasn’t happened for 80 years or so – and so, for me, it’s therefore very satisfying that, even if it’s regulated so that we can’t put our four best players on the pitch, Argentina still won with the same standard of horses and players as every other country. It’s a proud moment for the country’s polo, and proves our quality.” F 32

Polo Times, November/December 2011

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MVP Alfredo Capella leans in to hook Zende Junqueira in the FIP World Cup final between Argentina and Brazil

u

fourth playoff against Italy. Without coach Just two days after Argentina’s 14-goal Anthony Fanshawe on the sidelines, the polo team were crowned World Champions, customary fluidity and attacking intensity thanks largely to the aggressive tactical ploy that had defined their success throughout the devised by Argentine technical director tournament deserted them, and they lost 9-7.

Martín Zúbia in their final triumph over Brazil, President Cristina Fernández de w Read an in-depth interview with the whole Kirchner was then elected to a second term, England side on page 24, and find out how ironically having built her election campaign each of the other teams fared in our team-byaround a hard-line stance with Brazil on the team round up, beginning over the page trade quotas between the two countries.

Indeed, the allusions run deeper still. Just w See social photographs from the tournament as she originally became president when she on pages 86-87 succeeded her late husband Néstor Kirchner, so too was there a familiar-looking family Game rating • • • • • • • • • • connection to the Argentine victory at the polo. Salvador Jauretche, a key man in the u FIP World Cup; 10-21 October 2011; Estancia final, is the second cousin of Juan Jauretche Grande Polo Club, San Luis – Argentina (who played for Italy), and both are nephews Result: Argentina beat Brazil, 12-11 of Pablo Jauretche; Pablo Llorente is the Chukka scores (Argentina): 1-3; 4-5; 4-7; 10-9; cousin of Manuel Fernandez-Llorente (part 12-11 of a huge dynasty of players); and captain Number of team entries: 10 Martin Inchauspe shared his own joy with his Most valuable player: Alfredo Capella watching young children as the final bell rang.

Best playing pony: Coupe 259, owned by The Argentine Polo Association will Francisco Dorignac and played by Argentina attempt to defend its title in three or four years time, but Argentina’s future as the Finalists world’s leaders in the game appears assured Argentina (14): Pablo Llorente 4; Alfredo Capella for an awful lot longer than that. F 4; Martin Inchauspe 5; Salvador Jauretche 1 Brazil (14): Beto Junqueira 1; Pedro Zacharias 5; w England finished fourth after giving a disappointing performance in the thirdZende Junqueira 4; Joao Novaes 4 www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 16:12:12

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17/11/11 16:10:21

Reports

FIP World Cup, Argentina: Team by team

Winners Argentina

1st

2nd

THEIR GAMES AGAINST Italy and Brazil were close but, ultimately, Argentina’s stats speak for themselves (see below). Though not quite the tournament’s meanest defence, their attacking prowess was unparalleled. Their goal difference was nine goals better than any other side in the World Cup. Undoubtedly, they had a favourable draw in terms of horses, and it was interesting to see that their best playing pony in the final was one belonging to former 10-goaler Francisco Dorignac, also previously the president of the Argentine Polo Association.

Nevertheless, while it would be interesting to know how many other nations were also playing horses with such pedigree, horsepower probably wasn’t the decisive factor in most of their victories – particularly

3rd

Argentina’s youngest player, 14-year-old Salvador Jauretche, and his team had to come from behind to win the final

given that the Brazilians and Italians were also certainly well mounted.

In my view it was sensible selections (from more than 90 potential players) and intelligent

Team selected: Pablo Llorente 4; Alfredo Capella 4; Martin Inchauspe 5; Salvador Jauretche 1 Tournament stats: Wins: Five (Mexico, Pakistan, Italy, India and Brazil in the final) Losses: None Goals scored: 64 Goals conceded: 41 Goal difference: +23

Runners-up Brazil

2nd

BRAZIL’S EXCELLENT SHOWINGS in World Cups continued this year (making their sixth consecutive final), though their coach – Luis Carlos de Mello – graciously conceded that England had been the better team in their epic

encounter two days before the final.

Six-goaler de Mello was part of the Brazil squad that lost to England’s 28-goal team in the Coronation Cup on the HPA’s International Day in July, having replaced injured captain José Eduardo Kalil at half-time. Ironically, he would have seen all four of England’s World Cup team taking part in the earlier Golden Jubilee Trophy game that day, before Brazil’s 8-6 defeat in the Test Match.

1st

management that was key: the Argentines combined youth – including the youngest player in the tournament – with experience, with strength and balance throughout the side, and so opposition teams had more than just one talisman to keep quiet.

All four carried a real threat in front of goal, which made them the hardest team in the tournament to play against, and so worthy champions.

“I think Argentina played better than us,” de Mello told Polo Times editor James Mullan. “We lost our concentration when it counted and they didn’t. I don’t really want to dwell on what we did badly, but rather on all the many things the Argentines did well.

When I think about that, they deserved it.

“We were just happy to be there at all after that amazing game against England. I have history in World Cups against England, and was part of the Brazil team that faced them in 1998 and 2004 [when Brazil last won the tournament].

They are always fantastic encounters, and this was no different. For sure, it was the best match in this tournament. I actually think England played better than us, and I still don’t quite know how we won it. I congratulate the English for the way they played.”

3rd

Photographs by James Mullan

Team selected: Beto Junqueira 1; Pedro Zacharias 5; Zende Junqueira 4; Joao Novaes 4

Zende Junqueira, Joao Novaes, Pedro Zacharias and Beto Junqueira during the Brazilan national anthem

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Tournament stats: Wins: Four (USA, Australia, Chile and England) Losses: One (Argentina in the final) Goals scored: 60 Goals conceded: 47 Goal difference: +13

www.polotimes.co.uk

17/11/11 11:26:22

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17/11/11 11:27:41

Reports

1st

FIP World Cup, Argentina: Team by team

Third Italy

3rd

PUTTING ASIDE RESERVATIONS about nationality in the makeup of the side, Italy’s campaign reminded me of their international rugby side in the last few years. Just as it has long been acknowledged that the Italian rugby team is heavily reliant on the quality and leadership of one player – Sergio Parisse – so too was it plain that this year’s Italian FIP World Cup team would have been an entirely different side without Francisco Elizalde.

Having captured the eye of spectators and struck fear into his opposition in the Zone C qualifiers in Italy in the preceding weeks, there was little change at the World Cup itself. However, on the one occasion when Elizalde – or “Fran” as he became known – had a mixed afternoon (in the crucial game against Argentina in the group stages), his inconsistent performance immediately

Fourth England THE GUT-WRENCHING DEFEAT to Brazil in the semi-final will be the memory that lives longest from this World Cup – but, with that, the England side should also look back with a lot of pride. Their ferocious attacking ambition in this tournament was

Team selected: Martin Logioco 3; Juan Jauretche 4; Francisco Elizalde 5; Manuel Elizalde 2 Tournament stats: Wins: Four (Pakistan, India, Mexico and England in 3/4th playoff) Losses: One (Argentina) Goals scored: 54 Goals conceded: 40 Goal difference: +14

Italy’s side: Manuel Elizalde, his brother Francisco Elizalde, Juan Jauretche and Martin Logioco

reminded everyone watching that the rest of his Italian team offered nothing special.

His younger brother Manuel might also go on to great things but Fran’s clear experience was as important as his imperious natural talent in this tournament in my view. I watched

uncharacteristic of the kind of English polo most of their opposition had been expecting.

It was fast, open and had a sort of youthful naivety to it that was hard to defend against.

The emergence of Max Charlton was the most satisfying feature of their campaign, thanks in part to the role played by Anthony Fanshawe. In his role as England coach, Fanshawe’s task in the first instance was to

Elizalde win the Gold Cup in Sotogrande some eight weeks beforehand, when his brother was little more than a spectator, and it seems that each of the tournament’s main players had benefited from some prior experience of that kind of pressure. However, by the same token, of course that means all those in this World Cup can take experience in San Luis and use it going forward. Italy were a young side, and so maybe one with a bright future, though there’s no doubt Francisco Elizalde will be ineligible for the next World Cup. His handicap looks set to rocket.

divide up their pony pool to ensure the team was as appropriately mounted as possible.

He – broadly – gave Ed Hitchman the horses with handle, Max Charlton the horses with run, Jack Richardson a mixture of both, and whatever was left to Nick Britten-Long.

Thereafter, his main responsibility was more man-management than devising new tactics for the side. They were a happy camp, but keeping the fiery Richardson and – in particular – the ultra-superstitious Charlton cool and relaxed was key to ensuring the team were ready to play that free style in each of their games. It allowed them to play without fear, producing open, free-flowing polo.

It was only cruel that, in a game with 29 goals, eventually the victor of England versus Brazil had to be decided by just one, where a lucky bounce of a ball one way or another can be decisive.

Photographs by James Mullan

Team selected: Nick Britten-Long 2; Jack Richardson 3; Max Charlton 4; Ed Hitchman 5

HPA chief-executive David Woodd and steward John Tinsley flank the HPA-supported England team of Ed Hitchman, Max Charlton, Jack Richardson and Nick Britten-Long, who demonstrate their depth of feeling for each other

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Tournament stats: Wins: Three (Chile, USA and Australia) Losses: Two (Brazil and Italy in 3/4th playoff) Goals scored: 51 Goals conceded: 41 Goal difference: +10 www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 16:09:10

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Polo Times, November/December 2011

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18/11/11 17:42:50

Reports

FIP World Cup, Argentina: Team by team

Fifth Australia AUSTRALIAN PREPARATIONS FOR the tournament were disrupted by the late withdrawal of four-goaler Ed Goold, which meant a complete reshuffle of the side. Dirk Gould, who had been the five-goaler lined up to travel as a replacement for captain Matt Grimes, played instead of his almostnamesake, which was bad news for three-goal Australian Open winner Zac Hagedoorn, whose place was taken by two-goaler Will White (cousin of the team’s number one, Alec White).

Confused? It basically meant the upshot was the side was made up of two fivegoalers in midfield and Captain Matt Grimes shoots to goal duirng Australia’s the White cousins final game of the tournament, (both two goals) at against Chile, when the side one and four, and led comfortably going into the final chukka but then Zac Hagedoorn needed extra-time to win it on the bench (despite several

Team selected: Alec White 2; Dirk Gould 5; Matt Grimes 5; Will White 2 Tournament stats: Wins: Two (USA and Chile) Losses: Two (Brazil and England) Goals scored: 35 Goals conceded: 41 Goal difference: -6

members of his family having travelled out to watch him play).

Facing the two strongest teams in their group first – Brazil and England – the disruption and lack of balance and familiarity in the side early on was exactly what they didn’t need. However, thereafter the quiet and methodical approach of captain Matt Grimes worked well alongside the typically blokey Australian humour of Gould and – in between exchanging the usual friendly banter with the Brits – they recovered plenty of pride in their final two games, when they came from behind to record their first ever World Cup victory against the USA and then beat Chile in a thrilling encounter on the morning that England faced Brazil.

Photographs by James Mullan

Sixth India COACHED BY LEGENDARY Indian highgoal player Brigadier VP Singh, a long-time friend of the late Major Ronald Ferguson, India produced some excellent polo. They beat Mexico, only lost by a single goal to the much-fancied Italians, and outscored Argentina in the final three chukkas of their match with the hosts.

Their only real disappointment will be their crushing defeat to Pakistan, when they were second best all afternoon. It was particularly surprising, given that it was exactly the same Pakistan team they’d beaten comfortably in the Zone D qualifiers, and it was the one game you really expected them to be up for.

However, given that India has just 60 handicapped players, playing at around 13 clubs, it was impressive that they won all their qualifying games with such purpose in the first place. The side dropped from 14 goals to 13 for the World Cup finals, when four-goaler Simran Shergill was replaced by three-goaler Ravi Rathore. But fortunately they still had their highest-handicapped talisman Samir Suhag, who had scored 23 goals in qualifying.

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Polo Times, November/December 2011

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Tarun Sirohi goes to hit a backhand in India’s match against Argentina, watched by supporters (above right)

Sure enough, the five-goaler chipped in with plenty more leading the line for India in San Luis as they finished fifth-top of the list of scorers in the tournament.

Team selected: Ravi Rathore 3; Samir Suhag 5; Vishal Chauhan 2; Tarun Sirohi 3 Tournament stats: Wins: One (Mexico) Losses: Three (Italy, Pakistan and Argentina) Goals scored: 43 Goals conceded: 49 Goal difference: -6

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18/11/11 16:09:31

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Polo Times, November/December 2011

39

18/11/11 17:43:04

Reports

FIP World Cup, Argentina: Team by team

Seventh Mexico MEXICO’S CAMPAIGN WAS led by Valerio and Francisco Aguilar Sotelo, the latter of whom arrived in San Luis from their training camp in Peru sporting his trademark moustache. It was enough to confuse the members of the English and Australian squads, who – clearly disorientated as to the exact time of year – incorrectly assumed his well-coiffed nose neighbour had been charitably cultivated in aid of the start of “Movember”.

They were wrong, and he certainly showed himself to be less-than charitable in front of goal, scoring several of Mexico’s goals as they beat Pakistan and ran Italy close in the latter stages of the schedule of matches in their group, which also contained Argentina and India.

They were cheered on throughout by a sizable entourage (though put to shame by the Chileans below) but otherwise very much kept themselves to themselves and didn’t integrate much with the other sides. Having hosted the

Eighth Chile

Photographs by James Mullan

ASIDE FROM THEIR opening match against England, who were fresh from playing together in the qualifiers, Chile were otherwise competitive in all their matches, and at one stage looked like springing a genuine surprise and doing England a massive favour by beating Brazil.

They went 4-0 up against them, only for the Brazilians to make an impressive comeback and score seven

Team selected: Valerio Aguilar Sotelo 5; Francisco Aguilar Sotelo 4; Alejandro Gonzalez Keil 1; Alejandro Gomez de Parada 3 Tournament stats: Wins: One (Pakistan) Losses: Three (Argentina, India and Italy) Goals scored: 32 Goals conceded: 41 Goal difference: -9

Francisco Aguilar Sotelo leads his Mexico side’s charge in their game against Italy

last World Cup, when they finished third in 2008, somehow their hearts didn’t quite seem in it this year and they returned home to play

unanswered goals to take control of the game.

Chile also took Australia to an extra chukka, despite trailing by four goals at the start of the sixth. They were undoubtedly a team with plenty of character and courage, which bodes well for the future given the side’s youthful spine.

Most encouraging was the increasing confidence of the performances of Felipe Vercellino at back. At just 16 years of age, he’s part of a poloplaying family with previous World Cup experience, and so presumably benefited from the advice of Chilian five-goaler Juan Sanchez did a lot of work in the side’s midfield and, alongside the team’s young back, is another player who looks set to take the country’s polo forward in the future, though perhaps not at future World Cups. Players are inelligible once they reach six goals

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the Mexican Open – split into two teams – in November after a largely disappointing two weeks.

Team selected: Max Silva 2; Ignacio Vercellino 5; Juan Sanchez 5; Felipe Vercellino 2 Tournament stats: Wins: One (USA) Losses: Three (England, Brazil and Australia) Goals scored: 32 Goals conceded: 42 Goal difference: -10

older brother Romano, who was in the side when Chile lifted the trophy in the country’s only World Cup victory, in 2008.

Chile’s support in this World Cup was the strongest of all the teams other than the hosts, and was also the most entertaining, with their incessant chants echoing around Estancia Grande virtually from beginning to end of all their matches, much to the delight of Jaime Huidobro (a runner-up with Chile in the 1992 World Cup) when I told him how they’d got on a week later back in Buenos Aires.

Coached by former eight-goaler José Antonio “Tono” Iturrate, who won the Coronation Cup in 1998, this will be a Chile side that will be back with a vengeance in three years’ time.

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18/11/11 16:09:48

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PT p28-43 FIP World Cup report JM MB PJ.indd 15

Polo Times, November/December 2011

41

18/11/11 15:18:59

Reports

FIP World Cup, Argentina: Team by team

Ninth Pakistan LIKE ENGLAND, PAKISTAN was one of the few other sides to field an amateur player – in the shape of the agreeable Taimur Nadeem, who played at Fifield and Guards in the summer. However, Pakistan had the worst goal difference in the tournament, though ironically they still went home happy, having saved their only really good performance for their last game – the always emotive clash with India.

As the smallest country in polo terms at the World Cup, to win the game that symbolises the deep-rooted sporting and cultural rivalry between the two nations was a special moment, especially given the difficult few months Pakistani sport has had to endure.

Their polo team played wonderfully to win 13-11, pushing their abilities and their horses to the limits of their capabilities.

However, victory almost came at a price, when Pakistan four-goaler Raja Samiullah –a former flatmate of Tarquin Southwell – took a terrifying fall as he over-enthusiastically tried to prevent Samir Suhag scoring an Indian goal. The game suffered a long

Tenth United States THE USA FINISHED last at the finals, having failed to win a single game. It represented a significant disappointment for a squad that arrived with high hopes, having comfortably

Team selected: Ahmed Tiwana 3; Saqib Khan Khakwani 4; Raja Samiullah 4; Taimur Nadeem 2 Tournament stats: Wins: One (India) Losses: Three (Italy, Argentina and Mexico) Goals scored: 36 Goals conceded: 55 Goal difference: -19 Pakistan four-goaler Raja Samiullah hits the deck hard as Samir Suhag scores for India in the foreground

delay as Samiullah was treated on the field, then taken to hospital, while the team’s replacement had to join the action to help Pakistan hang on to their lead.

He was fortunate to suffer nothing more than a badly bruised wrist but it was a

painful reminder of how the cocktail of unfamiliar horses and the passion that goes with playing for one’s country can often prove dangerous. His was not the only nasty-looking fall in this year’s tournament by any means.

beaten Canada and Guatemala to claim one of the two qualifying berths in the Zone A qualifiers, alongside Mexico.

At times, despite the leadership of the experienced heads of Harvard graduate Nick Snow (4) and former World Cup winner John Gobin (5), the American camp appeared to

be rather divided. As a result, there was a selfconfidence missing from the team – something that is very rarely seen in sporting sides representing Team USA. However, despite the statistics, the Americans were no whipping boys. They gave a competitive performance against England, who clearly underestimated them, and somehow contrived to squander three-goal leads against both Chile and the Australians. But, for the former champions, finishing last will be a result that will take some getting over. No doubt, there will be a full inquisition and it seems the USPA’s exceptionally bold strategic plans for upwards of five million dollars of investment in the country’s polo over this and the next four years could have been announced and adopted at no better time (you can read all about this in the next issue).

Photographs by James Mullan

Team selected: Chris Collins 2; Nick Snow 4; John Gobin 5; Mason Wroe 3

Mason Wroe gives chase to Chile’s Ignacio Vercellino (above) but the USA lost all their games, even with Adam Snow’s half-brother Nick calling the plays at number two (right)

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Polo Times, November/December 2011

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Tournament stats: Wins: None Losses: Four (Brazil, England, Chile and Australia) Goals scored: 24 Goals conceded: 34 Goal difference: -10 www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 16:10:20

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18/11/11 14:54:04

Reports

Tortugas and Hurlingham Opens, Argentina

La Dolfina’s stars take revenge at Hurlingham Adolfo Cambiaso’s La Dolfina are back on top after beating Ellerstina at the Hurlingham Open, just three weeks after suffering a demoralising defeat against their rivals in the Tortugas Open (see strip below)

Alejandro Comero at the Hurlingham Open

La Dolfina Ellerstina

L

19 18

a Dolfina Dubai took revenge for their defeat in the Tortugas Open final and, with some moments of spectacular polo, won their first major title of the year with a nail-biting 1918 victory over Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra at

Photographs by Sergio Llamera

How the Tortugas unfolded...

44

Ellerstina did not read the script as, with more courage than good polo, they won their fifth consecutive title at the Tortugas Country Open final with a memorable 14-13 victory over pre-tournament favourites La Dolfina, writes Alejandro Comero.

As was widely expected, the 39-goal La Dolfina side dominated the early stages and they roared into a 12-6 lead after the fifth of seven chukkas.

But Ellerstina’s new line-up, with

Polo Times, November/December 2011

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the Hurlingham Country Club.

The victorious side departed from their traditional individual style of play and overwhelmed their opponents with a true team performance. Juan Martin Nero, who like teammate Pablo MacDonough played for the all-conquering Ellerstina side in 2010, dominated at throw-ins, while Adolfo Cambiaso – scorer of 12 goals – produced a tremendous display to justify his selection as the most valuable player.

By the end of the sixth chukka the spectators had already witnessed one of the best games of the Argentine season, with La Dolfina powering into a 15-10 lead.

20-year-old Nico Pieres and the experienced Nachi Heguy very much to the fore, showed great fighting spirit as they overpowered the La Dolfina dream team to snatch the most unlikely of victories.

The addition of Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero to the La Dolfina team has seen the seven-time Argentine Open winners change their game style.

The first half of the Tortugas final

was the first real example to the world of their attractive and open play.

Adolfo Cambiaso was the main protagonist, while Nero was the director from back.

Gonzalito Pieres scored the winning goal and was quick to praise the contribution of his younger brother, Nico. He said: “We started awfully, we were very nervous.

“We missed some backhands, which is unforgivable for this level.

www.polotimes.co.uk

17/11/11 16:18:47

Tortugas and Hurlingham Opens, Argentina

Reports

How did they perform at the Hurlingham?

We mark the finalists out of 10, based on their effectiveness in terms of handicap

La Dolfina Adolfo Cambiaso (10) The star of the game. Cambiaso showed once again why he is considered the best player in the world. His anticipation at throw-ins in the fourth chukka helped open a fourgoal lead. This and his goals ultimately proved crucial in his side’s win.

Juan Martin Nero excelled for La Dolfina in the Hurlingham final, while Adolfo Cambiaso, left, was the star man

However, there was still plenty more to come and what followed had a distinct feeling of déjà vu about it.

As in the Tortugas final – where Ellerstina overturned a six-goal deficit to win – the black shirts once again showed plenty of courage to fight back.

Facundo Pieres showed surgical precision to score four penalties in the last chukka to put Ellerstina back within one goal at 19-18.

And there was a late hearts-in-mouth moment

“If we can fix a few small details we will have many days like this” – David “Pelon” Stirling for La Dolfina when MacDonough was caught in possession and the loose ball was pounced on by Nico Pieres.

His difficult back–hander, which would have tied the game, slipped wide and La Dolfina held on to lift the Hurlingham Open trophy for the first time since 2006.

Their leader, Cambiaso, still feels his side has some serious work to do before the “Fortunately Nico guided us and we were able to resurrect our game.”

Cambiaso had a chance to force an extra chukka late on, but his 60-yard penalty deflected wide.

La Dolfina were also left feeling aggrieved by the umpire’s decision not to award a further penalty after they felt Facundo Pieres fouled Uruguayan David “Pelon” Stirling.

Nachi Heguy commented that the Ellerstina win was thanks to “a little polo and a lot of temperament.”

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Argentine Open, particularly when it comes to closing out games. He said: “I’m happy for the victory, but we can’t continue suffering like this. We let a five-goal lead slip because we got distracted.

“It was unnecessary because I think we played the better polo during the whole of the game.”

Ultimately the key to La Dolfina’s win was their clinical shooting, which saw them score from 12 of their 13 shots from open play.

Uruguayan David “Pelon” Stirling believes this is only one of the team’s many strengths and he predicts great things ahead for the new-look La Dolfina.

He said: “That is just one of several qualities that this team has. It’s a pleasure to play with these stars. If we can fix a few small details we will have many days like this.”

After the second chapter of the Argentine Triple Crown the biggest winners thus far have certainly been the spectators. All eyes are now fixed on Palermo as La Dolfina and Ellerstina vie for the Argentine Open. F

Game rating

• • • • • • • • • •

u H urlingham Open; 18 October - 5 November 2011; Hurlingham Country Club Result: La Dolfina beat Ellerstina, 19-18 Handicap level: 40 Number of team entries: Eight Teams La Dolfina (39): Adolfo Cambiaso 10; David “Pelon” Stirling 9; Pablo MacDonough 10; Juan Martin Nero 10 Ellerstina (37): Facundo Pieres 10; Nico Pieres 8; Gonzalo Pieres 10; Ignacio Heguy 9

9

David “Pelon” Stirling (9) Pelon was not at his best in the Tortugas Final, but at Hurlingham he showed just why Cambiaso wants him in the La Dolfina team. An amazing cut-shot at the beginning of the last chukka made it 18-14.

8

Pablo MacDonough (10) Despite having broken his nose at the Tortugas Open, Pablo worked hard in defence to stop many attempts

by Facundo and Nico Pieres. His spectacular long passes helped to open up the play and he linked up well with Cambiaso throughout.

8

Juan Martin Nero (10) The steal man. Nero always produces a solid performance on the field and this was no exception. Some crucial backhands produced the platform for La Dolfina to move quickly from defence into attack.

8

Ellerstina Facundo Pieres (10) The top scorer in the match with 14 goals and undoubtedly the main reason why Ellerstina never gave up.

Facu took the responsibility of hitting crucial penalties and also defended bravely. He forms a formidable partnership with best playing pony Open Tarantula.

Nico Pieres (8) The Pieres’s little brother demonstrated why he is playing at this level. He combined his powerful hitting with great dribbling skills. However, he seemed distracted at throw-ins, which cost his team dearly.

Gonzalito Pieres (10) Another solid performance from the hero of the Tortugas final. He scored an amazing goal after linking up well with Facundo, but his main focus was to break up La Dolfina’s play.

Ignacio Heguy (9) The old-soldier of the black shirts is still adapting to his new position at back. He coped well with the difficult task of keeping Cambiaso away from the action and he was particularly influential in the final two chukkas.

9 7 8 6

Polo Times, November/December 2011

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17/11/11 16:18:56

Reports

Qualifiers for the Hurlingham and Argentine Opens

Brits beaten in qualifiers Freddie Mannix Jr’s Alegria and Chapa Uno claimed the two final qualifying spots for Argentina’s two biggest tournaments as the top British players missed out again

Hernan Alvarez at Palermo, Buenos Aires

Photographs by Sergio Llamera

A

legria and Chapa Uno earned the final two places at this year’s Hurlingham Open and Argentine Open after finishing top of the five-team qualifying tournament.

The victorious 32-goal sides prevailed in Buenos Aires over three lower handicapped sides: Enigma (28), who featured English seven-goaler James Beim, Miramar (29) and Luke and Mark Tomlinson’s La Quinta (30).

They joined automatic qualifiers Ellerstina, La Dolfina, La Aguada, Pilara, Estancia Grande and Indios Chapaleufú II in the main draw for both tournaments.

The qualifying competition ended three days later than scheduled after torrential rain left the famous Palermo grounds under water.

Amazingly, this meant that Freddie Mannix Jr’s Alegria won it’s place in the final after an epic encounter against Enigma, which was played over two days.

Alegria lead 10-7 after four chukkas when the heavens opened in Buenos Aires on Wednesday 12 October and play was called to a halt. They resumed three days later and the team in grey retained their

England’s James Beim in action for Enigma during the Hurlingham and Palermo qualifiers

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England captain Luke Tomlinson of Beaufort and Chapa Uno’s Rodrigo Andrade both call for a foul

lead, winning 17-15 to claim their qualifying place and dash James Beim’s hopes of appearing in the Open.

It seems that continuity was a key factor in the two qualifiers’ successes. The Alegria side is the same line-up that qualified for the Open in 2010, with Canadian Mannix (7), teaming up with Francisco Bensadon (8), Mariano Aguerre (9) and Paco de Narvaez (8).

The other qualifier, Chapa Uno, lined up with three of the same players as in 2010 – Argentina’s Pablo Pieres Jr, Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade (who played for Brazil in the Coronation Cup this year) and Chile’s Jaime Garcia Huidobro. With 2010’s final team member Nico Pieres joining his older brothers Facundo and Gonzalito at Ellerstina, highly regarded

eight-goaler Guillermo Caset Jr completed the quartet, who sealed their place in the final with a 16-11 win over La Quinta.

The Tomlinson’s were joined by local eight-goaler Julio Novillo Astrada and Brazilian seven-goaler Joao Paulo Ganon as they lost their opening game 12-9 against Enigma before being defeated by Chapa Uno. England captain Luke Tomlinson said: “The Enigma game was a good game. They had already had a game and so were more ready and up to speed.

“Against Chapa Uno we played very well. We lost a bit of concentration in the sixth chukka and that is where they beat us.

Otherwise we played as well as they did.

“They are a great team and should do well against some of the weaker sides in the Open at Palermo.”

Overall Tomlinson concedes that the best two teams earned the qualifying places.

He added: “They are both strong sides that have big organisations and 75 per cent or more of each team played the Open together last year.

“That gives you amazing practice as a team, which is necessary to win.

“We all know that Alegria are very well mounted and Chapa Uno looked very well mounted too.”

Despite failing to qualify with La Quinta, Luke Tomlinson actually ended up playing in the Hurlingham Open. He replaced Piaget’s injured Tomas Garcia del Rio in all three group games. F u Qualifiers: Alegria (32): Frederick Mannix 7; Francisco Bensadon 8; Mariano Aguerre 9; Francisco “Paco” de Narvaez Jr 8 Chapa Uno (32): Pablo Pieres Jr 8; Guillermo Caset Jr 8; Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade 8; Jaime Garcia Huidobro 8 Other teams: Miramar (29): Diego Cavanagh 7; Pablo Jauretche 7; Joaquin Pittaluga 7; Alejandro Agote 8 La Quinta (30): Mark Tomlinson 7; Joao Paulo Ganon 7; Julio Novillo Astrada 8; Luke Tomlinson 8 Enigma (28): James Beim 7; Valerio Zubiaurre 6; Guillermo Willington 7; Matias Mac Donough 8 www.polotimes.co.uk

17/11/11 11:11:16

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17/11/11 11:49:38

Reports

Home and abroad

Australia – Stella Artois Melbourne Cup

Pearly ending for Baillieu & co Paul Roberts

reports from Melbourne

Kailis Pearls Hexham Drizabone

Photograph by Carolyn Yencken

D

11 10

uring the first week of November, horses were the centre of attention in Melbourne. In the same week that the polo fraternity turned out for the Melbourne Polo Cup to witness Kailis Pearls defeat Hexham Drizabone 11-10 in an exhilarating final, racing fans watched 23 racehorses battle it out for another coveted cup – The Emirates Melbourne Cup. Four teams entered this year’s Melbourne Polo Cup, held at Victoria Polo Club, with the two finalists making their mark on the tournament early on. Hexham Drizabone’s British player James Harper – based at Ellerston for the winter – and Kailis Pearls’ Ruki Baillieu caught everyone’s eyes in the early games, both playing outstanding polo.

Throughout the week spectators saw some of the closest polo in recent Melbourne Cup history, with six of the eight matches being decided by two goals or less. The highlight of these encounters, fittingly, was the final, which was an absolute thriller.

Kailis Pearls, with two of Australia’s leading players, seven-goalers Baillieu and Glen Gilmore, as well as Angus Karoll and Garrett Prendiville, were the hot favourites

Australian seven-goaler Ruki Baillieu helps his side, Kailis Pearls, to victory in the Stella Artois Melbourne Cup

going into the match. However, Greg Keyte and the silky smooth Harper should never be underestimated, and they both fought hard to win the ball for Hexham Drizabone.

Kailis Pearls led throughout the match and were ahead by three goals, 11-8, at the end of the fifth chukka. Two late penalties by Keyte midway through the sixth and final chukka put Hexham Drizabone back in the picture and made for a thrilling final few minutes.

However, strong defence by the former assured the win for the favourites.

Prendiville was named most valuable player in the final and Hamish McLachlan’s pony Dawn won the Garry White best playing pony of the tournament award. McLachlan’s side, Stella Artois, defeated Cox & Kings 1210 in the subsidiary final. F

u T he Stella Artois Melbourne Cup; 30 October – 6 November; Victorian Polo Club, Melbourne Result: Kailis Pearls defeated Hexham Drizabone, 11-10 Principal sponsor: Stella Artois Handicap level: 14 goal Number of team entries: four Chukka scores (Kailis Pearls): 3-3; 5-4; 6-5; 9-7; 11-8; 11-10 Most valuable player: Garrett Prendiville Best playing pony: Dawn, played by Hamish McLachlan and owned by Stirling McGregor Final teams: Kailis Pearls (14): Angus Karoll 0; Garrett Prendiville 0; Glen Gilmore 7; Ruki Baillieu 7 Hexham Drizabone (13): Steve Mitchell 0; Matt O’Leary 2; James Harper 6; Greg Keyte 5

Argentina – La Aguada Ladies’ Cup

Young Brit Dreesmann stars in La Dolfina victory La Dolfina Dreesmann claimed the La Aguada Ladies’ Cup at the end of October at La Aguada Polo Club in Open Door, Argentina.

Eight teams participated in this year’s competition, including a number of British players. Caroline Dreesmann (pictured), a young Brit who is currently studying at Wellington College, was part of the winning side and was named most valuable player.

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She played alongside Marianela Castagnola, who, under the Argentine Polo Association’s ladies’ handicapping system, is an eight-goaler.

They defeated La Endenada H.Stern, 3-2, in the final.

Rei do Caviar finished in third place after they beat Speed, 5-4, in the thirdfourth place playoffs.

In the handicap final, Jaeger-LeCoultre – featuring another Brit, Hazel Jackson – beat La Providencia, 4-2½. Jackson represented England Ladies in the Beaufort Test this summer. Her teammate Lynly Fong won the Fair Play award. www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 13:59:44

Home and abroad

Reports

Argentina – Copa El Remanso

Lovelocks Polo Stud wins on home turf

Photograph by Federico Lopez Claro

Five-goaler Federico Von Potovsky scored the golden goal in extra time for Charlie Hanbury’s Lovelocks Polo Stud in the Copa El Remanso final in Argentina in October.

Held at the Hanbury’s El Remanso estancia, the home side defeated Santa Maria de Lobos, 11-10, in a tight and hard-fought match.

Lovelocks Polo Stud defeated El Remanso – featuring Charlie Hanbury’s brother, George, and fellow Brit Ollie Cudmore – in the semi-finals, to earn their place in the final.

Santa Maria de Lobos knocked out Freddie Dear’s Apache, who had Richard Le Poer playing for them, with a 15-14 victory in the second semi-final game.

In the final, neither team led by more than two goals at any stage and an extra chukka loomed as the score was tied 8-8 going into the sixth and final period. Lovelocks thought they had sealed victory as Will White brought the score up to10-9 in the closing moments, but Guillermo “Sapo” Caset held his nerve to score a late penalty to force the extra chukka.

Lovelocks would not be denied, though, and Von Potovsky scored the decisive golden goal to secure their victory.

Although Sapo Caset impressed for Santa Maria de Lobos, as did David “Pelon” Stirling for Lovelocks, it was Santa Maria’s Facundo Llosa who took home the most valuable player award. Caset’s pony Spicy was named best playing pony.

Earlier in the day Hope Funds led by Raul and Andres Laplacette defeated El Carmen –

Charlie Hanbury, David “Pelon” Stirling, Will White and Federico Von Potovsky lift the Copa El Remanso

comprising the four Dartiguelongue brothers – 13-11 to win the subsidiary final, the Copa Hope Funds.

Lovelocks Polo Stud is the new venture by the Hanbury family, launched on a huge site just 20 minutes drive from El Remanso. They offer stallions on-site as well as a state-ofthe-art embryo transfer centre for those with playing mares they want to breed from. F

u C opa El Remanso; 22-30 October 2011; El Remanso Polo Club, Lobos – Argentina Result: Lovelocks beat Santa Marîa de los Lobos, 11-10 Handicap level: 15-20 goal Number of team entries: nine Final teams: Lovelocks (19): Charlie Hanbury 4; Will White 1; David Stirling 9; Federico Von Potovsky 5 Santa Maria de los Lobos (20): Guillermo Caset 8; Costi Caset 4; Agustin Von Wernick 5; Facundo Llosa 3

Druids Lodge – Poloart.com Poppy Sunday Trophy and UberPolo Exeter Cup

Druids Lodge kick off their new arena season Druids Lodge held their first tournament of the 2011/2012 arena season at the beginning of November and it was the home team, Druids Lodge, who took home the 3-5 goal Poppy Sunday Trophy, after beating Dawson Walker 13-11.

Druids Lodge’s Robin Ormerod and Pete Woods formed a strong pairing which proved too much to contain.

However, Dawson Walker’s Ed Fitzwilliam showed some www.polotimes.co.uk

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Royal Holloway and Exeter 3 line-up before the start of their Exeter Cup clash

definite promise for the future.

Despite it being a closelyfought final, with the scores tied going into the fourth chukka, Druids Lodge managed to regain

the lead in the final chukka and went on to win by two goals.

The club are also running their university league, the Exeter Cup, again this winter – which is now

sponsored by UberPolo. Having started in 2008, the league has provided more experienced students with regular competitive polo. Twelve teams are competing for this year’s trophy, including newcomers Cambridge and ULU (University of London Union).

As we went to press, reigning champions RAC (supported by Polo Times) were on top of league one and Royal Holloway led league two. The finals will be held on Friday 16 March.

Polo Times, November/December 2011

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18/11/11 16:37:47

Reports

Home and abroad

Australia – New South Wales round-up

A wet start to the New South Wales spring season

Photograph by Joe McInally

T

eams travelled from far and wide to compete in Ellerston’s 15-goal Spring Trophy at the beginning of October, writes Sarah Martin.

Despite other polo fixtures in New South Wales being rained off, Ellerston’s excellent grounds and organisation meant that the tournament went ahead uninterrupted.

In the final, Mandalay faced Guy Schwarzenbach’s Garangula. The latter had won all their league games and got off to a strong start in the final. The combination of Simon Keyte and Jack Archibald proved too strong for Mandalay and they went on to win 9-4. However, were it not for a number of spectacular defensive plays by Mandalay’s Glen Gilmore, Garangula’s tally would have been much higher.

The following weekend, Ellerston’s neighbouring club, Scone, hosted the 10-goal Hector King tournament for the first time in 17 years. The trophy was founded by the NSW Polo Association after the death of the Australian polo player Hector King, who was instrumental in resurrecting polo in NSW after World War II. The trophy was established to encourage lower rated players to gain experience by playing alongside better players in medium-goal polo.

A close final resulted in Scone, featuring British six-goaler James Harper, ultimately

James Archibald, Tom Hunt, Guy Schwarzenbach and Simon Keyte of Garangula lift the Ellerston Spring Trophy

beating Quirindi 10-7. Ellerston took home the subsidiary King Family Trophy, after beating Sydney in an extra chukka, 11-10.

After last year’s tournament was cancelled due to bad weather, Sydney Polo Club breathed a sigh of relief when a dry weekend was forecast for the Sydney Gold Cup on 22-23 October.

Following the DFH Packer Cup 4-goal final and a celebrity bicycle polo competition, Sydney Black and Windsor Gold entertained

the crowd with a nail-biting Gold Cup finale.

Windsor Gold were one goal behind when they were awarded a 60-yard penalty with two minutes left on the clock, which Adam Tolhurst executed perfectly. In extra time Sydney Black immediately claimed a penalty of their own, which would have been converted were it not for a brilliant save by young Phillip Greuter. Victory was eventually secured for Sydney Black, however, by 14-year-old Hugh Cochrane’s golden goal.

South Africa – Cupids Cup

Photograph by Sebastian Meredith

LeRay shines in Cupids Cup Oaklands Polo Club in South Africa hosted the inaugural Cupids Cup in October to raise the profile of ladies polo in the country. Six teams took part, with each side made up of at least three women.

Johannesburg’s Croc Creek – Wayne Hartley, James Lephatsi, Catherine Hartley and 13-year-old LeRay Young – defeated Devon Farms in the final. Young was the youngest player in the tournament and impressed everyone watching the 0-1 goal tournament with her terrific play.

Ladies’ polo in South Africa does not yet enjoy the kudos it receives in other countries, but renewed enthusiasm by the South African Polo Association (SAPA) has led to the tournament, which took place over two weekends. Oaklands hosted the first weekend 50 Polo Times, November/December 2011

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of play, while East Rand Polo Club held the last weekend and finals.

This year’s Fuimis Cup, which is usually hosted by Oaklands, was cancelled due to lack of entries. The same fate has befallen several other South African tournaments of late as players are showing less inclination to spend money on transport, accommodation and hiring professionals.

Next year, SAPA intend to schedule dates by region – with local tournaments happening one after another – to cut down on the travelling and associated costs.

It is hoped that players will support each other’s tournaments and host visiting players’ ponies during the week between tournaments.

Oaklands is hoping to host the Fuimis Cup again in 2012.

Caroline Bruce, the owner of Oaklands Polo Club, in action during the recent Cupids Cup in South Africa

www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 14:06:09

Home and abroad

Reports

Austria – Presidents Cup, Poloclub Schloss Ebreichsdorf

News in brief

Accident central at 20th birthday bash

w ARGENTINA – Charlie Hanbury’s El Remanso won the Copa Diamante at La Dolfina Polo Club in November. Hanbury’s team – also featuring Ollie Cudmore, David “Pelon” Stirling and Alejo Taranco – beat Valiente 12-8 in the final. The 22-goal tournament saw eight teams contesting the title including Adolfo Cambiaso’s TMT and Pablo MacDonough’s Technomarine.

September’s Presidents Cup, held in celebration of Poloclub Schloss Ebreichsdorf ’s 20th anniversary, comprised two weekends of thrills and spills, writes Elisabeth Gansterer.

Deloitte were the overall winners, defeating Hämmerle 9-5 in the final.

The tournament was plagued with injuries and seven players had to be replaced over the course of the competition. Baron DrascheWartinberg and Hämmerle’s Bert Poekes suffered injuries before the tournament even started and on the opening day, team Szigeti lost six-goaler Tomas Maiquez to a shoulder injury.

Szigeti suffered further misfortune on the second day, with Laura Schiebel going down with flu. They also lost Hans Georg Schiebel with an elbow injury.

Hämmerle’s pro Santiago Marambio fractured his hand and his teammate Robert Kofler also suffered a hand injury during their last league game, the day before the final.

With no replacements available, Hämmerle had to forfeit the game, but fortunately they had already done enough to secure a place

w CHINA – Tang Polo Club in Beijing hosted the Royal Salute Cup from 20-23 October, featuring numerous British players. Royal Salute China beat Spencer McCarthy’s AMG Ireland, also starring Nacho Gonzalez, in the final, 7-6. In the subsidiary final Longines Great Britain – Simon Arber, Tom Morley, Henry Fisher and Ross Ainsley – beat St Regis USA, 3-2.

Hämmerle’s Werner Graf and best playing pony Mysterioso

in the final. Kofler was deemed fit enough to play in that game, while Facundo Guevara replaced Marambio and Jonathan Bowring stepped in for Poekes. This left Werner Graf as Hämmerle’s only uninjured original team member. Deloitte, by contrast, had won all but one of their league games and still fielded their original team. This proved evident in the final as MVP Raphaela Marambio-Goschl inspired them to a four goal victory.

Belgium – Jaeger-LeCoultre Belgian Polo Masters

Late drama in Antwerp Six teams from across Europe entered the fourth edition of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Belgian Polo Masters 8 goal Tournament at the Antwerp Polo Club in September.

After closely fought league and semifinal games, it was local teams Laurent Perrier, patronned by Ben Smet, and JaegerLeCoultre, patronned by Philip de Groot and Kevin Korst, who met in the final.

More than 500 people came to support the teams in glorious sunshine and in a thrilling game each team traded goals right up to the bell. With the score standing at 8½-8 to Laurent Perrier, umpires Howard Hipwood and Jason Dixon blew a crucial penalty for Jaeger-LeCoultre with only seconds remaining on the clock. The crowd gasped as Laurent Perrier’s Santi de Estrada managed to block the shot at goal and drove the ball www.polotimes.co.uk

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w ARGENTINA – The Jockey Club Open was won by La Dolfina in September.

Adolfo Cambiaso’s 33-goal side beat La Irenita – featuring Pablo MacDonough, – by two goals, 15-13. Only four teams contested this year’s title, compared to nine teams last year. w LYNT – RJ Polo are sponsoring a new university league at Lynt Polo Club this winter. The league, which is already underway, is aimed at experienced students and is a warm-up for the SUPA Arena National Champs in February.

Games are two chukkas long and no player can be a zero-goaler or above. w USA – Will Rogers State Historic Park in Los Angeles hosted the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic for the second year on 9 October. Cheered on by various celebrities including Kat Deeley, Black Watch went on to beat Veuve Clicquot 7-5. Fashion stylist to the stars Rachel Zoe presented event co-host Nacho Figueras with the most valuable player award. w HOLLAND – The 12th Amsterdam Polo Trophy was won by Velthuyse & Mulder, pictured below, in September. While some of the best Dutch players were playing in the FIP World Cup qualifiers, there was plenty of room for young talent to take part. More than 2,500 spectators witnessed Miguel Ayala lead his side to victory over Nederland.FM in the final, umpired by Brit Jason Dixon.

Action from the Belgian Polo Masters final between Laurent Perrier, in purple, and Jaeger-LeCoultre, in black

down field, leading his team to a half goal win. Kevin Korst was named MVP and won a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso watch and Philip de Groot was voted most stylish player.

Polo Times, November/December 2011

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18/11/11 14:06:15

Reports

Home and abroad

Dubai – Emirates NBD Polo

News in brief

w A SH FARM – Charlotte Sweeney has taken over from Royston Prisk as polo manager at Ash Farm Polo Club in Surrey.

This season the club has extended its team of professionals and will continue to work with schools and universities.

The arena club’s highlight will be the third annual Paul Sweeney Memorial Trophy in January. See page 98 to read about Sweeney’s “Passions”. w U SA – Thirty-five players, aged between four and 16-years-old, took part in the Grand Champions Junior Polo Open, which ran alongside the club’s USPA National 20-Goal and USPA Fall Classic tournaments in November. The children of Tommy Biddle, Andres Weisz, Marc Ganzi and Luis Escobar, all took part. w U SA – Greenwich Polo Club hosted the inaugural St Regis 1904 Polo Cup on 17 September to celebrate the 135th anniversary of polo in America. Led by Nacho Figueras and White Birch patron Peter Brant, St Regis beat Airstream 12-8.

Korea – Royal Salute Cup

Photograph by Franck Socha

w D UBAI – Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club hosted the Pink Polo Charity Match at the end of October, attended by more than 3,000 spectators. Emirati brothers Abdullah and Tariq Bin Desmal led their ADCB team to victory, beating Estée Lauder, 5-3. The event is held to raise awareness of breast cancer in the UAE.

Ali Albwardy, Prince Carl-Eugen Oettingen-Wallerstein and Eduardo Bereterbide junior and senior of Emirates NBD

Desert Palm lays down the law The Lawyers Polo Association hosted its fourth annual Lawyers Polo Cup – the Emirates NBD Polo Cup – at the beginning of November in Dubai. Battling it out on the fields of Ali Albwardy’s Desert Palm Polo Club, the two-day tournament featured four teams this year, with Emirates NBD securing a 6-3 victory over One&Only.

Emirates NBD – which featured the only three players in the competition who were not lawyers – was led by Ali Albwardy. He was joined by Eduardo Bereterbide, Prince Carl-Eugen Oettingen-Wallerstein and Bereterbide’s son, also called Eduardo.

Xavier Doumen, who played for team Maserati, was named tournament MVP and Carlos Rivas of One&Only won the most gentleman player award. Justin Fogarty’s pony Overall – formerly played by Adolfo Cambiaso – was named best playing pony.

Fogarty and Eduardo Bereterbide founded the Lawyers Polo Association in 2008 and since then have organised a polo tournament in a different city each year in conjunction with the International Bar Association’s annual meeting. Previous tournaments have been held in Buenos Aires (2008), Madrid (2009) and Toronto (2010).

USA – Chicago Beach Polo World Cup

Titan Commercial fly past Lufthansa

De Lisle in Asian victory Korea Polo Country Club (KPCC) hosted the inaugural Royal Salute Cup at the beginning of October.

Royal Salute, featuring KPCC’s owner Lee Joo and British player Alex de Lisle alongside Alecs and Noel Vecinal from the Philippines, claimed the cup after they defeated BMW 9-6.

The club opened in June 2010.

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with a win over Gascon. With the scores tied at 4-4 at full time, a penalty shoot-out ensued to decide the winner. Most valuable player Witney Vogt scored the decisive goal.

Photograph by Aram Velazquez

BMW’s Stijn Welkers soaks Royal Salute’s Alecs Vecinal and Lee Joo after the Royal Salute Cup

Titan Commercial secured an 11-3 victory over Lufthansa at the inaugural Chicago Beach World Cup, which took place from 30 September to 2 October at North Avenue Beach. The first half of the four chukka match was very even, but six unanswered goals for Titan – four from Guille Usandizaga and single goals from Tavi Usandizaga and Chad Middendorf – brought the score to 9-2.

Lufthansa managed to score again in the final chukka, but it was too little too late as the Usandizaga brothers scored a further three goals between them to secure a resounding win for their side.

Guille Usandizaga was named most valuable player and Trifecta, played by Lufthansa’s Brandon Phillips, was named best playing pony.

Lufthansa made amends, though, by winning the four team North Beach Women’s Polo Cup, which took place at the same time,

The city of Chicago looms in the background at September’s inaugural Beach Polo World Cup

www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 14:14:53

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17/11/11 12:52:38

Youth polo

Goldin U18 International Tournament, China

Presented by

American youngsters find the Goldin touch

The quartet from the United States saw off talented squads from England, Argentina and South Africa to lift the Goldin U18 trophy after a thrilling two days play in China

John O’Sullivan reports from Tianjin

Photograph by John O'Sullivan

USA England

T

5½ 4

he United States showed tremendous fighting spirit as they won the inaugural Goldin U18 International Tournament at the Tianjin Metropolitan Polo Club in China in early October.

The recently formed Chinese club showed its commitment to promoting youth polo by inviting a quartet of international teams from four different continents to play in front of

hundreds of enthusiastic local spectators.

And after four thrilling matches played over two days – each one of which was very much in the balance until the final chukka – the well-drilled three-goal American team beat a talented four-goal England line-up 5½-4 in the final to win the crown.

In the subsidiary final Argentina, coached by six-goaler Santiago Gaztambide, clinched third place by beating a young, but very impressive, South African side 8-6.

The tournament, the Metropolitan’s fifth since it was officially opened last November, was played while the club’s ambitious and sustained building work (which includes luxurious field-side town houses and apartments, the tallest tower in China and a new match-day VIP area) was in full flow on three sides of the ground.

In the final the United States started with a half goal lead on handicap but England, coached by David Morley, soon turned things in their favour. Kirtlington-based Will Berner scored two goals and Cowdray Park’s Charlie Scott scored a close range spot-penalty to put the young Brits into a commanding 3-1½ lead midway through the second of four chukkas.

A powerful surge forward and emphatic finish by Kareem Rosser put the American’s back in contention before half time and they went on to dominate the last two chukkas to claim the trophy. Matt Coppola, who earlier scored the US opener, scored three more goals before England’s Barney Wilson – whose flowing locks made him something of a local celebrity in Tianjin – scored a consolation goal from long range.

US coach Harley Stimmel felt that overall

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18/11/11 16:49:47

Goldin U18 International Tournament, China

his team were good value for the win and praised their temperament in the second half.

He said: “After getting through the semi-finals I knew that we could win.

“As a team, I felt we were organised on our set plays. Even though the boys changed it up during the game, we had a game plan.

“After the second chukka I reminded them to play for fun, I did not put any undue pressure on them. The desire to win and perform to the best of their abilities was already a given. One main aspect of polo is to be able to get back into the game after a mistake. Although we made some key mistakes we were able to recover quickly.”

The US and England booked their place in the final with wins over Argentina and South Africa respectively on the first day of the tournament. In the opening game Argentina looked to have the edge over the Americans in the early exchanges, making the most of their physical power and prowess in the Most valuable player

Max Hutchinson ride-offs. But the Americans grew in strength as the game went on and eventually booked their passage into the final with a 5½-5 win that included three goals by Philadelphiabased 18-year-old Rosser.

South Africa were by far the youngest team in the tournament with two 15-year-

olds (the prodigious Dirk van Reenan and Byron Watson) in their squad. They may have finished in last place, but they won many fans with their expansive play and they showed enough talent to suggest that, but for an unfortunate accident in their opening game against England, things could well have been very different.

Youth polo

How the final unfolded...

"Although we made mistakes, we always recovered quickly" – USA coach Harley Stimmel With South Africa leading by 3-0 in the first chukka, Watson fell from his pony and suffered concussion, which ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.

Argentina’s Silvestre Hunter sportingly filled in for him as South Africa maintained their three-goal lead until the final chukka when England staged a remarkable comeback.

Trailing 5-2, a quick-fire hat-trick by Berner, who finished the tournament with six goals, brought England level, setting the scene for Barney Wilson to score the most dramatic goal of the tournament.

The 17-year-old from Beaufort Polo Club sprinted the length of the field, crossing half way with only 23 seconds left on the clock before slotting the ball home as the final bell sounded to seal an unlikely 6-5 win. Despite the disappointing finish, South African coach Greg Caine was full of praise for the u Visiting polo teams are given five-star accommodation in the luxurious Goldin Metropolitan Hotel in Tianjin

First chukka

The Americans started with a half-goal lead on handicap and Matt Coppola almost extended their advantage in the opening minute, but he dragged his shot wide. Will Berner showed tremendous horsemanship and great control as he burst clear to put England in front 1-½. Max Hutchinson went close before a close-range spot-penalty by Charlie Scott gave England a 2-½ lead.

USA ½, England 2

Second chukka Having missed several chances in the first chukka, Matt Coppola scored a goal to move the US within half a goal of England early in the second chukka. Will Berner soon restored England's one and a half goal lead with a 30-yard penalty to make the score 3-1½. An explosive goal by Kareem Rosser, with an assist by Tony Uretz, put the US back in touch before half time.

USA 2½, England 3

Third chukka The USA started the third chukka with a renewed energy. Coppola had a penalty deflected wide and Rosser went close before two quick goals by Coppola – the second of which was a 30-yard penalty – put the Americans in charge, 4½-3. Russell Stimmel created two chances to extend the lead even further, but both slipped wide.

USA 4½, England 3

Fourth chukka England sensed they still had a chance to force the win, but were given a mountain to climb when Coppola galloped clear to collect a great Stimmel pass to score America's fifth goal of the final. An accurate long-range shot

by Barney Wilson gave England hope with three minutes to play, but Hutchinson, Berner and Scott all missed chances as the US saw out the win.

Final score – USA 5½, England 4

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Youth polo

Goldin U18 International Tournament, China

Julius Baer says keep your eye on...

Barnaby has become a familiar face at the Pony Club Polo Championships over the last decade and he has now started making his mark abroad while playing for England.

The 17-year-old one-goaler has three Pony Club titles to his name and in the last four years he has represented England on three different continents.

Barnaby first started playing polo 10 years ago at the age of seven and he showed immediate promise to win the Beaufort Hunt Pony Club Gymkhana Championships that very season.

He first tasted success at the Pony Club Polo Champs in 2006 when he won the Surtees Trophy with Beaufort A. He followed this up in 2007 by winning the Loriner section with the Beaufort Hunt and in the same year enjoyed his first polo trip abroad to Dubai with SUPA. In subsequent years Barnaby has been selected to travel to Argentina and India with SUPA. His most recent Pony Club Polo success came in 2009, when he won the Langford section for Ladyswood alongside Freddie Dear, Maddie Meacher and George Meade.

In February this year he was selected to travel to South Africa to receive some expert coaching from Buster Mackenzie. He followed that up last month by representing England in the Goldin U18 International Tournament in Tianjin China. He showed great poise to score a last-second winner as England beat South Africa in the semi-finals and also scored in the final as England lost to the USA. During the trip to Tianjin Barney also turned out for South Africa, gamefully filling in for the injured Byron Watson for a chukka against Argentina.

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Photographs by John O'Sullivan

Barnaby Wilson, 17, Beaufort

England's Barney Wilson (white) comes from behind to score the last-gasp winning goal against South Africa

u tournament. He said: “We have all had a great time and have been very well looked after. We look forward to coming back to Tianjin again.”

England coach and leading pony trainer

skills throughout the tournament and was a popular choice for the MVP award.

Argentina’s Bautista Micheletti scored twice in the semi-finals against the US and five times in the third place play-off against South Africa

"The stables and facilities for the ponies at Metropolitan are top class and the ponies all looked well" – David Morley David Morley echoed this praise and admitted he was particularly impressed with the level of ponies provided by the club.

He said: “The stables and facilities for the ponies at Metropolitan are top class. All of the ponies looked well and had been properly prepared for the tournament.”

England’s Max Hutchinson, whose handicap is set to rise to two next season, was roundly praised for his intelligent play off the ball and his excellent defensive

to finish top scorer in the tournament with seven goals. F ◗ Turn to page six for the latest news of the bold plans for the club u Goldin U18 International Tournament; 5-6 October 2011; Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club, Tianjin, China Result: USA beat England, 5½-4 Handicap level: 4 Number of team entries: 4 Most valuable player: Max Hutchinson (England) Finalists United States (3): Tony Uretz 0; Matthew Coppola 1; Kareem Rosser 1; Russell Stimmel 1 England (4): Barnaby Wilson 1; Charlie Scott 1; Max Hutchinson 1; William Berner 1 Subsidiary final teams Argentina (4): Silvestre Hunter 1; Santos Nagore 0; Eduordo Meabe 2; Bautista Micheletti 1 South Africa (4): Byron Watson 1; Dirk van Reenan 1; Cody Ellis 1; Forrest Alward 1 America's Kareem Rosser scored three times in the semi-final and once in the final against England

www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 13:47:05

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E-mail: polo@poloservices.com

www.poloservices.com

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18/11/11 13:53:50

Branches Model Farm, Gorelands Lane, Chalfont St Giles, HP8 4AB. 01494 876555 Bury Farm, Mill Road, Slapton, LU7 9BT. 01525 222099 Widmer Farm, Pink Road, Lacey Green, HP27 0PG. 01844 273888 Blueberry Farm, Kingscroft Lane, Warfield. RG42 6JL Opening December 2011 01344 981 888

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We have a number of branch practices that are supported by the main hospital. Every branch practice has its own in-patient clinic, which provides comprehensive equine services within your local area.

We have an additional hospital opening, in Warfield, Berkshire in December 2011.

Affordable Polo Veterinary Services Please contact us to discuss your yard/ team requirements. We offer tailor made

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discounted veterinary fee packages by special arrangement.

Breeding The Chiltern Equine Clinic is an approved British Equine Veterinary Association Artificial Insemination Centre. We perform pre breeding examinations, chilled semen AI, frozen semen AI, sub fertile mare investigation and treatment and embryo transfer services.

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www.chilternequine.com 18/11/11 18:33:31

SUPA Test Match, Italy

Young Brits experience mixed fortunes on international stage SUPA Britain travelled to Villa a Sesta in Italy, whilst the FIP World Cup European qualifiers were also underway, to play a team of young Italians in two tightly contested Test Matches

Michael Hobday reports from Italy

A

British schools quartet, representing SUPA Britain, travelled to Italy at the end of September to play against Young Italia in two Test Matches. Playing at Villa a Sesta Polo Club where the FIP World Cup European playoffs were taking place at the same time, the visitors won one game and lost the other one.

The four Brits – Maddie Meacher, Chris Pritchard, Matthew Dove and Jamie Lindsay – were chosen through an assessment day or nominated by SUPA Stewards. The three boys, currently holding minus-one-goal handicaps, all rose to zero-goals in the end-of-season handicap changes (effective from next year) so were feeling confident when it came to facing the higher-rated Young Italia team.

The two teams joined in on the FIP World Cup qualifiers’ social programme, which included a Papal Blessing a couple of days before the matches began. A practice match allowed the visitors to acclimatise and get used to their ponies, but didn’t end well for Matthew Dove who had a bad fall and had to be replaced by John Kent in the first Test Match.

Young Italia looked

strong in the first Test Match, dominating the first three chukkas thanks to strong play from Giacomo Galantino and Vittoria Marchiorello in particular. However, a change of positions helped SUPA Britain make a good comeback and they went on to win by half a goal, 6-5½.

Dove returned for the second Test and a very close game ensued with Pritchard and Meacher playing their best games yet for SUPA and Lindsay putting in a very experienced display. A very appreciative crowd, which included players and spectators from around the world as well as Italian TV and other press, witnessed two well-balanced and well-trained teams providing an excellent advert for youth polo.

The match, which swung both ways throughout, was eventually won by the hosts by half a goal, 4-3½.

The top scorer from both games was Meacher, pictured below, with the whole team punching well above their weight in two closely-contested matches.

Presentations were made to the teams at the FIP Gala Dinner at the club, with organiser Alessandro Giachetti and former FIP chairman Marcos Uranga receiving gifts from SUPA. F u Teams SUPA Britain (-3): Matthew Dove -1 (John Kent 2); Chris Pritchard -1; Maddie Meacher 0; Jamie Lindsay -1 Young Italia (-2): Giordano Magini -2; Mattias Bertola -1; Maria Vittoria Marchiorello 0; Giacomo Galantino 1

Youth polo

The grass-roots view The latest from Theresa Hodges, UK Pony Club Polo chair, in her regular column Ledner re-launch The Pony Club Polo Committee is aware that many 18-21 year olds are not playing Pony Club or Junior HPA – and particularly many female players.

To encourage these older players, Ledner will be re-launched in 2012 for mixed double teams with players aged 16-21, who can make up inter-branch teams and may also play in another section.

In this trial year it will be open to the first six teams registering to play via their branch managers and will play only at the friendlies and at Cowdray.

Exact rules and format will be published in the 2012 Rule Book, due out in January.

Set reasonable expectations I am sure every Pony Club and Junior HPA player harbours thoughts about being an England player but in reality, polo is a very tough and demanding career choice with only very few making the big breakthrough to earn a decent wage. While luck plays a part, money is actually more of the game than in most other sports – although all equine sports are fiscally demanding.

Players of all ages need to have real conversations with their parents, guardians, branch and section managers to ensure that their short-term (next year), mediumterm (up to age 21) and long-term (adult) polo aspirations are aligned with other scholastic, sporting and lifetime ambitions.

Members of the HPA Development Committee and Pony Club Polo Committee are delighted to talk to players or parents at any time about how to navigate towards becoming the best player you can be as soon as you can. The Pony Club and Junior HPA framework of sections is the envy of other polo playing nations and one which helps to construct a broad base to sustain the future of team-based polo in the UK. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from everyone at Pony Club!

Excellence in polo meets excellence in private banking.

Your contact in London: daniel.gerber@juliusbaer.com, tel. +44 203 205 1611

www.polotimes.co.uk

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18/11/11 13:54:13

Knowledge

Playing around – Fifield Polo Club

Our intrepid improver Carlie Trotter (-2) works her way around the UK’s polo clubs

A real eye-opener

Photographs by Julia Luke

Carlie was taken “back to basics” this month by resident pro Ryan Pemble during an exciting, yet revealing, arena polo lesson at the all-year-round Fifield Polo Club Heading to Fifield to get a taste of its new training scheme after only a few hours sleep is not smart. After 10 minutes with seven-goal arena player and coach Ryan Pemble I feel like my personal playbook has been entirely re-written, like I’ve barely begun my polo “journey” (to use X-Factor-speak) in all the years I’ve been giving it a go.

It’s hugely exciting. Just a tad too much for my fuzzy brain to handle, which is why he normally insists on a minimum of 10 lessons to start re-training your mind and muscles out of bad habits.

Ryan has been brought in because experienced Fifield patrons wanted to understand why their game hadn’t improved in years of playing three matches a week. When word spread

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Main picture: Carlie Trotter and Jonathan Hare compete in the Fifield arena. Right: a match from the summer season at Fifield, when the real action takes place

that this back-to-the-drawing-board approach was working, it was rolled out more affordably via 30-minute group workout sessions.

“We don’t want amateurs to feel like bit part players when they’re on the field with pros,” explains Ryan.

“So I teach them about overcoming psychological barriers and visualisation

as well as things like posture.”

Julia Luke, who took over managing the club this year, psyches me up for the critique, but compared to many instructors Ryan is practically a Care Bear. He does tell minus-one player Gary Farmer: “I have nightmares about your toes, your riding is unbelievably bad.” But Gary simply grins back. I can tell both are enjoying the challenge, plus they’ve known each other for years like many of the players here.

Ryan’s animated coaching style – overflowing with references from the world of professional sport including a great impression of Cristiano Ronaldo taking penalties – extends into jovial instructional chukkas.

“Well done my love!” squeaks

18/11/11 16:53:35

Playing around – Fifield Polo Club

Jonathan Hare when wife Melanie has a good run with the ball, before he’s threatened with the sin bin (playing without stirrups) for disputing a foul.

A big effort is being made to forge a sense of community at the club, including transporting ponies to London so that busy members can still get involved.

Julia explains: “For players who have to travel from the city, polo can feel like a selfish thing to do around Christmas so we got permission to ride in Richmond and Hyde Park so members and their families can keep up with their riding.”

After a couple of successful summer shindigs, the social calendar is shifting up a gear ahead of next year with plans for dinners, themed weekends and barbeques galore.

And taking a pony’s point of view, the club has partnered with famed horse trainer Monty Roberts to help spread his unique

methodology of breaking and training horses. Looking on from the safe saddle of an arena favourite called Chino at a polo pony that was transformed from an unbroken mare in just three weeks, I am certainly convinced.

In between fortnightly tournaments there are weekday chukkas dedicated to training young horses, and funds are being ploughed into re-doing the exercise track and pony lines to make exercising easier.

The grounds were also re-seeded and sanded for 2011 and more stables added.

This means that although players are encouraged to travel outside to higher-level matches, they spend the majority of their time on Fifield’s busy yard.

If you’re a low-goaler who takes your progress and that of your ponies seriously, the path leads directly to Fifield. I advise getting in now before the summer rush. F

Soundbites from the sidelines Julia Luke – polo manager “Since I took over two seasons ago we’ve done a lot to improve facilities and re-introduce a club atmosphere, focusing on tournaments that everyone can get involved in, no matter how organised they are. Tony Bennett (chairman) has been really supportive and, now that we have enough members, we want to improve our lesson programme and social schedule. I buy ponies like other people buy clothes so members can choose from 25 hirelings (12 in summer). Our patrons often take 4-goal or 6-goal teams to Guards or RCBPC, and we have a good overlap with Ranelagh and Emsworth.”

Ryan Pemble – resident pro “I’m a member at Guards but play chukkas here because even the stick and ball field is irrigated. I’m here every day through winter if I’m not travelling. Rather than trying to compete with nearby arena clubs on a tournament level, Fifield focuses on extensive training to help members hit the ground running when the outdoor season starts. I started my career in teaching and it’s great to come here and mix with patrons who get more frustrated about playing badly than losing. You can’t work wonders on someone’s game in one lesson. Instead I re-train them in what pros do over a long period; I try to give them the tricks of the trade.”

Melanie Hare – member “I met my husband Jonathan through polo and he’d always kept his ponies with Julia so it was natural to move here with her. When we struggled with injuries last year we knew we could rely on getting good hirelings – the only problem is Jonathan gets attached and we’re now up to 14 ponies! One of the benefits of Fifield is that there’s someone on-hand to work on whatever problem your pony might have. It’s a friendly, supportive environment that offers competitive polo.” www.polotimes.co.uk

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Fifield Vital statistics Playing members 20 winter members grow to 60 in summer Non-playing members Horse-mad locals Facilities 80x30m all-weather arena, new 400m exercise track, three irrigated grounds plus boarded stick and ball field, wooden horse, comfy clubhouse with full bar and showers.

Location Set on a 70-acre farm near Oakley Green in Windsor, the club is five minutes off the M4 or 10 from Windsor & Eton Central train station (35 minutes from London Paddington via Slough) on the Heathrow flight path. The Berkshire, Guards and Ranelagh Farm polo clubs are all within 20 minutes.

Philosophy Year-round holistic approach to player and pony training in a sociable atmosphere.

Running the show Previously based at Ham, club chief Julia Luke keeps an uber-organised hand on players’ schedules and their ponies with the help of quiet-mannered yard manager Orlando Camus and member-turned-employee Gary Farmer. Just don’t ask her to do paperwork.

Helped by a 20-strong team of grooms in summer, Adriano Di Gianvittorio oversees young horse development while pro Ryan Pemble heads up the coaching programme and land-owner Tony Bennett doubles as head barman.

Crowd London-based patrons and graduates of Ham Polo Club pack out this friendly Berkshire base. Supporting pros include Hissam Hyder (6), the Blake Thomas brothers – Andrew (4) and Richard (3) – and Lisa Forster (0).

Seasonal highlight Photographic evidence from the mid-season ball speaks for itself, plus there’s the annual 8-goal tournament.

Livery Full livery in one of 140 stables at the club, including exercise and turnout in one-horse corals, costs £660 per month. Stables can be rented for £1,000 per season. Groom accommodation is also available.

Membership £300 in winter (excluding HPA). £1,000 in summer (£500 for professionals), or £300 for stick and ball membership. Chukka fee of £5 applies, with ground hire starting at £75 per chukka for non-club practices. Pony hire ranges from £60 for arena chukkas to £100 for summer match chukkas. Private lessons start at £45 on your own pony, or it’s £50 to join a ladies’ polo morning.

Contact fifieldpoloclub@live.co.uk; 01628 620061 Polo Times, November/December 2011

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18/11/11 16:53:26

Knowledge

Know your horse

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

A bone of contention Splint bone fractures and fractures to the bars of the mouth are unfortunately common injuries to polo ponies and, as our duty vet explains this month, they can be avoided

T

wo typical polo pony injuries that I have seen too many of over the last year are splint bone fractures and fractures of the bars of the mouth. As a passionate polo player and vet it pains me to admit that these are “polo problems”.

I strongly believe that polo ponies enjoy playing the sport despite the physicality of the game – much as rugby players enjoy playing rugby. Sure, horses don’t choose to play polo, but they have been conditioned in such a way that they do it willingly, giving their all and undoubtedly satisfying their instinct to gallop around as a herd.

There are many pursuits that we humans purport to enjoy – activities that we would probably not choose to do if we had not been conditioned to do so by our parents, peers or society as whole.

As a child, I did not choose to ride.

My parents decided that I should ride, 62

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Top: A large fragment of bone being removed from a horse with fractured bars of the mouth Above: X-ray showing a loose lower portion of fractured splint bone that is best removed by surgery

and truth be told, I disliked it. I hated being forced to spend much of my time during school holidays out in the cold, mucking out, exercising, being dragged out hunting on a lead rein but 30 years on, I owe my greatest passion and my career to the fact that I was given a horse and told that I would ride. My polo ponies, like me, would not play polo had they not been forced to do so but now that they do it, they love it!

My apologies for digressing – the truth is I don’t feel comfortable writing about injuries that are “typical in polo ponies” without contextualising the involvement of horses in our sport.

Splint bone fractures, in the first instance, are often indistinguishable from a plain traumatic splint – a bony swelling on either side of a horse’s cannon bone usually as a result of a blow from a ball or stick. The difference being that splint bone fractures rarely

settle with conventional treatment (ice, anti-inflammatories and rest). Any splint that remains painful and results in lameness for a prolonged period should be X-rayed. X-rays often reveal a loose lower portion of bone that is best removed surgically as lameness will likely continue if it fails to re-attach.

The use of neoprene boots will reduce the incidence of splint bone fractures, but in my opinion umpires should severely penalise players who hit balls hard into horses’ legs at close quarters (even if the player in front is making an illegal block) – perhaps awarding a penalty against the blocker and sending the hitter off for a chukka!

Fractures of the bars of the mouth, unlike fractured splint bones, are even less forgivable and the rider is always to blame. Fractures are invariably the result of pulling excessively hard on a Pelham bit, which lie heavily on the bars of the mouth – the toothless bits of jaw inside the mouth between the front teeth and the cheek teeth. Here the jaw bone is as thin as a knife blade and is only covered by a thin layer of mucosa (the gum).

Excessive force on the reins with a Pelham bit can easily fragment the bone underneath the gum. Alarmingly, players are often unaware of the problem until the horse develops a large swelling on the side of the face or pus starts to seep out of a resulting abscess. Removal of necrotic fragments of bone and antibiotics are required, and in time the bars will heal.

In the long-term it is sensible to re-school the horse to respond to a kinder bit and perhaps consider a change of jockey! ◗ 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 www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 10:46:34

Know your horse

Physio for thought Use of poultices

by Australian high-performance vet Nicola Jagger, specialist in chiropractics and cohesive equine physiotherapy

There are a number of poultices available for horses, which should be used for a variety of reasons: 1. After heavy work – use a clay poultice (nonmedicated kaolin, betonite or glycerine based) to draw out heat from tissues to aid equilibrium.

2. Acute injury – use clay (cooled in fridge) after initial icing to minimise heat, swelling and further damage.

3. Fluid-filled legs – use mineral salts (magnesium sulphate, boric acid or ferrous sulphate) to draw out fluid that can disrupt healing. After applying, wrap legs in cellophane.

4. Muscle tension/stiff joints/old soft tissue injuries – use warming poultices containing liniments or counter-irritants (e.g. methanol, capsaicin, camphor or arnica) to increase blood supply to specific area.

5. Irritated/inflamed skin – use a non-medicated and non-drying poultice/clay to soothe skin and protect it from the sun. NB – remove poultice before it dries.

Gaucho

tips for grooms

If you have turned your horses out for the winter, you will still need to catch them regularly to check their condition, trim their hooves, worm them, and possibly feed them, if need be (though see right for the expert view on this).

Some horses are more difficult to catch than others when loose in a large field all winter. A good way of catching them, without getting them too excited and wasting too much of your time, is to make a corral out of electric fencing.

Entice them into it by shaking a bucket of feed and once they are inside it will be easier to get hold of them. If there are a few tricky ones, you can reduce the size of the corral until they have nowhere to run. A corral can also be used to feed some rather than others if they need special attention.

The most important thing to remember is that the best way to keep your horses warm and healthy this winter is to provide plenty of grass and/or hay/ haylage, and clean, unfrozen Put a ball in your water trough to slow freezing water at all times. www.polotimes.co.uk

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Lorna Edgar – specialist equine nutritionist

Keep your ponies in good health this winter The majority of ponies are turned out for the winter months but a select few will be in work, either playing arena polo or young horses in for schooling or training. Generally we would manage diets the same as those in work over the summer months. However, there are a few areas that we can give a little more attention to in order to keep those in work over the winter months happier and healthier.

Those playing arena still need plenty of energy and power, but perhaps not the same oat-based energy required for the speed of playing on grass. I would suggest feeding cubes and mixes that are not oat-based (at least to start with), but are going to give adequate amounts of energy, such as a conditioning cube or mix. If ponies are playing two or three times per week I would advise feeding 2½-3 round scoops per day. Ponies playing arena experience severe changes in temperature and tying-up may be more of a problem, so the diet requires low-starch cereals, plenty of electrolytes, water and forage to try to reduce any problems.

Young horses are so often worked on a forage-only diet, causing muscle to fall away, poor hoof quality to occur and producing a backwardlooking youngster that then has to catch up physically before it is able to show its true potential and mental aptitude. An unbalanced diet can also effect concentration and willingness!

Feeding a balancer as a “no energy” option or high fibre cubes will really help to maintain health and condition, particularly during the winter months.

Electrolytes are always essential, winter or summer, young or old.

When the horse – particularly if it still has all or part of its winter coat – is sweating regularly, electrolytes must be replaced. Pre and probiotics will always be of benefit, especially for young horses that have come from a racing background that are still “tucked up and hollow”. As always, plenty of fibre will aid gut health, provide energy and keep them warm.

Finally, enjoy your winter wherever you may be – if in the UK, playing arena or training young horses, wrap up warm and keep frostbite at bay!

Caballos en trabajo durante el invierno La mayoría de los caballos estarán sueltos a campo por el invierno pero algunos jugarán polo en la arena o serán caballos nuevos dando sus primeros pasos.

Los caballos que estén jugando van a necesitar fuerza y energía, igual que en el verano. Pero para obtenerla sugiero una dieta libre de avena como Conditioning Cubes/Mix. Si estuvieran jugando 2 o 3 veces por semana van a necesitar entre 2 ½ y 3 cucharones por día.

Los cambios de temperatura corporal van a ser mas pronunciados ya que el sudor va a tardar mas en secarse afectando sus niveles de energía. Por eso será vital darles electrolitos, acceso libre a agua y pasto en abundancia.

Los caballos nuevos por lo general reciben una dieta a pasto solamente que resulta

deficiente, causando pérdida de musculatura, vasos en malas condiciones y un estado general pobre que afectará el desarrollo de su potencial, físico y mental.

Agregar un balanceador a la dieta les dará las vitaminas y minerales que necesiten sin darles energía adicional. Los cubos a base de fibra son una buena alternativa para que mantengan su peso sin darles exceso de calorías que podría afectar su comportamiento.

Pre y probióticos siempre serán aprovechados, en especial por caballos que hayan sido de carrera y a los que se los vea flacos y chupados. Como siempre digo, dar forraje en abundancia ayuda a que tengan intestinos saludables, les da energía y los mantiene calentitos.

◗ Contact Lorna Edgar on lorna@baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk and 07808 863864 Polo Times, November/December 2011

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18/11/11 10:46:45

Knowledge

Know your game

Must-have tips for players – from Jamie Peel, three-goal pro and 2008 Gold Cup winner

Polo must be positive about I am not sure how many of you follow horse racing but for those of you who do not, there has been much debate recently on the amended whip rule introduced by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). The new rule now states that a jockey can only use the whip a maximum of seven times during a flat race and eight times when racing over jumps.

The punishments for breaking the rule are strong. Jockeys will be forced to forfeit their riding fee and any prize money and can be banned for three racing days or more. The BHA also reserves the right to review the riding licence of repeat offenders.

Recently, Belgian jockey Christophe Soumillon was fined his £55,000 prize money

Photograph by Sue Orpwood

Polo is, thankfully, still operating away from the radar of animal rights activists and banned for five days after being adjudged to have used his whip one time too many during his Qipco Champion Stakes win at Ascot on Cirrus Des Aigle last month.

Racing has suffered hugely over the years at the hands of animal rights activists. Fox hunting has also suffered enormously and unlawfully at times (it must be said) from animal rights activists, although it has been for different reasons and circumstances.

Polo (I hope you are all touching wood at this point) is thankfully still operating away from the radar of the animal rights activists and I

Changes to the whip regulations have caused a real stir in horse racing. Christophe Soumillon (second from left) was famously stripped of his £55,000 prize money after this win in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot

very much hope that this remains the case.

Polo is a contact sport and we have our own animal welfare issues to deal with, but we have also experienced difficulties when trying to enforce rules with regards to the use of the whip. A player may only use his or her whip

while the ball is in play and they can only strike the horse a maximum of three times in a row.

As far as I know there is no limit as to how many times a player can use their whip during the course of a game.

When a player decides to use the whip on a

Mind games Mind games Min Sports psychologist Miranda Banks on what polo players need to think about to optimise Although I rattle on about the importance of ongoing check-points throughout the season, the real review comes at the end. If one is to progress, then one has to step back and critically analyse performance on and off the field.

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These questions need to be answered from an individual’s perspective: 1. How would I rate my preparation?

2. How would I rate my standard and consistency of performance?

3. How well did I maintain an effective

www.polotimes.co.uk

21/11/11 13:44:03

Know your game

Avoiding injury

the whip

Essential tips from equestrian and extreme sports biomechanics fitness expert, Linda Byrne

By the book In the 2011 HPA Blue Book, Rule 3d (on players equipment and turnout) states that: “Whips must not be more than 48 inches long including any tag.

Broken whips are not allowed.”

pony during a game it is to encourage the pony to run faster or to get the pony to react quicker. Unfortunately some players do try to discipline their ponies on the field of play and this does look bad.

The maximum length for a polo whip is 48 inches, while in racing the standard whip is 27.5 inches. Racing

whips at the end are nearly two inches wide and are air cushioned, a polo whip on the other hand is extremely thin and you will all know that it does not take much to mark a horse. It is clear that a polo whip will cause much greater discomfort to a pony than a racing whip would to a racehorse.

Visually seeing a player whip their horse can be distressing, but it is when you can hear a player whipping their pony that it really leaves a negative lasting memory.

It is my belief that the vast majority of people who play polo love horses and that nobody would actually go out with the intention to hurt or injure their pony. I think it is the responsibility of all the players across the board to make pony welfare a priority. The use of the whip on a pony is clearly an extremely delicate subject and we must try to set an example by using the whip positively and not negatively. F ◗ Contrary to what I wrote last month, I now understand that Ollie Cudmore will be playing for Richard Mille in the high-goal in 2012, not Loro Piana

Mind games Mind games their performances. This month she gives an end-of-season review mindset, a disciplined brain on and off the field?

4. How was the preparation and performance of my horses? My grooms? My use of support staff?

The bottom line is – if you don’t

www.polotimes.co.uk

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Knowledge

make a conscious commitment to produce improvements, then future progress will be down to luck. ◗ Contact Miranda on 07789 933936 and miranda@mirandabanks.com

Throughout the year I have given you tips and exercises specifically for you, as polo players, to up your game and reduce injury before and during the season. As the year comes to a close, some of you will continue playing regularly into the winter, but many of you will not.

So, the question is, how do you maintain fitness and endurance in the off-season in order to be fighting fit come next season? To answer this, we must first look at the factors for fitness, which are as follows: 1.

2.

3.

Training frequency (how many times per week?)

Training duration (how long for?)

Training intensity (how hard should you train?)

Research shows that if you reduce either training frequency or training duration in the off-season, then it is still possible to maintain fitness and endurance.

The key, however, is not to reduce the intensity at which you train. It is also important to allow the body to rest,

Stay fit during the winter by trying out different sports like snowboarding

particularly if you have been playing several times a week over the last few months.

My advice, therefore, is to continue training as hard, but simply reduce either the amount of times per week or the duration of the session.

Another great way to stay fit is to get out and about and take up other sports that will work your body in a totally different way to how polo does. ◗ Contact Linda on 07535 655338 and linda@lvbinc. co.uk, See http://www.lvbinc. co.uk for more information Polo Times, November/December 2011

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21/11/11 13:44:24

Knowledge

Ones to watch

Kareem Rosser has the passion and the talent to go far in polo, says John O’Sullivan

Photographs by John O’Sullivan and Georgie May

While polo may still have a long way to go to shake the perception that it is an elitist sport, no one has done more in 2011 to dispel this myth than American rising star Kareem Rosser.

And, what’s more, the talented 18-year-old from inner-city Philadelphia has been awash with silverware while doing it.

The one-goaler learned to ride when he was eight thanks to the support of the Work to Ride scheme, a non-profit organization which gives disadvantaged urban youngsters from Philadelphia the opportunity to try equestrian sports. He took up polo two years later and has been hooked ever since. He revealed: “I played every sport growing up, put polo was always the most important one.

“All of my coaches in other sports knew that if there was, say, a soccer game on the same day as a polo game, polo always came first.”

Rosser’s commitment to the sport has really paid dividends this year. In March, playing alongside his younger brother Daymar, 16, he was a member of the Cowtown/ Work to Ride team, who were the first all African-American team to win the USPA National Interscholastic (schools) Championship. He was named the Interscholastic player of the year and he continued to shine throughout the summer, most recently winning the Goldin U18 International Tournament in China (see page 54).

Having played all over the United States and in Nigeria, Rosser now hopes to extend his polo education at the prestigious Cornell University.

Mulita

Height: 15.1hh Age: Seven Colour: Bay Sex: Mare Breed: Polo Argentino Sire: Puma Dam: Tanita Owner: Kevin Cheshire

Georgie May speaks to Berkshire-based Canadian low-goal patron Kevin Cheshire about his pony Mulita, who he hopes will impress in the earlier-than-usual HPA National Club Championships How did you come to buy Mulita?

This summer was my first full outdoor season, having taken up polo in 2009, and I was planning on buying some ponies before it was over. I tried Mulita, then owned by Oscar Mancini, at the beginning of the summer and there was an instant connection between us. I played her in a few tournaments before deciding to buy her in July.

We have only played in 0-4 goal tournaments so far and this will be her first arena season but she is definitely a pony I feel I’ll be able to grow with and play in higher goal tournaments in the future.

Why is Mulita such a favourite?

Each of my four ponies is quite unique in their strengths but, for my game at present, Mulita has the perfect mix of agility and responsiveness.

She’s alert and attentive and has an energy about her before playing which makes me think she likes the game as much as I do.

What are Mulita’s weaknesses?

She is quite small so when it comes to ride-offs she isn’t the strongest. However, she partially makes up for this with her feistiness towards the other ponies!

What are your plans with Mulita this season?

I will be playing her in the 6-goal section of the HPA National Club Championships. Last year’s tournament was my first-ever polo tournament and unfortunately my team, Chemas Polo, lost to Montroc in extra time in the final so we’re very focused to win it this year. I know Mulita could make the difference out there. We’ll also do a couple more 6-10 goal tournaments at RCBPC as well as challenges elsewhere.

Does anyone else ride her other than you and your grooms?

If she needs to be schooled then I will have my pro Danny Muriel take her out. He’s incredible in understanding horses. My girlfriend, Meggie Thomas, will also be riding her in the coming years as she makes the transition from jumping to polo.

She’s very involved with Chemas Polo and taking care of the ponies – I think the ponies like her more than they like me!

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

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PT p66-67 Ones to watch Spend it JOS MB PG JM.indd 2

www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 16:57:43

How to spend it

Adrenalin alternatives with Andrew Dent

Motors

This month: hostage rescue scenario Your target is being held hostage behind a solid locked door and your team have done some painstaking preparation with the SWAT leader. Polo was never quite like this. The ransom demand came as a surprise – you knew that your patron had a few quid in the bank but why him, why now?

As you pick your way through the obstacles you wonder about the people on the other side – how edgy are they and how heavily are they armed?

If you don’t pull off a successful rescue then you won’t be playing polo next season – the ransom budget will see to that.

The FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) was formed as recently as 1982, and the operatives trained with the US Army’s famous Delta Force.

In the UK, the SAS are most commonly involved.

If you regularly holiday on the northern Kenya coast it may have crossed your mind that the local security forces will need to step up their effectiveness since Somali pirates decided that beach-bound tourists are a soft target.

If you want to know more, and perhaps prepare yourself, hostage rescue scenarios can now be participated in by civilians like you and I – complete with all the kit. After the inevitable health and safety briefing, you’ll be given SWAT vests,

helmets and replica weapons. You’ll get training and tactical advice from rescue professionals in the necessary techniques to carry out an opposed hostage recovery.

They’ll school you in using blank firing pistols, incorporating magazine changes and handling skills. Assault tactics will include room clearance drills, rescue tactics and the use of pyrotechnics.

Also included are vehicle hold-ups, where your team will take part in holding up a gang’s van or stolen security truck and aim to escape with the hostage unharmed.

A fair amount of waiting around followed by some pretty exciting action – maybe it’s not so very different to what happens on a polo ground after all! http://www.virginexperiencedays.co.uk/ hostage-rescue-experience

Big Blue sapphire ring Bespoke jewellery experts PaceBardon & Co have created the stunning Big Blue using a very rare 15.05ct Madagascan blue sapphire.

The elegantly faceted ring is adorned with 15 flawless round diamonds (10.5cts), set on platinum.

Pace-Bardon have been sourcing fine and rare gemstones and crafting bespoke jewellery pieces for an international clientele for 10 years.

For more information about them visit www.pacebardon.com Pace-Bardon prices range from £5,000 to in excess of £5m www.polotimes.co.uk

PT p66-67 Ones to watch Spend it JOS MB PG JM.indd 3

Knowledge

Luxury Chauffeur Transfers Luxury Chauffeur Transfers is striving to take luxury travel in the south of England to a new level. With a range of services including supercar hire, chauffeur-driven cars and close protection, they cater for the most discerning of individuals. LCT’s services are discreet, dependable and perfectly placed for polo on the borders of Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire at Farnborough international airport.

For more details visit www.luxury-ct.com.

Quotes available on request

Audi S8 The new Audi S8, which goes on sale at the beginning of next year, is the latest sporty addition to the S family. Although it’s similar to the A8 in looks, it gives much more in performance – which we were able to find out for ourselves during the official launch at a racetrack in Spain.

The newly developed twin-turbo V8 engine is what gives the car its edge and makes it stand out from the crowd – the 4.0 litre TFSI engine accelerates from 0-62mph in just 4.2 seconds.

Although it isn’t an entirely environmentally friendly car, with an average fuel consumption of

27.7mpg and CO2 emissions of 237g/km, it has improved since the last model. Cylinder on demand technology reduces fuel consumption – this deactivates four of the eight cylinders at low load, reducing consumption at moderate motorway speeds by 10 per cent. The stopstart system is also standard.

The S8 is a comfy ride, just like the A8. No expense has been spared when it comes to the interior, with luxury leather sports seats, MMI Navigation Plus, ambient lighting, Bose surround sound and doubleglazed windows as standard.

The best bit is the active noise cancellation system, which suppresses external noise so, even cruising down the motorway, there’s no need for back seat passengers to shout. The active engine mounts also eliminate vibrations.

Cheaper than its rivals – the Jaguar XJ Supersport and Mercedes S63 AMG – the S8 is a smart choice if you are looking for a luxury saloon with that extra “oooommmph”.

Available from £80,000

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18/11/11 14:24:43

Winter wish list Georgie May picks out the season’s must-have fashion favourites – for him, for her, and even for the dog

Francesca wears: Mordale Jacket in khaki from Joules, £84.95; V-neck jumper in lime green from La Martina, £90; Sheringham jeans in indigo from Joules, £69.95; Buckle Boots from Pampeano, £179; country socks in pink from Spanish Boot Company, £27; bush hat from Spanish Boot Company, £49; cashmere-lined leather gloves in black from Pampeano, £59; cow hide handbag from UberPolo, £180 Max wears: Barbour Lundy Jacket in brown from Cotswold Country Clothing, £199; Alan Paine V-neck jumper in navy from Cotswold Country Clothing, £62.99; classic stripe shirt in blue from Hackett London, £55; Lawton classic jeans in sand from Joules, £69.75; Estancia belt from Pampeano, £35; Original wellington boots in navy from Hunter, £79; James Dermot flat cap from Top Secret Hats, £40 Tiny wears: Barbour quilted dog coat in olive from Cotswold Country Clothing, £27.95; collar in red/ green/gold from Pampeano, £25; lead in red/green/ gold from Pampeano, £35 For stockists see page 97

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Products

Knowledge

Francesca wears: jacket from Liberty Freedom, £435; Sheringham jeans in indigo from Joules, £69.95; Country Boots from Spanish Boot Company, £189; Trussel Welly Socks in red from Joules, £17.95 Max wears: Horse and Hound jacket from Hackett London, £500; Barbour Field Tattersall shirt in red/olive from Cotswold Country Clothing, £59.95; Polistas tie in red from UberPolo, £80; Lawton classic jeans in sand from Joules, £69.75; striped belt from UberPolo, £30 For stockists see page 97

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Knowledge

Christmas products

Gift ideas

Evolution Series helmet, £POA

becky@lamartina.com

Stick bag, £100

becky@lamartina.com Bespoke team strips, £125 for five shirts

www.stickheadz.com Great Polo Clubs of the World by Roger Chatterton-Newman, $50 (£31) plus postage

thaipoloclub@lbg.co.th Special PT offer: $40, quote PT1211

Cowhide iPad/laptop case, £60 Subscription to Polo Times, from £55

www.uberpolo.com

www.polotimes.co.uk UberPolo essential kitbag, £35

www.uberpolo.com

Polo for the 21st century by Rege Ludwig, £32

www.regeludwigpolo.com Umbrella with PT logo, £40

Call 01993 886885

Complete player set, £979 (includes two sticks, gloves, hat, goggles, boots, stick bag, knee pads and spurs)

www.pampeano.co.uk Special PT offer: £900 when you quote PT11

Stetson Hatfield trapper rabbit fur hat, £59.50

www.topsecrethats.com

Cowhide cushions, £55

www.pampeano.co.uk

Gel Eze super wither pad, £36.75

www.worldwidetack.com

Polo padded balance girth, £57.90 Equine Textiles Keeneland bandages, £16.13, various colours

www.worldwidetack.com

www.worldwidetack.com Argentine browband, £23

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www.pampeano.co.uk

www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 11:21:46

LOOK WARM, STAY COOL, WEAR TWEED.

LIBERTYFREEDOM UNION MILL VERNON STREET BOLTON BL1 2PT T: 01204 386824 F:01204 365522 E:upender@libertyfreedom.co.uk

New Season menswear and womenswear available now.

109 - 113 High Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4BT. T: 01865 249491 www.shepherdandwoodward.co.uk www.cotswold-country-clothing.co.uk

www.polotimes.co.uk

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Knowledge

Christmas products

Stocking fillers

Equestrian charms necklace, £59

www.uberpolo.com

Leather passport cover, £20

www.pampeano.co.uk

Polo cartoon cards presented in wooden box, £10

www.satsfaction.com Ladies belt, in various colours and designs, from £23

www.satsfaction.com

Wide waterproof wearable camcorder, £149.99

www.headcamz.com

Solid sterling silver polo cufflinks, £130

www.geronimojones.com

Rugby socks, in various colours, £18

www.uberpolo.com Polistas hip flask (6oz), £60

www.uberpolo.com Travel and polo journals, £65

www.pampeano.co.uk

Leather iPod case, £29

www.pampeano.co.uk

Elgin polo mug, £12

www.satsfaction.com Nottingham University Polo Club 2012 nude calendar, £10 (£5 for uni students)

www.nottspolocalendar.webs.com

Solid sterling silver polo mallet bangle, £85

www.geronimojones.com

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Saxon City socks box set, £35

Suede helmet bag, £35

www.uberpolo.com

www.satsfaction.com

Polo Times, November/December 2011

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www.polotimes.co.uk

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Specialists in Luxury International Helicopter & Aircraft Charter Head Office: +44 (0)1865 370739 London Office: +44 (0)20 7585 0597 Facsimile: +44 (0)1865 370478 Web: www.capitalairservices.co.uk Email: operations@capitalairservices.co.uk Operating under the requirements of Air Operations Certificate No. UK2049

3ROR 7LPHV $GYHUW Y LQGG PT p74-75 Book review JOS JM PJ MB.indd 2

18/11/11 14:41:50

Review – Polo for the 21st Century

Knowledge

Ludwig passes on his polo coaching legacy Well-respected American polo coach Rege Ludwig hits the nail on the head with the first offering in his new training manual series

John O’Sullivan reports

A

quick glance on the shelves of any high-street bookshop will reveal a glut of autobiographies and guide books by so-called experts and celebrities covering every topic you could imagine. The lion’s share of these offerings appear to be little more than vain attempts to cash in on a moment of fame and despite great promises on the front cover, they often fall short of your expectations.

How refreshing, therefore, it is to come across Rege Ludwig’s new book Polo for the 21st Century, which is a training manual for polo players and coaches with real substance.

One only has to delve into the introduction of this book to learn that Mr Ludwig has a rare passion for the sport and it is clear that the motivation behind this book is not financial gain, but a genuine yearning to pass on his knowledge to the next generation.

Mr Ludwig, who hails from Pennsylvania in the USA, began his polo teaching career

Polo for the 21st Century is the first of a four-book series by Mr Ludwig and it acts as the introduction to the subsequent three books, which look at key training areas in more depth. The author explains: “The purpose of the first book is to lay the foundation for the topics of the following books – Riding for the Purpose of Playing Polo, Hitting the Ball and The Strategy of Polo. I feel if players get a grasp on the basics early in their polo career then they will realise the benefit of becoming better players. My desire and intent is to arrange and display that information in a manner that will lend itself to any polo player having a stair-step progression to improving just about any aspect of their game.”

Polo for the 21st Century starts by setting the scene, with Ludwig underlining how the game has changed since he started coaching three decades ago and Dr Phillip A Karber delving further back into the history and

Rege Ludwig offers top-quality guidance for novice players and for experienced players looking to improve in 1983 at the University of Virginia and has gone on to coach many renowned high-goal players such as Memo and Carlos Gracida and Clemente and Julio Zavaleta.

He has enjoyed great success in the US high-goal with the Isla Carroll, Outback, Grant’s Farm and Aspen polo teams, but is currently based in Asia, at the Rege Ludwig International Polo School at Thai Polo & Equestrian Club. www.polotimes.co.uk

PT p74-75 Book review JOS JM PJ MB.indd 3

evolution of the game. Ludwig then takes the reader through the basics of the sport from riding, strategy and hitting the ball to positions, handicaps, the horse and equipment. He uses helpful pictures and diagrams along the way to underline the best techniques.

Particularly useful is the chapter on rules, which uses clear overhead animations to illustrate the most common fouls in the game

and to explain the different interpretations of the rules in Argentina, the USA and England.

One always wonders just how easy it is to learn polo from a book, no matter how excellent the advice is. But there is no doubt that Polo for the 21st Century offers top quality guidance for both novice players and experienced players looking to improve specific parts of their game.

I look forward to reading the next three books in the series, which I anticipate will be equally as informative. F Polo for the 21st Century 112 pages with hardcover and dust cover.

Published by: Thai Polo & Equestrian Club and available from www.thai-polo-club.com and www.regeludwigpolo.com Price (including shipping): US$50 (£32)

PT Rating

D D D D D

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Knowledge

S

Motoring special

ize matters

Whether you’re looking for something to tow the horsebox with or a nifty little runabout, this month we review some of the smartest cars on the market at either end of the size spectrum, and everything in between

Big is beautiful: looking for an SUV?

Photographs by James Mullan

VW Touareg Altitude V8 TDI

A

much quicker and far more luxurious alternative to the VW’s other large production vehicle capable of towing (the new Amarok), the Touareg is a classy bit of kit. It’s so strong in so many areas that it’s hard to see who it wouldn’t be suitable for, so long as whoever it was had some cash in the

PT p76-83 motoring feature JM MB PJ.indd 2

bank. Because, alongside the chunky look is a hefty pricetag. And you’ll want to be sitting down when you fill up the 100-litre tank: it takes so long that Roger Bannister could run a mile faster (even today), and is so expensive that the numbers tumbling on the display at the pumps will make you feel as though you’re in another Matrix sequel.

First impressions It’s huge. It gives the Range Rover a run for its money in terms of its sheer size, and the one we reviewed was also colossal under the bonnet. However, whilst drawing admiring glances from those driving the kinds of cars that make you think they must know what they are talking about, it somehow achieves a more understated feel than its meaty competitors.

The only shame is its silly name. TOUAREG. It looks like a collection of letters left over at the

17/11/11 12:15:49

Motoring special

Knowledge

end of a game of Scrabble, and one wonders if the peculiar series of consonants and vowels was ever one of Carol Voderman’s creations as a “crucial Countdown conundrum”.

How does it drive?

Despite being longer, wider and taller than the older versions, the new Touareg is lighter and, as a result, goes like an absolute rocket. There’s a Sport function, which will give you 335bhp, though it’s so fast anyway that the difference isn’t that discernible. It’s also remarkably stable compared to other SUVs, and the ride quality is superb.

Pretty-fly factor In terms of cool extras, you get plenty: VW’s top eight-inch touchscreen DVD satellite navigation system; keyless entry and a keyless start; automatic electric tailgate; parking sensors and a rear-view video for reversing; sensors for lights and wipers; an iPod connector and built-in Bluetooth capabilities for your phone – to name but a few. However, the most memorable function is the intelligent cruise control, which senses the road in front of you and brakes when the traffic ahead of you in your lane does. It’s eerie at first, but then you realise it’s the future...

Polo practicality Well, you can see for yourself that there’s plenty of room, so it’s well set up for the rigours, equipment and entourage that go with fulfilling the requirements of most polo players. There’s also an ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Programme) built in to ensure maximum stability when towing a trailer (great, but read on).

Full marks for…

The safety features are cutting edge and the look and finish both inside and out oozes quality.

This is the automotive equivalent of travelling first class. Just beware that it may be difficult to ever go back into economy, and economic it ain’t!

Could do better…

It was by no means the best SUV I’ve ever driven offroad when it was muddy and, even worse, the option to have a tow-bar fitted www.polotimes.co.uk

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The new Touareg looks the part, both inside and out. There’s a mind-blowing amount of technical support for the driver in the cabin, where the views out include a panoramic retractable sunroof that stretches back over the passengers in the rear seats. Great for games of “I spy”

was withdrawn from all Touaregs in July and, while it is anticipated that the problem with it will be resolved by the new year, it means you probably won’t have seen too many of the new Touaregs at polo so far this year. Whoops. JM u

Essentials Engine: 4.2 litre V8 TDI 0-62: 5.8 seconds Mpg consumption: 31 Warranty: three years, up to 60,000 miles Insurance group: 46E Price: £58,730 on the road Polo Times verdict: 8 out of 10 Polo Times, November/December 2011

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Knowledge u

Motoring special

The compact SUV option

Audi Q3

F

ollowing on from the Q7 and the Q5, the newest edition to the Q family – the Q3 – was released this November.

Rivalling the BMW X1 and Range Rover Evoque, the compact and city-friendly Q3 is marketed as a companion for a sporty lifestyle and is better suited to the road rather than off-road.

First impressions

Pretty-fly factor The SE models come with iPod connectivity, Bluetooth, voice control, automatic headlights and wipers, rear parking sensors and sat-nav as standard. Advanced features include a hard-drive navigation system, with a seveninch monitor that produces high-contrast images to help you get from from A to B.

Polo practicality It may be a bit of a squash to take four leggy polo players and their reserve. But, the seats are comfortable – although those in the S-line

Sleek and sophisticated, the Q3 is attractive to look at and more appealing to the eye than its rivals. The S-line is the better looking of the two models available, with the body kit giving it a sportier edge.

The seven-inch monitor produces high-contrast navigation images

How does it drive?

models are more muscular. The rear of the front seats are concave to provide more leg room for the backseat passengers.

The 460-litre boot provides enough room for your polo sticks and equipment or if

Full marks for…

The Q3 comes with a relatively high spec as standard and Audi seem to have thought of almost everything when it comes to optional extras. It’s small enough to whizz around town but tough enough to withstand the everyday needs of a polo player and all his or her equipment.

Could do better…

Generally, it feels like your all-round visibility is limited. This is particularly true when trying to see out of the back. It has a small rear window screen and a tiny rearview mirror.

If you are not very technical, the media and sat-nav system is also quite complicated, as u it is in the new S8 (see page 67). GM

Essentials Engine: Quattro, seven-speed S tronic in 2.0 TDI 0-60: 6.6 seconds Mpg consumption: 47.9 mpg Warranty: unlimited mileage in first two years of ownership and up to 60,000 miles in third year. Other options available at an extra cost Insurance group: 21E Price: £28,460 on the road Polo Times verdict: 8 out of 10

Photographs by Audi

We tested the 2.0 TDI 175bhp, Quattro seven-speed S tronic, which was smooth and very quiet. The start-stop system kicks in when you stop at a junction and there are advanced features such as side assist – warns of cars behind or in your blind spot – and park assist where the Audi manoeuvres itself into a space.

The optional drive select system includes an efficiency option, which uses an S tronic twin clutch transmission to disengage drive when the driver releases the accelerator, dropping the revs below 1000rpm and the car coasts along on its own. However, it can gather pace so you may need to keep your foot on the brake.

you are a spectator, plenty of room for your picnic, bubbly and chairs. Having said that, if you are going to carry an extensive amount of kit and more than just yourself, you may want to look at the bigger Q models.

The Q3 is the newest – and smallest – addition to the Q family, and is seen here at the car’s press launch in the Swiss Alps in July. It went on sale in the UK in November

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Knowledge u

Motoring special

A country estate with urban attitude

BMW 5 Series M Sport Touring

N

ow in its fourth generation, the new BMW 5 Series Touring is still elegant, bold and spacious. The M Sport model oozes class yet is practical at the same time, particularly with its vast boot, which is just one reason why the car is so desirable.

First impressions It’s certainly a head turner. It’s big, attractive, streamline and mean. The black Dakota leather interior, which comes as standard, gives it that extra edge and you’ll feel pretty cool when driving it around.

How does it drive?

The Dynamic Drive Control allows you to select which driving mode you desire. In Normal, it drives smoothly, glides around the corners and the sport seats are extremely comfortable. Knock the car into Sport+ mode and the car becomes extremely punchy, takes off like a racehorse out of the starting blocks and roars around corners and up hills.

accelerator again, the car moves forward as normal. Great for when sitting in traffic.

Active cruise control allows the driver to select a maximum speed to coast at, whether it is 30mph or 60mph. The SOS emergency function can detect an accident and

There are plenty of engine options, but the entry-level diesel sets a decent pace automatically calls the emergency services, alerting them of your location, or it can be pressed manually to call 999.

Polo practicality The car will carry five people with ease and there is plenty of legroom for the back

Pretty-fly factor

seat passengers. Climate control comes as standard in all models, keeping you and your team cool after a hot afternoon on the polo ground, or keep you toasty warm after arena polo in mid-January. The boot is one of the model’s main attractions. Luggage capacity has increased by 60 litres – to 560 litres – from the previous generation and the optional Extended Storage package will supply a further 30 litres of space.

Full marks for…

The 5 Series M Sport Touring sets the bar high in terms of technology, reliability and practicality. Its elegance combined with power and performance makes it a car hard to ignore. There are plenty of options available – three petrol and four diesel engines, with the turbocharged six-cylinder engines topping the range. However, the entry-level diesel (520d) sets a decent enough pace and is most fuel-efficient.

Could do better…

There is a vertical dividing net between the boot and the rear seats – to keep overflowing luggage or an uncontrollable dog safely in the boot. However, allow yourself a good few minutes to put it up and, well, forever to get it down – we never managed to work out how to retract it. GM

The iDrive screen in the centre of the dashboard is easy to use, controlling the satnav, radio, CD player, telephone and other media. There is an automatic handbrake – when you apply the brake and come to a stop, the driver can remove his or her foot from the brake peddle without the car creeping forward. As soon as you apply the

Essentials Photographs by James Mullan

Engine: 520d 0-62: 8.3 seconds Mpg consumption: 55.4mpg Warranty: three years Insurance group: 33 Price: £35,120 on the road The BMW 5 Series continues to turn heads, now in the 40th year since the car’s original launch in 1972

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Polo Times verdict: 9 out of 10 www.polotimes.co.uk

17/11/11 12:16:37

Motoring special

Knowledge

The quintessential hot hatch

VW Golf GTI

I

f the Golf’s burly cousin, the Touareg, floats along the road, giving a sensation akin to travelling in first class, then the Golf grips it, providing a reassuring feeling of control when the car is driven at pace – which it inevitably will be.

First impressions The GTI remains an undeniably cool motor. To look at, it’s evolved into a curvier, stockier version of its predecessors, a car with substance as well as a sexy feel, and seems to be tougher than most for its size. The chunky controls and refined finish inside will also impress and reassure.

How does it drive?

Though its 207bhp and 207lbs of torque is nicely balanced, it isn’t remarkable, but the sound and reaction when you put your foot down in the GTI is the best of all the cars in this feature. It’s so satisfying in fact that the temptation to do so never leaves you.

It’s fun to drive every time you get in it, particularly for the polo set who get to take it along country roads, and yet the sporty suspension and option to switch from the tiptronic gearbox to automatic means this car won’t tire you out when you’re using it for a longer drive as well.

well worth the extra £1,750, as is the rear-view camera at £165. As standard you’ll also get USB and iPod connection cables, sport seats, and electrically adjustable heated body-coloured door mirrors with integrated indicators.

Polo practicality It’s unlikely to be your choice if you have a family, but is still very much on the shopping list for the virile 20-somethings. Nevertheless, despite the flashy rather than frugal image, it’s actually not stupidly expensive to run or insure, is intelligently designed for all kinds of drivers and passengers, and is also surprisingly roomy.

Full marks for…

The fantastic driving experience. It feels rigid and safe, even when you’re throwing it round corners at pace, and is wonderful fun.

Could do better…

Pretty-fly factor The six-and-a-half inch touchscreen navigation and radio system is an optional extra, but

It’ll look the part on the sidelines as well – even with the garish alloys on the one we drove (above), it still carries the kind of poshpout that persuaded Prince William to drive one once upon a time.

Even against the stunning backdrop of the Cowdray ruins, the Golf GTI looks incredibly eye-catching

The squared-off bottom quarter of the steering wheel (that you can see left) helps give the car that sporty feel, but is also actually quite annoying at times, especially when having to make corrections quickly during a turn.

The other problem was that the rear parking camera pops out of the boot handle, and sticks out for several seconds after you turn off the engine, meaning other motorists are forever stopping you at petrol stations and in car parks to tell you that you’ve left your boot open. JM u

Essentials Engine: 2.0 litre GTI 0-62: 6.9 seconds Mpg consumption: 38.2 Warranty: three years, up to 60,000 miles Insurance group: 34E Price: £26,940 on the road Polo Times verdict: 9 out of 10 www.polotimes.co.uk

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Knowledge u

Motoring special

Raising the ceiling

Volkswagen Eos

L

et’s be perfectly frank. This car has an automatically retractable roof, and that’s really the main thing there is to be said about it. If you’re not interested in feeling the wind in your hair, don’t read any further. You don’t want to buy this car.

However, for those who do (particularly those in the UK), the attraction of this “coupé cabriolet” is that the retractable roof it incorporates is a hard top, making it practical even when the weather is poor, and putting it amongst relatively few competitors in its class.

First impressions The styling appears to be closest to that of a Passat, yet size-wise the Eos resembles a Golf.

It’s attractive enough, but struggles to look cool when you consider the traditional idea of a convertible. And, sure enough, with eyes

peeled for more on the roads, it appeared the only other people that I saw driving one were those who looked likely to have a bus pass in their handbags. Not a great start.

the lid retracts. It takes just 25 seconds – though, as always, it has to be done when the car is completely stationary.

How does it drive?

Not great. If you have any intention of lowering the roof at any stage on a trip, you need to ensure that the relevant part of the boot where it all folds into is completely clear of any luggage, or else it won’t let you do it. This only leaves you with 205 litres of space. Most players could drink more than that on an average summer’s afternoon.

The Eos is well engineered, as you’d expect, but the 1.4 litre isn’t at all quick and isn’t desperately exciting to drive. That is, until you get the top down. With the sun shining and wind whipping over the canopy provided by the large windscreen, life feels pretty good.

When the hard top is raised, you’re back to being in a fairly bog-standard saloon. But that’s actually a compliment, given that it means you forget it is a cabriolet altogether because of the lack of any discernible wind or rain noise.

Polo practicality

Full marks for…

Having launched five years ago, the evidence to date shows that the Eos keeps its value remarkably well. It’s also safe and quiet.

Pretty-fly factor

Could do better…

Aside from the roof, there’s not much to excite technology buffs. The stereo has eight speakers, which isn’t bad, but the only thing you’ll really want to show your mates is how

The Eos we drove had no controls on the steering wheel for the in-car stereo entertainment, which one expects these days, and just fundamentally lacked flair. JM

Essentials

Photographs by James Mullan

Engine: 1.4 litres 0-62: 8.8 seconds Mpg consumption: 41.5 Warranty: three years, up to 60,000 miles Insurance group: 24E Price: £23,980 on the road Polo Times verdict: 6 out of 10 Femme fatale: Beaufort’s Emma Tomlinson (far left pic) can’t keep her eyes off the Eos, even whilst playing

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www.polotimes.co.uk

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Motoring special

Knowledge

Compact and brisk

Alfa Romeo MiTo

T

he Alfa MiTo is ideal for players who want a bit of fun and style without breaking the bank. It looks good and is surprisingly quick, offering an extremely fun and comfortable drive. The only real drawback is the lack of space in the boot and in the back seats, which I suppose is to be expected in a compact car.

First impressions The MiTo is more understated than most of the other cars we feature and at first glance it’s difficult to tell whether it’s a compact, a hatchback or a sports car. There is no doubt that it is very pleasing on the eye, but it looks more “cute” than it does “manly”. The Alfa Romeo badge instantly gives it some street cred, though, and a quick glance at the sport pedals in the cockpit leaves you in little doubt that this is a serious mover.

The aesthetically pleasing Alfa Romeo MiTo offers an extremely comfortable and unexpectedly rewarding drive

How does it drive?

Very well indeed. There are three different modes to choose from – normal, dynamic and all-weather. The dynamic (sporty) setting offers a particularly rewarding drive, with an extremely responsive throttle and the 135bhp means that it really packs a punch, making manoeuvres like overtaking and changing lanes a piece of cake. The all-weather setting makes full use of

The 135bhp engine means that the MiTo really does pack an unexpected punch the cars Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) system to keep you in control in difficult conditions – ideal for winter’s icy roads or the mud bath seen in the Cowdray Park car park after the torrential rain during the Gold Cup final this year!

Pretty-fly factor The Blue&Me USB port allows drivers to play music through the booming, latest generation Bose speakers straight from MP3 players and memory sticks. This can be operated handsfree using voice recognition, which is very useful. The automatic windscreen wipers and headlights are a welcome addition.

Polo practicality You might fit a full Jorrocks Pony Club team www.polotimes.co.uk

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Smart-looking alloy wheels come as standard on all MiTo models. They are available from 16-18 inches

The dual-zone climate control (bottom left) is the star feature of the MiTo’s clean-looking dashboard

in the MiTo but, with leg-room very much at a premium in the back, you’d struggle to fit a fully grown high-goal team. The boot is also relatively small, so your polo sticks will have to travel in the back seat, or in a different vehicle.

Having said that, if you are lucky enough to have a groom who can drive your ponies and most of your equipment to the game, the MiTo offers an extremely comfortable ride there.

Could do better…

Full marks for…

The massive wing mirrors are almost the size of tennis rackets and offer a tremendous view of all around you, which was a failing in previous models. In the dynamic mode the MiTo offers a great fun drive and it looks good too. The sound system (which includes eight speakers and a subwoofer) is better than I’ve heard in some nightclubs and the dual zone climate control, which allows drivers and passengers to sit side-by-side in different temperatures, will no doubt save you from many arguments.

The automatic controls aside, the headlights and the windscreen wipers can be quite difficult to figure out, particularly if you are speeding down the motorway. Driving in the “normal” mode noticeably lacks the freedom of the “dynamic” setting and it’s also very frustrating when the “change up” and “change down” messages flash up on the dashboard within a split-second of offering too little or too much gas. The lack of space is a given, but elsewhere it’s difficult to find too much else to fault. JO’S F

Essentials Engine: 1.4 litre turbo 0-62: 8.4 seconds Mpg consumption: 50.4 Warranty: Three years Insurance group: 19 Price: Starting from £14,550 Polo Times verdict: 7 out of 10 Polo Times, November/December 2011

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Knowledge

What’s on

Club contacts UK and Ireland

South East AEPC, Hickstead – 01273 834315 * Ascot Park – 01276 858545 * Ash Farm – 01932 872521 * Belmont, Mill Hill – 020 7318 4490 * Binfield Heath – 01491 411969 Barcombe – 01273 400179 Burningfold – 01483 200722 Cowdray Park – 01730 813257 Coworth Park – 01344 875155 Epsom – 01372 748200 * FHM – 07778 436468 * Fifield – 01628 620061 * Guards – 01784 434212 Ham – 020 8334 0000 Hurtwood Park – 01483 272828 Kirtlington – 01869 350138 Knepp Castle – 01403 741007 Lacey Green – 07946 360569 Park Lane – 01491 411969 RMAS – 01276 412276 Royal County of Berkshire – 01344 890060 * Sussex Polo – 01342 714920 * West Wycombe – 01865 858475 * East Apsley End – 01462 712444 * Cambridge & Newmarket – 07769 976781 Carlton House – 01986 892231 Frolic Farm – 01223 812922 Haggis Farm – 01223 460353 * Hertfordshire – 01707 256023 Little Bentley – 01206 250435 Silver Leys – 01279 652652 St Albans – 07879 866647 Suffolk Polo – 07990 576974 South West Asthall Farm – 01367 860207 Beaufort – 01666 880510 Cirencester Park – 01285 653225 Druids Lodge – 01722 782597 * Edgeworth – 01285 821695 Ladyswood – 01666 840880 Longdole – 01452 864544 * Lynt – 07957 468220 * Maywood – 01962 885500 * New Forest – 02380 811818 Orchard – 01258 471000 Taunton – 01823 480460 Tidworth – 01980 846705 * Vaux Park – 01460 242684 * West Somerset – 01844 820432 Midlands Foxhill – 0115 9651790 Offchurch Bury – 07816 830887 Leadenham – 07816 216356 Ranksboro – 01572 720046 RLS – 01926 812409 Rugby – 01788 817724 * Rutland – 01572 724568 North Beverley – 01964 544455 * Toulston – 01422 372529 Vale of York – 07788 426968 * White Rose – 01430 875767 * Cheshire – 01270 611100 Chester Racecourse – 01244 304602 Scotland Borders Reivers – 01890 840777 Dundee & Perth – 07879 895780 Edinburgh – 0131 449 6696 * Kinross – 07831 365194 * Stewarton – 07974 706045 Ireland All Ireland – +353 (0) 1 6896732 Bunclody – +353 87 6605917 Curraghmore – +353 51 387102 Donaghadee – 02891 882521 Limerick – +353 (0) 87 2231690 Moyne – +353 85 1313224 Northern Ireland – 02890 727905 Wicklow – +353 (0) 404 67164 * Waterford – +353 51 595280 * denotes winter arena polo venue hTo contact the HPA, tel: 01367 242828

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What’s on in December and January UK and Ireland tournament highlights High Goal

RCBPC – HPA National Club Championships (14-16 goal): 26 November – 11 December RCBPC – High-Goal Championship (14-16): 21-27 December RCBPC – Paul Castle High-Goal Challenge (1416): 10-15 January Medium Goal

RCBPC – HPA National Club Championships (6-10): 26 November – 11 December Druids Lodge – The Pig Trophy (8-10): 31 December RCBPC – Arena Challenge Trophy (6-10): 31 December – 8 January RCBPC – Metropolitan Trophy (8-12): 17-22 January Vaux Park – Challenge Cup (8-12): 28-29 January RCBPC – Olin Trophy (7-10): 31 January – 5 February

Low Goal

RCBPC – HPA National Club Championships (2-7): 26 November – 11 December Ascot – Santa’s Challenge (2-6): 10-11 December AEPC – The Seico Polo Cup (0-3): 17-18 December Rugby – The New Year’s Cup (0-4): 7-8 January RCBPC – Ladies’ Tournament (0-4): 31 January – 5 February Open

AEPC – Champagne Pommery Challenge Matches (Open): 3-4 and 10-11 December Wicklow – USA (Newport) vs Ireland (Open): 30 December - 1 January For a full list of all the tournaments see www.polotimes.co.uk

Main overseas tournament highlights Argentina Palermo – Argentine Open (34-40): 19 November – 10 December La Aguada – Copa Julio Novillo Astrada (34-40): 28 November – 7 December Australia Portsea – Stella Artois Portsea Polo (Open): 14 January France Val d’Isere – Polo Masters (Open): 11-14 January Courcheval – BMW Polo Masters (Open): 2629 January South Africa Plettenberg – SA Open (12, 8 and 2): 1-8 January

Switzerland Klosters – Snow Polo (Open): 18-22 January St Moritz – Polo World Cup on Snow (Open): 26-29 January Thailand Thai Polo & Equestrian Club – Thai Equestrian Federation Open (6-8): 27-31 December; Thai Polo Open (12-14): 11-21 January USA Villages – Florida Intra-Circuit Cup (8-12): 30 November – 4 December Aspen – USPA World Snow Polo Championships (Open): 17-18 December IPCPB – Pennell Cup (20): 6 January; USPA Joe Barry Memorial (20): 15-29 January

Other dates Goffs – December NH Sale (NH foals, older horses and breeding stock): 7 December Doncaster DBS – December Sale (NH foals, yearlings and mares): 13 December Brightwells – Ascot December Bloodstock Sale (horses in and out of training, point to pointers and youngstock): 20 December Doncaster DBS – January Sales (NH foals, yearlings and horses in training): 24-25 January

TV highlights 2 December, 5am: 2011 Coronation Cup (England vs Brazil) – Horse & Country TV (Sky 280) 21 December, 7.25pm: 2011 Argentine Open – British Europsort (Sky 410) 15 December, 6pm: Highlights from the Queen’s Cup; England vs NZ in the Beaufort Test; the Gold Cup; and England vs Brazil in the Coronation Cup – Horse & Country TV (Sky 280) www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 13:35:45

Tell us yours at gossip@polotimes.co.uk Anonymity guaranteed if you want it...

Sidelines

England elite add to the family The pitter patter of tiny feet will be a familiar sound at the biggest matches of the English polo season next summer, as two of the men behind England’s Coronation Cup victory over Brazil in July prepare for fatherhood.

Lucy Tucker, wife of England chef d’équipe Andrew Tucker, gave birth to twin boys Ned and Jack on Friday 14 October. The pair arrived 12 weeks premature and will have to remain in hospital as a precaution until midDecember as a result. But Andrew revealed to Polo Times: “They are doing really well so hopefully they will come home a little earlier although we are not trying to get too excited.

Luce is coping well too.”

Meanwhile England’s main man on the field, Audi Polo Awards English pro of the year James Beim, is also set to become a dad. The talented seven-goaler may have narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Argentine Open (see page 46) but there is plenty for him to be cheerful about as Polo Times understands that his wife Lauren, who he married in New South Wales in January, right, is pregnant. The new arrival is due in April.

And it doesn’t stop there. Another with relevance to the progress of the country’s polo is the HPA’s Sophie McPherson, who was just beginning her maternity leave as Polo Times went to press. She is expecting a baby boy on Monday 12 December.

Regular Polo Times contributor (Lacey Green one-goaler) Tobias Pejkovic has also become a father again. His wife Mellie gave birth to their

Look-a-likes

James Harper and Wayne Bridge www.polotimes.co.uk

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third child Lucas (right) on Monday 7 November.

Lucas weighs a whopping 9lbs 11oz.

The growth of the Polo Times family is also ensured even further still, with the news that our regular feeding columnist and Bailey’s Horse Feed nutritionist Lorna Edgar is expecting her first child with husband Tom. The pair tied the knot in September 2010 and they’re expecting next April.

Beaufort Polo Club one-goaler Robert Freeman-Kerr is also celebrating a new arrival, and already dreaming of the day when the youngster is old enough to join him on the polo field. His wife Lisa gave birth to a healthy 8lbs 2oz baby boy called Freddie on Sunday 9 October and Robert announced to his clubmates: “He is looking forward to his first chukkas!”

Speaking of youngsters playing polo, we hear that horse racing jockey Frankie Dettori’s young son, Leo, has been playing in the Pony Club.

The popular Italian bumped into polo photographer extraordinaire Zahra Hanbury on a flight to New York recently and she was interested to hear about his polo connection.

20-month-old Florentina Petkovic and five-year-old Marcos show some love to their new brother Lucas

Matt asked Heather to marry him while the pair were in sunny Argentina earlier this month.

Marriage doesn’t appear to be on the cards for Jodie Kidd and Andrea Vianini, who recently had their first child together. Kidd, who has been married before (to entrepreneur Aiden Butler), told The Daily Telegraph: “I’ve been there and done that. All it [marriage] is, is a piece of paper.”

Elsewhere in the Kidd family, the former supermodel’s brother Jack has started a new business venture, which he hopes will become particularly fruitful. The four-goaler has helped to set up the Holders Farmers Market in Barbados, which will be held every Sunday. “We are taking the first step hopefully to start Another familiar face who increasing the supply and has their hands full with demand for locally grown polo-playing children is organic foods,” he said.

Aussie model-turned“We went through the whole actress Elle “The Body” of the European qualifiers and Another polo player’s Macpherson. The the World Cup unbeaten in the business venture has been supermodel was spotted drinking stakes” leaving him with a bit of a at Ham Polo Club with Nick Britten-Long confirms that sore head of late. Oneher two sons, Arpad and the England World Cup side goaler Karl Ude Martinez Aurelius, in late September. lived up to their “Brits abroad” ended up in hospital after a reputation – see pg 24 stunt with his jousting troupe It has been a busy time The Knights of Middle England at Ham of late, with president went wrong at September’s Midland Vichai Raksriaksorn – who also owns Game Fair at Weston Park. A fellow Knight was Leicester City Football Club – hitting the supposed to hit him on his padded back with a headlines for sacking former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson after a disappointing start mace, but accidentally clocked him on the back of his to the season. He may have had little love for Sven, but there was plenty of love elsewhere at head, leaving Karl, right, unconscious the club, as clubmates Katy Letman and Paul Hill announced their engagement. The pair met for a few minutes and with severe at the club and hope to marry next summer. concussion. We’re glad to hear that Another polo wedding in the pipeline is he is already back between Berkshire-based four-goaler Matt in the saddle.

Lodder and his beau Heather Wigglesworth.

Quote of the month

Polo Times, November/December 2011

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Sidelines

Celebrity guest, Argentine TV presenter Susanna Gimenez

The Australian entourage caught being distracted by some quality literature

The ninth FIP World Cup, Argentina 2011 Estancia Grande, San Luis – 20-21 October

Lunch but no punch Though there was a carnival atmosphere on finals’ day, when Argentina raised the FIP World Cup for the first time in 13 years (and the first time on home soil since the tournament’s inaugural year, in 1987), the extra-curricular entertainment laid on during the rest of the tournament in San Luis was actually generally rather disappointing.

The teams all stayed in Hotel Quintana, a half-hour drive from Estancia Grande in San Luis, and each made the daily trip in a specially emblazoned mini-bus decorated with their national flag. They then joined up with the other teams, their entourages, selected press and FIP’s own special guests to enjoy lunch in the VIP marquee, where they were looked after by a raft of pretty English-speaking PR girls from Mendoza.

Nick Britten-Long puckers up

Newlyweds Micaela Watt Bozzolo and Cristian Benkö

Argentina celebrates victory with the trademark soaking of the team’s coach

w All photos by James Mullan. Read his full report from the championships on page 28

FIP president, Eduardo Huego

Argentine technical director Martín Zúbia after his soaking

Some of the enthusiastic Argentine jubilation at the final bell

A groom exercises Brazil’s horses Interest in polo begins young in Argentina

PR girls at the final

Valerio Aguilar Sotelo readies himself for action against Italy

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Brigadier VP Singh

The band plays beneath a shot of the Estancia Grande high-goal team

18/11/11 13:14:23

Bike polo at the club

Dawule Buba

Roderick Vere Nicoll

Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers

The African Patrons Cup, Nigeria – 26-30 October 2011

Colour in the grandstands

HPA approved!

England’s Max Charlton reflects on the team’s win over Australia

Seven Nigerian patrons formed the contested teams, among them, Alhaji Adamu Atta (founder of the host club, Fifth Chukker).

The final of the 15-goal tournament saw Linetrale Delaney, featuring Damian Duncan, Mustapha Fasinro and Argentines Frankie Menendez and Marcelo Pascual, score a 9-8 victory against Atta’s AMG. The event featured a fashion show and Nigeria’s first International Bike Polo Exhibition to mark the 10th anniversary of Fifth Chukker Polo Club. Proceeds were donated to Breast Cancer Awareness.

HPA’s Nicholas ColquhounDenvers attended the tournament and commented, “With the improvements in horse care and field maintenance, Nigeria can now compete at an international level”. w Photos by Leonora de Ferranti

Umpire Peter Wright

Senator Ike Ekweremadu

Alhaji Adamu Atta

Gareth Evans

Danny Davis and Ciccio Fiorila

Frankie Menendez and Babingada Hassan

Winners, Linetrale Delaney

Tory Bigge and George Hanbury Indian supporters in front of the team’s minibus

Euan Douglas and Cata Huidobro

Ollie Cudmore

El Remanso bike chukkas, Argentina – 22 October 2011

Ball and chain Chile’s coach Tono Irurrate with his son, Martin

British umpire, Peter Wright

A selection of familiar Brits and their antipodean chums took stick and balling to the next level last month, when grooming meant putting the chain back on your mount to discover its horsepower. w Photos by James Mullan Jaime Huidobro

The Hanbury boys fight for the ball

Charlie Hanbury

Luke Reid

Will and Alec White

The musical build up to the final

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18/11/11 17:11:33

Sidelines

Ali Albwardy and Eduardo Bérèterbide The Maserati team

Emirates NBD Lawyers Polo Cup, Dubai – 2-4 November 2011 Alain Clery and Xavier Doumen entering Dubai’s One&Only Hotel

Justin Fogarty and Carolina Bérèterbide

Xavier Doumen and Eduardo Bérèterbide (Sr)

Khalid Al Hamrani, Stephano Morelli and Karen Monroe

The Emirates NBD marketing team

UberPolo’s shop window

Lawyers line up The opening night of the Emirates NBD Polo Cup in Dubai was attended by 250 guests, which saw a lavish black tie dinner at the Rooftop Terrace of the One&Only Hotel. During the cocktail Eduardo Bereterbide made a brief speech about Lawyers Polo, now in its fourth year, giving thanks to Desert Palm followed by an introduction of the teams, players and sponsors.

More than 400 lawyers and polo spectators attended the event, enjoying an afternoon of polo, drinks and tapas on the terrace of Desert Palm. Following the final match, the awards ceremony was held in one of the main gallerias. w Turn to page 52 for more

The children of Prince Carl Oettingen-Wallerstein’s children

Joseph Fitzsimons, Carlos Rivas, Justin Fogarty, Pablo Dana, and Eduardo and Carolina Bérèterbide

Pablo Dana and his sons

The Olabi sisters, with Carolina Bérèterbide

UberPolo shop launch, Haslemere – Surrey

Super-duber Uber open UberPolo, stockists of polo clothing and accessories, held their first official shop opening in Haslemere, Surrey, on Friday 14 October.

The opening was attended by the Mayor, local media and many of the local polo community.

“There will be a pop-up shop at the All England Polo Club, Hickstead, at the end of November and more pop-ups are planned for next season” commented Leigh-Anne Moore, owner of UberPolo.

Mansoor Quadri offers Michael Taylor and Alison Bridge canapés

Chris Davies tries out stock with Gary Jones and Chas Taylor

Duane Lent and son Terence

Sallie-Anne Lent and Chris Davies 88

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The Mayor of Haslemere and his wife chat to guests

Leigh-Anne Moore (far left), AEPC’s Sarah Wiseman and Daniel Acosta

Haslemere Mayor Jim Edwards with UberPolo’s Stephanie Edwards-Morgan, Leigh-Anne Moore and Mansoor Quadri

18/11/11 14:21:10

The gardens of One&Only Royal Mirage.

Nice to have somewhere to spread your wings.

Live the moment.

Unique and mesmerising surroundings with all the grandeur, dignity and hospitality of old Arabia with a private beach, oasis-like pools, traditional hammam and inspirational cuisine.

For reservations and further information, please call + 971 4 399 99 99, email reservations@oneandonlyroyalmirage.com or contact your preferred travel professional. oneandonlyresorts.com Bahamas | Cape Town | Dubai | Maldives | Mauritius | Mexico

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18/11/11 14:26:59

Sidelines

Alva Zhang and Izzy Branch, head of stable operations

South African coach Greg Caine with Rowland Wong

The South African quartet of Byron Watson, Dirk van Reenan, Cody Ellis and Forrest Alward

Goldin U18 International Tournament Metropolitan Polo Club, Tianjin, China – 5-6 October 2011 Metropolitan Polo Club president Rowland Wong

Fiona Gu and Susanna Poon

An Oriental feast of young polo

Entertainment at the club after the final

Some of the world’s top up-and-coming players were given real five-star treatment during the inaugural Goldin U18 International Tournament at the Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjin (see page 54).

The night before the tournament the teams, coaches and special guests were invited to a special buffet dinner, featuring cuisine from around the world, by Metropolitan president Rowland Wong.

After the two-day tournament – which saw the club bathed in sunshine throughout – the hundreds of spectators tucked into a delicious barbecue dinner.

Run Forrest, run: South Africa’s Forrest Alward

w Photos by John O’Sullivan

Hotel concierge Daniel Gao, Tony Coppola and Alva Zhang, assistant manager of the club’s stable operations. Daniel and Tony shared the commentating duties over the weekend

Goldin vice chairman Harvey Lee, the Argentine team of Bautista Micheletti, Eduordo Meabe, Santos Nagore and Silvestre Hunter, coach Santiago Gaztambide and Rowland Wong

USA player Russell Stimmel soaks polo director Derek Reid and Santiago Gaztambide with champagne as the England team look on

The Polo Party, Arizona Polo Club, USA – 5 November 2011

Horsepower in all its forms

The fashionable Arizona locals on the sidelines

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The victorious Colombian team

Over 2,500 party-goers attended the inaugural Polo Party at the Arizona Polo Club in Scottsdale, with the theme of “horses and horsepower”. A local team took on a Colombian side on the field, while on the sidelines Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Bugattis from the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale car auction took centre stage. w Photographs by Dave Seibert The eye-catching cars

90

The spectators gather around for the prize giving

There was action in the air as well as on the field

Colombian Diego Florez

Andres Camacho receives his cup

18/11/11 17:15:18

Jo and Austin Clarke

The USA team of Russel Stimmel, Kareem Rosser, Matthew Coppola and Tony Uretz

USA coach Harley Stimmel meets the locals

Imran Usami, Janet Barber and Lois Oliviera

Some Chinese fans pose for a picture with the umpire during the treading in

Bridget Vick of Savills Bob and Charlie Edmondson, Jayne and Martin Boers and Bill Hitchman

USA’s Tony Coppola

Andrew Barnard with Sue Cudmore Lavinia Black and Dan Banks

Jo Scully-Beim

Start of season drinks party, Longdole Polo Club – 21 October 2011 English trio Barney Wilson, Will Berner and Charlie Scott Rowland Wong and English pro Henry Fisher

bide k on

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Ciren’s Nick Musgrave with Charlotte and Guy Verdon

Longdole Polo Club ushered in the start of the arena season with their annual winter drinks party.

Polo manager Rob Cudmore and secretary Jo Scully-Beim invited all of the club’s members, clients and supporters for a right old knees-up at their Gloucestershire-based clubhouse. Guests nibbled canapés supplied by Crown Catering in Cirencester and drank their way through some lovely wine supplied by Sommelier Fine Wines.

Rob Cudmore and Di Whitaker

Alan Partridge

w Photos by Zahra Hanbury

Commentator Steve Lewandowski

NBA star Dan Majerle threw in the first ball

Raising a glass to the new season

Jess Hinaman, Cath Elsmore, Jake LombergWilliams, Fifi Watson and Ali Paterson

The Arabian Horse Association of Arizona sponsored the tournament and put on a show

Austin Clarke, Richie Bucket, Gwyn Bucket and Jo Clarke

Tabba Woodd

18/11/11 12:50:32

The polo directory

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

Temporary Stables G N O

R ST

01837 810209

Rent Or Buy Back to Back American Barns

West of England Stabling

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Polo Times, November/December 2011

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17/11/11 16:35:16

The polo directory

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Special occasion polo cards for birthdays, anniversaries, get well soon, weddings, & baby congratulations; from £2.99 plus p&p Visit www.Katesart.com or txt/tel 07887 678421 or email: enquiries@Katesart.com image copyright protected by Katesart.com 2007

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Polo Times, November/December 2011

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18/11/11 15:28:56

The polo directory

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Polo Times, November/December 2011

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www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 15:00:46

The polo directory

Call Sales on: +44 (0) 1638 507785 Fax us on: +44 (0) 1638 507297 E-mail: info@greenheath.co.uk

HIRE FLEET AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE

Specialists in groundcare & used equipment Supply. For full listings go to: www.greenheath.co.uk

2010 Major 12 ft mounted roller mower. As new, only mowed 50 acres, ex famous residence. Ex our own fleet. Huge saving of new.

2001 2 x 4 John Deere Gator. Very low hours, petrol, ideal yard paddock buggy. Choice of 4 available.

2004 Aebi Banks Mower, one of the best quality front and rear deck mower machines. Will cut grass up to 60 degree banks.

2010 ex our own hire fleet as new TDR 1600 mower. Only mowed 50 acres since new. Ex famous residence.

The best roller mower in the market place. This offers huge saving on new.

Others also available.

2010 Kubota M5040. Under 300 hrs, air con, full spec, grass tyres. Like new, ex our own fleet.

2005, 3500 hrs, 4wd, 140 HP Dyna 6 Massey Fergurson. Very tidy, full service history.

Case MX 140. 2003, 5500 hrs, good tyres, creep box. Tidy.

JCB 520.50. Ex private stud. Very tidy.

Sold with tines. 2000 year.

www.polotimes.co.uk

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Polo Times, November/December 2011

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18/11/11 15:00:55

Classifieds Ponies

GENUINE ARGENTINE SCHOOLMISTRESS 13 year old, 15.1hh, Dun CriolloX mare.

Suitable for anyone from beginner to 0-goal player. No vices, easy in all ways. Plays outdoor and arena. Fit and ready to play. Really kind, lovely temperament. £3,750.

Warwickshire. Tel: 07816 830888 or email info@ offarexpolo.co.uk CHESTNUT GELDING 11 years old, 15.1hh gelding, very quiet nature, easy to work with.

Can be ridden by beginners or more experienced players. Plays grass and arena. Fit and ready to go. For sale due to change in circumstances.

Scotland. £5,500 ono. Tel: 07831 365194 or email thom@thombell.co.uk BREAKING/STARTING YOUNGSTERS 3-goal pro based in Berkshire is available for breaking youngsters or schooling problem ponies for 2012.

Have very good references from high goal team.

Berkshire. POA. Tel: 07899 938856 or email miguelayala353@hotmail.com FOUR YEAR OLD TB MARE 15hh, 4 year old, TB mare, lovely temperament, good mouth, stick and balling. Also 15.1hh, 3 year old, bay filly just as nice. £2,500 each. Oxfordshire. Tel: 07989 712104 or email ben_eeley@hotmail.com

Transport 2000 MERCEDES 10 TONNE HGV Partitioned for seven horses ( or six + tack area), new box 12 months ago, hydraulic ramp, water pump, full Merc service June 2011, sold with 12 months MOT. £15,995 + VAT. Oxfordshire. Tel: 07979 494553 FREE TRACTOR UNIT WITH OAKLEY BUILT TRAILER (WILL SELL TRAILER SEPERATELY) 13yrs old. ‘Plated’ until May 12. Living, tack room and toilet. Will carry eight ponies or six Clysdales. Good condition. £10,000 Ireland. Tel: 00353 872 722977 POLO ONE & POLO TWO number plates.

Ultimate Christmas present for 1 or 2 goal players and/or car and horse box. Free transfer. £5,500 each or £10,000 for the pair. OVNO. Tel: 01208 813695, 07877 771550 or 07877 333970

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Situations POLO PLAYER/TRUCK DRIVER/YOUNG HORSES Looking for a job in the UK as a polo player. Can drive heavy rigid, I am on two goals, 20 years old, quick learner and reliable worker.

Played 8, 10 goal with Glen Gilmore. Tel: +61 430 036350 or email bingu133@hotmail.com ONE-GOAL POLO PLAYER REQUIRED To work and play polo on large sheep/cattle property in West Australia, start late December through to April 2012. Great position for an enthusiastic young person wishing to travel and play polo.

Email for job description and conditions, beeac@ bigpond.com POLO INSTRUCTOR REQUIRED Starting February 2012 full-time, possible permanent role, coaching experience required, HGV license preferable, good package including accommodation. Lincolnshire. Tel: 01400 272885 or email polo@leadenhampoloclub.com

Livery WOOLMERS ARENA 20 MINS, 5 MINS A1 Full Livery. Facilities include - Boarded arena, exerciser, large loose boxes, Paddocks, 3 (arena 5) goal pro, experienced qualified staff. HGV driver available. Excellent outriding. Tel: 07710 262435.

STABLES FOR NEXT SEASON PLUS GROOM’S CARAVAN 12 stables, tack room, groom’s caravan ready for 2012. Plenty of turn out, all weather track, practice polo ground. £20 per box plus VAT. Also a truck available to rent.

Three miles from Cirencester. Tel: 07976 867313

Equipment TEN SADDLES, TACK AND RUGS Some suede saddles barely used. Leather saddles, leathers, irons, girths, surcingles, New Zealand, stable and sweat rugs. One Jeffries event saddle £575 plus another saddle. Tilsbury. Tel: 07814 705225 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. Tel: +44 (0)7860 303217 or visit www.

SportingDesigns.co.uk

POLO SADDLES, STICKS, TACK ETC FOR SALE Polo saddles for sale from £50 to £300, sticks from £35, also tack, bridles, boots and accessories available. Used polo equipment also bought for cash. Please visit www.poloexchange. co.uk. Tel: 07909 965940 or email contact@ poloexchange.co.uk ADAM ELLIS SADDLE English made. Doe skin saddle. Has a layer of prolite padding in. No riser pad is needed. Used for one polo season. Comes with Buffalo Hide stirrup leathers, stirrup irons and English leather breast girth. £500 ono. Cheshire.

Tel: 07701 023130 BOOT JACKS FROM GIVE IT THE BOOT Made for you, your club, your business: Hand-crafted with painted designs for you.

Joinery made jacks, for exclusive branding and affordable and effective promotion. From £7.65.

Cambridgeshire. Visit www.giveittheboot.com.

Tel: 07503 876573. We have been making and supplying boot jacks since 2006.

Miscellaneous AUTOGRAPHS: POLO AND HUNTING 150+ polo and hunting autographs GB, Europe.

Mainly 1900-10. Including Olympic participants, medallists: Nickalls, Alba, Drybrough, Crespigny, Westminster, Grenfell, Wilson, Baden-Powell. Ex Miller family album. £10 - £300. Ireland. Email lawe@eircom.net for a price list.

EXPERIENCED HOUSE SITTER AVAILABLE Can look after all animals including horses.

Reasonable rates, short or long stays considered.

All areas covered. Please contact Charley for a quote and references. Tel: 07885 773815 or email ccudworth@hotmail.com

Submit your classified adverts

online

www.polotimes.co.uk

or contact Sarah

01993 886885 sarah@polotimes.co.uk

www.polotimes.co.uk

18/11/11 15:01:33

Classifieds

Fashion shoot stockists (from pages 68-69) Cotswold Country Clothing www.cotswold-country-clothing. co.uk Hackett London www.hackett.com Hunter www.hunter-boot.com Joules www.joules.com La Martina www.lamartina.com becky@lamartina.com Liberty Freedom www.libertyfreedom.co.uk Pampeano www.pampeano.co.uk Spanish Boot Company www.spanishbootcompany. co.uk Top Secret Hats www.topsecrethats.com UberPolo www.uberpolo.com

Designed by www.nickiaverilldesign.co.uk Printed by The Manson Group Contact details Holbrook Farm, North Leigh Oxfordshire OX29 6PX Tel: 01993 886 885 Fax: 01993 882 660 email: admin@polotimes.co.uk

Advertisers in November/December 2011 Apes Hill Club, Barbados +1 246 262 3286 www.apeshillclub.com Baileys Horse Feeds 01371 850247 www. baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk Beaufort Polo Club 01666 880510 www.beaufortpoloclub. co.uk Berney Brothers Saddlery +35 3 4548 1228 www. berneybrossaddles.com Charles Britton 01270 528797 www.charlesbritton.com Chiltern Equine Clinic 01494 876555 www.chilternequine.com Clark Plates 07787 127368 clarkplates@gmail.com Cool Ice Box 01598 740685 www.coolicebox.co.uk Cotswold Country Clothing 01285 657527 www.cotswoldcountry.co.uk Druids Lodge Polo Club 01722 782597 www.druidspolo.co.uk Dubarry www.dubarry.com EFG www.efginternational.com Equine Logistics Company 01264 810782 www.equine-logisticscompany.com

PT p92-97 Polo directory and Classified JM.indd 7

Estancia La Julia 1886 www.estancialajulia1886.com

La Tarde Polo Club +54 1147989231 www.latardepolo.com

Fabtek Solutions 07794 094011 www. fabteksolutions.com

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Land Rover Centre 01484 542092 www.landrovercentre.com

Polo-Art 01747 830188 www.polo-art.com Polo Permits 01798 869496 www.polopermits.co.uk Pololine www.pololine.com Polo Regs www.poloreg.com

Greenheath 01638 507785 www.greenheath.co.uk

Liberty Freedom 01204 386824 www.libertyfreedom.co.uk

SATS 01285 841542 www.satsfaction.com

Heli Air Westbourne 01789 470476 www.heliair.com

Logic www.logictoday.co.uk

Shahira Industries www.shahiraind.com

Longdole Polo Club 01452 864544 rob@longdolepolo.com

Spanish Boot Company 0845 313 8167 www. thespanishbootcompany. co.uk

Hickstead Ltd 01273 834315 www.hickstead.co.uk Horserail 0118 930 2135 www.aesfencing.com

Luxury Chauffer Transfers 01252 308777 www.luxury-ct.com

Images of Polo www.imagesofpolo.com

Lycetts 01672 512512 www.lycetts.co.uk

In The Saddle www.inthesaddle.com

Melinda Brewer +1 561 602 0410 www.poloart.ca

Jaeger Le Coultre www.jaeger-lecoultre.com Jeremy Curling Fencing 01483 894888 www.jcfc.co.uk

Metropolitan Polo Club +86 22 8372 8888 www. metropolitanpoloclub.com Nomad www.nomad-direct.co.uk

Julius Baer & Co Ltd www.juliusbaer.com

Olivia Adams www.poloservices.com

Kate’s Art 07887 678421 www.katesart.com

One&Only Royal Mirage www. oneandonlyroyalmirage. com

Keep-a-Level 01359 250384 www.keep-a-level.com Kestrel Ltd 01256 880488 www. kestrelcontractors.co.uk

Hernan Alvarez, Miranda Banks, Linda Byrne, Alejandro Comero, Leonora de Ferranti, Andrew Dent, Arthur Douglas Nugent, Lorna Edgar, Mark Emerson, Mike Hobday, Nicola Jagger, Sarah Martin, Clare Milford Haven, Jamie Peel, Paul Roberts, Herbert Spencer, Carlie Trotter

© Polo Times Limited 2011 and Database Right 2011

www.polotimes.co.uk

La Mariposa +54 9 11 5180 1759 www.lamariposapolo. com.ar

Contributors – November/December 2011

www.polotimes.co.uk 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 mark of Polo Times Limited. ISSN 1461-4685

Equine Management Limited 01825 841303 www. worldwidetack.com

Pampeano 0871 2001272 www.pampeano.co.uk Play Polo kim@playpolo.co.uk www.playpolo.co.uk

Steamond Journeys 020 7730 9639 www. steamondjourneys.com Tattersalls 01638 665931 www.tattersalls.com T&S Harker Horse Boxes 01325 332649 www. tandsharkerhorseboxes. co.uk The Thai Polo and Equestrian Club +66 2 650 3055 www.thai-polo-club.com Uber Polo 01428 642671 www.uberpolo.com West of England Stabling 01837 810209 www. westofenglandstabling. co.uk Wood Mallets www.woodmallets.com Yard and Groom www.yardandgroom.com

Subscriptions UK: £55 for one year – £99 for two years Europe: £65 for one year – £115 for two years Rest of the World: £75 for one year – £135 for two years

Call Sarah Foster on +44 (0)1993 886885 Subscribe online: www.polotimes.co.uk Polo Times, November/December 2011

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18/11/11 16:31:02

Final bell

In association with Aprés Polo

Globetrotting one-goaler Charlotte Sweeney’s...

Passions

Georgie May speaks to Ash Farm’s new polo manager about playing abroad, falling off and her biggest ambition in polo Who taught you to play polo?

I started to play in the Pony Club when I was eight years old. I rode a 12.2hh pony called Polo (pictured bottom right), who’d previously taught Jonny Good, Tarquin Southwell and many others. I only had my first proper lesson three years ago – I was always too stubborn to be taught as I preferred to teach myself!

What is your favourite polo memory?

Winning the 12-goal King’s Cup in Madrid in 2009. My friend got me a job out there – I arrived on a Monday and after playing one chukka I was asked to play in the tournament, which started the next day. I was the first girl to play and win the tournament.

Best teammate and why?

Charlie Wooldridge. Playing with him is always fun and never too serious.

Hardest opponent and why?

Marianela Castagnola because she is so tough – it’s like trying to move a brick wall in a rideoff! I seem to always come up against her in ladies’ tournaments and she is hard to beat.

Favourite polo venue?

I’d have to say Ash Farm as it is my home. Outside of that I’d choose Polo Escape in Thailand – it has an infinity pool overlooking the polo ground, which is pretty impressive! I’m going out there again in January to play in their ladies’ tournament for the second time.

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Favourite tournament and why?

The Paul Sweeney Memorial Tournament at Ash Farm, which takes place for the third year on 7-8 January. It’s played in honour of my father, who died in early 2009. Each year we invite four teams to play and it’s always great fun with good players.

Last time you fell off?

I was bucked off a youngster six months ago but the time before is quite a good story. I was riding off Danny Muriel, who then started to

“My dad instilled so much in me. I laugh at myself now because I’m so like him” slip off his horse. I grabbed him to stop him from falling off altogether but, as a result, I ended up on the floor as we went round a corner. Everyone rushed over and I told them I couldn’t move so they all told me to stay still just in case I’d broken my back – what I meant was I couldn’t move because a horse was standing on my pony tail!

Favourite film?

Bridget Jones’s Diary or Snatch – depending what mood I’m in.

What was the first single or album you bought?

Spice by the Spice Girls Most prized possession?

I’m not a very materialistic person so I guess my horses would be my most prized possession. I have 32 in total and about 10 of those are my good playing ponies.

What is your biggest ambition?

To get to two- or three-goals in handicap.

Four-goals would be even better but I think that is very ambitious.

Who has had the biggest influence on your life?

My dad. He instilled so much in me. I sometimes laugh at myself because I now seem to be so like him. He was always so precise about everything – for example, if the chairs weren’t straight in the clubhouse. I used to think he was mad but now I’m really pernickety and find myself straightening the chairs!

What is on your Christmas wish list?

An iPad, a new car, a pair of Jimmy Choo Hunter wellies and a ski holiday to Meribel – I’m really hoping to go out there in April with some friends.

Describe yourself in three words.

Grumpy, blunt and artistic.

www.polotimes.co.uk

17/11/11 16:20:42

The classic Christmas gift.

What will you do in yours?

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The private bank for polo Proud supporters of leading polo teams and events worldwide.

Practitioners of the craft of private banking

EFG Internationalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global private banking network includes offices in Zurich, Geneva, London, Channel Islands, Luxembourg, Monaco, Madrid, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Taipei, Miami, Nassau, BogotĂĄ, Montevideo and Buenos Aires. www.efginternational.com

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