PQ international | Winter 2011 #78

Page 1


A R G E N T I N E P O L O OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP THUNDERING HOOVES. IMPOSSIBLE PRECISION. BALLS HURTLING THROUGH THE AIR AT 160 KM/H. WITH THE VERY FIRST THROW-IN, ALL THE TRADITION, PRESTIGE AND GRACE OF THIS

2,500 -YEAR-OLD “SPORT OF KINGS” COME RACING HEADLONG INTO THE PRESENT. THE WORLD’S GREATEST PL AYERS BATTLE FOR POLO’S OLDEST TITLE, AND WE ARE REMINDED THAT THIS IS NOT A SPORT. IT’S A WAY OF LIFE.

OYSTER PERPETUAL DATEJUST II


118TH A R G E N T I N E POLO O P E N CHAM PI O NSH I P NOVE M B E R 19T H TO DECE MB E R 10TH, 2011




PQ Staff Publisher

PoloLine Inc. info@pololine.com

Editor

Aurora Eastwood aurora@pqinternational.com

Design & Production

Tomás M. Garbers tomas@pqinternational.com

PR and Marketing Director

María Noel Raffo Antin noel@pqinternational.com

Photographs

PoloLine Media Ana Clara Cozzi M&M Productions Images of Polo Alice Gipps Alex Photography Matías Callejo

Contributors

Federico Levy Horace Laffaye Alex Webbe Alejandra Ocampos Diana Butler Eduardo Amaya

Aurora Eastwood Editor

Dara Williams Fashion Editor

Giovanna Eastwood giovanna@pqinternational.com

Travel Editor

PoloLine Travel travel@pololine.com

Printing

Advent Print Group

PQ international 5 Charters Lane, Sunninghill, Ascot, Berkshire. SL5 9NU, United Kingdom Mobile/Cell: +44 (0) 7970 697593 www.pqinternational.com Cover Photo

E-mail: info@pqinternational.com

By Matías Callejo © POLOLINE INC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part strictly prohibited without the permission of the publisher. Although the publisher makes every effort to ensure accuracy, we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or guarantee an advertising insertion, date, position or special position. Views expressed may not necessarily be those of the editor or the publisher.


T HERE ARE STORIES THAT DESERVE TO BE CAPTURED FOREVER.

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Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vallée de Joux, Switzerland, since 1833. www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

5


PQ #78

Calendar Winter

January

February

March

8_Final Herbie Pennel Cup 20 goal International Polo Club, Palm Beach, USA

12_Red Square Snow Polo Cup Moscow, Russia

3_Arena Polo Test Match Hickstead Polo Club, UK

12_Snow Polo Tournament Metropolitan Polo Club, Beijing, China

4_Final Iglehart Cup 20 goal International Polo Cup, Palm Beach, USA

13_Final Nation´s Cup 14 goal Desert Palm PC, Dubai, UAE 21_Final Thai Polo Open 12 goal Thai Polo Club, Thailand 29_Final St Moritz World Cup on Snow 18 goal St Moritz, Switzerland 29_Final Joe Barry Cup 20 goal International Polo Club, Palm Beach, USA

6 | PQ

12_Final Thai Polo Masters 10 goal Thai Polo Club, Thailand 17_Final Dubai Silver Cup 15 goal Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, Dubai, UAE 18_2012 Outback 40 Goal Challenge 40 goal International Polo Club, Palm Beach, USA 26_Final Ylvisaker Cup 20 goal International Polo Club, Pam Beach, USA

4_Final CV Whitney Cup 26 goal International Polo Cup, Palm Beach, USA 9_Final Dubai Gold Cup 15 goal Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, Dubai, UAE 25_Final USPA Gold Cup 26 goal International Polo Cup, Palm Beach, USA 28_US Open Championship 26 goal International Polo Cup, Palm Beach, USA


T HERE ARE STORIES THAT DESERVE TO BE CAPTURED FOREVER.

Whether it’s a transatlantic crossing on a sailboat with friends, or the birth of a child, there are precious, life-changing moments that deserve to be recorded forever. What will yours be? Let our engraving, enamelling and gemsetting artists immortalise your legend. A Reverso just for you. GRANDE REVERSO ULTRA THIN TRIBUTE TO 1931. Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 822. Patent 111/398. Limited series of 500.

YOU DESERVE A REAL WATCH.

Jaeger-LeCoultre in partnership with UNESCO to raise awareness and 7 protect marine World Heritage. A real commitment to a precious cause. www.jaeger-lecoultre.com


Winter Issue 2011 Price £6

Tournaments 12

Tortugas Open 2011 Ellerstina retain the title

16 118th Hurlingham Open La Dolfina wore their Sunday best to take the trophy

26 118th Argentine Open The ultimate Polo or a predictable showdown?

62

Potrillos Cup Prestigious children´s tournament at Palermo

66

III El Remanso Polo Cup Celebration and Style at Salvador María

70

Ellerstina Gold Cup 2011 Time to be Valiant

74

IX Diamond Cup El Remanso continue to celebrate in Cañuelas

82

China Open 2011 Polo goes back to its roots. Where it all began: China

98

US Winter Season Twenty-goal Polo rides into Wellington this fall

102 UK - Hickstead Battle of the Sexes at Hickstead 8 | PQ

Off the Field 78

Handicap Changes - Argentina First Uruguayan 10 goaler

90 Travel The Chinese imperial city

106 World Polo Tour Pablo MacDonough ended 2011 on top

112 Legal Setting up a new Polo Yard The Polo Stud Farm – Protecting Tax Reliefs

116 Photographer/artist Matías Callejo Argentinian Polo shots!

124 Horse Jet Lag Enhanced performance in horses travelling across time zones

126 High Goal Pony Review 2011 Best ponies of Argentine Season

128 Artist Sally Lancaster - Portrait & Equestrian Artist


#78

Contents

Lifestyle 131 Fashion Fall in Love with Colour this Season

133 Fashion Designer in the spotlight

Interviews 104 Neil Hobday Cool in the hot seat

108 Tom Morley A superb horseman and consummate professional

134 Men Fashion Autumn/Winter

137 Fragances Room Fragrance – 3 of the best

138 Cosmetics Night Workers

140 Watches Time Design

144 Motoring SUVs that break the sound barrier Super Saloons

148 Sailing Sea Horses

150 Foodie Choices Best eateries in town

PQ | 9


Winter Issue 2011

Editorial

As 2011 draws to a close, it is time to reflect on a year of Polo. Polo in Europe seems ever more popular, with clubs springing up in more locations and in more countries - Eastern Europe included. As for China - the long term benefits/effects of the entry into polo of this powerful nation remain to be seen. We live in interesting times. Snow polo is increasingly popular, with tournaments practically every weekend throughout the winter in Europe, and a successful fixture or two in Argentina. The settings of most are beautiful, and the proximity of it all makes it a great spectator sport and a sponsor’s dream. The high goal season in Europe was hugely popular, and followed swiftly by the much anticipated Argentine season. Sadly this proved to be a two horse race; whilst it is great to see talent rise to the top, it would be nice to have more teams in the running. Perhaps the mooted changes will shake things up a little in 2012. 2012 - an Olympic year. Hopefully this will strengthen the high goal in the UK even more, as amid the gloom of the Eurozone economy, surely witnessing great sporting achievements will inspire us all. As for PQ - we have made a big effort to make the magazine appeal to not just players, but friends, wives, husbands... A vastly increased lifestyle section means that there really should be something for everyone. Enjoy!

Aurora Eastwood Editor

10 | PQ

Photo: Tang Polo Club, Beijing, China



Tortugas Open 2011

Ellerstina retain the title By Federico Levy. Photos by Matías Callejo.

The boys in black keep the trophy for the fifth year in a row. The Argentine season kicked off with the Tortugas Open. All eyes were undoubtedly on La Dolfina and Ellerstina with their new line-ups. It wasn’t just any old final. Five of the eight players in the final; Adolfo Cambiaso Jr, Facundo and Gonzalo Pieres Jr, Pablo Mac Donough and Juan Martín Nero have won the title on different occasions playing for Ellerstina, and were now playing against each other to contest the title which La Dolfina have yet to win.

outgunned both tactically and literally. Facundo’s horses, Open Galáctica, Tarántula and Pasarela were unable to reach their full power, and it was Nicolás who scored his team’s first goal aboard Open 82. During the first chukkas, La Dolfina was superior. In finding and taking better advantage of opening spaces on the field, they managed to take a fair lead on the scoreboard. On Irenita Supremo, Pablo Mac Donough scored the fifth goal for his team.

The Final

The best part of the match began with the seventh chukka with a six-goal difference in favour of La Dolfina, however on Open Farándula, Facundo took advantage of the situation and scored a penalty. Gonzalo scored on Machitos Levis Dos, followed by another from Nachi on Little Wing. A goal by Nicolás was followed by two from Facundo. 13-11 to La Dolfina. The last chukka started showcased some of the world’s best ponies; Dolfina Panam, Brama, Irenita

Juan Martín Nero scored the first two goals. In the second chukka, playing Dolfina Panam, BPP of the 2011 Jockey Club Open, Adolfito scored his first two goals, and then proceeded to display a list of wellknown ponies including: Foxi, 31, Bruma and Dolfina Borrachera. In Ponyline Z, it seemed as though the partial result wasn’t what everyone had expected. They were 12 | PQ


Nico Pieres

PQ | 13


Juan Martín Nero

Golosa and Chapa Moulin Rouge for La Dolfina and Open Pasarela, Open Guillermina, Open Cibernética and Layla for Ellerstina. A foul in favour of Ellerstina was converted by Facundo. The pace was intense, the clock was ticking away. Tension built... With just over a minute remaining, another penalty in favour of Ellerstina was converted by Facundo, tying the game 13-13. With just 40 seconds to go, Ellerstina fouled and conceded a 60yd penalty. Adolfito took the shot, stopped in the air by Gonzalito, who galloped off to score – and win. For the fifth time, Ellerstina has managed to win the Tortugas Open title, thus extending their undefeated streak with a clearly good and title-promising future ahead. It was a vibrant final match for all polo lovers, who ended the first Triple Crown tournament with a smile on their faces after having enjoyed an excellent level of polo. 14 | PQ

“The truth is that I can’t ask for more. This is incredible, especially taking into account the way the match was panning out. We started off playing badly, but luckily we managed to step it up. We realized that we could do it and everything turned out well. At first, we could not find any open spaces to shoot the ball into the goal. They played better than we did, and no matter how much we tried, we were not managing to execute any of our plays on the field. Later on, I think it was we who made a change because we became more confident. And, as the goals start rolling in, you gradually gain confidence in yourself.” Nicolás Pieres.


Gonzalo Pieres Jr and Pablo Mac Donough

Tortugas Open 2011 // Teams & Info Zone 1 La Dolfina Adolfo Cambiaso Jr Pablo Mac Donough David Stirling Jr Juan Martín Nero

39 10 10 9 10

La Aguada Javier Novillo Astrada Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr Miguel Novillo Astrada Ignacio Novillo Astrada

36 9 9 9 9

Pilará Bautista Heguy Tomás García del Rio Hilario Ulloa Cristian Laprida Jr

33 8 8 9 8

37 10 9 10 8

Estancia Grande Agustín Merlos Lucas Monteverde Sebastián Merlos Bartolomé Castagnola

36 9 9 9 9

Indios Chapaleufú II Alberto Heguy Jr Alejandro Novillo Astrada Marcos di Paola Eduardo Heguy

32 8 8 8 8

Zone 2 Ellerstina Facundo Pieres Ignacio Heguy Gonzalo Pieres Jr Nicolás Pieres

Place: Buenos Aires, Argentina Club: Tortugas CC Date: September 27 October 16, 2011 Level: 40 goal WPT Tournament: WPT Championship Cup Winner Points: 100 Finalist Points: 50 Rest of Player Points: 25 Winner: Ellerstina Polo Team MVP: Facundo Pieres BPP: Open Cibernética (Gonzalo Pieres Jr) PQ | 15


118th Hurlingham Open

La Dolfina wore their Sunday best to take the trophy The 118th Hurlingham Open kicked off in the best possible way with La Dolfina Dubai’s debut against Chapa Uno, the qualified team who were making their first appearance in the 2011 Triple Crown Tournament. And the Open Championship ended on an even higher note with the best game of the season played at Hurlingham, a vibrant 19-18 result between La Dolfina and Ellerstina, in which both line-ups showed why they are the best teams in the world. Two quartets referred to as “small teams”, who qualified for Hurlingham and Palermo, achieved victory against line-ups with a higher handicap. Chapa Uno beat Pilará 13-12, and Alegría did likewise against Indios Chapaleufú II.

The Long-awaited Final They kicked off with Adolfo Cambiaso scoring the first goal on a penalty shot. This brought about an immediate response in a draw achieved by Facundo Pieres who, in turn, allowed Ellerstina to take a 2-1 lead, though only for a short while, as Cambiaso returned the

La Dolfina, winner of Hurlingham Open

16 | PQ

courtesy and scored a goal and tied the match at 2-2 before the break. The second chukka was as evenlybalanced as the first. Once again, both Facundo and Cambiaso, achieved another draw (3-3), but then Nico Pieres cranked Ellerstina up to a 4-3 lead. The second period was tied at 4-4, with another goal scored by Adolfo Cambiaso. Up until that point, it was what most people had expected: a very even and extremely tight game, with both teams running to and fro aiming at each other’s goal posts, oiling their attack and defence mechanisms. But then came the third chukka...


Bartolomé Castagnola and Adolfo Cambiaso Jr

La Dolfina managed to dominate the situation. A penalty shot by Adolfo Cambiaso, in addition to a great goal scored after a magnificent play by Pablo MacDonough, enabled La Dolfina to take a 6-4 lead. Ellerstina were able to tie the score after two goals by Gonzalito Pieres, but this did not last long, as once again Cambiaso and Mac Donough responded allowing La Dolfina to take a 8-6 lead before the break. La Dolfina made their intentions very clear in the following chukka. Another two goals cranked them up to 10-6, while Ellerstina scored none. After half time, La Dolfina continued to attack with a knife between their teeth, and dominated the game as they pleased. By the end of the fifth, they had taken a considerable lead: 13-7; the defending champions barely scored one goal throughout two whole chukkas. Ellerstina won the sixth chukka 3-2, but the Cañuelas team continued to take a 15-10 lead in the overall result. In the seventh, Cambiaso stretched the difference to 1610, whereupon Ellerstina woke up from their lethargy, winning that chukka 4-1, with four goals on penalty by Facundo Pieres. They reduced the difference to two goals: 16-14. History repeated itself: But this time, Cambiaso and company were not going to allow a repeat of last year’s game. The eighth chukka began with a penalty by Cambiaso. Then came a goal from Pelón Stirling after a

Hurlingham Open Results Tuesday, October 18th La Dolfina 23 vs Chapa Uno 11 Pilará 17 vs Estancia Grande 15 Wednesday, October 19th Ellerstina 18 vs Alegría 11 La Aguada 15 vs Indios Chapaleufú II 10 Saturday, October 22nd Chapa Uno 13 vs Pilará 12 La Dolfina 20 vs Estancia Grande 10 Monday, October 24th La Aguada 12 vs Alegría 10 Ellerstina 14 vs Indios Chapaleufú II 12 Saturday, October 29th Estancia Grande 19 vs Chapa Uno 16 La Dolfina 17 vs Pilará 9 Sunday, October 30th Indios Chapaleufú II 12 vs Alegría 13 Ellerstina 14 vs La Aguada 12 Saturday, November 5th - Final La Dolfina 19 vs. Ellerstina 18

PQ | 17


Nachi Heguy

Statistics Goals scored: 372 (average of 28 per match). Final: Average total of 4.6 goals per chukka played (37 goals in the game). Lowest total per game: La Aguada and Alegría (22 goals).

great play: 18-14. Cambiaso scored another and cranked it up to 19-14. With barely 5 minutes to go, many people must have thought the game had been polished off... Ellerstina began a race with the objective of turning the result around and at least tried to force them into an extra chukka. Just as it happened in the game against La Aguada, Facundo Pieres brought out his entire artillery, and scored no less than four goals (three scored on well-executed plays and one on a penalty shot), enabling Ellerstina to reduce the difference to just one goal, to achieve a 19-18 result, with little over a minute left before the end of the match. La Dolfina Dubai’s defence rallied and despite Ellerstina’s best efforts, the clock continued to tick, the bell rang and La Dolfina won 19-18. The Cañuelas team’s brand-new line-up managed to take the second link of the Triple Crown. Ellerstina, after winning 17 games in a row, lost their unbeaten record along with their dream of a second consecutive Triple Crown.

18 | PQ


Hilario Ulloa and Jaime García Huidobro

Hurlingham Open 2011 // Teams & Info Zone 1 La Dolfina Adolfo Cambiaso Jr Pablo Mac Donough David Stirling Jr Juan Martín Nero

39 10 10 9 10

Estancia Grande Agustín Merlos Lucas Monteverde Sebastián Merlos Bartolomé Castagnola

36 9 9 9 9

Pilará Bautista Heguy Tomás García del Rio Hilario Ulloa Cristian Laprida Jr

33 8 8 9 8

Chapa Uno Pablo Pieres Guillermo Caset Jr Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade Jaime García Huidobro

32 8 8 8 8

37 10 9 10 8

La Aguada Javier Novillo Astrada Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr Miguel Novillo Astrada Ignacio Novillo Astrada

36 9 9 9 9

Indios Chapaleufú II Alberto Heguy Jr Alejandro Novillo Astrada Julio Arellano Eduardo Heguy

33 8 8 9 8

Alegría Frederick Mannix Francisco Bensadón Mariano Aguerre Francisco de Narvaez Jr

32 7 8 9 8

Zone 2 Ellerstina Facundo Pieres Ignacio Heguy Gonzalo Pieres Jr Nicolás Pieres

Place: Hurlingham, Argentina Club: Hurlingham Club Date: October 18 - November 6, 2011 Level: 40 goal

WPT Tournament: WPT Championship Cup Winner Points: 150 Finalist Points: 75

Rest of Player Points: 35 Winner: La Dolfina Polo Team MVP: Adolfo Cambiaso Jr

BPP: Open Tarantula (Facundo Pieres) Match Top Scorer: Facundo Pieres PQ | 19


20 | PQ


Rodriigo Ribeiro de Andrade and Adolfo Cambiaso Jr PQ | 21


Fred Mannix and Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr

What’s in a name?

British Exports

The Hurlingham Club, Argentina, shares the same name as the Hurlingham Club, London. The London club was founded in 1869, and was once a polo club (hosting polo as part of the Olympics in 1908). It lost its grounds following a compulsory purchase order after World War Two and polo was no more - until Polo in the Park a few years ago (albeit on a much smaller ground). The Hurlingham Club in Argentina was founded in 1888 by ex-pat Brits, and eventually gave the name to the nearby town that sprang up. Hurlingham brought polo to Argentina; it was the first place polo was played.

Although it was the English who introduced polo to Argentina, it did not take long for the pupils to get better than the teachers; Argentina soon eclipsed Britain as the dominant force in polo. Perfect topography, geology and climate, coupled with plenty of space and cheap horse costs (back then!) made for the perfect combination for success.

22 | PQ


Due to an injury to his nose, Pablo had to wear a protective faceguard throughout both Hurlingham and Palermo.

Facundo Pieres

PQ | 23


La Dolfina Polo Team

La Aguada Polo Team

Indios ChapaleufĂş II Polo Team

Chapa Uno Polo Team


Ellerstina Polo Team

Estancia Grande Polo Team

Pilarรก Polo Team

Alegria Polo Team


118th Argentine Open

The ultimate Polo or a predictable showdown? By Aurora Eastwood. Photos by MatĂ­as Callejo and Alice Gipps. 26 | PQ


PQ | 27


La Dolfina, Winner of Argentine Open

Has the world’s best polo tournament lost its lustre? Indisputably the highest level of polo in the world in the most unique setting in the world, nonetheless the tournament has become predictable. From the outset La Dolfina and Ellerstina were all but guaranteed to be in the final, and the league system in place this year meant that many games were of no consequence, the placings of the teams having already been determined in previous games. There is no easy solution and let us see what changes are afoot for 2012.

Julio Novillo Astrada and Juan Martín Nero 28 | PQ

Semi Finals

La Dolfina vs La Aguada La Dolfina had already qualified under the league system, so the game against La Aguada was academic; La Aguada were suffering from the loss of key players due to injury – no Miguel meant the team lost its leader. After an even start, La Dolfina ignited the afterburners and were away, a disjointed La Aguada reeling in the turbulence.


David Stirling Jr Tomás García del Rio

Luke Tomlinson

Luke Tomlinson, the highly talented, softly spoken (most of the time!) gentleman and best British player was the beneficiary of Tomás García Del Rio’s unfortunate injury. Tomás broke a wrist early on in the season and Luke replaced him for Hurlingham and the Argentine Open. La Aguada´s Miguel Novillo Astrada injured a riding muscle playing in the Rolex Gold Cup at Ellerstina and brother Javier was injured in another game. Replaced by Ignacio Toccalino and Julio Novillo Astrada, the team didn’t quite gel.

Miguel Novillo Astrada

Ignacio Toccalino

Javier Novillo Astrada

Julio Novillo Astrada

PQ | 29


118th Argentine Open // Teams & Info Zone 1 La Dolfina Adolfo Cambiaso Jr Pablo Mac Donough David Stirling Jr Juan Martín Nero

39 10 10 9 10

Estancia Grande Agustín Merlos Lucas Monteverde Sebastián Merlos Bartolomé Castagnola

36 9 9 9 9

Pilará Bautista Heguy Tomás García del Rio Hilario Ulloa Cristian Laprida Jr

33 8 8 9 8

Chapa Uno Pablo Pieres Guillermo Caset Jr Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade Jaime García Huidobro

32 8 8 8 8

37 10 9 10 8

La Aguada Javier Novillo Astrada Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr Miguel Novillo Astrada Ignacio Novillo Astrada

36 9 9 9 9

Indios Chapaleufú II Alberto Heguy Jr Alejandro Novillo Astrada Julio Arellano Eduardo Heguy

33 8 8 9 8

Alegría Frederick Mannix Francisco Bensadón Mariano Aguerre Francisco de Narvaez Jr

32 7 8 9 8

Zone 2 Ellerstina Facundo Pieres Ignacio Heguy Gonzalo Pieres Jr Nicolás Pieres

Place: Buenos Aires, Argentina WPT Tournament: Club: AAP Palermo Grand Slam Date: November 19 - December 9, 2011 Winner Points: 200 Level: 40 goal 30 | PQ

Finalist Points: 100 Rest of Player Points: 50 Winner: La Dolfina Polo Team


Cristian Laprida Jr followed by a crowd

PQ | 31


Agustín Merlos

Agustín Merlos played the season with a new team, Estancia Grande, reaching the semi finals of the Argentine Open. The team comprised Agustin, his brother Sebastián, Lucas Monteverde and Lolo Castagnola.

Ellerstina vs Estancia Grande This game did actually need a result; whoever won, went through. Estancia Grande, knowing they were outgunned on the horse front, decided to try to slow Ellerstina down – cue endless fouls and a lamentably dull game on the whole - the odd flash of brilliance maintained interest from the spectators – but one person in Tribuna C was actually asleep for three of the chukkas.

Final

La Dolfina vs Ellerstina Outplayed. Although Ellerstina won the first lineout, the game was La Dolfina’s through and through. 32 | PQ


Gonzalo Heguy Award MVP Adolfo Cambiaso Jr Lady Susan Townley BPP Award Dolfina Buenaventura (owned by Adolfo Cambiaso Jr) Best Mounted Player of the Final Juan Martín Nero Gonzalo Tanoira Award to the Best mounted of the tournament Adolfo Cambiaso Jr Tito Lezcano Award to the Best Groom Gustavo Gómez (groom to Dolfina Buenaventura) AACP Award Anay Dulce (owned and breeded by Marcos Heguy, played by Juan Martín Nero) Top Scorer Facundo Pieres (37)

Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade

Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade and Frederick Mannix were some of the non-argentine players that participated in the last Argentine Triple Crown.

Fred Mannix

Non-Argentine Players 2011 Team Country David Stirling La Dolfina Uruguay Luke Tomlinson Pilará England Frederick Mannix Alegría Canada Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade Chapa Uno Brazil Jaime García Huidobro Chapa Uno Chile PQ | 33


34 | PQ


Standout players Established Royalty Adolfo Cambiaso - the legend continues. Now in his late thirties, he shows no signs of slowing down. The man has been the best for 20 years. Facundo Pieres - the boy wonder continues to dazzle, and is snapping at Cambiaso’s heels. His stickwork whilst moving at speed is something to behold. Gonzalito Pieres - the ubercool brain of the team and holds them all together. Fransisco Bensadon - played an absolute blinder in his game against Chapa 2. Worth every inch of his 8 goal handicap. Agustín Merlos - goal scoring wonder. Enough said. Bautista Heguy - has been back on form. I remember him playing almost 20 years ago and it’s good to see he has his mojo. Pelón Stirling - nice guy, superb player, no fuss or drama, just does his job and does it exceedingly well.

Pretenders to the throne Sapo Caset - watch out for this man. He’s very, very good and is only going to get better. A future 10 goaler? I’ll put money on it. He’s already there in the USA, but arguably Argentina and the UK is where it really matters.

Nico Pieres - baby brother is growing up fast and has been a tremendous attacking player. His place on the team was well deserved.

Gonzalo Pieres Jr PQ | 35


Juan Martín Nero and Nicolás Pieres

Horses

Favourite moments

Here are the most noticeable in the final – in Alphabetical order! Anay Dulce – Juan Martín Nero Bruma – Cambiaso Buenaventura – Cambiaso Cuarterera – Cambiaso Jijiji – Nachi Heguy Legend – Cambiaso Pasarela – Facu Pieres (so said the man himself) Spooky – Facu Pieres (ditto)

Pablo’s staggering skill on display in the second chukka when avoiding Nachi Heguy’s attempts to hook him. Watch the DVD as it was incredible. Juan Martin locking eyes with Cambiaso at the end of the seventh and doing a tiny raise of his stick. They knew.

No horses, no polo!

36 | PQ


Cristian Laprida Jr Adolfo Cambiaso Jr

Statistics

320 HORSES

worth some...

ÂŁ40,000,000 32

32 of the best players in the world

15,000

Final Match Tickets Sold

PQ | 37


38 | PQ


Cambiaso scored the first goal, took the lead and never let Ellerstina past on the scoreboard. Though the first chukka ended even, it was as close as it got. La Dolfina’s lead inexorably grew, as they repeatedly shut the door in the faces of the boys in black; even when Ellerstina did get chances, things didn’t work for them; unlucky bounces, balls hit just wide, missed penalties.

It just wasn’t their day, their game. The occasionally standout play (Pablo McDonough’s truly breathtaking display of stickwork, left, right, round, left, right, whilst being harried by Nachi Heguy was the most memorable demonstration of skill in recent time) and flashy, long shots by Nico and Facu went some way to increasing the enjoyment of the spectators in what was otherwise a rather unremarkable final - endless fouls and a steadily increasing lead by La Dolfina meant that there was no real sense of competition. It was apparent by the second chukka that La Dolfina were having things their way. The fifth chukka was the best to watch but by the sixth it really was all over for Ellerstina. Trailing 16-8 by the end of the seventh, a subtle pump of the fist and knowing glance between Juan Martin and Cambiaso said it all; they knew they’d won, even with a chukka to go. The final chukka was purely academic. Ellerstina pulled back a couple of goals but were sailing a sinking ship. The final bell marked the biggest goal difference in a final for many years; 16-10.

David Stirling Jr and Gonzalo Pieres Jr PQ | 39


Triple Crown Argentine 2011

Bagpipe players at Hurlingham Open

Ludovic and Sebastien Pailloncy with their mother and friend Matthieu

INPROTUR’s Mariano Mussa, Javier Herrera, Luis Lalor and Sebastián Amaya

José Santamarina (Hurlingham PC) and Luis Lalor (AAP)

Loli Monteverde

Gerardo Vianini, Massimo Pellegatta, Giovanna Vianini and Elio Nardi

Matías Mac Donough, Prince and Jerome Wirth

Luis Lalor with Oscar García and Anthony Schaub from Rolex

Corinne Schuler and her husband

Lia Salvo and Saskia Karina

Pals Satinder Garcha and Hissam Al Hyder

Pierre and Sybille Genecand

Facundo Pieres and his niece

James Beim, Tom Morley and Romila Arber

Former US Open tennis champion, Juan Martin del Potro and Santiago Garrahan

Walter Schwab with wife Irina and baby boy Alvaro


Triple Crown Argentina 2011

Malcolm Borwick and friend Bettina

Nacho Figueras and son Hilario

Ali Albwardy and Rodrigo Medrano

Gloria and Marcos Heguy with Beatrice Vuille-Wille

Liu Shilai and business partner Nan, from Tang Polo Club, in Beijing, and Sebastian Amaya

Fred Mannix, wife Kelsea, Emilia and Clemente Zavaleta, and Julian Mannix

Costanza and Vittoria Marchiorello with mom Roberta

Jean Dominique Gontrand, Mariano Mussa (Inprotur), Corinne Schuler (St Tropez PC), Claude Moniscalco and wife and Stephanie Bocchino (A tout France)

María Emilia Zavaleta with daughter Mili and her baby Belisario

Ben Soleimani and Ruki Baillieu

Memo Gracida and friend

Cacho and Sebastián Merlos

Skee and Gillian Johnston

Guillermo Fernández Llanos and Camilo Bautista

Football star, Gabriel Batistuta and wife Irina

Oussama Aboughazale with Carlos Gracida


Argentine Season 2011

Gonzalo Pieres Jr. and Anthony Schaub from Rolex at Copa de Oro Ellerstina Hilario Ulloa´s girlfriend Clara at Copa de Oro Ellerstina

Malcolm and Alejandra Borwick, with their lovely baby girl Inés and Cristian Sporleder at Copa de Oro Ellerstina

Francisco and Luis Escobar at Copa de Oro Ellerstina

Facundo Pieres, Tatiana Pieres with niece Violeta, Cecilia Pieres, Lola Aguerre, and Gonzalo Pieres Jr at Copa de Oro Ellerstina Alejandro Garrahan, Gonzalo Pieres, Alfonso Pieres and Mariano Aguerre at Copa de Oro Ellerstina

Francisco Ayala, Mariano Gonzalez, Hector Guerrero, Ale Agote and Ben Soleimani at Copa de Oro Ellerstina

Celina Caset and Agustín Merlos at Julio Novillo Astrada Cup

Franck Dubarry and Gonzalo Pieres at Copa de Oro Ellerstina

Guillermo Ricaldoni, and Frank Juhel from Jaeger-LeCoultre

Tomas Ussher, wife Laura and kids at Copa de Oro Ellerstina

Thomas Hume, Juan Pablo Alessandrini, Caro Zimmermann and Inés Pondal with husband Juan, at Julio Novillo Astrada Cup


Chantilly Polo Club… a unique exPerienCe within your reaCh…

B

aron de Rothschild certainly was inspired when he organized back in the 1920’s, the first polo match precisely on the territory where

the «Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly» is located

D

uring our polo season, you can play in the numerous tournaments that are organized including women’s polo and junior polo. The

schedule is available on the Chantilly Polo Club’s web-

today.

site : www.poloclubchantilly.com

The size of the landscape is fascinating. Immensity

Winter : Practice and tournaments on sand fields

is overwhelming. Above the players, the sky seems

April : 0-4 / 4-6 goals

almost reachable when the view on the polo fields and

May-June : 0-4 / 6-8 / 10-12 goals

the meadows extends out of sight only caught by a

July : Ladies Polo Cup 0-2 / 4-6 / 8-10 goals

beautiful XVIII° century farm construction.

September : 0-4 / 6-8 / French Open 14-16 goals October : 0-4 goals

Patrick GUERRAND HERMES, founder of the «Polo Club de Chantilly» together with his crew has suc-

The Polo school is open to every level polo players

cessfully integrated the club into this «green ocean»

from beginners to expert. Classes are collective or

situated in the heart of the domain forest of the Chan-

individual.

tilly castle : - 220 hectares

The Pony Club welcomes children from 3 years old,

- 150 hectares of pasture land

with pony polo, riding lessons, and rides in the do-

- 700 horses in hight season

main’s forest.

- 500 matches per year Qality polo ponies are available for rent at the club. Fields matching the International Polo Federation specifications :

Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly

- 1 field in «fiber» for competition finals

60300 Apremont

- 8 competition grass fields

+33 3 44 64 04 30

- 2 «all weather» sand fields

secretariat@poloclubchantilly.com


Golf - Challege Cup Pilará 2011

Bautista Heguy and Pilará´s Enrique Ruete

Marcos Heguy

Alejandro Novillo Astrada

Facundo Pieres

Winners, Estancia Grande - Lucas Monteverde, Tony Pecci, Bartolomé Castagnola and Marcelo Frayssinet

Nicolás Pieres

Gonzalo Pieres

Second place for Alegria - Tom Morley, Alfred Goti, Fred Mannix and Ignacio Anzorreguy


Guards Polo Club in Argentina - Cocktail at Four Seasons Hotel

Neil Hobday, Clive Reid, Jan Bladen and Jeremy Pewberton

VIP guests

Ana Clara Cozzi, Heather Poter and Lupe Roldan

Manuel Plaza, Vieri Antinori, Gato Romero, Juan José Diaz Alberdi, Marcos Araya and Pancho Marín Moreno Oliver Ellis, Florencia Cavalieri, James Turner and Neil Hobday

Neil Hobday and former golf player “Gato” Romero

Ali Albwardi, Rebeca Selley Morales, Fabio Diniz and Martín Valent


Auction - La Aguada 2011 at Jockey Club

Jockey Club, San Isidro, Buenos Aires

Alejandro Novillo Astrada and Gonzalo Pieres

Rayo Materia bought by Virasoro

David Stirling Jr, Eduardo Heguy and MartĂ­n Valent

Joao Paulo Gannon and Livia Torres

Guillermo Fernandez Llanos Ignacio Novillo Astrada and Camilo Bautista

Adolfo Cambiaso Jr and Bob Jounayvaz

Esteban Ciponelli, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Rodrigo Rueda

Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr


Auction - La Irenita 2011

La Irenita, Pilar, Buenos Aires Cristian Laprida Jr and Facundo Pieres

Marcos Heguy and friend

Salvador and Hilario Ulloa with cousin Juan Isla

Nick Manifold, Bob Jornayvaz and Santiago Bottaro

Javier Tanoira and MatĂ­as Mac Donough

Frank Dubarry and his son


Black & White Polo Party 2011

Miguel Novillo Astrada and Sofia Lago

Alix and Malcolm Borwick with Bettina Bahlsen

Camilo Bautista and wife Rocio

Pablo Mac Donough and wife Mechi

Luke Tomlinson and Cata Zavaleta

Cristian Laprida Jr and Tomás García del Rio

Matías Mac Donough, Malcolm Borwick and wife Alix

Fred and Julian Mannix

Mark Tomlinson and Joao Paulo Ganon

Marcos Heguy and Gonzalo Pieres Jr


Black & White Polo Party 2011

Astrid Muñoz and Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr

Tatiana Pieres, Mariano Aguerre and María Rapetti

María Rapetti and friend

Hernán, Polito and Facundo Pieres

Gastón Lauhle and wife Verónica

Frank Juhel, Jaeger-LeCoultre

Tomás Gandara and girlfriend

Astrid Muñoz, Gillian Johnston, Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr and Skee Johnston,

Luke Tomlinson betting

Fred Mannix, Clemente Zavaleta Jr and Gonzalo Pieres Jr


PoloLine, El Esteco & La Indiana end of the Season party

Live show

Valeria Buechele from Licere International PR and friend

Sebastiรกn Malugani, Marcelo Lufrano and wife and Javier Herrera PoloLine Director

Federico Levy and friend

Jean Dominique Gontrand general director from St. Tropez PC, Mariano Mussa, INPROTUR, brazilian journalist and Sebastian Amaya, PoloLine


PoloLine, El Esteco & La Indiana end of the Season party

Metegol: PoloLine vs Pailloncy brothers

Ruki Baillieu and Javier Herrera

Flipper


FIP World Cup 2011

Fiercely fought 14 goal polo By Aurora Eastwood. Photos by Melito Cerezo. Following the qualifiers around the world, the most recent ending just days before in Italy, the final cut of ten nations made it to San Luis Province; many hundreds of kms from Buenos Aires. Whilst perhaps an usual geographical choice, it was well equipped and the horses were of a standard that didn’t elicit too many complaints. Whilst restricting this tournament to 14 goal is frowned up on by some, dismissed as silly by others, the reality is that playing the tournament Open would

Argentina World Cup Champions 52 | PQ

result in the same teams always in the top three; Argentina would always win, Brazil and England would battle it out for second. Thrills and spills abounded; the favourites lived up to their reputation... Brazil, Argentina, England, Italy. Sadly England lost to Brazil, denying them a place in the final. Clearly lacking “gana” in their 3rd/4th playoff, they lost to Italy.


FIP World Cup // Teams & info League A

League B

Argentina Pablo Llorente Alfredo Capella Martín Inchauspe Salvador Jauretche

14 4 4 5 1

Australia Alex White Dirk Gould Matt Grimes Will White

14 2 5 5 2

India Ravi Rathore Visham Chauhan Samir Suhag Tarun Sirohi

13 3 2 5 3

Brazil Beto Junqueira Pedro Junqueira Zende Junqueira Joao Novaes

14 1 5 4 4

Italy Martín Logioco Juan Jauretche Francisco de Elizalde Manuel de Elizalde

14 3 4 5 2

Chile Felipe Vercellino Max Silva Ignacio Vercellino Juan Sanchez

14 2 2 5 5

Mexico Alejandro Gonzalez Keil Alejandro Gomez de Parada Valerio Aguilar Pancho Aguilar

13 1 3 5 4

England Nick Britten Long Jack Richardson Max Charlton Ed Hitchman

14 2 3 4 5

Pakistan Ahmed Tiwana Temur Nadeem Raja Sami Saqib Khahwani

13 3 2 4 4

USA Chris Collins Mason Wroe Nick Snow John Gobin

14 2 3 4 5

Place: San Luis, Argentina Club: Estancia Grande Polo Club Date: October 10-21, 2011 Level: 14 goal Tournament Type: Handicap Tournament Director: AAP Winnter: Argentina Polo Team Finalist: Brazil Polo Team Third Place: Italy Polo Team MVP: Alfredo Capella (Argentina) BPP: Poupée (owned by Francisco Dorignac

The final between Argentina and Brazil was a gloriously passionate affair; much support was evident on the sidelines for both sides - and very colourful and vocal it was too. It was a close game, Argentina winning by just two goals. Alfredo Capella and Salvador Jauretche really stood out – the latter at just 14 years old. Brazil’s Pedro Junqueira is a steal off five goals and is sure to go up now the tournament is over. Joao Novaes is also pretty handy – and is a regular on the Euro circuit in the summer.

Pablo Llorente PQ | 53


Cuatro Tacos Cup

Inaugural tournament at the Tomlinson´s beautiful club in Pilar By Aurora Eastwood. Photos by Caroline Smail. Its always a daunting prospect to get a new tournament off the ground, but La Quinta's Mark Tomlinson was determined - and it paid off. Three teams between 15 and 18 goals took part in the first Cuatro Tacos Cup at La Quinta in the first week of December.

Cowdray, La Paz and PQ - Pololine The final took place between Lila Pearson's Cowdray and George Gemmel's La Paz. The Cowdray line up was Lila Pearson, Mark Tomlinson, Tom Morley and Andrew Willans. La Paz was George Gemmel, Jose Latirigoyen, Joao Paolo Ganon and Felu Anzorreguy In a very close and a well fought game after 6 chukkas the scores were tied. Given it was the end of the season and the horses had all had a busy few months, it was decided that there should be a penalty shoot out as opposed to an extra chukka.

Believe it or not this was tied too so with light fading and an Argentine asado awaiting it was decided that the spoils should be shared. However there was a slight quandry! "I'm not sure what will be engraved on the very smart cup but I am sure we’ll think of something!" Said Mark, of the trophy generously given by Mariano Montivero of Cuatro Tacos. The third team consisted of Tomás Brouse (1), Tomy Reinoso (4), Juan Curbelo (6) and Pichi Laporta (4). All the games were played in a very friendly spirit with clean and fast open Polo and with several 12 and 14 goal tournaments going on at this time it is hoped that at 18 goal this La Quinta tournament will attract those players and teams looking for a slightly higher level of Polo. 2012 will certainly see the tournament attract more teams and grow year on year.

Cuatro Tacos Cup // Teams Apes Hill / La Paz George Gemmel Joao Paulo Gannon Manuel Crespo José Lartirigoyen

54 | PQ

16 0 2 5 9

Cowdray Lila Pearson Lanto Sheridan Mark Tomlinson Tom Morley

14 0 0 5 9

PQ - PoloLine Tomás Brouse Tomy Reinoso Juan Curbelo Pichi Laporta

17 0 3 5 9

Place: Pilar, Argentina Club: La Quinta Polo Club Date: December 3-10, 2011 Level: 18 goal


Want to start a neW sport ? Want to improve your polo ? 2 nights stay in one of our selected partner hotels, including breakfast Lunch/dinner at « La Table du Polo » and other famous restaurants Relaxation at a beach club Polo lessons and matches Spa sessions Night party in a fashionable night club This package is available all weekends in April, May, June and September. For price information, availabilities and bookings contact us at +33 4 94 55 22 12

Weekend polo, Fun & relax

polo Club saint-tropez - route du Bourrian - 83580 Gassin tél. +33 (0) 4 94 55 22 12 - Fax +33 (0)4 94 56 50 66 - contact@polo-st-tropez.com PQ | 55

www.polo-st-tropez.com


Julio Novillo Astrada Cup

El Caburé winner in extra time By Aurora Eastwood. Photos by Matías Callejo.

El Caburé beat Alegría Millarville 13 -12, with a golden goal by Federico Virasoro in extra time, and won the VIII Julio Novillo Astrada Cup, Presented by Rio Uruguay Seguros, in the final held at La Aguada Polo Club, in Open Door, Argentina. Following a very even first chukka, that ended in a 2-1 tie, El Caburé took the lead in the second period by a 4-3 score. Two goals by Clemente Zavaleta in the third chukka, gave Alegría Millarville a 5-4 lead in the third chukka. El Caburé tied in the fourth chukka, and since then on, they took control of the match and the score; by the end of the fourth period, they outscored Alegría 10-7. They handled to retain the lead in the fifth chukka, but only by one goal, 11-10. In the sixth chukka, Alegría Millarville rode onto the field, with the strong determination to battle back the result. And they did it. Thanks to a very balanced team effort, and two great goals by Clemente Zavaleta, Alegría took a 12-11 lead, with only one minute remaining. But it’s not over til it’s over; with only nine seconds to go, a 60-yard penalty was awarded to El Caburé, 56 | PQ

and Agustin Merlos’ perfect shot tied at 12-all, and the match went into extra chukka. Within a minute in the extra chukka, Federico Virasoro took the ball and ran straight to the goalposts, to score the winning goal for El Caburé, to get the 13-12 victory and the VIII Julio Novillo Astrada Cup. Prior to the final, La Picaza defeated La Tapera 12-7 and won the Subsidiary Trophy. At the awards ceremony, El Caburé’s, Agustín Merlos, was named MVP, while the Fair Play Award went to Alegria Millarville’s Julian Mannix. Oro Bruma, breed by Santiago Ballester and played by Juan Gris Zavaleta, was awarded with the Asociación Argentina de Criadores de Caballos de Polo Award; and Espiga, breed by Tomás Uscher and played by Agustin Merlos, took the River Slaney BPP of the final. The four members of the winning team received four Reverso Squadra watches, from the worldwide prestigious watchmaker, Jaeger-LeCoultre.


Matias Fernandez Llanos and Julian Mannix

Julio Novillo Astrada Cup // Teams & info Las Monjitas Camilo Bautista Valerio Zubiarre Jr Alejandro Diaz Alberdi Iñaki Laprida

20 0 6 8 6

HB Ludovic Pailloncy Sebastien Pailloncy Santiago Toccalino Ignacio Toccalino

18 1 2 7 8

La Tapera Ann Marie Van Gils Juan Pedro Harriet Alejandro Novillo Astrada Francisco Irastorza

19 0 5 8 6

Alegria Millarville Julian Guy Mannix Matías Benoit Juan Gris Zavaleta Clemente Zavaleta

20 2 5 7 6

Valiente Bob Jornayvay Alfredo Capella Ignacio Novillo Astrada Gerardo Collardin

20 0 4 9 7

Valiente White Robert Journayvaz Juan Ruiz Guiñazu Pablo Pieres Tomás Gandara

20 0 6 8 6

Jaeger-LeCoultre Marcelo Bosch Antonio Eguiguren Julio Novillo Astrada Jr Michel Dorignac

19 0 4 8 7

El Caburé Federico Virasoro Matías Fernandez Llanos Agustín Merlos Matías Torres Zavaleta

21 2 4 9 6

Los Cocos Rafael T. Zubillaga Teodoro Zubillaga Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr Ezequiel Martinez Ferrario

20 1 3 9 7

La Picaza Carlos Reyes Terrabusi Pablo Llorente Jr Javier Novillo Astrada Facundo Sola

20 0 4 9 6

Place: Open Door, Argentina Club: La Aguada Polo Club Date: November 28 - December 10, 2011 Level: 20 goal

Winner: El Caburé Polo Team MVP: Agustín Merlos Fair Play Award: Julian Mannix

AACCP Award: Oro Bruma (played by Juan Gris Zavaleta) River Slaney BPP: Espiga (Agustín Merlos) PQ | 57


La Aguada Resort Cup

British patrons enjoy a taste of summer Polo in Argentina By Mark Emerson. In the fierce heat of this year’s Argentine season, the newly created tournament at La Aguada took place alongside the beginning of the Argentine Open. The idea of this tournament was for medium goal foreign patrons to be given the chance to play with some of the best players in the world in a more competitive environment than the usual practices available to many travelling guests to the country. Eduardo Novillo Astrada explained that “the tournament was to be competitive but above all it was the aim of the top pros to get the patrons involved in the play as much as possible in order to help their polo development and enjoy the polo as much as possible”. James Scott Hopkins

58 | PQ

Four patrons came from England and they were all paired up with a high-goal Novillo Astrada brother. The rest of teams were made up of La Aguada full-time employees and professionals and one lucky spot for the travelling English pro, Mark Hayden Kellard. The structure of the tournament was for all four teams to play each other and the winner to be determined by points and goal differences. After a day off to rest the horse and players, the final day was held. With the table as it stood, all teams had a realistic chance of taking home the Silverware. The first match saw a hard fought match between Irongate Bulldogs and Lost Boys.


La Aguada Resort Cup // Teams Irongate Bulldogs James Scott Hopkins Mark Hayden Kellard Juan Pedro Harriet Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr

16 0 2 5 9

Lost Boys Stefan Sund Francisco Benoit Juan Carlos Harriet Ignacio Novillo Astrada

14 0 0 5 9

Unfortunately for Vivek’s Tashan Polo, Javier Novillo Astrada was injured the day before in the Ellerstina Gold Cup. Julio Novillo Astrada, 8 goals, was the more-thancapable substitute. However, the new Tashan line-up, failed to gel against Twelve Oaks for the first half of the match. This allowed Alejandro Novillo Astrada to run the show and set up Martín Davison regularly who added another 6 goals to his tournament tally to make him the “goleador”. Tashan fought back strongly and Vivek Rawal got a couple of goals in the last chukka but time ran out for them.

Tashan Polo Vivek Rawal Juan Manuel Harriet Alejandro Pistone Javier Novillo Astrada

17 0 3 5 9

Twelve Oaks Martin Davidson Enrique Bauzada Santiago Irastorza Alejandro Novillo Astrada

16 0 4 4 8

The injured Miguel Novillo Astrada, hosted a party and prize giving after the match. “This tournament is a definite must for all of us next season” Stefan Sund said to the journalists and this was echoed behind him by all the other travelling players. Martin Davison added that “it was one of the most fun and well organised tournaments he had played in worldwide”. Then they all drank and partied until the sun went down.

Eduardo Novillo Astrada jr and Stefan Sund

PQ | 59


VII Municipalidad de Pilar Cup

Chapa Uno Enigma Lords and Masters of Pilar By Federico Levy. Photos by Matías Callejo. The 2011 edition of the Municipalidad de Pilar Cup saw eight teams up to 27 goals playing on the superb AAP Alfredo Lalor grounds near Pilar. El Remanso and Chapa Uno Enigma met in the final. Both quartets comprised top-quality players, among them is one of the sensations of the year, young and talented MVP Gonzalo Deltour, who won the Gold Cup at Cowdray.

Deltour and Du Plessis scored the majority of goals with some very good contributions from Iñaki Laprida and Gastón Laulhé, which made it pretty difficult for Charlie Hanbury’s team. By the sixth, Chapa Uno Enigma were leading 11-7. El Remanso scored twice, 11-9. Despite El Remanso’s best efforts, Chapa Uno kept control with a 13-9. Final match summary

Gonzalo was key leading the attacks for Chapa Uno, well supported by another young UK season regular, super talented South African Nachi du Plessis. Chapa Uno controlled the match, making El Remanso’s offensive work impossible. Luke Tomlinson was El Remanso’s best player scoring seven goals, four of which were penalties. Charlie Hanbury in another final at the Argentine High Goal Season

60 | PQ

Chapa Uno Enigma: Gonzalo Deltour 6 (6 goals, four on penalties), Gastón Laulhé 7 (1 goal), Ignacio Laprida 6 (1 goal) and Ignatius Du Plessis 7 (5 goals). Total: 26. El Remanso: Charlie Hanbury 4 (2 goals), James Beim 7, Milo Fernández Araujo 8, and Luke Tomlinson 8 (7 goals, four on penalties). Total: 27. Chapa Uno Enigma: 3-2, 5-3, 8-4, 8-6, 11-7 and 13-9.


PQ | 61


Potrillos Cup

Prestigious children´s tournament at Palermo By Alejandra Ocampos. Photos by Matías Callejo. Victorino Ruiz

62 | PQ

Played since 1963, the Copa Potrillos is definitely one of the most important youth polo tournaments worldwide. Many of the current stars in polo played in it at least once on their way up. Today, the children of these top players take part in the Copa Potrillos, not only to show their skills, but also to have a lot of fun. The 2011 edition of the Copa Potrillos saw a total of 59 teams, divided into three categories: Potrillos (up to 14 years old) Potrillitos (up to 11 years old) and Mini Potrillitos (up to 9 years old). The qualifying games were all held at Los Indios, located in San Miguel, Province of Buenos Aires, while the finals took place in Palermo. The final was umpired by no less than David Stirling and Juan Martin Nero. It was a great day for these young and talented kids to play at Palermo and be umpired by two revered players, who just so happened to have won the 118th. Argentine Open. The final saw La Lucila beating Martindale, in a tough contest: 6-5, decided in extra chukka, with a golden goal by Victorino Ruiz.


Gino Ringa

Potrillos Cup // Teams Pilarchico Manuel G. Villamil Lucio Fernández Ocampo Silvestre Garrós Jr Juan Martín Zubia

Arandú Bautista Peluso Tomás Ferrario Bautista Nagore Joaquín García Guerra

Magdala Juan Calafell Juan Campion Joanquín Sánchez Herrero Benjamín Mignaquy

Tortugas Fernando Fourcade Mariano González Marcos Lafuente Silvestre Bosch

La Plegaria Marcos Goti Rafael Panso Jr Jerónimo Pando Tomás Pasman

La Mariana Lartirigoyen Tomás Diaz Marcos Cornick Francisco del Carril Manuel Calafell

Martindale-Suarez Mateo Bertola José Araya Tomás Marín Moreno Martín Riera

El Relincho Carlos A. Ortellao Juan Ignacio Ponce Segundo Olleac Bautista Goñi

Magdal II Zenon Pereyra Iraola Felipe Vicente Salvador Jockey Juan Romat

Washington Arturo Hidalgo Juan Pablo Rosandal Bautista Robledo Agustín Suarez

La Lucila Juan Lalor Genaro Ringa Gino Ringa Victorino Ruiz

Lobos-La Aguada Justo Novillo Astrada Cruz Novillo Astrada Tomás Pistone Juan José Fantini

La Aguada II Lucas Bosch Felipe Pistone Tomás Solari Matías Torralva

Trenque Lauquen-Santa María Manuel Sundbland Mateo Lalor Bautista Zimmerman Simón Prado PQ | 63


Potrillitos Cup // Teams Velay-La Oración Tomás Panelo Felipe Miguens Casado Hilario Figueras Benjamín Panelo

Los Cocos Tomás Gorosito Nikita Van Gils Thiago Suárez Cirio Eleno

Trenque Lauquen Conrado Giacobe Jacinto Amadori Manuel Prado Salvador Arrastra

El Relincho-La Madrugada Luis Felipe Curone Alejandro Felipe Curone Florencio Curti Juan José Bouquet

Saladillo Polo Club Benjamín Bourdieu Serafín Bustingorri Javier Segundo Sundbland Lizardo Vidal

Las Betulas Patricio Penna Leopoldo Forero Emilia Forero Cruz Uranga

Callvú Leuvú de Azul Estanislao Hirtz Mateo Miri Manuel Compagnole Wenceslao Llosa

La Violeta Santiago Abelenda Ignacio Mórtola Federico Gadea Francisco Azumendo

La Aventura Suricata Candelaria Fernández Araujo Olivia Menéndez Milagros Fernández Araujo Fátima Balsano

El Huri-Trenque Lauquen Manuel García Grosi Segundo Merlos Santiago Ruiz Gonzalo Santamarina

El Rincón Lucio Gallegos Santino Monteverde Luis Pedro Guzmán Mateo Forestello

El Abrojito Bartolomé Castagnola Jr Segundo Sarabi Héctor Guerrero Jr Aliko Agote

Los Ronles HTH Clorotec Mateo Tarlowski Ignacio Delmédico Ignacio Gallo Bautista Robledo Puch

Coronel Suárez Juan Eduardo Harriot Marcos Harriot Bautista Alberdi Rircardo Garrós

Cuatro Vientos Santos Tanoira Peke Caradashian Pedro Dulevich Eduardo Cerdenas

Las Betulas - Las Penias Félix Uranga Enrique Miralles Javier Uranga Santiago Llavallol

Venado Tuerto-La Quinta Santiago Magrini Gonzalo Ferrari Ramón Cassino Tomás Williams

Mini Potrillitos // Teams Los Pampas Bautista Luisetti Tomás Schewenke Felipe Dabas Ignacio Rivarola

Pilará Emma Fernández Moreno Margarita Fernández Moreno Clara Heguy Federico Martín

Callvú Leuvú de Azul Ramón de Dominicis Facundo Arronquy Álvaro Ruiz TBC

El Campito Bautista Caracoche Félix Dupont Manuel Novillo Astrada Bautista Lucero

Las Alazanas - La Natividad Miguel Guerrero Félix Esain Javier Guerrero Camilo Castagnola

Rincón Chico Pedro Sanz Miramon Rufus Bensadon Eduardo Menéndez TBC

La Suerte Teodoro Lucan Fernando Santillán Marcos Borden Luca Martirignone

Los Mirasoles Simón Bescos Máximo Lanz Ignacio Arbelbiden Pedro Arbezu

Trenque Lauquen Baltazar Jauretche Tomás Delfino Luis Bereterbide Patricio Manion

Coronel Suárez Santiago Harriot Segundo Amadori Meliton Olariaga Tatiana Frayssinet

64 | PQ


PQ | 65


III El Remanso Polo Cup

Celebration and Style at Salvador María By Federico Levy. Photos by Ana Clara Cozzi. The El Remanso Cup has consolidated the club as a tournament organiser and proved that the success of their third consecutive tournament was no coincidence. Throughout seven days, eight 20 goal teams took part in the competition which, as always, had a grand closing celebration.

“Our horses did very well and the field was perfect to play on. It turned out to be a very nice match, so now we’re going to celebrate” Charlie Hanbury, of Lovelocks Polo Stud on his 11-10 victory in the extra chukka against Santa María de Lobos.

David Stirling Jr

66 | PQ

“This Cup is a tough tournament but it is a lot of fun to play. The place is incredible and it is becoming more and more beautiful, and the fields are also very good. This is why spectators were able to enjoy some very good matches. I think that for a place like Lobos, having clubs like this is a very good thing and it enables polo to continue to grow” Pelón Stirling. The final was very entertaining, in which amazing drive was shown by the winning team’s back, Federico Von Potovski, allowing them to take the lead during


III El Remanso Cup // Teams & info Santa María de Lobos Guillermo Caset Jr Costi Caset Agustín Von Wernick Facundo Llosa

20 8 4 5 3

Lovelocks Polo Stud Charlie Hanbury Will Whitney David Stirling Jr Federico Von Potovski

20 4 1 9 6

La Alegría Adrian Laplacete Jr Thomas Winter Benjamín Viale Adrian Laplacete

18 5 5 4 4

Hope Funds Andrés Laplacete Pablo Miguens Jr Estanislao Ramos Raul Laplacete Jr

20 4 4 6 6

Apache Freddie Dear Lucas Di Paola Marcos Di Paola Richard Le Poer

20 1 7 8 4

El Carmen Carlos Menendez Behety Jr Thomas Dartiguelongue Juan Dartiguelongue Gastón Dartiguelongue

19 3 5 6 5

Bien Mirada Bernardo Barreta Pablo Jauretche Andrés James Agustín Martinez

20 3 7 5 5

El Remanso George Hanbury Oliver Cudmore Manuel Fernandez Llorente Jaime García Huidobro

20 3 3 6 8

Place: Lobos, Argentina Club: El Remanso Polo Club

Date: October22-30, 2011 Level: 20 goal

the first few minutes of play. In the second half, Sapo Caset’s great performance got Santa María ahead. After tying the game, Von Potovski sealed the tournament and established his team as champions after scoring a 60.

Christopher Hanbury was happily walking around his farm and added: “It was a great final; a very tight game right up to the end and was sealed in an extra chukka. I’m very happy with the entire club organisation. The weather was also very kind to us and some very nice polo games were

Winnter: Lovelocks Polo Stud Finalist: Santa María de Lobos

Manuel Fernández Llorente, one of the organisers, said: “Whenever we watch matches like this, with a golden goal to polish off the game, we are always left with a positive impression because watching tight finals is exciting. The tournament went very well and all players noticed the work we carried out in the organisation, and that’s what we are interested in. We want them to come and play, and enjoy the tournament”.

enjoyed by all.” Charlie Hanbury and Agustín Von Wernick

PQ | 67


Also involved in every detail was Cata Huidobro. “The place is great and you can feel the good vibes. Our idea is to continue to grow. The facilities are incredible. There is a five-star hotel, polo lessons... it is a place that must be visited and enjoyed.” With her style and elegance, she instigated off-field awards; Belen Caset stepped onto the podium to receive the first prize awarded to the most elegant lady present. These are undoubtedly some very good ideas which enable the tournament to attract an ever-increasing number of spectators every year who wish to watch and enjoy the final and, of course, an excellent party.

Guillermo Caset Jr

III El Remanso Polo Cup // Place: Lobos, Buenos Aires, Argentina Club: El Remanso Polo Club Date: October 22-30, 2011 Level: 20 goal Tournament Type: Handicap Winner: Lovelocks Polo Stud Finalist: Sta María de Lobos Polo Team MVP: Facundo Llosa (Lovelocks Polo Stud) BPP: Spicy (Guillermo Caset Jr)

68 | PQ

Podium filled with prizes. Those who took part in the 3rd El Remanso Cup had nothing to complain about the great number of prizes they received after the tournament concluded. From the start of the final match, a large table beside the cup showed players that they would not be going home empty-handed. MVP: Facundo Llosa BPP: Spicy (Sapo Caset)


El Remanso

Luke Tomlinson, Jaime GarcĂ­a Huidobro and Manuel Fernandez Llorente Lady players at Las Hermanas Cup, El Remanso Polo Club

Ernesto Fernandez Llorente, Pablo Miguens and Alejandro Moy

Sofia Moy, Ines Badiola, Nicky Caset, Milagros Amaya, Jimena Sundbland and Justina Crotto

Guillermo, Ana and Julia Glabe with Mariano Caset

Jessica Hanbury her mother Bridget and Fra Wood

Luke Tomlinson and Cata Zavaleta

Toya Bourdieu and David Woodd (CEO HPA) Pancho Bourdieu and friends

Zahra Hanbury, Tilda Wood and Charlie Hanbury

Teresa Fernandez Llorente with doughter Paz, Camila Fernandez Llorente and BenjamĂ­n Fernandez Llorente

Hanbury family

El Remanso Polo Cup


Ellerstina Gold Cup 2011

Time to be Valiant Bob Jornaybaz’s team achieved a well-deserved victory in the Ellerstina Gold Cup presented by Rolex. After losing their debut match, the team began a winning streak which concluded on the top of the podium. By Federico Levy. Photos by Matías Callejo. Valiente Polo Team with Tatiana Pieres, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Anthony Schaub

A warm afternoon at Ellerstina. The spectators were all talking about the high temperature and how everything had been extraordinarily well set up for the final day. La Hormiga and Enigma were playing the final for the Ellerstina Jeep Cup on field 4. Although the match did not flow freely, owing to the fast pace set at times by the Ulloa brothers, Salvador and Hilario, La Hormiga were able to open a path towards achieving a 12-8 victory and step up onto the podium. But the eyes of all polo and horse lovers were fixed on field five, where a grand display of the media present proved that the most important game of the tournament was being played there. Local and international media were seated in the stands, while guests continued to arrive at the club to watch the game between Valiente and Techno Polo for the Rolex Ellerstina Gold Cup. This tournament came into being owing to Gonzalo Pieres’ ability to carry out projects which are innovative 70 | PQ

and successful. This championship, which has already become a registered trademark, is yet another name for excellence worldwide. It is a tempting offer for those patrons who have always wanted to play in Argentina; not only as an opportunity to watch the world’s best polo players in action during the high goal season, but also to live the experience with them. The final was a great end-to-end match in which Valiente Polo Team were able to get well ahead in the first few periods and consequently took a 6-2 lead into the break after the second chukka. David Stirling and Javier Novillo Astrada’s good timing enabled Valiente to find gaps in order to reach their rival’s goal posts. In the second half of the match, Valiente imposed their own pace and managed to achieve a 13-7 victory, to later celebrate with the Ellerstina Gold Cup presented by Rolex.


“I think we managed to impose our game and that’s what allowed us to achieve victory”, said David Stirling happily after the final.

During the prize giving, Tatiana Pieres, the event organiser, thanked everyone who worked and took part in the tournament. Javier Novillo Astrada took MVP for the final BPP went to Arroba Matilda, played by Javier Novillo Astrada and owned by Miguel Novillo Astrada. Additionally, each of the players on the winning team received a saddle exclusively designed by Miguel Acuña.

David Stirling Jr and Franck Dubarry

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The winner’s path to victory: Ellerstina Gold Cup presented by Rolex Final // Monday, November 28th Valiente 13 - Techno Polo 7 Play-Offs // Wednesday, November 23rd Valiente 6 – La Hormiga 5 ½ Date #4 // Thursday, November 17th Valiente 13 – Cabreuva 12 Date #3 // Tuesday, November 15th Valiente 11 – Ellerstina 10 Date #2 // Sunday, November 13th Valiente 10 vs La Hormiga 8

Bob Journayvaz

Date #1 // Friday, November 11th Valiente 11 vs Alegria Millarville 12

Alfredo Capella

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Ellerstina Gold Cup // Teams & info Valiente Bob Journayvaz David Stirling Jr Javier Novillo Astrada Ollie Cudmore

21 0 9 9 3

Ellerstina James Packer Santiago Stirling John-Paul Clarkin Gonzalo Pieres Jr

22 1 3 8 10

Mansour Ben Soleimani Héctor Guerrero Alejandro Agote Mariano González

22 0 6 8 8

Cabreuva Ricardo Portugal Matías Benoit Lucas Criado Cristián Laprida Jr

22 0 5 9 8

ERG Scott Wood Francisco de Narvaez Jr Agustín Merlos Julio Gracida

22 0 8 9 5

TechnoPolo Frank Dubarry Guillermo Willington Pablo Mac Donough Alfredo Capella

22 0 7 10 5

Elevation Satinder Garcha Pablo Jauretche Diego Cavanagh Manuel Fernández Llorente

22 2 7 7 6

Alegría Millarville Julian Mannix Clemente Zavaleta Joaquín Pittaluga Rob Archibald

22 3 6 7 6

La Hormiga José Luis Bravo Hilario Ulloa Juan Ignacio Taberna Salvador Ulloa

22 0 9 6 7

Enigma Jerome Wirth Juan Zubiarre Juan Martín Nero Matías Mac Donough

22 1 3 10 8

Place: Pilar, Argentina Club: Ellerstina Polo Club Date: November 11-28, 2011 Level: 22 goal

WPT Tournament: Amateur Polo Tour Winner Points: 60 Finalist Points: 30 Semi Finalist Points: 15 Rest of the Players: 8

Winnter: Valiente Polo Team Finalist: TechnoPolo MVP: Javier Novillo Astrada (Valiente) BPP: Arroba Matilda (owned by Miguel Novillo Astrada, played by Javier Novillo Astrada)

Javier Novillo Astrada

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IX Diamond Cup

El Remanso continue to celebrate in Cañuelas By Federico Levy. Photos by Matías Callejo.

El Remanso Polo Team

El Remanso Polo Team beat Valiente 12-8 to win the Diamond Cup at La Dolfina Polo Club. Eight teams up to 22 goals took part in the competition. A warm afternoon at La Dolfina. The Cañuelas team’s organisation was impeccable. They have managed to prove that, as time goes by, the tournament they organise is becoming an increasingly close-knit and fun event for all those people who want to enjoy the last day of the competition. After several games played for the Little Diamonds Cup and an exclusive match for journalists which took place before the main final, the sportscaster kicked off the event by presenting the line-ups. On one side of the field awaited Valiente Polo Team, led by Rob Jornayvaz, who played together with Santiago Toccalino, Gerardo Collardin and Alejandro Novillo Astrada. On the opposite side, a team that was well-acquainted with the main field at La Dolfina: El Remanso. They had played and won several Diamond Cup finals. Their lineup comprised Charlie Hanbury, Ollie Cudmore, David Stirling and Alejo Taranco. A match that will surely be hard to forget. An open game played at full speed throughout the greater part of six chukkas, and a very tight result since neither team were able to achieve

Little Diamonds at La Dolfina At the same time the main cup was being played, a new edition of the Little Diamonds Cup took place, divided into four categories. The tournament was a success, as it has always been with previous youth cups. It involves a growing number of teams. La Dolfina’s organisation was impeccable, and the children were very happy regardless of the results. The “Mini Minis” (Teenie-weenie) category was made up of three teams. The Orange quartet, comprising Ferdinando Courreges, Facundo Frayssinet (MVP), Juan Cruz Benedit and Benjamín Quiroga, won the cup. The Red Team came in second place: Benicio Castagnola, Santiago Pereira, Dante Castagnola and Manolo Pereyra Iraola (a future journalist?). The Gray Team: Esaín Alfonso, Joaquín Valent, Martín Ferrari and Ramón Collardin. Within the “Minis” (Teenie) category, the Blue Team established themselves as champions: Federico Pansillo (MVP), Juana Pando, Juan Dub and Christian Roemers. In the Potrillitos category, it was the Black L´Oreal Team who became champions: Hilario Figueras, Benjamín Panelo (MVP), Santos Lanfranco and Faustro Trino. As regards the Potrillos category, the Red Team won the cup: Genaro Ringa (MVP), Baltazar Magrini, Nicanor Esain and Federico Stirling. This idea has undoubtedly come to stay. Children can also have fun on the field while their elders are playing a match.

AA2000 – La Ensenada celebrate at Zafiro Cup Once the Diamond Cup concluded, a tournament up to 16 goals was played, in which AA2000 – La Ensenada celebrated on the podium after defeating TMT 10-9. The winning team featured Fermín Gutiérrez, Patricio Cieza, Francisco Vismara and Matías Magrini. For its part, TMT also played a great tournament and throughout the qualifying dates the team comprised Darío Ahuad, Tomás Gagliardi, Guillermo Terrera and Santiago Cernadas. The 2011 Zafiro Cup brought together eight teams divided into two zones including players such as Alejo Taranco, Pablo Spinacchi, Gerardo Collardin, Jota Adrogué and Gabriel Batistuta, among others. 74 | PQ


Alejo Taranco and Santiago Toccalino

a significant goal difference. Right from the start, El Remanso was the team that attacked the most, and although they were ahead on the scoreboard during the whole match, Valiente never gave up and were always close up behind them. David Stirling and “Jejo” Taranco’s performance were essential to El Remanso. They imposed their team’s pace and Ollie Cudmore was in charge of opening up gaps in Valiente’s defence. In turn, Charlie Hanbury continued to show good progress and was very active in each attack performed by the winning team. By the time they reached the last chukka, El Remanso managed to establish a final goal difference, and as spectators were getting ready to celebrate, the final

bell rang and they burst with joy at La Dolfina. Once again, El Remanso became champions and celebrated at the club with a large moon looming in the background behind the trees. Without a doubt, the end of a tournament including very good matches throughout the entire qualifying stage, which concluded with a victory achieved by El Remanso, who received their awards and the Diamond Cup on the podium. For his part, as a prize for being the best player of the final, David Stirling received a Kawasaki Mule and got to keep Dolfina Torero, played by him and bred by Adolfo Cambiaso, who also won BPP.

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Cámara de Diputados Cup 2011

Fortune Favours the Bold By Aurora Eastwood. Photos by Matías Callejo. La Quinta La Aventura Polo Team

The next rung down from the Triple Crown has had some thrilling games this year – many more exciting than those at Palermo. Fiercely contested, this is the proving ground for up and coming players, and a consolation prize for players who didn’t make it to the Open. Because, play well in the Camara, and the ultimate prize might well be yours…

Semi Finals

La Virgencita Loro Piana vs La Quinta Cuatro Tacos A slightly disappointing game between Loro Piana and La Quinta saw La Quinta struggle to find much rhythm, and after some quick goals from Loro Piana they didn’t have time to respond. Coupled with some injuries to ponies, it wasn’t a day to remember fondly for La Quinta.

La Quinta La Aventura vs Pilará What a difference a day makes - this was surely one of the best games of the season. A swift, attacking, decisive, passing game of men being men and playing a contact sport extremely well. La Quinta began to accelerate away with the lead and Pilara could do nothing to stop the onslaught. Milo was everywhere and making impossible shots on difficult angles, Ale was unerring on his runs to goal, Facu true on his penalty taking and Diego fought like a pitbull and worked harder than a pit pony.

La Quinta La Aventura vs La Virgencita Loro Piana Ale Agote and Milo Fernandez Araujo make a pretty handy pair; taking turns to cover one another and subtly 76 | PQ

controlling the plays, they were hugely influential in what was a very even game; despite the field being even bouncier than it had been for the Open final, with both teams missing seemingly sitting balls, the game was tight and even. With never more than a 2 goal difference in scores, as the game progressed it really could have gone either way. La Virgencita’s quartet were not short of talent; James, Nero, Beim, Garcia Grossi – all very accomplished players, but on this day, short of luck. Horses slipped, tripped and fell throughout the game, with the most influential incident in the last chukka; a horse fall didn’t seem to concern the umpires and they allowed play to continue. La Quinta scored, La Quinta won. Cue furious remonstration from La Virgencita and both yellow and red cards. Not the best end to a close, tense final.

Four-time Camara winner Milo was pragmatic. “It wasn’t our best game; we played better in the league games and in the semi final”. James Beim was philosophical. “This is the reason I come here. I’ve set some goals and one is to win the Camara – I guess I need to keep trying! We missed a few chances to finish”.


Lucas James and Milo Fernández Araujo

Ones to watch Nachi du Plessis – off 7 goals is incredibly cheap. Talented, excellent horseman and thoroughly nice guy. 9 goals for sure, 10 goals not impossible. Facundo Sola – Fantastic Facu once more. Like Nachi is super talented and all round good guy and finding his feet at the level. Agustín Garcia Grossi – really stood out in the semi final against La Quinta and has a lot more to show. Lucas James – very good in the final against La Quinta La Aventura; classic player and an underrated 8 goaler. Valerio Zubiarre – another absolute steal off 6 goals and unlikely to stay there for long. And don’t forget Milo Fernandez Araujo. Previous Open winner, he won the Queen’s Cup this year and is still a mighty 8 goal player at the age of 43. He won’t be hanging up his boots anytime soon. An epic performance in the semi saw him get MVP and his experienced captaincy led his team to victory in the final.

The GU8 connection The ultimate polo postcode? GU8 is Witley Farm, Martin Brown’s haven of tranquillity near Cowdray Park. The entire La Quinta La Aventura team have at some stage been based there, and in the past such names as Pepe Heguy,Tincho Merlos, Memo Gracida, Julio Gracida, Guillermo Terrera, Juanchi Ambroggio, Ruki Baillieu, Sam Hopkinson, Luke Tomlinson and Matías Benoit. No doubt many more will pass those hallowed gates…

Classy British players gracing the Tifton fields… Mark Tomlinson for La Quinta and of course talented finalist James Beim for La Virgencita. Hopefully 2012 will see a few more.

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Handicap Changes - Argentina

First Uruguayan 10 goaler David Stirling Jr. was raised from 9 to 10 goals, that takes La Dolfina back to the perfect handicap, 40 goals, for the second time in their history, after the first, back in 2007. Besides, the talented Pelon becomes the first player from Uruguay to reach the top handicap. Other players that have been raised are Guillermo Caset Jr. Nicolรกs Pieres and Pancho Bensadon, all from 8 to 9; Fred Mannix, from 7 to 8; Gonzalo Deltour, Ignacio Laprida, Facundo Sola y Valerio Zubiaurre (h), all from 6 to 7. Meanwhile, among the lows are Marcos Heguy, from 10 to 9; Pepe Heguy, from 8 to 7; and Lucas di Paola, from 7 to 6. PQ talked in exclusive with Guillermo Caset Jr, about his important raise to 9 goals, and some thrilling changes for his future: "I'm very happy, you work the David Stirling Jr

78 | PQ

whole year to get a handicap raise, so this is a reward to the efforts. It's really great to be recognized with the handicaps. Personally, it was a very good year for me, as I also was raised to 10 goals in the US". Regarding the Argentine season, and Chapa Uno, he says: "It was a very positive season, the team worked very well and after the qualifiers, that was very hard, we got to know each other with the boys, and we even won two games. I was a bit dissappointed that we lost the last one against Pilarรก, but in a general view, everything was very positive". Caset also told PoloLine an exclusive news for 2012: "I won't be playing the qualifiers. In 2012, I will be playing for a La Aguada team, comprised by Miguel, Nacho and Javier Novillo Astrada". Something that also brings strong rumors about a Las Monjitas team with Eduardo Jr. and Alejandro Novillo Astrada.


Argentine Handicaps // Raises & Lows From 9 to 10 David Stirling Jr From 8 to 9 Francisco Bensadon Guillermo Caset Jr Nicolás Pieres From 7 to 8 Frederick Mannix From 6 to 7 Gonzalo Deltour Ignacio Laprida Facundo Sola Valerio Zubiarre From 5 to 6 Juan Ambroggio Vieri Antinori Matías Benoit Julián De Lusarreta Francisco Elizalde Joaquín Maiquez Manuel Plaza de Ayala Federico Von Potovsky Pedro Zacarias From 4 to 6 Alfredo Cappela From 4 to 5 Javier Cabrera Castilla Matías Colombres Franco Gai Jr Charlie Hanbury Pablo Llorente Jr Agustín Martinez Pablo Miguens Jr Agustín Obregon Alejandro Palomeque Delfín Rueda Jorge Traverso Jr Benjamín Urquiza Cristian Zimmerman Jr Lucas Lalor Cristian Nordheimer Nicolás Talamoni Cristopher McKenzie Horacio Fernández Llorente Jr Hissam Nam Hyder Lucas Torales Martín Pepa Tomás Reynoso Matías Obregon Manuel Mazzochi

From 3 to 5 Max Charlton Pedro Soria Eduard Hitchman From 3 to 4 Álvaro Ara Felipe Corroto Oliver Cudmore George Hanbury César Polledo Carlos Ignacio Saenz Mendiburi Santiago Shanahan Jack Richardson Christian Sterling Giannico Germán Echegaray David Jean Du Plessis Jorge Fernández Ocampo Jr Pelayo Berazadi Rospide Juan Jauretche Diego Lucero Juan Britos Jr From 2 to 4 Manuel Elizalde From 2 to 3 Ignacio Allaria Bautista Bayugar Ignacio Brunetti Tomás Bruz Santiago Camaño Enrique Del Campo Francisco Emilio Del Campo Felipe del Sel Eduardo Fredes Facundo Llosa Fernando Maciel Talavera Julian Mannix Victorio Monteverde Federico Nelson Sebastien Pailloncy Julián Manuel Romano Lozada Robert Strom Patrick Odwyer Bautista Begueri Silvestre Grahn Alfonso Pieres Jr Marcos Panelo Agustín Begueri Eudoro Meabe Jr Francisco Vismara Ricardo Furno Andrés Courreges Pedro Harrison Román Iriarte Juan Cruz Isla Chris Collins

From 1 to 3 Agustín Palomeque Julio Ruggeri From 1 to 2 Esteban I. Abelenda Martín Aguallo Matías Allaria Sebastián Ernesto Allier Guido Allignani Bautista Arrastua Ramón Arteta Gonzalo Baez Diego Banchero Gastón Luis Bardengo Segundo Bocchino Ignacio Bolonese Gonzalo Ezequiel Bonilla Alonso Baltazar Bosch Matías Busquet Segundo Caimi Gonzalo Cavanagh Francisco Crotto Jr Humberto D´Andrea Jr Lucas Diaz Alberdi Remigio Donnelly Shawn Doyle Roberto Hernán Echague Federico Farina Segundo Fernández Llorente Rufino Flores Piran Juan Ignacio Freccero Tomás Gagliardi Guido Giraldi José Godoy juan Cruz Godoy Tomás Gomez Naar Federico Guglielminetti Gustavo Hornos Silveste Hunter Pierre Agustín Jauretche Salvador Jauretche Facundo Kelly Gerardo Laborde Santiago Loza José María Malbran Antonio Menard Marcos Menditeguy Bautista Micheletti Fernando Ariel Miño Ezequiel Ricardo Monez Ruiz Gerónimo Obregon Raul Paez de la Torre Ludovic Pailloncy Bautista Paz Posse Ernesto Paz Alejandro Pedezert Federico Potel

more info at www.aapolo.com Juan Manuel Presa Santiago Reynal Francisco Rodriguez Mera Agustín Romano Losada Francisco Rossi Matías San Martín Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo Federico Schmidt Federico Schurlein Charles James Scott Marcos Shanahan Javier Suarez Leopoldo Suarez Jr Santos Ulloa Jr Ernesto Urien Cesareo Usandisaga Franco Veronesi Federico Virasoro Matías Zenteno Day

Lows From 10 to 9 Marcos Heguy From 9 to 8 Julio Arellano From 8 to 7 Alberto Heguy Jr From 7 to 6 Lucas Di Paola From 6 to 5 Cristian Bernal Juan Pedro Chavanne Pablo Falabella Julio Gracida Carlos Otamendi From 5 to 4 Martín Aguerre Justo Amuchastegui Jr Pablo Bagnardi Jorge Bledel Jr Justo Del Carril Juan Pedro Harriet Miguel Lagos Marmol Jr Alejandro Pistone Juan Martín García Laborde Pablo Guiñazu Marcelo Amadeo Videla

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70th Argentine Pato Open

Pato final at Palermo By Federico Levy. Photos by Matías Callejo. La Guarida Pato Team

La Guarida defeated Los Mochitos 15-13 and won the 70th. Abierto Argentino de Pato, in the final that played on field 2, Palermo. Pato, Spanish for “duck”, has elements from polo. It was declared the national sport of Argentina in 1953. Early stories say that pato has been played since the 1600’s, and early games used a live duck inside a basket instead of a ball. The fields usually were the distance between neighboring estancias, and the first team to reach the casco of the estancia with the duck was the winner. This sport was banned several times throughout its history, not only for the sake of the ducks; many

80 | PQ

gauchos died in knife fights started in the heat of the game. Pato was first banned in 1790, and then in the 19th Century it was banned by Juan Manuel de Rosas, in the Province of Buenos Aires. Pato was regulated many years later, in the 1930’s, by the efforts of ranch owner Alberto del Castillo Posse, who drafted a set of rules inspired by modern polo. The Federación Argentina de Pato was born in 1941, and despite being a national sport, Pato is mostly played in the countryside, often alongside typical Argentine events, such as doma and folklore shows. Modern pato has two four-member teams, who fight for possession of a ball (the “pato”), which has six leather handles, and throw the ball through a vertically positioned ring.


Ignacio Simone and Ariel Tapia

Facundo Taberna and Ariel Tapia

Argentine Pato Open // Final La Guarida Francisco Bellapart AndrĂŠs Lanfranco Juan Ignacio Lanfranco Ariel Tapia

33 5 9 9 10

Los Mochitos NicolĂĄs Taberna Ignacio Simone Sergio Pedretti Facundo Taberna

33 10 5 9 9

Ariel Tapia is a 10-goal Pato player as well as a 5-goal Polo professional who plays at Les Lions. Tapia has won the Abierto Argentino de Pato several times as well as a number of important Polo tournaments, most of them in the UK. PQ | 81


China Open 2011

Polo goes back to its roots. Where it all began: China By Aurora Eastwood. Photos by Ana Clara Cozzi. Polo in China is booming. New clubs are springing up but none in a more accessible location than Beijing’s Tang Polo Club. Only minutes from Beijing International Airport, the club is situated right on the edge of the city and boasts some impressive facilities; two grounds, a hotel, extensive stabling, corralls and a huge indoor school. A full programme of events and hospitality awaited the participants; from tours of the Great Wall, to dinner at a superb Peking Duck restaurant and a gargantuan closing party, every detail was covered by owner Liu Shilai. Players came from far and wide to take part; Argentina, Colombia, USA, England, Hong Kong and more. It was a veritable melting pot of cultures. Under a heavy sky as airbuses loomed overhead, the first day of the China Open was underway.

Royal Salute China Polo Team 82 | PQ

Emlor vs St Regis October 20th

Emlor, despite having only arrived from the UK this very morning, seemed remarkably unaffected by a ten hour flight and a seven hour time difference to start with, taking an early 3-0 lead. However at half time the time zones caught up with them and they seemed to tire (or were struggling to adapt to unfamiliar horses) and St Regis began to recover some much needed ground, closing the gap but not by enough. Emlor won 7-4.

Royal salute vs Four Quarters October 21st

Under a still hazy but much brighter sky, Royal Salute took an early lead. Salva Ulloa having a good game, interacting well with MatĂ­as Ballesteros. Uniformed


children provided unintended entertainment mid chukka, one in particular had impressive yo-yo skills! Four Quarters seemed to be a little flat till a ultra cool neckshot from Henry Fisher, followed by a superb hole in one from a 5b for Morley. Liu Shilai was scoring goals all over the shop, contributing in no small part to Royal Salute's 8-3 win.

Four Quarters took third place October 22th

Or East meets West... In a manner of speaking. Four Quarters was a largely British side, playing against American and charming Colombian players. A few players were nursing hangovers which may have gone some way to explaining the low score lines, going into the last chukka both teams were tied with just two goals apiece. However Tom Morley found some extra go juice and was superb turning defence into attack; supported extremely well by his team mates. They found the flags (no mean feat, as even the ball was hard to see in the gloom) and scored, shortly before MartĂ­n Estrada lost the battle to gravity and involuntarily dismounted. He was substituted but it was too late - Four Quarters held on to their lead to win 3-2 and claim the Sub final.

The final day of the Tournament Sunday 23rd

Bye bye smog... Hello freezing conditions! The haze lifted due to the arrival of rain overnight, but at a price. Unfortunately temperatures plummeted, and a strong, cold wind deterred quite a few spectators. Those that still attended watched the first ever Ladies game in China; visiting players from the UK had flown over especially, much to the delight of the crowd, who literally gasped in wonder when play was fast and balls were hit hard. China's Wa Wa Hao was delighted "It's the first time I have played in a real ladies polo team, it was really exciting". Spencer McCarthy's AMG Emlor narrowly lost out to Royal Salute in the China Open final. Royal Salute were leading for much of the game, which was fast and open and hard fought; both teams having got the measure of the horses and the field. Salvador Ulloa for Royal Salute was on goal scoring form, and when Emlor tied the score in the 4th chukka it really could have gone either way - but was not to be. Another goal for Royal Salute sealed Emlor's fate and they lost by a single goal. Nacho Gonzalez was philosophical. "Well, the hospitality was amazing and the horses are some of the best quality to be found in Asia. The ground is still young but it's going to be fantastic".

Henry Fisher

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Liu Shilai has ambitious plans for the club "We're improving the stables. We have one block, and another one is being finished, for the members horses. We now have two fields as well, one to play, and the other for practices. We're looking forward to build two more fields, a huge clubhouse, with a tennis court and swimming pool. Now we have a hotel, but all the construction will be finished before next September, for the China Open. The idea is to have a world class Polo Club in China. We have a Polo manager, Matías Ballesteros, a coach and a horse trainer from Argentina. We have many Argentine ponies as well�.

Spencer MacCarthy

William Li

84 | PQ


Gold Cup China Open Tournament // Teams & info Longines Great Britain Simon Arber Henry Fisher Tomás Iriarte Tom Morley

15 0 4 5 6

Royal Salute China Shilau Liu Guillermo Cuitiño Salvador Ulloa Matías Ballesteros

16 0 6 7 3

St Regis USA Nan Liu / S. Quareshi Camilo Espinosa Martín Estrada Felipe Saenz

15 0 6 5 4

AMG Ireland Spencer MacCarthy Marcos Araya Nacho González Gavin Turner

15 2 5 6 2

Place: Beijing, China Club: Tang Polo Club Date: October 20-23, 2011 Level: 16 goal Winner: Royal Salute China Polo Team MVP: Spencer MacCarthy (AMG Ireland Polo Team) BPP: Lisa

BPP Lisa

AMG Ireland Polo Team

Longines Great Britain Polo Team

Royal Salute China Polo Team

St Regis USA Polo Team PQ | 85


Tang Polo Club, Beijing, China

Exotic Tango

Tang Polo Club, Beijing, China

Equestrian jump

Tang Polo Club, Beijing, China

Pink Polo Team - Romilla Arber, Louisa Donovan, Sophie H-Ellis and Jenny Rigby

Tang Polo Club, Beijing, China

Blue Polo Team - Donna Zhao, Wawa Hao, Ploy Bhinsaeng and Clare Donnely


Pablo Fria Silva and Aly Kashef MVPs William Li and Li Bing

Mustang Hou and wife Emma with Liu Nan and wife Lucy

Matias de Olmos, Pablo Fria Silva, Aly Kashef, Xiao Li, Dong Yan, Dino Asvaintra, Federico Pasquini, Tomás Martinez and Tomás Iriarte

Claire Donnely, Ploy Bhinsaeng, Jenny Rigby and Wawa Shahmir Quraeshi and girlfriend Zlata Kotmina

William Li signing shirts

Willian Li and Steve Monk

Jason Smith and wife Andreana (British Embassy)

Simon Arber and Guillermo Cuitinio

Liu Shilai

María Espert and husband Jose Acosta

Umpires Matías Olmos and Guillermo Villanueva

Emanuele Spagnoletti-Zeuli, Omar Trivino and Carlos García de Ceca


Party at Tang Polo Club

Typical Chinese dancers

Henry Fisher, Ploy Bhinsaeng, Claire Donnely and Aurora Eastwood

Ali Web

Thomas Buehler from AMG China and Liu Shilai


Liu Shilai and Yang Kun

Silver Arrow

Great looking model

Willian Li, Zhin Chen President of Chinese Equestrian Association, Liu Shilai, Jun Hu - famous Chinese Actor, and Qing Cheng Secretary General of Chinese Equestrian Association Salvador Ulloa, TomĂĄs Iriarte, Pancho Torres, Guillermo Villanueva, Liu Shilai, Liu Nan and MatĂ­as Ballesteros

Dino Asvaintra and wife

Ana Clara Cozzi, Sebastian Amaya, Liu Shilai and Salvador Ulloa


Travel

The Chinese imperial city By Ana Clara Cozzi.

90 | PQ


Chinese sunset at the forbidden city PQ | 91


Entrance to The forbidden city

Beijing downtown

Imperial roof decoration of highest status on the roof ridge of the Hall of Supreme Harmony 92 | PQ


The forbidden city

There is little if any trace of the hermetic country China used to be not so many years ago. Special visas are no longer necessary. There are no places of interest that tourists are not allowed to visit, and although both the culture and language continue to be huge barriers, neither the authorities nor common people place stumbling blocks along the way. Anyhow, it isn’t easy at all. The mere fact of taking a cab can push anyone’s patience to the limit. Beijing is an amazing city, an imperial city, made up of the pomposity of a once great empire and a mixture of architectures and forms. One-thousand-yearold structures blend in with the Maoist trend which imposed Soviet architecture and styles with large dimensions as an outstanding feature. You have only to visit Tiananmen Square to prove it. This is where, on October 1st, 1949, leader of the Long March, Mao Zedong declared before an audience of over half a million that China had become the People’s Republic. The Forbidden City, home and world of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, lies right in front. Sovereign Pu Yi was depicted in the film "The Last Emperor", by Bertolucci.

The sign of the hall of supreme harmony

Visiting the entire grand building with the help of an audio guide which makes the experience that much more enthralling for any curious person is definitely time consuming. This monument has been kept in perfect condition with its parks, palaces and ancient trees. PQ | 93


With the arrival of the 2008 Olympic Games, lots of changes took place at an unprecedented speed, including neighbourhoods, avenues, shopping malls and hotels. Among its constructions, there is the famous Olympic Stadium, known as the "Bird’s Nest" due to its shape. Within the proposed changes, the government decided to demolish some of the few old neighbourhoods that still remain named "Hutong" or ancient neighbourhoods in Beijing. These places are well worth the visit as they show what it was like living in the time of the dynasties. In among interwoven alleys lie a number of dwellings that look out onto a common patio where everyday life takes place. Beijing is a capital in action that grows at a spectacular pace. The solidity of steel can be seen from a distance in its skyscrapers. Markets are a hive of energy and wake up very early every day whilst at

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the many museums and temples the city houses, the inhabitants can find peace and quiet as a spiritual break. Honking cars, motorcycles and the entire transport system create an intricate atmosphere, not to mention rush hour. Within the different markets, the highly touristy Silk Street Market can overwhelm the boldest of people, and bargaining is the order of the day. Local cuisine features a complex and enigmatic richness. You cannot leave without tasting the typical Peking duck or lacquered duck dish. The streets, markets and any corner in Beijing offer an endless array of platters for any daring person, leaving aside the typical rice, tea, tofu, noodles and vegetables, and include a great many fried and spiced dishes based on different types of meat.


The Great Wall PQ | 95


Not far from Beijing, in Badaling, the Great Wall of China constantly attracts thousands of tourists and therefore it is impossible to avoid the crowds. Nonetheless, there are other points where this wonder can be observed in a more peaceful way. But in order to do so, we must go a few kilometres further. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, this monument is over 6000 kilometres long and its construction began in the 5th century A.D; for centuries it prevented the invasion of Mongol tribes. Besides these marvels, it is worth visiting the "Temple of Heaven", another exponent of ancient Chinese architecture; a place where imperial ceremonies were conducted and emperors used to pray to the gods and

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thank them for abundant harvests and peace among the Chinese people. A highly prestigious sport as is the case with polo, which was practiced in this region for centuries, has re-emerged from its core, and can be watched and practiced today at several of its clubs including "Tang Polo Club" on the outskirts of Beijing where the China Open took place in October 2011. Beijing is just a grain of sand within China and other Asian countries’ boom. Much more is yet to come...


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US Winter Season

Twenty-goal Polo rides into Wellington this fall By Alex Webbe. Photos by Alex Pacheco. It’s no surprise that Wellington, Florida is regarded as the polo capital of North America. The International Polo Club is home to the United States Polo Association’s top three tournaments in the C.V. Whitney Cup, the USPA Piaget Gold Cup and the United States Open Championship. The winter season opens with four 20goal tournaments that attract players from around the world as teams and horses get ready for a run at the nation’s ultimate prize-Polo’s Triple Crown. With over sixty polo fields and a handful of additional polo clubs in the immediate Wellington area, Marc and Melissa Ganzi’s Grand Champions Polo Club decided to expand the high goal season with the addition of two more 20-goal tournaments in the USPA National Twenty Goal Championship and the North American Cup. Both were introduced to Wellington in the fall, and both were well-received by throngs of enthusiastic spectators. Since its creation, the Grand Champions Polo Club has extended the polo season in Wellington by adding another six weeks of medium-goal polo in the spring and fall, employing a growing number of professionals who make their homes in Florida, but this year the stakes were raised. The Grand Champions Polo Club has climbed into the rarified air of high-goal American polo with the two 20-goal tournaments. Joining the ranks of Santa Barbara, Bridgehampton, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut, Grand Champions has entered the ranks of American polo’s elite clubs. Hardly a stretch when you consider that Grand Champions’ Marc and Melissa Ganzi have had their own teams in the 26-goal competition at IPC and make

summer trips to Santa Barbara where they each field a team in the California’s high-goal play. They’ll each be fielding a 20-goal team in this winter’s series of tournaments leading up to the 26-goal season, but the acquisition of the USPA North American Cup and the National Twenty Goal Championship looks to bolster the Florida community’s high-goal polo identity. Following a series of medium-goal tournaments, the North American Cup assembled five teams (see below) for two days of play. Paul Knapp’s Flat Out team opened the tournament with a 9-8 win over Elangeni Ranch in the opening match of the tournament. A slow start led to a 3-3 halftime score before Flat Out rallied to register the 9-8 win. Misha Rodzianko, Brandon Phillips and Nic Roldan scored three goals apiece in the win. The three remaining teams in the competition took part in a round-robin to decide the other North American Cup finalist. Barbarossa Leather fought Piaget to a 3-3 tie before running away with a n 8-2 win over Audi and a position in the finals. Barbarossa Leather team captain Leo Mandelbaum led all scoring with six goals in the game. “The horses were going so well,” said Mandelbaum, “and I was making every shot today. I wish they were all like this for me,” he smiled. The finals found two evenly matched lineups matching goal for goal throughout the first five chukkas of play with neither team being able to separate itself from the other. The teams took a 6-6 score into the final seven

North American Cup // Teams Audi Marc Ganzi Jota Chavanne Sugar Erskine Gene Goldstein

18 1 7 7 1

Barbosa Leather Ruben Gracida Leo Mandelbaum Hector Galindo J.J. Celis

16 3 3 6 4

Elageni Ranch Adam Figueroa Diego Cossio Luis Escobar Martín Estrada

17 1 4 7 5

Flat Out Natascha Baecher Brandon Phillips Nic Roldan Paul Knapp

16 1 5 8 2

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Piaget Melissa Ganzi Jason Crowder Kris Kampsen Joey Casey

16 0 6 6 4

Place: Wellington, Florida, US Club: Grand Champions PC Date: November 4-6, 2011 Level: 16-20 goal Winner: Flat Out Polo Team MVP: Brandon Phillips BPP: Faith (Héctor Galindo)


Brandon Phillips and Leo Mandelbaum

minutes of regulation time. Roldan scored the goahead goal for Flat Out but Barbarossa Leather’s Hector Galindo tied it up at 7-7. Attack after attack was turned aside. With time running out took control of the ball and drove it down the field to a waiting Phillips. With an opposing player on his hip, he stroked the ball through the goal posts with a nearside shot for the win as time expired. “It was a total team effort,” said Phillips. “Nic (Roldan) kept hitting the ball up to me and I just obliged him by putting it through the goal posts. Natascha (Baecher) played great defense and Paul was making all of his shots.” Phillips scored five times for Flat Out and was named MVP for his efforts. Galindo.s chestnut mare, Faith, won Best Playing Pony honors.

KIG Captures National Twenty Goal Championship Six teams showed up for the USPA National Twenty Goal Championship as Elangeni Ranch and Barbarossa

Leather dropped out and KIG, the Wanderers Club and Port Mayaca joined Audi. Piaget and Flat Out. Utilizing playing fields at Grand Champions, Isla Carroll and Palm City Polo Club, the first round of play began. Early tournament play saw the Wanderers edge past Port Mayaca by a narrow 10-9 margin on the strength of pinpoint passing and rigid defense. Six goals from Brandon Phillips provided for the bulk of the Wanderers offense. “Everything seemed to be going right today”, said Sugar Erskine. “Let’s see if we can carry it into the finals,” added the South African 7-goaler. Bash Kazi’s KIG team took the field for the first time at Grand Champions and four their way to a 12-10 win over Audi with every member of the KIG team getting on the scoreboard. Jeff Blake scored five times for KIG while Tommy Biddle added four goals in the win. Jason Crowder scored five times for Audi, but the defensive PQ | 99


KIG Polo Team USPA Nastional 20 Goal Championship winner

play of Biddle kept Audi from making it any closer. In probably the most dramatic and competitive match of the tournament, Piaget scored a 14-13 win over the Wanderers in double overtime. Nic Roldan scored seven times for Piaget with team captain Marc Ganzi accounting for six goals including the winner in the second overtime. Phillips did a yeoman’s job and accounted for seven of the Wanderers 13 goals. “It was a real heartbreaker”, said an exhausted Phillips following the match. “We gave it everything we had”, he smiled. “That’s polo.” In another nail bitter, Port Mayaca rebounded from an opening round loss to score a come-from-behind 1311 win over Piaget. Trailing by two goals, 10-8 after five chukkers, Port Mayaca outscored Piaget 4-1 in the final period of play and evened its record at 1-1. Audi handed Flat Out its first loss of the tournament in another one goal squeaker, scoring an 8-7 win. The balanced Audi attack had Kris Kampsen, Juan Bollini and Jason Crowder scoring two goals apiece and team captain Melissa Ganzi adding a goal in the win. Audi also got one goal by handicap from the 18-goal Flat Out foursome.

Flat Out Polo Team, North American Cup winner

Two days later Flat Out would suffer its second loss of the tournament, and the 2011 North American Cup winner found itself out of the tournament with a disappointing 0-2 record. The second KIG win vaulted the team into the finals against Port Mayaca. Misha Rodzianko (2) replaced Leo Mandelbaum on the Port Mayaca team for the finals against a balanced KIG foursome that boasted Bash Kazi and polo veterans Hector Galindo, Jeff Blake and Tommy Biddle. KIG spotted the seventeen goal Port Mayaca team one goal by handicap, but by the end of the second chukker took a lead they would never give up. With Galindo scoring on nearly every shot at goal that he took, KIG coasted to a handy 12-8 win. Galindo was named MVP, leading all scorers with six goals. His 10-year-old Chestnut mare, Cat, was named Best Playing Pony. Teammates Biddle and Blake added three goals apiece in the win. Orthwein led the Port Mayaca attack with three goals. Celis scored twice and Rodzianko and Escobar added single goals. Port Mayaca received one goal by handicap. “It was wonderful”, said KIG team captain Bash Kazi, following the trophy presentation. “This was a wonderful team and a great tournament”, he added.

USPA National 20 Goal Championship // Teams & info Bracket A KIG Bash Kazi Héctor Galindo Jeff Blake Tommy Biddle

18 0 6 6 6

Flat Out Paul Knapp Diego Cossio Pite Merlos Ruben Gracida

18 2 4 9 3

Audi Melissa Ganzi Kris Kampsen Juan Bollini Jason Crowder

17 0 6 6 5

Piaget Natascha Baecher Marc Ganzi Nic Roldan Jeff Hall

18 1 1 8 8

Wancerers Sugar Erskine Brandon Phillips Joey Casey Bo Goodman

17 7 5 4 1

Bracket B Port Mayaca 17 Leo Mandelbaum (M. Rodzianko) 2 J.J. Celis 4 Stevie Orthwein 4 Luis Escobar 7 100 | PQ

Place: Wellington, Florida, US Club: Grand Champions PC Date: November 8-17, 2011 Level: 16-20 goal Winner: KIG MVP: Hécctor Galindo BPP: Cat (Héctor Galindo)


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UK - Hickstead

Battle of the Sexes at Hickstead By Sarah Wiseman. Photos by Tony Ramirez.

Men on Top! The UberPolo Tournament has proven to be somewhat of a favourite in the fixtures list amongst spectators at AEPC Hickstead. This year did not disappoint with a record number of team entries for the 0-3 goal ladies tournament and the 4-6 goal Battle of the sexes. It has proven so popular that the event may be extended over two weekends next year as there simply isn’t enough daylight in the winter months to host more than four matches per day. The 0-3 Goal UberPolo Ladies tournament featured three teams this year, two of which were Hickstead based and one team visiting from Ascot Park. All the games were tightly fought with some great team skill on display and some superb individual efforts as well. There were several tournament newcomers taking part and they all did themselves and their teams proud. KHHP ran out the eventual winners in a very close final against Hawksfield, who came within just 2 goals of victory to only be denied by the skill and youth of their opposition, with Saskia Meadows proving to be a very handy 0 goal player! Alex Grant playing for KSJ Consulting was awarded MVP. Alex was playing her first tournament and played with great determination and skill for someone that only started playing this time last year. The Battle of the Sexes is definitely a tournament for spectators to get excited about. Although I do feel the ladies get a lot more support from the crowd than the boys, I cannot imagine why! There is always a lot of heckling and jeering which adds to the atmosphere and ignites the action in the arena. This year saw Team Hickstead Men take on Eastwood Stud Ladies in the final. The boys had narrowly grasped

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victory the day before in the semi-finals against UberPolo Ladies 11-10. Eastwood Stud was composed of sisters Aurora Eastwood and Heloise Lorentzen, and joined by Claire Donnelly, a very well balanced and skilled team of three 2 goal players. The men’s team was formed by Club Director John Bunn, who was out for a boy’s victory having lost to the girls last year, something that club manager Sarah Wiseman has never let him forget! He invited Chas Taylor and Caio Sorzana to join him in this complex challenge where losing was simply not an option! The girls started off well and opened up the arena with speed, team play and aggression that took the men by surprise. Despite this it did not take long for Caio Sorzana to compose himself and grasp control of the situation, carefully controlling and directing his team, racking up the score for Team Hickstead quickly in the second chukka. The ladies stayed on form, speeding the ball down the arena but narrowly missed the goal on several occasions. The lads quickly took up the ball and never failed to miss their target, much to the disappointment of the female supporting crowd! Donnelly and Lorentzen challenged and attacked with sheer determination whilst Eastwood set up her team mates with some great backhands and defensive play, keeping a cool head. John Bunn did not miss a penalty all day and when the ladies gave away three 15 yard penalties, victory was steadily slipping away for Eastwood Stud. Chas Taylor sealed the deal with a superb goal in the last minute of the match. Team Hickstead’s men ran out victorious in a 12-7 victory, but the ladies certainly did not disappoint. The Sub-Final saw UberPolo Ladies take on Los Hombres Men. The ladies took a very convincing, early lead in the first chukka 7-1 with some great team play by sisters Nell and Alex Jacob. The boys fought back in the middle two chukkas with some goals by Daniel Acosta in a rather eye catching Zebra print polo helmet. Andrew Porter made several close goal attempts only to be denied by the post in the third chukka and Sim scrambled a few goals back to draw the score closer. The girls still maintained control with the Jacob sisters challenging the boy’s defensive skills and Wiseman picking off any of the men’s challenges with backhands directed to her team mates. They never looked troubled and ran out the winners 12-6. It was a great weekend of competitive polo and it is definitely an event that will stay in the Hickstead calendar for years to come with the kind and generous support of UberPolo who presented some great prizes for everyone that took part in the tournament. Maybe next year the Ladies will take home the title!


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Neil Hobday

Cool in the hot seat There may be a new name on the chief executive’s door at Smith’s Lawn, but Neil Hobday brings a wealth of experience from both player and golf club management to keep Guards Polo Club ahead in the high-goal game. Diana Butler catches up with him on his return from Argentina. By Diana Butler and Federico Levy. Photos by Matías Callejo. “We have been successfully organising the Cartier International event in Dubai for the past seven years. It is an interesting model – we have a venue (Desert Palm), a sponsor (Cartier) and the event is organised by the core team at Guards Polo Club. I call it the three-cornered model and it is something that I would like to roll out in other polo territories. We are already in advance discussions with a number of venues, sponsors and polo clubs and I am optimistic that I will be announcing these plans early in 2012.” The Club is not just looking at countries which are new to polo either. “We are committed to organising something appropriate in the home of polo, Argentina. Guards Polo Club has the opportunity to do something here that is both fun and different

“ Neil Hobday has only been in the Chief Executive’s chair at Guards Polo Club for some six months, but he has already begun to make his mark at Smith’s Lawn. An extensive trip to some key developing polo markets was just the beginning – taking in Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Dubai. Then he was off to Argentina for the Open, which included hosting a Guards Polo Club reception at the Four Seasons in Buenos Aires, recently acquired by one of the Club’s playing patrons Ali Albwardy. “I am committed to developing Guards Polo Club’s interests internationally from a business perspective,” he said on his return from South America. “We are very busy at Smith’s Lawn for six months of the year, but I want to make sure that the Club trades as a business for 12 months of the year. This Club has a very strong brand which has value and so can have a role in the developing polo markets around the world.” 104 | PQ

We are very busy at Smith’s Lawn for six months of the year, but I want to make sure that the Club trades as a business for 12 months of the year. This Club has a very strong brand which has value and so can have a role in the developing polo markets around the world”.

at this time of year. Of course nothing could or should conflict with the Abierto, but an event which will enable some of the patrons and other amateur players to play some polo and to hire professionals who are not involved in the Open and just have fun and hopefully even make a charitable donation too.” So why Argentina for a Guards-managed event? “The whole world of polo is in Argentina for those three weeks to a month around the Abierto,” explained Neil. “So from our point of view it is important that Guards Polo Club does not just host cocktail parties in the home of polo, but does something that is about playing polo too. A lot of our amateur and professional players are in Argentina during the Open, and the polo industry and the polo media is there too. So why not try to create something that everyone enjoys and then go on to watch the final of the Open?” Neil was appointed Chief Executive of Guards


Polo Club in June 2011 – some eight months after his predecessor, Charles Stisted was killed in a helicopter crash. Although Neil, like his predecessor, is a former officer in the Scots Guards, his path to this CEO’s chair has been very different. “My first job on leaving the Army was working for Mark McCormack’s IMG Group. I managed some of the best golfers in the world – both established stars and up-and-coming players like Colin Montgomerie. One of my early clients was the Argentine golfer Eduardo Romero.” What stands out is on Neil’s CV is that he is not afraid of questioning existing practices if he feels that a change will be an improvement to the sport. He spent five years developing the exclusive Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland, making it the first new club outside of the USA to go straight into the top 50 golf clubs of the world. He also created a PGA event (now the Scottish Open). “That first year was one of the strongest entries every seen, despite not paying any appearance money out to the players. We invited the players, told them why they had qualified and offered a sizeable prize fund of several million pounds. This way they were embarrassed not to play! We refused to pay expenses too, so creating a cleaner and level playing field. Seriously though, we worked very hard to attract three key groups: the players, the media and the public and everyone loved it.” Guards’ new CEO hopes to replicate some of that success in the polo world and believes that his

Any sport that wants to attract the world’s best players must offer the best playing surface possible. The standard of polo ground is what the players will remember long after a game”.

commercial experience can help to put the sport on the map globally. “Polo as a sport and as a major business definitely has to catch up with what has happened with the world’s leading sports, such as football, rugby, golf, tennis and Formula One,” explained Neil. “Polo, plus a host of other sports, should be achieving commercial and media success. For polo though, this has to be achieved without colliding with the patrons’ interests, as it is their investment that has funded the sport for the past 30 years.” Although Neil can see room for improvement, he is not making a rallying call for revolution though. “Polo has a format which works and so I am not seeking to break that formula. What people like me need to do is to introduce more revenue streams into the sport which don’t affect the crown jewels of the sport. If we can achieve this, plus get high-goal polo onto the TV, then we will see more sponsorship coming into the sport. I

know that it won’t be easy and has been tried before, but if we have active objectives that don’t conflict with the patrons’ interests, then we have more chance of success.” In addition to the business side of the sport of polo, Neil has thrown himself into the ground management at the Club. His many years in the golfing world awoke a passion for agronomy which Neil has put to good use since his arrival at Smith’s Lawn. “Any sport that wants to attract the world’s best players must offer the best playing surface possible. The standard of polo ground is what the players will remember long after a game. So it is essential to ensure the finest playing surface is available in any sport, but this is particularly meaningful in polo, due to the risk of injury to both player and pony.” So almost as soon as Neil had signed his contract with the Board, he was off visiting other polo grounds. Established ones like Cowdray Park and newer venues such as the Milford Havens’ Trippetts Farm, to see what makes a good polo playing surface. “It is no secret that the incredibly high usage of our high-goal grounds, plus the wet weather, contributed to problems with the playing surfaces at Smith’s Lawn,” he says. “So, obviously, this was my number one priority.” After taking advice from amongst others, Alejandro Battro, the doyen of polo ground construction and management, it became clear that the root zone was not deep enough to make a resilient and stable playing surface on the Club’s high-goal grounds. What was needed was verti draining and aeration at an appropriate depth to generate root zone development. “We have addressed these issues now,” said Neil. “In addition, we also identified that drainage was a problem too, with no pipe drainage across the high-goal grounds at all. So in November we laid 143 lateral drains, an incredible 15km of pipes, enabling our main grounds to drain properly. So the next two to three years will see a much improved playing surface on our high-goal grounds.” The work at Smith’s Lawn was carried out by Nick Hallam, a well respected engineer who has worked at the Packers’ Stedham grounds, Cowdray Park, Trippetts and the Schwarzenbachs’ Black Bears’ establishment. “I am delighted to add that the work at Smith’s Lawn was completed on time and to budget and that these grounds will be ready to play in 2012,”added Neil. This work may have taken priority for Neil, but he is fully aware of other issues at the Club that will need looking at. “We have to look after our members and so all the Club’s operations need to be efficient and that, of course, includes having excellent ground conditions.” So Neil may have lots of plans on how to improve the Club, but they are just to help him achieve one goal: “I want to make Guards the best polo club in the world.” So with full support from his Board, led by new Chairman, Jock Green -Armytage, and his own impressive track record on the fairways, there will be few who will bet against Neil achieving this ambition.

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World Polo Tour

Pablo MacDonough ended 2011 on top By Alejandra Ocampos. Photos by Matías Callejo. The 2011 edition of the World Polo Tour has come to an end with the 118th. Argentine Polo Open. La Dolfina’s Pablo MacDonough became the number 1. Despite a tough competition with his team mate, Adolfo Cambiaso, MacDonough remained in the first place because he was finalist at the Gold Cup in Ellerstina; meanwhile, as they both played in the same team (La Dolfina), they earned the same amount of points. Cambiaso, who was on top after winning the Jockey Club Open in September, is in second place. Also from la Dolfina, Juan Martin Nero, is in third place. He was on top several months of 2011, after winning the US Open. Another player who was at number one was Ellerstina’s Gonzalo Pieres Jr. ends the year in fourth place, followed by his brother Facundo, who closes the top 5. Brand new ten-goaler, La Dolfina’s David Stirling, remains in sixth place. Despite he didn’t advance many positions in the last months, Stirling is in a good position towards 2012.

Nicolás Pieres October 2011 Tortugas Open 2011, Argentina

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World Polo Tour Top10 Player 1. Pablo MacDonough 2. Adolfo Cambiaso Jr 3. Juan Martín Nero 4. Gonzalo Pieres Jr 5. Facundo Pieres 6. David Stirling Jr 7. Hilario Ulloa 8. Nicolás Pieres 9. Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr 10. Lucas Monteverde

Points 1445 1421 1411 1289 1248 1030 870 786 762 694

31st December, 2011

Argentine player Hilario Ulloa didn’t reach any final of the Triple Crown, but remains in seventh place due to his achievements during the UK season. Ellerstina’s Nicolás Pieres is in eighth place, followed by Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr., who is always on top in the world’s

Juan Martín Nero November & December 2011 Hurlingham Open, Argentine Open 2011, Argentina


most important polo tournaments. Closing the Top 10 is Lucas Monteverde, who got many great results in the UK season and is in good position for the WPT 2012. The Annual Race, the ranking that awards the year’s points to the players and starts every January 1, went to Juan Martin Nero, with a total of 570 points. He is followed by his La Dolfina team mates - David Stirling, Adolfo Cambiaso and Pablo MacDonough, in second, third and fouth place, respectively. Closing the Top 5 is the year’s great newcomer, Facundo Sola, and the sixth place is shared by many players: Martin Espain (Lechuza Caracas), Milo Fernández Araujo (Talandracas), Victor

Vargas (Lechuza Caracas), Guillermo Caset jr (Lechuza Caracas) and Hilario Ulloa (Zacara). Regarding the Masters ranking, that awards points for teams, within the framework of the most important seasons, such as Palm Beach, UK and Argentina, the winner was La Dolfina (400 points). In second place comes Ellerstina (275), and US Open winners, Lechuza Caracas, come third. Another winner of the Palm Beach season, Audi, is in fourth place, and fifth place went to British Open winners, Zacara. A new year is coming, as well as a new edition of the World Polo Tour. Who will take the first place?

La Dolfina Best Team 2011 Jockey Club Open, Hurlingham Open, Argentine Open 2011, Argentina

Pablo Mac Donough Top Player 2011

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Tom Morley

A superb horseman and consummate professional Tom Morley spoke with PQ about his career so far. By Aurora Eastwood. Photos by Tony Ramirez and Ana Clara Cozzi.

108 | PQ


Tom started playing polo aged 10; as the son of non other than horse maker extraordinaire, David Morley, Tom had a pretty good heads-up in the world of polo. He played a bit of Pony Club polo (Loriner division) with the Cowdray branch at age 15, playing alongside John Fisher and Jules Stevens, and by the age of 17 was certain that a career in polo lay ahead. Aged 18, Tom went abroad and spent the winter grooming for and playing with Matt Van Der Brink, and also spent some time with Ross Ainsley, whom he’d met the year before. This was to prove to be a lasting friendship.

High Goal experience Tom’s first high goal experience was for Los Tamaros (Bobby Aguirre’s team) in 2001, playing with Memo Gracida and Bauti Heguy. 2002 saw Tom playing for Graffham with Miguel Novillo Astrada and Tomás Llorente, narrowly losing the semi finals of the Gold Cup to Labegorce. In 2004 Tom played for Les Lions, losing in the ¼ finals to none other than Cambiaso, and in 2005 he played for Adrian Kirby’s side. 2007 and 2008 were the Apes Hill years; Cow

Williams, dismayed at the lack of British players in the UK high goal, put together an all Brit side for two seasons, comprising the Tomlinson brothers, Tom and Ed Hitchman.

Winters abroad “I’d spent a bit of time in Argentina but mostly New Zealand with Ross Ainsley. He owns 200 Thoroughbreds on 200 acres on Pukekohe, which is half an hour outside

Horses that stood out “Gaucho was an Argentine gelding I had when I was 10 – I played him and hunted him! I think he was the most expensive horse Dad ever bought – about £2,000! Piccolo I brought from NZ in 2006; she’s done me really well. She’s 12 now, and only 14.3hh, but she used to play two chukkas every game in the high goal with Apes Hill! Bryan is another NZ TB – she’s 15.1hh and just has everything. Peter Hewitt also gives me two or three to play every year from his Mill Farm operation – Ellie stands out in particular, she played in the Gold Cup last year. Nadia is also very good”.

Handicap progression 16 years old - 1 goal 18 years old - 2 goal 20 years old - 3 goal 21 years old - 4 goal 24 years old - 5 goal 28 years old - 6 goal

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Auckland. He also rents another farm near the beach” explained Tom. It was through Ross that Tom met his wife Jana, as Ross is married to Jana’s sister. Tom met Jana when accompanying Ross to “meet the parents” for the first time, in 2005, and then again at Ross’ wedding – whereupon they began dating in secret for several months before coming clean! Tom began to spend more time in Argentina when playing with Apes Hill, and more recently has been playing at the Tomlinson’s La Quinta, in Pilar. This season Tom is playing Milo Fernandez Araujo’s younger horses – with financial help from the HPA, Tom can play the whole season. “I hope to be able to improve for at least another five years. I go to Argentina to improve my polo, and at home I’m looking to improve my string ever more. I bring two or three TB’s over from New Zealand every year, once they are six or seven years old, and then sell one or two out of my string. I have a string of around 10”.

New Opportunities Tom met Simon Arber at a Heaton Ellis trust event in 2009. They discussed playing a few practices, one thing led to another, and Tom has been the core of Simon’s 12 goal polo ever since. “Simon lets me organise the team, which is great. It’s important to him and Romila that we support young British players, with the idea that

110 | PQ

our 12 goal team becomes a 15 goal team in a couple of seasons (this is already happening, as both Jack Richardson and Richard Le Poer went up in handicap this season)”. The Four Quarters team has enjoyed success; winning the 12 goal Victor Lodorum, the Cheltenham Cup and reaching the final of the Dollar Cup and Autumn Cup at Cowdray. 2012 will see Tom and Jack remaining in the team; part of the Arber’s commitment to up and coming British players means they don’t lose their slot on the team if their handicaps rise – so Jack is still in.

The Future “I want to keep playing obviously, and be considered one of the more competitively mounted players in the UK. In Argentina I’d like to play the Camara for a few years, and Milo is really giving me the opportunity by mounting me – I’ll have good horses and can get in good teams”.

Ross Ainsley 5 goaler Ross is accepted as one of the world’s best producer of polo ponies, having sold ponies to the likes of Cambiaso, Memo Gracida and Miguel Novillo Astrada. He is multi-skilled, also offering polo holidays in New Zealand. www.ainsleypolo.com


NOW FREE

ACCESS! www.pololine.com

10 years being The Official Site of Polo. PQ | 111


Legal

Setting up a new Polo Yard The prospect of setting up a new polo yard is an exciting one, but also can be quite a daunting one. One of the initial decisions would be whether to rent or buy. If a yard is just required perhaps for a season for many renting will be the preferred option; however if a more permanent base is required buying may be the solution. In this article I will outline some thoughts with regard to both options.

Rent or Leasing a yard Apart from negotiating the obvious terms of the lease such as the amount of rent and the duration of the lease, a tenant looking to take a yard should be "alive" to the following: • The lease will normally set out where responsibility lies for repair and maintenance as between the landlord and the tenant. A tenant only taking a short lease for say a season or 2 or 3 years should be careful not to be saddled with an onerous repairing and maintenance obligation. A "full" tenant's repairing and maintenance obligation can require a tenant to effectively expend significant sums on the property to the extent that the tenant has to hand the property back at the end the lease in a better state of repair than it was at the outset. • The tenant needs to understand any restrictions the landlord imposes in the lease – these can be many and varied, including restriction on the number of ponies kept, where lorries may be parked, what accesses may be used when and so on. • A landlord will frequently want the lease excluded from the provisions of the Landlord & Tenant

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Act 1954 (which would otherwise potentially give a business tenant long term security of tenure); this is not usually a problem but needs to be understood by the tenant. • The tenant needs to understand any provisions for the landlord to terminate the lease early. The possibilities include a "break clause" in favour of the Landlord – if there is such a provision will the landlord give the tenant sufficient notice to enable a tenant to find alternative premises, move the ponies etc? The lease will also include provision for the landlord to end the lease if the tenant breaches his or her obligations (for example not paying rent). The lease may provide that the Landlord has a lien over the tenant's ponies for the unpaid rent. • If the lease is to last for several years the landlord may want to insert rent review provisions. A tenant needs to understand how the rent review will work, and be confident that the basis for review will not result in a rent he or she cannot sustain. • Stamp Duty Land Tax is potentially payable on a lease (depending on the amount of rent) – leases for 7 years or more must be registered at the Land Registry.


Buying a yard outright By this I mean the purchase of a freehold. The potential buyer of a polo yard needs to check: • That the yard has the correct planning permission for their intended use. The fact that the intended polo yard comprises redundant farm buildings does not mean that it already has the correct planning status for polo use. In planning terms polo use and buildings for polo use do not generally equate to agricultural use. (This comment relates to taking a lease as well – but obviously the consequences of buying a freehold property without the requisite planning permission can be much more profound than when taking a short lease). • Having said the above it is not unusual for polo properties to have an element of polo use and an element of agricultural use. A buyer needs to understand how the intended development of the polo will sit with the agricultural use – particular when the property is in an agri-environment scheme. If the polo development will interfere with the agri-environment scheme the buyer needs to understand the (financial) consequences. • The title to the property needs to be carefully checked to ensure that there are no restrictive covenants that effectively would prohibit the use of the

property for polo. A covenant for example to use the land only for agricultural use may potentially prevent polo use; a buyer before exchange of contracts needs to identify such covenants – to ensure that the covenant is released before he or she buys. This may entail the seller "buying off" the covenant from the person entitled to the benefit of it. • Searches of the local and other relevant authorities need to be carried out carefully before exchange of contracts. It is particularly important to identify what public rights of way exist over the property – a party of ramblers trying to walk through a practice chukka on your new polo lawn would not be welcome. The above I am afraid is not an exhaustive list but will give a little food for thought. Although you may say I would say it anyway, if you are contemplating buying or renting polo premises it will pay dividends to employ solicitors and surveyors familiar with such premises to help you. Mark Charter Partner Head of Rural Team Blake Lapthorn DDI: 02380 857116 Email: mark.charter@bllaw.co.uk

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The Polo Stud Farm – Protecting Tax Reliefs The commercial UK polo stud farm can benefit from distinct benefits from both income tax relief through the claim for tax losses and possible inheritance tax (IHT) relief on death.

The profit motive To achieve the tax relief that is available there has to be proof of commercial motive for the breeding operation. The stud business must be ‘potentially profit making’. A recent relevant case, John Agnew (TC566), was actually about a beautician’s business, but the key factor here was whether, within the existing structure, the business was capable of making a profit which in this case it was not. In simple terms there are two ways to prove whether potential profit exists; either by achieving an actual profit, or by showing that a profit can and will be made through accurate, well thought out business plans. There has to be a ‘financial road map’ for the breeding operation showing how the stud farm has learnt from its own specific mistakes, as well as from generic mistakes common in the trade and any problems arising in the polo industry.

Badges of Trade – not a hobby There has to be proof of the profit motive as evidence of one of the important ‘badges of trade’. With the power of the internet and its potential for revealing contradictory statements through searches of Google or Twitter, it is essential that there are no quotes anywhere which might suggest otherwise. There are also provisions to restrict losses where the involvement in breeding is deemed to be “non-active”. The tax

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loss claim will be capped at £25,000 unless there is evidence of under 10 hours of active involvement per week. Evidence of the work and involvement in the polo stud should be obtained, especially when the taxpayer making the loss claim has other commercial interests that demand time, making the 10 hours hard to prove. UK income tax losses can be offset against total income which with a top rate of income tax of 50% is very attractive.

Practical Tips • Produce a business plan, budgets and regular management accounts that show a realistic profit can be achieved and how lessons have been learned from previous problems. Make it clear how anticipated production costs and overheads can be recovered in potential sales proceeds. • Keep a portfolio of evidence to show commercial intent, active involvement, lack of hobby status and motive, and how the focus is on profitability. • Look at alternative income streams against which overheads can be offset, e.g. farming and woodland grants, renewable energy schemes. Supplied by Julie Butler F.C.A. Butler & Co, Bennett House, The Dean, Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 9BH. Tel: 01962 735544. Email; j.butler@ butler-co.co.uk, Website; www.butler-co.co.uk Julie Butler F.C.A. is the author of Tax Planning for Farm and Land Diversification (Bloomsbury Professional), Equine Tax Planning ISBN: 0406966540 and Stanley: Taxation of Farmers and Landowners (LexisNexis)


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Photographer/artist

Matías Callejo Argentinian Polo shots!

Matías, how long ago did you start photographing Polo? I’ve done it all my life from the stands, and began professionally in 2002. What’s so interesting about photographing this sport? Horses are very aesthetic animals, so all sports involving horses are interesting. Polo also combines speed, strength, skill on the part of riders, and the elegance of the rider/horse combination. What tournaments do you prefer to cover? Without a doubt, Palermo. It is over used, but the comparison with Wimbledon fits just fine. Palermo is a tournament that has been running for 118 years, played by the best 32 polo players in the world, and which has been played by the greatest figures in the history of this sport. It is the tournament everyone has ever 116 | PQ

dreamt of winning, and all teams aim their efforts in that direction. This tournament is also frequented by lots of important polo players from all over the world, figures from other spheres, with the presence of lots of brands and sponsors which add a lot of colour and make it a fun event off the field as well. However, I really like covering small tournaments played at clubs in the interior of the country. There is a very family-like atmosphere and great camaraderie. That’s where the spirit of countryside polo can be seen, and it is very pleasant if you wish to spend a couple of days there among friends.

What is it like covering polo with all the brands that are involved? (e.g. Piaget) Over the past few years, lots of new brands have drawn closer to polo in order to support tournaments, teams and even players. I think it’s very good for all


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“ those of us who make a living from polo, and are far more than the four people who enter the playing field. Brands help organisations to grow, enable an increasing number of media companies to participate, and make it possible for tournaments to be better organised and more attractive for spectators. I am lucky I’m able to collaborate with various brands, each of which are world market leaders, and all very interested in associating their image to polo and continuing to support this sport.

Over the past few years, lots of new brands have drawn closer to polo in order to support tournaments, teams and even players. I think it’s very good for all those of us who make a living from polo, and are far more than the four people who enter the playing field. Brands help organisations to grow, enable an increasing number of media companies to participate, and make it possible for tournaments to be better organised and more attractive for spectators.

What is a day’s work like when you’re covering an event? Before I leave home, I check on all my equipment, accessories, credentials, etc. I always try to arrive at the field 1 1/2 or 2 hours before the first game starts. Once I’m on the field, I prepare my work plan according to what I have agreed upon with my clients and editors. Before each match, I take photos of players and horses PQ | 119


I prepare my work plan according to what I have agreed upon with my clients and editors. Before each match, I take photos of players and horses at their ponylines, as well as some social and other interesting photos around the field.

at their pony lines, as well as some social and other interesting photos around the field. I seek a position behind the goal posts according to the light. I like taking full-face photos of players in order to capture good expressions. I photograph the last two chukkas from the middle of the field, to get a different angle. Once the game is over, I take photos of the celebration and prize-giving (should there be any) and some more of the social type. Then, it’s back home. As soon as I arrive, I choose photos for each client, in order of urgency, as per each ones needs. I pass on the information to all of my clients, I charge batteries, clean cameras and zoomlenses, and then I go and play with my daughter.

What is your opinion regarding the 2011 Triple Crown Championship? In terms of photos, nothing has changed from 2010. With the change in rules made a couple of years ago, all matches are slightly more open now. You no longer get as many of those over-crowded bunches of players forming a “wagon-train”, which always looks so awful in photos. As a spectator, I think there is a marked supremacy of two teams, which isn’t exactly ideal for this sport. But all the rest of the teams are pretty even, and some very interesting games have been played among the six quartets belonging to the second pack. Unfortunately, most teams have changed their line-ups 120 | PQ


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In the future, I would like to dedicate myself entirely to polo throughout the year. Here, in Argentina, there is little if any polo in winter, and during that season I dedicate my time to other sports such as rugby, golf and tennis. All sports I’ve played and which I love, but none of them as much as polo. I’d like to cover the US and UK seasons, and become exclusively dedicated to polo.

for 2012, but we will surely continue to see the same two teams dominate the game for several more years.

Do

you like taking artistic photos besides those that are

sports-related?

Yes, I do. But during the Triple Crown season it is far more difficult as I don’t have enough time to dedicate to this type of photos.

What are your plans for the future as regards Polo? In the future, I would like to dedicate myself entirely to polo throughout the year. Here, in Argentina, there is little if any polo in winter, and during that season I dedicate my time to other sports such as rugby, golf and tennis. All sports I’ve played and which I love, but none of them as much as polo. I’d like to cover the US and UK seasons, and become exclusively dedicated to polo.

Contact mc@matiascallejo.com Website www.matiascallejo.com

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Horse Jet Lag

Enhanced performance in horses travelling across time zones The positive effects of jet lag for polo ponies By Aurora Eastwood.

Research conducted at the University of Bristol Faculty of Medical and Veterinary into the effects of travelling horses across different time zones threw up some startling results. Dr Domingo Tortonese, an Argentine vet who moved to the UK in the early 90’s, was the lead scientist. A life-long fan of polo, his primary interests lay in reproductive endocrinology so this latest study is a somewhat different line of work, which relates to his concern with the neuroendocrine control of biological rhythms. Humans, when crossing time zones, suffer from jet lag; that is, our circadian rhythms (our natural 24 hour cycles) are disrupted. We have all had sleepless nights (especially when flying East) as although local time may be 10pm, it may be only 3pm back home. This is bad enough for business travellers, but for athletes there are serious negative effects on performance. Domingo’s research results were a surprise, not least to him:

“This was part of a series of studies over many years, and the results were the opposite to what we expected to find. We observed that although horses are extremely sensitive to abrupt changes in the 24-hour light-dark cycle, they adapt very quickly to phase shifts, such as those experienced after a transmeridian flight. 124 | PQ

This relates to a light-dependency of this species for the expression of a circadian rhythm of activity rather than for the entrainment (i.e. synchronisation) of a rhythm to the 24-hour light-dark cycle as is the case for humans”.

“The fast process of adaptation involves alterations in endocrine systems that facilitate an acute increase in physical capacity”. “These results relate to a weakness in the endogenous control of the horse’s circadian rhythms of activity, which could be observed, for example, in the lack of a defined sleep-wake cycle, as horses sleep for short periods scattered throughout day and night. However, horses display very strong circannual (i.e. yearly) biological rhythms. Thus, they respond extremely slowly to a change in North/South hemispheres and require 12 months to fully adjust to new winter/ summer cycles and this has a very detrimental effect on performance”.


The full press release is later in this article, but in a nutshell, the findings are relevant in polo for several reasons. 1 Horses are highly sensitive to light and this must be considered when moving ponies. 2 Athletic performance could be enhanced through the appropriate manipulation of the 24-hour light-dark cycle. 3 A polo pony flown across time zones will temporarily have enhanced athletic performance. Therefore, high goal ponies should be flown to the UK as close as possible to their first game (ie a matter of days before) to benefit from this. 4 Horses suffer loss in performance when crossing the equator; therefore, point three is especially relevant in high goal polo given that many ponies fly from South to North America for the high goal season (and vice versa).

The original press release:

Light dependency underlies beneficial jetlag in racehorses A new study has shown that racehorses are extremely sensitive to changes in daily light and, contrary to humans, can adapt very quickly to sudden shifts in the 24-hour light-dark cycle, such as those resulting from a transmeridian flight, with unexpected benefits on their physical performance. The research led by academics in the University of Bristol’s Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences is published in the Journal of Neuroendocrinology. This is the first study of its kind to investigate the effects of jetlag on the physiology and performance of racehorses under tightly controlled experimental conditions. Horses are the only athletes, apart from humans, regularly flown across time zones for athletic competitions. Dr Domingo Tortonese, Senior Lecturer in Anatomy in the School of Veterinary Sciences, who led the study, said: “We tested the hypothesis that abrupt alterations in the 24-hour light-dark cycle, such as those associated with the crossing of time-zones, would alter the molecular clockwork and neuroendocrine systems of racehorses with detrimental consequences on their athletic performance. “In humans, air travel-associated sudden changes in the 24-hour lightdark cycle disrupt biological rhythms with negative effects on cognitive and physical performance. Indeed, jetlag has important implications for athletes who travel across time zones for competitive sporting events, particularly after an easterly flight. “Our study shows that racehorses are different from humans in that they rely on light cues for their daily rhythms of activity, rather than for the synchronisation of an endogenously generated rhythm to the 24-hour light-dark cycle. This light dependency underlies a rapid process of adaptation with critical scientific implications and unexpected practical benefits.” Thoroughbred horses with previous race training were housed in lightcontrolled rooms and put through a fitness program of daily sessions of exercise on a high–speed treadmill at variable times of the day for three months. They then experienced a shift in the 24-hour light-dark cycle

For optimum athletic performance, ponies should be flown to the UK from Argentina just days before the first high goal game to exploit the enhanced performance that the crossing of time zones will trigger, and to avoid the onset of reduced athletic performance that the crossing of hemispheres will cause. Paper: Experimental jetlag disrupts circadian clock genes but improves performance in racehorses after light-dependent rapid resetting of neuroendocrine systems and the rest-activity cycle, Tortonese DJ, Preedy DF, Hesketh SA, Webb HN, Wilkinson ES, Allen WR, Fuller CJ, Townsend J, Short RV. Journal of Neuroendocrinology.

In the weeks following the press announcement of the findings, Domingo Tortonese has been inundated with interest from media all over the world – from the Equestrian press to The Telegraph, CNN and the Discovery Channel – the latter are both flying to the UK to film programmes about the studies. This is truly groundbreaking research.

that mimicked an easterly flight across seven time zones. The 24-hour patterns of four clock genes, together with neuroendocrine systems involved in a variety of functions, including time measurement, homeostasis and the response to stress, were investigated before and after the shift. The aerobic and anaerobic capacities were measured by standardised performance tests. Locomotor activity was also assessed continuously, under photoperiodic conditions and in the absence of light cues (constant darkness), to determine the expression and robustness of a 24-hour rest-activity cycle. The speed of re-adaptation to a new light-dark cycle was also investigated. Contrary to the prediction based on human and rodent data, the results show that whereas horses are extremely sensitive to sudden changes in the 24-hour light-dark cycle, they can adapt very quickly to a phase shift. Importantly, this rapid adaptation is not accompanied by an increase in the level of stress, but by alterations in endocrine systems that favour an enhancement of the horse’s physical capacity during the process. The improvement in athletic performance following experimental jetlag resulted in the animals being able to run at full gallop for an additional 25 seconds before reaching fatigue. This differs from humans who show a slow adjustment, particularly after an eastbound flight, with detrimental consequences on performance. The difference between the two species can be attributed to the powerful masking effect of light on the horse’s daily locomotor activity, which, together with the absence of a robust sleep-wake cycle, can be a part of a mechanism of adaptation to sudden changes in the environment. The results of this study have important practical implications, since equine athletes do not need to travel to be subjected to changes in daily light, and its beneficial consequences could help to reduce the level of injury in competitions. The research by the University of Bristol, in collaboration with academics from the University of Melbourne and the University of Cambridge, was supported by a research grant from the Horserace Betting Levy Board and by a Wellcome Trust Equipment Grant. PQ | 125


High Goal Pony Review 2011

Best ponies of the Argentine Season PQ international choose the 2 best horses of the Argentine High Goal Season. Photos by Matías Callejo.

Open Tarantula | Facundo Pieres

Name of the Pony: Open Tarantula Name of the Player: Facundo Pieres Sex: Mare Colour: Chestnut Property of: Ellerstina SA Awards: Deauville Hurlingham Open 2011

Daniel Kearney Award to the best pony in the final AACCP Award to the Best Playing Pony registered as Raza Polo Argentino

Anay Sur Dulce | Juan Martín Nero

Name of the Pony: Anay Sur Dulce Name of the Player: Juan Martín Nero Sex: Mare Colour: Chestnut Property of: Marcos Heguy Awards: Argentine Open 2011

AACCP Award to the Best Playing Pony registered as Raza Polo Argentino

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PADDOCKS FOR 200 HORSES

INTERNATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY COURSE

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Artist

Sally Lancaster

Portrait & Equestrian Artist Born in 1975, Sally is a Gloucestershire-based artist who like many of the best painters today, is entirely self-taught. Having always enjoyed art, she began working commercially some 12 years ago as an equine and portrait painter, with word of her talent spreading rapidly and commissions flooding-in. Characterised by fine brush strokes on subtle backgrounds, Sally’s focus is always on the beauty of the horse itself, often observed from an unusual angle. She is fascinated by detail, capturing every expression, movement and subtlety of the subject.

Above: Beach Ball Below Left: The Gathering Below: Right: Castle Good to Go

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Sally is highly respected for her portraits and equestrian art, meticulously producing paintings to evoke emotions and allow the viewer to enjoy the beauty and true personality of the subject. Sally has won numerous awards for her fine, highly detailed acrylic paintings. She is an Associate Member of the Society of Equestrian Artists and regularly exhibits in London as well as various galleries around the UK.


Above: One Small Step Below Left: Manduro Below: Right: Riding Off Atelier 61 Cleevemount Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 3HF Phone: 01242 460254 mail@sallylancaster.co.uk www.sallylancaster.co.uk

Awards 2010 - 1st Runner Up Editors Award, 4th place Painting category

Ex Arte Equinus 4. 2008 - Directors Award, International Art Competition Ex Arte Equinus II, Horse In Art Magazine. 2007 - Best Work in any Medium by an Artist Under 35 Years of Age, Society of Equestrian Artists.

Exhibitions 2011 Society of Equestrian Artists Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London. Halls Fine Art Open Competition, West Park, Weston-under-Lizard, Shropshire. New Equestrian Art, Sally Mitchell Fine Art, Tuxford, Nottinghamshire. Association of Animal Artists, Derby House, Lancashire. 2010 Society of Equestrian Artists Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London Horse in Art, Obsidian Gallery, Stoke Mandeville. I Found Horses‌, Mall Galleries, London Society of Equestrian Artists Affordable Art Fair, Palace House, Newmarket

2009 Society of Equestrian Artists Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London Equestrienne, Garden Gallery, Cheltenham. 2008 Open Art Exhibition, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. Horse in Art, Obsidian Gallery, Stoke Mandeville. Society of Equestrian Artists Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London. Cambridgeshire Art Fair, Chilford Hall Vineyard, Cambridge. Mans' Best Friend, Parkfields Gallery, Ross-onWye. Equine Art Exhibition, Spice Lodge, Cheltenham. Only Dogs and Horses, Iona House Gallery, Woodstock.

2007 Society of Equestrian Artists Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London. Society of Equestrian Artists Annual Exhibition, Palace House, Newmarket. Society of Feline Artists Annual Exhibition, Llewellyn Alexander (Fine Paintings) Ltd, London. Horse in Art, Obsidian Art, Stoke Mandeville. Bath Society of Artists, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath. 2006 Society of Equestrian Artists Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London. Society of Equestrian Artists Annual Exhibition, Palace House, Newmarket. Spirit of Racing, The Open, Cheltenham Racecourse. PQ | 129


PQ Lifestyle A chukka only lasts some seven minutes. So what to do when not on a horse?

Lifestyle

This issue sees the hugely expanded and ever improving lifestyle section; brimming with suggestions for what to do, see, wear and eat for all that dead time in between polo matches (wink wink!). New fashion editor Giovanna gives us her take on what key items should be in everyone's wardrobes - for both men and women. Karen Davis shows us what are the best beauty products and other such luxuries. A feature on the choicest eatieres in Buenos Aires is sure to jump start your appetite, and you won't be late for lunch if you buy one of the watches featured in the truly stunning showcase. And for those who like all forms of horsepower, there is a round up of some of the best offerings both on the road and on the sea. Not that polo players need an excuse to spend money of course!

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Welcome to the all-new PQ fashion section From cutting edge design to more classic items We are excited to introduce an expanded fashion section for the New Year issued of PQ. Fashion should always be fun, bright and adventurous, never taken too seriously, but maintained as a medium to channel sophistication and class. This issue, we focus on bright colours, classical elegance and superb tailoring. We spotlight one of our favorite designers, Malene Birger, who so consistently hits the high notes whether creating casual day wear or fabulous evening ensembles. For those lucky enough to be basking in the sunshine, don’t miss the most fabulous bikini of the season by Katherine Demarchelier, and match this with a pair of the latest Diane Von Fustenburg sunglasses. For the gentleman, we concentrate on wonderful accessories for those looking for a cheeky twist as well as superbly tailored jackets from the E Tautz collection (with Saville Row heritage). Edgy, adventurous and dashing – and perfect for the modern gentleman.

Fashion

Fall in Love with Colour this Season

Bright colours are in for 2012. Brighten your mood and enhance your confidence with these stunning selections.

Lifestyle

M Missoni A stunning combination of colours, light up the room with this multi-knitted top with pink and orange tones. Price: £365.00 Stocklist: www.coggles.com

Sophie Gittins

Coco Ribbon

Start your outfit from the feet up with these feminine pink heals. Fun and vibrant, they will bring any outfit to life. Price: £302.00 Stocklist: www.sophiegittins.com

From the “All about Gala” collection, this floral silk top channels a spring & summer vibe from this boutique Australian label. Price: £225.00 Stocklist: www.cocoribbon.com PQ | 131


Fashion

Spring/Summer 2012 Katharine Demarchelier This simply stunning and oh-so-elegant swimsuit will make a sun goddess out of you. With a touch of sexy glamour, a swim suit from Katharine Demarchelier “embodies a subtle blend of avant garde creativity and timeless sophistication”. Price: £100.00 Stockist: www.katharinedemarchelier.com

Diane Von Fustenburg

Lifestyle

Funky and colourful sunglasses are in - the quirkier the better. These round sunglasses channel a classic shape of the past with a very modern twist. Price: £135.00 Stockist: www.dvf.com

Alice Temperley This dramatic snake print leather gold lock waist belt is the perfect accessory to your outfit. Price: £245.00 Stockist: www.temperleylondon.com

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Kenneth Jay Lane

Sho

This original and fun ring is a collector’s piece, with crystal stones ‘ join the fashionistas who are swaring like bees to honey towards the current insect jeweler trend’. Price: £69.00 Stockist: www.cocoribbon.com

Sparkle with this bold and finely made sterling and yellow gold ring encrusted with pink Sapphires. Price: £465.00 Stockist: www.shojewellery.com


Fashion

Designer in the spotlight Established in 2003, By Malene Birger is a modern Danish luxury brand bringing an artistic angle to contemporary classics created with love.

Qantia Bustier Top Shirt Flat Collar Enhance your assets with this divinely fitted bustier. Perfect with skinny red trousers and a pair of killer heels. Price: £155.00

Add a touch of class to your outfit with these long leather gloves. Price: £99.00

Kymina Suede Pumps

Pinna Angora-blend Sweater

You cannot go wrong with this fabulous pair of red suede stiletto heels. Price: £289.00

A timeless classic and wardrobe essential. Made of Angora wool and the essence of comfort. Price: £145.00

Victoire Embellished Dress A standout dress for a woman who wants to make her mark. Grecian inspired, dazzling, this long embellished dress has a cinched in waist to ensure a flattering silhouette. Price: £669.00 PQ | 133

Lifestyle

Illiam Leather Gloves


Men Fashion

Autumn/Winter

Let grey skies and cold winter weather set the canvas for elegant, colourful and stylish menswear in 2012. Well cut and classic coats, a beautiful pair of shoes, a quirky bowtie - choose the one that suits you or replenish your wardrobe with all of them and keep the winter blues at bay .

E Tautz

Lifestyle

Grey winter days will never get you down in this dynamic yellow-gold and superbly cut pea coat with Saville Row heritage. Price: £945.00 Stocklist: www.mrporter.com

E Tautz

E Tautz

Smarten up your winter woolies with this hand knitted shawl collar woolen jumper. Using an oversized tuck stitch for a distinctive honeycomb texture, it’s time to consign granny’s knits to the closet. Price: £495.00 Stocklist: www.mrporter.com

An edgy twist on a classic double breasted look, this navy and ecru broken herringbone jacket is a refined statement piece for the modern gentleman. Price: £840.00 Stocklist: www.mrporter.com

Paul Smith This stylish felt trilby hat adds a touch of flair and character. Price: £75.00 Stocklist: www.paulsmith.co.uk

Folk Footware

Huntsman of Saville Row This daring hand printed bow tie will cause the right kind of stir at any function. Price: £58.00 Stocklist: www.h-huntsman.com 134 | PQ

It’s one for the money, two for the show… indulge yourself with these beautiful hand made blue suade shoes The shoes feature rolled laces, interlocked tab detail, leather lining and a cube embossed leather sole. Price: £205.00 Stocklist: www.coggles.com


Fashion

Winter Warmers

Stay cosy and stylish this winter with a selection of classic pieces to keep you looking stylish and debonaire.

Belstaff Gold Label Edgy and raw, this motorbike inspired three quarter jacket is not for the faint hearted. A perfect city to country addition. Black Roadmaster Jacket Price: £425.00 Stocklist: www.coggles.com

Mukluks

Paul Smith Turquoise Wollen Jumper This luxurious men turquoise woollen jumper with woven grey panelled sleeves is understated yet refined and a perfect staple item for your wardrobe. Prece: £160 pounds Stockist: www.paulsmith.co.uk

Winter in Europe has a few months still to run; as a final nod to the elements why not curl up on the sofa with this lovely throw: Equine Amber Throw A true statement piece, this beautifully tactile throw is inspired by equestrian heritage style and woven with the iconic Newmarket colour palette of amber, red and navy. Price: £105.00 Stocklist: www.scarletandargent.co.uk

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Lifestyle

Keep your feet deliciously warm and fabulously funky during the winter months - invest in some beautiful Mukluks boots. Each boot is unique and individually hand crafted. Grey Original Mukluk Boots with Blue Beadwork Price: £300.00 Stocklist: www.muklukstore.com


Cosmetics

Hot off the block

Lifestyle

Pastel is pretty but hot colours trot! Get ready for a year of block colours on lips. By Karen Davis.

D&G Passion Duo Gloss Fusion Lipstick in Delight Delicious coral with moisturiser running right through the middle – perfect! Price: £24.00 Stockist: www.harrods.com

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Chanel Rouge Coco in Chalys Orange coral with shimmering reflections of the first fine days. Price: £23.00 Stockist: 020 7493 3836

Rouge Dior in Mazette

Mary Kay Crème Lipstick in Red Salsa

A spirited, striking coral to red. Price: £22.50 Stockist: www.dior.com

Hot matt red that lights up a room. Price: £12.00 Stockist: www.marykay.co.uk


Fragances

Room Fragrance – 3 of the best Walk into any room and you want both your visual and olfactory senses hit with the best that money can buy. Miss out on fragrancing your room and you miss out on giving your guests a complete experience. Here are my “three of the best” ways to create the perfect first impression.

Jo Malone Grapefruit and Rosemary Living Cologne One of the Grande Dames of room fragrance that no well dressed bathroom should be without. However, let it live a little and take it into the hall or living rooms for a quick spritz before guests arrive. Price: £45.00 for 200ml Stockist: www.jomalone.com

Floris Candle in Hyacinth and Bluebell

Stockist: www.florislondon.com

Neom Luxury Organics Reed Diffuser Reed diffusers are one of the easiest ways of diffusing fragrance into a room by allowing the liquid fragrance to permeate and run up the reeds to diffuse into the surrounding air. Neom organic products not only ooze beautiful scents they also act as serious aroma-therapeutic treatments to make you feel however you want to. Our favourite is the Sicilian Lemon & Basil, but you can also choose Moroccan Blush Rose or Lavender, Jasmine and Brazilian Rosewood, just go with your mood. Price: £32.00 Stockist: www.neomorganics.com PQ | 137

Lifestyle

Floris have been fragrancing rooms since 1851 so they really are the “go to” brand. Clearly, they’ve reinvented themselves during this time, but their raw ingredients are as lovely as ever. This candle is a blend of waxes matched with this delicious, spring fragrance that is packed with the promise of summer. Beautiful in a room, beautifully perfumed. Price: £40.00, 175g or 35 hours of burning time.


Cosmetics

Night Workers

Wouldn’t it be great to have someone work on your beauty problems overnight to create a perfect canvas for the morning? We’ve chosen some of the most innovative products on the market that work on specific tasks rather than simple night creams, which we all use.

Bare Minerals Pure Transformation Night Treatment This dust-on powder works at night to visibly reduce pores, increase firmness and improve skin elasticity. Interestingly, there are four shades to choose from so it’s a great excuse for “make up” in bed and it’s packed with vitamins to condition skin and Emblica Fruit to brighten your complexion. Price: £45.00 Stockist: www.bareescentuals.co.uk

Lifestyle

Redken Argan-6 Hair Oil Argan oil has been one of the big success stories of 2011 and this delicious hair oil contains omega-6 enriched oil that provides deep conditioning and lasting suppleness to intensely nourish dry, brittle hair. Apply to slightly damp hair to intensely soften hair overnight, safe in the knowledge that this oil is designed not to come off on your pillow. In the morning, simply wash hair for super shine all day. Price: £24.95 Stockist: www.redken.co.uk

Renewal Lash Serum by L’Oreal Lash serums are the perfect night worker. Apply to the lash line at night, sleep and within a few weeks you have longer, thicker lashes – absolute bliss. Price: £10.99 Stockist: www.loreal.co.uk

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair We all know that skin works hardest to repair itself at night, so it makes sense to put the most powerful repairing ingredients on your skin before sleep. This award-winning product works to repair the damage from pollution and lifestyle with proven Hyaluronic Acid, which is one of the best ways to attract and retain moisture in the skin. Many, many people swear by it. Price: £45.00 for 50 ml Stockist: www.bareescentuals.co.uk

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Cosmetics

Hair today

Hair loss, you either embrace it or fight it but the truth is, once that hair bulb has died, there’s no way it’s coming back without surgery. Prevention is clearly better than cure and the sooner you treat it the more likely you are to save your hair. Here’s a selection of the most modern weapons on the market today.

Kérastase Densi-Recharge Nutrients Daily Hair Densifying Food Supplement Instead of rubbing the lotion, some try popping the pills as a well balanced diet is extremely important for producing beautiful hair. However, food supplements and nutrients can help address deficiencies in the daily intake of vitamins and minerals. Kérastase Nutrients claims that these tablets work to help air feel stronger, denser, healthier and thicker. Price: £21.90 for 36 tablets (18 tablets & 18 capsules) Stockist: www.kerastase.co.uk

Lifestyle

Philip Kingsley Scalp Toner This rehydrating toner and scalp energizer performs 3 key functions: stimulating blood supply to the scalp, mildly astringent qualities to absorb excess oil & protects against bacteria. You want a strong, natural flora and fauna on your scalp and stimulating the blood supply helps coax the hair bulb back into growth. Price: £17.40 Stockist: www. philipkingsley.co.uk

Harley Street Hair Clinic Hair Transplant

If your hair bulb is dead, it isn’t coming back so get the black AMEX out and head to Harley Street. There are several ways of transplanting hair and there’s no point in pussy footing around. It will hurt. A lot. However, with good results you really can turn back time. If hair loss is your major bug bear, head to where the celebs go, the Harley Street Hair Clinic and get an appointment either in person or online. www.hshairclinic.co.uk PQ | 139


Watches

Lifestyle

Time Design

Obviously the primary objective of any watch is to tell the time. However, the ability of an amazing watch to make a statement is indisputable. Here is a selection that showcase the best in design.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust Young, refined, feminine. The new Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust in yellow or white ROLESOR exudes elegance and distinction. A harmonious marriage of colours and materials, this redesigned classic celebrates the timeless beauty of Rolex precision. The moment is precious, the future full of promise. Feminine down to the last detail, an ode to charm and romanticism, the new Oyster Perpetual LadyDatejust embodies absolute grace. It is nonetheless, like all Oyster watches, a waterproof chronometer equipped with a PERPETUAL rotor self-winding mechanical movement. To wear this gem of a watch is to live every moment intensely with the promise of a radiant future. ÂŁPOA www.rolex.com 140 | PQ


Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso Ultra Thin After 80 years of celebrating classicism, the new Grande Reverso Ultra Thin turns revolutionary by focusing on extreme simplicity. The extremely diminutive width of Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 822 (at just 2.94 mm) has enabled the design engineers to build a Reverso slimmer than ever before. While the case with its generous new proportions asserts an authentic presence on the wrist, its slenderness makes it both light and comfortable to wear thanks to its subtly curved shape. The pure dial with its vertical guilloché pattern, the restrained design of the Arabic numerals, the slim blued hands: all the aesthetic codes of the Reverso are sublimated within this ultra-thin interpretation. This new watch expresses the very essence of the Reverso personality: a blend of tradition and nobility embodying an alliance of style and elegance.

£POA www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

Frédérique Constant Maxime Silicon Frédérique Constant was founded in 1988 by Peter and Aletta Stas in Geneva, with a clear objective to create what became known as “accessible luxury” watches. The company’s slogan “Live your Passion” symbolizes their philosophy also present in their support of important charitable organizations that are driven by Passion and the sponsorship of prestigious Classic Cars events like the Peking Paris Motor Challenge in 2010 and La Carrera Panamericana in Mexico in October 2011 The Maxime Silicon is limited to 888 pieces. £2750 www.frederique-constant.com PQ | 141

Lifestyle

Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 Because this new Reverso is intended to be a bridge between past and present, Jaeger-LeCoultre has decided to create two Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 in steel and in pink gold, featuring a black or white dial with dagger-shaped hands and baton-type hour-markers directly inspired by the original Reverso. The spirit of 1931 in contemporary dimensions, and all the Art Deco charm of the first Reversos interpreted in today’s language.


Catier Tank

Lifestyle

Cartier’s famous Tank range is one of the most iconic lines. With its joints built into the case, it is both a square and a rectangle – a stroke of stylistic genius and quite unique as the connection points of the strap are concealed under the famous sharp-edged flat vertical sidepieces. Legend has it that Louis Cartier designed the watch in 1917, based on the horizontal section of the Renault military tanks. Created during World War I, the first prototype of the Tank watch was presented to General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe. The strength of its design made a clean break with the fashion of the times full of twirls and twists, pioneering a new formal rigour. The list of celebrities who keep the myth alive is endless: from Catherine Deneuve to Elton John and Princess Diana. £POA www.cartier.com

Bremont B1 Marine Clock Bremont, one of the few British watch makers, has teamed up with ex Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood. Ronnie will be creating 14 unique “Art Clocks”. Using Bremont’s B1 Marine Clock, both the dial and internal case of each clock will be hand-painted by Ronnie and will depict a different period of his life. The Bremont B1 Marine Clock is one of the most sophisticated Marine 142 | PQ

Chronometers ever made. Bremont was co-founded by brothers Nick and Giles English in 200. In 2008 Bremont was made the ‘Best British Emerging Luxury Brand’ by Walpole, and this year it won ‘Watch Brand of 2011’ at the UK Jewellery Awards. £POA www.bremont.com


Piaget Altiplano

£POA www.piaget.com

Manufacture Royale Androgyne Manufacture Royale, a young, dynamic creator of exceptional watches, with just a touch of insolence, intends to make its mark in the contemporary watch making world. Unashamedly elitist, the company has set itself the objective of pushing the limits of watch making standards so as to offer a watch to the connoisseur that will stand the test of time and become, quite simply, the reference by which all others will be judged. The new timepiece Androgyne, hand-wound tourbillion with a power reserve of 108 hours, bears with pride the “MR” blazon and reinforces its signature: “Ultimate excellence in watch making”. Price: £27,500 (subject to exchange rate fluctuations) www.manufacture-royale.ch PQ | 143

Lifestyle

Featuring a new case size (43 mm in diameter), the latest Altiplano watch is a mere 5.25 mm thick, making it the thinnest watch in its category: a second record (Piaget also hold the record for the thinnest self winding movement on the market). This exceptional piece is modest about its achievements, since amid the current frantic race toward ever more complicated models, it displays only essentials: hours and minutes. In tribute to Calibre 12P (first launched in 1960), which also featured only hour and minute functions, it will be issued in two anniversary editions: one in 18-carat pink gold and the other in 18-carat white gold, each issued in series of 235 – a symbolic number echoing the movement’s record slimness: 2.35 mm.


Motoring

SUVs that break the sound barrier Mercedes ML63 AMG The outgoing model was pretty outrageous, with inyer-face styling and pretty staggering performance. However it would have emptied your bank account faster than if you’d bailed out the Greek economy; it was horrendously thirsty. This new one however 28% better fuel economy, (almost 24mph combined) and even faster with a 0-62 time of 4.4 seconds. All thanks to Mercedes’ superb 5.5 litre bi-turbo V8.

Launch: Spring 2012 and prices still to be confirmed.

Lifestyle

Nissan Juke -R No, it’s not a misprint. The Gods of the GT-R have decided to drop the GT-R’s 480 bhp engine into the Juke. The result will be the most bonkers crossover SUV the world has ever seen. Not only does it look completely outrageous, but if it handles even close to how the GT-R does, this car will be better than, well...sex. The new GT-R will do 0-60 in less than three seconds. What will the Juke do? Well, we will never know. It’s a one off build and will never be for sale. Shame!

BMW X6 M Marmite. You either love it or hate it and the X6M is just that. The styling is guaranteed to turn heads (for one reason or another) but the performance (062pmh in 4.7 seconds) and handling are unequivocal. It’s good, VERY good. I drove this car on loose gravel tracks through vineyards in the Andes; it was mindblowing. If I didn’t play polo, I’d drive THIS car. It has a twin turbo 555bhp engine and boy, don’t you know it.

Price: £82,190 on the road.

Porsche Cayenne Turbo Thankfully, the new Cayenne actually looks quite nice. The awful looking original model is long forgotten and this new, sleek, stunning descendant is a superb machine. With a 4.4litre twin turbo, the Cayenne has 500bhp but manages a combined MPG of 24.6. Impressive. Especially when it rockets from 0-62 in 4.7 seconds.

Price: £86,986 on the road.

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Crisis? What crisis? Manufacturers are building bigger, faster and more powerful 4x4’s. And why not? Have fun, that’s what I say! Life is short.


Super Saloons

Do you want to be able to go really, really fast in a four door saloon? Here are some that do just that:

Audi S6 Its not out yet. But when it is, it will boast a 4 litre V8 with 414bhp. 0-62 mph will take 4.8 seconds and it will be 25% more fuel efficient (almost 30mpg combined) which is a huge improvement. It will have the increasingly popular stop-start technology as well as active noise cancellation – you better not rely on engine and tyre noise as an indicator of speed – with this feature it will be whisper quiet even at high speed...

£Prices to be confirmed.

Mercedes E63 AMG

Lifestyle

I drove this through the Hindhead tunnel; really just to be a lout and make as much noise as possible. The crashing roar of that sweet V8 Biturbo reverberating off the walls of the tunnel was epic; the AMG engines are renowned for the wonderful engine note and AMG cars are incredibly fun to drive – you can get the back out and put a big smile on your face. 525bhp, 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds and 28.8mph combined.

Price: £74,695 on the road.

Porsche Panamera 4 S This super sleek super saloon is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside... and with 4WD you can safefuly take it to the Alps – or to Waitrose if we have a snowy UK winter. With a 400bhp engine and a 0-62 time of 5 seconds flat, it will do 26.2mpg combined. If you want more, go for the Turbo S and get 550bhp, a top speed of 190mph and a 0-62 burnout in 3.8 seconds. But you’ll pay almost £40,000 more for the privilege...

Price: £84,129 on the road

Aston Martin Rapide This is a really, really pretty car. And it’s really, really nice inside. It has a 5.9litre V12 (yes, a V12!) 400bhp and gets to 62mph in 5.2 seconds. So it’s not the fastest accelerating super saloon on this page (though it will do 183mph), but it is the most beautiful. And the most expensive and least fuel efficient. But it is an Aston...

Price: £139,950 on the road. PQ | 145


Motoring

It is big and it is clever:

The new BMW M5

Lifestyle

Usain Bolt. Yep, he’s really quite significantly taller than all his fellow competitors. But he can’t half shift. Jonah Lomu, the best wing of all time – was 120 kg but unbelievably fast and agile. So, just because something is big, doesn’t mean it won’t be fast and nimble… The M5. Its a BIG car. Wider, longer, lower than the outgoing model, this is a very imposing car. And at around two tonnes, it’s heavy too. But you won’t know it.

them, scattering leaves and shattering the silence, I rather hope some little part of them appreciated the spectacle!

I drove it from Pau, up the Pyrenees and over the border into Spain. The road was beyond perfect – utterly devoid of traffic, an excellent surface and mile upon mile of bends. When you have to look out of the rear passenger window to see the turn, you know it’s a true hairpin. Putting the car into the Sport Plus setting was like letting the greyhound out of the trap; the steering got tighter, the suspension got harder, and the computer gleefully allowed more slip to the rear wheels. I went into the zone. There was nothing but me, the car, that road, those bends. The carnal joy of the raspy growl of that glorious V8 echoed off the mountain; if the flickering traction control light was a visual indicator of the fact I was pushing it, the squeal of the tyres was the confirmation. Mile after mile of no other cars – just a few pilgrims on foot, en route to Santiago de Compostela. As the antithesis of peace and tranquillity roared past

The following day was the coup de grace. The M5. Pau race circuit. Professional racing drivers as instructors. Lucky me. Cue the best experience of the year. Driving on mountain roads is challenging and exhilarating, and you can ask a lot of questions of the car, but it is always tempered by the very real and present danger of a Thelma and Louise style plunge off a cliff… There was one moment where coming over a blind summit, I thought the road went straight on. It didn’t. Thank the Gods of Brembo for saving my soul and that of Richard, BMW’s Marketing director, from a spectacular but untimely death - I still have to attain world domination in motoring journalism and Richard has to run the London Marathon!

146 | PQ

Round Pau circuit, with real pros in the passenger seat offering guidance on braking and turn in points, I got even more of a feel for what that car can really


Lifestyle

Above: Rear of the M5. Left: M5 front. Right: M5 interior

do. Fly. It inspires confidence; the handling, the grip, the balance, the power. It shouldn’t be able to do what it does, given its dimensions, but my goodness it’s quick. If you want a big, fast saloon car, this ticks all the boxes. Blisteringly, viscerally, rapid when you want it to be, and as quiet and sedate as an aged Labrador when you don’t. Driving around town it’s quiet and smooth, and the standard specification is so high (head up display, extended merino leather, voice control) that you will struggle to find another car in its

class with a better interior. In keeping with BMW’s efficient dynamics, the car is 30% more efficient on fuel and has less CO2 emissions than the previous M5; and has a whopping 55% more range. The fact that it is faster and more powerful almost goes without saying. Do me a favour though. If you buy this car, please take it to a track. It deserves it. BMW M5 from £73,045 on the road.

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Sailing

Sea Horses

Horsepower can be on four legs, wheels, or indeed, propellers. Here is a look at the latest models on offer from Britain’s most famous manufacturer of motor yachts.

The 28 Metre Yacht and the Predator 53 will make their world debuts at this year’s 2012 Tullett Prebon London Boat Show (6th-15th January).

Lifestyle

28 Metre Yacht This new design launches the next generation of the ‘Sunseeker’ Yacht look. The element most captivating is the remarkable extent of main deck glazing. Unusually full height and pillarless, the glazing flows continuously down the sides and around the rear of the saloon, merging with the aft patio doors. This new wrap around glazing gives the main deck accommodation a unique uninterrupted floor to ceiling panoramic view and an extraordinarily bright interior, bringing the outside in. Just as this increases usability of the saloon throughout the day, particularly with the option of side doors and bulwark balcony, other external social areas on the foredeck and flybridge have been innovated with new sunpad and group seating formats. The large carbon fibre hard topped flybridge deck offers unrivalled room for enjoyment with a comparable increase in available space resulting in an area that can be tailored to suit every client’s needs.

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Predator 53 Borrowing from other boats in the Sunseeker range gives the Predator 53 a pedigree all of its own. A sleek sporting profile, the use of modern carbon materials and an intuitive accommodation layout make this boat a winner in all departments. The main deck saloon area is split between two spacious social areas, incorporating an aft patio door closing the area off from the aft cockpit. The saloon features a carbon sliding hardtop positioned above the helm and dinette seating area, bringing the outside in. This feature provides the saloon entertaining area with a fantastic sky view, just one of many cutting edge design features.

Lifestyle

Incorporating Armani/Casa

Boats also on display

Following on from the success of the new Armani/Casa range of fabrics, a further three boats incorporating the new style will be available to view on stand H102. The exclusive Armani/Casa design collection includes a subtle and stylish blend of textiles, finishes, and accessories. The range can be seen on the 80 Yacht, Predator 84 and Manhattan 73 on display at the show.

Boats on display include; 40 Metre (largest and most expensive boat at the show), 28 Metre (world debut), Predator 53 (world debut), Predator 115, Predator 84, 80 Yacht, Manhattan 73, Predator 64, Manhattan 63, Predator 60, Manhattan 53 and the Portofino 48.

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Foodie Choices

Best eateries in town Discover with us the best places to eat in Buenos Aires.

Osaka Ambience Food Drinks

Lifestyle

The restaurant was opened on the basis of the fusion between Japanese and Peruvian cuisine but, as usually in life, it has gone through different stages to finally evolve. Now, after 6 menus and about 7 years, Osaka´s culinary offer consists of a wider fusion which takes into account the influences that Peruvian cuisine already has. Based on Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Nikkei and Peruvian cuisine, Osaka shows the balance between techniques and ingredients from their own grounds and traditions. Evolution is the only constant feature in life. That is the reason why Osaka keeps trying to continue with their creative process by combining new techniques and studying culinary cultures that Osaka comes across every day. Osaka is an innovative proposal aimed to take Peruvian cuisine and its fusions to the best markets of the world. 5608 Soler St, Palermo, Buenos Aires Monday to Saturday 12:00 - 16:00 hs and 20:00 hs to close. Phone +54 11 4775-6964 bsas@osaka.com.pe www.osaka.com.pe

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La Cabrera Ambience Food Drinks The colours and flavors of the exquisite dishes are combined with art in an elegant setting to enjoy, unforgettable evening or lunches.

Specialities Bife de Chorizo Steak with a selection of different condiments. Jam贸n Crudo Raw ham with mozzarella, basil, dried tomatos and rocket. Ojo de Bife Ribeye accompanied with pots of Andean mashed potatoes, pumpkin and more. Volc谩n de Chocolate Chocolate Volcano with a scoop of ice cream.

Lifestyle

5099 Cabrera St, Palermo, Buenos Aires Phone +54 11 4831-7002 info@parrillalacabrera.com.ar www.parrillalacabrera.com.ar

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Marcelo Ambience Food Drinks Restaurante Marcelo Cocina Italiana offers a real invitation to pleasure. It is a magnificent place to enjoy exquisite Italian cuisine.

Lifestyle

With a seating capacity of 114 guests and an exclusive design, it creates an intimate, cosy and relaxed atmosphere, ideal for business lunches, dinners or gatherings. The dining room looks onto a small garden which blends into the interior atmosphere through very large windows. A modern green-wall provides a natural setting to enjoy a perfect culinary experience. Armchairs and wooden tables in different sizes can adapt to the seating capacity required by different groups, in order to enjoy an exclusive and wide variety of wines and beverages, whether it is just to taste one glass or to accompany dinner. The pictures exhibited are photographs taken by an artist named Michel Lichtenstein, and were specially selected for the restaurant setting.

1140 Alicia Moreau de Justo Av, Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires Monday to Sunday 12:00 - 16:00 hs and 20:00 hs to close. Phone +54 11 4342-8689 marcelopmadero@ciudad.com.ar

Oui Oui Ambience Food Drinks Oui Oui is a very smartly created business with undeniable good taste. On a leafy tree-lined street on the outskirts of Palermo, owner and cook Rocío García Orza set up this small business, which became a casual meeting point within the neighbourhood to enjoy delicious and affordable dishes surrounded by very good vibes. It opens early for breakfast, and later offers sandwiches served with potatoes or salads. At midday, the day’s specialities include really good contemporary cuisine, apart from vegetable soups, salads and very tempting desserts. Very good bakery products are available at all times. Both breads and bakery goods are sold several times a day. Cheeseboards including walnut bread, Nutella-filled crepes, croque madame and croque monsieur, are among our super specialities. The restaurant has a grocer’s shop halfway down the block where all our products and crockery can be purchased to take back home. 6068 Nicaragua St, Palermo, Buenos Aires Monday to Saturday 8:00 - 20:00 hs. Phone +54 11 4778-9614 info@ouioui.com.ar - www.ouioui.com.ar 152 | PQ


Olsen Ambience Food Drinks Food has long ceased to be just food. Gastronomy is the soul of a country, of a region, of a city, and drawing closer to the flavours of remote ethnic groups is like going on a journey without moving away from the River Plate. According to one of the theories set forth by prestigious French essayist Jean Baudrillard, peoples who live near the poles of our planet may show sociocultural coincidences. In Finland, tango has been raised to the category of national music, while Norwegian cod on Easter Week or fairy tales and stories by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen are a family leitmotiv for Argentines.

Lifestyle

5870 Gorriti St, Palermo, Buenos Aires Phone +54 11 4776-7677 olsen@fibertel.com.ar

Le Mistral Ambience Food Drinks Located on the lobby level of the Hotel, this casually sophisticated Argentinean bistro offers an informal yet elegant feeling, underscored by its black-and-white marble floors, wooden tables and leather-covered walls and chairs. Le Mistral presents inspired local cuisine – created by Executive Chef Juan Gaffuri – and a wide variety of Argentinean wines by the glass. Specialties Breakfast features a buffet including local items such as dulce de leche and maté, as well as a complete à la carte menu. Lunch and dinner menus feature market-fresh salads and handcrafted pastas, flavourful grilled meats, poultry and seafood, and rustic and interesting seasonal side dishes. While enjoying your meal, sample wines from Argentina’s best-known wineries.

Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires 1086 Posadas St, Recoleta, Buenos Aires Phone: + 54-11-4321-1628 www.fourseasons.com/buenosaires PQ | 153


Casa Cruz Ambience Food Drinks In 2004, Casa Cruz revolutionised the gastronomic concept in Buenos Aires. The idea of an elegant yet relaxed environment along with the concept of Argentine urban dishes created by Chef Germán Martitegui, are elements that have never coexisted in the same space up until now. Its stylish atmosphere, music and lighting together with the city’s most chic clientele of all ages have made it the most important luxury brand in the whole city. Since this restaurant first opened its doors in 2004, it has become a cult favourite, acclaimed by Argentine and foreign guests who wish to enjoy one of the best gastronomic experiences the city has to offer.

Lifestyle

1358 Uriarte St, Palermo, Buenos Aires Monday to Saturday 20.30 hs to close Phone +54 11 4833-1112 info@casacruz-restaurant.com www.casacruz-restaurant.com

Astrid y Gastón Ambience Food Drinks Inspired by Peruvian culinary traditions, Astrid and Gastón’s proposal seeks to summarise the range of possibilities offered by this style of cooking from a contemporary point of view, using the best raw materials they can get in the country and even importing some of them from Peru, such as yellow bell pepper and hot pepper pastes. Bearing an internationally renowned brand name as that of Astrid & Gastón, which has recently achieved position number 42 in the San Pellegrino ranking, the Buenos Aires branch offers unique signature dishes under the direction of Gastón Acurio. The concept of this restaurant respects the philosophy of those found in other countries: it combines classic and nouvelle Peruvian cuisine, respecting the flavours and presentation of elaborate dishes in all branches worldwide.

3222 Lafinur St, Palermo, Buenos Aires Phone +54 11 4802-2991 info@astridygastonarg.com.ar www.astridygaston.com 154 | PQ


Gárgola (Private Saloon) Ambience Food Drinks Gárgola, the first private, intimate and exclusive lounge in Buenos Aires. On friday and saturday nights you can enjoy a unique gastronomic offer. Charcoal grill and cuisine behind closed doors, signature bakery products and superb patisserie accompanied by a smart selection of wines and drinks. Every weekend, there is a culinary journey for every occasion, from North to South, from the sea to the mountains in Argentina, with whimsical permission for european and american cuisine. The idea is to prepare an endless array of amazing and renovated dishes throughout the year. The objective is to offer our guests a gastronomic experience, rich in sensations and flavours, while enjoying good company in the intimacy of a private atmosphere.

Lifestyle

Friday & Saturday 21:00 - 3:00 hs Phone +54 11 4554-2945 reservas@gargolasalonprivado.com www.gargolasalonprivado.com

María Félix Ambience Food Drinks The famous Mexican restaurant María Félix has conceived a special menu for Saint Valentine’s dinner, including dishes ideal to share and taste with your significant other. Additionally, lovebirds may enjoy an unforgettable evening accompanied by mariachis to create an atmosphere with their Mexican music. The menu is accompanied with wines from the Escorihuela Gascón Winery. One bottle for every two people, as well as water, soft drinks or beer. Coffee included. Table service included. Not combinable with any other benefits.

1640 Dardo Rocha Av, San Isidro, Buenos Aires Phone +54 11 4717-1864 www.mariafelix.com.ar PQ | 155


Quality green horses and young stock for sale. Playing Ponies for sale. Horses taken for backing and schooling.

Ponies from Eastwood Stud were sold and played: Queen´s Cup 2011 Gold Cup 2011 Warwickshire Cup 2011

Showcase

The best source for quality ponies in the UK.

For full information visit www.eastwoodstud.com | Natural covering or AI

Tel: 07970 697 593 aurora.eastwood@btinternet.com

The Old Stables, South Wonston Farm, South Wonston, Winchester, Hampshire SO21 3HL

fox Pro

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BLACKLOCKS Polo Books and Prints Antiquarian and leatherbound polo books All new titles from stock 19th & 20th Century polo prints and limited editions. Trophies, memorabilia and magazines.

Tel: +44 (0)1784 438025 blacklocks.polo@ntlworld.com

Showcase

8 Victoria Street, Englefield Green, Surrey TW20 0QY www.blacklockspoloart.com

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Showcase

Unit 1A The Hermitage High Street Ascot SL5 7HD tel: 01344875053 john.pye@thefitnessspace.com www.thefitnessspace.com

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Showcase PQ | 159


Polo Quarterly

Almost 20 years of Polo tradition, excellence and glamour, all in one magazine. 5 Charters Lane, Sunninghill, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 9NU, United Kingdom Mobile/Cel. +44 (0) 7970 697593 www.pqinternational.com info@pqinternational.com

Photo by Alice Gipps - Argentine Open Final 2011 160 | PQ




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