SPRING ISSUE 2009
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Polo shines in Jamaica
JAMAICA OPEN
La Martina National University Arena Polo Championships
INTER UNIVERSITY
Master of the Game
POLO PROFILES - JOHN WATSON
The Horse Trust
English Team Westchester Cup
HORSE RETIREMENT
National Club Championships / The Westbury Arena Gold Cup
UK ARENA - RCBPC
Start Season
WORLD POLO TOUR
Navalagua won the “Conde de Guaqui” Memorial Cup
SPAIN - CONDE DE GUAQUI
England beat USA in Arena Test Match at AEPC Hickstead
ARENA INTERNATIOANAL MATCH
CV Whitney / USPA Gold Cup
PALM BEACH 26 GOALS
A new competitive 20 goal Triple Crown has evolved
PALM BEACH 20 GOALS
The Westchester Cup Challenge in Palm Beach
WESTCHESTER CUP HISTORY
Westchester Cup 2009
WESTCHESTER CUP
Price £6
Spring Issue 2009 | Nº 67
Howard Smith and Jamie Le Hardy RCBPC - The Westbury Arena Gold Cup
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Old Andaluciav
TRAVEL - RONDA
6th Mercedes Benz B.grimm Thai Polo Open 2009
THAI POLO OPEN 2009
Pure Luxury
REPUBLIC CUP
Roman duel in Cortina D´ampezzo
Book Cover Book Review - Passion & Glory
CORTINA WINTER POLO GOLD CUP
The French Alps celebration
S CLUB SNOW ARENA POLO 2009
Cartier´s 25th World Cup on Snow in St. Moritz
ST. MORITZ
A visit at the exactly the right time
JAEGER LE-COULTRE VISIT
Passion & Glory, by Luisa Miguens
BOOK REVIEW
Buenos Aires Polo & Arts Argentina 2008
POLO & ARTS
Designer, Interview: Bobbi Brown and Body Care
LIFESTYLE
To play or to play less, that is the question
PLAYERS INJURIES
UK 2009 season Preview
UK PREVIEW
Contents
JP Clarkin and Pablo MacDonough St. Moritz 2009
72 88 98 100 102 108 126 132 140 144 152
PQ Staff Publisher
PoloLine Inc. info@pololine.com
Editor
Major Iain Forbes-Cockell major@pqinternational.com
Contributing Editor
Federico Levy federico@pololine.com
Lifestyle Editor
Sally-Anne Shrimpton sally@pqinternational.com
Design & Production
TomĂĄs M. Garbers tomas@pqinternational.com
Photographs
Major Iain Forbes-Cockell
PoloLine Media M&M Productions
Head Editor of PQ international
Centaur Photographic Images of Polo Alex Photography Gillian Hughes Photography Contributors
Horace Laffaye Roger Chatterton-Newman Y.A. Teitelbaum
PQ international
Eduardo Amaya
11 All Souls Road, Ascot,
Diana Butler
Berkshire. SL5 9EB,
Dara Williams
United Kingdom
Olivia Johnson
Tel./Fax: +44 (0) 1344 620642
Alejandra Ocampos
Mobile/Cell: +44 (0) 7590 455139
Travel Editor
www.pqinternational.com
PoloLine Travel travel@pololine.com
E-mail: info@pqinternational.com
Printing
Platt Printing Group
FRONT COVER PHOTO - Jeff Hall and James Beim - Westchester Cup 2009 - PoloLine Media Š 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.
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Welcome to the PQ Spring Issue #67
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his issue continues our plan to bring you reports on a variety of international tournaments which are accompanied by great action photos as well as a few articles of general interest on historical topics, travel and lifestyle. We have articles covering polo matches from -8 goal to 30 goal level, from World Polo Tour Snow Polo tournaments in Europe, arena polo in the UK, several international matches, including the arena Test Match between the UK and USA and the revival after a twelve year gap of the Westchester Cup as well as most of the Florida season with the new 20 goal Triple Crown as well as the first two 26 goal tournaments. As we are going to print, we have just heard of the tragic loss of 21 ponies of the Lechuza Caracas team at IPC Palm Beach as they were about to play their semi-final match of the US Open. I am sure all our readers will be saddened to have heard about this tragic loss and join us at PQ in sending our condolences to Victor Vargas, Sapo Caset and Juan Martin Nero who all lost ponies. As a result of this loss, the team decided to withdraw from the tournament, despite the generous offer of ponies from other teams to enable them to play. However, the good news is that we have just had confirmation the Lechuza team will play in the UK this coming summer season. Despite this sad news and the credit crunch, we have lots to look forward to this season and included in this issue is a preview of the upcoming UK season and all the usual tournaments we await with eager anticipation. We have a new readers section starting, which will allow readers to ask polo related questions that will be answered by top players in subsequent issues. I hope you take advantage of this and wish you an enjoyable read of this issue and a great summer season. Iain Forbes-Cockell (“The Major”) Head Editor
Apologies re mistakes in Winter Issue 2008 - Page 7 Caption under photograph. We apologise to Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers for the incorrect spelling of his name below his photo on the contents page. - Page 133 Writing about El Remanso’s win in the Diamond Cup it has been stated that El Remanso is “owned by English patron Charlie Hambury”. This is incorrect, it is in fact owned by patron Major Christopher Hanbury.
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Calendar April 3 Memorial Jose Ignacio Domecq
May 8
Handicap 10-12 goals Santa Maria PC, Spain
5 Argentine Republic Cup Final Handicap 0-40 goals AAP, Argentina La Cañada Open Final Handicap 22 goals La Cañada PC, Argentina
17 3th Comuna di Bucine Cup Handicap 15 goals Villa Sesta PC, Italy Santa Maria Open Handicap 10-12 goals Santa Maria PC, Spain
25 Nations Cup Handicap 28 goals Palermo, Argentina
26 US Open Championship Handicap 26 goals IPC Palm Beach, USA
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June
Barcelona Polo Classic Handicap 14 goals Barcelona PC, Spain
1 Costa Smeralda Gold Cup
79th San Pablo State Open Handicap 20-25 goals Helvetia PC, Brazil
2 The Meyado Archie David Cup
17 Queen Mother´s Centenary Trophy Handicap 12-15 goals Guards PC, UK
19 Queens Cup
Medium Handicap Costa Smeralda, Italy
Handicap 8 goals Guards PC, UK
6 Jack Wills Varsity Day Low Handicap Guards PC, UK
7 Argentine Ambassador’s Cup
Handicap 22 goals Guards PC, UK
23 Vogue Cup
Exhibition Match AAP, Argentina
13 France vs Russia Cote D’Azur Cup
Handicap 22 goals Helvetia PC, Brazil
30 Ivan the Terrible Twilight Polo (Guards vs Russia) Guards PC, UK
31 Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup Handicap 15 goals Guards PC, UK
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Handicap 8-12 goals St Tropez PC, France
14 Queen’s Cup Final Handicap 22 goals Guards PC, UK
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THE WORLD´S
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POLO CHANNEL watch it on-line at www.pololine.tv
pololine.tv 13
INTERNATIONAL - WESTCHESTER CUP
Westchester Photographs by Alex Photographs.
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Cup 2009 It was 10 days James Beim will never forget. By Y.A. Teitelbaum
The globe-trotting 7-goaler arrived in Palm Beach as part of England’s 29-goal team to play a 30goal United States foursome in the Westchester Cup, in a revival of the world’s oldest international polo rivalry. The magnitude of the game was not lost on the English. Their highly organized, business-like approach worked to perfection. Having played – and won – three international matches in 2008 against New Zealand, Australia and Italy, the English have developed an all-around training program that includes diet and fitness to complement polo training and tactics. The team has used Dave Alred, a sports conditioning coach who also trains English rugby player Jonny Wilkinson of the 2003 World Cup championship team. All of this planning was brought to the fore when Beim and his teammates - Luke and Mark Tomlinson and Eduardo Novillo Astrada - assembled in Wellington 10 days before the historic Westchester Cup. And the results showed on the field. Current HPA Chairman Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers and Chief Executive David Woodd were joined by four former HPA Chairmen and a smattering of fans proudly waving Union Jacks when England defeated the United States 10-9 to retain the Westchester Cup in front of almost 3,000 spectators on Feb. 21 at International Polo Club Palm Beach. Following a shot by Beim that was blocked, Luke Tomlinson scored the winning goal on a backhand during a melee in front of the goal with 2:48 left in the game – the only goal of the sixth chukka. Following the ensuing throwin, the U.S., who trailed 6-4 at halftime and led just twice, both in the fifth chukka, dominated play but could not score the tying goal. The United States squad was not 15
Luke Tomlinson
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at full strength but did not make any excuses after they lost 9-goaler Mike Azzaro to a season-ending injury 48 hours prior to the match. Eight-goaler Jeff Hall filled in admirably for Azzaro, but the U.S. team changed its lineup and did not practice prior to the match. “A very important match...with historical meaning and also to take on a country at their home without personal horses is a great challenge,” said Tomlinson, who was named the MVP. “Obviously I think that the Westchester and Cartier must be the most important current international fixtures in the polo calendar.” Beim’s arrival at the field 90 minutes prior to the game speaks volumes about its importance. “The Westchester ranks very highly in comparison to other internationals I have played in,” said Beim, who ate a light chicken pasta three hours before the game. “The first reason being that we had not played against the USA in America for 70 years, and we were able to win, which we felt was a great achievement considering the home advantage and horse power. Secondly, in terms of handicap, it is the highest I have played as an international.” Horsepower was an integral issue with the match. With a lot of help from their friends, countrymen and fellow polo players, the English side put together a quality string and, guided by former 9-goaler Julian Hipwood, continued looking for top horses until the day of the game. The team tried about 150 horses and selected 50 for the game, according to Andrew Tucker, England’s chef d’équipe. During the game, players generally rode each horse for half a chukka. Among those who contributed horses were Max Secunda, Adrian Wade, Pelon Escapite, Cote Zegers and Orrin Ingram as well as the Novillo Astradas. Beim used five horses from Marc and Melissa Ganzi’s string, two from Nacho Novillo Astrada, two from Lucas Monteverde and one each from Steve Orthwein and Wade. Luke Tomlinson rode eight of Memo Gracida’s horses. “The polo-playing community in America was incredibly generous in lending horses,” said Beim, who stayed at the Ganzi’s house. “The home-based players and also players from overseas
The victorious England team with the Westchester Cup
Nico Roldan, USA, in action
were very kind and at a big risk to them. Without this huge gesture from all, the event would not have gotten off the ground, and we would definitely have had no chance of winning.” It was the Ganzi’s immediate offering of 30 horses for the English team more than six months ago that helped set the wheels in motion for the entire event. Beim rode Wade’s horse, Buene Dia, in the last half of the fifth chukka. “I was happy to help,” said Wade. “It made me proud that I had a horse they wanted to play. People gave them their best horses”. 17
The 2009 edition of the Westchester Cup was the brainchild of renowned polo historian and author Dr. Horace Laffaye. He wanted to combine the event as a fundraiser for the Polo Museum and Hall of Fame and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the United States’ first win of this historic international tournament in 1909 at Hurlingham. The last time the Westchester Cup competition took place on American soil was in 1939 at Meadowbrook when the U.S. defeated England 11-7 and 9-4. The competition was on hiatus until 1992, re-emerging as a
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England James Beim
Handicap: 7 Goals DOB: 8-4-1980 James started playing polo at the age of 12 with the North Cotswold Pony Club in the UK. His polo C.V. speaks for itself. At just 22, he had already won the Prince of Wales Cup (1999), The Queens Cup at Guards (1998, 1999) and in 1998 won the Gold Cup with Ellerston. In the same year James was named ‘Best Young Player in Europe’. His success has also washed off while playing in Australia, where he has won 3 Melbourne Cups with Ellerston and Elysian. 2005 saw James captain the Hurlingham team on International day and represent England on three occasions including twice against South Africa both at home and away. In February 2006 James helped England defeat New Zealand at Kihikihi Polo Club with a last gasp goal in the last 30 seconds. James has played for England on Cartier day on 3 occasions twice winning (New Zealand 2006 and Australia 2008) and starts 2009 on his new handicap of 7.
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Mark Tomlinson
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Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr
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Luke Tomlinson
one-game event, won by the U.S. 8-7 in overtime at the Guards Polo Club. Five years later England captured the cup for the first time since 1914 with a 12-9 victory at Guards. After the match, the English contingent celebrated together in the club’s
Handicap: 6 Goals DOB: 25-3-1982 Mark graduated from Bristol University in 2005 but is no stranger to the International stage. After his win in the Gold Cup in 2003 with his brother, Mark captained a Young England side to a clean sweep in a two match series in Australia. Eight weeks later, Mark made his full England debut against South Africa at Kurland International (14-9 win), before representing England in the Cartier International against Chile. He has now played in four Cartier Internationals. In 2005 Mark and his brother Luke became the first Englishmen to qualify for the Argentine Open since Julian Hipwood in the 1970’s, something he is keen to repeat. Like his brother, Mark has been playing for the Apes Hill Club Barbados team and won the Vivari Cup. He has spent the last 4 months in Argentina enjoying success in a number of tournaments.
Handicap: 9 Goals DOB: 7-10-1972 Eduardo needs very little introduction having played at the top level in Argentina, the USA and England, winning every major tournament in the countries he has played. Eduardo’s first taste of success in the country of his birth (England) came when he won the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup playing for Urs Schwarzenbachs’ Black Bears team in 2002. Four years later he repeated the feat with Black Bears this time with Guy Schwarzenbach. In 2003 Eduardo lived every polo players dream when he won the Tortugas Open, The Hurlingham Open and the Argentine Open, and in doing so secured the famous Triple Crown. Eduardo has been a regular at Palm Beach for a number of years and in 2006 won the US Open playing for Las Monjitas, beating Orchard Hill 12 – 8 and also picking up the most valuable player award.
Handicap: 7 Goals DOB: 27-1-1977 Luke is currently one of England’s highest handicapped players (7 goals) and has played in two Argentine Opens during his career and this year reached the semi-finals of the Camara. His career highlights include beating Argentina in their own back yard at Palermo in 2002. He has won every major domestic trophy including the Queens Cup (2005) as well as the Prince of Wales Trophy, the Argentine Club Cup and the famous Gold Cup all in 2003. Luke has represented England at various levels on countless occasions including 7 Cartier Internationals, three of which have been as captain including last years 9-8 win over Australia. When not playing for England, Luke plays for Sir Charles Williams’ Apes Hill Club Barbados team who in 2008 year reached the quarter finals of the Queens Cup and went on to win the Vivari Cup at Guards Polo Club.
Mallet Grille. The morning after the match, the players arrived at the Polo Museum to help pack the Westchester Cup for its safe trip back to England. “They were very professional when they came here,” said English-born Wade, a 5-goaler who splits his time 18
between Palm Beach and England. “They were perfect ambassadors for the sport.” “The whole experience will live long in my memory,” said Beim.
Adam Snow
United States
Handicap: 8 Goals DOB: 25-4-1964 Adam’s athletic talent and keen sense of game earned him the position of captain of his college hockey team. His sense of discipline and hunger to learn has kept Adam Snow at the forefront of American polo for nearly three decades. Twice named Player of the Year (1998 and 2002), the former 10-goaler has played on winning teams in the United States Open the C. V. Whitney Cup, USPA Gold Cup, the USPA Silver Cup the Monty Waterbury Cup, the Pacific Coast Open over the years while maintaining a top international rating. Envied for a top string of horses that include multiple Best Playing Ponies Amy, Chloe, Hale Bopp, Indrea, Pumba and Turnkey, Adam is sure to be one of the best mounted players on the field. His acumen for team play and coordination of both attack and defense make him a constant threat on offense and a menace on defense. He competed in Argentina (including two Opens), Spain and the United Kingdom. Adam was also a member of the victorious 1992 US Championship Westchester Cup team. The US team will lean heavily on his leadership talents on and off of the field.
Jeff Hall Handicap: 8 Goals DOB: 21-9-1979 Jeffrey Stuart Hall, a winner of the U.S. Open Championship in 2003 with the C-Spear team, grew up in the Santa Barbara area, and started playing polo with his father John Merril, and his brother John William, both winner of the Silver Cup on a team that included him and Mike Azzaro. Jeff went on to take six Silver Cup trophies. Jeff Hall represented his country in the 1998 Federation of International Polo World Championship in Santa Barbara, California. His mantelpiece holds trophies of the American, Joe Barry Memorial, Centennial, Continental, C. V. Whitney and Ylvisaker Cups. Hall played extensively in Argentina on both the local team El Paraiso and also for Isla Carroll, with Adam Snow, Stuart Erskine and local ace Gaston Laulhe. Jeff played in the Copa Camara de Diputados - prelude to the Abierto de Palermo - the Jockey Club Open, and the two top tournaments in the world, the Hurlingham Club Open Championship and the Argentine Open. Jeff and Michelle Hall, a Colorado girl, were recently married.
Nicholas Roldan Handicap: 8 Goals DOB: 4-12-1982 The youngest player to appear on a winning US Open team, Nick Roldan accomplished the feat with the Escue team in 1998 at the age of 15, when he was named Young Player of the Year. He left polo briefly, while finishing high school as captain of the Varsity golf team before finding his way back to the fields. Since that time, his talents and skills have been constantly increasing while playing in England, Argentina and the United States. Over the years he has added championships in the C. V. Whitney, the Monty Waterbury, the Joe Barry Memorial, and the Ylvisaker Cup among others. He usually spends two or three months a year in Argentina practicing and playing, working on every aspect of his game under the watchful eyes of polo veterans. A hard-hitting, accurate shooting player, Nick’s defense is as troublesome for opposing players, as is his offense.
Jeff Blake Handicap: 6 Goals DOB 6-6-1977 Jeff Blake was selected Young Player of the Year in 1998 before going on to play on the winning Gold Cup team. One of the quietest players on the field, Jeff has played on winning teams in the Joe Barry Memorial (MVP-2006) Pacific Coast Open, the Silver Cup, the USPA Gold Cup and the United States Open Championship where he received MVP honors in 2008. A consummate professional, Jeff takes his blue-collar work ethics to the field every day in an effort to better his horsemanship and mallet skills. One of the biggest assets Jeff brings to the field is his ability to play a disciplined position. Give him a job, a responsibility and know that he will get it done, and done quietly. His ability to cover an opponent like a blanket on defense is balanced by his ability to be in the right place at the right time on offense. Whether he is being asked to ride an opposing player out of the way, pass the ball to a streaking teammate or score himself, Jeff will get it done and will get it done without noise or fanfare.
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HISTORY - WESTCHESTER CUP
The Westchester Cup Challenge in Palm Beach The International Polo Club Palm Beach witnessed the return of a legendary trophy, the Westchester Cup. It is no less than the oldest polo cup, since its first version dates back to 1886.
After being played for the last time in 1997, in England, at the Guards Polo Club, the Westchester Cup returned in 2009, and was played in the United States. Organised by the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, the match commemorated the centenarian of the Americans’ first victory, when they won the Westchester Cup in 1909, after beating the UK in two matches (9-5 and 8-2), at Hurlingham. Furthermore, it was the first time since 1939, that a team from England took part in a competition in the United States. The Westchester Cup history begins towards the end of the 19th century. Back then, England and the United States dominated the world polo scene and, therefore, they thought about creating a high-level competition to have these two countries come face to face. And thus, this trophy came to be. It was donated by the Westchester Polo Club members in Newport, Rhode Is-
land, originally known as the International Polo Cup. For many years, it was considered to be the top polo event. The UK and the US met for the first time in 1886, in Newport, and the English achieved an unquestionable triumph when they beat the Americans 10-4 and 14-2 after two matches which consisted of three 20-minute chukkers. England proved to be resoundingly superior, not only regarding their discipline and game, but also their string of horses. But not only that; back in those days, they introduced a novelty unknown by the Americans: the backhander, a creation by John Henry Watson, an Irishman who was the British team captain, and known as the “Father of British Polo”. The United States had a young 17-year old player named Foxhall Keene on their team, who would later become the first player in history to reach a 10-goal handicap. Then, England repeated their victory against the United States at Hurl-
ingham in 1902, after three games, the first of which ended 2-1 in favour of the American team. This “break” did not worry the English in the slightest. They beat the Americans 6-1 and 7-1 in the other two matches. Both defeats came in useful to the US players as regards experience and learning about the importance of horse strings and team play. This was when Harry Payne Whitney appeared on the scene. He was considered to be the architect in charge of reconstructing the American team. It was he who studied the English team’s strengths and the Americans’ weaknesses and, based on that, as from 1905 he began buying the best horses, both in the United States and in England, sparing no expense. So much so, that some of the most renowned British players at the time, such as Walter Buckmaster and F. M. Freake could not resist the temptation given the interesting offers made by Whitney’s representatives. Harry Payne Whitney’s efforts bore fruit. Thus, in 1909 the Westchester Cup returned to the United States, when both the American and English
Westchester Winners 1886 - England 1902 - England 1909 - United States 1911 - United States 1913 - United States 1914 - England 1921 - England 1924 - United States 1927 - United States 1930 - United States 1936 - United States 1939 - United States 1992 - United States 1997 - England 2009 - England
English Polo Team, 1909
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The Cup waiting for 1927 winners
teams were at Hurlingham Club, in two matches that ended 9-5 and 8-2 in favour of the visiting team who, for the first time, presented a quartet comprised of Lawrence Waterbury, J. M. Waterbury, Harry Payne Whitney and Devereux Milburn, and who would go down in history as the “Big Four”. Subsequently, the “Big Four” won the Westchester Cup in 1911 and 1913 and, finally, in 1914, the trophy returned to England. After a compulsory pause imposed by World War I, the Westchester Cup was back in 1921. It was then, when the Americans’ supremacy became undeniable. And therefore, as from that
year, the United States would become the Weschester Cup owners, having uninterruptedly won every series played until 1939, between Meadow Brook (5) and Hurlingham (1). Students had finally learnt from their teachers… The Westchester Cup was never played again until 1992, when the English and American players met in UK, at Guards Polo Club, and once again, the American team comprising John Gobin, Adam Snow, Owen Rinehart and Rob Walton won the trophy yet again after beating England (William Lucas, Cody Forsyth, Alan Kent and Howard Hipwood) 8-7. Furthermore, it was the first time the Westchester 21
Cup was defined in only one match. England’s return match finally came in 1997, after 76 years of frustration. Will Lucas, Cody Forsyth, Howard Hipwood and Andrew Hine were in charge of putting an end to the bad patch the US had been going through (Julio Arellano, Michael Azzaro, Guillermo Gracida and John B. Goodman), in a match held at Guards Polo Club, in 1997, which the English won 12-9, thus achieving their first Westchester Cup victory since 1914. The trophy has not been played again since then, and it now returns to the world polo scene with great expectations, and perhaps, it is back for good.
US SEASON - PALM BEACH 20 GOALS
A new competitive 20 Goal Triple Crown has evolved By Y.A. Teitelbaum. Photos by Alex Photographs.
A year after going two-for-two in championship matches, Todd Offen didn’t even make it to the podium during the 2009 20 Goal season at International Polo Club Palm Beach. The change was disappointing for Offen, but it marked a subtle evolution as more than one team raised a trophy in triumph for the first time in three seasons. In 2008, Catamount (with Offen playing a controlling No. 4) captured both 20 Goal tournaments and the year before New Bridge/La Dolfina was the dominant 22 Goal team. This was the first season there were three 20 Goal tournaments at IPC. Kelly Beal’s BTA defeated San Saba 13-10 in Joe Barry Memorial, the opening tournament of the 2009 sea-
son, then Bo Goodman’s Mt. Brilliant edged Patagones 10-9 in the Ylvisaker Cup before Carlos Avendano’s Patagones nipped Lechuza Caracas 9-8 in the Iglehart Cup. BTA used a balanced attack en route to the victory. Hector Galindo, who was named MVP, and Jeff
Joe Barry - San Saba´s Gerardo Collardin
Joe Barry Memorial Cup Champion: BTA MVP: Hector Galindo (BTA) Finalist: San Saba BPP: Bruja (Guillermo Caset Jr., San Saba)
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Blake scored four goals apiece, Pablo Spinacci added three goals and team captain Kelly Beal accounted for two goals. Sapo Caset led San Saba with eight goals and Carlucho Arellano added two. Caset’s Bruja was named Best Playing Pony. In the final seconds, Pelon Escapite converted a 30yard penalty, his only goal of the match, to lift Mt. Brilliant over Patagones in a game that had six ties. Santiago Chavanne led Mt. Brilliant with six goals while Mariano Obregon, who replaced an injured Julian
Joe Barry Memorial Cup Isla Carroll
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John Goodman Sugar Erskine Owen Rinehart Todd Offen
1 7 7 5
Lucchese
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John Muse Mike Azzaro Andrés Weisz Shane Rice
0 9 7 4
EFG Bank
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Jim Whisenand Julio Arellano Luis Escobar Whistle Uhys
0 8 7 5
BTA KC Beal Héctor Galindo Jeff Blake Pablo Spinacci
Mt. Brilliant Bo Goodman Santiago Chavanne Gaston Lisioli Pelon Escapite
Patagones Gonzalo Avendaño Carlos Avendaño Carlos Gracida Julio Gracida
San Saba Tommy Lee Jones Guillermo Caset Jr. Gerardo Collardin Carlucho Arellano
20 1 7 6 6
20 0 8 6 6
20 1 6 8 5
20 0 8 7 5
Above: Pablo Spinacci and Carlucho Arellano - Below: BTA winners of the Joe Barry Memorial Cup
Joe Barry Memorial Cup Place: Wellington, Palm Beach, Florida, USA Club: International Polo Club Date: February 3 - 22, 2009 Level: 20 hcp Tournament type: Open Description: Named in memory of Joe Barry, a Hall of Fame professional from America’s premier polo playing family. Described as “a galloping oak with the soul of a poet”, he carried his 9 goal rating to six titles in the U.S. Open, three each in the Gold Cup and Silver Cup, two Butler Handicaps, as well as the Coronation and Camacho Cup. He then coached Team Isla Carroll to more than 25 consecutive victories and numerous USPA Tournament titles.
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Ylvisaker Cup Place: Wellington, Palm Beach, Florida, USA Club: International Polo Club Date: January 22 - February 1, 2009 Level: 20 hcp Tournament type: Open Tournament Director: Jimmy Newman WPT Ranking: Challenge Cup Winner Points: 40 Finalist Points: 20 Semifinalist Points: 10 Rest of the teams: 5 Description: William Ylvisaker has been an active Patron of U.S. Polo for over 50 years. Past Chairman of the U.S. Polo Association and creator of the Polo Training Foundation, Bill was instrumental during the 70’s in
Mt. Brilliant winner of Ylvisaker Cup 2009
attracting Corporate Sponsors to the sport. He was instrumental in the development of South Florida as a center for International Polo. As a 7-goal patron his accomplishments include U.S. Open, Coronation Cup, Gold Cup and Silver Cup Titles.
Bo Goodman followed by Carlos Gracida of Patagones
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Daniels at halftime, scored twice. Escapite and Daniels finished with one goal each. Carlos Gracida scored five times to lead Patagones, Julio Gracida added two goals and Gonzalo and Carlos Avendano added one goal apiece. Escapite was named MVP while Chavanne’s black mare Afgana was named Best Playing Pony. Carlos Avendano scored the gamewinning goal to lift Patagones over Lechuza in a hard-fought game that concluded the 20 Goal season, ironically in overtime. Carlos Gracida led the winners with four goals while Julio Gracida and Carlos Avendano added two goals each and Gonzalo Avendano scored one goal. Guille Aguero led Lechuza with four goals, Tomas Goti added two goals while Santiago Toccalino and Victor Vargas scored one goal apiece. Carlos Gracida’s grey mare Legend won Best Playing Pony honours while Carlos Avendano was named MVP. “It’s more fun when teams are evenly matched,” said Offen, a 5 Goaler from Toronto, Canada. “It’s good for polo; it’s good for the club. You know every game is going to be tight.” Of the 32 tournament games (not counting subsidiary matches), 20 were decided by one goal, including eight in overtime. “Competition is definitely what matters the most,” said Galindo, a 7 Goaler. “I’d rather have good compe-
Ylvisaker Cup Isla Carroll
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Lucchese
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John Goodman Sugar Erskine Owen Rinehart Todd Offen
1 7 7 5
John Muse Mike Azzaro Andrés Weisz Shane Rice
0 9 7 4
Audi
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EFG Bank
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Melissa Ganzi Juan Bollini Gonzalo Pieres Jr. Brandon Phillips
0 6 9 5
Jim Whisenand Julio Arellano Luis Escobar Whistle Uhys
0 8 7 5
Mt. Brilliant
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Bo Goodman Santiago Chavanne Mariano Obregon Pelon Escapite
0 8 6 6
BTA
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KC Beal Héctor Galindo Jeff Blake Pablo Spinacci
1 7 6 6
Patagones Gonzalo Avendaño Carlos Avendaño Carlos Gracida Julio Gracida
Lechuza Caracas Victor Vargas Guille Aguero Nicolás Espain Santiago Toccalino
San Saba Tommy Lee Jones Guillermo Caset Jr. Gerardo Collardin Carlucho Arellano
20 1 6 8 5
20 1 7 7 5
20 0 8 7 5
Santiago Chavanne riding the BPP (Afgana), followed by Carlos Gracida
Champion: Mt. Brilliant Polo Team MVP: Pelon Escapite (Mt. Brilliant) BPP: Afgana (Santiago Chavanne, Mt. Brilliant)
25
Iglehart Cup Place: Wellington, Palm Beach, Florida, USA Club: International Polo Club Date: February 3 - 22, 2009 Level: 20 hcp Tournament type: Open Tournament Director: Jimmy Newman Tomas Goti and Carlos Gracida
tition. All the teams were so balanced, there was no favourite.” The early tournaments have evolved into a season unto themselves; seven of the nine teams did not play the 26 Goal season. That has also made the tournaments more competitive. “Teams are taking the 20 Goal more seriously, instead of a 26 Goal team using it as a pre-warm-up,” said Offen. “With New Bridge and last year with Catamount, Russ (McCall) and Scott (Devon) weren’t going to play in the U.S. Open, so 20 Goal was their focus. In the past, other teams would play but they would
save their best horses.” Of the nine 20 Goal teams in 2009, there were two 9 Goalers (Gonzalito Pieres of Audi and Mike Azzaro of Lucchese) and four 8 Goalers (Sapo Caset of San Saba, Carlos Gracida of Patagones, Santiago Chavanne of Mt. Brilliant and Julio Arellano of EFG Bank). Only Lechuza Caracas, Isla Carroll and BTA did not have a player rated above 7 Goals. Only two, Lechuza Caracas and Audi, also played at the 26 Goal level. During the 2009 20 Goal campaign, Offen played for Isla Carroll, 26
which won three of seven games during the three tournaments, with six of its matches decided by one goal. “For me, we were under-achievers,” said Offen, who was 2008 Ylvisaker Cup MVP for Catamount. “We were a better team than our record showed.” Offen also said that Patagones was a team that played above its handicap, led by 8 Goaler Carlos Gracida. “Carlos got that team organized and they all played better than they had in a couple of years,” said Offen. But that shows the continuing evolution of the 20 Goal season in Palm Beach.
Iglehart Cup Isla Carroll
20
John Goodman Sugar Erskine Owen Rinehart Todd Offen
1 7 7 5
Lucchese
20
John Muse Mike Azzaro Andrés Weisz Shane Rice
0 9 7 4
EFG Bank
20
Jim Whisenand Julio Arellano Luis Escobar Whistle Uhys
0 8 7 5 Above: Patagones at the Iglehart Podium - Below: Guillermo Aguero
BTA
20
KC Beal Héctor Galindo
1 7
Jeff Blake Pablo Spinacci
6 6
Mt. Brilliant Bo Goodman Santiago Chavanne Mariano Obregon Pelon Escapite
Patagones Gonzalo Avendaño Julio Gracida Carlos Gracida Carlos Avendaño
Audi Melissa Ganzi Juan Bollini Gonzalo Pieres Jr. Brandon Phillips
Lechuza Caracas Victor Vargas Guillermo Aguero Nicolás Espain Santiago Toccalino
San Saba Tommy Lee Jones Guillermo Caset Jr. Gerardo Collardin Carlucho Arellano
20 0 8 6 6
20 1 5 8 6
20 0 6 9 5
20 1 7 7 5
20 0 8 7 5
Champion: Patagones Polo Team Finalist: Lechuza Caracas MVP: Carlos Avendaño (Patagones) BPP: Legend (Owned and ridden by Carlos Gracida, Patagones)
27
US SEASON - PALM BEACH 26 GOALS
Audi Polo Team made sure his first 26-goal championship game at International Polo Club was a memorable one Pre-tournament favorite Audi, with 10-goaler Facundo Pieres and 9-goaler Gonzalito Pieres leading the way, edged Lechuza Caracas 8-7 to capture the C.V. Whitney Cup, the first of three 26-goal tournaments in the United States. By Y.A. Teitelbaum
In the past, Ganzi’s Audi has won a 26-goal tournament at Lechuza Caracas and several 20-goal events in Wellington and Santa Barbara. But winning the C.V. Whitney Cup ranks as the organization’s most prestigious
tournament victory. Ganzi contributed mightily to Audi’s triumph, scoring his team’s first goal and the tie-breaking goal at 6-all in the sixth chukker. However, the key to winning the fi-
Juan Martin Nero, Facundo Pieres and Marc Ganzi
28
nal, Ganzi said, was matching his horses to Lechuza Caracas’ string for their patron, Victor Vargas. “Whatever horse Victor (Vargas) was coming out on I was matching because I have a lot of respect for Victor’s
Guillermo Caset jr
CV Whitney Teams Audi
26
Las Monjitas
Marc Ganzi Gonzalo Pieres Jr. Facundo Pieres Fred Mannix
1 9 10 6
Camilo Bautista Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr. Adam Snow Ignacio Novillo Astrada
26
Orchard Hill
25
Steve van Andel Pablo MacDonough Lucas Criado Héctor Galindo
0 10 8 7
Lechuza Caracas
26
Victor Vargas Guillermo Caset Jr Nicolás Espain Juan Martín Nero
1 8 7 10
CV Whitney Cup
0 9 8 9
Pony Express Bob Daniels Matias Magrini Nick Roldán Pelon Stirling
26 0 9 8 9
White Birch
26
Place: Wellington, Palm Beach, Florida, USA Club: International Polo Club Date: March 1-8, 2009 Level: 26 hcp Tournament type: Open
Peter Brant Mariano Aguerre Jeff Blake Francisco Bensadon
2 10 6 8
Zacara
25
Tournament Director: Jimmy Newman WPT Ranking: WPT Cup Winner Points: 70 Finalist Points: 35 Semifinalist Points: 20 Rest of the teams: 10
Lyndon Lea Carlos Gracida Jeff Hall Cristian Laprida Jr.
29
1 8 8 8
Christian Laprida CV Whitney Description: The tournament, first held in 1979, is named in memory of Cornelius Vanderbilt Sonny Whitney, who along with his cousin John Hay Whitney, were important polo patrons in the 1930’s. The son of Hall of Fame patron Harry Payne Whitney, C.V., won the US Open three times (twice against his brother) and was a renowed owner and breeder of thoroughbred horses. Champion: Audi Polo Team MVP: Marc Ganzi (Audi) BPP: Julieta (owned by Victor Vargas, played by Juan Martín Nero)
horses,” said Ganzi. “When he went for that grey in the sixth I had to save my best black mare Classica. I told my guys if you have a space, hit it, because I had a lot of confidence in her. We got a window and Classica did the rest.” Ganzi scored his team’s go-ahead goal aboard Classica, while teammate Facundo Pieres put the icing on the cake, scoring to give Audi an 8-6 advantage. Lechuza immediately attempted to gather the ball in and try to mount an attack. After missing a penalty shot, Lechuza cut the margin to 8-7 on a goal from Sapo Caset. The teams returned to the center of the field for the ensuing throw-in. The ball was initially controlled by Audi, then stolen by Lechuza. A race toward the Audi goal was highlighted by a pass to Vargas, who made an in30
stant run at the goal. With 17 seconds remaining and Vargas in control of the ball, it took a bad bounce, caromed off his pony and over the end line to conclude the game. Facundo Pieres finished with a game-high six goals. Caset led Lechuza Caracas with four goals while teammate Juan Martin Nero scored three goals. To reach the final, Audi defeated Zacara 15-13 as the Pieres’ combined for 13 goals while Lechuza Caracas dominated Pony Express 14-7. Nero led Lechuza with six goals while Vargas and Caset added four goals each. “It’s great,” said Ganzi, who was named the Most Valuable Player in the final. “It’s my home club in my hometown and we wanted the cup to stay here. We didn’t want it to go to Caracas.”
The Golden Lechuza Caracas By Federico Levy. It was the same teams as the CV Whitney Cup final, but featuring a different winning team. This time, and playing for the USPA Gold Cup, the second American Triple Crown tournament, Lechuza Caracas got their own back, and beat Audi 11-10, with a goal scored by Nicolás Espain in the last minute of play and after Victor Vargas’ team had remained behind on the scoreboard during most of the game.
All things come. This is what the Lechuza Caracas players learnt after defeating Audi in the 2009 USPA Gold Cup final, and after having lost the CV Whitney Cup final 8-7 in the first 26-goal tournament. Exactly 21 days later, after playing and winning the three qualification matches and one semi-final, there they were: the same rivals on the main field at International Polo Club Palm Beach; on one
side, the Audi players with their black polo shirts and, on the other side, the Lechuza Caracas quartet wearing their white ones. Making it through to the final was not at all easy for either of the teams. As regards Lechuza, they were in a difficult zone and the fact that their horses were debilitated made itself felt as in the qualification stage they played against Las Monjitas, White
Nacho Figueras (Black Watch) and Jeff Blake (White Birch)
31
Birch and Black Watch. After winning those games, they met Pony Express in the semi-final match with a vibrant end of the game as Bob Daniels’ team tried everything they could to tie the match but Lechuza Caracas were able to defend their triumph. The same thing happened to the Audi team. After beating Pony Express and Zacara in their first two games of the tournament, their winning streak
Lechuza Caracas at the Gold Cup Podium
was cut short by Orchard Hill by whom they were defeated 11-9. Despite this adverse result, Audi managed to make it through to the semi-final where they met the Black Watch Polo Team in a match they really deserved to win. Those were the steps to reach the most important game of the tournament and the second most prestigious final of the US season. Spectators were waiting to watch a grand match between these two teams from the IPC stands, and they were not disappointed. After the first chukkas when Audi kept control of the scoreboard, with five goals scored by Victor Vargas’ team in the last seven minutes of the game, Lechuza Caracas came from behind and managed to reverse the previous meeting’s result. Nicolás Espain, the Lechuza team’s back, was the scorer of the decisive goal. He was able to control the ball
while Juan Martín Nero managed to get rid of Gonzalito Pieres’ mark, and so, Espain was able to score the last goal. And, owing to his good performance throughout the six chukkas, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Lechuza Caracas’ play was based on the work of Juan Martín Nero, who took care of the ball and organised the white team’s attacks, whilst Guillermo Caset (Jr.) helped his team-mates clear the way towards their opponents’ goalposts. Thus, in the second half of the game Lechuza Caracas managed to convert 8 out of the 11 goals they scored during the match. Audi was superior to their rivals in the first few chukkas. However, before the bell rang, Lechuza managed to take a 3-3 tie into the halftime break. In the fourth chukka, the team comprised of the Pieres brothers and Marc Ganzi scored the difference winning a 32
partial 2-0 and taking a 5-3 lead. Nevertheless, it was in the third chukka that Guillermo Caset (Jr.) scored two goals and Victor Vargas scored another one. But Audi found their way to score on three occasions, and so they continued to be ahead on the scoreboard taking a 8-6 lead by the end of the fifth chukka. By the time they reached the last chukka, both teams were determined to achieve victory. Audi, with Facundo Pieres’ outstanding performance throughout the game, tried to find a way to score, but Martín Espain was alert as regards defence, and together with Juan Martín Nero, they recovered the balls that posed a danger to their goalposts. After a few minutes of play, two goals scored by Juan Martín Nero allowed Lechuza Caracas to tie the game at 99 and catch up with Audi once again. And it was Guillermo Caset who later scored another penalty shot, and so his team took a 1-goal lead (10-9). But
USPA Gold Cup 2009 Teams
USPA Gold Cup
Audi
26
Pony Express
Marc Ganzi Gonzalo Pieres Jr. Facundo Pieres Nicolás Pieres
1 9 10 6
Bob Daniels Matias Magrini Nick Roldán Pelon Stirling
Orchard Hill
25
White Birch
26
Steve van Andel Pablo MacDonough Lucas Criado Héctor Galindo
0 10 8 7
Peter Brant Mariano Aguerre Jeff Blake Francisco Bensadon
2 10 6 8
Lechuza Caracas
26
Black Watch
26
Victor Vargas Guillermo Caset Jr Nicolás Espain Juan Martín Nero
1 8 7 10
Nacho Figueras Sugar Erskine Fred Mannix Luis Escobar
Las Monjitas
26
Zacara
Camilo Bautista Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr. Adam Snow Ignacio Novillo Astrada
0 9 8 9
only seconds later, Audi tied the match thanks to Facundo Pieres. The clock indicated that the end of regulation time was drawing close, and that was when Nicolas Espain appeared and defined the match giving Lechuza Ca-
26 0 9 8 9
6 7 6 7
25
Lyndon Lea Carlos Gracida Jeff Hall Cristian Laprida Jr.
1 8 8 8
racas an 11-10 victory. That goal scored by Martín Espain and the work done by his team-mates to help clear the way towards their triumph made this a golden goal because, although it was scored within
Marc Ganzi and Victor Vargas, at the final
History of the Gold Cup The USPA Gold Cup, first played in 1974, is a symbol of professionalism, good sportsmanship and high goal polo at its finest. First introduced at Oakbrook Polo Club in Illinois, it then headed north to Milwaukee Polo Club in 1975 and remained there until 1978. After moving south in 1979, the USPA Gold Cup continued a seventeen-year stretch at Palm Beach Polo and Country Club, only to move down the road to Boca Raton at Royal Palm Polo & Sports Club in 1996. In 2002, the USPA Gold Cup headed back up north to Greenwich Polo Club where play resumed until 2004. Aiken, SC then hosted the Gold Cup in 2005 and 2006. Now International Polo Club Palm Beach is pleased to host this prestigious polo championship tournament.
33
Place: Wellington, Palm Beach, Florida, USA Club: International Polo Club Date: March 15-29, 2009 Level: 26 hcp Tournament type: Open Tournament Director: Jimmy Newman WPT Ranking: Master Series Winner Points: 100 Finalist Points: 50 Semifinalist Points: 30 Rest of the teams: 15 Description: this USPA sanctioned tournament was first played in South Florida 20 years ago. The Hall of Fame Cup is held in conjunction with the annual Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame Benefit. Champion: Lechuza Caracas MVP: Nicolás Espain (Lechuza Caracas) BPP: Mini Bank (owned and ridden by Juan Martin Nero)
regulation time, once that ball crossed the goal line there was no time left for anything other than Lechuza Caracas’ celebration.
ARENA POLO - INTERNATIONAL MATCH
England beat USA in Arena Test Match at AEPC Hickstead Match report by Iain Forbes-Cockell (“The Major�)
English team holding the Bryan Morrison Trophy - Left to Right: Ryan Pemble, Nacho Gonzalez & Howard Smith
An overcast but dry day made perfect conditions for Sky TV to film a perfect result for England. For the second time in a week, England beat USA in an international polo match. On 21st February England won the Westchester Cup 10 - 9 at IPC Palm Beach. On 28th February England beat USA 15 - 9 to win the Bryan Morrison Trophy at All England Polo Club, Hickstead.
The game had two evenly balanced chukkas, the first and last, where both teams scored 3 goals in each of those chukkas. However, the second and third chukkas were a different story. In the second chukka a score of 5 - 2 and in the third chukka a score of 4 - 1 established a six goal lead to England and allowed them to relax somewhat in the last chukka but still win by six goals. 34
A Shane Rice penalty for the USA opened the scoring and a further goal from him and Charlie Muldoon tied the score at the end of the first chukka after England had scored twice through Nacho Gonzalez and once through Ryan Pemble (3 - 3). In the second chukka England stepped up the pace, with Ryan Pemble scrapping hard and fighting for every opportu-
International Match England Ryan Pemble Nacho Gonzalez Howard Smith
USA Charlie Muldoon Shane Rice Billy Sheldon Result: England 15-9
20 5 9 6
20 5 8 7
International Match Place: All England Polo Club, Hickstead Date: February 21, 2009 Level: 20 hcp MVP: Ryan Pemble Retrained Racehorse Prize: Heidi (owned by John Horswell, played by Howard Smith) Umpire 1: Tim Brown Umpire 2: Roddy Matthews
nity to get possession of the ball for his team and this resulted in him scoring 4 goals and Nacho scoring one with a two goal response from Billy Sheldon, the USA team captain (8 - 5). In the third chukka England kept up the pressure with all three players scoring at least one goal and Nacho getting two with only a single Billy Sheldon goal as a reply for the USA (12 - 6). In the final chukka, Charlie Muldoon scored a goal, quickly followed by a goal from Billy Sheldon. Spectators were wondering whether this was going to be a big comeback by the USA team but Nacho scored a wonderful goal after a run the length of the arena to demonstrate why he is rated at 9 goals. A Penalty 1 to England balanced the chukka but then Shane Rice scored to put on some more pressure. A goal from Howard Smith proved to be sufficient to win the match 15 – 9. Greta Morrison presented the Bryan Morrison Trophy to a delighted England captain, Nacho Gonzalez. Ryan Pemble thoroughly deserved his selection as MVP, having scored six goals in the match. The Retrained Racehorse Prize was won by Heidi, owned by John Horswell and ridden by Howard Smith. The two umpires were Tim Bown and Roddy Matthews.
Above: Howard Smith - Below: Nacho Gonzalez
35
Miguel Amieva
36
SPAIN - MEMORIAL CONDE DE GUAQUI
Navalagua won the “Conde de Guaqui” Memorial Cup Photographs by Salvador Moreno
Navalagua Polo Team surmounted a game they were about to lose against Santa María and thus won the ‘Conde de Guaqui’ Memorial tournament held over the weekend at Santa María Polo Club. The final result: 14-
13 in favour of the quartet comprised of Michael Redding, Mateo Velasco, Gabriel Aguirre and Martín Iturraspe. During the greater part of the final match, Santa María were ahead on the scoreboard and reached the sixth and
R. Rogge and Roger Carlsson
37
defining chukka taking a 3-goal lead. But in this period, Navalagua made a comeback and took a 1-goal lead when there was only one minute remaining. With only seconds to go, Juan Losada, playing for Santa María, hit a strong
Mateo Velazco jr, Miguel Amieva and Gabriel Aguirre
IV Memorial Conde de Guaqui Xie Xie
10
S. Rogge R. Rogge H. Pieres M. Amieva
1 1 4 4
Billingbear Park R. Carlsson M. Gomez N. Gonzalez R. Fagan
10 0 4 6 0
Santa Maria
10
P. Mora R. Mora J. Losada E. del Pino
1 2 5 2
Navalagua
10 2 2 6 0
M. Redding M Velasco M. Iturraspe G. Aguirre
38
and very long shot and almost scored a goal. If he had achieved so, they would have moved on to the supplementary chukka, but there was no chance of this happening. Navalagua were the ‘Conde de Guaqui’ Memorial champions. In the match previously played, Billingbear Park defeated Xie Xie 11-10 and came third in the competition. Winner: Navalagua Polo Team MVP: Martin Iturraspe (Navalagua PT)
Above: Hernan Pieres - Below: Navalagua at the podium
39
Memorial Conde de Guaqui Place: Sotogrande, Spain Club: Santa Maria Polo Club Date: March 27-29, 2009 Level: 10 hcp Tournament Type: Open Data: The tournament is a tribute to Don Alfredo de Goyeneche y Moreno (19372002) Conde de Guaqui and MarquĂŠs de Artasona, was a renowed horse rider. He rode horses since his early years. Among his achievements, he obtained the Bronze Medal in European Equestrian championships in 1956; in 1968 was the show jumper champion in Sapin and was a part of the Spanish polo champions in 1976. He dedicated his entire life to equestrian sports. He was the President of the Spanish Equestrian Federation (1981-1987), and President of the Spanish Olympic Commitee. His dedication to polo is continued today by D. Javier Goyeneche Marsans, current Conde de Guaqui, and attendant to every polo event at Santa Maria Polo Club. Above: Nacho Gonzalez followed by Michael Redding - Below: Roger Carlsson
46 40
WPT - START SEASON
World Polo Tour The 2009 version of the exciting World Polo Tour race continues, and is now stronger and more competitive than ever before.
Gonzalo Pieres Jr
With the month of March having concluded, and whilst the US Open, the last high goal tournament of the season in the United States, is being played at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, certain important movements have taken place on the official polo ranking. Among the professional players, Adolfo Cambiaso continues to take the lead with 924 points. Instead of playing in the United States, Cambiaso has chosen to stay and play in Argentina with his team, La Dolfina Loro Piana, with whom he won the prestigious Argentine Republic Cup, the only tournament in the world reserved for teams with an unlimited handicap, and the finals of which take place at Palermo. Runner-up Gonzalo Pieres Jr. has achieved 806 points. Gonzalito is now
in Palm Beach playing the American Triple Crown Tournament with Audi, the team with whom he won the CV Whitney Cup and made it through to the USPA Gold Cup finals. His brother Facundo, who also plays for Audi, takes fourth place with 713 points. Pablo MacDonough, who is also presently playing in Palm Beach with Orchard Hill, comes in third place between the two brothers with 741 points. The great novelty within the ranking is that Juan Martín Nero has entered the Top Five. Nero, USPA Gold Cup champion in Palm Beach, with Lechuza Caracas, has accumulated 698 points. As regards the Grand Prix, the Lechuza Caracas team-members, USPA Gold Cup champions in Palm Beach Guillermo Caset Jr., Juan Martín Nero, 41
Victor Vargas and Nicolás Espain, all of whom have been awarded 100 points each, lead the list. Within the amateur category, Alfio Marchini continues to be the undisputed leader. The successful Italian patron, who is currently playing in Argentina prior to participating in the UK season, has achieved 413 points, and together with Cambiaso and La Dolfina Loro Piana, won the Argentine Republic Cup. Venezuelan patron Victor Vargas comes next with 367 points, and Colombian patron Camilo Bautista comes third with 325 points. And so, this is the outlook of the World Polo Tour race towards establishing the best polo player in the world.
UK ARENA SEASON - RCBPC
NATIONAL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS Sponsored by the Hurlingham Polo Association. Seven clubs competed at 2 - 6 goal and 8 - 12 goal level. Tournament report by Iain Forbes-Cockell (“The Major”)
The Arena National Club Championships, sponsored by The Hurlingham Polo Association, were held at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club between 17th and 25th January 2009. The tournament was played at two different handicap levels, 2 - 6 Goals and 8 - 12 Goals. Overseen by the General Manager, Michael Amoore, the Polo Manager Philip Elliott and his extremely efficient Assistant Polo Manager, Louisa Crofton, a busy schedule was arranged for the seven teams in the 2 - 6 Goal and the six teams in the 8 - 12 Goal.
National Club 2 - 6 Goal Championship
The seven teams in the 2 - 6 Goal were organised into one group of four teams and one league of three teams. Two league matches were played, followed by semi-finals & finals. Visiting teams Vaux Park Eventation and Druids Lodge Full Swing started the tournament with a very close and even match, which saw Vaux Park Eventation notch up a 13-12 win. Tidworth Tomolli were next up and had a cracking good game against the
Nacho Gonzalez, on the left, hooking Pete Webb’s stick
42
eventual winners, Ascot Park Power Hawks and only lost in overtime 18-19. Their second match was a big win, 1911, against RCBPC Task Brasil but they were just outpaced in the last few minutes of the last chukka in their semifinal against RCBPC Roundshaw Farm, where Pedro De Lamare scored some crucial goals to give his team the 14-10 win that earned RCBPC Roundshaw Farm a place in the final. Tidworth Tomolli team captain, Sean Dayus, whose
arena handicap is 4, was pleased with his habitual semi-final place with the limited pony resources that his team had. Roundshaw Farm had been the big scorers in their two league matches, having beaten Druids Lodge Full Swing 20-13 and Vaux Park Eventation 22-13. The other two semi-finalist teams were Ascot Park Power Hawks and Vaux Park Eventation. Ascot Park Power Hawks had two wins in their league matches and Vaux Park Eventation had that close first match against Druids Lodge Full Swing and then a big loss to RCBPC Roundshaw Farm. Ascot Park Power Hawks had a fairly comfortable semi-final win 17-12 and went on to meet RCBPC Roundshaw Farm in the final. An eagerly anticipated final on Sunday 25th January between the tournament’s two highest scoring sides started with the experienced Pedro De Lamare scoring twice and DJ Ebe once to take RCBPC Roundshaw Farm to a 3-2 lead at the end of the first chukka and a six goal lead (11-5) by half time after a one-sided second chukka, in which Pedro scored 8 goals. Then in the third chukka, Danny Muriel came out on his best pony, all fired up and ready to take on the difficult task of getting his team back into the game and everything changed. Danny equalled Pedro’s previous chukka and scored 8
2-6 Goal Tournament League 1 Tidworth - Tomolli
5
APPC - Power Hawks
6
Charlie Scheyd Ben Sim Sean Dayus
0 1 4
Charlotte Christodoulou Nick Beitner Danny Muriel
1 2 3
BCBPC - Brave Hearts
5
RCBPC - Task Brasil
5
Melanie Hamilton Jeremy Nicholls Ben Maitland
1 2 2
Silvia Loughridge Rosie Ross James Galdea
0 2 3
League 2 RCBPC - Roundshaw Farm 6
Vaux Park - Eventation
5
David Lewis DJ Ebe Pedro De Lamare
Helen Goddard-Watts Tim Vaux Ed Olof
0 2 3
Druids Lodge - Full Swing
6
Diana Jack
1
Clare MacNamara Leon Allen
2 3
0 2 4
goals with just a single goal by Pedro in reply to make the score 13-12 in Ascot Park Power Hawks’ favour. In the final chukka, Pedro notched up two more goals, bringing his tally for the game to 13 goals, while Nick Beitner got two, Danny Muriel scored three more, bringing his match total to 14 goals and Charlotte Christodoulou scored her second goal of the game, which ended up being the final goal of the match. Ascot Power Hawks won 19-14, Charlotte Christodoulou was selected as MVP and Danny Muriel had the Best Turned out string.
2-6 Goal Tournament Place: Berkshire, UK Date: 17-25 January, 2009 Level: 2-6 hcp MVP: Charlotte Christodoulou Best Turned Out String: Danny Muriel
Ascot Park Power Hawks and RCBPC Roundshaw Farm with the HPA Chairman Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers
43
RCBPC Ocho Rios patron Simon Holley turning the play
National Club 8-12 Goal Championship
The six teams entered in the National Club 8 – 12 Goal Championship were organised into two leagues of three, allowing two league matches then semi-finals, followed by a final with a subsidiary final for the two losing semi-finalists. RCBPC had three teams entered and one team each from Ash Farm, Druids Lodge and Fifield made up the remainder. This tournament would see the big guns of UK Arena polo taking part, namely, Chris Hyde and Nacho Gonzalez both rated at 9 Goals in the arena. Another big gun, Jonny Good, rated at 8 in the arena, was on snow polo duties in St Moritz and not available to play. The next tier of players were also very much in evidence, with Jamie Morrison and Sebastian Dawnay, both rated at 7 Goals then Howard Smith and Eden Ormerod both rated at 6 Goals. Of the other players, a young girl of 17 years, Alex Jacob,
playing off 1 and frequently substituting for Ocho Rios patron Simon Holley, got the chance to play at this level for the Fifield Quilmes team, alongside Sergio Baselli (4) and Howard Smith. In addition, an up and coming outdoor player Ed Morris-Lowe, rated at 1, was able to join the returning Jeremy Nicholls (2), who used to repair sticks at Tally Ho Farm a number of years ago, and Nacho Gonzalez (9) in the RCBPC Tally Ho team. In the first match, Nacho Gonzalez was able to weave his magic and show why he has a 9 Goal rating by leading his team RCBPC Tally Ho Farm to a 1612 victory over Fifield Quilmes. During their first match, Chris Hyde’s finger was injured and so the RCBPC Ocho Rios team, who got a 16-14 win against Ash Farm Tschogan, then substituted him and Ollie Brown (2) with Ryan Pemble (5) and Pete Webb (6) to meet 44
the 12 Goal limit for the remainder of the tournament. Druids Lodge Ridgebacks, with a well balanced team of two 3 Goal players, Chris Thome and Leon Allen and 6 Goal Eden Ormerod lost 15-19 to RCBPC Tally Ho Farm, with Nacho again able, with the support of his team mates, to impose his game on the opposition. Druids Lodge had a double whammy of losses by falling 12-14 to Fifield Quilmes the following day. Ash Farm Tschogan, on the other hand, avoided the same fate by getting a 1413 win against Jamie Morrison’s RCBPC Crested Butte. Sadly for Jamie, his team lost a tight match against RCBPC Ocho Rios 16-17. The semi-finals saw RCBPC Tally Ho Farm gain a 17-16 win after a really close match against Ash Farm Tschogan, whose key player Sebastian Dawnay battled really hard but just couldn’t
outdo Nacho. In the other semi-final, RCBPC Ocho Rios had a more comfortable 18-13 win over Fifield Quilmes and found that their two substitutes Ryan Pemble and Pete Webb had quickly adapted after a league match win a few days earlier. The final between RCBPC Ocho Rios and RCBPC Tally Ho Farm was played in ideal dry and sunny conditions, with plenty of local support for both teams. Right from the start, Nacho tried to impose his style of play scoring four goals with a fifth being scored by Ed Morris-Lowe. However, Pete Webb and Ryan Pemble combined well and ended the chukka with eight goals. The match followed this pattern through the next two chukkas, with Ocho Rios scoring five goals to Tally Ho’s two in the second chukka to go into half time leading 13-7. Nacho scored five goals and Jeremy Nicholls one goal to close the gap by the end of the third chukka to 17-13 with Pete Webb scoring four goals for Ocho Rios. The final chukka was evenly balanced and tense with both teams scoring seven goals to leave RCBPC Ocho Rios the winners by four goals at 24-20. In summary, the combination of Pete Webb and Ryan Pemble was too much for Nacho to deal with.
8-12 Goal Tournament League 1 League 2 Druids Lodge - Ridgebacks Chris Thorne Leon Allen Eden Ormerod
12 3 3 6
Fifield - Quilmes Alex Jacob Sergio Baselli Howard Smith
11 1 4 6
RCBPC - Tally Ho Farm Ed Morris-Lowe Jeremy Nicholls Nacho Gonzalez
12 1 2 9
Between them, they tried to smother Nacho and prevent him from going down the right hand side of the arena next to the wall to dribble the ball into goal. For the most part, they succeeded but nevertheless, Nacho still managed to score 14 goals. HPA Chairman Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers presented the National Club Championship 8-12 Goal Trophy to a delighted Simon Holley, patron of the RCBPC Ocho Rios team. Pete Webb had an outstanding game. He scored 16 of his team’s 24
Play action. Left to right Jeremy Nicholls, Nacho Gonzalez, Pete Webb and Ryan Pemble
45
Ash Farm - Tschogan
12
Heiko Voelker Gavin Turner Sebastian Dawnay
RCBPC - Crested Butte
1 4 7
11
Michael Bickford Michael Amoore Jamie Morrison
RCBPC - Ocho Rios
1 3 7
12
Simon Holley Ollie Browne Chris Hyde
1 2 9
8-12 Goal Tournament Place: Berkshire, UK Date: 17-25 January, 2009 Level: 8-12 hcp MVP: Pete Webb Best Turned Out String: Simon Holley
goals, didn’t seem to miss any penalties, even the defended 25 yarders and was deservedly named as MVP.
UK ARENA SEASON - RCBPC
THE WESTBURY ARENA GOLD CUP Sponsored by The Westbury Hotel. Seven teams competed in this 15 goal handicap tournament. Tournament report by Iain Forbes-Cockell (“The Major”)
The Arena Gold Cup, sponsored by The Westbury Hotel, was held at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club between 10th and 21st February 2009. This tournament was played at the highest team handicap level currently played in the UK, 12 - 15 Goals. The exception to the 15 Goal team handicap limit is in the Arena Test Match, about which there is a report elsewhere in this issue. Seven teams were organised into two leagues. League 1, had four teams that each played three league matches and League 2 had three teams that
each played two league matches. These were followed by semi-finals, a subsidiary final for The Silver Cup and the Final for The Westbury Arena Gold Cup. As far as players are concerned, all the highest rated UK arena players were there. Jonny Good (8) was back from St Moritz snow polo and both Tim Bown (7) and Jamie Le Hardy (7) were available. Five of the teams were a one patron with two professional players mix and two of the teams were all professional player line-ups. Pirates, with Jonny Good(8) and Pete Webb(6) playing with patron Ben
Howard Smith and Jamie Le Hardy
46
Pincus(1), started the tournament with a narrow 16-15 win over Billingbear Park who fielded Nacho Gonzalez (9) and Maurice Ormerod(5) with Roger Carlsson(1), for whom Stuart Craig substituted. The next day Billingbear Park lost 14-16 to Roundshaw Farm’s all professional side of Pedro De Lamare(4), Adolfo Casabal(6) and Tomas Gavinia(3). Ocho Rios, who had Alex Jacob(1) substituting for patron Simon Holley(1) and his professional Chris Hyde(9), with Ryan Pemble(5), enjoying great success in his first season of arena polo, enjoyed a comfortable 15-10 victory
Winners Seb Dawnay, Heiko Voelker and Jamie Le Hardy with the Arena Gold Cup
against Crested Butte who had Jamie Morrison (7) and Tim Bown(7) joining Michael Bickford (1). The next day, Friday 13th February turned out badly for Ocho Rios who lost 10-18 to the strong all professional Tashan team, who had Danny Muriel (3), Howard Smith (6) and Oscar Mancini (6). Heiko Voelker(1), patron of Tschogan, with Jamie Le Hardy (7) and Sebastian Dawnay (7) had close back to back wins against Crested Butte (20-18) on Saturday 14th and Tashan Polo (19-17) on Sunday 15th. However, they suffered a 17-16 defeat after a close match against Ocho Rios on Tuesday 17th. Despite this loss, Tschogan made it to the semi-finals by having scored more goals and having a better goal difference than Ocho Rios, whose compensation was a place in the subsidiary final for The Silver Cup. Tashan Polo meanwhile earned their semi-final place by a big 19-13 win over Crested Butte. Pirates won their second league match 18-14 against Roundshaw Farm, as a result of which both teams earned a semi-final place. The first semi-final was between
Tashan Polo and Roundshaw Farm. Both all professional teams faced each other and the higher handicapped team Tashan Polo got themselves a place in the final with a 17-15 victory. The other two semi-finalist teams were Tschogan and Pirates and their match was evenly balanced until the last chukka, when Tschogan managed to hold onto a three goal margin for a 17-14 win and a place in the final. The subsidiary final for The Silver Cup was played on Saturday 21st February at 1030 between Ocho Rios and Billingbear Park. This was another occasion when the two highest rated UK arena players Chris Hyde and Nacho Gonzalez faced each other. The teams were a mirror image in handicap of all three players, so a similar playing style from both teams ensued. The scores were a mirror image too from the number ones, who scored one goal each and the big guns, Hyde and Gonzalez, scored 10 goals each but the big difference came with the number twos. Maurice Ormerod scored one goal but Ryan Pemble scored eight goals, giving Ocho Rios a Silver Cup 47
winning score of 19-12. At midday, the final of the Westbury Arena Gold Cup began. Tashan Polo, a well balanced all professional side, took on Tschogan, who had a 1 Goal patron and two 7 Goal professionals. Sebastian Dawnay scored first and then Heiko Voelker scored to give Tschogan an early lead but a goal each from Danny Muriel and Howard Smith tied the scores before Jamie Le Hardy scored twice to give Tschogan a 4-2 lead at the end of the first chukka. The second chukka saw Tschogan really grasp hold of the game with all of their players scoring the same number of goals as the position they played, thus adding six goals to their tally with only a two goal response from Tashan Polo to leave the score at 10-4 in Tschogan’s favour at half time. In the third chukka, it was all change and Tashan Polo’s players achieved exactly the same as their opponents did the previous chukka, managing to boost their score by six goals to a single goal from Seb Dawnay and two goals from Jamie Le Hardy making the score 13-10 to Tschogan by the end of the third chukka. The final chuk-
ka was more evenly balanced with all three of Tashan Polo’s players scoring one goal each and both Seb and Jamie scoring two each to give Tschogan the winning score of 17-13. Heiko Voelker was all smiles as he received The Gold Cup with his teammates, Seb Dawnay, who won the prize for the best turned out string of ponies and Jamie Le Hardy, the high scorer with 9 goals, who won the MVP award and was presented with a saddle sponsored by Tally Ho Farm.
Arena Gold Cup League 1 Ocho Rios
15
Simon Holley Ryan Pemble Chris Hyde
Crested Butte Michael Bickford Tim Bown Jamie Morrison
Tschogan
15
1 5 9
Heiko Voelker Sebastian Dawnay Jamie Le Hardy
1 7 7
15
Tashan Polo
15
1 7 7
Danny Muriel Howard Smith Oscar Mancini
3 6 6
League 2 Billingbear Park Roger Carlsson Maurice Ormerod Nacho Gonzalez
15 1 5 9
Pirates
15
Ben Pincus Peter Webb Jonny Good
1 6 8
Seb Dawnay hooking Danny Muriel
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Roundshaw Farm Pedro De Lamare Adolfo Casabal Tomas GaviĂąa
13 4 6 3
UK - HORSE RETIREMENT
The Horse Trust Merseyside Police horse retires to horse sanctuary
The Horse Trust has seen a fivefold increase in enquiries from cashstrapped owners who need to rehome their horse. But with a fall in public donations, the charity is unable to take on any more horses. Committed to the care of 114 horses, ponies and donkeys already retired at the sanctuary and its ongoing work with emergency welfare cases the charity has had to make a very difficult decision. “We simply can’t afford to take in any more animals at the moment. It costs us more than £17 a day to keep a horse here and with people donating less, we have no option but to close our doors to new horses temporarily,” said Paul Jepson, Chief Executive and Veterinary Director of The Horse Trust “Owners simply can’t find anyone who is willing to take on an older horse, so euthanasia is often the only option they have,” said Mr Jepson. Over the last six months, The Horse Trust has been receiving over 100 requests every month from people who need to rehome their horse. Over the same period a year ago, less than 20 owners a month contacted The Horse Trust.
“Every day I hear another story from someone who has been affected by the credit crunch and is distraught about what to do with their horse. One caller I spoke to recently was a contractor who hadn’t been paid as his main client had gone bust. Another had been made redundant and was now living off his partner’s income,” said Liane Crowther, the Equine Welfare and Education Officer for the charity. “It’s so hard to tell them that we can’t help and that they may have to put down their horse,” said Liane. She continued, “We may not be able to offer their horse a place at the sanctuary but are always at the end of the telephone as each case is different and we like to help everyone individually as best we can.” One of the last horses to be taken in by The Horse Trust is Rosie, a pony in her mid-20s, whose Nottingham ownSherwin
The Horse Trust, founded in 1886, is the oldest horse charity in the UK. Based at Speen, Buckinghamshire, it is committed to a programme of welfare, science and education and is the largest provider of grant funding for equine welfare in the United Kingdom. The Trust funds research into equine diseases; gives grants to help build and equip equine hospitals throughout the country and works to raise awareness of the importance of cost, care and commitment to responsible horse ownership. The Horse Trust also manages The Home of Rest for Horses which, funded solely by donations and legacies, provides lifetime sanctuary for more than 100 retired working horses, ponies and donkeys from many different backgrounds.
49
er Dorothy Shaw, 63, could no longer afford Rosie’s upkeep when her husband Peter died. “When my husband suddenly died of a heart attack I couldn’t afford to keep Rosie any more. He had always paid for her upkeep - I’m only living on a pension so can’t afford it on my own,” said Dorothy. “We were absolutely elated when we heard that The Horse Trust was able to take her in it was a big weight lifted off my shoulders.” The Horse Trust is now making an urgent appeal for donations to enable it to re-open its doors to needy cases. Just £5 would enable the charity to feed a small horse for a week, while £17 would pay for all the costs of looking after a horse for a day, including feed, veterinary bills and farrier costs. To donate to the charity visit http://www.horsetrust.org.uk/
POLO PROFILES - JOHN WATSON
MASTER OF THE GAME Roger Chatterton-Newman traces the career of John Henry Watson
Known in his day, and for decades afterwards, as the “Father of British Polo”, John Henry Watson, M.F.H. (1851-1908), did perhaps more than anyone to lay the foundations for the modern game. Born at the Watson ancestral home of Ballydarton, near Leighlinbridge in County Carlow, he was the son of Robert Gray Watson, M.F.H. (1821-1906), a legend in his lifetime in the hunting field. Indeed, the Watsons generally had a long reputation as first-rate sportsmen, and Robert – the “Old Master,” as he was known- was master of the Carlow and Island Hounds for thiryfive years. A younger brother of Robert, George Watson (1829-1906) was distinguished in Australian racing and hunting circles, and was known as the “Prince of Starters.” According to brief details supplied for his entry in Who´s Who, John Watson first played polo in 1870, which would suggest games on private grounds in County Carlow. The inaugural-scratch-match had been played at Rathbane, outside Limerick, two
years earlier, and it was introduced to County Carlow by the Rochfort family of Clogrenane, friends and neighbors of the Watson. Horace Rochfort founded the Carlow Polo Club in 1872, followed a year later by the All Ireland Polo in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. The Carlow Club held
One observer described him as an undoubted throwback to his freebooting ancestors on the Cumbrian border, who for generations defied English and Scottish law. what was possibly its inaugural match at Oak Park, the seat of Henry Bruen, in August 1872, Robert and John Watson being among the players. Two years later John Watson was gazetted into the 13th Hussars and sailed for India. He took part in the epic march from Kabul to Kandahar,
The British team ready for the 1902 Patriotic Cup
50
when the Afghan expeditionary force, traveling single file over mountainous mule tracks, were lost to the outside world for twentyone days. Drinking water out of cow tracks, they re-emerged 331 miles later, routed the enemy at Rabat and relieved Kandahar. In India, of course, Watson was able to see polo as it had been played for centuries. Such was his enthusiasm for the game that the commander-in-chief, General Frederick Roberts, V.C., decided that Watson was the man to draw up fundamental rules, which he did, although one can only hazard a guess at his fiery reaction to the plethora of rules inflicted on players today. In Watson´s heyday, the rules of the Hurlingham Polo Committee, of which he was a member from 1887 to 1903, totaled no more than thirty-nine. He left the army as a captain and returned to Ireland in 1884. Polo was by then well established in the Phoenix Park, and other clubs and grounds were appearing, notably in the Irish midlands. Watson´s comparative youth and forceful personality-he did not suffer fools gladly-soon made him the most significant figure in the game. His most significant, indeed revolutionary, introduction was the backhand shot, in the face of considerable opposition. Revolutionary, too, was his insistence on players combining and working together as a team. Although the year before Watson´s return to Ireland the number of players had been reduced from five to four a side, teamwork was minimal, each player tending to capture the ball and keep on it as long as he could. If a defender found the ball too close to the goal, he took it around the field as far as he could, with no thought of passing it on. Lt. Col. Edward Miller (1856-1930) no mean player, had known Watson well and recalled in his memoirs the difference that combination made the game:
Watson taught No.1 to ride the opposing back and to leave the ball alone. The two other players were called No.2 and half back; they ere taught to stick to their places vigorously, and the back remained purely a defender, and acted as a sort of long stop, simply serving the ball to his forwards. Polo was played on these lines for some years, and Watson´s teaching went right through the Army, soldiers being almost the only players in those days. Watson´s teaching certainly produced dividends. The 1884 season saw his Freebooters squad capture the All Ireland Cup, a trophy he went on to win no fewer than nine times. Then, in 1886, he captained the Hurlingham team that went to Newport, Rhode Island, for the inaugural internationalsoon to be known as the Westchester Cup- against the United States. The visitors were all original members of the Freebooters, comprised in-
His most significant, indeed revolutionary, introduction was the back-hand shot, in the face of considerable opposition. itially of soldiers past and present, but eventually a scratch pack of the best players available. For the international Watson- who invariably played at backhad recruited Captain Thomas Hone, 7th Hussars, at number 1, the Hon. Richard Lawley, 7th Hussars, at number 2, and Captain Malcolm Little, 9th Lancers, at pivot. They won by broad margins in two games, 10-4 and 14-2, and while Watson acknowledged that the Americans worked hard and hit the ball well, he felt they were at a disadvantage by riding mustang ponies of much dexterity but little speed. Watson was to play at back again in the second international of 1990, when Britain retained the cup after a single game, with a score of 8-2. his many others triumphs included a hat trick in the final of the champion cup, then the premier British tounament, at Hurlingham, but the only time he actually played for the Ireland was in the 1904 Patriotic Cup against England. Ireland lost 3-5, one of Watson´s
Painting of John Henry Watson
very few defeats. All who knew Watson spoke of his charming personality- when off a horse. As master of the Meath Hounds from 1891 to 1908 and on the pole ground, his “tremendous language,” as the poet and writer Lord Dunsany called it, awed the field and intimidated fellow players. Hunting and polo anecdotes, few of them apocryphal, involving Watson are legion. His famous temper evaporated when he was out of the saddle, although his heavyweight appearence- he was about fourteen stone at his peak – could still be daunting to strangers. Indeed, one observer described him as an undoubted throwback to his freebootig ancestors on the Cumbrian border, who for generations defied English and 51
Scottish law. There were certainly nothing about his character to remind one of his family´s strong connections with the Quaker movement in Ireland during the alte seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Although his contributions to polo and hunting – his reign as master established the Meath as “The Quorn of Ireland” – were undisputed, he had a high opinion of his own brilliance, as one story will illustrate. Playing one day at Hurlingham, he had Col. Willie Walker, afterwards Lord Wavertree and founder of the Irish National Stud, at number 2. Throughout the game Watson was abusing and shouting at Walker, who finally replied, with admirable restraint, “We forwards are going all right – you yourself are
All Ireland Polo Club in the Phoenix Park, Dublin
making a mess of it behind.” Watson, more furious than ever, replied, “ You dare to speak to me, who is acknowledged to be the best back in the world?” “Not by me,” said Walker. Watson bullied his old friends with impunity, and because they were so fond of him, they ignored his harsh words and temper. Towards the end of his polo career, however, there arose a new generation of players who refused to tolerate his outbursts. As a result, Watson became as charming in the saddle as he was out of it. Although his tongue could remain blistering in the hunting field. He particularly disliked women following hounds. “I wish they´d go home and do their knitting,” he once remarked to a neighbour, although by coincidence one of the hardest – riding women of her day was Watson´s sister Myra, wife first of a County Carlow neighbour, John McClintock Bunbury of Moyle, and then of Baron Maximil-
ian de Tuyll, a Dutch nobleman. She was known as one of the few women of the time to take her own line across country, and she certainly provided an excellent advertisement for the
Watson’s teaching certainly produced dividends. The 1884 season saw his Freebooters team capture the All Ireland Cup, a trophy he went on to win no fewer than nine times. hunters bred and made by her brother, and sold on both sides of the Atlantic. Surplisingly, Lady Fingall, whose husband had been the previous master of the Meath, thought Watson “the cruelest man with a horse I had ever seen – he would always ride a horse until it dropped to get to his hounds.” At the same time, however, an old groom 52
would recall how Watson had only to come into sight, and to call them, “and tired horses were all leppin on their hind legs, like two year-olds.” When Watson took on mastership of the Meath, he moved to Bective House, on the banks of the River Boyne, near Navan. Bective quickly became a polo and hunting mecca, with the Meath kennels relocated there and polo grounds laid out. In 1905, during a polo match in the Phoenix Park, Watson suffered a heart attack. Ted Miller, playing on the other team, managed to catch him as he fell from the pony. Watson never played polo again, although he continued to hunt for another two full seasons. Ill health returned at the start of the 1908 hunting season and, unwillingly, he resigned the horn of the Meath. He died at Bective House on 12 November, at the age of fifty-seven, having outlived his father by only two years. Sadly, Watson had no children by his marriage the former Christine Booth, who
John Henry Watson 1851 Born at Ballydarton, Co Carlow, Ireland 1870 First played polo 1871 Played in inaugural Carlow Polo Club tournament 1874 Gazetted into 13th Hussars and sailed for India 1884 Left the Army, having drawn up basic rules for polo. Established Freebooters team. 1885 Captured inaugural Westchester Cup in USA 1891 Became Master of the Meath Hounds 1905 Retired from polo following a heart attack 1908 Died at Bective House, Co Meath, 12 November
was to survive him until 1925. A final story is worth recalling. As Watson lay dying at Bective, a few miles away one of his oldest friends, Leon-
Watson’s legacy to polo is immeasureable. He found it a virtual free-for-all and gave it pace, order and science. ard Morrogh, was also in his deathbed. A mutual friend decided to pay both a last visit. Beginning with Morrogh. As the visitor was turning to leave, he mentioned he was on his way to see Watson. “Give John my love,” said Mor-
rogh, “and tell him that I shall get there first, and that he will find me holding the gate open as I have often done before.” Watson´s legacy to polo is immeasurable. He found it a virtual free-for-all, and gave it pace, order and science. An anonymous tribute in a Carlow newspaper after his death described him as “the life and soul of the game”: The inclusion of his name on a team, whether insular or international, made the boldest of the opposition hold his breath. In the field of sport, he was born to rule, and he invariably asserted his birthright.
John Watson (1856-1908), of the 13th Hussars, who formulated the first real rules of the game in India in the 1870s. He later formed the celebrated Freebooters team who won the first Westchester Cup match in 1886. He was a key player at the All Ireland Polo Club which was founded in 1872 by Horace Rochfort of Clogrenane, County Carlow.
BLACKLOCKS Polo Books and Prints Antiquarian and leatherbound polo books All new titles from stock th th 19 & 20 Century polo prints and limited editions. Trophies, memorabilia and magazines.
8 Victoria Street, Englefield Green, Surrey TW20 0QY www.blacklockspolart.com
Tel: +44 (0)1784 438025 blacklocks.polo@ntlworld.com
UK ARENA SEASON - INTER UNIVERSITY
La Martina National University Arena Polo Championships UK Students continue to break records
The 2009 La Martina University Arena Championships illustrated the growth of new players starting polo at University with a record breaking 94 teams entering. Organised and run by SUPA (the Schools and Universities Polo Association), with La Martina as
the headline sponsor, the tournament took place over four days between the 12th and 15th February 2009 at the Hand Arena, Clevedon, near Bristol, by kind permission of the owner, Nick Davis. A cross-section of Universities were represented from as far afield as
We won! UWE winners of N2 section
54
Dublin, Exeter, Loughborough, Newcastle and St. Andrews with players competing in different sections from Beginners and Novice through to Intermediate and Open. Beginners are those players who have taken up polo at the start of the academic year (in this case that would have been in September 2008). Novice section competitors are players of limited experience or opportunity. Intermediate section players are those who are regular players of low handicap. The Combined section is for Universities with single players of ability, who need to combine with other players to form a team. The Open section is for regular players of a higher handicap. A potential area of confusion was that there were two university teams based in Bristol. One is Bristol University, referred to as Bristol and the other is Bristol, University of Western England, who are normally referred to as UWE! Four days of chukkas starting every 10 minutes, from 1100 and 1000 respectively on the first two days and then 0930 for the last two days, with three or four breaks for arena maintenance and finishing at 1800 or later, gives you some idea of what a massive task it was to fit everything in within the tournament timeframe. However, there was apparently sufficient time and willpower for competitors and organisers to have a fantastic Official Players Valentine’s Day party on Saturday 14th, hosted by Bristol University Polo Club at which, rumour has it, in excess of £7,000.00 was taken at the bar! The Beginners and Novices sections had so many teams that they were subdivided. The Beginners 1 section was won by Harper Adams who beat Bristol. The Beginners 2 section saw South-
Above: Grand Finale showing all the competitors and organisers - Below: Action from Cambridge and Birmingham
ampton B emerge as winners against UWE B. In the Novice Section the battle was won in style (5 – 0) by a strong London side over Warwick but was later awarded to Warwick on a technical matter and UWE B again retained the Novice 2 title, showing depth in members at their University. A new name on the Intermediate trophy saw last season’s winners, Bristol, succumb to the talents of Oxford University after a penalty shoot out and James White of UWE won the Roxtons MVP award for the Intermediate after a superb display in all his matches. Nottingham and Warwick joined together to take the Combined Title with a 4 – 1 win, despite Barrow from St Andrews and Jackson from Brockenhurst College putting up a formidable fight. The NFU Mutual were supporters of a new trophy played for by Colleges or Universities who specialise in Agriculture. Newcomers Berkshire College played well but could not compete with the strength of Harper Adams, who went on to secure the trophy in addition to the Beginners 1 title. The Open, saw the lead changing hands often, where Exeter University took the title from Oxford Brookes with a high scoring match 13 - 7. But Oxford Brookes player Ahmed Tiwana was voted MVP and won the Bailey’s Trophy for his contribution to this hard fought game. The La Martina University Arena Championships has grown dramatically over the years and would not be able 55
to do so without the generous support of the polo fraternity, horse hirers and sponsors. The support of La Martina as title sponsor proves year on year to be an incentive for new young players joining at University level which enables this event to develop each year. The Roxtons supported Polo Riding Accreditation Programme pays dividends each year from the increased riding skills, quality of coaching and pony hire, which improved again this year. Two lucky winners of the raffle were also invited to an all expenses paid intensive SUPA Polo training course for two people at Polo del Sol in Jerez, Spain – a great prize in keeping with the spirit of the 2009 Championships. In addition to this, the sup-
port of Lycetts has paved the way for alumni players wishing to return to the sport after graduating from SUPA, with the inaugural Schools Alumni Polo Associations (www.sapapolo.com) tournament held for the first time this year for players who otherwise would not have returned to the sport after School or University. The La Martina SUPA University Arena Polo Championship is just one of the many initiatives hosted by SUPA, including the La Martina International Polo Festival in the summer and an extensive winter and summer polo programme for Schools, Junior Schools and Universities throughout the year. University Polo is today played by
Oxford University winners of the Intermediate section
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Open Final Exeter University Rachel Quirk Brook Bishop Rory Horne
Oxford Brookes Ed Jefferson Ahmed Tiwana George McCorkeli Final Result: Exeter University 13-7 MVP: Ahmed Tiwana
over 1500 students at 48 Universities/ Colleges across the UK – numbers that look set to increase each year.
B1 winners Harper Adams with Becky Simpson of La Martina UK and Piers Plunkett
Roll of Honour
NFU Mutual Agric Cup Harper Adams
La Martina National University Arena Polo Championship Open
Combined
Exeter University
Nottingham/Warwick
Winners
Winners
Oxford Brookes
Edinburgh/St Andrews/Brokenhurst
Runners Up
Runners Up
Intermediate
Novice 1
Oxford University
Warwick
Bailey’s Cup MVP Open Ahmed Tiwana Roxtons Trophy MVP Intermediate James White Fair Play Trophy University of London Union
Winners
Winners
Facts and Figures:
Bristol
London
Runners Up
Runners Up
Beginners 1
Novice 2
Harper Adams
UWE B
Attendance: Over 500 spectators watched the Polo on the Saturday, alone. Social Side of Polo: Over 550 attended the Official Players Party. Team Entries: 94 polo teams from 27 Universities. Player Complement: Out of 290 players 43 have played Pony Club. Duration: 188 chukkas over 4 days. 1128
Winners
Winners
Bristol
Warwick B
Runners Up
Runners Up
Beginners 2
Novice 3
Southampton B
Reading C
Winners
Winners
UWE B
London C
Runners Up
Runners Up
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individual Chukkas played over 4 days. Jinx: 56 chukkas played on Friday 13th without mishap! Record Breaking: Largest Arena Polo Tournament in World.
INTERNATIONAL - JAMAICA OPEN
Polo shines in Jamaica PQ International was present at the Jamaica Open 2009 in which four 14-goal teams took part. A nice coexistence among the teams and their passion for polo guaranteed the success of this tournament.
The Jamaica Open is the biggest and most competitive polo tournament in this country. With a threeday fixture organised to comprise two matches per day, all teams played each other and the best made it through to the final. The Jamaica Open was first played in 1980 and was created with a view
to promote Jamaica as an alternative polo destination over the winter months due to its nice climate to play this sport. Thus, as the years went by, foreign players became interested and began participating in the tournaments annually organised on the island. Among the teams taking part in the
Jamaica Flag at the final presentation
58
Jamaica Open, the local team was represented by Andy Vernon, Kurt Chin, John and Paul G Byles Chin. The Spanish Court Hotel team comprised Paul Lalor, Mark Wates, Jorge Donovan and Marc Melville. The Mitsubishi team played with Shane Chin, Lesley-Ann Fong-Yee, MartĂn Ravina and Fernando Asenjo, and last but not least, the Ap-
pleton team line-up comprised James Robertson, Juan Humbert, Craig Russell and Santiago Wulff. The game fixture was gradually completed during the first two qualification dates, and so the first match of the day between Mitsubishi Polo Team and Jamaica Polo Team, as well as the final between Spanish Court Hotel and Appleton as the closing match of the tournament, were thus scheduled for the last day of play. Martin Ravina
The Grand Final in Kingston The sun shone high in the sky above Kingston Polo Club on the day the tournament finals were played. In the first match of the day, Mitsubishi and Jamaica Polo Team played a dynamic game in which the white Mitsubishi team found their way towards scoring goals thanks to Martín Ravi-
Jamaica Open 2009 Jamaica
14
Andy Vernon Paul Chin Kurt Chin John G. Byles
4 3 4 3
Mitsubishi
13
Lesley-Ann Fong-Yee Shane Chin Martin Ravina Fernando Asenjo
2 2 6 3
Spanish Court
14
Paul Lalor Jorge Donovan Mark Wates Marc Melville
Appleton
3 6 4 1
14
Juan Humbert James Robertson Craig Russell Santiago Wulff
3 3 2 6
Champion: Appleton Polo Team MVP: Santiago Wulf (Appleton)
BPP: Opera (Owned by James Robertson, ridden by Santiago Wulf, Appleton)
na’s good contribution and organisation, and Fernando Asenjo who cleared the way for his team-mates to score. Thus, Lesley-Ann Fong-Yee’s team won the game 6-4. When this match ended, the muchawaited moment came: The most important game of the tournament featuring Spanish Court Hotel and Ap-
pleton. The yellow team was the grand dominator of the game from the very first chukker with an outstanding performance of Santiago Wulff and Juan Humbert, who jointly organised each of Appleton’s attacks accompanied by Jamaican players James Robertson and Craig Russell. And so, in the second half of the
59
game, Appleton began to keep hold of the ball while Spanish Court Hotel tried everything possible to reduce the difference but time was finally up and the scoreboard read 6 ½ - 3 in favour of Appleton. Whilst the players received their prizes on the podium, the volume of the music performed live by the band gradually went up and the tournament’s closing celebration kept guests entertained well into the night in Kingston. The Jamaica Open Final, a weeklong celebration with a good level of polo, a lot of fun and, above all, an excellent climate as only Jamaica can offer.
Above: All the teams for the final picture after the trophy presentation - Below: James Robertson followed by Mark Wates
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Jamaica Open Place: Kingston, Jamaica Club: Kingston Polo Club Date: April 1-5, 2009 Level: 14 hcp Tournament type: Open Description: Jamaica’s premier high goal polo event, the Jamaica Open, kicks off with a throw-in on an improved lush green surface at the Kingston Polo Club ground, Caymanas Estates, St Catherine. The Jamaica Open came into being in the early 1980s after the long-standing Willie DeLisser Cup was phased out. It was inaugurated with a view to promote Jamaica as an alternative winter polo destination which could encourage more foreign players to come to Jamaica not only for a vacation, but to participate in the growing number of tournaments hosted annually on the island. The matches will be played under the USPA Cross Division rules. Teams shall be drawn in two divisions. Above: Jamaican grooms watching one of the games. Below: Lesley Ann Fong-Yee followed by Kurt Chin
The Polo Centre in Kingston The city was founded by the British in 1693 after an earthquake destroyed most of the old capital city of Port Royal. The city became the seat of administration for Jamaica in 1872. It kept this status when the island was granted independence in 1962. It is located on the southeastern coast of the island and has a natural port protected by the Palisadoes, name given to a long sand-spit which connects Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. The central area of Kingston comprises two parts: the historic centre also considered a trouble spot and New Kingston which is home to the most visited tourist attractions, such as the “Bob Marley Museum”, built at his former residence. Located approximately twenty minutes away from the centre of the city, Kingston Polo Club receives polo lovers with a magnificent view of its polo field and its club house alongside, which allows them to enjoy the games from this spot. After-polo events and the good treatment offered by club members are some of the special touches added to an ideal afternoon of polo in Kingston.
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UK PREVIEW - GUARDS PC
Guards starts season with royal flourish By Diana Butler.
The opening weekend at Guards Polo Club had a very different feel to previous years. This is because the Club rolled out the red carpet for HM The Queen who was paying her first visit of 2009 to Smith’s Lawn to open the Club’s iconic new Clubhouse. This building has risen from the ashes of the previous Clubhouse, which had served the Club for some 30 years, but is now longer big enough to accommodate the number of members that the Club now attracts.
Board member and patron of the Ockholt polo team, Brian Stein, has overseen this major project and used his invaluable experience of designing restaurants – Stein is the Chairman of the Maxwells Group, owner of PJ’s Bar and Grill – to create a luxurious Clubhouse that befits Europe’s number one polo club. Talking before the official opening Stein said: “Guards Polo Club is the most famous polo club in the world and so it is important to have the wow factor as soon as you arrive.”
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The Clubhouse definitely delivers on this count. Members and their guests no longer walk around the side of the building to gain their seats in the grandstand, but head straight through the entrance of the new Clubhouse. This takes then into an elegant area which manages to combine modern design with traditional comfort and boasts 180 degree views of the Club’s main grounds. The new design also includes a covered and extended terrace so that diners can linger over
their meal and take in a game or two whatever the weather. Guards Polo Club has not just focussed its attention on the Clubhouse, but has also ensured quality on the field too. It is delighted to welcome Harcourt Developments as sponsor of The Queen’s Cup (24 May – 14 June) and to sign up 16 teams to take part in this premier high-goal competition. Although Ellerston has confirmed that they will not defend their title, the UK polo scene has not been deprived of the skills of the Pieres brothers. They have been snapped up by John Francois Decaux and his Brittany team – renamed La Bamba de Areco in 2009. Adolfo Cambiaso has again teamed up with Ali Albwardy’s Dubai team and other strong contenders for Finals Day include Alfio Marchini’s Loro Piana, Victor Vargas’s Lechuza Caracas, Joachim and Max Gottschalk’s Les Lions teams and Rick and Jas-
on Stowe’s Geebung squad. Two new names to the team sheet this year are Jerome Worth’s Enigma and Rashid Al Habtoor’s Habtoor Polo. The Habtoor family already has close ties with Guards Polo Club as it is the title sponsor of The Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup (1-21 June). This leading medium-goal tournament always attracts a host of talent and with such a strong polo playing family as sponsor, once again this competition promises to provide plenty of great games. A week later the Club will host the final of the country’s leading eightgoal competition – the Meyado Archie David Cup (2-28 June). This is one of the toughest competitions in the polo calendar – Rodolfo Ducos once referred to it as a marathon and that was after winning the historic trophy. All eyes will then turn to Cartier International Day on Sunday 26 July. This year Cartier is celebrating 25 years of
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sponsorship of the world’s largest spectator polo day in the world and to mark this milestone the Hurlingham Polo Association has invited Argentina to play England in the Coronation Cup. Captained by Adolfo Cambiaso, the team includes Facundo Pieres, Martin Valent, Gustavo Usandizaga and Pablo Llorente. The South Americans last played on this day in 2000 and will be keen to keep their country’s unbeaten run in this event. So with this much talent on the field it is appropriate that the Club has chosen this year to unveil its firstclass Clubhouse and Guards Polo Club now has a venue that reflects its status as Europe’s leading polo club. For further information on all the Club’s fixtures – the season runs from late April to mid September, log on to www. guardspoloclub.com
GUARDS POLO STORE
First UK La Martina store to open in April 2009 at Guards Polo Club high-end clothing will be launched at the store when its doors open in April. The official opening of the store will also coincide with the opening of Guards new Clubhouse, when HM The Queen will add a sense of occasion and ceremony to the day by declaring the new Clubhouse officially open and ready for business. La Martina was established in 1985 and it has continued to grow and develop on an international level since then. The brand currently has a vast international audience and can be found in more than 35 countries and participating in over 90 polo events worldwide. With offices in Argentina, USA, Italy and the UK, La Martina is ideally placed to serve the polo community and support the concept that polo is not just a sport, but a lifestyle and culture too. Today, La Martina is distinguished by its exclusivity and
The partnership between Guards Polo Club and La Martina was first cemented in 2007 when La Martina became the Official Clothing and Polo Equipment Supplier of the Club. In 2009, this partnership goes one step further again when La Martina moves in to the existing Guards Polo Club Shop and launches the ‘Guards Polo Club Store by La Martina.’ The Guards Polo Club Shop is currently undergoing expert refurbishment to ensure that when it opens in April 2009, the look and feel of the premises will be completely different – in typical La Martina style, there will be vintage polo furnishings, aged leather chesterfield sofas, leather and cow hide rugs, and historic pictures and photos that pay homage to the history of the sport. A unique Guards mini-collection consisting of exclusive
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is recognised internationally not only for producing the very best technical equipment for the polo pony, but also for producing stylish and performance-driven clothing for the polo player. Its shops are beautifully furnished and expertly designed, ensuring that the beautiful collections of men’s and ladies’ clothing are shown to their very best. Once opened, the ‘Guards Polo Club Store by La Martina’ will also serve as an additional social centre and environment for cocktail parties and launch events at Guards. The ‘living room’ concept, which can be found in all La Martina stores, ensures that clients and guests can sit in comfort, read a polo magazine, or just take a break from a busy day watching polo.
the store in the evening, after chukkas, when new products will be launched, or an event will be held. Members will also be able to make the most of the ‘design your own polo team kit’ service, which will be available in-store, with expert advice, samples and colour options readily available, to ensure that each team is looking its very best. Perhaps most importantly, the ‘Guards Polo Club Store by La Martina’ will continue to function primarily for the purpose for which it was first set up – as a pro shop serving players and patrons and providing them with all their technical and equipment needs. Saddles, bridles, helmets, whips, boots and bandages and many other everyday saddlery items, will account for approximately half of the store. Guards Polo Club and La Martina look forward to welcoming you to the new store at Smith’s Lawn during the 2009 UK polo season!
Charlie Stisted, Chief Executive of Guards Polo Club comments;
‘Guards Polo Club is delighted to expand its relationship with La Martina as the brand’s ethos of striving for perfection in a high performance market dovetails perfectly with our own philosophy. With the opening of our new clubhouse in April 2009, this is the perfect time for Guards Polo Club to also improve the image of its polo shop at Smith’s Lawn and I look forward to the unveiling of the Guards Polo Club Store by La Martina. The elegant, but comfortable design will offer much added value to all of our members and the shop will help to emphasis our position as Europe’s leading polo club.’ Guards Polo Club playing members will be offered a special discount and will receive regular invitations to attend
For more information: La Martina: www.lamartina.com Becky Simpson at becky@lamartina.com +44(0)7768 328102 Guards Polo Club: www.guardspoloclub.com Diana Butler at press.officer@guardspoloclub.com +44 (0) 7876 452170
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PREVIEW - UK SEASON
UK 2009 SEASON PREVIEW By Iain Forbes-Cockell (“The Major”)
Six months of financial doom and gloom in most forms of media has been quite enough. It’s April and the UK season is about to start and that should bring a smile to most peoples’ faces. There is plenty to look forward
to, although there are definitely going to be some changes and some creative initiatives to keep as many people playing as possible. This is the credit crunch season. High Goal teams are down to about 17 or 18 from a peak
Guillermo Terrera of Talandracas Polo Team
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of 22 but that is still as many teams as there were about three seasons ago. As usual, England has been getting ready for the new High Goal season, which is due to start in May and this year will run until August, as the War-
Ignus Du Plessis
wickshire becomes a 20 Goal tournament and moves to August. The ponies have been in since March and have been through their pre-season fitness training and now await their players with anticipation and no doubt will throw in a few early season antics to keep their riders concentrating! The Queen’s Cup at Guards will have its final on 14th June and the subsidiary Prince of Wales tournament will have its final the previous day at RCBPC. Both are still played at 22 Goal level, as is one of the season’s highlights, the Gold Cup for the British Open, Europe’s most important tournament. The other big highlight is the Cartier International Polo Day on Sunday 26 July. This is the 25th year of Cartier’s sponsorship of International Polo
Day and we are eagerly awaiting the contest between England and Argentina. Rumour has it that a couple of Argentine 10 Goalers will be the hub of the team with two lower handicapped players filling the remaining team positions. Whether England will field English born Argentine resident Eduardo Novillo Astrada (9 Goals) as part of their team remains to be seen but three of the places seem fairly secure, barring injury, for brothers Luke and Mark Tomlinson, with their Westchester Cup winning team-mate James Beim. The 2009 British season has already featured a lot of news concerning the teams’ lineups, as well as some others that won’t be riding onto the British fields, such as Grayshurst, Cadenza, 67
Geebung, and maybe the most important, Ellerston, last year’s Queen’s Cup champions and Gold Cup runners up. Ellerston’s absence obliged Gonzalito and Facundo Pieres to find another team, so in 2009 the brothers will join French patron Jean-Francois Decaux in La Bamba de Areco. Just like La Bamba de Areco, many other teams have yet to decide their fourth man. The already confirmed lineups at the moment are as follows: Ravensbourne (Adrian Kirby, Pite Merlos, Fred Mannix and Nico Pieres), Apes Hill (Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Mark and Luke Tomlinson and Charlie Hanbury), Dubai (Adolfo Cambiaso, Ali or Rashid Albwardy, Cristian “Magoo” Laprida Jr. and George Meyrick) and Zacara (Lyndon Lea, Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr., Javier Novillo Astrada and Jamie Peel). There will also be many interesting team changes for the upcoming season. Apes Hill won’t be the all-British squad anymore, as Argentine Alejandro Novillo Astrada will join the Tomlinson brothers, Luke and Mark and Charlie Hanbury. Marcos and Bautista Heguy will be playing together again, along with Stefano Marsaglia in Azzurra and Victor Vargas will have Guillermo Caset Jr. and Miguel Novillo Astrada joining Lechuza Caracas. Sebastian Merlos will return to England after one year’s absence and will play for Max Gottschalk’s Les Lions II along with brother Agustin. Meanwhile, Adolfo Cambiaso is getting back with Dubai, who will try to revert a 2008 season to forget. He will be joined by patron Ali Albwardy (and eventually his son Rashid), the young and talented Cristian “Magoo” Lapri-
UK High Goal Teams 2009 Al Habtoor (only the Queen´s Cup)
Azzurra
Dubai
Rashid Al Habtoor Alejandro Muzzio Alejandro Diaz Alberdi Nacho Gonzalez
Stefano Marsaglia Bautista Heguy Marcos Heguy TBA
Ali / Rashid Albwardi Magoo Laprida Adolfo Cambiaso George Meyrick
Apes Hill
La Bamba de Areco
Enigma
Charlie Hanbury Alejandro Novillo Astrada Mark Tomlinson Luke Tomlinson
Jean-François Decaux Gonzalo Pieres Jr Facundo Pieres TBA
Jerome Wirth Matias MacDonough Malcolm Borwick James Beim
Ravensbourne
Broncos
Lechuza
Adrian Kirby Juan Ignacio Merlos Fred Mannix Jr Nicolas Pieres
George Milford Haven Pablo MacDonough TBA TBA
Victor Vargas Guillermo Cast Jr Miguel Novillo Astrada TBA
Marcos Heguy
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UK High Goal Teams 2009 Les Lions
Loro Piana
Sumaya
Joachim Gottschalk Eduardo Heguy Nachi Heguy TBA
Alfio Marchini Juan Martin Nero David Stirling Jr TBA
Ahmed Aboughazale Milo Fernandez Araujo Hilario Ulloa TBA
Les Lions 2
Lovelocks
Talandracas
Max Gottschall Sebastian Merlos Agustin Merlos TBA
George Hanbury Bartolome Castagnola Jaime Garcia Huidobro TBA
Eduard Carmignac Guillermo Terrera Lucas Monteverde TBA
Salkeld
Zacara
Jose Donoso Marcos di Paola Rob Archivald Nick Clarke
Lyndon Lea Javier Novillo Astrada Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jaime Peel
da, and George Meyrick, back on the road again, after he missed the 2008 season due to an injury. A couple of new teams will be playing the British season. One is Salkeld, whose lineup will feature patron Nick Clarke along with José Donoso, Marcos di Paola and Rob Archibald. The Al Habtoor family, from Dubai, will make their debut in England’s high goal polo with a team which is tentatively called Al Habtoor. This team will only play the Queen’s Cup, and the lineup is comprised of Rashid Al Habtoor, Alejandro Muzzio, Piki Diaz Alberdi and Nacho Gonzalez. French patron, Jerome Wirth, will put together his Enigma team with Matias MacDonough, Malcolm Borwick, his polo manager, and James Beim will be joining them. As far as the 15 Goal is concerned, things are a little more uncertain. At the moment, a very popular phrase which offers a get-out opportunity if things don’t pan out as predicted or anticipated, there would appear to be a small reduction in the number of teams across the board, however, it is thought that a number of familiar High Goal teams of previous years such as Black Bears and Geebung will still be competing at 15 Goal level. We will have to wait to see the tournament entry forms to see how many others join them. It is thought that a number of teams that competed at 15 goal regularly last season are going to drop to the 8 Goal level. 8 Goal may become the non High Goal patrons’ favourite tournament level this season. Those that had previously competed at this most competitive level of English polo may decide to share teams or drop to 6 Goal. There will certainly be more team sharing than in previous years but many
Adolfo Cambiaso Jr
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will try to keep playing. I suspect the player background that will be hardest hit, and therefore have the highest no-show this season and maybe next season, will be those who worked in financial institutions and deployed a proportion of their bonus payments to affray the cost of club memberships, pony upkeep and playing expenses. Clubs may have to think laterally and come up with special membership deals with a low membership fee plus HPA membership charge and then a chukka fee system or some other scheme along the lines of “pay as you play”. It will certainly need some creative options to make this year financially survivable but I’m positive that there will be some great schemes on offer to try to keep as many people playing as possible. For those that will be playing, I wish you all an enjoyable season (you can’t all be successful!) and for those that have to give this year or next a miss on the playing front, I’m sure clubs would still like to see you as interested spectators! Above: Pablo MacDonough - Below: Juan Ambroggio
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ANALYSIS - PLAYERS INJURIES
To play or to play less, that is the question By Xavier Prieto Astigarraga The accumulation of tournaments, sometimes played simultaneously during the year, entails the risk of injury among high-goal players. And as the competition continues to grow, this increas es the possibility of injuries. The example of La Aguada, prematurely eliminated from the last Palermo Open due to two injury retirements,
as well as the tennis example, with increasing physical inconveniences, worries some polo players, who wish for changes in the international calendar. Basically, this entails a dilemma in the case of Argentine players: amateur glory vs. professional money. The opinion of eleven world figures, as follows:
Eduardo Novillo Astrada jr at Hurlingham Open 2008
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Pablo MacDonough playing for Broncos at The Queen´s Cup 2008
and 40 after his presentation at the Palermo Open. Javier survived until the sixth chukka which would end up being a 12-13 defeat against Black Watch, since (late) he noticed that he was of little use to La Aguada, given the pain and weakness of his right shoulder. They were both playing the highest competition simultaneously, the Gold Cup at Ellerstina, the most important trophy within the Argentine championship for patrons and, incidentally, a highly competitive championship.
The topic was triggered by a key fact that changed the outlook of Zone B in the last Argentine Open Championship and perhaps the development of the entire tournament: in their debut, Eduardo (Jr.) and Javier Novillo Astrada were unable to continue playing and, since having 50% of substitute players on the field in polo is giving too much of an advantage, La Aguada lost against the unbeatable Black Watch. And, likewise, they were later defeated by the powerful –and future champion– Ellerstina, the team they would be playing against to qualify for the final.
PQ international consulted eleven high goal polo players, who travel around the world and play several months a year, regarding this question. They mainly perform during the established seasons in the United States (Palm Beach, January through April), UK (May through July), Spain (Sotogrande, August) and Argentina (Buenos Aires, September through December), without precluding them from livening up other tournaments outside the four main world circuits. In almost every one of those circuits there is a sort of Triple Crown, besides other satellite competitions. It all contributed towards players’ physical and mental deterioration, with lots of months of activity, many of which means being away from home. Their opinions turned out to be quite varied, and sometimes, even conflicting... In general, they agreed that there is competition in abundance, and it continues to grow; and that over activity is tiring and predisposes the body to injury. Furthermore, many think that psychological exhaustion produces physical fatigue. However, the main point of disagreement is the international calendar. Some think that a short-term change is necessary; others consider that it is a demanding program, but they must adapt to it, and others, believe that the calen-
“Why did Del Potro lose?” asked a polo player at the pony lines, referring to the Argentina vs. Spain match for the Davis Cup final, held in Mar del Plata in November. “Because he was tired”, answered the journalist. “And why was he tired?” “Because he travelled to Shanghai to play the Masters Series and then travelled back.” “And why did the Novillos get injured?” “Through bad luck.” “No, through playing too many tournaments”, was put forward by the player, a rival of the four brothers for years now. And then, the idea of consulting several high goal protagonists came up. Is there too much competition? Are professional polo players running the risk of being injured? Is modifying the world calendar necessary, just like the International Football Federation has done? Is high performance polo heading in the same direction as tennis, a sport in which the protagonists suffer an increasing number of physical mishaps? Eduardo Novillo Astrada tore a thigh muscle 2 minutes 73
dar is well established and should not be retouched. Star players are interested in all seasons: outside Argentina, due to economic incentive, since that is where they perform as professional players, and in Buenos Aires, owing to the struggle to achieve polo glory in the land where the best polo in the world is played, that is, the land of a great majority of star players within this discipline. So, due to both personal finance and sports appeal, not participating in these tournaments becomes quite difficult. And, therefore, at times the mind and body demands become a difficult thing to face. Eduardo Novillo himself shares the idea of “handling his time” and thinks that it is necessary to reconsider the
calendar, to arrange it or at least have less games. And he mentions tennis player Rafael Nadal, who gets frequently injured because, according to La Aguada’s player number 2, “he makes it through to many finals”. And he also thinks that the fact that the best polo players perform their activity for ten or eleven month a year entails mental and physical exhaustion, which will inevitably force them to stop and, perhaps, even turn down a patron’s invitation. Pablo Mac Donough, Palermo and Tortugas’ champion for Ellerstina, triple-crowned in Spain by Ahmibah and winner, as a substitute player, of the Queen’s Cup in UK playing for Ellerston, raised to the status of the most famous polo player of 2008, shares the idea Agustin Merlos playing for Pilará Polo Team in the Triple Crown that there are more injuries in polo nowadays, and that choosing competitions will become necessary, but he thinks they are “far” from a change in the calendar. One thing he considers worth saying is that polo players are getting more training, but there is also more pressure and tension and little rest. Ignacio Toccalino, with a rising career at present, talks about “over demand”, but he also realizes that it is “difficult saying ‘no’ to a patron” and that the solution, at least regarding the Argentine season, would be a well-paid Palermo Tournament, in order to avoid playing professional competitions during the mostly amateur Buenos Aires Triple Crown Championship. Francisco De Narváez (Jr.) takes football players as an example and mentions that they do not perform the same way when they must face up to two commitments per week, referring to the concomitance between the struggle for the Ellerstina Gold Cup and the Hurlingham and Palermo Open Tournaments. And, in all honesty, he expresses that polo players will always accept an offer if there is a juicy payment at stake, even at the expense of jeopardizing their bodies. And he thinks that the rule destined to avoid the participation of patrons (this norm excludes polo players with less than a 6-goal handicap) in the Tortugas-Hurlingham-Palermo triad is correct for the last of those tournaments, but it should be eliminated in the first two. Hilario Ulloa, last year’s Queen’s Cup runner-up, points out that this double exhaustion at the end of the year wears you out, and that the protagonists should learn to regulate themselves. But this promising young man, who played the Ellerstina Gold 74
Francisco de Narvaez jr, playing USPA Gold Cup 2008 for Audi Polo Team
Cup, considers that once Palermo improves their economic reward, patrons will no longer be necessary. Agustín Merlos is convinced that the world polo program should be in keeping with the Argentine Open which, despite being “very demanding”, it is the “basic” tournament, and not the other way around. And he clarifies that all players are free to do “whatever they want”. Marcos Heguy is considering this idea. “Nobody is obliged to play a tournament”, he realizes, and he notices that nowadays polo players are paying more attention to physical preparation. Eduardo Heguy thinks that the risk of injury stems from competitions held simultaneously far more than it does from the duration of foreign seasons, which add up to a total of “seven months” and are less demanding than the tennis circuit. And he considers that, despite the fact that there is more physical training among professional players, it comes to a point when you have to decide whether to participate in a professional competition or in another almost absolutely amateur tournament. Miguel Novillo Astrada agrees with his brother Eduardo: the world calendar will have to be rearranged or we will have to choose which tournaments we will take part in. He points out that the Argentine Triple Crown, with its rewards, barely covers “a third of the expenses incurred during the season” and turning down a patron’s proposal is a
difficult thing to do because it means running the risk of losing a job abroad. Adolfo Cambiaso is one of the most selective. In his case, skipping championships is nothing new. In fact, he innovated when he decided not to participate for four years in the US Open in order to carry out practice games for patron Eric Koch. In point of fact, in 2009 he will not be appearing in the Palm Beach circuit in order to rest and perform in the 4th Argentina Polo Tour with less pressure and tedium. And he is even considering not participating in the next Tortugas Open. “The more I play, the more I get tired”, he points out, and explains that “mental exhaustion leads to physical exhaustion”. “Each of us can choose which tournaments we want to play [...]. But the calendar isn’t badly arranged”, he states. Although he is not an Argentine player, Luke Tomlinson takes part in the Buenos Aires high goal season, and does likewise in his country, in England. And he considers that the demanding international polo agenda should be modified by better coordinating match dates and establishing an initial competition so that the “pilot” players, and not the star players, get their horses into shape. In his view, physical preparation, rest and a healthy diet are fundamental to prevent physical difficulties, and for a professional player, polo is a lot more complex than other sports are for their protagonists, since it requires more time, dedication and organization. 75
In short, there is much to be analysed. Polo is growing, and with it so do its incentives, both economic and sports incentives. Commitments also multiply. And along with them, so do the dangers of being injured. But, if activity decreased considerably, as it did at the beginning of 2009 in Palm Beach, pockets would be at risk of being injured. Individual choice of tournaments, as it occurs in a free market economy? Or official interference to regulate calendars, as it occurs in the case of state intervention in the economy? That is the question.
EDUARDO NOVILLO ASTRADA JR. “We must begin to administrate our time, and not play one of the tournaments. [Tennis player Rafael] Nadal gets injured because he makes it through to the finals; if he didn’t make it through, this probably wouldn’t happen. I had it all together at the same time: the Hurlingham Final, the Gold Cup Final, starting at Palermo... Yes, it must be reconsidered. We must all get together and figure out how we should arrange the calendar. We either need to arrange matches or play less. All of us, including patrons, will have to adapt to the situation. Having a patron well prepared Above: Hilario Ulloa of Sumaya Polo Team - Below: Miguel Novillo Astrada
to play a tournament and then his best player is injured by the second match, with no possibility of getting another professional player to replace him, isn’t a good idea either. We start in February and we never stop till December. That is eleven months, ten months. We merely stop for a week, and during that week our minds are racing at a thousand miles per hour organizing everything. It isn’t a real rest. And it isn’t like the case of football players who get 15 days of pure rest. A polo players returns to Sotogrande at the end of August and takes a five or six-day holiday, but he knows that after that he is back on the horse, at full throttle. Perhaps he gets a call and is told «such a horse got hurt», so he doesn’t sleep that night... My real holidays begin when the [Palermo] Open ends. I leave everything arranged and then I can switch off and forget about work as from December 15th. 76
During my holidays, I ride and I continue running and training, to avoid losing fitness, though I train a lot gentler. But, in polo, besides your body, your mind gets tired. Thinking about how to get organized, how to make it through with your horses, all the time… And that cannot be delegated because it is part of why we are good at this sport. Handicap isn’t only about winning tournaments or playing well, it is also about how we manage things off the field, which is 70% of the job. And that we handle ourselves: which horse we will be playing, which horse we won’t, how you feel the horse is doing, who you will be playing with or deciding not to play a certain tournament... This is what makes you win or lose. Cambiaso is a polo phenomenon, not only on the field, but also off the field. The guy knows whom he must play with at each moment; he knows how to choose his players, he knows how to choose his horses. Like all those of us who are playing at this level, to a greater or lesser extent. And those who win the most are the ones who have a plus in this sense. An uncle of mine who died used to say that polo was the only sport that took longer to organize it than to play it. You are destined to do the way you will during a season before you even begin: according to your team-mates and the horses you take. I hope we don’t have to say ‘no’ to a patron due to physical risk in pursuit of the Palermo Open; I hope we manage to arrange this before it happens. But, yes, I think that at some point we will have to begin to stop. We have to start thinking that if we play a tournament for patrons, then playing the other one isn’t a good idea, and so on and so forth. We can’t be playing two super competitive tournaments simultaneously, such as the Gold Cup together with Hurlingham and Palermo. I think something must be
changed. Time will tell. However, I don’t think Palermo is at risk through lack of players, because patrons like coming to watch this tournament, and those who enjoy polo will defend it. And what begun as a light thing [the Gold Cup], should continue to be light and not as competitive as it is right now. I take very good care of myself. I had never torn a muscle. It may have happened partly through being worn down and partly through bad luck. I would say that 80% of high goal polo players are taking very good care of themselves, as regards food, work, rest... I think that it is becoming more professional. But there is much activity going on at the same time, as it happens in many other sports, and not only in tennis. Football players are also complaining, and rugby players have now started to do so too... And who is better prepared than Nadal? The guy is tireless, but there comes a moment when the body can take it no longer; and not as a result of a knock but, for example, due to tendonitis, as a result of being worn down”.
PABLO MAC DONOUGH “Polo is becoming increasingly tougher, and being played longer and, at some point, the body slows down. Injuries tend to have little to do with bad luck; there are more now than there used to be and there is a reason for that. Sometimes you have to choose. I don’t know if they changed their way of playing as a result of tennis injuries. Polo has become highly demanding, and more so abroad where it is played far more individually. Towards the end of the year, if you are partly suffering the effects of an injury, it will surely get worse through tension and through playing lots of tournaments. I am not surprised. People are starting to train far more. It is better to be
Eduardo Novillo Astrada jr and Eduardo Heguy
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Marcos Heguy playing the Queen´s Cup
trained. However, tennis players are well trained and it also happens to them. I think we are far from a change in the calendar due to the question of injuries. Each player must handle his own situation. It also happens through mental exhaustion, which is what we are most exposed to. Luckily, Palermo is the last Open Tournament and this is a motivation; otherwise, the pressure and tension load would wear us down. After this Open, there is a longer one or two-month break. Otherwise, there is never a whole month to rest during the year. Stopping for a month and a half is what I call ”rest”. If you don’t want to ride new horses, during this period you can avoid getting on an animal for a month and a half. This, personally, does me a lot of good, although I may try out some new horse”.
The Argentine Open will always exist as an amateur tournament, although I understand that some play it like professional players. In my case, I love playing polo. I do so all year round. I am prepared and I have no problem at all. And I will continue this way as long as I feel like it”.
HILARIO ULLOA “The question of the high demand is so true. We never stop throughout the year, and we accumulate physical and psychological exhaustion which by the end of the year wears us down. During nine months our minds are set on playing, performing practice games and winning. When you play at this level, it isn’t exactly ideal; the ideal thing is to be concentrated for this, having rested for some days. By the end of the year, we are playing the Gold Cup in the morning and practicing in the afternoon. The day the [Palermo] Open evolves and we start getting paid good money there will be no need to play with a patron. The whole year is to blame and not just the Gold Cup. We will have to learn how regulate ourselves. The tennis circuit makes players follow the calendar, because otherwise they lose points; in polo there is more freedom. But Palermo is also worth a lot professionally speaking: it gives you a name, a sign and status when the time comes and you travel abroad and sign a contract”.
MARCOS HEGUY “Nobody is obliged to play a tournament. Nowadays, players take a lot more care, so it seems. I do little as regards physical preparation. I play almost every day. I am 41 years old; I can’t take highly demanding stuff. I don’t agree with playing lots of tournaments”.
AGUSTÍN MERLOS “You do whatever you feel like and whatever you want. All bodies are different; some polo players like to play very frequently and others don’t. The calendar is highly demanding, but under no circumstances must it be rearranged. The Argentine circuit is the basic circuit worldwide, and the rest of the tournaments should be arranged based on it. But they are gradually coming closer to the possibility of taking over the nicest season. Milo Fernández Araujo has retired to start playing as a professional player.
EDUARDO HEGUY “There are many who decide among the different tournaments. The Ellerstina Gold Cup will be played earlier on and this has been established to avoid interfering with the semi-finals and the Palermo Open final. It will now begin between the semi-finals and the Hurlingham final, and 78
LUKE TOMLINSON
will end before the Palermo semi-finals. Players will have to choose, and the most important tournament for patrons has already been modified. In my case, as long as these circumstances continue, I will continue to sacrifice myself and play for the glory instead of the money, and this I will do on the most important scenario. Argentines want to continue playing the Argentine Open. For a couple of years now, players have dedicated time to training. There are more personal trainers and physiotherapists; we stretch before and after matches. In my case, I compete against players half my age. I am 20 or more years older than them [he is 42]. If I want to continue, I must make an effort because otherwise I cannot play on equal terms. Dad [Alberto] went jogging and attended a gym for the first time at age 50. The length of the foreign calendar makes no difference; it covers seven months. Sotogrande concludes by the end of August; you rest for almost a month until the Triple Crown. If you wish to, you can avoid reaching this point in a hectic state. And the demand in polo here is different to that abroad. There is more responsibility at stake in polo played abroad, but there is far more speed and strength here and it demands more. In comparison, the season during which tennis players put great demand on their bodies is longer. Although the United States, UK and Sotogrande are demanding, in the case of tennis there are more tournaments throughout the year. This is why we find it harder losing the Palermo Open, because we have to wait a whole year”.
I think that the polo calendar is far too demanding. Especially for those that go to Palm Beach, Sotogrande and the UK. I think that it could be changed to make it easier for players to cope with the annual calendar both physically and mentally. The training programme is essential as is a good physiotherapist and a good rest programme between exercises. This is all important as is the diet and vitamin intake during times of higher physical demand. The main difference I think though between other sports is the amount of time envolved... What other sports people have their own stable organization with say 3 or 4 employees, 10 or 12 individual horses with their personal needs...? That does not include young horse set up for those who have them and associated animals and staff. The associated animals are other young horses, which can include foals, yearlings 2, 3 and 4 year olds... Say you have up to 10 foals a year. That is 60 horses to take care of!
FRANCISCO DE NARVÁEZ (JR.) “Football players say ”we can’t play twice a week”. You know, there is a time for recovery: in a week you can recover 100%; but if you play two matches a week, you cannot recover, although the guy in the stand does not realize. And if your muscles remain contracted and you don’t manage to recover, you will be more injury prone. This is medicine. Luke Tomlinson of Apes Hill Barbados Polo Team
MIGUEL NOVILLO ASTRADA “Eduardo and Javier’s injuries may have had to do with physical demand. They had gone through a tough year, what with the United States, UK, Spain and the Ellerstina Gold Cup. But this is something that has been going on for years now; I don’t know whether we can put the blame on this. Javier was enduring the effects of an injury suffered in UK. It all adds up. You can feel the weight of the season at a certain point of the year. La Aguada made it through to the Tortugas and Hurlingham final. They played more matches than most of the teams; Del Potro made it through to many finals, and so did Federer and Nadal. There will come a time when something will have to change in the calendar or players will have to become more selective as regards what they aim at. Perhaps we should play the Hurlingham Open less seriously, or take a little more care. La Dolfina is a clear example: they take it quite easy during the Tortugas and Hurlingham Open Tournaments, and they go all out at Palermo. We are more in favour of seeking all tournaments; the other option is riskier because, if you don’t do well at Palermo, you get landed with nothing. Saying ‘no’ to a patron is difficult because due to commitment you can’t do so. A patron is the person who feeds you and gives you a job. The Triple Crown barely covers a third of the season expenses and if you decline a patron’s offer, you may end up not playing a season abroad. All players have different situations and weigh their possibilities”.
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Some chaps are able to recover before others; on a Wednesday after a demanding match, I would still be dragging myself around. But if you have to play, you will play… whatever it takes. And so, there is more chance of being broken. This will be defined by the cash at stake, as it happens with any other thing. The way things are at present, it is risky. But if a patron comes and says ”I’ll pay you triple the amount”, oh well... If Frankie [Dorignac] hadn’t established the rule whereby a minimum of 6 goals were required to participate in the Triple Crown and Alfio [Marchini] had played, this year there would be another patron playing and in five year’s time, this would be full of patrons. I agree with this rule in the case of Palermo; Hurlingham and Tortugas were benefited. The rule could have been left only for Palermo; in a way, this is our profession”.
IGNACIO TOCCALINO “There is an ‘over demand’. There is too much polo, and increasingly more tournaments: the Ellerstina Gold Cup, the Diamond Cup, the Jockey Club Cup, the Triple Crown Championship, patrons who come from the United States and UK towards the end of the year... All of this causes muscular fatigue. I don’t see much of a solution. I haven’t stopped to think about it much, but seeing that the Palermo Open is almost an amateur tournament, playing the Gold Cup, the Diamond Cup and the Novillo Astrada Cup becomes necessary. If Palermo paid good money, we would not need to work. Having professional open tournaments with more sponsors would be a solution. When your patron comes, this creates a commitment; saying ‘no’ is difficult. And perhaps you are doing great, then you pull a muscle and that’s the end of that. And if you are injured, you will only play the Palermo Open and nothing else. If Palermo drove all players to their patrons, that would be ideal. We would all be much happier”.
Above: Ignacio Toccalino - Below: Adolfo Cambiaso jr
ADOLFO CAMBIASO “Each one of us chooses what we want to play and what we don’t. I sometimes decide not to play the Gold Cup and other tournaments to avoid being overloaded with polo. Lolo [Bartolomé Castagnola] needs a lot of polo in order to reach his best level; my situation is quite the opposite. The more I play, the more I get tired. Each player knows how far he can go. There is an overall exhaustion. Mental exhaustion leads to physical exhaustion. It depends on each player; I have to skip a few things. And even then, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a chance of getting injured; being injured is also a question of bad luck. If my body and mind were up to it, and I could play every tournament, I probably would. Your mind is the most important thing. In September and October things are not as crazy; playing once a week isn’t that terrible. If I only played the Triple Crown Championship and the Jockey Club Open, there would be no problem. When you are abroad, working, you can’t choose where you want to play. But the calendar is not badly arranged”.
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Available on PoloLine Store www.pololine.com
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SPECIAL - HORSE CARE
Polo Ponies’ Health Which is the correct way to groom a horse? Is there any effective method of clipping horses’ hair without frightening them? It is very important to keep your horses looking spick-and-span. Although the most visible effect is merely cosmetic, it also contributes towards their health and overall well-being. We frequently notice that people do not
dedicate the necessary time to horse beautification, probably due to the rush inherent to the whole polo programme. Horses must be groomed on a regular basis using suitable brushes, currycombs and grooming rags (stable rubbers). It is advisable to brush hair downwards and towards the tail, with long, firm strokes. Short bristle brush-
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es are adequate for the body, whereas long bristle brushes are suitable to use around the face. Horses must also be bathed regularly, and not only when they return from a muddy paddock. Soft soap must be used, preferably with warm water, to loosen dirt and skin oils. Brushing will always be more effective if a horse is bathed regularly.
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Horse Coat Care Manes are roached on a regular basis to facilitate cooling and avoid horses’ hair from getting tangled in the reins. Manes must be clipped close to the skin and kept that way. Some players prefer to let horses’ hair hang loose on the middle of the head without clipping it to provide protection against flies when they are grazing. Others leave the mane as it is on the withers to have a visual guide for the position of the saddle. There are many horse care techniques that require practice and patience, and roaching the mane is one of them. Many prefer not to clip their horses’ coats because they change colour, lose their shine and become dry. In most cases, the clipping is done after
a long break, as in the winter months, when the coat grows faster and thicker. Results vary among unattended horses and those that have been cared for regularly, even if they have kept their winter coat. Sorrel horses and those with dark coats become lighter after being clipped. Unlike exhibition horses that have their coats clipped for purely aesthetic reasons, in the case of polo, the main objective is to facilitate cooling. There are several types of clippers on the market, designed for the different parts of a horse: the large ones are used for the body, and the small and silent clippers are used for the head, ears and other sensitive parts that are difficult to access. Before roaching, 84
shaver blades must be checked and replaced, if necessary, besides being oiled frequently during the procedure. The best way to start is by giving the horse a good bath, using soap to remove most of the dirt from its coat. The animal’s hair must be completely dry before we start clipping it; in fact, if possible, bathing should be carried out the day before. Thus, with a clean coat, shaving machines will work more efficiently and their blades will last longer. Although hair clipping does not bother some horses, it tends to be an unpleasant process for most animals. So choose a place where the horse can be tied up far away from the movement of people and vehicular traffic, and try
to do so when everything is calm, such as early in the morning or in the afternoon, after the animal has been fed. Horses that get scared easily must be gradually introduced to the clipping process.
Clipping must be done against the direction of hair growth. Besides trying to avoid pricking or nicking the horse with the clippers, we must try to leave no lines. Start by gradually massaging the horse, moving your hands all over the different parts of the body and paying special attention to the areas which are not usually 85
touched, such as the belly and ears. Then turn on the machine keeping it at a certain distance from the horse. Leave it on wrapped up in a rag to minimize the noise. Go back to the horse and continue with the massage. Once the horse is calm, pick up the machine and keep it at a distance. Continue massaging and gradually move it closer, until you have finally replaced the massage with the machine. Once the horse realizes the noise is not produced by an insect that must be shooed away, it will relax and you may start clipping. Clipping must be done against the direction of hair growth. Start by the legs, an area where the horse is accustomed to tool contact. Make short, soft and even movements over differ-
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ent parts of the coat; short movements avoid untidy lines. If the horse’s coat is very long, it will be necessary to first clip it using a large machine and then finished it off with a small one. Remember that great practice and patience is required to obtain the results we wish to achieve.
Insect Repellent Insects are an important problem when it comes to polo ponies. Their natural defences are diminished as a result of being saddled and tied up to trailers or posts with plaited tails, for long periods of time. No player wants his horses to feel nervous or start kicking around in a reduced space, so re-
pellents are an important part of overall care. There is a large variety of products on the market. Most of them contain natural ingredients such citronella oil and pyrethrine; others, however, contain synthetic ingredients. These products are available in different formats and, of course, different prices: cloths, sprays, aerosols, lotions and ointments. Water-based products are less likely to cause skin irritation or allergic reactions, although they do not last as long as oil-based solutions. Lots of horses are allergic to the latter, which can cause severe skin irritation or burns. The new propylene glycol solutions 87
last longer than water-based products and are less contraindicated in horses. The utmost care is required to avoid spraying certain areas of the horse’s skin that will later be covered by the saddle. This is the reason why it is preferable to use cloths than aerosols, because when the latter are sprayed in open spaces it is very difficult to do so while making sure that the repellent only covers the necessary parts. But as aerosols are the clear favourites, we recommend you apply them on a piece of cloth to spread the insect repellent over the coat. If you decide not to use a piece of cloth, be very careful not to spray your horse’s eyes or nostrils, or your own.
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PQ lifestyle Beauty, Fashion, Food and more
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Designer
Introducing... 365 365 is the first ready-to-wear collection from the co-founders of Isabella Oliver, launching worldwide exclusively online for Spring 2009. Designed for the multi-tasking modern woman, Isabella Oliver 365 draws upon versatility and effortlessly combines the classic with contemporary to create the perfect capsule collection. Uniting relaxed tailoring with soft draping and adding signature wrap and tie details to must-have wardrobe basics, Isabella Oliver 365 epitomises functional femininity. Isabella Oliver 365 is brought to us by Vanessa Knox-Brien and Baukjen de Swaan Arons, co-founders of the awardwinning international fashion label Isabella Oliver. Widely credited with revolutionising maternity wear design, dressing Angelina Jolie, Gwen Stefani, Naomi Watts, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Alba, Marcia Cross, Heidi Klum and Minnie Driver along the way, Isabella Oliver 365 is the brand’s first non-maternity, ready-to-wear collection.
Vanessa Knox-Brien Vanessa Knox-Brien is co-founder and Design Director at Isabella Oliver 365. Vanessa was previously Head of Design at US super-brand Victoria’s Secret and, prior to that, Creative Director at Natori. She studied Fine Art at the High school of Art and Design, and then Fashion Illustration and Design at Parsons and Pratt Institute. Vanessa is creatively inspired by film, international city life and street fashion.
Baukjen de Swaan Arons Baukjen de Swaan Arons is co-founder and Creative and Marketing Director at Isabella Oliver 365. Baukjen was previously International Marketing Director for telecoms giant Orange. Her passion for clean, modern, strong brands is reflected in the Isabella Oliver 365 collection. Geoff van Sonsbeeck, husband of Baukjen de Swaan Arons, is co-founder and Manager Director of Isabella Oliver 365, and is the third and final business partner.
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The key trends for Isabella Oliver 365 Spring Summer 2009 are…
Effortless Classics
Asymmetrical Elegance
Trends come and go, however it is the iconic pieces that remain style staples. Isabella Oliver 365 celebrates the resurgence of tailoring and relaxed elegance with soft-shouldered jackets, cropped trousers and slouchy shorts. Playing on its day to evening philosophy, the selection of modern wardrobe basics includes The Mac, chic variations on the classic LBD, and luxuriously tailored separates that are ideal for day and evening.
This season shoulders are ‘in’, and a touch of bronzer is the perfect accompaniment to the one-sided trend. A detail that effortlessly livens up your favourite evening dress; an asymmetric accent is a must-have for spring summer 2009 and is effortlessly encapsulated in the 365 collection. Keep accessories minimal, and let the Toga Dress do the talking.
Dramatic Draping Draping perfectly encapsulates the 365 ethos and adds subtle on-trend style to any summer ensemble. Effortlessly flattering, it complements a woman’s femininity whilst combining Grecian flare with AM to PM glamour. Dresses take on the trend with dramatic draped accents, soft fluid fabrics, and a goddess feel that epitomises care-free summer dressing.
Stand Out Stripes Stand out from the crowd with statement striped dresses and chic St Tropez-inspired separates. The classic white and navy stripe has been given a modern, bold twist with pieces that exude breezy summer style. Work your curves in the Striped Multiway Dress that offers versatile ease for the warmer months, or try the Striped Scoop Top for a Euro-chic essential.
Sheer Femininity A theme that combines timeless delicacy with satin sheen; Sheer Femininity is a key look within the 365 collection. Soft silhouettes gently float over curves with contemporary shapes in Tan and dark Navy – the new Black. Ideal for after six cocktails or dressed down for daytime, Sheer Femininity keeps things sophisticatedly simple. 91
Interview
Bobbi Brown Interview with the American make-up artist
What was it that inspired you to do the book? The concept for Makeup Manual has been in my mind for many years. I’ve always wanted to create an instructional guide that would be useful to aspiring makeup artists, seasoned professionals and everyday women. Chapter 3 is all about lifestyle, specifically Nutrition. Why was it important for you to include nutrition and lifestyle within the makeup manual? Beautiful skin begins with a healthy lifestyle. While heredity may determine how your skin looks, behaves and ages, you can improve it by taking good care of yourself. Skincare basics include eating the right foods, drinking plenty of water, exercising, getting enough sleep, protecting your skin from the sun, not smoking and limiting your intake of both caffeine and alcohol. The final chapter is called Memorable Makeup Moments and Legends. Who, in your opinion is the greatest makeup legend? And what has been your most memorable moment in your career? Estée Lauder is a makeup legend who I’ve always admired. She went from mixing formulas in her kitchen to creating a cosmetics empire. She’s also credited with pioneering the concept of ‘gift with purchase’ – giving away free samples to customers.
www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com
The proudest moment in my career was launching my line of 10 lipsticks at Bergdorf Goodman in 1991.
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If you could make anyone over, dead or alive, who would it be?
HER STORY
When I see a woman I don´t see what´s I see what´s right. I wanted to look like Cheryl Tiegs when I was 13 years old. She was thin, blue-eyed, and blonde - the epitome of beauty in the late ‘60s. I couldn’t have looked any more different - and I spent a lot of time feeling bad about what I wasn’t. Then I saw Ali MacGraw in “Love Story” and I finally saw the possibility of my own beauty. This epiphany impacted how I viewed myself, how I saw other women and it ultimately led me to my career as a makeup artist.
wrong with her,
I’ve done First Lady Michelle Obama’s makeup and would love to work with her again. What is your favourite makeup tool? I think concealer is the secret of the beauty universe – it can make you look instantly refreshed and awake, like you’ve had eight hours of sleep instead of five – so my favourite makeup tool would have to be the concealer brush. This brush makes it so easy to apply concealer onto hardto-reach areas like the inner corner of the eye and along the lash line. You can also use this brush to spot-apply cover-up onto blemishes.
make up is a way for a woman to look and feel like herself, only prettier and more confident.
Can you tell us an industry secret? If your skin is extremely dry, warm a cup of olive oil in the microwave for a few seconds, then apply it onto the face. It’s not a traditional beauty tip, but it definitely works! What are your tips for the Spring/Summer season ahead? My favourite look this season is soft, refined and absolutely effortless. To achieve this, try pairing sparkling eyes with creamy blushed pink cheeks and lips.
The Bobbi Brown Lifestyle
Bobbi´s philosophy is about finding balance and cultivating a positive outlook - it´s a way of life 1. Always be on time 2. Look people in the eye 3. Tell the truth 4. Don´t smoke 5. Drink lots of water 6. Exercise 7. Eat Healthy 8. Read 9. Be nice 10. Never give up
“Bobbi Brown Make up Manual is out now £20” 93
Horse Care
The Benefits of Crystals Therapy How some players and their horses have found an unconventional way to get back on their game.
If you ask someone who has worked with horses all of their lives how they evaluate the temperament of a new horse, the answer will often be, “by the look in their eye”. Many grooms and professional players can tell you if the horses they care for are happy, sad, angry, or if they just knew that there was something wrong but could not figure it out, later to discover the horse lame or ill. They are using intuitive nonverbal communication to
interact with horses, or in other words, reading the horses energy. I often get a nod of agreement to this followed by “yes its true, but you can’t say that to people as they will think it is very strange” Crystal healing for some sounds ‘strange’ and new agey, others have discovered it and are surprised by the results. It has been practiced for thousands of years by different indigenous cultures around the World including 94
ancient Egypt, the Tibetan monks, Mayans, and Native Americans. Now, as then, it is a skill that takes years of training. Most healing schools will have a minimum of two years training to receive a diploma as practitioner which includes 80 hours per year of class time, in addition to self healing and case studies. Professional affiliations such as the Crystal and Healing Federation here in England also require continued professional development
for membership and that its members follow a strict code of conduct. Crystals are minerals that have a specific chemical composition and metaphysical properties which when used in healing are powerful tools. The physical body of all living things is surrounded by an electromagnetic field (Aura) which correlates to health. During treatment the healer will assess the clients´ energy field, and choose crystals which are appropriate
to address the cause of illness. Acting as a conduit for beneficial energy, the healer activates the crystals for appropriate healing. People or animals with the same condition/ailment may have completely different reasons for the symptoms, therefore they require a different method of treatment or types of crystals. When a horse receives healing you often see an immediate response, releasing energy blocks through yawn-
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ing, licking and chewing, or simply falling into a deep state of relaxation on the verge of sleep. Many people use crystal healing to help injuries recover more quickly, to ease behavioral problems, stress, physical conditions, or to help acclimatize to a new environment. People who have received healing report a variety of sensations, a deep state of relaxation, feeling of warmth or cold under the healers hands, pain relief, and for some having old memo-
ries float to the surface. It is a different experience for everyone. What healing can not do is replace primary care; it is complementary to allopathic medicine and the most dramatic recoveries I have seen have been extreme cases where the vet was called in expected and expected things to turn out very poorly. however the horses made a much better recovery than expected. One was a serious case of colic where the horse was on the 10th day of being treated and would have had to be put down without immeAllison Robbins Bsc, MCHF, MVHF Equestrian Healing Service www.ehservice.co.uk
diate improvement. Fortunately the horse responded to the crystal healing within an hour of the session. In a different case a young horse who had been in an accident was suffering ligament damage in addition to a laceration that needed to be stitched up, he recovered fully. The physio who saw him shortly after the accident was surprised at his recovery and told me years later that she thought that the horse was going to be a total write off. Crystal healing has such a wide range of benefits, it does not have to be the
reserve of extreme cases. For example sometimes clients want to give that extra boost to their string of ponies that have been playing so hard all season that they need a bit of help to de-stress which will also help to reduce injuries. At my practice, the Equestrian Healing Service, based in the Ascot area the clientele is divided almost evenly between horses and people. Please feel free contact me for more information by visiting my web site www.ehservice.co.uk
N ew Se ct io
Readers´s Corner
n
Reader´s Corner
If only I could ask
any High Goal player
a question about any polo related question
that would be fun to see what the reply is. helpful to me and my game. great to know a star player gave me a useful tip. one of the best ideas I’ve had ever.
Well now you can! Email your polo related question to us on pq@pqinternational.com and we will ask the question(s) and publish the replies in the next issue, providing there is sufficient space!! 97
ART - LA MARTINA HORSES
Buenos Aires Polo & Arts Argentina 2008 If you found yourself walking down the leafy and exclusive Alvear Street in the Recoletta district of Buenos Aires during the month of November and early December, you might have been astonished to see the pavement
decorated with individually painted and themed life-size polo ponies. In fact, there were 30 of them – standing nearly 2 metres tall they formed an incredible sight – each polo pony painted by a different Argentine artist, and these unique
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works of art reflected the spirit of polo, ponies, and Argentina. The ‘Volare’ pony shimmered with a lilac coat and a pair of delicate wings. The ‘Serie espejo de las pampas’ bore an expanse of golden yellow pampas
across it’s belly, and in the long blue sky shaped down it’s back a bi-wing plane could be seen in the distance. If you looked closely amongst the swirling blue, black and white flowers of the ‘Gran Campeon Argentino’ pony, you could see that the flowers were actually rosettes, and a polo player was cantering across it’s flank. In collaboration with the city of Buenos Aires, La Martina and the Polo Management Group were responsible for creating this magnificent display – a concept which would coincide with The Abierto polo tournament at Palermo, and culminate in a grand auction to raise money for the public children’s hospital, ‘The Foundation of Dr Juan Fernandez.’ Each pony was given to a different Argentine artist as a blank canvas, for them to create a unique work of art in the style of their choice. Prestigious artists, national and international press, polo players, celebrities and distinguished guests from the world of sport, art and culture, gathered at the Golden Parlour of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires on the 12th November to see the ponies unveiled for the first time. The grand auction, held nearly a
month later at the Tango Porteno in Capital Federal, was a spectacular event with over 400 people attending. During a dramatic evening when bidding was hotly contended, a total of nearly 400,000 pesos was raised for the Children’s Hospital Charity. Amid the glamour of a three course meal and dramatic tango performances, the success of this unique enterprise was clearly felt – not only had the city of Buenos Aires been treated to 99
some beautiful decoration on it’s streets, but the world of polo and art had united to support a charity which would benefit children for many years to come.
For more information: Buenos Aires Polo in the Arts www.buenosairespoloandarts.com.ar La Martina www.lamartina.com
BOOK REVIEW - PASSION & GLORY
“Pasión y Gloria”
(Passion and Glory), according to Luisa Miguens It is common knowledge that all exquisite things are pleasant on the eye. Everything, from an elaborate meal to a piece of jewellery or clothing has an impact on our eyes. This is what happens with “Passion and Glory”, a book that reflects one hundred years of polo in Argenti-
Luisa Miguens is an architect by profession, but she has lived her whole life in connection with polo. Her father was an outstanding player. Furthermore, she is the widow of one of the best and most remembered polo players of all times, the unforgettable Gonzalo Tanoira, a polo gentleman both on and off the field, with whom she had five children. Together with them, as Luisa herself has said from the very beginning, “I continue to experience polo on both sides of the scoreboard”. In fact, her daughter Lolo is married to Santiago Chavanne, one of the best players nowadays. Throughout the pages of this book, Luisa offers a spectacular point of view on the history of polo, from its beginning, which dates back to the end of the 19th century, under those English pioneers who settled in the Santa Fe countryside, covering all the glorious moments in Argentine polo – the conquest of the United States and Europe, the Olympic
na. Starting with its cover, showing the four 1936 Berlin Olympic champions (Luis Duggan, Roberto Cavanagh, Manuel Andrada and Andrés Gazzotti), the book is an irresistible invitation to a trip proposed by Luisa Miguens through a century of history of this fascinating sport.
medals, the unforgettable duels and, of course, the Mecca: Palermo. But, above all, there is a characteristic that makes polo a unique sport: the family. The book is divided into four parts: the first part is entitled “El Polo Gringo” (Foreign Polo), covering the 1875-1920 period, the arrival of the English in the Argentine countryside and how polo was immediately adopted by those courageous “gauchos” (South American cowboys). The English were amazed at their horse riding ability; of course, the story of that famous first match in Argentina, played at “Estancia Negrete” on August 30th, 1875 could not be left out. The second part, “En el mapa del polo mundial” (On the World Polo Map), covers the great Argentine polo victories achieved abroad between 1922 and 1940: the big 1922 tour in England and the United States, the 1924 Olympic medals in Paris as well as those corresponding to 1936 in Berlin and the “Copa de
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las Américas” (Cup of the Americas) in 1928 and 1932, both played in Meadowbrook, and held in Buenos Aires in 1936. And, of course, the great figure of the time, Manuel Andrada, the “Paisano” (Compatriot), leading the “equipo del pueblo” (the town team), Santa Paula. “Días de Gloria en Palermo” (Glory Days at Palermo) is the third part, the period covering 1940 through 1960, when polo starts gaining more popularity, and the first great classic match comes on the scene - El Trébol and Venado Tuerto,
team; the last few years of an entirely amateur polo which, in time, would become professional. As Luisa herself says in the epilogue - “it was the end of an era and the beginning of another. But that is another story and there will surely be someone to tell it”. What is more, there is also a fair portion of this book devoted to women’s polo, from the daring “Pingüinas” (The Female Penguins) in 1927, who defied the convention of their time to get on
Menditeguy-Duggan vs. Alberdi-Cavanagh, two different styles that generated passion in the Palermo stands, and who were the undeniable lords and masters of world polo for ten years. And lastly, “En la cima 1960-1980” (At the Peak 1960-1980), the emergence of a player who would become a legend, Juan Carlitos Harriott; the Coronel SuárezSanta Ana era and the “third party in discord”, Mar del Plata, Gonzalo Tanoira’s
a horse and get down to their stick-andball sessions, to the Blaquier girls with their memorable matches at their Estancia “La Concepción” and, of course, the First Lady of women’s polo, Myriam Heguy whom we will always remember. The photographs illustrating the book deserve a separate paragraph. A collection of some of the best unpublished images of all times; beautiful photos covering every epoch, including not 101
only the players and moments in exciting matches, but also the social side of polo: images of stands filled to the brim, royal boxes seating kings, princes and presidents wearing tail coats and top hats, players sporting formal dress suits and boaters, elegantly dressed women covering every period from those large hats and long dresses from the beginning of the 20th century, with bell-hats and urchin hairstyles in the crazy 20s, narrow waistlines in the 40s and 50s to daring mini skirts in the 60s; and, among other legendary figures we find Regina Pacini de Alvear, Edward VIII, King of England, Rita Hayworth, Paulette Goddard, Prince Philip and famous Dominican playboy, Porfirio Robirosa, who used to play with Charlie Menditeguy in Deauville; and a unique photographic testimony which is a real find: the “60’s ritual”, polo shirts with pinned up numbers. There are also lots of very beautiful polo family photos taken in the countryside, the essence and basis of this exciting sport, and transparencies showing all-time polo-related magazine covers and ads, besides caricatures, and paintings by Alejandro Moy, among others. “Pasión y Gloria” (Pasion and Glory) is a book to recommend from every point of view. Luisa Miguens puts her knowledge and good taste at the disposal of the reader in absolutely everything from its impeccable, top quality presentation to its content. Undoubtedly, this is a book that no polo lover should miss.
SPECIAL - A VISIT TO
Jaeger-LeCoultre MANUFACTURE
A Visit at Exactly the Right Time PQ International travelled to Le Sentier, a Swiss town where Jaeger-LeCoultre watches’ “La Grande Maison” (The Big House) is located; a brand name that has 175 of history and prestige.
The store where all the JaegerLeCoultre watches are created is located near Lake Joux, a little over an hour away from Geneva. It is a very slow and complex job, and the history of this brand dates back a good many years, when the
watches that indicate the exact time today were first designed and developed. Over a period of 175 years, Jaeger-LeCoultre has created and manufactured over 1000 different calibres and has filed over 300 patents. Among its assets, La Grande
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Maison has exclusive world items, superlatives and legendary watches such as Reverso, Duo-plan, Memovox, Polaris, Gyrotourbillon I, and even the Atmos perpetual pendulum clock. The watch-making adventure be-
gan in 1833, when self-taught Antoine LeCoultre set up his own workshop after inventing a pinion-cutting machine. Subsequent to creating a dozen more inventions, hundreds of patents were registered, each of which made Switzerland shine brighter. His small workshop grew so fast, it was soon nicknamed “La Grande Maison”, and since 1888 this manufacturing activity employs around 500 watchmakers, technicians and artists in the area. Jaeger-LeCoultre is deeply rooted in the history of the Joux Valley. Since the 16th century, the LeCoultre family has played a pioneer role. In 1866, the small workshop turned into the number one manufacture in the Joux Valley. In a time when watch-making know-how was
Jerome Lambert, CEO of Jaeger LeCoultre
Alone with Jerome Lambert (CEO of jaeger-LeCoultre) Why and how was the first action of JaegerLeCoultre next to Polo? The Reverso watch, first ambassador of Jaeger-LeCoultre, was invented in 1931 for the Polo players. To celebrate its 75th anniversary we decided to come back to its sport roots and to create a Reverso Squadra line and to sustain a large polo programm for the launch of this line. How did JLC selected their ambassadors in Polo? Our ambassadors share our values : technical performance, spirit of challenge, a kind of genious in the tradition ... What are the polo plans to follow of Jaeger Le COULTRE in the coming years? We will pursue our partnership with ambassadors and to sponsor tournament in the world. In June, we organise a big Charity Polo day in London and will be present in Argentina for the next season.
dispersed among several hundred small door-to-door production structures, Antoine LeCoultre and his son Elie (18421917) did their pioneering work. Gathered under the same roof, for the first time men and women were able to share their manufacturing secrets and enrich their respective know-how. Thus, they particularly developed the first partially mechanized manufacturing processes in complicated movements. The creativity of each movement is simply incredible. Half of the movements incorporate complications: 99 different repetitions out of which there are 66 minute repetitions and 128 chronographs, 33 calibres, bringing together a chronograph and repetition in the same time-keeper. And, as from the 1890s, the manufacturer produces the first big complications, that is to say, watches with three major watch-making complications: a perpetual calendar, chronograph and minute repetition. 103
In 1903, a rumour is spread at the Helvetica watchmaker’s: Parisian and Marine watchmaker, Edmond Jaeger (1858-1922), challenges Swiss watchmakers to manufacture ultra-flat calibres which he himself had invented. At the time, Jacques-David LeCoultre (18751948), grandson of the manufacturer’s founder, was in charge of the LeCoultre & Company production. He takes on the challenge. Based on his collaboration and the friendship which arises between these two men, one of the most extraordinary ultra-flat watch collections comes to be, among which we can find the world’s flattest watch, equipped with LeCoultre Calibre 145 (1.38 mm thick). There was further pioneering work in the field of wristwatches. And finally, the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand name. Marked by the sign of invention, the first few years of the 21st century are counted among the most fruitful in the entire history of Jaeger-LeCoultre; and,
as from the year 2000, the manufacturer has created over 50 new calibres among which we find big complications, tourbillons, minute repetitions, chronographs, perpetual calendars, 15-day running reserve, the first calibre that needs no lubrication, etc. At the same time, over 50 patents are registered to protect inventions both in the movement and the box fields. With ultra-complicated watches featuring high quality jewellery creations, including complicated Atmos watches, the AMVOX, Master Compressor Diving and even the Reverso Squadra, JaegerLeCoultre has become a benchmark in the prestigious grand watch-making tradition. The Reverso Squadra is one of the brand’s most iconic watches, based on a technique invented in 1931 whereby the watch box could be turned to protect the most sensitive part. Polo is one of the sports which have benefited most from this product. Nowadays, Jaeger-LeCoul-
tre has its own ambassadors around the world, who honour and enhance the prestige of this brand name owing to the game level they have achieved. They are Adolfo Cambiaso, Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Juan Martín Nero. Furthermore, with the boom enjoyed by women’s polo, they even created the Reverso Squadra Lady, also worn by players such as Claire Milford Haven and Lía Salvo, when the time comes to play polo. For 175 years now, decade after decade, as new movements and watch-making have gradually been integrated, La Grande Maison from the Joux Valley, the extension of Antoine LeCoultre’s original workshop, in the heart of Le Sentier, has constituted a phenomenal space to create. Under those roofs, over 1000 people master 40 watch-making trades daily and use over 20 technologies to invent, conceive, manufacture, assemble, regulate, set, engrave and enamel parts in order to perfectly protect the Swiss watch-making tradition.
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Antoine LeCoultre A brilliant inventor and self-taught watchmaker founded his first workshop in 1833, following the invention of the machine to produce watchmaking pinions. Ever since, the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre has developed constanly around the founder´s original workshops.
The Union between hand and machine In the 19th century, it took over 1000 manual operations to make a simple watch. Antoine LeCoultre invented revolutionary tools which proved that, in order to enhance precision and reliability, the machine must sometimes serve as an extension of the hand. Today, over 90% of the some 1500 operations required to make the simplest Reverso still call for manual dexterity.
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Cartier’s 25th World Cup
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ST MORITZ - 25TH WORLD POLO CUP ON SNOW
on Snow in St Moritz By Federico Levy
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Diary of a Champion Chilean player José Donoso’s quality, Pablo Mac Donough’s talent, Richard Le Poer’s strength and George Milford Haven’s solid defence allowed Julius Baer to obtain the championship title after beating twice-champion Brioni by a clear 6 - 3 ½ in the final. Thus, the black team’s winning streak was cut short in St. Moritz, though not everything is about the final. The tournament had started four days before. PQ International presents the diary of a champion.
First Day of Play
On the tournament’s opening day, the sun was shining on Lake St. Moritz, and twice-champion Brioni, went out onto the field to meet Maybach. It was an intense match, in which Nacho Gonzalez’s good performance and, above all, those goals scored by Jonny Good allowed the black team to take a 3-2 lead.
In the second match of the day, Julius Baer played against Cartier and, without a doubt, this was already promising to be a great game due to the opportunity of watching Pablo Mac Donough, who was making his debut on snow and he proved he is not only a high quality player on grass but also on snow. But it was José Donoso who was the
JP Clarkin and Pablo MacDonough
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most applauded after scoring three goals and, well accompanied by Richard Le Poer and George Milford Haven, they made Julius Baer win a great 6-4 victory in their match. So, Brioni and Julius Baer had a good start in the 25th Cartier World Cup on Snow.
Second Polo Day in St. Moritz
Brioni achieved their second consecutive triumph and were positioned as one of the favourites to make it through to the finals after beating Julius Baer 2 ½ 2. In a vibrant game, John Paul Clarkin’s team, with Jonny Good, who continued to score goals from his position at back, Guy Schwarzenbach and Nacho González beat another of the candidates: Julius Baer. At this point, the teams did not yet know they would meet again on another occasion, later in the tournament. On the first match of the day, Cartier achieved their first triumph in this tournament when they beat Maybach 4-3.
Glen Gilmore
Third day of play and qualification for the final It was definition time in St. Moritz, and Brioni and Julius Baer managed to make it through to the tournament final taking different paths. It was a day which had it all: goals, emotion and suspense. In the first match of the day, Julius Baer played against Maybach. They both needed to win to qualify for the final, although it was a little more complicated for Maybach as they needed to do so with a two-goal difference. On two occasions, Pablo Mac Donough and José Donoso’s team took the lead on the scoreboard, and they finally won 3-2 and, thus, were the first team qualified for the 25th Cartier World Cup on Snow final. In the second match of the day, Bri111
oni and Cartier, who had both reached the finals in the last two years, sought for the remaining place in this year’s final. Cartier needed to win by a two-goal difference to displace Brioni who had achieved a sharper performance after having won their two previous games. It was an intense game, and they moved on to the fourth and last chukka with a 2 ½ - 2 lead in favour of Brioni, but Cartier’s reaction with Glen Gilmore’s attack, scoring the team’s third goal, added a little suspense to the final. It was a 3 - 2 ½ triumph for Cartier, but since they did not achieve a two-goal difference, this automatically placed Brioni in the final in spite of having been defeated.
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Pablo MacDonough, demonstrated that he can adjust to any kind of polo surface
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A New Tradition in St. Moritz A change in the official hotel in St. Moritz triggered modifications in the players and teams’ usual movements. Such was the case with the celebration organized by Julius Baer (the team that won the championship) which turned into a real party. It continued to snow in St. Moritz on the day of the final. When the final bell rang, the Julius Baer players hugged each other in the middle of the field and quickly went to receive their deserved trophy. Exactly five hours later, the entire organisation of the team that won the 25th Cartier World Cup on Snow gathered at “La Barraca”, a small restaurant which, after dinner, becomes a typical mountain bar at a ski centre. There, sitting at two long tables were all the tournament champions. Everyone from
the players their grooms and their wives and girlfriends, who were enjoying dinner while commenting on the most important steps towards the final, played a few hours earlier. And so, minutes, dishes, beverages and the celebration went by until the volume of the music was gradually cranked up and everybody started dancing while they celebrated after having won the most important European snow polo tournament. A team does not become a champion only because of the goals scored or the way its players perform on the field. Polo is not only a team sport, but also an organisation sport. Julius Baer proved to be a serious organisation; and with good vibes, respect, and work above all, they were able to celebrate at the top of St. Moritz.
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Final Match Bank Julius Baer
6
George Milford-Haven José Donoso Pablo MacDonough Richard Le Poer
1 7 10 4
Brioni Guy Schwarzenbach Nacho Gonzalez John-Paul Clarkin Johnny Good
3½ 1 6 8 5
Scorers Julius Baer: José Donoso (4 Goals) Pablo Mac Donough (1 Goal); George Milford Haven (1 Goal). Brioni: Nacho González (2 Goals); John Paul Clarkin (1 Goal).
Above: Ignacio Tillous - Below: Pablo Mac Donough and Pablo Jauretche
Thus, Julius Baer and Brioni were the finalists of the 2009 tournament on snow, the most important on the WPT ranking.
Rematch Time for Julius Baer
The Julius Baer team, led by Pablo Mac Donough and JosĂŠ Donoso (a player with experience in St. Moritz terrain), with a fine standard of play, proved they could be superior to Brioni throughout the match and got their own back after their only defeat 115
in the tournament against the black team. With 4 goals scored by Donoso and the rest by Pablo Mac Donough and George Milford Haven, they won the Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow 2009, which was celebrating its 25th anniversary. As regards Brioni, we must mention an outstanding performance by Nacho González, who permanently attacked and aimed numerous shots at the opponent’s goal posts to reduce the difference, as well as JP Clarkin’s technique when the time came to control the orange ball on the snow.
So, with Julius Baer on the podium receiving the traditional trophy, the Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow 2009, the first big tournament on the World Polo Tour calendar, came to an end.
World Polo Cup on Snow Winner: Bank Julius Baer Polo Team MVP: Jose Donoso Subsidiary Cup Winner: Cartier Polo Team
25th World Polo Cup on Snow Cartier Adriano Agosti Gastón Laulhe Alejandro Díaz Alberdi Glen Gilmore
22 0 7 8 7
Maybach
20
Philipp Maeder Federico Bachmann Pablo Jauretche Ignacio Tillous
Bank Julius Baer
22
Brioni
George Milford-Haven José Donoso Pablo MacDonough Richard Le Poer
1 7 10 4
Guy Schwarzenbach Nacho Gonzalez John-Paul Clarkin Jonny Good
0 6 7 7
20
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1 6 8 5
World Polo Cup on Snow Place: St Moritz, Switzerland Club: St Moritz Polo Club Date: January 29-February 1, 2009 Level: 22 hcp Tournament type: Open Tournament Director: Heinz Reber WPT Category Ranking: Snow // WPT Cup Winner Points: 60 Finalist Points: 30 Semi Finalist Points: 15
Philipp Maeder
George Milford Haven
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OFF THE FIELD - ST MORITZ
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HISTORY - ST MORITZ 25 TIMES
25 World Cups on Snow No archaeological finds or ancient manuscripts exist to help us trace the origin of the sport of polo. However, the available research locates the birthplace of this fascinating sport as Persia, in around 600 B.C. From there, polo spread to northern India, where it is still cherished and held in high esteem. Initially the game was played at royal residences and in military circles. British army officers only discovered the game much later, around 1850, and took the sport back with them from the Orient to Europe and westwards. The British first encountered the game then known as ‘pulu’ in East India, in the remote state of Manipore. Their enthusiasm was so great that, from then on, members of the British army regularly played competitions against India. The popularity of polo
led to the foundation of the first English polo club at Silchar, in 1859. This was followed by the Calcutta Polo Club, established in 1862 and now the oldest polo club in the world. In 1873 the British founded the first club in their home country, the Hurlingham Polo Club, which was also the first club to establish written rules. In 1876 the sport reached America, where James Gordon-Bennett founded the Westchester Polo Club at Newport, Rhode Island. The Americans soon took a fancy to the game, and asked the British to draw up rules of play. The Hurlingham Club rules then became the norm. Later it was the Americans who decided to introduce handicap rules for players. In 1910 the British and Indians recognized this American system.
Eduardo Novillo Astrada with the crowed of 2007 Final
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English ranchers took polo to South America, where the new sport elicited keen interest, especially in the region of Buenos Aires. Cross-breeding of South American and British horses produced a strain which proved ideally suited to polo. Ponies of Argentinian stock are still considered ideal for polo. In the war years, the European polo scene lay dormant, while the Argentinians continued to add to their knowledge and skills. This led to Argentina’s world dominance in polo, which continues unchallenged to this day. Nowadays polo is played on all continents, in over 50 countries. It is certainly the most exclusive sport to be played with a ball. All over the world, prestige tournaments are held which display the sport of polo at its best.
Jose Donoso, 2007
Polo in St. Moritz St. Moritz was one of the first venues in continental Europe to establish polo playing. In the Engadine, the sport dates back to 1899
1899 The first polo field was laid out at St. Moritz-Bad, after some British cavalry officers had played polo as part of their military training and as a leisure activity. This makes St. Moritz one of the cradles of polo in continental Europe. Shortly before the first-ever Alpine polo match was due to be held, the cavalry officers received orders to sail for South Africa, where the Boer War was being fought. Interest in the sporot of polo ebbed in St. Moritz and no further games were played.
1959 The St. Moritz Polo Club was founded under the chairmanship of Dr. P. R. Berry. The founder members included Andrea Badrutt, Peter Kaspar and Colonel Lodi, from Rome.
1960 – 1964 A major international polo tournament was held in St. Moritz each summer, involving teams from Argentina, Italy, the USA and England. The event attracted 3000 – 4000 spectators each year, from the Engadine
1899 1959 1960/64 1965 1978
1983 1984 1985 1987 1988
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
and well beyond. The only player from the Engadine at this time – in fact from the whole of Switzerland – was Christian Mathis.
1965 The polo pitch was converted to an altitude training centre for athletes competing in the 1968 summer Olympics in Mexico City. For the time being, this put an end to polo in St. Moritz.
1978 Engadine-born Reto G. Gaudenzi, then working in Spain, founded a St. Moritz polo team which competed with great success in many international tournaments.
1983 Dr. P. R. Berry, the founder and chairman of the St. Moritz Polo Club, died. In his later years, he had initiated a reorganization of the polo club. Not long after his death, the St. Moritz Polo Club was reformed under a new Chairman, Christian Mathis. At the same time, the St. Moritz Polo Club founded the
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1998 1999 2001 2003 2004
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Swiss Polo Association (SPA). An all-Swiss team, including Reto Gaudenzi, Gianni Berry, Nikki Hahn and Umberto Gasche, played in Switzerland’s first official international fixture against Spain, in Barcelona.
1984 The constitutive meeting of the new St. Moritz Polo Club was held on 7 January. The same year, the Swiss team played in its second international match, this time in the world-famous venue of Windsor, England, against an English line-up. The St. Moritz team was now playing everywhere except the Engadine. This was a conscious choice on the part of Reto G. Gaudenzi and led to his idea, initially dubbed crazy, of playing polo on the frozen lake. A year later, the first match was played on ice.
1985 On 26–27 January, the St. Moritz Polo Club organised and hosted the world premiere of the Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow on the lake of St. Moritz. The unique white arena on the lake passed its initiation as a polo field with flying colours. The cornerstone
Nacho Gonzalez at the 2008 final for a new highlight in the St. Moritz events calendar had been laid. The tournament is an ideal complement to St. Moritz’s tourist marketing plan.
1986 Christian Mathis stepped down as Club Chairman and was succeeded by Dr. P. R. Berry II, the son of the original Club founder.
1987 Daniel Hofstetter, long-serving Vice-Chairman at past winter tournaments, took over the office of Club Chairman from P. R. Berry II.
1988 Acting on one of the Club’s objectives, to organise polo matches, negotiations began with the citizens
and municipality of St. Moritz for the takeover of building rights to the San Gian site by the St. Moritz Polo Club. The plan was to lay the land out as a polo field. This same year, the serving Chairman, Daniel Hofstetter, assumed a dual function as Chair of the Organising Committee of the winter tournament.
1991
newly laid polo field was officially inaugurated on 7 September. Among the guests was the Spanish Crown Prince, Don Felipe de Borbon. Now there was no further obstacle to holding summer events, and the St. Moritz Polo Club applied to FIP (Federación Internacional de Polo) as a candidate for the 1993 European Championships and for the 1994 and 1996 World Cups.
Through the personal dedication and negotiating flair of Club Committee members Adolf Hörler and Hans
1992
Gartmann, the Club finalised a building permit with the municipality. The field was also to made be available to other event organisers, and would be called ‘San Gian Equestrian Sports Field’. It took much hard work to lay out the new polo field. At this altitude, there were unforeseen obstacles to overcome. The
Championships and the 1995 World Cup in St. Moritz. One effective lobbyist for St. Moritz was Piero Dillier. Also in 1992, former Club Vice-Chairman and captain of the St. Moritz polo team, Reto Gaudenzi, was elected as the new Club Chairman. He took over from Daniel Hofstetter, who continued to serve
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The FIP congress decided to hold the 1993 European
Pablo Jauretche and Lolo Castagnola (2008)
1993
1995
In late July, the European Championships were held at San Gian. In a way, it was a dress rehearsal for the forthcoming World Cup. The task of congratulating the winning English team on its victory fell to Organising Committee Chairman Peter Märky. More than 13,000 spectators watched the matches. The Swiss national team, with Piero Dillier, Mario Zindel, Reto Gaudenzi, Adriano Agosti and Francisco Soldati, all members of the St. Moritz Polo Club, earned itself the bronze medal. This marked the greatest success yet in Switzerland’s polo-playing history.
Organizing Committee Chair Peter Märky opened the Fourth World Cup in the history of polo on 21 July 1995 (following Buenos Aires in 1987, Berlin in 1989 and Santiago de Chile in 1992). The preliminary round took place in Düsseldorf. A grand total of 21 000 spectators enjoyed polo of international quality. Travel specialists Kuoni had marketed the event worldwide, generating 2355 bednights. A total of 212 media representatives reported on the games to 16 countries, and 75 TV channels relayed a total of 65 broadcasting hours. According to rating research by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, the 44-minute World Cup summary attracted an audience of around 70 000 in Switzerland. Moreover, the outcome of the World Cup took all the pundits by surprise. On 30 July 1995, in a final of unsurpassed excitement, the battle-hardened Brazilian team beat top favourites Argentina by 11 goals to 10. The courageous Swiss team, all of whose players were members of the St. Moritz Polo Club, came sixth (and last), in line with expectations. 1995 also saw the foundation of the Association ‘Top Events of Switzerland’ in Zurich. This is an umbrella organization for world-famous cultural and sporting events from all over Switzerland. In addition to the
1994 as Vice-Chairman and to chair the winter Organising Committee. In August, with Reto G. Gaudenzi chairing the Organising Committee, the first summer tournament of the ‘new era’ was held: the BSI Swiss Open. This made St. Moritz the only place in the world where polo was played both on snow in winter and on grass in summer. Summer 1992 also saw the first polo college on the new San Gian Equestrian Sports Field, coached by Argentinian Club member Adrian Laplacette. Among the 25 course participants were three rising stars of the St. Moritz Polo Club, who then became eligible to attend a training camp in Argentina. As a result, the Club was delighted to record a 100% increase in its local players.
At the tenth-anniversary Polo World Cup on Snow, the St. Moritz Polo Club boasted 83 members. The world’s first polo tournament on snow had attracted great interest internationally. Other well-known winter sports destinations had taken up the idea and included similar events on their programmes. In June the FIP inspected and approved the San Gian Equestrian Sports Field, which gave the green light for holding the World Cup. Due to the necessary work of adapting the field for the World Cup, no summer tournament was held this year. Instead, Peter Märky, Vic Jacob and Claudio Conrad organised a junior tournament. To release the necessary ponies for training and matches, a polo pony pool was founded, independent of the Club, under the auspices of Claudio Conrad.
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Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow in St. Moritz, it includes Art Basel, the Golf European Master’s at Crans sur Sierre-Montana, the Locarno International Film Festival, the Lucerne International Music Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Swiss Tennis Open in Gstaad.
1996
1998
1999
Arrangements were made for the building rights to the San Gian Equestrian Sports Field to revert to the citizens and municipality of St. Moritz. The site had proved unexpectedly costly to lay out and equip. This and reinstatement work after the World Cup and other events placed the Club in financial straits. The reversion of the building rights was a help in overcoming these.
Urs E. Schwarzenbach took over the organization of the Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow, placing his office at the disposal of the event.
Attendees of the Ordinary General Meeting were informed that the St. Moritz Polo Club had been completely restored to financial health. This had been possible through the willingness of the municipality and the Club’s creditors to help, and with generous financial support from some of the Club’s members. At the motion of Claudio and Diane Conrad and Peter Märky, a summer polo camp was started. This event was intended to give both practised players and juniors an opportunity to exchange experience and to
Armin Diem took over the chairmanship of the Winter Event Organizing Committee from Daniel Hofstetter, who had served in this capacity for 10 years. For many years, the Club had been headhunting a member willing to serve as Chairman. This year, at the Polo Gala Night, Reto G. Gaudenzi handed over the reins to Richard H. Dillier. The outgoing Club Chairman was appointed Honorary Chairman for life, in recognition of his services to the sport of polo and to the St. Moritz Polo Club since its refoundation in 1984. As a result of the impending restructuring of the club, he had also resigned as captain of the St. Moritz polo team in 1997, having served as such since the beginning of the team’s activity. With the death of Andrea Badrutt, the Club lost one of its original founder members and a generous sponsor. At the 1998 Annual General Meeting of the St. Moritz Polo Club the representative of the long-term sponsor of the St. Moritz winter tournament, Horst Edenhofer, Managing Director of Cartier Switzerland,
gauge their skills on friendly terms.
was admitted as the Club’s 100th member.
tournament to round off the summer camp.
1997
Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr, 2006
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2001 At the 2001 Annual General Meeting of the St. Moritz Polo Club, Urs E. Schwarzenbach was elected as the Club’s new Chairman. Daniel Hofstetter and Adolf Hörler retired from the Committee and were elected honorary members of the St. Moritz Polo Club, in recognition of their services.
2003 From 27 July to 3 August, the St. Moritz Polo Club staged a summer polo college on San Gian meadow. The pioneering Swiss polo player Bernhard Zollinger, the Italian Paolo Grillini and the Australian Ed Judge honed the polo skills of 11 participants spanning an age range from 8 to 54. The training course culminated in a mini show
Gaston Laulhe and JP Clarkin (2009) Participants in the Concours Hippique, also being held at this time, were given the chance to participate in a polo taster course. Following the unqualified success of its first polo camp, the St. Moritz Polo Club decided to continue and expand summer polo in St. Moritz in this form. The Committee hoped that this project would garner support, in particular from the local authorities.
Mounted Regiment’s Musical Ride, invited to the tournament by Chairman Urs E. Schwarzenbach as a birthday surprise. To mark the 20th anniversary of the Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow, the St. Moritz Polo Club published the anniversary book entitled ‘20 Years Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow St. Moritz’.
2004
St. Moritz Polo AG was incorporated as a limited company and took over the organization of the Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow. Company President
The 20th Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow was held from 22 to 25 January this year. Four evenly matched teams, with a total handicap of 20 goals each, competed for the coveted Cartier Trophy. First-time participants in the winter tournament, the Polish Larchmont team, carried off the prize. One of the highlights of the anniversary event were the appearances by the British Household Cavalry
2005
and Chair of the Board of Directors was Urs E. Schwarzenbach; his fellow board-members Heinz Reber and Diego Schwarzenbach. Sibylle Bitterli took over operational responsibility in her capacity as General Manager.
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SNOW POLO SEASON - S CLUB SNOW ARENA POLO WORLD CUP COURCHEVEL
The French Alps Celebration Bernard Orcel Polo Team won the S Club Snow Arena Polo World Cup after beating S Club Pralong in an intense final. Courchevel was in itself a polo celebration, and no skiers could avoid taking some time to enjoy a few chukkas on snow. Located at an altitude of 2000 metres in the French Alps, Courchevel
Located at an altitude of 2000 metres in the French Alps, Courchevel offers the possibility of practicing an unlimited amount of winter sports
Kris Kampsen of S Club Pralong being hooked
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offers the possibility of practicing an unlimited amount of winter sports, owing to the location of its accommodation at the foot of extensive ski slopes with state-of-the-art mechanical chairlifts. Courchevel has it all. This ski resort is world renowned for having good slopes. Now, with the polo
Above: Stunning view of playing field and surrounding mountains - Below: Matias Maiquez
S Club Snow Arena Polo Teams Formations S Club Pralong
8
Piero Dillier Reto Gaudenzi Kris Kampsen
1 1 6
Bovett 1822
8
Heino Ferch Marie Jeanette Ferch Ignacio Garrahan
1 1 6
Kronometry 1999
10
Maurice van Druten Matias Maiquez Henk van Druten
3 6 1
Bernard Orcel
10
Nicolás Ruiz Guiñazu Sebastian Schneberger Cesar Ruiz Guiñazu
2 2 6
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tournament on snow and despite the intense snowfall the night before, the polo field, set up at the airport located in the highest area of Courchevel, was in excellent condition for the S Club Snow Arena Polo World Cup. A new tournament that has already started to gain prestige on the snow polo tournament calendar and which, under Reto Gaudenzi’s organisation, was the winter sports attraction in Courchevel. With four teams up to a 10-goal handicap, 12 players from 7 different nationalities came together at one of the most exclusive ski resorts in Europe to participate in a tournament that started with a great level of polo and the area covered with snow. In spite of the weather, the playing field set up at the airport (which was closed for this tournament), with-
stood perfectly well all the action on it during the days . After the qualifying games, the weather improved over the weekend and the sun came out and shone intensely on the day the final match was played. After Kronometry’s (1999) 5-4 ½ victory over Bovet (1822), all eyes were set on the final between Bernard Orcel and S Club Pralong. Spectators continued to appear in the area surrounding the playing field using different options. Some came by car or SUV and most skiers stopped halfway up the mountain and took some time off from their skiing afternoons to watch a few chukkas of good polo. S Club Pralong began their attack under Kris Kampsen as their main figure, with his ability to play on snow. For their part, Bernard Orcel, with both César
Above: Snowboarders watching the final - Below: Nicolás Ruiz Guiñazu
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Left: Bovet 1822 Team (Marie Jeanette Ferch, Ignacio Garrahan and german actor Heino Ferch) - Right: Bernard Orcel Team (Nicolas Ruiz Guiñazu, Sebastian Schneberger and Cesar Ruiz Guiñazu) - Below: All the teams by the podium
and Nicolás Ruiz Guiñazú, plus talented player Sebastian Schneberger, were able to find spaces while their opponents marked them, while Piero Dillier and Reto Gaudenzi were in charge of blocking the way towards the goal posts. The development of the match was dynamic and there were some good goals, such as Bernard Orcel’s sixth goal, scored by César Ruiz Guiñazú, who hit a very powerful neck shot. Finally, Bernard Orcel became the winning team after defeating S Club Pralong 8-6 1/2. After the men in black celebrated, and during the prize-giving, Kris
S Club Snow Arena Polo Place: Courchevel, France Club: S Club Date: January 23- 25, 2009 Level: 10 hcp Tournament type: Handicap Tournament Director: Reto Gaudenzi WPT Category Ranking: Snow Winner: Bernard Orcel Polo Team Finalist : S Club Pralong MVP: Kris Kampsen (S Club Pralong) BPP: Ardilla (Marie-Jeanette Ferch, Bovett 1822)
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Kampsen received the MVP award. The BPP of the tournament was awarded to Ardilla owned by Marie-Jeanette Ferch. Thus, a new edition of the S Club Snow Arena Polo World Cup has concluded. A tournament that has left an excellent impression due to the level of play developed on such a difficult surface, as is the case with snow, and which has already gained its place in the cold and entertaining winters in Courchevel.
OFF THE FIELD - COURCHEVEL
MVP of the Tournament Kris Kampsen and girlfriend Alexandra Solimine
Some weird man watching the game
The soul of the event, Reto Gaudenzi
Models from Bovet
The tournament official umpire, Carlitos Velazques and speaker
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Jurg Reinger, the organizer of the event
VIP area from where the attendance had an excelent view of the field
Pink, is the color of passion...
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SNOW POLO SEASON - CORTINA WINTER POLO GOLD CUP
Roman Duel in Cortina D’Ampezzo By Federico Levy
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The Cortina D’Ampezzo ski resort recently held its traditional Gold Cup. On this occasion, the 2009 edition was awarded 70 points in the World Polo Tour Ranking. All matches in this traditional tournament, which year after year reminds us of the reason for its success since it first began two decades ago, were played above an altitude of 1800 metres, on the ice formed on the Misurina Lake.
Federico Teves
Five teams up to 19 goals took part in the last tournament and demonstrated a good level of play on snow. A job well done by the people in charge of the field and the use of a smaller ball than those used in St Moritz or in Courcheval allowed the game to be faster than the matches played in the places previously mentioned. Furthermore, all ski lovers present in Cortina D’Ampezzo were lucky to experience one of the best snow seasons in the last 30 years so they were able to enjoy polo as well as the ski runs at the Italian winter resort. After the matches of the qualifying stage, where all teams played each other, with three victories and only a
half-goal defeat, Malo qualified for the tournament final. On the other hand, with the same number of matches won, and one lost by the same goal difference, Audi also qualified for the most important game of the tournament.
The Grand Final, a Roman Duel in Cortina D’Ampezzo. There they were, in the middle of the field, the two finalists, Audi and Malo, both with their Roman captains. On one side, wearing a white polo shirt: Rommy Gianni. Opposite, in a pink polo shirt: Luca D’Orazio. Two Italians met in the final, together with their teams, in a game that ended in a 9-9 tie after regulation time and a little 134
over seventy five minutes of a great game on the Misurina Lake. After an intense back-and-forth match, Audi sealed their victory with a goal scored by Dario Musso who scored the difference in overtime. Malo started with a greater chance of winning than Audi, who struggled to find their positions on the field while Eduardo Menéndez dealt with organising the pink team’s attacks and thus, by the first break, Malo had already taken a 3-1 lead. In the second period, Darío Musso began to be more in control of the ball and sought paths towards his opponents’ goal posts taking advantage of Matías Torres Zavaleta’s speed, while
Luca D’Orazio
he was in charge of controlling midfield action together with Joaquín Maiquez. And so, in scarcely five minutes, Audi managed to tie the match at 3-3 and after another goal scored by each team, Malo took the lead once again,
D’Orazio to tie the match and later take a 6-5 lead. Up until that point, Audi continued to create clearer scoring chances though they did not find it easy to score. However, after two consecutive
By the fourth and last chukka, Malo went out onto the field determined to reduce the difference which they achieved after a penalty shot hit by Eduardo Menéndez, though Audi quickly took a two-goal lead at 9-7. However,
All ski lovers present in Cortina D’Ampezzo were lucky to experience one of the best snow seasons in the last 30 years so they were able to enjoy polo as well as the ski runs at the Italian winter resort. though that goal was disallowed after an offensive foul so the teams were tied at 4-4 by the second break. Audi hit the first ball in the third chukka and scored a difference, but Manuel Carranza and Juan Manuel González helped their forward Luca
goals, one by Darío Musso and the other by Rommy Gianni, they took a 7-6 lead in the third chukka and, only a few seconds before the bell, once again it was Darío Musso who brought the score to 8-6 in favour of the white team. 135
towards the end of the game, Malo did everything they could to tie the match, which they achieved a few seconds before the game ended thanks to Eduardo Menéndez’s well-executed penalty shot and so, with the score tied at 9-9, regulation time was up.
After the last break, the players went out onto the field to play an extra chukka. Following the throw-in, Malo tried to keep possession of the ball to organise their attack. Danger came close to Audi’s goal posts, but only seconds later, after a halfway-line shot, Darío Musso performed an individual play which ended in a foul and so, he himself defined the match from the spot, only a few yards away from the goal posts and gave Audi a 10-9 victory, unleashing a celebration in Cortina D’Ampezzo. Malo, the team in the pink polo shirts obtained the Julius Baer Silver Cup and also won the prize for best player awarded to Italian patron Luca D’Orazio. Furthermore, the pink team had Above: Horses arriving to the frozen Misurina Lake - Below: Geronimo Fanelli and Francisco Menendez
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Above: Luca D’Orazio and his nephew Romy Gianni - Below: Tatu Gomez Romero and Juani Gonzalez
the goal-scorer of the tournament, Eduardo Menéndez, who scored 28 goals, and the best horse of the tournament named Gama, an Argentine Polo Breed specimen owned by D’Orazio and played by the top scorer of the tournament. Despite the fact that the lake area was in the grip of a severe cold spell, the last few minutes of the game were very moving as both teams did everything in their power to win the tournament. After several failed attempts, it was Darío Musso who sealed the result with a penalty from the spot. The “Renato Manaigo” Fair Play Prize went to Russian player Dmitry Vozianov, captain of the Cortina Polo Club Team, who had a good performance in the tournament, and his team won the Ski Pass World Cup 2009 which was the third place prize. Spectators gradually left the Musurina Lake area where their traditional Cortina Winter Polo Gold Cup was held once again, and which turned into a real celebration concluding with fireworks across the Cortina D’Ampezzo sky. Everything from the teams’ game level and speed to tourism opportunities offered by this Italian ski resort were some of the spices which sealed the success of the last grand tournament on the WPT Snow Polo calendar.
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Above: Audi Winners of Cortina Gold Cup - Below: Federico Teves and Tatu Gomez Romero
Cortina Gold Cup Trophy
Cortina Winter Polo Gold Cup Audi Rommy Gianni Matias Torres Zavaleta Dario Musso Joaquin Maiquez
Hotel de la Poste Alessandro Pastorino Cristian Bernal Martin Inchauspe Geronimo Fanelli
Cortina Polo Club Dmitri Vozianov Tatu Gomez Romero Gualtiero Giori Francisco Menendez
Julius Baer Marco Zoppi Federico Teves Horacio Echeverry Julio Cesar Coria
19 2 5 7 5
18 1 7 5 5
17 1 6 2 8
19 1 6 7 5
Malo Polo Team
19
Luca d’Orazio Juan Gonzalez Juan Manuel Carranza Eduardo Menendez
1 5 5 8
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Matias Torres Zavaleta and Juan Manuel Carranza
Cortina Winter Polo Place: Lago di Misurina, Italy Club: Cortina d’Ampezzo Date: February 15 - 21, 2009 Level: 19 hcp Tournament type: Handicap WPT Category Ranking: Snow Winner Points: 70 Winner: Audi Polo Team Finalist : Malo Polo Team MVP: Dario Musso (Audi Polo Team) BPP: Gama (owned by Luca d’Orazio, played by Eduardo Menéndez)
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INTERNATIONAL - THAI POLO OPEN 2009
6th Mercedes Benz B.grimm Thai Polo Open 2009 The Princess Cup by Peter Abisheganaden
With a pleasant breeze blowing in from the nearby Gulf of Thailand this year’s 10 goal “Mercedes Benz – B.Grimm Thai Polo Open” was contested by eight teams from Singapore, Malaysia, India, Germany and Thailand, a record for a Thai polo tournament. The Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Cup was presided over by HM the Sultan of Pahang and HM the King of Thailand’s Privy Councillor Palakorn Suwanrath. Harald Link’s and Nunthinee Tanner’s Thai Polo and Equestrian Club in the hills of the seaside resort of Pattaya was the venue for over 2,000 guests and 250 horses of which 100 came from Singapore and Malaysia. Mercedes Benz – B.Grimm Thai Polo Open, one of the highlights of the Asian polo circuit, was played annualy in January, when cool temperatures and the lack of humidity remind you of a wonderful English summer. The spectators enjoyed a sumptuous luncheon by the famous French Le Notre under a white marquee for eight hundred quest, music by the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, a number of beautiful galleries displaying Burberry, La Martina, La Perla and Escada fashion brand, social magazines, and charity foundations. As is customary funds were raised for HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Chitrlada Vocational School, the first vocational school in Thailand following the German ‘dual system’, where students attend classroom lessons in school and train at a designated company during the apprenticeship period of three years. This year funds were also raised for the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphange, a recipient charity of the Tusk Trust under
Thai Polo Club
The end of the match and start of the cocktail
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Thai Polo Open 2009 League A Carnoustie Lions
BRDB-Elevation
9
Jagdeep Singh Kairon Manuel Cereceda Col. Tarun Sheroi Maj Rabi Rathore
Shaik Reismann Edham Shaharndin Dato Mohamed Moiz Satinder Garcha
2 4 1 2
La Sarita
Chimfunshi
10
Asad Jumabhoy Quzier Ambak Diego Uranga Gaston Otamendi ALT Ameer Jumabhoy
Andrew Hine Jonny Good Stefan Louis Caroline Link ALT Claudia Ziesberger
6 5 0 -1 0
League B Head Hunters
Thai Polo
Sattar Khan Marco Foccacia Kuo Lee Yeo Jock Mackay
Philip Meader Harald Link Federico Bachmann Howard Hipwood
0 0 5 5
Bunga Raya
Royal Pahang
10
Toh Muda Rizal Ramli Saladin Mazlan Mohamad Zekri Ibrahim Hayudin Bin Hamsah
HRH Prince Abdullah Amran Selamat Tomas Rueda Y.M. Tengku Shahzril ALT Shahru Nizam Onn
the Royal patronage of HRH Prince William. Here Chimpanzees, who were rescued from captivity and poaching, are trained in Zambia to live in their natural habitat once more. Following lunch the Malaysian team “Bunga Raya’’ (the national flower of Malaysia) of Rizal Ramli, Zakri Ibrahim, Saladin Mazland and Hayudin Hamsah faced and defeated the Indian ‘Carnoustie Lions’ of Jagdeep Kairon, Col. Sheroi Tarun, Maj. Ravi Rthore and Manuel Cereceda. In a hard fought battle for seventh place. Thai Polo and Chimfunshi was a match of father against daughter as Harald Link captained Thai Polo, playing with Aron Harilela, Howard Hipwood and Frederico Bachmann, while Caroline Link played with Claudia Zeisberger, Andrew Hine and Jonny Good. The score was close at 3-2 and Caroline was very unlucky to have what looked like a brilliant tying goal disallowed at the end of the third chukka. In the afternoon it was father Harald’s turn to shine. He scored a beautifully lofted 60 yarder to make the score 4-2. Thai Polo played out the rest of the match with good attacks coming
10
0 2 2 3 3
The Princess Cup Trophy for the Thai Polo Open
Corporate Area
from Frederico Bachmann and Aron Harilela. It gave Thai Polo 5.
Third Place
It was now time for an exciting televised match for third place between HRH’s Prince Abdullah’s ‘Royal Pahang’ playing together with his nephew Prince Shazril and the ‘Head Hunters’ of Yeo Kuo Lee from Singapore playing with three professionals. Royal Pahang started the quicker of 141
the two and had Head Hunters chasing the game. They led 3-1 early on but Head Hunters came back to tie it 3-3. Pahang took the lead again midway through the third chukka for a 4-3 lead only for HeadHunters to tie the score again. Young Australian star Jock Mackay came into his own in the final chukka, spurring HeadHunters to a 6-4 lead. Pahang’s Tomas Rueda tallied a penalty and in the lastfew seconds SEA Games star Tengku Shazril scored to send Pa-
hang into their second overtime game in a row In the sudden death overtime chukka Head Hunter’s Sattar Khan could have sealed it when he was sent on his way by Jock but the 4 goaler put it wide when it looked like he must score. Finally it was left to Jock to claim a hard fought victory for Yeo Kuo Lee’s Head Hunters, breaking up a Pahang counter attack and finishing accurately.
The Final
The final was to be played between ‘La Sarita’ and last year’s winners BRDB. ‘La Sarita’ is named after patron Asad Jumabhoy’s daughter Sarah, Asad being a FIP Ambassador and his brother the current president of the venerable Singapore Polo Club. Asad played with fellow Patron and South East Asian Games Gold Medal Winner Harald Link and Howard Hipwood playing in Thailand in Team Jumping Quizier Ambakh, whose family received six medals, four of them gold, in the SEA Games. ‘BRDB’ of patron, businessman and Vice President of the Royal Selangor Polo Club Dato’ Mohamed Moiz, played with fellow patron, internet and real estate entrepreneur Satinder Garcha, son of the famous owner of polo club and stud farm Colonel Garcha of Jaiphur. BRDB-Elevation got a flying start off to the final. 2008 Malaysian Player of the Year Edham Shaharuddin broke away straight from the throw-in and ran all the way to tally the first goal in under 10 seconds. Satinder Garcha got the first of three goals in the game as BRDB-Elevation shot out to a commanding 2 ½ - 0 early lead. La Sarita then moved up the gears and came into the game. Showing good teamwork, it was Quzier Ambak who then finished off a four man move to get La Sarita on the board. It was a fight back Attendance infront of the Thai Polo Club house led from the front as Quzier Ambak then notched another to get La Sarita off Edham along the boards and went cial time. BRDB-Elevation now led by 6 truly back into the game. strongly to the goal. He finished with a ½ to 5 with time running down in the Two goals in the first chukka by the stylish cut backhand flick. Again BRDB chukka. Asian Games showjumper should have replied immediately with Shaik ReisLa Sarita refused to give in, and clocked us on that this was going to be mann taking the ball strongly to the their players dug deep in the last chukan extraordinary game. In the second goal to restore their 1/2 goal lead. ka. Asad Jumabhoy, a diabetic, had to chukka RMPA International League Satinder then took them out furtake a time out as his heart rate soared 2008 MVP Gaston Otamendi took La ther in front with a solo goal to make and his head spun from the over-exSarita to the lead with a superb solo, the score 5½ - 4 in BRDB’s favour. If ertion. They put everything they had dribbling in off the right wing. He had BRDB-Elevation thought they had the into yet another comeback.Their presEdham all over him but Gaston’s sumatch sewn up, they were wrong. At sure won them a 40 yarder that Diego perb stickwork and horsepower took the start of the final chukka, La Sariconverted to bring it again to within him past three BRDB Elevation playta won a penalty that Diego converthalf a goal.BRDB-Elevation was feeling ers. The lead didn’t last long as Edham ed to bring it back to half a goal. Satinthe heat and started to give away fouls replied almost immediately to give der then scored a great goal to restore under pressure. It was thrilling stuff as BRDB the lead again at 3½ to 3. The BRDB-Elevation’s 1½ goal lead. It was La Sarita used to penalties to go into lead exchanged hands again in the 3rd a really well taken goal from a broken all-out attack in the final minute. Asad chukka. Diego Urunga stole the ball play opportunity, and it came at a cruhad a great chance to give them the 142
lead but his shot ricocheted away in a congested goal mouth scramble. A foul was blown with 17 seconds remaining. The ball was dropped 10 yards in front of a gaping BRDB goal. For a moment it looked as though BRDB-Elevation was penalised as their players retreated behind the goal-posts. It was only to discuss their penalty play and when play was called, they cleared their lines. Only to give away another foul 7 seconds later. La Sarita got a penalty about 80 yards out with 10 seconds on the clock. They opted to go for one shot but Gaston blasted wide right. BRDB-Elevation knew they were then the winners, letting the clock run down to finish the match 6½ - 6 winners. BRDB-Elevation won 7 points as this was the first RMPA International League Tournament of 2009, while La Sarita picked up 5 points. RMPA Patron, His Majesty, the Sultan of Pahang was on hand to congratulate BRDB-Elevation and La Sarita on an excellent and exciting game. Thai Privy Councillor gave away the prizes. The quality of polo at the tournament was very good, well complemented by the many well-traveled professionals who played and polo aficionados who attended. Thai Polo’s two excellent fields made for fast, exciting polo, while the warmth of which Harald Link treats his guests, and a spectacular spread on the final day made it one of the best tournaments we have ever had in the RMPA International League. The polo was exciting and very fast, with all teams showing they have improved their strings of horses in the last year. As a tournament it could not have had closer finishes. The semi-finals were decided by half a goal and a sudden death goal, the final by half a goal, and the third place match by a sudden death goal. It showed that any of the top four teams could have won this tournament. A magnificent firework display, following the prize giving by HM the Sultan of Pahang and HE Privy Councillor Palakorn, who had handed over the Cup to the winners BRDB, marked the end of a spectacular demonstration of sportsmanship, gallantry, friendships across nations and the world renowned Thai hospitality.
Final Game presentation
BRDB-Elevation, winners 2009
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INTERNATIONAL - THAI ANNIVERSARY POLO CUP
ANNIVERSARY CUP 2008 Celebrate 130th Years of B.Grimm with Polo Good polo and a good social atmosphere are hall marks of Thai Polo Club,created by Harald Link in the beach resort of Pattaya, Thailand
Patron Harald Link of the Thai Polo Club has much to celebrate. Not only the 130th year of his company B.Grimm, which was founded by his great grandfather during the reign of RAMA V, and for the first time in a hundred years the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) has sent out their young English team with captain Andrew Hine to play outside their own country. It is also the first time for the South East Asian team with the combination of the best players from Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, to take on the young English team at the Thai Polo Club. Founded three years ago Thai Polo Club has - within that short period of time - achieved a reputation that many longer established club might envy. The accent here is very much on polo as a family occasion, players, spectators and sponsors make up a club in every sense of the word, and the fact that the annual Mercedes Benz – B. Grimm Thai Polo Open has attracted over thousand spectators is a vivid indication of the enthusiasm and support Thai Polo Club has generated. The Anniversary Cup attracted a large crowd of foreign dignitaries including His Majesty the Sultan of Pahang, a former 5 goal player, and his son His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Abdulla, who flew in on their private jets for this special event. His Majesty´s grand son HRH Prince Ahmad Shazril Ezzani was one of the Asean team members. The match started off with each team member introducing themselves to HM the Sultan, this procession appeared to be the calm before the storm, as each team cantered out to the middle of the throw in.
Attendance ready for the final match
Instalations of the Thai Polo Club
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The first chukka saw highly contested pace of play with each team contesting for dominance in the early stages of the match. The Asean were first to put point on the board with 40 yards penalty by HRH Prince Ahmad. However the early dominance that the Asean enjoyed was short lived as the English team found their rhythm and eventually led to a 60 yards penalty for the English captain Andrew Hine to level at 1 - 1 by the first chukka´s end. The second chukka saw the fantastic teamwork of the English, with the passing short by the captain Hine to Jack Richardson whose clever stickwork allowed Lanto Sheridan to Lanto Sheridan and Nat Pratumlee
follow up and score. As expected the Asean team fought back immediately with the highest goal player Edham away with a ball from the throw in and put the scores to 3 - 2. The next three minutes were controlled almost exclusively by the English and by the end of the chukka they were leading by 6 - 2. The third chukka the Asean started with a great team play between Satinder Garcha and the HRH Prince Ahmad. Yet they could not break past the English defense notably that of Lanto Sheriden, who managed to pass the ball to Eden and scored 7 - 2 . The chukka remained scoreless Andrew Hine
Drinks ready
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for 3 minutes, but the best goals were still to come. Nut, the best Thai player, at full gallop put the score to 7 - 3. However, the England teamwork that was so evident in the match came to fore as they produced a fantastic team goal from a penalty. Captain Andrew Hine hit a lofted pass to Lento, who managed to get a stick on it in midair and push it down for Eden to finish off at 8 – 3. HRH Prince Ahmad showed his class once again breaking away with a ball in total control and bring the Asean team back to 8 – 4. However, the English captain Andrew Hine was not to be outdone and showed his skill by hitting a long shot of 60 yards in open play increasing the lead to 9 - 4. The stage was set for a very exciting final chukka! Asean team member Satinder Garcha of Singapore started it off with a great passing short to Nut of the Thai Polo Club who calmly stroked it in and lifted the score to 9 - 5. The Asean continued to pressure the English, with some great shots from HRH Prince Ahmad to Edham to score with a great nearside backhand and bring the score to 9 - 6 with five minutes to go. The action for the remainder of the chukka was fast and intense with the true class of all the players showing to the elated fans. The last and the most spectacular goal was played by the English young player Eden with some great stickwork from the middle of the field in total control and finish the game in great style at 10 - 6 . What all in attendance witnessed was a polo match which provided excellent polo at great speed, superb ponies, great sportsmanship and a variety of shots with high handicap skills. The England team had the draw back of playing in a foreign country on unfamiliar horses, yet they have the experience of playing as one unit and the fluidity of their game was a pleasure to watch. The South East Asian team showed their great determination and skills, and with an excellent teamplay of the English they would be an imposing team for any opponent. The rematch of England and South East Asia will be once again at the Thai Polo Club, and it will surely be one of the most wanted tournaments not to be missed in 2009.
Off the field with some Thai ladies
The teams presentation
Cups waiting for their owners
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International Match England Polo Team
10
South East Asia Polo Team
Eden Ormerod (2) 2008 will certainly be a year to remember for Eden who plays 5 goals in arena polo. In January he was part of the England Arena team that beat South Africa at Hickstead, with his horse, Trago Amargo, also winning best playing pony (BPP). Amonth later Eden was back in winning ways, this time with his university side, who won the National Arena Championship in Bristol. During the summer months Eden played for Spencer McCarthy´s Emlor team who dominated the 15 goal, winning the Arthur Lucas Cup (BeaufortPolo Club) and Harrison Cup (Cowdray) and subsequently won the 15 goal Victor Ludorum. Australia in the John Cowdray Trophy which they won 8 - 3 1/2. In September, Eden captained an Enlgand 8 goal team to victory at the European Championship in Hamburg, Germany. Eden is currently studying philosophy at the University of West of England and enjoys all sport, particularly rugby, as well as music and reading. Lanto Sheridan (1) Based downin Sussex, Lanto, has caught the eye of a number of teams this season and is certainly a player we will be seeing a lot more in the future. Like so many English players, Lanto caught the polo bug playing for his localpony club branch (Crawley and Horsham) at the age of 9. Lanto plays most of his polo at Knepp Castle and Cowdray, but has already represented England at Pony Club level as well as for Young England against Kenya in 2006 where he lost by half a goal. He has played in New Zealand with Andrew Parrot and has spent two months (October & November) playing with Andrew Hine in Australia. Lanto was at school at Eton College where he achieved 3 A´s at A level (Maths, Economics & Spanish). When not playing polo he enjoys supporting Liverpool FC. Jack Richardson (1) Despite being the younest in the team at just 17, Jack Richardson certainly doesn´t lack experience. In June he had his first taste of high goal polo playing as a substitute for Cadenza in a Queen´s Cup match and scored 2 goals. Like so many of England´s top players, Jack started his polo career at the age of 7 playing in the Pony Club and won his first trophy at Cowdray just 2 years later. In 2007Jack won a number of 2 and 4 goaltournaments playing with his father, youngest brother and Lanto Sheridan whohe teams up with today. This summer, Jack has been juggling his polo commitments and GCSE exams with great success. He has played for Tamara Vestey´s `Foxy Ladies`winning the Cirencester 12 Goal and reached the final of The Queen Mother 12 goal tournament with Harald Link´s Thai Polo Team. Now studying Sports Science, Politics and Religious studies at AS level, Jack also plays football and rugby for Harrow, one of the UK´s top schools. As well as playing in England Jack has also played in Argentina under watchful eye of Piki Diaz Alberdi. Andrew Hine (6) Andrew Hine needs little introduction having played at the top level for the best part of 25 years and having played in 29 different countries. He made his full England debut in 1989, before going onto play in a further 7 Cartier Internationals (winning 5) as well as the Westchester Cup against USA in 1997. Perhaps the highlight of Andrew´s career wasleading England to victory against Argentina at Palermo in 2001. On a domestic level Andrew has won every major tournament including the Gold Cupwth Falcons (1983). He now plays most of his polo withHarald Link´s Thai Polo Team, and Bruce Merivale Austin´s Caballus who won the 18 goal Victor Ludorum in 2006.
11
Tengku Ahmad Shazril Ezzani (3) Tengku Shazril, an avid polo rider and the Gold medalwinner for the SEA Games Polo 2007. He is known for an outstanding performance, stick skills, great teamwork & sportmanship on the field, and brilliant handling of the ball at high speed. Tengku Shazril is also the winner of the 14 Goal Malaysian League, and the 14 Goal Pahang Classic. Nat Pratumlee (2) Nataphong, 19, is currently Thailand´s best polo player and has been trained by legendary Rege Ludwig as a horse trainer and beginners´ polo coach during an 18 month stay at California´s El Dorado Polo Club. Having participated in numerous tournaments in the USA, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore he is a winner of the Malaysian Open 2007, the 14 goal BRDB Invitational in Malaysia 2008 and was elected Most Valuable Player at Cartier Silver Cup in Singapore 2008. Muhamad Edham HJ Shaharuddin (4) Edham or Ed as he is better known, has been playing polo for the last 15 years. Hehas played professional in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines, Argentina, USA and England. He is a 3-time winner of the Rolex International in Singapore, ad counts the RMPA Cup(2003) and the 25 de Mayo medium goal tournament in Argentina as his best wins. Satinder Garcha (2) Satinder Garcha is Singaporean, 36 years old, and has a 2 goal handicap. Satinder has participated in several tournaments all over the world, includingArgentina, England, Spain, Barbados, Russia and India. Highlights of this polo career have included representing Singapore in the Zone D World Cup Playoffs in Lahore, Pakistan, 2003, winning the Prince of Wales trophy in Beaufort, and making it to the semi-finals of the Gold Cup (20 goal) in Sotogrande, Spain, 2004. Satinder was Polo Captain at the Singapore team for the 2007 SEA Games held in Bangkok, Thailand.
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TRAVEL - RONDA, SPAIN
Old Andalucia Ronda is located in the Andalucia region. It is one of the oldest cities in Spain, and a must-visit place for those who are travelling around this region or watching polo in Sotogrande.
The road towards Ronda lies between endless olive groves, chestnut trees and cork oak trees, which gradually change colour throughout the seasons. Alongside the road, a series of viewpoints can be found which are worth a stop to observe the wonderful mountain-range landscape. This area also used to be very famous for its “bandoleros” (bandits). Set between two natural parks, Ronda’s location on a rocky hill has conferred upon this city a marked defensive and strategic value throughout history and, above all, is notable for its Islamic past. It was the last Arabian
bastion on the Iberian Peninsula. In the 18th century, the most significant and emblematic monuments of the aristocracy at the time and in Ronda nowadays, are the “Puente Nuevo” (New Bridge) and the “Plaza de Toros” (Bullring). From that moment, and throughout the 19th century, the city forges its romantic image as well as that of its Mountain Range, in which the world of banditry and the art of bullfighting will make a profound impression on many of those who visit this place. Since then, both aspects have become symbols of said culture and tra-
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dition. Nevertheless, the diversity of cultural and traditional richness of this city is far wider, and this diversity is what Ronda and its Mountain Range’s appeal is based on nowadays. The outstanding monuments are as follows: “Puente Nuevo” (New Bridge), together with the “Plaza de Toros” (Bullring), these are symbols as well as the heart and soul of the city. Under the 98 metre-high bridge which connects the modern neighbourhood to the old city neighbourhood, the spectacular gorge excavated over the centuries by the river Guadalevín, has been declared a natural monument.
Islamic walls and gates As time went by, and as a means of defence, walls and gates were added on to protect them from attacks. Some of them were built taking advantage of the natural barrier.
“Plaza de Toros” (Bullring)
Inaugurated in 1785. Owing to its history and architecture, as well as its character and beauty, it is renowned as one of the oldest in Spain and one of the most monumental existing bullrings. You can visit the “Museo de la Tauromaquia” (Museum focused on the Art of Bullfighting) located within the bullring.
“Palacio del Rey Moro”
(Palace of the Moorish King) Within the palace area you will come across a series of ‘estancias’ (ranches), from wells to rooms used as magazines containing explosives and grain storage. Its terrace gardens featuring steps decorated with glazed ceramic tiles and its fountains and ponds are really beautiful.
“Alameda del Tajo” (Tree-lined Gorge)
It offers magnificent panoramic views of the Ronda Mountain Range and its neighbouring landscapes.
“Baños Árabes” (Arab Bath Houses)
They date back to the 13th and 14th century A.D. These baths still preserve the hydraulic system used at the time. Inside, the Bath Houses are divided into three areas: cold, lukewarm and hot water rooms. Besides these attractions you can also visit all of the following: the “Arco de Felipe V” (Arch of Philip V), “Palacio de Mondragón” (Mondragon Palace), “Alminar de San Sebastián” (Minaret of St. Sebastian), “Ermita Rupestre de la Virgen de la Cabeza” (Cave Chapel of the Virgin of the Head), “Convento de la Merced” (Convent of La Merced), among many others. For further access to in-depth history of this city, you may visit its Museums: “Museo Lara” (Lara Museum), “Mu-
seo del Vino de Ronda” (Ronda Wine Museum), “Museo Peinado” (Peinado Museum), “Museo de Caza” (Hunting Museum), “Museo Municipal” (Municipal Museum), “Museo del Bandolero” (Bandit Museum), “Museo Taurino” (Bullfighting Museum).
Routes that may be travelled on foot or on bicycle are another alternative for hiking lovers: The Bird Route The Flora Route The Chestnut Tree Route
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For those who want to enjoy Ronda’s gastronomy, there are a wide range of options (Bars, Cocktail Bars, Pubs, Wineries, Coffee Shops, Icecream Parlours, Fast Food Restaurants, Old-style bars and restaurants, Discotheques, etc.) Finally, for those who wish to spend the night in Ronda, there are 1, 2, 3 and 4-star hotels in this city, as well as rural lodging, boarding houses and campsites. All these attractions along with the warmth and kindness of its people have made Ronda one of the most visited municipalities in Spain from time immemorial.
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