Bachelor Boys

It’s not just Sven Goran Eriksson who has trouble prising players away from their clubs for England duty. Polo has the same problem. But change is afoot and the national side’s profi le could soon be riding higher than ever. By Adam Edwards Bachelor Boys

They say football is a funny old game. But try polo for a bit of a laugh. It’s the grandest sport in the world, off ering the perfect profi le for any luxury goods manufacturer worth its leather accessories and yet our national team has struggled to get major sponsorship. It draws large crowds at its home international, the Cartier, but half the audience has never heard of the players on the fi eld, let alone understand the rules. e British sport’s only world-famous players of whom anyone has heard, the Windsor princes, are unlikely to make the country’s national side, which anyway traditionally has one annual home fi xture because the regular club polo schedule is so crowded. And despite drawing more celebrities per square inch of turf than any other comparable game on the planet, the major television networks and most of our newspapers simply shun the sport.

Is this crazy, foolish or just bad luck? Certainly, all these anomalies mean that the general public has regarded our national polo side as an obscure gang of rich toff s watched by twits who are more interested in the Moët than the match. It also helps explain why for much of its life the English team has been to international polo what the United States soccer team is to international football – keen as mustard yet missing the beef. e competitive spirit in polo has been willing but the fl esh has been under-trained and under-funded. But change is

MISSY BAILLIEU Above: The Queen, watched by Cartier’s chief executive Arnaud Bamberger, presents Henry Brett with his medal at the 2004 Cartier International

Left: Ready for action, (l to r) Malcolm Borwick, Luke Tomlinson, Henry Brett and Mark Tomlinson shortly before taking on South Africa.

afoot. Firstly there is a group of beefy bachelor boys who have the potential to compete with the best in the world and, secondly, for the fi rst time in its history two other vital ingredients are available – money and coaching. In the past, England has been supported by Berkeley Homes and Cadenza but now requires a full time sponsor. e cash has come f rom Audi (the fi rst time England has had a full-time sponsor) and the coaching by John Horswell, acknowledged as the one of the best in the world.

What’s more, the HPA has announced that there will be two new test matches this year. e fi rst is being organised by Cirencester Park and Beaufort clubs, with Argentina the likely opponents. e second is scheduled for September 3 at Cowdray Park against South Af rica.

‘England has a national team of young riders who are about to be taken seriously. We have a group of players on the up,’ said Alan Kent, a member of the HPA’s international committee. ‘ e England team is young and potentially the most exciting in years.’ e side is based around a small group with its hard core of Henry Brett as captain, Luke and Mark Tomlinson, James Beim and Malcolm Borwick. e squad currently claims a handicap of around 26. ‘If we can get to a handicap of 30 we can compete in the top three,’ said John Horswell, the Sven-Göran Eriksson of the England team without, he stresses, the extracurricular activities of the Swede. ‘If I can’t get two players to eight handicap and two to seven I’ll be very upset.’ Horswell is planning to turn his squad into a full-throttle professional sporting side. e current key players will be retained. But he envisages a permanent squad of seven or eight top-level players, plus a group of youngsters with fi ve to seven goal handicaps

coming through. ere is also a repeat of last year’s successful British Polo Championship (four fully professional teams with sponsors rather than patrons) and the Argentine Cup (an invitation day against a group of Argentine players with the same handicap as the England team) at Beaufort.

‘For the fi rst time we have got some money with Audi coming in to support a three-year deal,’ said Horswell. ‘Key players will be put on retainers and I intend to start a totally innovative polo programme the like of which has never been done in this country before. We are going to organise training days and get-togethers to try and expand our knowledge in every area f rom diet to exercise. We are going to lecture the team and invest money in them.’

A resurgent national team is in everyone’s interest, not least as it is likely to make a huge diff erence to grass-roots polo. ‘Any national team that is successful helps sport in general,’ said David Woodd, chief executive of the HPA, who is delighted with the prospect of a fl owering England team. ‘You only have to see what has happened in rugby after our World Cup victory or see the infl uence of Tim Henman in tennis to realise the eff ect the very top players have on a game, f rom technique to press coverage.’

Meanwhile, the new team manager is Andrew Tucker. He was brought in last year with the specifi c aim of promoting the England team and organising its logistics – away matches, appearance fees and the team shirt (now sponsored by Crew clothing). But most importantly he has helped manage the new sponsor, Audi.

‘In the past, the international team has been an add-on to tournament polo,’ said Andrew, who is also an agent for the Tomlinson boys. ‘No-one’s really had the time or money to sort it out. But now we are investing in it, which is unique for the national side. We want to see the England team making the back pages of the national

HORSE AND HOUND

Race on: Mark Tomlinson, left, and Chile’s Alejandro Vial at the gallop

Above left: Sugar Erskine, Malcolm Borwick and Mark Tomlinson at Kurland, December 2004

Henry Brett (captain) Age: 30 Handicap: 7 Club: Royal County of Berkshire First Love (after polo): Steak, Labradors and beautiful women in equal measure Best Feature: Very cute,

great eyelashes Status: single with serious girlfriend Luke Tomlinson

Age: 28 Handicap: 7 Club: Beaufort First Love (after polo): Hunting (was a protester in the House of Parliament) and everything to do with the countryside Best Feature: Elegant, charming with wonderful manners Status: Single Mark Tomlinson

Age: 22 Handicap: 6 Club: Beaufort First Love (after polo): Getting a higher handicap than his brother Best Feature: His mind (he is currently reading Spanish literature at University of West of England) Status: Single

press. And furthermore we are looking to use the England boys to take polo into other areas such as advertising and promotions.’ It would, however, be naive to imagine that success is just a chukka away. e polo calendar is jam-packed and patrons who have paid to sponsor international players may still be reluctant to see their skilled employees missing games in order to play for England.

‘Unfortunately, in polo the fi rst call is to the patron and the second call is to England,’ said Alan Kent. ‘And I worry about the time available for training sessions – there has always been a problem getting all the players and their horses together at the height of the season. I’d love to see the team have enough money to spend the winter training in Argentina but that will only come when the sponsorship is big enough. But there is a lot more eff ort going into the England team. It is young and the prospects are exciting.’

Of course, you have to be realistic. Even with the best squad in years, the best coach and proper sponsorship, the England polo team is unlikely to knock Becks (or Posh) f rom the f ront page or if it comes to that Wayne Rooney f rom the back. On the other hand, if, like me, you head off in a Panama hat and blazer to watch an international at Cirencester, at least one’s mates will no longer say ‘you’re having a laugh’. ■

James Beim

Age: 23 Handicap: 6 Club: Cirencester First Love (after polo): Golf, rugby (his brother is a professional player) and pig farming Best Feature: Curious but wicked sense of

humour Status: Single with girlfriend in Australia Malcolm Borwick Age: 28 Handicap: 6 Club: Guards First Love (after polo): Cricket (he opened the batting at Radley with his chum, the now-England opener Andrew Strauss) Best Feature: Heir to estate in Perthshire Status: Single with serious girlfriend