hurlingham [ ponylines]
Chief executive
10
Since the last issue polo activity has not surprisingly been mainly overseas. Our England 14-goal FIP team was successful in Italy and qualified for the World Championships in San Luis, Argentina in October. In the semi-finals against Brazil they were very unlucky to be pipped in the final seconds but it was one of the best and most exciting games of the tournament. We are very grateful to Richard BrittenLong who helped significantly to fund the venture and to the players who committed themselves for the best part of six weeks as well as their horses for the Italy games. We were also very fortunate to have Alan Kent coaching the team in Italy and Antony Fanshawe in Argentina. It was perhaps disappointing that the final games were not watched by more top-level polo players but San Luis is far from Buenos Aires and air travel was hindered because of the Puyehue ash cloud. In December, English players congregated at Palermo to watch a somewhat predictable final of the Open. Congratulations to Luke Tomlinson who replaced an injured Tommy Garcia del Rio for the Hurlingham and Open, to James Beim who played in the finals of the Cámara and to Mark Tomlinson who reached the semi-finals of the Cámara. Malcolm Borwick, Tom Morley, the Hanbury brothers, Ollie Cudmore, Jack Richardson, Max Charlton and Richard Le Poer all flew the English flag in various tournaments in Argentina, some with considerable success. Once again, the office has been busy with travel arrangements. In February, an England three-man 16-goal team will compete with 11 other international teams for the Snow Polo World Championships at the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club in China. The arena skills of the players selected should stand our team in good stead. The HPA has been invited to field a 20-goal England team to play two matches in Chile at the end of March. It is hoped that this same team of Mark Tomlinson, Malcolm Borwick, Charlie Hanbury and Ollie Cudmore will then take part in a 22-goal tournament at Palermo in April. During the winter arena polo has continued. After the Arena Gold Cup in February, there will be two international events in March. The first on 3 March at AEPC Hickstead for the Bryan Morrison Trophy, England (capt. Chris Hyde) vs USA (capt. Tommy Biddle). On 21 March there will be an evening of polo at the O2 Arena featuring two international matches: Scotland vs Ireland, and England vs Argentina. Looking forward to the summer we are delighted that Marc Ganzi will be fielding an American team for the St Regis International Cup (19 May, Cowdray) and it is planned that we will play a 26-goal Commonwealth team at the Beaufort test match in preparation for the Coronation Cup. In the office, Olly Hughes has arrived to help with the ever-expanding workload, and we are delighted that Sophie McPherson has given birth to another boy. We are also thrilled at Amanda Eaton’s engagement to eventer, Nick Gauntlett, not least because this maintains the record that all the women who have worked for the HPA have got engaged whilst working here at Little Coxwell!
lawyers Polo In November 2011, Lawyers Polo went to Dubai to play the Emirates NBD Polo Cup. Four teams contested in the tournament – now in its fourth year – which took place in the polo fields of Desert Palm, Ali Albwardy’s polo club. The final match, between Emirates NBD and One&Only, was a fast and open game in which Emirates NBD dominated from the outset and secured a 6-3 victory over One&Only. Emirates NBD was captained by Eduardo Bérèterbide Sr and led by Ali Albwardy. The team was also ably supported by Eduardo Bérèterbide Jr and by Prince Carl-Eugen Oettingen-Wallerstein. ‘We want to thank Desert Palm for assisting us in the organisation of this tournament and for providing us with such an outstanding string of horses,’ emphasised Eduardo Bérèterbide Jr, founder of Lawyers Polo. ‘We are very excited to see how Lawyers Polo is growing over the years,’ said Carolina Bérèterbide, organiser of the tournament in Dubai. The Most Valuable Player was Xavier Doumen, a Parisian lawyer and member of the Chantilly Polo Club. The distinction for the Most Gentlemanly Player was awarded to Carlos Rivas from Venezuela who practises law in California. The prize for the Best Playing Pony of the tournament went to Overall, a horse formerly played by Adolfo Cambiaso and played by Justin Fogarty.
Hong Kong Polo DeveloPment On 29 November 2011 a ceremony was held in Hong Kong to herald the founding of the Hong Kong Polo Development and Promotion Federation (HKPDPF). In attendance were Harvey Lee, Vice Chairman of the HKPDPF, along with Asad Jumabhoy, Executive Committee, Federation of International Polo (FIP), Roderick Vere Nicoll, FIP Ambassador and Marketing Committee, and Tony Yue, MH JP, Vice-President of HK Sports Federation and Olympic Committee. The HKPDPF is the only member association in China recognised by FIP currently. It aims to facilitate, promote and regulate the playing of polo in Hong Kong and its near region, and is supported by Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club, which will provide polo facilities. Harvey Lee commented, ‘Equestrian activities in this city have a long history, and today, we are thrilled to declare that Hong Kong has become part of the world’s polo family.’ Tony Yue added, ‘It’s a great joy to see the establishment of the HKPDPF, which will surely help raise the awareness of horse-related sports in the region and propel Hong Kong’s sports scene and recognition to a new level.’
www.hurlinghampolo.com
