24 minute read
Talk
post impressions
George Pocheptsov’s recent membership of the Harvard Polo Team has led his artistic talents in a new direction, as he explains
A mother and son shiver in a frosty Philadelphia drizzle. Behind them, a small pile of worn, tattered suitcases are drenched by the icy rain that fell ceaselessly on that December night. My mother and I had been evicted from our one-bedroom apartment and sent into an unforgiving shadow of poverty, grief and despair. I don’t remember the bitter night clearly, for I was an infant, but my mother’s memory and my imagination coalesce in this image of the downcast Madonna and child.
With a pile of overdue bills to pay, and little understanding of the American job market, the last thing on my firstgeneration Ukrainian mother’s mind was her infant son’s entertainment. She would hand me an ancient pack of crayons and a few sheets of loose-leaf paper, and expect my imagination to fly. If I wanted to escape, or to express myself, it would have to be through those dreaded pieces of coloured wax. And so I drew. And I flew.
As luck would have it, in a few months’ time, I had amassed a substantial collection of art. My mother brought examples of my drawings and paintings to a gallery owner in Bethesda, Maryland out of simple curiosity. The owner savoured the figures he saw drawn on the small pieces of paper, coloured lightly with a delicate balance of crayons and markers. He said he would display it, and my work quickly found buyers. Then we ran into another problem: people wanted to meet the artist behind the canvas.
When these people did meet the artist, their jaws dropped to the floor, down where I stood at three-foot-eight. I began to be known as the ‘pint-sized Picasso’ and was summoned to television shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and Today. Colin Powell, Hillary Clinton, Michael Jordan and Celine Dion, celebrities who I assumed lived in our television box, commissioned me to do artwork. I never relished the publicity, and no matter who commissioned a painting, I only saw my objective as filling the blank canvas in front of me. Soon my mother’s and my poverty came to an end. In third grade, I established a foundation that would donate my works of art to charitable galas for auction, and to this day, I have helped raise over eight million dollars for charitable causes ranging from the Georgetown University Hospital to the establishment of a scholarship fund for my local high school. I do what I love, and I believe other people should have the opportunity to do what they love.
Hope is a tumultuous struggle. I have survived on hope my entire life, but I felt its succour most during the bitter years after my father’s death. That final December cold snap, and the long, riotous spring that followed, gave me a reverence for the human capacity to dream, to follow the light of hope, and finally to become a beacon to others.
In the fall of last year, I earned the opportunity to attend Harvard University, a lifelong dream. I met fascinating people, and made one of my best decisions to date – joining the Harvard Polo Team. I kept fond memories of a childhood of horseriding on a chestnut affectionately named Bebo, and as soon as I paid my first visit to the arena, my passion for horses came alive again.
This past summer, the team was invited to Tommy Lee Jones’s ranch in San Saba,
Left ‘Harvard Polo’: auctioned to benefit the Harvard Polo Team Above A young Pocheptsov with Colin Powell, 1998
POCHEPTSOV AND POLO
Pocheptsov undertook his first two polo paintings last autumn: one of the Harvard Polo Club, the second of the Myopia Hunt Club, a grand dame of American polo where the Harvard team practises and plays. Each club lays claim as the oldest active of its kind: Harvard Polo was the first American collegiate club organised in 1883 and Myopia, one of the five original members of the US Polo Association, still plays its Sunday games on Gibney Field, the oldest active field in the US. Pocheptsov is undertaking similarly whimsical polo paintings for Circencester Club in England and Hurlingham in Argentina to comprise a limited-edition set of the polo elders, with 12”x 18” giclée prints sold and the roughly 3’ x 6’ originals auctioned for the recently re-established Harvard Polo Club’s campaign to build a home stable at Myopia. For more information, contact Crocker Snow Jr, Harvard Polo coach at crockersnowjr@earthlink.net.
Texas, for an unforgettable polo experience. Watching eight magnificent thoroughbred horses dash across a cinnabar field in the heat of summer was an inspiration. I felt an artistic goal to connect the desire, barely controlled chaos and luminescent colour of a polo match with the surface of a canvas.
The San Saba experience triggered a pivotal step in my art career. Up to that time, my artworks fuelled themselves with my own fantasies. They depicted an imaginary world of mermaids, dragons, butterflies, and other creatures that were illustrated with a touch of surrealism. Yet, the relationship that I developed with the equine members of the team gave me a new artistic direction.
It began with a simple splash of magenta on white, and ended with an artwork that captured the crimson spirit, aptly titled ‘Harvard Polo’. The vibrant green hues of the field gave feeling of a fresh beginning. The fiery horses and articulated angles of the players imitated a chaotic clash to assume control of the ball. The portrayal of the final steps of heated determinacy lit up the human desire to triumph.
That same passion is felt by every player on the field. Each player lights up the other in a chain reaction, and they, together with their horses, become a driving force. These unified forces are reflected in my second artistic rendering of the sport, ‘Myopia’, which pays tribute to the oldest polo field in the United States.
Polo may become a central theme in my art. The movement and sacred bond between the player and horse are the ingredients to creating an artwork that vividly captures the emotional landscape of a match. The more time I spend in the arena, the more my vision as an artist slowly peels away the first-glance visuals of the sport and embraces the inner spirit of the game.
barefoot doctor
Provided they are allowed to walk outdoors, keeping horses shoeless offers a number of health benefits, suggests Bill Clark
In a 2010 issue of the USPA’s Polo Players Edition magazine, I saw a picture of 10-goal player Tommy Hitchcock on horseback in 1932. His pony’s left fore is raised – and it has no shoe. In fact, according to Grove Cullum’s 1934 book on polo ponies, Hitchcock played all his ponies and raced all his thoroughbreds barefoot. I’ve also seen a Western Horseman article that stated the cowboys on Charlie Goodnight’s original JA Ranch in the Texas Palo Duro Canyon often put 40 miles on a barefoot horse. That part of the world is dry and very rocky. Tim O’Byrne, editor of Working Ranch magazine, allowed that cowboys on the Texas Panhandle ranch called Quien Sabe also worked their horses barefoot. The USPA Eastern Circuit Governor has 28 barefoot playing ponies and the same circuit’s Lieutenant Governor has 30 barefoot playing ponies. Bare hooves are healthy hooves. If properly trimmed, I find them safer than shod hooves. The key is to have your horses out 24/7 with run-in shed protection from bad weather and not locked up in a box all day like hot house plants. Barefoot ponies need to be out and about walking to pump blood through the foot, otherwise the injury quotient rises. I looked at eight barefoot school horses ridden on stone dust and rocky trails and was impressed by their soundness and the great shape of their feet. Watching the farrier who trims these eight horses every six weeks impressed me further. One horse had two quarter cracks and one toe crack six weeks before; there was now space between the coronary band and the conservatively cleaned remnants of the cracks.
The gold standard for this school of thought is Colorado’s Gene Ovnicek with his website hopeforsoundness.com. Ovnicek and the Wild Horse Trim keep it simple. Both he and a veterinarian studied a group of 65 wild horses for two consecutive summers, analysing how their hooves are preserved naturally. In contrast to ‘farrier trims’, the Barefoot Trim aims to imitate exactly this. Benefits include improved blood flow, greater shock absorption and improved traction – so the hoof can adapt to all terrains. Other types of barefoot trim exist, including the 4-Point Trim and Strasser Trim, but in my opinion they exceed the usual attention span of most horse-owners.
My own farrier has overcome his initial scepticism and now concedes that my horses have the healthiest hooves – and I am his most profitable client. He arrives at 9am with two colleagues and leaves under two hours later with a cheque for trimming eight ponies. We follow Ovnicek’s Wild Horse Trim technique: 1. Trim toes but not heels. 2. Ignore soles but allow them to exfoliate by themselves and check ‘white line’ with hoof pick. 3. Conservatively and carefully trim frogs (as little as possible). 4. Gently rasp walls, bars and frogs as level as possible.
We have just put down 61 tons of ‘dead sand’ on a half-mile conditioning track. It is a quarry by-product and quite inexpensive. Three or four inches provides a wonderful ‘velvet’ cushion over the original mixture of stone dust and concrete sand which wears both steel shoes and bare hooves and is twice the cost. In a dry spell we leave a wee bit more space for sets of three. Dead sand does not run as much as concrete and expensive mason sand. But with shoes at $140 every month the replacement dead sand is a bargain for sound ponies.
Right now my barefoot ponies are thriving on the procedure. They slowgalloped three miles yesterday and will soon be at five miles. I think the ‘cup’ of a bare hoof grabs the grass just as well as a steel shoe. At least I will not have to leave a pony home on a Sunday with a pulled shoe.
Although sceptical at first, my farrier concedes my horses have the healthiest hooves
Gene Ovnicek: farrier, clinician and pioneer in the study of bare hoof care
fair play
Equestrian icon Gonzalo Pieres Sr sees play-offs as key to fairness, writes Alejandra Ocampos
Gonzalo Pieres Sr is a polo legend. The winner of six Argentine Open Championships, and one Triple Crown, he played with the 40-goal line-up La Espadaña in the Eighties, and later, he founded his own club, Ellerstina, with the late Kerry Packer. Gonzalo is renowned worldwide not only for his career as a player but also as a horse-breeder. Currently, the name Pieres is still riding on the polo fields, through his three sons: Gonzalo Jr, Facundo and Nicolas.
Every November, Ellerstina hosts the Gold Cup in Argentina, a 20-goal tournament for patrons and professionals, one of the most important of its kind. The news of the 2011 edition was the implementation of play-offs, as Gonzalo Pieres Sr explains, a solution to when teams are tied at the end of the league stage of a tournament.
Pieres explains about the procedure: ‘The play-offs were implemented in the Gold Cup at Ellerstina whenever we had two teams that held even results. Teams met in a play-off match to decide the finalist. The idea was that if two teams were tied, the result was not going to be determined by goal difference. The 2011 Gold Cup consisted of 10 line-ups divided into two five-team zones. Therefore, if all five teams were tied, a play-off game would have taken place. If all games were won, there shouldn’t be any discussion; if one game is lost and there are two or three tied teams, or even four, we will have a play-off match.’
Adds Pieres: ‘These games consisted of two or three chukkas, no more than that. And I believe it is the fairest solution. It would be great if this proceedure were implemented for all tournaments in order to dispel any doubt as to the final scores and team positioning.’
Many in the polo world argue that problems arise when players haven’t finished playing all the games in their league, yet know that whatever the results of those games, they will still go through to the final round. For this reason they are not motivated to ride their strongest horses or to play to their full potential in their final league matches, which could alter the overall score results. Sometimes this is to the detriment of other teams in the league, which isn’t the most sporting outcome.
According to Pieres, this problem is common in some of the world’s most important tournaments, particularly in the US and the UK. He states: ‘I proposed to use a similar system to the play-offs ahead of the UK Gold Cup, but it was a little too late and they didn’t dare make changes to such a well-established tournament. Hopefully they will consider the system next year.’
To make polo fair and to avoid questions overshadowing results, Pieres argues that play-offs should be implemented in all the tournaments; teams have to win every match if they want to avoid a play-off. ‘In fact, I believe that, in the future, 90 per cent of the tournaments will be played using a similar system or through elimination,’ he adds.
As a conclusion on this matter, the system proposed by Pieres is not only fair for polo, but also for spectators who pay to watch a good polo match with teams playing their hardest to win.
Gonzalo Pieres Sr
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Malaysian majesty
The FIP World Cup Zone D qualifying tournament was avidly watched, reports Peter Abisheganaden
The Royal Malaysian Polo Association (RMPA) organised the largest-ever FIP World Cup qualifying tournament in June 2011 when seven countries from Zone D participated in what was dubbed the Asian-Australasian-African championships. Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Nigeria joined hosts Malaysia for a 12-day celebration of polo.
The event was played in two historic clubs in Malaysia, starting at the Royal Pahang Polo Club, in the royal town of Pekan, Pahang. The final was played at the 109-year-old Royal Selangor Polo Club, in the shadows of the twin towers in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The club was magnificently turned out for the final.
In total, 216 horses were used in the tournament. Royal Pahang built new stable blocks to accommodate all the World Cup horses. The entire town turned out to watch Malaysia’s games.
When the RMPA asked for horse support from the patrons of the 14-goal RMPA International League, pledges for 120 horses were received. Estimating that 210 horses would be required to mount the teams, the lending patrons were then asked if they would buy the other 90 horses needed. They were given the incentives of a soft loan of up to US$20,000 per horse, repayable over four instalments, and free freight for the newly bought horses, which amounted to US$9,000 each. Every horse purchased under this scheme had to be approved by a panel of selectors.
The Horse Loan and Purchase Scheme was a resounding success. The association did not own or upkeep the horses used, while the patrons were given good incentives to buy horses. As a country, Malaysia ‘horsed up’ for the World Cup.
HRH Sultan Ahmad Shah, the Sultan of Pahang, opened the championships by receiving an impressive new championship trophy, The Malaysia Cup, a trophy that will be played for in future years as an international test series.
South Africa was an easy 13-5 winner over World Cup debutants Nigeria in the opening match. The Nigerians, who were returning to international polo after a 20-year absence, fell 15�-7 to a useful Pakistan team in their second match to go out after the zone stage.
Malaysia was also making their return to international polo. While their 9-8 defeat of New Zealand made for a euphoric start, they fell to the eventual champions, India, in their next match.
The Indians had edged Australia by half a goal in their first match. They qualified for the semi-finals by thoroughly outplaying Malaysia 12–5 in their second match.
With the help of excellent government suppor t and good sponsors the tournament was able to turn a remarkable profit
Australia came back from a �-goal first match loss to India to beat New Zealand 7–5 in a thrilling match.
Pakistan reaffirmed the superiority of the Indian subcontinent’s polo when they beat South Africa 12�-10 to join India with unbeaten records in qualifying for the semifinals. South Africa, Australia and Malaysia finished the group stages with a win and a loss but it was South Africa and Australia that advanced to the semi-finals with better goal differences than Malaysia.
Malaysia, New Zealand and Nigeria were consigned to the play-offs for the wooden spoon.
In the semi-finals India dethroned defending Zone D champions South Africa with an impressive 9-5 win. Pakistan staged a remarkable fight back in the last two chukkas to beat pre-tournament favourites Australia 8�-8 after looking decidedly beaten when trailing by as much as 3� goals before half-time.
Australia showed they could finish strongly when they came back from 8-4 down to beat South Africa 12–10 in the match for third place, which also won them the third Zone D berth in the 2011 FIP World Cup Final that was at stake in this championship.
India and Pakistan knew they had already qualified for the San Luis final when they won their semi-finals. But the rivalry between these two nations is centuries old, and they were playing for the pride of the Indian subcontinent.
Pakistan started the final with a 2-goal handicap advantage. It turned out to be an excellent final, with the Indians playing catch-up against the nimble Pakistanis, which they did by half-time. They were always in control after that, winning 12-9.
Team captain Tarun Sirohi was presented with the Malaysia Cup by HRH Sultan Ahmad Shah, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, FIP President Eduardo Huergo and RMPA President HRH Prince Abdullah Shah.
‘This win is historic for us. India has never won an international polo tournament played outside of our country. Winning here against a world-class line-up means Indian polo has a bright future,’ said India team manager Vikram Singh Rathore.
There was more joy for India when Samir Suhag was voted the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Suhag was in top form in the final, scoring seven goals to take his personal tally to 23 goals for the tournament.
The Best Playing Pony award went to Dato’ Harald Link’s Paton, an eight-year-old Argentinian mare that was played by Suhag.
In addition to medals, the champions each won a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Grand Taille timepiece. Created in 1931 with a stainless steel side that flips over to protect the watch face when polo is played, the watches were hand-engraved with the FIP Polo World Cup Tournament logo for this tournament. With excellent government support and good sponsors the tournament turned a remarkable profit. The investment in horses will stand Malaysian polo in good stead for the next few seasons. I am sure we will see more players from Zone D in our Malaysian leagues, and many new friendships were made.
The excitement of the World Cup captured the imagination of the Malaysian polo fraternity. Malaysian polo has awaked to the excitement of international polo. The organisation of the play-offs earned kudos from FIP leading Malaysia to bid to host the 2017 FIP Polo World Cup Final.
1 The victorious Indian team 2 Dato’ mohamed moiz, HH Prince Badarulzaman and HrH Sultan Ahmad Shah 3 mVP Samir Suhag and family, FIP President Eduardo Huergo and Asad Jumabhoy
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clinical approach
Polo clinics offer a superb introduction to the game of kings plus an unusual diversion, writes benoît Perrier
Polo Club de Chantilly clinics offer polo basics as well as the more quirky, Segway polo (top)
Polo Club de Chantilly is an impressive 205-hectare facility located in the Chantilly forest just north of Paris, near the picturesque farming village of Apremont. Close to Charles de Gaulle airport, but also nestled in the heart of French countryside, its location is perfect for an easy escape from the bustle and stress of city life. There are also several hotels in the surrounding area, which provide the perfect accommodation as well as rooms for polo seminars.
Throughout the week, Polo Club de Chantilly runs a unique polo clinic experience that provides people of all ages and backgrounds with a taste of polo through a series of seminars and practical lessons. Groups vary in size from ten to 150 people, and give everyone a chance to partake in the sport of kings. We suggest that groups of up to 40 have a two-hour polo introduction, whilst larger groups are encouraged to sign up for three hours, in order that everyone has the opportunity to play. The initiation is split into eight different workshops, led by trained instructors, which include the history of polo, horseriding basics and a goal challenge, as well as being able to put what you have learned into practice on the field.
The clinics also offer the more quirky and unusual option of ‘Polo on Segway’. We began this with a friend who was developing the activity in France, and it is a great way to play a unique form of polo. Seminars in the Segway clinic include strategy, competitions and learning how to play with a smaller ball. For an additional fee, we can also help to organize a Segway polo competition. Both clinics are excellent for a first experience with horses and polo, and after the initiation clients can watch games while indulging in an asado and a glass of champagne with the club’s professional players.
As well as the polo clinics being a fantastic opportunity for visitors, it has also been a good way for Polo Club de Chantilly to promote the sport and create new income – the clinics now represent 10 per cent of our business. Luckily we don’t have to worry about the overheads associated with stabling and looking after ponies as they are all on loan. The clinics rent from my father, Philippe Perrier, who has 30 polo ponies, as well as from Thibault and Laetitia Guillemin from Esprit Polo, a company that runs polo schools in Paris and Chantilly. We avoid horses from the pro players, as they are far too racy for beginners.
The polo clinics first began in 2001, when we were approached by a company whose employees were interested in discovering more about polo. The first group to take part in the clinic included 150 people from all over the world, and was a resounding success. We realised that many varied groups of people visit the Chantilly area, including guests of surrounding hotels, business seminar attendees as well as worldwide press, and so began to offer the polo introduction day as a package. It is the perfect solution to companies looking for a fun and unique team-building opportunity, as well as a break away from being indoors. Ninety-five per cent of guests who take part in our clinics have never even ridden a horse before, but after a little taste of polo people become hooked and want to learn more. Such is the addictive quality of the sport. Indeed, for a few hours through the polo clinics, people can abandon their simple pedestrian status and experience the thrills of being a competitive rider and a player. The polo initiation, including eight workshops, costs 171¤ (three hours) or 133¤ (two hours) per person (+VAT). Minimum of 10 persons required. Segway polo (including six Segways with instructor) costs 1000¤ (+ VAT) for half a day.
ninet y-five per cent of guests at our clinics have never even ridden a horse before but af ter a taste of polo people become hooked
head and safety
unlike the majority of equestrian sports, polo helmets do not have to meet mandatory standards for protective headgear, writes Herbert spencer
The Casablanca C6 is one of only two polo helmets to be passed by the US’s stringent sports equipment certification board
When, if ever, will the polo world join other horse sports in adopting mandatory standards for protective headgear? Polo still remains without any compulsory certification for helmets after the US Polo Association (USPA) dropped its planned mandatory rule due to come into force this January.
The American plan would have marked the first time any polo association had made the wearing of approved helmets mandatory. By contrast, the governing bodies of other equestrian sports, including racing, show jumping and cross-country, have long had rules requiring competitors to wear protective headgear that meets certain standards.
As originally formulated, the new USPA rule would have required any player competing in a USPA event to wear a helmet that has polo-specific certification by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). Barely three months before the rule was due to take effect, however, the USPA’s ruling Board of Governors scrapped it and opted instead for a new member’s declaration leaving the choice of helmet to the player and absolving the association and its clubs of any legal responsibility in the case of head injury.
Chuck Weaver, the new USPA chairman, explained the change of heart: ‘Although we initially targeted January 1, 2012 as the commencement date for our membership to mandatorily wear a NOCSAE certified polo helmet, the USPA ultimately decided to not impose enforcement of the policy but rather determined a better policy was personal responsibility after an education programme. This decision was made for a number of reasons including what we considered to be a lack of sufficient product availability in the marketplace as well as the need to conduct further research and analysis.’
Last year the USPA commissioned a study by Dr Lola B Chambless, a neurosurgeon specializing in head trauma. Chambless, a member of the safety committee of the US Equestrian Federation, wrote: ‘My review of the subject has led me to conclude that the best standard for polo helmets currently available is the NOCSAE Polo standard. While correct use of helmets of this type does not eliminate the chance of head injury in this inherently risky sport, this represents the best available technology for minimising the risk of severe traumatic brain injury in polo players.’
Thus far only two helmets on the market have passed the stringent NOCSAE tests, the Casablanca C6 (above) and the Falcon FFA.
Weaver declined to elaborate upon other reasons for the USPA’s change of direction, but it appears clear from the wording of the new member’s declaration that legal liability, as seen by the association’s attorneys, was an important consideration. In the UK and Ireland, the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) rules only require the wearing of protective headgear properly attached, without specifying standards. In a note, however, it recommends that players take note of British Horse Society advice, that helmets complying with one of several recognised UK, EU or international standards ‘offer the best protection’.
HPA chief executive David Woodd said he was ‘not surprised’ that the USPA had dropped its planned mandatory rule for certified helmets. ‘Among other things,’ he said, ‘is the question of who would verify helmets at polo. In racing, jockeys’ skulls are checked in the weighing room and competitors’ headgear is checked at the starting gate in other horse sports. But it would not be feasible for us to check every player’s helmet before every club chukka at every club.’
