Ponylines

ONE TO REMEMBER

Well known to all who have played at Cowdray Park Polo Club over the past 20 years, Dr Matt Bradstock-Smith died on 7 January, at the age of 50, after a brave four-year battle against cancer.

Matt was born in 1965 in Singapore, where his father was serving in the RAF. The family later made West Sussex their home and he won a scholarship to Christ’s Hospital School, where both his academic and musical talents blossomed. In 1988, he qualified from St George’s Hospital Medical School in London, where he met a clever fellow student with a well-developed sense of humour: Harry Hill. Harry and Matt wrote comedy shows that they took to the Edinburgh Fringe, and Matt appeared as Harry’s son in several TV series. In 1998, while working as a GP and pursuing his passion for polo, he met Jane Fisher, staff supervisor at Cowdray. They married in 2000 and he became a devoted stepfather to her children, Kate, Lucy, John and Henry, then starting out on their polo careers. He will be greatly missed. Liz Higgins

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

For the HPA, the British winter is about English players and teams overseas, and arena polo here at home. In Argentina, there was excitement when it looked as if the final of the Camara might include four Englishmen, one with El Remanso and three with La Quinta. La Quinta lost in extra time in the semi-finals, but El Remanso won their game and then the final. Unfortunately, Charlie Hanbury broke his heel early on, but congratulations are due to Matt Perry, his replacement – the first Englishman, I’m told, to have won the Camara.

Had La Quinta made it through, there would have been only two Argentinians playing, one on each team. It was good to see Max Charlton making it to the quarter-finals – his team was narrowly beaten by La Quinta. Though Argentina has become much more expensive, it is great that so many English players played there with such success, and it is hoped England will field a team for April’s Copa de las Naciones.

An invitational team comprising Charlton, Max Kirchhoff, David Ashby and George Meyrick also played in South Africa and, in a superb game over six chukkas, lost by just one goal. They were well mounted and beautifully looked after.

At the end of January, we sent a team to Tianjin. We reached the final against Hong Kong, losing by just one goal. Five out of the six players in the final were English (I suppose Hong Kong was ours once!) Meanwhile, in the arena, we are looking forward to playing the USA in March, and it is hoped we will see the only two 10-goal arena players, Tommy Biddle and Chris Hyde, battling it out at Hickstead. The last USA team that played here, in 2014, included the charming and talented Will Tankard, and I would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest sympathies to his family. Finally, it was excellent to see Julian Appleby and Peter Wright umpiring again in Argentina, Julian having been selected to preside over the final of the Open. { LAWYERS POLO IN SOTOGRANDE This September, the Lawyers Polo Association will be hosting its seventh tournament. The event will be held at Santa Maria Polo Club, in Sotogrande, Spain – one of the most prestigious in Europe. After a black-tie reception on the 20th, there will be play-off games on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd, with the final on the 24th. An awards ceremony, at which 500 guests are expected, will draw the event to a close.

Six teams of polo -playing lawyers will be taking part in this year’s tournament, including participants from Argentina, Austria, Canada, Colombia, France, India, Macao, Malaysia, Portugal, Switzerland, Chile, Venezuela, the UK and the US.

‘We chose Santa Maria because it is one of the best clubs in the world and attracts the best national and international players,’ said Lawyers Polo Association founder, Eduardo Bérèterbide. ‘Polo has been played in Sotogrande since 1965, and the high-goal tournament series goes back to 1971. Santa Maria is the ideal venue for hosting a first-class event such as this.’ lawyerspolo.com

{ POLO IN THE VALLEY IN PERTH On 3 April, guests from around the world will gather at Duncraig Stud in Perth’s Swan Valley for the seventh year of Polo in the Valley. Some of the best players from Australia and beyond are set to compete, and, thanks to the close proximity of the crowd to the on-field action, an electric atmosphere is guaranteed. In the VIP marquee, meanwhile, Melbourne-based celebrity chef Guy Grossi will be serving a menu that draws on local produce and showcases his signature Italian-inspired style.

As always, competition won’t be limited to the field, with spectators invited to participate in the popular Fashion on the Field, the Dash for Ladies and Gents, and the traditional divot stomp. Polo in the Valley is proud to support Youth Focus, a charity dedicated to working with young people showing signs of depression, self-harm and suicide, with nearly half a million dollars raised collectively in previous years. Tickets may be purchased from Polo in the Valley’s website. polointhevalley.com.au

{ ELLERSTON PONY SALE MAKES HISTORY If there were any concerns over the health of Australian polo before the Ellerston Polo Pony Reduction Sale took place last October, they would have been quickly dispelled by the conclusion of business. Held at the Packer family property in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, the event was a resounding success: all 137 lots on offer – Ellerston’s best bloodlines – were sold, grossing AUS$1.78m (around £874,000).

Topping the sales, at AUS$82,000, was lot 110, Baby (Siesta x Babe). With her superior genetics, depth of breeding and performance, the nine-year-old mare, in the prime of her playing career, was keenly sought after. She was secured by Max Charlton and will be brought to the UK to play high-goal tournaments.

Lot 21, Grenache (Solar x Pinky), bought by Belltrees, near Scone, topped the stallion sales at AUS$28,000. The chestnut entire is from the fabled Pinky, considered to be one of the most influential broodmares in the game. Playing ponies were also highly sought after, with 50 lots making a total of AUS$853,000.

{ EQUINE INSTALLATION WOWS NEW YORK In 1969, Greek artist Jannis Kounellis staged a groundbreaking exhibition called Untitled (12 Horses), comprising a dozen horses in a garage in Rome. It has since been recreated five times. Last June, he supervised the sixth restaging, in collaboration with Gavin Brown’s Enterprise in New York – the first time it has been seen in the US.

For the recent installation, 12 retired polo ponies, which had formerly played on the Northeast USA circuit, were transported every morning to the gallery. They spent their day feeding on hay, with two grooms in attendance, before being returned to nearby stables. The space had been laid with rubber to protect their feet, and the monochrome palette of black floor and stark white walls acted as a striking backdrop.

Kounellis’s piece pays homage to Arte Povera – a movement that originated in Italy in the 1960s and combines aspects of minimalism with the use of common objects or nature in order to subvert the commercialisation of art. Cole Crossman

HOOKED ON POLO

Estuardo Masias is the president of Lima Polo Club, the only club in Peru, which has 50 playing members. He hopes to raise his 2-goal handicap to 3-goals in 2016.

Now 48, I have played polo since I was 16. I began to take the sport seriously when I was 25, so I guess I’m a late starter. Until I was 45, I played no 2 on the La Calera team with my father, Tayo (no 1), and my brothers Vasco (no 3) and Iago (no 4). During those 20 years, we shared defeats, as well as victories in the hundreds. We also played at home with friends, for hours and hours, often losing track of time.

I often ask myself what is it that makes polo so special for me. One answer is the chance it offers to improve – whether I win or lose, I’m spurred on to understand the game more and more. I feel real elation when I score a tricky goal or pull off an extreme manoeuvre or a skilled hit, but no one element tops the overall perception of the situation – it’s like understanding in slow motion, without thinking where you are at every second and what move to make next. A consciousness of the game envelops all other skills: to hit the ball and handle my temper better, connect more with my pony, improve my team-play…

I’ve had many memorable games – in particular, the many Peruvian Polo Open Championships I competed in and won with La Calera. However, the match that really sticks in my mind was the one played with my family against a home team in Jamaica. I don’t even remember if we lost or won, but the harmony we felt as a team on that trip was incredible.

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CHUKKAS

Tae Ormerod has been elected as the first woman steward of the Hurlingham Polo Association. Her interest is in improving the relationship between the HPA and the clubs, and encouraging it to focus on the grass-roots game. Together with her husband, Giles, she has built up Druids Lodge Polo, near Stonehenge, where they run a summer and arena club (in which she plays herself), a livery and pony-hire business, a polo school, and a breeding and training programme. She has been involved in polo all her life, her father played for the Royal Navy and her sons are professionals.

Thirty years after polo was last played in Hong Kong, the game of kings returns, from 19 to 21 February, as part of the Longines Masters series. Eight horses from Chantilly will be flown out to take part in an arena demonstration tournament: the Shanghai Tang Polo Cup. Two teams of two will play four four-minute chukkas with simplified rules. France’s Brieuc Rigaux (6) will play with Australian Dirk Gould (6) and England’s Malcolm Borwick (6) with Argentine Nico Curto (5), and local players will be able to participate in a penalty shoot-out to qualify to play alongside the professionals.

Chocolate, owned by Valiente Polo, was named Best-playing American-bred Polo Pony in the 2015 Argentine Open. Both his sire and dam were thoroughbreds – Joel Baker owned Morningstar and Ken Berry owned Empress. Adolfo Cambiaso says: ‘Chocolate is one of the best horses I’ve ever played. He has power, a good temperament and a really sensitive mouth.’ Chocolate won Best-Playing Pony at the 2015 Tortugas Open and was heralded as the Best-Playing Pony in the 2013 Argentine Open, after being awarded the Susan Townley Cup.

The AAP has raised Guillermo Caset and Hilario Ulloa from 9 to 10 goals, to join Adolfo Cambiaso, Pablo MacDonough, Juan Martín Nero, Gonzalo and Facundo Pieres, David Stirling and Pablo Pieres. Agustín Merlos and Alfredo Cappella Barabucci went from 8 to 9, Ezequiel Martínez Ferrario from 7 to 8, Matt Perry and Jack Richardson from 4 to 5, Miguel Novillo Astrada from 10 to 9, Eduardo Heguy and Fred Mannix from 9 to 8, and Alejandro Agote and Alberto and Bautista Heguy from 8 to 7. In total, in the Argentine handicaps, there were 197 changes: 119 went up and 78 down. y POLO CLUB DE CHANTILLY The number of polo players in France has increased considerably, thanks to the Polo Club de Chantilly, which, over the decades, has welcomed one World and two European Championships, as well as one of the biggest European tournaments: the French Open.

This year, the club, situated at Apremont Farm in Picardy, marks its 22nd anniversary. The celebrations, on 22 May, will comprise a high-level encounter between France and Argentina as well as a tournament, between the 20th and 22nd, that will bring together members and friends of the club.

The French national team currently has 21 handicap points and ranks second in Europe. Its captain, Brieuc Rigaux (6), will compete against Argentina with the support of three of the leading 5-goalers: Patrick

y BOOK LAUNCH: 9 GOALS BY RUSSELL COREY On p40–45 of this issue, we feature extracts from 9 Goals, Russell Corey’s tribute to his father, the legendary Alan L Corey Jr. ‘When I embarked on it, my aim was to assemble a history of the Corey and Grace families, intertwined with their experiences as participants in polo,’ Russell explains. ‘However, it soon took on a life of its own. As I pored over my father’s archives, supplemented with documents graciously shared by the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, it evolved into a history of the sport, told through the experiences of one of its noted players. With the sudden passing last April of my brother, Alan III – who died, appropriately, while changing ponies between chukkas at the Aiken Polo Club – I decided to share it with other enthusiasts, so that funds from its sale may be divided equally between the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, and Yale Polo Club, of which both my father and my brother were members in their youth.’ To order your copy of 9 Goals, for a tax-deductible donation of $100 (around £70), visit yalepolo.wix.com/yalepoloteam.

Paillol, Clément Delfosse and Pierre-Henri Ngoumou. It will be an encounter at the highest level ever played by a French national team, and will be preceded by a celebratory equine parade featuring racing, hunting and horse-carriage driving. poloclubchantilly.com

x THE 2016 HALL OF FAME On 12 February, the Museum of Polo honoured its 2016 Hall of Fame inductees. Alongside ponies Toy Moon and Califa, the following individuals were fêted: Hector Galindo, William ‘Billy’ Post, Richard ‘Remo’ Riemenschneider (left) and Russ Sheldon.

Galindo was a 9-goal player at his peak and lifted the winning trophies of numerous major US tournaments: the CV Whitney, the 30-goal World Cup and the Silver Cup (four times) among them. Post, a posthumous inductee and 8-goal star, made his mark in the 1930s as a formidable horseman. Iglehart Award winner Riemenschneider was honoured for his dedication since 1949 – a driving force within the FIP, he also served as chairman of the USPA. Poway Club founder Sheldon was honored posthumously with the Iglehart Award for his passionate promotion of arena and grass-roots polo and support of youth schemes. Brenda Lynn

y THE QUEEN’S 90TH BIRTHDAY The Queen’s 90th birthday this spring will be a celebration of her life, her dedication to international affairs, her involvement with the British navy, army and air force, and her love of equestrian pursuits. In her honour, events will take place from 12 to 15 May in a purpose-built arena in the private grounds of Windsor Castle.

Visitors are set to enjoy an outstanding programme of music, dance and equine displays, created by the same team that organised the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant. Technology will play a key role, with video projections, LED effects and theatrical lighting. A member of the royal family will be present each day, with Her Majesty attending on the final evening. The military will be well represented and will include 900 horses, 100 pipers and 1,500 participants from around the world. Though the event has sold out, 5,000 free tickets to view the last-night action on large screens erected on the lawns of the Long Walk at Windsor Castle are still available via a ballot – visit hmq90.co.uk.

Coinciding with the birthday celebrations, the Royal Windsor Horse Show takes place for the 73rd time in 2016. The UK’s largest outdoor equestrian event, it features global competitors in three different disciplines, as well as displays and entertainment. The Queen has always been a keen supporter, winning the pony-and-dogcart class herself at the first-ever Horse Show, in 1943, when she was just 17. Tickets can be purchased at rwhs.co.uk. Cole Crossman

LOVE OF MY LIFE

PONY’S NAME: OLI CHICHA SEX: MARE ORIGIN: ARGENTINA

Two ponies scooped prestigious awards following the final of the Argentine Open in December. One of these was the historic Lady Susan Townley Cup, presented to the Best Playing Pony of the final, and the other went to the Best-Bred Argentine Pony. Juan Martín Nero was thrilled to see not one but two loves of his life honoured – one of his mares, Falta Nut, won the first, and another, Oli Chicha, the second.

Nero was full of praise for the remarkable Oli Chicha: ‘She’s a chestnut born in 2003 by Fax Banquero and Yazmín, having been bred by El Caburé. Her best features are her speed and reaction – she turns well to both sides and always works very hard. She’s been nominated many times since 2010 and was named the Best-Bred Argentine Pony of the 2013 UK season.’ Héctor Martelli

{ DUBAI POLO GOLD CUP The Dubai Polo Gold Cup series is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai. The 18-goal event – the most prestigious international tournament across the Middle East, Asia and Africa – is a meeting point for royalty, celebrities and equestrian fans, with top international teams competing.

The 2016 series opened on 22 January with the McLaren Cup, and continues with the Julius Baer Gold Cup, 19 February to 11 March. The Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, the tournament’s venue, offers an array of areas in which to relax and dine, from the VIP tent and Gold Lounge to picnics with friends on the lawn, and an afternoon of thrilling polo and top-class entertainment, including fashion shows and acrobatic performances, is in prospect. dubaipologoldcup.com Leny Delos Reyes