hurlingham [ talk ]
The English team with its support group
meeting the challenge Sarah Eakin explains the demands of finding horses for the British team when they competed in the Westchester Cup 14 The challenge of finding horses for the Westchester Cup – in a matter of days – is a bit like Lance Armstrong running around France just before Le Tour, trying to find bikes for his entire racing team. And in the case of polo, as with cycling, having the requisite contacts and resources to hand doesn’t always solve the problem. The British players – Luke and Mark Tomlinson and James Beim – who flew to Florida to line up against the Americans for the Westchester Cup, brought their sticks, their boots, their whites and a small but experienced support crew. They also brought hats and T-shirts that were well received and worn with pride by the grooms tending the numerous horses that were loaned or leased that day. What they didn’t have were horses… On the ground was a man with 20 year’s experience in the international arena – Julian Hipwood – longtime captain of the England team and appointed Master of the Horse. But as he and others in the British camp would point out, there are vast differences between a foreign team finding horses to take on England for the Cartier International (played annually at Guards Polo Club) at the end of the English high goal season, where players usually have horses at hand, and the task that faced the visitors in finding horses in Wellington. ‘Speaking from experience, many of the players [during Cartier] are better mounted than us,’ said Luke. ‘If they weren’t out
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mounting us it would be very close.’ The Westchester campaign involved trying some 100 horses in the quest to find a quality string for the 28-goal game. ‘I had a lot of support,’ said Hipwood, who was chosen to help, given his extensive knowledge of the Wellington polo scene and available local horses. ‘The foreign patrons and players were very helpful. I never pushed them but asked them to lend perhaps just one – or to let the players try four – and then pick just one to play.’ What initially made the game a reality for Luke was the comfort that the fourth member of the British team, Eduardo Novillo Astrada, had the ability to call on the resources he already uses in Florida, playing for Camilo Bautista’s Las Monjitas. ‘They had sufficient horses for one-and-a-half players, so we had to find mounts for twoand-a-half players after that. It would not have been a realistic game without Eduardo on Camilo’s horses,’ he said. After 10 days of searching and playing some two practices a day, the team explored generous offers of loan horses from Audi
‘The Westchester campaign involved trying out some 100 horses in a quest to find a quality string’
patrons Melissa and Marc Ganzi, as well as possibilities from a wide variety of sources. Some individual horses were loaned based on personal friendships. ‘Pelon’ Stirling loaned horses to Mark and orchestrated his string at the field as one of several ‘volunteers’ appointed to oversee each player’s horse line-up during the game. Some were leased, including several horses that Luke played belonging to Memo Gracida and a ‘really nice horse’ that came from Max Secunda. In other cases, it was a question of pursuing friendships and asking nicely. Beim has much international playing experience, including representing Britain in New Zealand and South Africa. ‘Obviously in England it’s very good, as I am reasonably well mounted there, but in New Zealand and South Africa you’ve just got to ask friends and everyone you know. In many cases people like to see you play their horses. They like to see them go and see if they can compete…’ Also relying on the loan of saddles, Luke admitted to being particularly ‘finickity’ about finding designs he felt comfortable with. Horses were a different matter. ‘It’s not so much a problem that they’re not yours,’ said Luke. ‘It’s a problem to get the quality of horses to play 30-goal polo, because they are so few and far between and simply not available.’ This summer, the players will be back on home turf for the Cartier International. But unlike in Florida, the ‘visiting’ Argentinian team will hardly be at a disadvantage. ‘Right now, it looks as though the team will include Adolfo Cambiaso and Facundo Pieres,’ said Beim. ‘There is no doubt that they will be really well mounted. Everyone knows that we will certainly have our work cut out. But as ever, we are more than ready for the challenge!’
4/6/09 09:49:48
