Literature

one hundred years of polo

a fascinating new book edited by clare milford haven celebrates the centenary of cowdray park, home of british polo

Who was the Argentine player of the Fifties known as the ‘father’ of Midhurst? Where could polo spectators enjoy free cream teas? Where were mysterious naked footprints found on a bedroom ceiling? When were a polo team sent packing because their patron had insulted a polo manager? Which were the greatest polo ponies played at Cowdray during the 20th century?

The answer to these, and very many more questions can be found in a book celebrating a hundred years of the galloping game in Cowdray Park Polo Club: The Centenary, which is to be launched in time for this year’s Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup.

Put together by writer and polo player Clare Milford Haven, polo photographer Vanessa Taylor and former PQ editor, Roger Chatterton Newman, it is a story of as much interest to lovers of this corner of West Sussex as to the player or polo enthusiast. The book traces the progress of the club through a variety of chapters and a timeline shows historic highlights of the last century. The Cowdray family chapter charts the formative years of the club from 1910 when it was founded by the Hon Harold Pearson, and then between the wars, when the ponies went up by train from Midhurst to Barnes for what was in those days, the equivalent of the high-goal season – playing at Hurlingham, Ranelagh and Roehampton – and then back down again by train for Goodwood week at Cowdray Park.

With World War II looming and the inevitable demise of the big London clubs in 1939, the future of the post-war game in Great Britain was in doubt. However, due to the unending enthusiasm and single-mindedness of Harold’s son, John Cowdray, the revival of polo and establishment of Cowdray Park as the premier European club was secured.

Extra grounds were laid out at Ambersham – originally a landing strip and used during the war by the Fleet Air Arm. The club rapidly progressed and the public was encouraged to watch matches. So quick was the revival, that Lord Cowdray was invited to make up a team to compete in Buenos Aires in 1949, and the visit was a tremendous success. England made an auspicious debut and beat Chile 12-9 in the inaugural match of the Argentine Open.

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Polo was placed well and truly back on the sporting and social map in 1953, when the Coronation Cup was held at Cowdray in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The England team lost 6-7 to a visiting Argentine squad, the latter already showing their prowess as leaders in the Game of Kings.

In fact three years later, the Argentines were to be victorious again in the inaugural Gold Cup match of 1956. Unlike Great Britain, Argentina had managed to keep polo going during the war, so they had something of an advantage over the English. But when Antonio Heguy and his friends, Jorge ‘Cacho’ Marin Moreno, Jose Nagore and Juan Harriott arrived under the team name Los Indios, they could hardly have predicted that not only would they win, but that the Gold Cup would grow to exert such an influence on the game and that eight of Heguy’s descendants, mostly 10-goalers, would play in the tournament over the next half century.

Argentina had not been the only overseas entry. From New Zealand, at John Cowdray’s invitation, came Aotea – named after a legendary Maori war canoe – the first time that a Kiwi squad had toured Great Britain. Comprising Derrick Glazebrook, Sandy Mackenzie, Hamish Wilson and Tony Kay, they arrived with a 22-goal aggregate, considered absurdly high by Lord Cowdray, who reduced them to 16-goals. The New Zealand handicapping was understandable, however, as until this tour Kiwi players had seen no overseas competition and had not used any minus rating in their system. Every

1 Girl grooms riding out, Marie Merritt in lead 2 Gold Cup winners Stowell Park, in 1976 3 The 1990 winning Gold Cup team, Hildon, in action 3

With World War ii looming and the inevitable demise of the big london clubs in 1939, the future of the post-war game in Great britain was in doubt

player was actually rated 3-goals higher than the world standard.

In those days, visitors’ expenses would be normally covered by the sale of their ponies at the end of the tour. Luckily John Cowdray bought all 17 of them for £275 each.

Every team who has ever won the Gold Cup is pictured in the chapter with the same heading, including Tramontana and Stowell Park who each won the cup five times. Tramontana patron, Anthony Embiricos, recalls the unique experience of playing in this coveted tournament and the excitement and exhilaration on finals day. He sums it up perfectly in his introduction to the chapter and also when describing winning in 1991 with a shy 16-year-old, Adolfo Cambiaso, now the world’s number one player. Cambiaso went on to win the Gold Cup no less than five times, and celebrated his sixteenth birthday with a party at the infamous Picasso’s in Midhurst. The strong, and lasting, royal connection begins with Lord Mountbatten, who joined Cowdray in the Thirties, and ran the club during John Cowdray’s absence in the USA in 1939. It recalls the hat-trick of Gold Cup victories for the Duke of Edinburgh and his Windsor Park team – both Prince Philip and the Prince of Wales have generously contributed introductions to the book – and culminates with the Prince of Wales’s many appearances on the field, lastly in a charity tournament alongside Prince Harry in 2003.

Two other royal houses whose members have been very much part of the Cowdray tapestry are those of Jaipur and Jodhpur. In his heyday, the Maharajah of Jaipur led the ‘Fearsome Foursome’, a 34-goal phenomenon, to victory during the 1933 British season, winning every high-goal tournament they entered, a clean sweep of trophies that is still unparalleled. Post-war, at Cowdray, the Indians were noted for their swiftness on the field, as the late Bryan Bethell, Master of Horse to Lord Cowdray, recalled:

‘They were magnificent; we had very fast polo then. The Indians never tended to slow up, as the South Americans often do nowadays in the middle of a game. I can remember all their equipment would be laid out on the side of the ground on blankets, with their Indian stick makers in attendance.’ Hanut Singh was the mainstay behind the

members of the british royal family, along with those of Jaipur and Jodhpur have very much been part of the cowdray tapestry

Jaipur team, and was a ‘hard task master’, as Julian Hipwood recalls:

‘Hanut’s horses were beautifully turned out, their red bandages matching the red material used for the martingales; tails were always left untied. He told wonderful and amusing stories, and would hold court in the evenings at the Park House, but would have me out of bed at 5am and on the horse trotting around the House Ground an hour later at 6 o’clock.’

Also, not to be forgotten is the arrival on the scene of formidable lady players, pioneered by John Cowdray’s sister, Daphne Lakin, but unimaginable to an earlier generation. Claire Tomlinson remembers having to fight her corner when she wanted to play in the Gold Cup one year:

‘John Cowdray had a rule that he didn’t want women to play under the premise that it was embarrassing for foreign players and that it was dangerous. In fact I think it was because his sisters, in particular Daphne Lakin, played really rather well!’ Claire, who was 3 goals at the time, called his bluff with the threat, ‘Either put me down to 0 goals or let me play!’

Indeed, the appointment of a female polo manager, Cheryl Bicket, in recent years was regarded, in many quarters, with undisguised horror. Still more unthinkable to many a macho male player, both South American and British, was the victory of a woman in the Gold Cup – Nina Vestey with Hildon Sport in 2003.

But it was not only on the field that women were starting to hold their own. It was also in the stables. The reminiscences of Cowdray grooms, Marie Merritt and Brenda Freeling, give a clear flavour of how tough things were back in the days when all grooms were girls; a vivid contrast with today, when most are Argentine males:

‘Colonel Tatham was polo manager and he seldom cancelled for rain. He used to look skyward and declare that it was only a passing cloud. We duly got wet through on Ambersham in Force 6 gales and did not have the thermal waterproof clothing then. There is nothing worse than getting on a wet saddle in wet trousers and vest, leading two bedraggled miserable ponies for half an hour, back to the stables. Getting off was even more painful and, after untacking, there were twenty boxes and stalls to straw, hay and water before the next batch arrived, equally drowned.’

There are the countless fond memories of players from such giants of the past as Lord Patrick Beresford, Mark Vestey, Julian Hipwood, former Cowdray captain Paul Withers and Midhurst’s very own Alan Kent down to the present-day rising stars, Jamie Peel, Henry Brett and Max Charlton.

Chapters also include ‘Trophies and Tournaments’ which, at every level, are 2

1 Queen Elizabeth II and Lord Cowdray at the Coronation Cup, 1953 2 Daphne Pearson (the future Daphne Lakin) with her father Harold Pearson, the 2nd Viscount Cowdray 3 Alec Harper in Gold Cup play, circa 1966 4 John Cowdray and his mother Beryl 3

1 Pony Club line-up of all the teams, 2009 2 1995 Gold Cup winners Gonzalo Pieres and Kerry Packer of Ellerston 3 Hildon Sport win the 2003 Gold Cup 4 Victors Tramontana raise the Gold Cup in 1991 5 Carlos Gracida and Chesney

the winners of every tournament ever played at cowdray are listed – not just the winning team names but also their players

competed for at Cowdray, with a potted history of each cup. For example, who knew that the Cicero Cup was named after a Derby winner, or that the Midhurst Town Cup was presented by the local chamber of trade in gratitude for the money that polo brings, annually, into the little town? The winners of every tournament ever played at Cowdray are listed – not just the winning team names but also their players, as well as one presentation shot for each team at Cowdray in more recent years.

Grounds and yards are obviously an essential part of the Cowdray tapestry, and they too have their own chapter. A beautifully illustrated map shows where the main yards and grounds are as well as some stunning aerial shots of Lawns and Ambersham. It is also an eye-opener to learn how many manhours are spent treading-in every season, or just how many gallons of water are pumped from the neighbouring River Rother.

Activities ‘off the field’ are certainly not forgotten either: not only the legendary martini-fuelled swimming-pool parties hosted by Lord Cowdray but also those that took place in the town by the equally celebrated Fina at Picasso’s and Gaudi’s. There is also one unforgettable tale of a well-known Indian prince absent-mindedly relieving himself over the satin shoes of his hostess after a particularly long and entertaining evening. In those days, Goodwood week was a constant whirl of racing, polo, and parties every single day. It was a very different scene from nowadays when players play their games and go home to bed with nothing stronger than a drink of mate as a nightcap.

The ponies also have their own place in the book, remembering such fabulous four-legged friends as Chesney and Fabiola. In his introduction to this chapter, Alan Kent, tells how Cowdray Park programmes used to include a list of all ponies playing on a particular day with a brief pedigree. Unimaginable today with the huge strings of ponies brought to every game by the highgoal teams in particular.

And lastly we look forward to the future with the Pony Club and the rising stars of today, plus a nostalgic introduction by Colin Baillieu who took over running the Pony Club polo at Cowdray from John Lakin:

‘The policy in those pre-Health & Safety days was that any boy or girl who wanted to play was taken to Ambersham, put on a reliable pony with or without a helmet, and told to gallop the length of three polo fields, turn round and gallop back.’ The authors have tried, painstakingly, to include mentions and photos not only of all playing members but also of their families, as well as those involved behind the scenes, without whose contribution the club could not exist. ‘Cowdray Park Polo Club: The Centenary’ will be available in a limited edition at £100 per copy. Full details of how to order the book will be outlined on the Cowdray Park website, cowdraypolo.co.uk

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