PONYLINES
CHIEF EXECUTIVE After the worst April since records began, it looked as if May was not going to be any better. However, the weather has at last come good at the time of my writing this, and just in time for the first international of the season and the start of the Queen’s Cup. There has not been much polo action to date due to the poor weather, although there has been plenty of activity off the field. In the second half of April the HPA was delighted to sign a three-year agreement with Audi for the sponsorship of an International series of three matches, at Beaufort Polo Club, Guards Polo Club (for the Coronation Cup) and Chester Racecourse, a new venue, at the end of the season. Audi is now the most significant sponsor by far for the HPA and one of the major polo sponsors in the world. Prior to the three-match series, St Regis staged the opening international of the year at Cowdray Park. Bad weather meant the match had to be moved from Lawns, although Ambersham 1 provided as good a setting as any for a great day. We are very grateful to Marc Ganzi who put together the USA team that day and it is hoped that it has been a stepping stone to playing the Westchester here in England in 2013, and to persuading Marc that he should play the English high-goal season. Once again we saw Audi sponsoring an excellent awards dinner at Coworth during the week leading up to the International. It was great to see Jim Haigh and the late Colonel Alec Harper recognised with Lifetime Achievement Awards. At Guards, the new chairman Jock Green-Armytage, and chief executive Neil Hobday, are to be congratulated for putting in new drainage and combining with Coworth. This should be good news for Guards as it will eventually provide them with two excellent grounds with which to host more home games. One of the main changes for the HPA has been the decision to realign the England teams and to introduce Young England as a team for ages 25 and under. The idea is to play such a team at the Suffolk Test Match on 30 June and then again at the Audi International Day at Guards for a new Diamond Jubilee Trophy. Miniatures of the trophy will be awarded to the winners. In recognition of HM The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, it was agreed that the Silver Jubilee Trophy would be played for at the St Regis Test match. Congratulations to the England team who ran out the winners by half a goal, the USA having failed to convert a 60 with 15 seconds to go. The Golden Jubilee Trophy will now be played for at the Beaufort Polo Club, and it is hoped to commission a Chester Diamond Jubilee Trophy to recognise that the first international at Chester was played in the Diamond Jubilee year. On the rules front, it has been decided that little is achieved by the umpires placing the ball for a Penalties 5a or 5b, other than to irritate the players. Players will now be allowed 15 seconds to place the ball themselves for all penalties. So, although we have had a rather faltering start to the season, hopefully we are now set fair for the summer.
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^ AUDI INTERNATIONAL POLO SERIES For the forthcoming UK polo season the HPA, supported by Audi, have together created the brand new ‘Audi International Polo Series’. The series will feature three Internationals for the season at different venues across the country. It will include the newly named Audi International at Guards Polo Club, near Windsor (formerly the Cartier International); the Audi International at Beaufort Polo Club, Gloucestershire; and the first-ever Audi International match at Chester Racecourse Polo Club. David Woodd, chief executive of the HPA, comments: ‘Audi and the HPA have been working very closely together with the England team and its increased involvement with this International Series is fantastic news for polo.’ Jon Zammett, head of PR for Audi UK, adds: ‘This is a very exciting development. Polo delivers an ideal, high-end, yet hard to reach target audience for Audi.’ The investment by Audi in the Polo International Series, together with its existing sponsorship of the England polo team (pictured), will make the car company the biggest supporter of polo in the UK.
\ POLO IN BRITAIN Author, polo player and surgeon Horace A Laffaye, is on the board of directors of the Museum of Polo and is chairman of the polo Hall of Fame nominating committee. His latest book, Polo in Britain: A History, chronicles the sport’s beginnings in the British Isles in the 1860s through to the summer of 2011. It recounts the development of polo clubs, including the rise and fall of once-mighty citadels of the game; describes the major competitions and many of the lesser tournaments in England and Ireland; and gives particular attention to international contests. Biographical sketches of top players, from early innovators to current superstars, and reflections on current issues affecting the game – including the rise of commercialism
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and the decrease of civility and sportsmanship – make this a vivid panorama of British polo.
