PROFILE
JOHN WASH In just 12 years, Palm Beach’s thriving polo club has gained its place among the best facilities in the world. But, as Enid Atwater discovers, its president of operations John Wash has even bigger plans ILLUSTRATION PHIL DISLEY
Historians consider polo to be one of the world’s oldest team sports, having originated from the military training exercises of nomadic Persian warriors over 2,500 years ago. The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame credits the British Army with introducing polo to the Western world in the 19th century, and it is now played in more than 77 countries worldwide. Polo clubs are thriving in Asia, Dubai, South America, England and throughout the United States. At the forefront of these sits the International Polo Club (IPC) Palm Beach, which has become a leading high-goal facility in the space of just 12 years, with an increasing spectator base that is threatening to burst at the seams. How do they do it? Of the few elite clubs in the world with the stature of high-goal play, others – such as La Aguada in Argentina and Genghis Khan Polo & Riding Club in Mongolia – have a strong native tradition to draw upon and often a wealth of experience that stretches back generations. One might consider this hard to compete with, but IPC sees it as a mere detail, one that certainly hasn’t affected its ambition. ‘Five years from now, IPC will be the epicentre of polo in the world, eclipsing many of the historical clubs in Europe and South America,’ proclaims John Wash, president of IPC’s Operations. ‘Our goal is to grow the
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popularity of the sport along with our club. We will continue to attract the world’s best players and teams, while providing the highest standard of spectator experience offered anywhere.’ It’s quite a statement, and the club seems to be true to his intention: in just programming medium- and high-goal tournaments within its grounds, IPC is only targeting serious players. ‘We are honoured to host four 20-goal and three 26-goal tournaments over a 16-week period, from January through mid-April every year,’ says Wash. And with three of the most prestigious US contests awarded to them – the CV Whitney Cup (since 2002), the USPA Gold Cup (since 2007) and the US Open Polo Championship (since 2004) – Wash has some confidence in his claim that IPC is considered one of the best polo facilities in the world. Having spent nine years so far at the helm, Wash has learnt how to balance the demands of a growing membership (106 in the previous 36 months) with those of its expanding spectator base – which has just increased IPC’s box-office revenue by 185 per cent in just three seasons. ‘The trick is managing a private club that’s open to the public on Sundays,’ he says. Actually, there’s more to it than that. Wash has operational oversight of the club’s 200-plus acres, which includes maintaining nine perfectly
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manicured polo fields to meet the exacting standards of the USPA, team patrons and the world’s most elite players. The club has expanded greatly under his watch, with the addition of private-box seating and grandstands, a swimming pool with lavish cabañas, a fitness centre, spa, and a sports centre providing tennis and croquet. Certainly, high-goal polo demands not only a strong, competitive drive, but also a healthy cheque book. The cost of putting together a team to compete during the 16-week winter season at the IPC is rumoured to cost anywhere from $1m to $3m. Nearly every professional high-goal player in the world – with a 9- or 10-goal handicap – vies to compete for IPC’s prestigious tournament cups, and patrons must negotiate their salary, living expenses, equipment costs and ponies (including transportation, grooms, vets, trainers and barn fees). For the 2015 season, IPC was visited by four teams with 18-goals, 15 teams with 20-goals and 10 teams with 26-goals – which adds up to almost $200,000 per team in tournament fees. Certainly, the vibrant growth of spectators at IPC in the past three years is testament to the game’s growing popularity in South Florida. It’s a topic Wash enjoys talking about. ‘At the end of the 2012 season, we took a hard look at our role and the inherent responsibility
