Autumn 2008

hurlingham polo association magazine

WINTER ISSUE OCTOBER 2008

polo association magazine

WINTER 2008

WHEN NACHO MET RALPH [RL’s polo premiere] MALLETS ACROSS WATER [Townsend Cup returns] A PLACE IN THE SUN [Latin American property] YOUTH CLUBS [junior polo in the UK] 00. Hurlingham Cover.indd 1

6/10/08 09:27:01

Proud sponsors of: The Australia team at Cartier International Polo 2008.

The England team in Mexico 2008.

EFG Bank team in the Outback 40 Goal Challenge.

EFG Bank team for the Palm Beach season.

2008 Scandinavian Polo Open.

JLC Polo Masters 2008 in Veytay, Switzerland.

Photo: David Lominska

Untitled-1 2

3/10/08 11:35:15

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3/10/08 11:35:23

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www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

hurlingham [ contents]

48

32

60

07

Ponylines

News from around the polo world, plus interviews and the Chief Executive’s column

14

Talk

Harvard’s Texas training, Javier Novillo Astrada, Adolfo Cambiaso, and Bryan Morrison

26 Profile On the cover: Nacho Figueras was the catalyst for Ralph Lauren’s entry into the sport

John Goodman, CEO of International Polo Club Palm Beach

28 History The story of the Townsend Cup

32

Business

Nacho Figueras, BlackWatch and Ralph Lauren

36

Property

Latin America is experiencing an explosion of polo developments

40

Grass roots

COVER IMAGE FRANCISCO SOEIRO THIS PAGE TREVOR MEEKS

Junior polo is thriving thanks to recent initiatives

43 DVD ACTION For live action from the season, visit our website hurlinghampolo.com

3. Contents.indd 1

Action

Reports and pictures from around the world, including the Queen’s Cup, Gold Cup, Cartier, St Regis Test, Windsmoor British Ladies Open, Gstaad, Townsend Cup, Sotogrande, Rolex European Championship, Calgary, Jack Wills University Day, Santa Barbara and beach polo

64

Archive

The all-conquering 1932 Meadow Brook team

6/10/08 15:02:04

Roderick Vere Nicoll Publisher

04

Once again, we are pleased to bring you news of the worldwide polo community in this issue of Hurlingham. In Ponylines, David Woodd gives his view of the summer season and tells us about the ‘love of his life’. We talk to David ‘Pelon’ Stirling, who is well on his way to being one of the top players in the world, about his hopes for the future, and Fabio Capello gives a few tips to Adolfo Cambiaso.

In Talk, England’s new coach Javier Novillo Astrada discusses the team, and Nicholas Snow goes to polo boot camp in Texas to prepare for the intercollegiate season at Harvard. In Features, Herbert Spencer interviews club owner, USPA Governor and NAPL co-founder John Goodman. We hear how, in the early 1920s, John Townsend donated a cup for international indoor polo, and Rob Ryan discovers how Nacho Figueras became involved in Ralph Lauren’s entry into the sport.

This was a good summer for the spectator in England. With the new one-tap rule, it was a pleasure to watch fast open polo, especially in the high goal. In the Action section, we cover the Cartier, the Gold Cup and the Queen’s Cup. All three finals were good games with few fouls. Speaking personally, it was exciting to see the rise of new stars in Gonzalito Pieres and Pablo MacDonough.

The good friends and teammates in Argentina won the Queen’s Cup and both were raised to 10 goals in England. In August, Gonzalito went to Santa Barbara and won all three tournaments. Not to be outdone, Pablo won all three tournaments in Sotogrande. These tournaments, as well as the Hublot Swiss Open and others, are all covered. And if you visit www.hurlinghampolo.com you can buy DVDs of most of the finals that we report.

We finish up with Alex Webbe’s account of an all-American team that won the Argentine Open and the Cup of the Americas in the same year – a feat that will probably never be witnessed again.

You can see video footage of the major games free of charge on the e-mag version of Hurlingham on our website. Click on the web address and you will go directly to the site. If you do not want to read the e-mag you can listen to it. Pass it on to your friends!

As on the polo field, Hurlingham is a team effort, and I would like to thank everyone, especially the patrons – or advertisers, as they are known in the magazine world!

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. All the information contained in this publication is correct at the time of going to press.

HURLINGHAM (ISSN 1750-0486) is published quarterly by Hurlingham Media, distributed in the USA

by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Hurlingham, c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville PA 17318-0437.

Hurlingham magazine is designed and produced on behalf of Hurlingham Media by Show Media Ltd. Hurlingham magazine is published on behalf of the Hurlingham Polo Association by Hurlingham Media.

The products and services advertised are not necessarily endorsed by or connected with the publisher or the Hurlingham Polo Association. The editorial opinions expressed in this publication are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of the publisher or the Hurlingham Polo Association.

Hurlingham magazine welcome feedback from readers: hurlinghammedia@hpa-polo.co.uk

Foreword/Contribsv2.indd 1

Jilly Emerson became interested in polo when she married into an Anglo-Argentine family. Despite their Argentine credentials, her three sons started with the Quorn Pony Club. Jilly joined The Pony Club’s Polo Committee several years ago to manage the arena tournaments and then later became Section Manager of Langford. She writes about junior polo on page 40.

Sarah Wiseman started playing polo in The Pony Club and has been involved in the sport ever since. She has reported on polo worldwide. In the winter Sarah is the polo manager at The All England Polo Club, Hickstead and in summer she plays polo at Cowdray and clubs in the south of England. On page 51 she reports on the Windsmoor British Ladies Open, in which she played.

Francisco Soeiro is a professional photographer and specialist in high-end digital imaging. His vibrant and dynamic images reflect the passion, creativity and energy he brings to his work. He specialises in sport, design, lifestyle, food, events and landscapes. He took the pictures of Nacho Figueras for the cover and the Ralph Lauren feature on page 32.

Nick Snow, 23, is a native of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He attended St Paul’s School, and is currently a senior at Harvard University studying government.

Nick grew up playing at the Myopia Polo Club and is rated at 3 goals. On page 14 he talks about Tommy Lee Jones’ ranch, and on page 60 he plays ‘THE GAME’ (Harvard versus Yale).

HURLINGHAM MAGAZINE Publisher Roderick Vere Nicoll Editor Ed Barrett Deputy Editor Herbert Spencer Contributing Editor Sarah Eakin Designer Zai Shamis Sub Editor Sarah Evans Hurlingham Media 47-49 Chelsea Manor St, London SW3 5RZ +44 (0) 203 239 9347 hurlingham@hpa-polo.co.uk www.hurlinghampolo.com SHOW MEDIA Editorial Managing Director Peter Howarth 1-2 Ravey Street, London EC2A 4QP + 44 (0) 203 222 0101 info@showmedia.net www.showmedia.net

SARAH WISEMAN PICTURE BY ALICE GIPPS

foreword

contributors

7/10/08 12:14:48

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Hurl_Wint08_LoroPiana.indd 1

6/10/08 15:21:37

ponylines [news] Sponsorship news, all-female team at Cowdray, and much more

ONE TO WATCH: BEST AMATEUR

CTONY RAMIREZ/WWW.IMAGESOFPOLO.COM

Jordanian-born Amed Abu Ghazaleh, aged 31, seemed under-handicapped at 0 goals when he led outsiders Sumaya into the finals of the Queen’s Cup and the semi-finals of the British Open this season, narrowly losing both times to powerhouse Ellerston. He started playing aged nine on his uncle’s polo farm in Chile and continued until he left for college at 18. He was then out of the game for seven years.

In Chile he won low and medium goal tournaments and the 22-goal Chile Handicap. Amed currently lives in Amman, and is CEO of the Royal Jordanian Air Academy, Arab Wings private jet charter and Queen Noor Technical College. Next year he will be playing in Chile, in Florida with Carlos Gracida, and back in England to try again for the Queen’s and Gold Cups.

7. One to watch.indd 1

7/10/08 12:17:15

hurlingham [ ponylines]

Chief executive

08

Given the terrible weather this summer, we were fortunate on the big days, and the Coronation Cup on Cartier International Day was played at the end of the only decent period of sunshine this season. All 16,000 seats were sold out two weeks before and a capacity crowd was treated to a great match between Australia and England.

The one-tap rule seems to have been well received, with more open matches played at all levels. The final of the Gold Cup was not the open game that everybody had anticipated and hoped for but congratulations are due to both Loro Piano and Ellerston. Mention must also be made of Sumaya, which reached the finals of the Queen’s Cup and came very close to getting into the finals of the Gold Cup. The introduction of Junior HPA 4-chukka polo alongside The Pony Club was well supported and the two joined together for the very successful if rather wet Cowdray. Following Cowdray, both Hurtwood and Longdole ran tournaments specifically for the young and there is no doubt that there is increasing demand for more tournaments for younger players.

For the FIP European 8-Goal Championships, we sent young players whom we hoped would benefit from playing four-man polo with a good coach. With no opportunity to play a competitive practice before we left England, we did not expect to win. After a slightly sticky first match against Switzerland, they stuck to the game plan to move the ball as quickly as possible and went on to win all their games. This provided a fine end to our international season during which England teams at various levels have been successful against New Zealand (Williams be Broe Test Match), Australia (Coronation Cup on Cartier International Day and John Cowdray Trophy), Italy (St Regis Test Match), India (18 goal Asian Cup) and Ireland (14 goal BOA). Congratulations are due to all those involved.

In December we are sending an 18-goal team to play in India and a 14-goal team to Thailand, and in February it is hoped to play for the Westchester Cup in Florida. The US will be producing a 31-goal team and it is planned that England will field a 29-goal team centred on Eduardo Novillo Astrada.

Next season, a major change will be the move to August of the Warwickshire at 20-goals, followed by the Challenge and Deauville. It is hoped that this will provide an opportunity for teams to continue playing high goal through August at the 20-goal level.

On the rules front, it is proposed to apply that the one-tap rule regardless of the direction that the player is travelling, to move to an undefended 30 thus creating a differential between the 30 and the 40 which will remain defended as now, and to move to one hit penalties on or within the 60, as in Argentina.

10.Ponylines.indd 1

WATCH THIS! Change is sweeping this year’s Triple Crown, with brothers swapping sides and new sponsors all hoping to claim polo’s top prize at the Argentine Open. Luxury giant Richemont could emerge a clear winner, backing three players and two teams with its Jaeger-LeCoultre and Piaget brands.

Defending champions La Dolfina, backed by Peugot with further support from Jaegar-LeCoultre, will be a 40-goal side. Sadly, after competing for 25 years and reaching 40-goals in 1992, the legendary Indios I have disbanded. Marcos Heguy will head up a new team Piaget/Pilara (above) joined by Santiago Chavanne and Sebastian and Augustine Merlos. His brother, Bautista Heguy, will play for Ralph Lauren’s Black Watch, where he will be joined by Paco Navarez, Matias MacDonough and Nacho Figueras. Juan Martin Nero, a member of last year’s Chapa I, will join the formidable Ellerstina in a 39-goal side, while Cula Cula have banded together with Jumeirah Resorts of Dubai to sponsor Chapa II. The team will have Pite Merlos joining brothers Eduardo, Pepe and Nachi Heguy. The 37-goal Aguada team made up of the four Novillo Astrada brothers will be sponsored by Arelaquen while Park Hyatt is backing Alegria (below) along with Casablanca. With Rolex as the official timekeeper, Adolfo Cambiaso, Juan Martin Nero and Eduardo Novillo Astrada as ambassadors for Jaeger La Coultre and Miguel Novillo Astrada as ambassador for Hublot, this promises to be an Open to watch! MELANIE VERE NICOLL

6/10/08 13:19:08

CLUB POLO AD.indd 1

6/6/08 14:32:27

hurlingham [ ponylines]

SADDLE UP WITH DAVID ‘PELON’ STIRLING Nationality Uruguay Age 27 Handicap 9 in England and USA, 8 in Spain and 7 in Argentina

10

England boss Fabio Capello was a guest at the Jaeger-LeCoultre Charity Cup at Ham, where he showed Adolfo Cambiaso how he managed to knock some sense into his players. The results were impressive, with England winning spectacularly in Croatia shortly afterwards.

Unfortunately his methods did not bring the same success to Adolfo this summer in England.

ALL-FEMALE TEAM AT COWDRAY Polo is one of the few sports in which women compete on equal terms with men, right up to the highest levels of the game.

With around 20-25% of registered players in the UK and US female, they usually play on mixed teams or in ladies’ tournaments.

An all-women’s team playing in mixed polo is quite rare, but the Diamonds International side sparkled like their name in the 41-team Holden White Cup tournament at Cowdray Park Polo Club this summer.

Diamonds International was led by Nina (née Vestey) Clarkin, at handicap 3 the country’s highest-rated female player and,

as a member of England national team, the only woman ever to play in the Federation of International Polo World Cup. She combined most effectively with her sister Tamara (2), Emma Tomlinson (2) and Lucy Taylor (1).

The well-honed team met Hollycombe in the Holden White final. Hollycombe included veteran Alan Kent, former England player now rated at 4, and 4-goal South African Derreck Bratley. The hard-riding ladies put on a brilliant display, closing the higherrated men down, ball stealing and scoring to win 5-4. Emma Tomlinson was particularly pleased, because both her mother and grandmother had also won the Holden White in the past. HS

DAVID’S ANGELS It’s all change in the HPA pony lines. Milly and Sophie have foaled; Charlie and Hector are searching for the second half of their junior team, due to debut in 2016 and their mothers are returning to job share at work. Lucy and Amanda (the hunting and racing aficionados) remain full-time at the HPA stables, while the globetrotting Chief Executive continues to scour the country for talent.

Eager to increase and improve the number of young English players, Charlotte canters out to work for herself, focusing fully on Shoestring Polo. After four successful seasons arranging structured gap year placements and school tours to Argentina for up and coming players, they are now pleased to announce the addition of South Africa and Australia as destinations.

Shoestring’s professional team has over 20 years of pure polo experience, which has enabled them to select the very best estancias and farms. Intensive and structured courses are offered to anyone keen to learn, with everyone from beginners to experienced players and ever parents catered for. For information contact www.shoestringpolo.com CHARLOTTE ALLEN

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David was born in Uruguay, but at the age of 6 he moved to Sotogrande with his family where he learnt to play polo with his father. When he was a child he preferred to play football rather than polo, but his skills with the ball on the horse convinced him to be a professional polo player.

You reached 9 goals in England. Did you expect it? Will you play the same team in 2009?

As a result of my good season, I expected to increase my handicap. But this fact will not change our plans as a team, as I´ll continue playing for Loro Piana. I´ve been playing for a couple of years with Alfio Marchini and Juan Martín Nero and thus we decided to maintain the team and find a zero-goal player for the next season.

Which is your dream in polo?

Like most of the players, playing the Argentine Open. I have to improve my organisation and also my play, but with some help of friends like Adolfo Cambiaso, I think it will be possible.

Will you play with Cambiaso next year in USA? I played with him two years ago but in 2009 I will repeat with Pony Express.

In Sotogrande you put up a great performance…

Despite having lost the final of the Gold Cup, I had a good season. I agreed to continue playing for Ayala next year as I have an excellent relationship with its patron Iñigo Zobel, who helps me with horses.

ALICE GIPPS

A WORD TO THE WISE

7/10/08 12:00:49

Adolfo Cambiaso, Founding Member

View of Cambiaso/Weisz barn from future Outback farm site. July ‘08

Andres Weisz, Founding Member

magine life on a luxurious 20-acre estate in a gated community, surrounded by nature, and just minutes from the beach, shopping, fine dining, arts and entertainment. This is The Hobe Sound Polo Club - a world class club designed, built and operated by people dedicated to polo and equestrian excellence.

• Five Championship Fields • Two Stick and Ball Fields • Track • • Grand Clubhouse with Pool and Tennis Courts • Miles of Bridle Paths •

To arrange your private tour, please call

877 POLO 888 (877 765 6888) hobesoundpoloclub.com

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Hurl_Wint08_HobeSound.indd 1

READY FOR PLAY

2008-09

WINTER SEASON

6/10/08 15:19:45

hurlingham [ ponylines]

USPA MEETING The US Polo Association (USPA) has become the first governing body ever to write specific standards for polo helmets into its rules, following the lead of other horse sports that require competitors to wear only approved protective headgear. The new helmets rule, adopted by governors at the USPA autumn meeting in Virginia, will come into effect in 2012 to give manufacturers a chance to improve their models to pass new, polo-specific safety tests. After that, any player competing in a USPA-sanctioned event will have to wear an approved helmet.

The USPA has been testing helmets for years; this year the HPA, for the first time, tested helmets on sale in the UK (see Summer 2008 issue). Until now, however, the associations only reported test results to its members, declining to write standards into their rules for fear of liability in case of an accident.

The autumn meeting also approved three other important rules changes. The American association followed the lead of the HPA in strengthening the anti-tapping rule to eliminate game-slowing scrums and in banning a ‘lame’ pony from the rest of a match if its rider asks for time out to change mounts. And to favour home-grown talent, from 2010 all teams competing at the 22-goal and under level must include at least one US citizen player, not including the patron. HS

SCANDINAVIAN POLO OPEN HOOKED ON POLO Walter Scherb, 43, is the owner of the Spitz Company, one of Austria’s largest manufacturers in the food and drinks sector. His first polo contact was in the summer of 1990 in Ebreichsdorf, the first polo club in Austria. For the next 11 years, however, he concentrated on his business. In 2001 he rejoined the game and has been avidly involved ever since.

12

‘I grew up with horses, as my parents were showjumpers, and had been riding since I was seven,’ says Walter, who has attained a 1-goal handicap while playing polo in Austria, Italy and France with a string of some 20 horses. A familiar face at tournaments in St. Tropez, Deauville, Chantilly, Argentario, Villa a Sesta and Sardinia, Walter recently played in the annual Power Horse Polo Cup at Ali Albwardy¹s Desert Palm Polo Club in Dubai.

Walter travels to Argentina in November where he participates in The Prince of Wales Cup at Hurlingham (which he won in 2007), the Ellerstina Silver Cup (in the finals in 2007) and the Estímulo (which he also won last year). Walter credits Esteban Panelo as having the most influence on his polo career. He has retained pros Paulito Pieres (6) and Juan Clemente Marambio (4) and prefers playing in 10-goal polo than to 16-goal. In a recent trip to Wellington, he competed in the Polo Gear Invitational, a 16-goal competition at the Grand Champions Polo Club. Playing on strange horses, he scored three goals and helped carry his Power Horse team to the subsidiary championship.

Among his best wins are the Vienna Sal Oppenheim tournament and The Prince of Wales Cup. His favourite clubs are Centauros (where he is a member) and Ellerstina. While his attention has been focused on his breeding operation, with the first foals being delivered last year, he looks forward to more tournament play in Argentina.

Meanwhile, Spitz’s Power Horse Energy Drink is the market leader in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria and the firm is currently extending to the Indian market and the Middle East. An expansion to South America is the next step.

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Almare Stäket, an historic estate situated on the shores of Lake Mälaren in Sweden, is home to the Scandinavian Polo Open, first held in 1999. On Saturday 23rd August, a crowd of over a thousand witnessed a very exciting game. The field looked immaculate, and the sun made a welcome appearance.

The final was between EFG Bank (the principal sponsor) and Stockholms Auktionsverk (Sweden’s oldest auction house). After four chukkas, EFG Bank claimed a 9-3 victory, with impressive performances by Santiago Shannahan and Nicholas Sutton (both from Argentina).

Irene and Johan Seth, the owners of Almare Stäket and the creators of the Scandinavian Polo Open, put on a great event, ably supported by their daughter Caroline (who also played a starring role for EFG Bank) and the other members of the Almare Stäket Polo Club. NICOLA GAPP

THAI POLO CLUB Rege Ludwig will be running polo clinics at the Thai Polo Club in Pattaya, and throughout South East Asia for the remainder of 2008. Rege has taught more than 3,000 polo students and his clinics offer a great introduction to the game as well as a refresher course for experienced players. Harold Link’s Thai Polo Club, set in 500 acres, includes two full-size fields and stabling for 200 horses. For information: www.thai-polo-club.com

ANYONE FOR POLO? Argentine tennis star David Nalbandian (right) teamed up with his close friend Adolfo Cambiaso to play snow polo in September in Valle de las Leñas, Mendoza.

The tournament was sponsored by Jumeriah Cula Cula and consisted of two days of polo with four ladies’ and two men’s teams. Nalbandian took up polo last year after watching the finals of the Argentine Open from the La Dolfina ponylines with Diego Maradona, another Argentine sporting legend. Adolfo then returned the favour by watching the quarter-finals of the Stella Artois in London in May at the Queen’s Club, where he will have enjoyed Nalbandian’s resounding victory over France’s Richard Gasquet.

CORRECTION The Summer 2008 issue omitted picture credits for Christopher Fear and Tony Ramirez. Our apologies to both.

7/10/08 08:43:38

CHUKKAS Australian Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers, 59, is slated to become the first foreign-born chairman of the HPA, governing body of the sport in the UK and Republic of Ireland. A long-time resident of England who served in the Royal Artillery, Nicholas is chairman of Ham Polo Club and was elected vice-chairman of the HPA early this year. He is due to be nominated for the top job by the Stewards and then confirmed by the ruling Council in November, replacing Christopher Hanbury, whose four-year term comes to an end.

Hurtwood Park Polo Club has upped the stakes for its 18-goal Polo Masters tournament next spring, raising the winnerstake-all cash price to £85,000 from the £50,000 paid out in 2008. Hurtwood polo director Eddie Kennedy expects the Masters, from 1 to 17 May, to attract upwards of 10 teams as the 2009 season’s first big event.

Work has started on converting Coworth House opposite Windsor Great Park into a luxury country hotel, part of the Dorchester Collection of hostelries owned by the Brunei Investment Agency. Polo will continue at Coworth Park Polo Club and there are longterm plans to add other horse sports after the hotel conversion is completed.

THE LOVE OF MY LIFE Pony’s name Age Sex Colour Height Origin

Master Francis 26 Gelding Brown 15.1h English Thoroughbred

by Junius out of a Northfields mare

Master Francis was bought as a yearling in 1983 for 9,800gns and went to trainer Mike Blanshard in Lambourn. My wife Fra (short for Frances) whom I had not yet met was then working for Susan Piggott in Newmarket and was the under-bidder. He ran 30 times on the flat as a two-, three- and four-year-old, mostly as a pacemaker, and was placed on ten occasions. Mike also tried him a few times over hurdles but he tended to ignore them.

In 1986 I bought him privately from Mike, as the owner did not wish him to go through the sale ring. The first day at home, I saddled him up and hacked him round the farm. He snorted at each gate down the farm road and still does 22 years later.

Credit for making him into a polo pony must go to John P Smail, who got him going well enough for me to play him less than a year later in the medium goal in 1987 with

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Sladmore, which got to the finals of the Royal Windsor, and won both the Harrison and County Cup. That first year he played 27 match chukkas.

On the racecourse he ran over five furlongs and one-and-a-half miles. On the polo ground he was rarely beaten for speed and always played a full chukka. He loved pre-match parades and bands, and relished a ride off. In the early years he played in a double bridle and then in a gag. He could stop on a sixpence and never needed running reins.

In 1996, I retired him from polo having played 10 seasons and something approaching 300 match chukkas with him.

He underwent a period of further retraining and was soon the lead for the children’s ponies out hunting where he was not especially keen on the hounds. He also learnt to do a pretty decent dressage test and went team chasing, show jumping and hunter trialling.

In 2004 he was played in The Pony Club by both my daughter Matilda (above) and nephew Ollie Powell. His suspension is not quite what it was, so he now plays only farm chukkas at home. He and his owner are often selected to umpire, about which neither are happy. Occasionally I am allowed to play him, and he certainly goes a lot better than his owner. DAVID WOODD

The Warwickshire Cup tournament at Cirencester Park Polo Club will have a new look in 2009. It will be played at the 20-goal level rather than 22 as previously, and is scheduled after the HPA’s Cartier International. Now with strong ties to the Deauville Polo Club in Normandy, Cirencester Park hopes to attract entries from the Continent as well as England.

The big arena international in Jaipur, India, originally scheduled for this October, has been postponed until spring. Countries expected to compete include India, England, South Africa, and possibly Australia, Kenya, and Singapore.

Gracida International signed up with The Villages Polo Club in Florida and put on a $50,000 International Cup featuring former 10-goalers Calos Gracida, Mike Azzaro and Matias Magrini. They plan to put on the Camacho Cup in 2009, and also have a new project in Zhangjiajie in China.

We are sorry to report that Veronica Santa Maria will be leaving FIP and returning to LA. She will always remain part of the FIP family.

For more information on hurlingham magazine, visit www.hurlinghammedia.com

7/10/08 12:27:04

hurlingham [ talk ]

The Harvard team pictured at the Jack Wills University Day at Guards

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polo boot camp Best known for his award-winning film roles, Tommy Lee Jones is a devoted polo enthusiast who administers a tough regime at his Texan ranch. Nick Snow was lucky enough to take part A skier in the Alps... A surfer in Hawaii…

A card shark in Las Vegas. These are the closest parallels one can draw to a polo player visiting San Saba, American film actor Tommy Lee Jones’s 6000-acre ranch in the Hill Country of central Texas.

Over 100 top-level polo ponies, two immaculate fields, a full-size outdoor arena, and professional coaching were made available to the Harvard polo team by Jones.

A member of the class of 1969, Jones was on the football team and participated in the legendary 29-29 Harvard-Yale game (see page 60 for the history of the fixture). The Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Emmywinning actor is a polo enthusiast and has invited the team to his ranch the past two years for an intensive week-long pre-season training programme. It is no walk in the Texas park; more a form of Polo Boot Camp.

Eight undergraduate players and the Women’s Team coach Cissie Jones Snow made the trip to the Lone Star State before school began in early September. Out of respect for the scorching, late summer Texas heat, training days began early with all players on deck for feeding, grooming, tacking and bandaging the 24 horses

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assigned to the teams daily in time for the 8:30 a.m. scrimmage session. This groundup, dirty-fingernail approach is central to Jones’s feelings about the sport, his full appreciation that horse care is essential and that communication between horse and rider will benefit during competition. The simple idea is: work to play – and if you don’t work, you won’t play.

The ranch manager and overall coach, 3-goaler Luis Echezarreta, had little patience for the undedicated as he schooled both teams on hard bumping, team play and work ethic. Together with guest coach Sunny Hale, previously rated at 5 goals and the first woman to win the prestigious 26-goal US Open, the players received top-level coaching throughout the visit.

Scrimmages and practice games were played morning and afternoon with a threehour luncheon break and ‘siesta’ to restore

At the end of a week of horse care and training we had each played 40 periods of polo

tired muscles and avoid the midday heat.

Typically, the morning games were three-onthree arena contests in preparation for the US Intercollegiate season, which features 30-odd teams from across the country competing indoors, often on unfamiliar horses. Harvard’s schedule includes matches against the University of Virginia, Yale, Cornell, and Texas Tech, with the ultimate goal of winning the National Championship, an event which is held in Lexington, Kentucky each spring.

Afternoon practices were often on one of the two outdoor fields, which were on the other side of the vast ranch. The fields at San Saba are undoubtedly one of the bestkept secrets in the polo world, equalling the very best in Florida, Argentina or the UK, and consequently leaving little excuse for a missed – or mishit – ball.

The daily non-stop horse care and training regimen ended only with the Texas sunset and the smell of grilled steaks. Bumps, bruises, chafes, and general soreness were the norm as the tired team gathered around the dinner table, sharing polo stories, and talking team strategy at the end of a 10-hour day. Then we would retire exhausted and do it all over again the next morning. At the end of the week-long boot camp, the Men’s and Women’s teams had each played a total of 40 periods of polo, a number which would present a stiff challenge to any polo school in the world.

Jones’s generosity will never be forgotten, and this type of dedication allows the sport to grow around the world.

6/10/08 12:42:21

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3/10/08 11:40:03

hurlingham [ talk ]

coach and horses England coach Javier Novillo Astrada tells Yolanda Carslaw why the team’s performance at the Cartier International made him a very happy man

How do you rate England’s performance in the Cartier?

England performed better than at June’s Williams de Broë Test Match, and that makes me very happy. It was a beautiful, fast, clean game, played in classical style, and the only difference between this year’s Cartier and the matches we have at the Argentine Open is the handicap – it was 26-goal, rather than 36-40, but the quality was amazing.

England played well against New Zealand in June, but the Cartier was tougher because everyone brought better horses, Australia were well prepared and the quality of play was very high.

Could any current England player get to 10?

Hopefully one of the boys who played at the Cartier: James Beim, for instance, is in good shape, and is very adaptable. Of the younger ones, Max Routledge seems to be very talented and an exceptional horseman.

To get to 10 goals you need to have many things going for you – horses, back-up – you can’t do it alone. It also depends on luck, and making your own luck.

At what points in your career have you been involved in coaching?

I have coached teams before but only informally, among friends; this is the first time I’ve been a professional coach. I first

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To get to 10 goals you need to have many things going for you, you can’t do it alone had a coach myself when my brothers and I were playing the 40-goal season together in 2004 in Argentina, and won the Triple Crown. We hired Norberto Fernandez Moreno at a time when few teams had coaches. We also took on a sports psychologist, which was very successful, and she and Norberto kept us focused through the three-month season.

You come from a big family: can you explain who is who?

I’m in the middle of five brothers and a sister: Eduardo – the eldest at 35 – Miguel, Ignacio, Alejandro and Veronica. We’re all close, but Miguel and I are probably the quieter ones. Eduardo and Nacho like to party. My wife and I have two boys, aged six and three, and a girl, who is two.

Who were your main influences in polo?

My brothers and I watched our father, Eduardo, a lot when he was a nine-goaler.

He made sure we were around sports at every opportunity. My grandfather, Julio, had almost retired from polo when we were young, but he spent time teaching us the swing, and all about horses. I was lucky to play for Ellerston, when Gonzalo Pieres and Carlos Gracida were with them, and before that, I had Daniel Gonzales as a coach in the Argentine FIP team. Just being around those people at that stage was a big thing for me.

Where are you off to next?

I’ll be in California for the Pacific Coast Open where I’m playing for Lyndon Lea with Ruki Baillieu. After that I’m going back to Argentina to prepare for the Triple Crown.

AGRIPIX

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What was England’s strategy this season?

It was a matter of agreeing a plan, together with Andrew Hine and the players. The Coronation Cup was the main objective this year. I knew all the players already, having played with or against them, and that helps me know what each of them is capable of.

Luke and Mark have been well set up in Argentina for a while and they understand what I say about this type of polo, and the difference between this and 22-goal. I’ve worked with each of the players on different aspects. For instance, before the Cartier I took one player aside to remind him to stay focused, and to tell him what to do so his weaknesses didn’t show up. If you have a good game plan you don’t have to rely too much on your own decisions during play.

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6/6/08 15:30:34

hurlingham [ talk ]

Adolfo in the saddle at Ham Polo Club

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life begins at 40 (goals) Ed Barrett spoke to Adolfo Cambiaso at the Jaeger-LeCoultre Charity Cup day at Ham Polo Club

To start with the most topical question, what do you think of the new ‘one-tap’ rule?

I don’t really think it’s good for polo; it is going back 50 years. The good thing about the game is that if you have the ball, somebody has to come and get it from you. It’s like telling Beckham or Messi or Ronaldinho that they can tap it twice then they have to pass the ball — it takes the fun out of the game, for the players and for the spectators too. But you get used to it, and there are many ways to do different things.

What went wrong in the Queen’s Cup? We played against four pros, and with the new rule introduced just one day before.

And we had bad luck with George Merrick — who’s a great player I really like — breaking a leg. We lost the first game and we were out. The UK season was disappointing but that’s over now. We will be back in 2009 stronger and better.

What do you think of the English handicaps?

I think they are fair. Probably some in the low goal should have less, but everybody

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does their best and I don’t think they are wrong. They have 20 teams in the Queen’s Cup and the Gold Cup, what more do you want? The game is getting better and becoming more popular.

Do you prefer playing in Argentina and the USA to playing here?

No, I like it here. I feel great here and want to play here. Anyway there’s not much to do in Argentina in winter. But next time I will not play in Palm Beach because I have things to do in Argentina.

What about Loro Piana in Spain, and the Argentine Tour?

I have a good relationship with Alfio Marchini. I’ve been doing this since 1991, and I need a break — not from polo, which I love to play, but just to be at home. Choosing the

‘To get to 40 goals is where you want to be. It’s making history.

It’s what you play for’

Argentine Tour was nothing to do with not liking America, it’s just that Alfio gave me the opportunity to play in my country.

How do you feel about your La Dolfina team reaching 40-goals in Argentina?

To get to 40 is where you want to be. Not many teams get to that. It’s great for us; it’s making history. We already had pressure at 39, but we like to be the team to beat.

That’s what you play for.

What do you think of the new Argentine line-ups?

There are some good teams. The Open will be great to watch right from the start, and I see the money coming in as a positive for the game.

Who are the up-and-coming players — are there any potential 10-goalers?

I like Lucas James, Magoo Laprida, George Merrick, Pelon Stirling. I don’t know if they’ll get to 10, but I like the way they think and the way they get into the game.

Finally, how are your business and charity interests? [Cambiaso has his own La Dolfina clothing brand, and is a keen supporter of children’s charities — the Ham event was in aid of ‘Ideas del Sur’.]

The business is good, and I’m happy to do it.

As for the charity, it’s great. I’m having fun and helping people at the same time. It can’t be better than that.

7/10/08 12:06:13

Pilara AD.indd 1

6/6/08 11:44:23

hurlingham [ talk ]

Bryan Morrison

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In 1986, when Bryan Morrison was planning the Moët & Chandon High-Goal Challenge to showcase the first season of his Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club (RCBPC), a friend suggested that such a grand event was rather ambitious for someone who had no experience in running a club. Bryan’s repost was typical of the polo-playing music impresario. Taking his Montecristo No 2 from his mouth, he replied: ‘My son, I have 100,000 music fans waiting at Wembley after the match, so I think I can organise a bit of polo.’ The inaugural High Goal Challenge, at 70 goals the highest handicapped match in England since the war, was a resounding success, and at its end Bryan left the club by helicopter bound for Wembley Stadium for the farewell concert of Wham!, one of the many pop groups he promoted.

Bryan A Morrison died in the early hours of 27 September, aged 66, at Wexham Park Hospital where he had been taken from a care facility just down the road from his home in Holyport, Berkshire. He had been in a coma since July 2006 when he fell during a club match at RCBPC, suffering severe brain damage. His last conscious moments had been in the saddle, chasing the ball in the game he loved.

English polo has lost one of its most innovative players and promoters, a largerthan-life character whose success in the music world was matched by his passion for the sport.

Hackney-born Bryan made his fortune as manager, music publisher or promoter of chart-topping musicians and groups such as Elton John, Pink Floyd, the Bee Gees, Wham!, and the Jam. Along the way he made 1970s fashion designer Bill Gibbs a name in the world of haute couture and co-founded OMK, a design group that provided furnishings for big international air terminals. He made the ‘Rich Lists’ of The Sunday Times.

Bryan came into polo relatively late, in his thirties, learning the game under Billy Walsh at Ham Polo Club. He eventually achieved a 3-goal handicap and was one of the country’s highest-rated amateur players of his time. His teams, including Chopendoz, won numerous tournaments, from low goal to high goal.

In 1985 Bryan and fellow player Norman Lobel (who later sold his interest to Bryan) bought the old Ascot Cottage racing

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Perhaps his greatest legacy is as the ‘godfather’ of arena polo in this country. The three-man game was hardly known or played in this country until Bryan came along establishment near Windsor and converted it into the first new major club in England for 30 years. Bryan’s vision was for a new style of club, less stuffy and more stylish.

In its first year, it hosted the High Goal Challenge; a new, 22-goal tournament for The Prince of Wales Trophy; and the country’s first ladies’ international. Later RCBPC added the innovative Polo Festival, attracting teams from all over the country for a fortnight of low goal tournaments.

For all the considerable success of Bryan’s RCBPC as the newest of England’s ‘big four’ clubs, however, perhaps his greatest legacy is as ‘godfather’ of arena polo in this country. The three-man game, popular in the US since the 19th century, was hardly known or played in the UK before Bryan came along.

In 1990, Bryan installed England’s first all-weather arena, and that same year convinced the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) to take this version of the sport under its wing. He became the first chairman of the HPA’s Arena Committee, a title he still held at the time of his death. RCBPC hosted the country’s first arena international, the Arena Gold Cup, and the HPA National Club Championships. Today, thanks to Bryan’s initiative, the arena game in the UK and Ireland attracts close to 1,000 players at some 25 clubs and private facilities.

Bryan is survived by his wife of 35 years, Greta; his son Jamie, now a 4-goal player (7 in the arena); and his daughter Karina.

MIKE ROBERTS

Herbert Spencer pays tribute to the pop promoter and polo enthusiast, who died in September

6/10/08 14:01:26

The Pullman Gallery is pleased to showcase in these pages a small selection of pieces from our exclusive collection of rare, original works of art related to the dynamic sport of polo.

Our collection comprises paintings, lithographs, bronzes, ceramics, silver trophies and objets de luxe, dating from the late 19th to the mid 20th century. This unrivalled material offers collectors of vintage polo-related art a unique opportunity to decorate their home, office or polo club with dynamic and stylish original pieces, ranging from decorative lithographs to museum-quality bronzes and trophies.

Joël and Jan Martel (French, 1896 – 1966) ‘Joueur à Polo’: an extremely rare and important Art Deco bronze cast from a plaster maquette created in 1931 and signed MARTEL. Height overall: 24 inches (60 cms).

Ref 3544

For further information and images, please visit our website at www.pullmangallery.com or visit the collection at our Mount Street gallery, open 10 am – 6 pm, Monday - Friday.

King Street 14 King Street - St. James’s London SW1Y 6QU

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Mount Street 116 Mount Street - Mayfair London W1K 3NH

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7930 9595

www.pullmangallery.com

3/10/08 11:38:55

(Top left) After Haseltine: an imposing green patinated bronze of a polo player, most likely after a design by American sculptor Herbert Haseltine, with stylish polo player upon his horse with mallet raised, the textured bronze socle stamped with ‘JB 2876’, all mounted on a black veined marble plinth.

Height overall: 11 inches (28 cms). Ref 2922 (Left) Hagenauer: three typically stylish Art Deco bronze figures in the form of polo players, all Austrian, c. 1925. Ref 1841, 1842 and 2124 (Top right) A. Guiet: an Art Deco bronze sculpture of a player astride his pony, bearing maker’s signature to the bronze socle, French c. 1935.

Height 10 inches (26 cms). Ref 2212 (Bottom right) Hagenauer: a pair of green onyx bookends, with flat silver-plated bases, featuring a stylized polo player to the front of each, mallet raised about to strike a ball. Austrian, c. 1935, height of each 5 inches (13 cms) Ref 3408; and an Art Deco alabaster ashtray featuring a stylized figure of a polo player on his horse, with mallet raised, length: 6 inches (15 cms). Ref 3412

www.pullmangallery.com

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The Polo Challenge Cup: a historically significant Sterling silver trophy of grand proportions. The dedication and lists of winning teams impressed in Art Nouveau script to one side, complemented by a scene of polo players set in high relief to the other. The foot of the cup, with applied polo balls and mallets, is mounted on an ebonised lacquer swept plinth; silver presentation plaque (vacant) affixed. The Polo Challenge Cup was presented in 1896 by Colonel Edward Morell, a passionate horseman, Congressman and owner of Morell Park estate, north of Philadelphia. Rockaway Hunting Club, whose team comprised a roll-call of US polo legends, retained the trophy after their third victory in 1902.

The cup has been sympathetically restored following its recent discovery in a private collection in Pennsylvania.

Marked J.R.CALDWELL, PHILADELPHIA STERLING SILVER 925 1000. Width 18 inches (45 cms). Ref 2945

www.pullmangallery.com

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6/10/08 15:16:14

(Clockwise from top left) Bernard Boutet de Monvel (French 1881-1949): ‘Portrait en pied du Prince Léon Radziwill au polo à Bagatelle, 1910’, signed and dated 1910, framed oil on canvas, dimensions: 36 x 30 inches (91 x 76 cms). Ref 3055 Carl Franz Bauer (Austrian, 1879-1954): original oil painting on board, c.1930 by the famous Austrian artist and illustrator Carl Franz Bauer of a polo match in progress. Framed and glazed. Dimensions: 18 x 14 inches (46 x 35 cms). Ref 2675 Lionel Edwards (1878 – 1966) ‘Polo at Hurlingham, 1930’: two excellent oil paintings on board each bearing the artist’s distinctive ‘L.E’ monogram, oil on board, both framed and glazed.

Dimensions: 13 x 12 inches (33 x 30 cms). Ref 3044 (pair).

Charles de Condamy (French 1855 1913): an amusing original watercolour depicting a humorous polo scene.

Mounted framed and glazed, French, c1880. Dimensions: 15 x 12 inches (38 x 30 cms). Ref 3256 ‘Polo Joe’: original film poster for the 1930’s film ‘Polo Joe’, starring Joe. E Brown. Mounted, framed and glazed.

Dimensions: 31 x 37 inches (79 x 94 cms). Ref 3662 Madeleine Pereny (American 18961970): ‘Polo Tournament’, original framed crayon and pencil on paperboard, signed on reverse by the artist. Dimensions: 18 x 13 inches (46 x 33 cms). Ref 2745 (Below): a near life-size and wellmodelled statuary bronze of a polo player and pony, on a bronze socle, French c1960s. Height: 59 inches (150 cms).

Ref 3259

www.pullmangallery.com

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6/10/08 15:16:23

Dexter Brown (aka de Bruyne, English b.1942): ‘Hurlingham 1922’, a fine oil painting on canvas by the leading living Impressionist artist, vividly capturing the excitement of the match between the English team and the visiting American team of USPA. Framed and unglazed. Dimensions: 65 x 48 inches (153 x120 cms). Ref 2970

Noël Coulon: an important patinated 1925 bronze of three polo players, the socle mounted on a veined marble base bearing plaques inscribed ‘Club Hipico Militar, Buenos Aires 1932’ along with the winning teams to 1940, starting with Hurlingham in 1932. Signed NOËL COULON, length overall: 21 inches (54 cms). Ref 3673

King Street 14 King Street - St. James’s London SW1Y 6QU

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Mount Street 116 Mount Street - Mayfair London W1K 3NH

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7930 9595

www.pullmangallery.com

6/10/08 15:16:35

hurlingham [ profile ]

the governor John B Goodman is CEO of International Polo Club of Palm Beach and a major mover and shaker in the sport, says Herbert Spencer ILLUSTRATION PHIL DISLEY

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Every decade or so a major mover and shaker comes along to make his mark in polo. In the 1950s it was the Viscount Cowdray, who led the post-war revival of the sport in England.

In the ’60s it was Oklahoma oil man John T Oxley, who re-established winter high goal in Florida with his Boca Raton club. He was followed in the ’70s and ’80s by William T ‘Bill’ Ylvisaker with his vast Palm Beach Polo & Country Club. In the last decade of the 20th century, Australian media mogul Kerry Packer set new standards in pony breeding and polo grounds with his facilities at home and in England and Argentina.

The 21st century’s first such mover and shaker in American polo is John B Goodman, 45, of Houston, Texas, CEO of International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPCPB) that hosts not one but all three of the country’s highestrated tournaments at the top end of the sport and has stimulated an unprecedented boom in competitions at lower levels. John’s development of IPCPB into the USA’s premier high goal venue, however, has been only one of his contributions to polo.

Currently a governor-at-large of the US Polo Association (USPA) and an influential member of the governing body’s key executive, finance, and high goal committees, the big Texan is considered by many to be the most powerful man in American polo today.

Although he prefers to remain out of the limelight (this interview is a rarity), when Goodman speaks, polo listens.

John is prepared to put his money where his mouth is. When he was faced with a legal dispute with fashion giant Polo Ralph Lauren over the re-launch of the magazine Polo to help promote the sport to a wider audience, a friend warned ‘be careful, Ralph Lauren has deep pockets’. Nonetheless, John hired a team of top Houston attorneys to fight the case through the Federal Court of Appeals.

The Goodman family fortunes were built on air conditioning. Goodman Manufacturing, founded in 1975 by John’s father, Harold Viterbo Goodman, became the world’s largest privately owned air conditioning firm, at one time 73rd on the Forbes list of US private companies.

Son John learned his father’s business from the ground up: ‘I worked at the factory or warehouse during school holidays,’ he

26-27 profile.indd 2

said, ‘things like checking stock and loading trucks.’ By his early twenties he was international vice-president, ‘travelling about 100 days a year’. After his father died from cancer in 1995, John took over as the company’s president and CEO until the family relinquished the company earlier this year.

John had the distinction of heading a list of prominent ‘greens’ supporting the US government’s efforts to reduce electricity demands by setting more energy-efficient standards for air-conditioning equipment.

‘Today everyone is concerned about saving energy,’ he says, ‘but we realised much earlier that something needed to be done.’

Goodman Manufacturing, alone against most corporations and all the other air-

The big Texan is considered by many to be the most powerful man in American polo today.

When Goodman speaks, polo listens conditioning and heating companies, sided with the greens and prevailed, putting higher efficiencies in air conditioning and heating appliances into law that is still in effect.

There was no polo in the Goodman family before John took up the sport in the late 1980s, but there were horses. His father was a prominent Thoroughbred owner and breeder.

‘I believe he was still in his teens when he got his first racehorse,’ says John. ‘One of his fillies, Two Altazano, once held the record as the biggest-ever money earner of Texasbred females’. The elder Goodman’s Brazos T Ranch near Houston included a Thoroughbred breeding and training centre until his death, just a day before he was to receive an award as the state’s leading breeder. ‘My brother Greg and his wife Rebecca now sponsor a race, the Harold V Goodman Memorial Stakes, in his memory,’ says John.

It was out on his father’s Brazos T spread that John first developed his love of horses and horse sports. ‘I showed Western from about the ages of seven to 14,’ John says, ‘so it was every weekend and school holidays at the rodeos.

‘The Houston Polo Club was near our home in the city,’ he says. ‘As a boy I used to watch polo there and thought it was a great sport I wanted to play someday.’ But he was well into his twenties before he finally took up the game under fellow Texan Charlie Flanders, a 5-goal pro. John began playing in low goal and medium goal tournaments at Eldorado Polo Club in the California desert, naming his teams after his wife, Isla Carroll.

Over the years John has competed at clubs from coast to coast and abroad. Along the way he has won, among others, two US Open championships, the USPA Gold Cup, CV Whitney Cup, two USPA Silver Cups, World Cup, International Cup, two Texas Opens and the Queen’s Cup in England.

At home in Texas, the once-prominent Houston Polo Club had fallen on hard times before John became its president. He pulled the club up by its bootstraps with improved facilities and marketing, securing the prestigious USPA Silver Cup as a club fixture and creating the now-popular Texas Open.

John began playing the winter season on Florida’s Gold Coast in 1989. In 1994 he purchased a large tract of land near PBPCC and built Isla Carroll Farm as a winter base, with magnificent stables and two pristine polo grounds. ‘I had no intention at that time of developing the farm as a big club,’ he says.

Meanwhile, in 1997, John bought Polo magazine, official publication of the USPA. The sports-oriented publication was renamed Polo Players Edition, while John re-launched Polo to cover the sport and general lifestyle subjects for a wider readership. Following the legal battle with Polo Ralph Lauren, Polo Players Edition still exists and Polo is the title of an annual publication John’s founding of IPCPB in 2002 came about ‘by default,’ he says. By the turn of the century, the owners of PBPCC had let polo at that club run down, and patrons became increasingly dissatisfied with the high goal scene there. So John decided to found a new club. The USPA was so impressed with John’s

1/10/08 15:39:29

Today the Goodman family’s 500 acres in Wellington encompass nine polo grounds, a massive stadium, clubhouses and other sports facilities

‘It’s becoming more and more expensive to put together strings of top ponies and hire top professionals. We can only hope the pros don’t become too shortsighted. If they keep returning to the well, it could run dry’

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plans for IPCPB that it assigned its top 26-goal tournaments, including the US Open, to the club even before a single brick was laid.

Today the Goodman family’s 500 or so acres in Wellington, just west of Palm Beach, encompass nine polo grounds, a massive stadium, clubhouses, and other sports facilities including a recently purchased golf club near IPCPB. ‘South Florida is the best place in the world to play polo in the winter,’ John says, ‘but the area is also important for other horse sports, with big equestrian events in Wellington and racing at Gulfstream Park. The clubs have brought the equine community closer together: about half our membership comes from the other horse sports.’ The biggest challenge in running

IPCPB, he says, is ‘keeping up the quality of the grounds during the winter months.’

In 2006 John and fellow team owner Skeeter Johnston founded the North American Polo League (NAPL) in which proam patrons could buy franchises with the goal of turning their teams into profitable businesses. The goal of the NAPL, John says, is to look at all the profitable sport franchises and venues and adapt them to polo, ‘to raise the public profile of the sport, with regular teams competing in tournaments around the country’. Tragically, Skeeter was killed in a polo accident that same year, but John has kept NAPL going with Skeeter’s father and other owners, and there are now eight franchised teams playing at venues in Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina and Wyoming, competing for an annual $100,000 prize.

Meanwhile, the success of high goal at IPCPB has encouraged expansion of polo at the medium and low goal levels. ‘Polo is experiencing amazing growth at these levels,’ he says, ‘not only around the clubs in Florida, but throughout the country.’

John is, however, somewhat concerned about the future of the high goal game in the US. ‘It is becoming more and more expensive to put together strings of top ponies and hire top professionals,’ he says. ‘We can only hope that the pros don’t become too short-sighted.

If they keep returning to the well, it could run dry.’ John will be entering his Isla Carroll team in IPCPB’s 20-goal tournaments in 2009.

The USPA is hoping to revive the famous Westchester Cup series between the USA and England at IPCPB, a move applauded by John.

‘Proper USA teams and internationals in the US would certainly help raise the public profile of the sport here,’ he says.

John’s involvement with polo over the past 20 years has brought other members of the Goodman family into the sport. His brother Greg doesn’t play, but Greg’s sons, Hutton, 21, and Bo, 16, do and he has formed a polo club, Mt Brilliant, at his Thoroughbred Breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky, and fields teams under that name.

Now his own children, Betsy, 13, and John Jr, 10, are taking an interest in the sport — a potential new generation of players thanks to the enthusiasm of one of polo’s great movers and shakers.

1/10/08 15:39:35

hurlingham [ history]

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The John R Townsend Challenge Cup

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1/10/08 16:05:03

mallets across the water

POLO MUSEUM

The historic Anglo-American competition has been given a new lease of life, reports Herbert Spencer

When national USA and England teams met for the Townsend International Challenge outside Washington DC in September, it was not only the first associationsanctioned international polo event on American soil in more than a decade, but also a fitting tribute to a man whose dedication and marketing acumen led to a growth of the popularity of arena polo in his home country and, eventually, across the Atlantic.

New York stockbroker John R Townsend was typical of wealthy East Coast equestrians of the early 20th century. He fox-hunted in England and Ireland, as well as New York and Virginia, organised horse shows and engaged in the sport of carriage driving. He himself did not play polo, but was an enthusiastic supporter and highly effective promoter of it.

Little was known in the polo world about Townsend and the original 1923 Townsend International Challenge until Georgetown University professor Dr Phillip A Karber recently applied his academic research skills to produce a 10,000-word historical monograph on the subject. Karber is a governor-atlarge of the US Polo Association, chairman of its marketing and arena committees, and president of Great Meadow Polo Club where the 2008 revival of the Townsend was held.

‘I was intrigued to discover that New Yorker Townsend once owned a farm just a few miles from our club and co-founded a hunt in the Piedmont,’ says Karber. ‘But what really impressed me was the tremendous amount of public attention and press coverage his international polo event got 85 years ago, with America’s stand against the Brit “invaders” becoming a matter of national pride. It’s enough to turn us 21st-century marketers green with envy.’

Another New Yorker, publisher James Gordon Bennett, had started polo in the US with an arena exhibition in Manhattan in 1876. The game moved onto grass and the world’s first international was inaugurated in 1886, with America and England fighting for the Westchester Cup. During the first half of the 20th century, big events at Meadow Brook on Long Island drew as many as 40,000 spectators. Meanwhile, the three-man arena version of the sport was played indoors in the military’s armories, sharing with the outdoor game such prominent players as W Averell Harriman, Winston Guest, and 10-goalers Mike Phipps and Stewart Iglehart.

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John R Townsend was vice-chairman of Meadow Brook, but his real interest lay not in the traditional game on grass but in the Indoor Polo Association of America (IPAA), which then governed the arena game in the US. In 1920, as director of the National Horse Show, he arranged an exhibition of arena polo in Madison Square Garden, which proved to be one of the star attractions. A year later he donated the first of the Townsend arena cups, for the Class A Championship, followed by a second trophy, in 1922, for the Intercollegiate Championship.

Then, in 1922, Townsend and the IPAA came up with a plan for an arena international, conceived as the indoor equivalent to the famous outdoor Westchester Cup series. The project got off to a rocky start. England was first invited to take up the challenge, but the English felt that not enough of their players had experience in the three-man game to be competitive. France was then invited, but in the end also turned the challenge down.

Then the English had a change of heart.

It was Englishman F W Egan who changed England’s mind about the international challenge. Egan had been working in France as a manager at the Paris and Deauville polo clubs and organising arena polo at French cavalry schools. Although he was the only English player with arena experience, he convinced his fellow countrymen that their skills on grass could be easily adapted to play in the indoor game.

After a flurry of transatlantic cables, the IPAA hastily resurrected the challenge, with Townsend as chairman of its international committee, and a best three-out-of-five series was scheduled for March 1923, inaugurating the John R Townsend International Challenge.

In the end, England could only muster a 16-goal side against America’s 22-goal team. Egan, handicap 6, was team captain at number 3, joined by Captain WF Holman,

John R Townsend engaged in the sport of carriage driving, but he did not play polo, although he was an enthusiastic supporter and highly effective promoter of the sport

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1 1923 US team

3 1930 Class A Champions ‘The Optimists’ with the Townsend Cup

2 1923 British team

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In 1994 the small Shallowbrook Polo Club in Connecticut staged a largely unheralded revival of the Townsend, with a locally selected team defeating an England side captained by John Horswell. The event got little publicity and is not even recorded in the year book of the US Polo Association (USPA).

Now fast-forward to 2005, when Bryan Morrison, chairman of the arena polo committee of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), was planning an arena extravaganza for the annual horse show at London’s Olympia. Americanborn Londoner Roderick Vere Nicoll, a steward of the HPA and publisher of Hurlingham magazine, suggested, and the USPA and the HPA agreed, that England should play the USA for the Townsend trophy.

The Olympia event fell through, but in 2007 Vere Nicoll suggested that the USPA consider reviving the Townsend International Challenge in the United States. The USPA agreed, and assigned the Townsend to Karber’s Great Meadow Polo Club in The Plains, Virginia, south of the Capitol, to be played during the association’s 2008 autumn meetings there. The USPA and HPA selected their teams and the game was on.

The only snag was that the original Townsend International Challenge trophy could not be found. So the USPA substituted it with the 1921 Townsend cup from the Polo Museum, adding a special ‘International Challenge’ inscription to the reverse side.

‘We’re hoping that this year’s Townsend revival is only the beginning of a surge in arena internationals,’ says Karber. ‘The original Townsend trophy deed of gift in 1923 referred to international matches played by the USA against England, France or any other challenging country, in America or other countries. So perhaps we’ll play it in England next time.’

For a report on this year’s Townsend Cup, see page 53.

The American press whipped up public interest and there were sell-out crowds all three nights in the Armory, with 1,500 of the tickets sold in advance POLO MUSEUM; PULLMAN GALLERY, LONDON

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5, at 2, and Captain FL Walford, 5, at 1. Captain K McMullen, 4, was alternate. The American team, all one-time arena championship winners, were Arthur W Kinny, handicap 9, at number 1; Dr Hugh B Blackwell, 9, at 2; and Robert A Granniss, 4, at 3. George C Sherman, president of the IPAA, was one of the alternates.

The England players arrived in New York late after a stormy Atlantic crossing aboard the Olympia (sister ship of the Titanic) and checked into the Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

Meanwhile, Townsend saw in the British ‘invasion’ the opportunity to promote arena polo outside New York and arranged matches for them at the US military academy at West Point and in Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia.

Playing on borrowed ponies until their own mounts, shipped over by sea, were ready, the England team acquitted themselves well in the warm-up games. In Brooklyn they walloped the US Army’s 101st Cavalry team 21-3, then at The Riding Club soundly beat a side captained by W Averell Harriman, 10-4.

The three Townsend International Challenge matches were played March 6, 8 and 10 at the big Squadron A Armory at Park Avenue and Ninety-fourth Street. The American press, including the New York Times, had by then whipped up public interest in the international and there were sellout crowds all three nights in the Armory, with 1,500 of the tickets sold in advance.

Although the challenge was played on handicap to balance the Americans’ six-goal advantage, the home team’s ponies were faster and handier, and the far more experienced USA side dominated England throughout, winning three straight games 4-1, 11-2 and 10-4 to take the trophy. The American press praised the sportsmanship and determination of the visitors, while headlining the USA’s victory on the sports pages.

Having sold their ponies to American players, the defeated English returned home — except for their captain, Egan, who stayed on to become polo manager at Dedham Country Club outside Boston.

Sadly, John R Townsend did not live to see all the fruits of his labours on behalf of arena polo. Six months after the Townsend International Challenge, following a brief illness, he died aged just 62.

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Nacho (in black) wrestles with Sebastian Merlos at Palm Beach

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When Nacho met Ralph

DAVID LOMINSKA

Robert Ryan meets the catalyst for Ralph Lauren’s entry into the sport, and looks at the story of the Polo brand

If there really were such an institution as the Handsome Boy Modelling School, then Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Figueras of the BlackWatch polo team (Palm Beach, Bridgehampton and Buenos Aires) would have a good chance of being Head Prefect. Good-looking and effortlessly urbane, he adds fluency, charm and diplomacy to the mix. Sensing that my own background is not in equestrian journalism (more fashion and music) he steers the first ten minutes of conversation his fellow countryman, the legendary Argentinean tenor player Gato Barbieri (composer of Last Tango in Paris) and the God of Trumpet, Wynton Marsalis. ‘Yes, those are my jazz friends,’ he says. ‘Not bad, eh?’

And he turns on a smile like a Klieg light.

You can see immediately why ubersnapper Bruce Weber signed him up as a model. Nacho, who is married with two kids, is excellent company. Just don’t make the mistake I did of using the ‘M’ word. When I do this, it is the only time in the conversation that I sense the steel beneath the soft covers of Nacho. ‘No, no, I am not a model,’ he insists. ‘I am a polo player. That is why I am such a good fit for Ralph.’

Ralph, of course, is Ralph Lauren, and although Nacho may bristle at the term model, he has become one of the primary ‘faces’ of the Ralph Lauren empire – first for the Black Label fragrance and now for the clothes. The RL Company also sponsors BlackWatch. The relationship is, as Nacho says, an obvious ‘fit’, but Lauren’s Polo brand has not always enjoyed a harmonious relationship with the game of polo. He is often portrayed as an opportunist who hijacked the name and the iconography of the game, without getting involved in the sport in return. And Lauren’s standing wasn’t helped by various court cases in which he sued the US Polo Association for copyright infringement.

So why has it taken Ralph – or his company – so long to finally get into bed with the mallet and horse that literally made his name? Nacho does not duck the question. ‘It is true,’ he agrees, ‘It has been too long. Ralph knows there should be a symbiosis, of the clothes and the sport. So I asked him, why did

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it take until I came along? But to understand, you have to go back to the beginning It all started with a tie. At least, that’s the way Ralph Lauren himself tells it. But it really started well before that. With a Morgan, perhaps, or a hacking jacket found in a thrift shop, or a kid in the Bronx called Ralphie Lifshitz who wrote in his school yearbook that he wanted to be a millionaire when he grew up (something that now sounds less like ruthless ambition than wild understatement). It began with a little boy with big taste and even bigger dreams.

Ralph Lifshitz (he changed his name in 1959, when he was nineteen) might only have been five-foot five, but he hustled to be in school basketball teams, and he had a look, an image, which stood out. ‘I remember him in jeans, loafers, white long-sleeved shirts, very preppy,’ one old school friend told Lauren’s (unofficial) biographer Michael Gross. Others recall him looking for tweedy vintage English-style clothes in thrift stores.

This was in the Bronx in the 1950s, when leather-jacketed gangs ruled. But his heroes were on the screen and they weren’t Marlon Brando or James Dean; they were dapper gents like Cary Grant and cool, stylish women such as Audrey Hepburn.

What Ralph had was An Eye, the ability to spot a trend, to appreciate a fabric, a look, to put together disparate elements to create a harmonious statement. Over the years many have sniped that he is not a designer, because he has had no formal training and rarely sketches. Ralph, the naysayers will sneer, is a mere stylist. But to appreciate Lauren’s role you have to move beyond fashion into film.

He is more like an auteur director, who has the concept and images for a shot or scene, and has a talented Director of Photography to do the actual shooting.

Unlike most designers, Lauren is not a man who wants to reinvent the wheel every season. As he himself says: ‘I’m not a fashion person. I’m anti-fashion. I don’t like to be part of that world. It’s too transient. I have never been influenced by it. I’m interested in longevity, timelessness, style—not fashion.’

In a way, it really did all start with ties – plural not singular. Although his mother

‘No, I am not a model.’ insists Nacho. ‘I am a polo player. That is why I am such a good fit for Ralph’

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perhaps. Real success, and real money, didn’t come for another two years. The turning point was a Polo Ralph Lauren storewithin-a-store at Bloomingdales. Common enough these days, this ‘boutique’ approach was a major innovation back in 1969 and it needed all Lauren’s skill to convince Bloomies that it would work. It was the start of an intimate relationship that survives to this day.

And what of the famous polo player, mallet raised ready to strike? That wasn’t on the ties. Its first appearance was in 1971, on the cuff of a run of women’s blouses. The image itself was snipped off the tie label of Polo executive Joe Barrato, who says the logo was, at that time, a public domain image anyone could use, just like today’s

clipart. It was Barrato’s idea, apparently, to put it on the cuff of the shirts and make them stand out. New York’s statusconscious buyers snapped them up. An icon was born; one that would come into its own when the company decided to take on the Lacoste polo shirts with their little crocodile and do them better, with pearlised buttons, natural materials, and a polo player on the left breast. In 1972 Lauren introduced the 24-colour knit-shirt range that would, along with the similarly logo-ed Oxford button-down shirts, secure the future of the company. Relentless expansion followed, with stores worldwide, a stunning (and stunningly expensive) flagship on Madison Avenue and a move into fragrances and the hugely successful Home range.

DAVID LOMINSKA; FRANCISCO SOEIRO

4 wanted him to be a rabbi, Ralph ended up selling neckwear for Brook Brothers, garnering a reputation for his displays.

After a spell in the army, he moved on to A. Rivetz, a Boston tie company, as an area salesman. He did this with style too, buying a totally impractical cream Morgan, which gave him image if not practicality (with a tiny boot, he often ended up strapping product to the bonnet). Shifting other people’s designs and fabrics wasn’t enough, though. Lauren had noticed ties in fashionable cities – notably London – were getting wider and brighter. He began to push for his own line, outrageously wide and well made of heavy fabric that needed fat knots.

They were priced outrageously too.

He met with considerable resistance and, in the end, decided to strike out on his own (albeit as part of the Beau Brummell company). So now he needed a name for his line. As with all legends, the origin of the Polo brand is shrouded in confusion. It was 1967 and Ralph and his business associates Jerry Bower and Warren Helstein (who took Lauren to his first polo match) bandied many ideas around. Nobody is sure who first suggested Polo. Nacho says it was Ralph’s brother Jerry. ‘It had cachet,’ Lauren has said.

‘Glamorous, international and playboyish.

Very suave characters went to polo matches.

That’s how it started.’

The official website says the ties were an ‘instant success’. Well, with a certain clique

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‘Nacho’s long-term view is to build the BlackWatch brand in partnership with Lauren’

There were occasional setbacks. Until Polo Jeans launched in the late ‘90s, Ralph had never been the go-to-guy for denim, and some lines, such as vintage-based Double RL, had failed to ignite the market the way he intended. After going public the share price did some roller-coastering. For the most part, though, with the help of massive successes such as Polo Sport, Lauren has lived his childhood dreams of emulating the stars he admired. You can still see the influence of Cary Grant and Clark Gable in his work and later, when Lauren worked on The Great Gatsby, Robert Redford joined the pantheon. He became a customer and helped introduce the Americana element to Lauren’s palette. The Native American blankets, the Stetsons, the western wear, the frontier chic, all came from that time, hanging with The Sundance Kid. Ralph, despite a brain tumour scare in the late ‘80s, continues at the helm. As Nacho says: ‘The man has such energy. I don’t mean just for his age. He has energy, period.

He is at his desk every day. Does he need to be? No. But he has a vision, the company is his vision, his baby.’

So what did Lauren answer when Nacho asked him why it had taken him so long to get involved with the game of polo? ‘He told me that in the early days the business was like a train. A runaway train. Polo kept growing and growing and I can see that, I see how much time he puts in, how focused he is. Looking back, he should have done it earlier, perhaps, but for years the train just wouldn’t stop.’

Lauren did eventually find time to get involved with the America’s Cup, tennis, golf and the US Olympic team, but by then his relations with the polo establishment had presumably soured over the question of copyright infringement. ‘Yes,’ says Nacho.

‘But to me, all that is history. Now, we are here.’ He knits his fingers together into a sphere. ‘And it makes sense for there to be strong bonds between Polo the brand and polo the sport.’

So how did this come about? ‘I met Ralph first socially, and was impressed with him, with the way he speaks, very quietly, but very wisely. And coincidentally a few weeks later I met Bruce Weber, who shoots many of his campaigns. At the time they were using Penelope Cruz for the women’s fragrance and he thought a Latin male would

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complement her for the man’s scent. So, I said yes and later Ralph listened when I said it was an opportunity to build bridges with the sport. He agreed. So now he sponsors BlackWatch, my team, and all of us are in this for the long term. We are good for each other.’

Nacho ‘s own long-term view is to build the BlackWatch brand in partnership with Lauren. ‘We start by playing in all the major tournaments around the world as a team.

Nobody has done that before. It has always been about individuals, yet polo is a team sport.’ So is he looking for BlackWatch to become an international name, like Manchester United? ‘Or Real Madrid or Chelsea, yes. And then others will follow. I know some of my friends are watching what we are doing. I welcome it. Competition is good.’

A little of Ralph’s retail hunger has certainly rubbed off on Nacho. When I ask him where he will be in ten years, he doesn’t hesitate. He smiles that megawatt grin. ‘I see there being a chain of BlackWatch shops, selling high quality goods, in cities around the world.’ And will he still be playing? ‘Why not? I hope so. If Gato is playing sax in his seventies, it’s not too much to hope I will be playing polo when I am forty. And I bet Ralph will be celebrating fifty years in his business and still involved with polo.’

Thanks, one suspects, to more than a little help from Nacho Figueras.

1 With Chase Crawford at the opening of the BlackWatch polo store at Bridgehampton 2 Nacho wearing Ralph Lauren 3 Delfina at Cowdray 4 BlackWatch team at Palm Beach 5 Nacho in perfect form

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latin class

Herbert Spencer looks at the boom in residential polo developments in Latin America

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From Baja California on Mexico’s Pacific coast across to Cancun on the Caribbean, back to the Pacific again in Costa Rica, down to the Atlantic beaches of northeast Brazil, and on south to the Argentine pampas, developers are betting on a growth in demand by globetrotting players and their families for polo homes-away-from-home.

Why Latin America? Because land and labour are cheap, horses are plentiful, scenery is spectacular, cultures are colourful, and there are attractions other than polo that can keep the whole clan, kids included, happy. So developers in several countries are offering polo families luxury second homes, from condominium apartments to villas with acreage, at a fraction of the cost of their equivalents in, say, Europe or the USA. For decades, high-goal patrons, from Oklahoman Hap Sharp to Australia’s Kerry

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Dine in style, in wonderful surroundings, at Culu Culu

Packer have bought up big Argentinian estancias, taking advantage of cheaper land and plentiful players and ponies. The creation of polo resorts in Argentina and Latin American countries to the north, however, for players who don’t need or want a zillion acres to worry about, is a relatively new phenomenon.

Market research must have pointed to eventual strong investment returns, for there are big guns involved in the boom, like the giant Dubai-based Jumeirah Group and another headed by Norwegian fish-fingers heir Torben Frantzen. Some of polo’s most famous players such as 10-goaler Marcos Heguy and former 10-goalers Carlos Gracida and Gonzalo Pieres are part of the push. And with other sports facilities being provided alongside polo, so are football icon David Beckham, tennis star Gabriella Sabatini and Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello.

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Not all of the new Latin American developers are big groups with famous names. Next month Tony Yahyai, a poloplaying Iranian immigrant who now lives in San Diego, California, will promote his ‘Club Polo’ concept with a multi-national beach polo tournament on the Pacific sands of Baja California, that long spit of territory along Mexico’s west coast.

Yahyai says that when he chose his trade name Club Polo he thought about the famous Club Med, the holiday group that started in the 1950s and eventually spread to some 60 destinations. ‘To me,’ he says, ‘club polo means catering for the vast majority of players round the world who enjoy the sport at low-goal levels, fun polo on good ponies, on good grounds and with luxury accommodation in a beautiful location.’

His first development, Club Polo Los

Cabos, seems to offer it all. The club is located right at the tip of Baja California near the stylish resort of Cabo San Lucas, less than two hours flight from the US. Club Polo Los Cabos will feature two tournament grounds, a practice ground, a state-of-the-art arena for three-man polo, and stabling for 140 ponies.

‘We’ll have a mix of Mexican and Argentine ponies available,’ Yahyai says. ‘We’ll be offering polo lessons, chukkas, and lowgoal tournaments to members.’ The quality of the polo operation seems assured, as Yahyai is bringing in one of the sport’s most experienced managers: Susan Stovall, who left California’s big Eldorado Polo Club this year after 26 years as its polo manager.

Grouped around the polo facilities will be a complete range of luxury accommodation, from studio apartments to large villas, at a wide range of prices. In addition to a planned

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38 39 five-star hotel, there will be some 100 plots of varying sizes available from around $200,000 to $1.5m for members to build their own homes in the gated community. The views from the club, over the Pacific Ocean on one side and mountains on the other, are spectacular.

Away from polo, says Yahyai, there is a wide range of attractions at nearby Cabo San Lucas, with golf, fishing, surfing, scubadiving, upscale shopping and fine dining.

Down in Argentina, the big Pilará development was the first off the mark there. Straddling the famous Pilar grounds of the Associación Argentina de Polo (AAP) less than an hour from Buenos Aires, Pilará is a three-club development offering more than 800 villa sites grouped around its polo grounds, golf course and tennis centre – as Palm Beach Polo & Country Club on Florida’s Gold Coast had done 40 years previously.

According to Ricardo ‘Dicky’ Hughes, vicepresident of the Pilará Polo Club, 80 per cent of the investment in the resort is Argentine, with the remainder from America.

‘The mix of people who make up clubs are as important as their facilities,’ Hughes says, ‘which is why we started as a group of friends, with the 150 founding members signed up by invitation only. When general sales start next year, prospective buyers will have to be introduced by two existing members of the clubs.’ He anticipates that around 20 per cent of members will be from locations overseas.

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The Pilará Tennis Club, to which Argentine tennis star Gabriella Sabatini put her name, is already well established and supported by the Argentine tennis association as a national academy. The Pilará Golf Club, also to the west of the AAP polo grounds, is still under development.

The Pilará Polo Club lies just to the east, adjacent to the AAP facilities. Its president is Marcos Uranga, a former president of the AAP and founding president of the Federation of International Polo (FIP), and 10-goaler Marcos Heguy is on the board.

The first two of Pilará’s eight polo grounds (five of its own and three leased) were inaugurated last autumn when the club hosted the FIP Ambassadors Cup during the federation’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

The club will again host the Ambassadors Cup during FIP meetings to be held in Argentina in November.

‘Of our 50 founding members at the polo club,’ says Hughes, ‘20 hold handicaps of 5 goals or more, so there will always be great polo at Pilará.’ He estimates that to buy a lot and build a luxury villa at Pilará would cost between $1m and $1.5m at today’s prices.

To promote the resort this autumn (spring in Argentina), says Hughes, Pilará has joined with the Swiss watchmaker Piaget to co-sponsor a 38-goal team for Argentina’s Triple Crown of the Tortugas, Hurlingham and Argentine Opens. The Pilará-Piaget team will be 10-goalers Marcos Heguy and Augustin Merlos and 9-goalers

Add up all the second home and short holiday possibilities for polo players and their families and you get several thousand planned over the next few years

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3 1 Culu Culu 2 Jack Nicklaus, whose signature golf course graces Pilará 3 Club Polo Los Cabos 4 Marcos Heguy 5 Tony Yahyai, founder of Club Polo Los Cabos

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Sebastian Merlos and Santiago Chavanne.

‘We’ll also have a second team, of two 7s and two 6s, playing in the Camera,’ says Hughes, now a 1-goal player, ‘and I will also be playing with friends in the PilaráPiaget colours, in lower-goal polo in various countries, to promote our resort.’

The second big Argentine development, the Jumeirah Culu Culu Polo Resort, has also been using sponsorship of polo teams for promotion. Its Indios Chapaleufu II Jumeirah Culu Culu team of 10-goaler Nacho Heguy and 9-goalers Eduardo and Alberto Heguy Jr and Juan Ignacio Merlos will again be competing in Argentina’s Triple Crown this year. Other teams wearing the Jumeirah Culu Culu colours have competed abroad, including Bridgehampton on Long Island.

Spearheading this polo and equestrian resort, on more than 1,000 acres situated beside a lagoon in Lobos, are American Al Alletzhauser and Australian Nick Anthony, who is based in Phuket, Thailand. The development is in association with the Dubai-based Jumeirah Group whose chain of luxury hotels and resorts stretches from Dubai to Thailand and Shanghai in the East to London and New York in the West.

The first stages of development at Jumeirah Culu Culu are nearing completion this year. The first two of eight polo grounds should be ready for play in 2009 and the first polo villas are also due for completion.

The developers’ villa designs, by leading Argentine and Canadian architects, are

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spectacularly modern. Private sites of an acre and a half have frontage on the polo grounds that have such exotic names as Zulu, Mamba, Shaka, and Pula Pula.

The resort will incorporate a 54-suite hotel and 74 serviced villas of from one to four bedrooms operated by Jumeirah, due to open in September 2010 to coincide with the bicentenary of the Argentine nation.

Polo is the name of the game at Jumeirah Culu Culu, but there will also be a large botanical garden filled with exotic Argentine flora and the shores of the lagoon will be a birdwatcher’s paradise.

Back up north in Mexico, there is a small polo residential development associated with the El Rey Polo Club near Cancun, and Carlos Gracida is planning a new centre with polo second homes near Mexico City.

To the south in Central America, Gonzalo Pieres has established the Ellerstina Costa Rica Polo Equestrian Beach Club with plans for condominiums and private villas.

This development of 2,500 acres is on the Papagayo Peninsula along two-and-a-half miles of beautiful Pacific beaches.

The most ambitious Latin American development of all is on the northeast coast of Brazil in the Rio Grande do Norte region north of Natal. Cabo São Roque, a project of Frantzen Signature Resorts, is on 3,500 acres along the Atlantic coast and is aiming to open in 2011 or 2012, capitalising upon the Brazilian government’s push to bring more tourism to the country.

No less a personality than David Beckham kicked off Cabo São Roque’s promotion this year by appearing in Brazil to announce a football academy at the resort, with eight pitches and training facilities.

Formula One driver Ruben Barrichello is coming in with go-karting and off-road racing. There are two golf courses and a big tennis centre in the plans.

For horse sports, there is the Carlos Gracida and Sarah Ferguson Polo & Equestrian Centre (the Duchess of York is a friend of the Frantzen family). In addition to polo, other equine disciplines will be practiced there, says Michael Brown, Carlos’ associate in Gracida International.

Cabo São Roque is planning three luxury hotels and a staggering 1,350 apartments and villas around the polo and other sports facilities along the more than three miles of white sand beaches.

Add up all the second home and short holiday possibilities for polo players and their families throughout Latin America and you get several thousand planned over the next few years. All are aimed at the luxury end of the market. Might it not be too much, especially in light of current uncertainties in the global economy?

The developers appear optimistic about their prospects. Michael Brown summed it up: ‘We don’t know what the future holds,’ he said, ‘but the high-end individuals we are aiming at are pretty resilient against economic trends.’

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junior choice The Pony Club, which celebrates 50 years of Pony Club Polo next year, has always been the cradle from which many of our top players have come, and it continues to play that role in 2008. It is now nearly 20 years since four boys at Eton persuaded the then headmaster to allow them to arrange a match against Harrow and afterwards against Cheltenham.

These two matches are now part of the annual polo calendar at both the Guards and Cirencester Park polo clubs. It was from these original matches that one of the parents, David Walton Masters, decided to start the Schools & Universities Polo Association (SUPA), which like Pony Club Polo has grown from strength to strength. There are now hundreds of players between the ages of six and 21 competing in both The Pony Club and SUPA’s annual tournaments.

There are also about 40 schools that offer the chance to play polo during term-time and many of these schools arrange interschool matches of proper four-chukka polo. However the tournaments run by SUPA, like The Pony Club, are one-day affairs and most of the

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matches consist of one six-minute chukka played ‘off the stick’. This year the top level of the Senior Schools were able to play two full-length chukka matches on handicap, but considering the standard of play at the top level this is still a bit restricting.

For many years, except for the odd club competition such as the Whitbread Cup at Rutland or the Under-21 Cup at Beaufort, the only proper four-chukka matches played on handicap for players under 21 was the Gannon section in The Pony Club.

A few years ago The Pony Club introduced the Langford section, which was of the same age group as Gannon, but only three chukkas, so letting players with fewer ponies compete.

It has become very obvious that many young players want to compete in their own peer group playing four-chukka matches under HPA rules. I have been lucky over the last few years to take a group of players aged between 11 and 14 to play in an ‘International Children’s Polo Tournament’ in Argentina organised by Tolo Fernandez Ocampo. This tournament takes place over three days

and all the matches are four chukkas and played on handicap. Although all the English children were good it was obvious that many of them were lacking the experience of the Argentines. Polo for young players in Argentina has been growing rapidly and all the children out there have been playing four-chukka matches, and as a result were improving far faster than our young players.

Last autumn a small group got together with David Woodd at the HPA to discuss how polo for young players should move forward.

We were very aware that this should not detract from what The Pony Club was doing and that our ideas should fit around the current structure of Pony Club Polo. Both the new Chairman of The Pony Club and the new Chairman of Pony Club Polo liked what we wanted to do and gave us their full backing.

This year therefore saw the introduction of Junior HPA polo based on the original structure of The Pony Club sections and running alongside Pony Club Polo.

The original Gannon section for players under 21 has been kept although the age and

THE PONY CLUB/KIT HOUGHTON

Jilly Emerson looks at the changes that are improving the prospects of a new generation of polo players

6/10/08 09:55:57

1&3 The 3C Pony Club Polo Championships incorporating the Junior HPA finals at Cowdray Park 2008.

Cowdray Park versus Kirtlington for the Gannon Title.

2 Beaufort Pony Club Polo Team, winners of the Cooper Cup (Surtees Division I) receive the Cooper Cup from the Hon Lucy Fraser. Team (left to right): Gabriella Rose, Bella Dear, Camilla Beresford and George Lodwick.

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handicap restrictions have been tightened.

The Langford section has changed from three chukkas to four and the maximum age reduced to under 18. A new section, Hipwood, has been introduced for players under 15 playing three-chukka matches. Hipwood was the most exciting new innovation for junior polo. The matches were of a very high quality and showed that we have some very talented young players coming along in the 12 to 14 age group. All Junior HPA matches are played on handicap with a handicap restriction on the teams. There are a few other alterations to make the polo more competitive and played in a safer environment.

The main difference in Junior HPA polo is that, although all the players have to be Pony Club members, the teams do not have to be made up of players from the same Pony Club branch. The teams are able to pick their own players. Some of the teams still come from Pony Club branches, but some come from schools, some from polo clubs and some are just groups of friends. This seems to have made the teams much stronger and next season when more people understand how Junior HPA polo is run and the standard of polo that is needed, it’s possible they will be even better.

All the Junior HPA matches were played over a period of four weeks during the school holiday. This year the matches started with a league competition and then the top teams in the leagues went on to play a ‘knock-out tournament’ with the semi-finals and finals being played at Cowdray during the Pony

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Club Championships. This is an amazing festival of junior polo and there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world.

Added to the internal competitions over recent years, teams of young players have been lucky to play matches abroad. These trips have usually been organised by The Pony Club or SUPA. In return several teams have visted here and hopefully this will continue.

We are now giving young players from all backgrounds an even better chance to play good, competitive four-chukka matches. I am sure that the introduction of Junior HPA polo is a big step forward for polo in this country.

It has become obvious that many young players want to compete in their own peer group playing four-chukka matches under HPA rules

3/10/08 11:19:21

ALEX PHOTOGRAPHY

Adam Snow is a USPA Player Member rated at 9 goals and team member of the 2006 U.S. Open Polo Champions Las Monjitas.

The U.S. Polo Assocation is the governing body for the sport of polo committed to providing services to students, polo players and polo clubs around the country to ensure the quality of play at all levels.

The powerful combination of horse and rider continues to embody breathtaking skill, fierce determination, gracious sportsmanship and above all, elegant ambiance unique to the world of equestrian sports. Join the dedicated men and women across the country by becoming a USPA member today.

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MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

Hurl_Spring08_USPA.indd 1

14/2/08 10:42:30

the action [drama] Catch up with all the latest action from around the world Making a splash Gonzalito Pieres was sensational this summer

44 Queen’s Cup

DAVID LOMINSKA

The tournament was once again larger than high goal competitions in the USA and Argentina

51 Windsmoor British Ladies Open

56 Rolex European

A good crowd proved that women’s polo is on the rise

England prevailed in Germany

46 Gold Cup

52 Hublot Gold Cup

The new one-tap rule brought fast, exciting polo

Gstaad was the setting for this popular tournament

48 Cartier International

53 Townsend Cup

The sun shone for the season’s glamour fixture

Advantage America in the revived fixture at Great Meadows

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54 Sotogrande

England rounded off a successful season with victory over Italy

Ahmibah and Pablo MacDonough were a revelation in Spain

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Championship

58 British beach polo Dorset played host to the popular attraction

59 Calgary Thrills and spills – and chuckwagons

60 Guards University Day ‘THE GAME’ (Harvard v Yale) brought an exotic touch to the UK calendar

62 Santa Barbara Audi dominated with their bold, attacking play

7/10/08 12:19:24

hurlingham [ action ]

Queen’s Cup The tournament saw a welcome return to exciting matches characterised by thrilling stick work, reports Herbert Spencer

The Vivari Queen’s Cup at Guards Polo Club was the first of English polo’s 22-goal tournaments of 2008 and as such set the high goal pace for the rest of the summer. The competition brought a number of surprises, not least a welcome return to the crowd-pleasing spectacle of free-flowing action that had often been missing from the game in recent years.

For the past decade or so, polo fans and many players had become unhappy with a style of play that saw game-slowing scrums caused by stick experts like Adolfo Cambiaso tapping and turning on the ball almost at a standstill until they could find a way out of the mêlée.

This season the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) found the answer: it strengthened its ‘one-tap’ rule and, more importantly, instructed its umpires to strictly enforce it.

The change was nothing short of dramatic, as demonstrated from the earliest Queen’s Cup league matches through to Ellerston’s victory in the final. Deprived of opportunities to keep possession by repeated tapping, the pros returned to a more classic, open style of polo.

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Delighted spectators were treated to blazing runs by those magnificent Thoroughbreds, open-field stick work, accurate passing, and booming big hits to goal – in short, the sport at its most thrilling.

Previously, teams had come to rely heavily upon penalty conversions rather than field goals. The ball-tapping scrums brought inadvertent, and sometimes manufactured, fouls. Some observers estimated that a good 50 or 60 per cent of the total goals scored in the average match were being hit from a penalty spot. Now scoring from penalties has dropped sharply, to perhaps a third of the total.

Additionally, the low-handicapped amateur patrons of high goal teams now appeared to take a greater part in the action. The patrons, mainly handicapped at 0 or 1, lack the skills to mix it effectively with professionals of 9 and 10 at close quarters, but in the more open game and on fast ponies, they have more chance to make a contribution. It was, for example, two lastchukka field goals by Ellerston patron James Packer that put his team into this year’s finals.

The Queen’s Cup victory of Australia-based Ellerston, a record sixth win for a Packer team since 1991, came as no great surprise. Packer had inherited his late father Kerry’s superb team organisation as well as an enviable pony string. What did surprise, however, was the dismal record of one-time powerhouse Dubai and the unexpected success of Sumaya who, having failed to show promise in previous years, made it through to the final and came within two goals of winning.

Ali Albwardy’s Dubai, spearheaded by Cambiaso, had taken three of the last five Queen’s Cups. Veteran Alejandro ‘Piqui’ Diaz Alberdi, who combined well with Cambiaso in their ’05 and ’06 victories, rejoined the team after a year’s absence, but the team suffered from the loss of the injured English 4-goaler George Meyrick. In their first match, Dubai went down to ignominious 14-8 defeat at the hands of the all-English Apes Hill, then went on to lose against newcomers Yindara and Grayshurst.

Somehow, the old Dubai magic was gone and they were out of the competition.

It was a different story with Sumaya, the team fielded by Jerusalem-born, Chile-based patron Osama Abu Ghazale. Although Sumaya lost their first match, they won their next four, including their semi-final against 2007 winners Loro Piana, to earn a place in the final.

Osama’s nephew, Amed Abu Ghazale, once rated at 3 goals in Chile but playing off 0 in England, filled the patron’s slot, performing

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above his handicap and proving to be an effective goal-scorer.

Despite their undisputed pony power and the advantage of the Pieres brothers Gonzalito and Facundo, Ellerston did not have it all their own way in this Queen’s Cup. They won two league matches by wide margins, but fell to Lovelocks. Their quarter-final was a return match with Lovelocks, which Ellerston won but which saw Facundo Pieres out of the tournament with a pulled riding muscle. Then came the semi-final against Azzurra in which patron Packer scored the winning goal just seconds before the final bell.

In the end it was Packer pony power that gave Ellerston the Queen’s Cup with their 10-9 win over Sumaya: Aussie ponies and Argentine 9-goaler Pablo MacDonough, who substituted for the injured Facundo Pieres and scored most of Ellerston’s goals. No surprise,

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then, that the HPA raised both Pablo and Gonzalito Pieres, named Most Valuable Player of the final, to 10 goals for 2009.

Of the other teams, Loro Piana came through their league and the quarter-finals unscathed before they were knocked out by Sumaya in the semis. George Milford Haven’s Broncos were relegated to the second eight on goal differences, but went on to win The Prince of Wales Trophy, now an extension of the Queen’s Cup, at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club.

With 20 teams competing for the Queen’s Cup, the 2008 tournament was again larger than any comparable high goal contests in countries such as the USA and Argentina, where the top events are contested by only eight to 12 sides.

Such a large number of teams again caused problems for host club Guards, which has only two grounds suitable for high goal matches.

1 MVP Gonzalito Pieres (left) goes for goal, flanked by Milo 2 Fernandez Araujo 2 Injured Facundo Pieres hugs Max Routledge 3 Max Routledge (green 3 hat) hooked by Hilario Ulloa

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hurlingham [ action ]

Gold Cup The new ‘one-tap’ rule made for enjoyable viewing and an easy job for umpires, reports Yolanda Carslaw

The two most popular teams among the Gold Cup’s 20 contenders faced one another on finals day at Cowdray Park. Loro Piana, last year’s runners-up, had sailed through the league stages and seen off Brittany Polo Club in the semi-finals with ease. Queen’s Cup winners Ellerston had taken more knocks en route, with a tough quarter-final against Cadenza and a fierce fight in the semis against Sumaya, the summer’s revelation and the team that knocked Loro Piana out of the Queen’s Cup a month earlier.

Both sides fielded a local boy. 26-year-old Jamie Peel gave up polo for the property business in his early twenties and was picked up by Loro Piana last winter after he returned to the game in Thailand. Jamie spent his childhood

at Cowdray, where his father, Nigel Peel, was the local huntsman, and took up Pony Club Polo, encouraged by James Beim, when the family moved to Gloucestershire. At 20 he played for Dubai, but left the1sport soon afterwards.

Ellerston took on 17-year-old Max Routledge, an outstanding young horseman from Chiddingfold, who has played at Cowdray since he was 11, is largely self-taught, makes his own ponies and stands several stallions. He played outstandingly in semis, in the face of Sumaya. Max also has a showjumping career, and the morning of the semi-finals he was at the 135cm Hickstead Derby, jumping1his 2 2 stallion Typhoon S (one of the horses on the Equine Pathway for the 2012 Olympics).

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The South Americans on both sides had led their teams into lively, speedy games throughout the league and knockout stages; Juan Martin Nero and Uruguayan David Stirling for Loro Piana and the Pieres brothers for Ellerston.

So it was a surprise that the final showdown, on a pristine Lawns II, did not go off with quite such a bang as spectators expected. In many ways, it was a brilliant match: the scoreline kept the crowd on the edge of their seats, both sides played a classic, passing game, and the action flowed. There was scant whistle, no arguing, and none of the substitution horrors of last year.

‘The final was one of the easiest games of the year to umpire,’ said umpire Peter Wright.

‘There were four guys on each team who

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ALICE GIPPS; CTONY RAMIREZ/WWW.IMAGESOFPOLO.COM

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knew how to play classic polo in fine style.

They’re nice guys, too, which shouldn’t make a difference, but it does.’

What was lacking were the fireworks produced in earlier matches by Gonzalito and Facundo Pieres. When the pair really find their rhythm, they are exhilarating to watch. The same goes for Loro Piana, but the lack of Pieres flames made for a somewhat subdued affair.

By half-time Loro Piana, who were expertly coached by 10-times Gold Cup winner Carlos Gracida, had a four-goal lead. Patron Alfio Marchini was fearless in helping foil Ellerston attacks. In the fourth chukka, after a pep talk from coach José Donoso (whose late brother, Gabriel, coached Ellerston two years ago), the Stedham-based squad came back strongly.

Making more use of their patron, Californian Tom Barrack, who took Jamie Packer’s place in the tournament, they closed the gap to a goal.

At the start of the sixth, with Ellerston still a goal behind, Peel and Marchini tore off to goal to bring the score to 11-9. A great save by Max 1 Routledge followed, then a whistle against Loro

Piana. Facundo, ever reliable, hit in the 40-yarder to make it 11-10, and Ellerston had a minute left to force extra time. They got possession, and Facundo whacked the ball towards goal, but he was surrounded, ridden off, and the ball spun 2 the back line as the final bell rang. over An overjoyed Marchini praised his young English pro in particular. ‘Jamie is a great player and a fantastic guy,’ he said. ‘For us, the latter is very important, as our team is like a family.’

David Stirling added: ‘Our horses were a little fresher than Ellerston’s, after the later stages, but horses were not the main issue in the game, and the entire tournament has been incredibly competitive.’

General consensus is that the new onetap rule has greatly improved the game, and both finalists epitomise the teams that have adapted best to it.

‘The rule has opened up the game, making it twice as fast and twice as good as last year,’ said Peter Wright. ‘The fact that there have been far fewer technicals comes down to the rule, too. Teams aren’t getting frustrated.’

One team that was frustrated, however, was Dubai, who didn’t win a single game in the Queen’s or Gold Cups. Perhaps they were missing the injured George Meyrick, perhaps they were finding the one-tap rule hard to adapt to. But it’s no surprise that word has it changes to the line-up are afoot.

Disappointment was also in store for Apes Hill Club Barbados, who had such a successful Queen’s Cup. As one of seven teams with two wins and a defeat, the all-English side missed the quarter-finals by a single goal.

Apart from the Apes Hill quartet, two ‘senior’ England players were employed in Gold Cup teams, both by British patrons. James Beim was with Martyn Ratcliffe’s Grayshurst, and Malcolm Borwick played back for Atlantic. Four-goal John Fisher reached the quarter-finals with Broncos, and his brother, Henry – on last year’s winning team, Lechuza Caracas – played for Dubai.

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In many ways it was a brilliant match. Both sides played a classic, passing game, and the action flowed. There was scant whistle, no arguing and none of the substitution horrors of last year 1 Juan Martin Nero (white) stretches for the ball with Gonzalito Pieres 2 Loro Piana’s Alfio Marchini holds the coveted Gold Cup 3 Young English player Jamie Peel (white) and Max Routledge both punched above their weight

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7/10/08 12:34:58

hurlingham [ action ]

Cartier England snatched victory from the Australians to lift the Coronation Cup at this year’s Cartier International, reports Antje Derks For once the weather didn’t dampen the most glamorous occasion in polo’s calendar, and England rode out onto the hallowed grounds at Smith’s Lawn, Guards Polo Club determined to avenge their defeat by the Australians in 2005, when the two teams last met. On that occasion England were denied victory in a thrilling seventh chukka that saw Australia’s Ruki Baillieu score a golden goal.

The highlight of the season always ensures a mix of celebrities and royalty and this year was no exception. HRH the Prince of Wales stood in for the Queen to watch this year’s excitement, while actors, actresses and other members of the glitterati gathered in the Cartier tent to watch the spectacle and enjoy a sumptuous lunch prepared by Anton Mosimann.

A crowd of around 25,000 was treated to some exceptional polo – and the appearance of three streakers who disrupted play in the final chukka. The trio bounded onto the pitch

as joyous as otters and led the stewards a merry dance before being captured. Luke Tomlinson said after the match that the sideshow had helped England to victory. Their cavorting took the pressure off and allowed the team to ‘breathe and reboot’. One has to wonder, however, what His Royal Highness thought of the extracurricular entertainment!

Subsequent press coverage focused more on the exclusion of Katie Price (aka the glamour model Jordan) who had tried and failed, via a third party, to secure a table at the Chinawhite Marquee. The press rallied to her defence, although it could be argued that her ‘snub’ was nothing more than an oversight or a clerical error. Controversy notwithstanding, those that attended were treated to some fantastic polo on a perfect, if slightly tropical, English summer’s day.

It was a confident England side that presented itself this year. A new team

structure, which saw the appointment of Andrew Hine as Team Manager and Javier Novillo Astrada as Coach at the start of the season, has proved to be a shrewd move.

England, supported by Audi UK, Cadenza and Crew Clothing, had benefited from plenty of practice matches and video training sessions.

They also had a victory against New Zealand under their belts, at this year’s Williams De Broë Test Match at Beaufort.

Luke Tomlinson retained the captaincy and showed true leadership and a maturity beyond his years. He was backed up by younger brother Mark, and the unstoppable James Beim and newlywed Malcolm Borwick.

Australia, meanwhile, had just one change to their 2005 line-up. Mark Todd was 1 replaced by Robbie Archibald, but otherwise International Day veterans Damien Johnston and Jack ‘Ruki’ Baillieu were ably led by their captain, Glen Gilmore.

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CTONY RAMIREZ/WWW.IMAGESOFPOLO.COM; TREVOR MEEKS; CENTAURPHOTGRAPHIC.COM

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The perfect condition of Smith’s Lawn meant that the crowd was treated to a fast, open game of polo that was a credit to the sport Damien Johnston scored first for Australia, but England soon came back and after an amazing goal resulting from an almost impossible cut shot by James Beim, they were leading 2-1 at the end of the first chukka.

James Beim has come on in leaps and bounds this season and went on to score goals in the third, fourth and fifth chukkas. He has worked hard at his game and has been superbly mounted all season. Both teams were lent horses by a number of people to compete

at the International. The Black Bears and Ellerston were at the forefront of pony pledges and had clearly furnished both teams with some first-rate mounts.

The Tomlinson brothers certainly pulled their weight and read the play perfectly, interacting together and with the rest of the team, with several finely executed tactical moves that resulted in goals. Luke Tomlinson won the accolade of Most Valuable Player and rightly so. He hit top form when it mattered most.

The Australian team in comparison looked tired. Indeed, only Ruki Baillieu seemed to be firing on all cylinders, and he single-handedly kept the boys from Down Under in the match until the latter chukkas, when Glen Gilmore caught fire and proved why he is still captain.

Baillieu complained after the match that his horses really felt the searing heat and humidity on the field and were only good for approximately three minutes in each chukka

before they were spent and needed changing for fresh ones. In spite of this, he managed to score the majority of Australia’s goals.

Despite his heroic efforts it was England’s day, and it was a proud team that lined up to collect the beautiful cup from Prince Charles.

The polo field at Smith’s Lawn is worthy of some high praise as well. It was in perfect condition and allowed players to perform without being hampered by a substandard ground. The crowd in turn was treated to a fast, open game of polo that was a credit to the sport.

Once the match was over, revellers headed for the Chinawhite Marquee for the Rock the Polo party or to the Smyle party, hosted by Jack Kidd, where they were treated to performances by top DJ, Mark Ronson and Faithless. The evening ended with a spectacular performance by acrobats suspended from hot air balloons above the Chinawhite Marquee.

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1 Australians Ruki Baillieu and Glen Gilmore are surrounded by the England team 2 Prince Charles presents the Coronation Cup for the first time 3 Ruki Baillieu was Australia’s best player 4 England’s Mark Tomlinson on the ball

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7/10/08 08:34:51

hurlingham [ action ] The Cowdray ruins provided a spectacular backdrop

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St Regis Test England’s victory over Italy saw them complete a memorable hat-trick in less than Under any other circumstances, polo would have been cancelled. After a deluge of rain that left Lawns 2 soggy to say the least, the England team, supported by Audi UK, Cadenza and Crew Clothing, prepared to take on Italy in the final international test match of the season, on the last day of August at Cowdray Park Polo Club.

Sponsored by the St Regis hotel group, this inaugural test match looks set to become a permanent fixture in the English high goal calendar. The teams were under no illusion as to the trickiness of the going, having seen the ladies in action during the final of the Windsmoor British Ladies Open earlier in the day. A thrilling match, which saw several tumbles due to the unfavourable conditions, meant grooms had been busy screwing in the studs for the international showdown.

The England line-up was slightly different.

Malcolm Borwick was unavailable and team

The fact that England now has a squad of strong players shows how far they have come, especially under the new management regime

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captain Luke Tomlinson had been delayed in Deauville after his team had reached the final of the Gold Cup there (which they subsequently won).

Luke’s younger brother Mark stepped up to the plate and took on the captaincy, with England stalwart James Beim backing him up. Jamie Le Hardy and Satnam Dhillon completed the quartet. It was their first time playing for England at such a high level, but neither seemed fazed by the prospect and both met the challenge admirably.

The fact that England now has a squad of strong players to choose from shows just how far they have come, especially under the new management regime. The steadying influence of Team Manager, Andrew Hine, combined with the awesome playing knowledge of Javier Novillo Astrada, the new-this-season team coach, has proved a formidable phenomenon [see interview on page 16]. This has been borne out by England’s success at the Williams De Broë test match against New Zealand and their sensational victory over Australia at this year’s Cartier International.

Despite Italy taking an early lead in the first chukka, some great play from both Mark Tomlinson and James Beim ensured that their advantage was short-lived and England entered the second chukka with a 2-1 lead.

Italy levelled the scores early in the second chukka and then took the lead after Marcos Di Paola converted a 60-yard penalty with a truly amazing shot. James Beim didn’t let the grass grow and soon tied the scores again.

Mark Tomlinson converted a penalty 4 and England took the lead again.

The ground resembled a skating rink and had already accounted for James Beim falling off, but despite the often treacherous conditions, England pushed forward, scoring from another penalty to take them to a 5-3 lead at half-time.

Ground staff and spectators did sterling work treading in during the break and England continued their winning streak with a fabulous goal from Satnam Dhillon. Italy missed a clutch of chances, before Bautista Sorzana finally found the posts.

Going into the fifth chukka, England were leading 7-4. Beim scored again, and Italy continued to miss several golden opportunities, only managing to claw back a goal just before the end of the fifth chukka.

England had a three-goal lead (8-5) going into the sixth and final chukka. Di Paola scored for Italy after a brilliant run, bringing them to within two goals of their rivals, but England, determined to make this a convincing victory, slammed another goal past the posts to take the match 9-6.

PAUL BOURDILLON

ideal ground conditions. Antje Derks was there to watch the action unfold

30/9/08 11:53:39

Windsmoor British Ladies Open Heavy rain didn’t succeed in dampening enthusiasm in the beautiful, mist-enveloped setting of Cowdray, reports Sarah Wiseman The English summer lived up to its growing reputation for unpredictability, with the final of the Windsmoor British Ladies Open Championship greeted with rather sombre and wet conditions at Cowdray. There were concerns that the ladies’ match would ruin the ground for the International Test Match which was to follow on Lawns 2, so the ladies’ final was moved to Lawns 1 at the last minute.

With this in mind, it was great to see so many spectators turn out to watch the final of the coveted trophy. This, I think, is proof that the quality of ladies’ polo has certainly improved.

It is an open tournament, meaning that a team can enter with any handicap but receive no handicap advantage. This year six teams entered, ranging from 0 to 3 goals. Four teams met in the quarter-finals, with both Audi and Stanford Financial Group receiving byes into the semis. Sweetfeet Shoes sealed victory over Windsmoor 8-4 and The Pussy Girls took an 8-3 win over WRP Executive.

The semi-finals were extremely competitive.

First, Stanford met Sweetfeet Shoes, and although the first chukka was extremely close, Stanford raised their game to win 6-1 despite losing a team member for the whole of the third chukka. Audi’s semi-final was again tight at the start, but the hard-marking team won 6-2.

As a surprisingly large crowd (complete with umbrellas and trench coats) gathered

alongside Lawns 1, the ladies took to the field with the Cowdray ruins surrounded in mist – a beautiful, if rather damp, backdrop.

The first chukka was quick and exciting.

Nina Clarkin scored the first goal for Audi within a minute of the ball being thrown in. Stanford had their work cut out as Audi clearly meant business, and the chukka ended 2-1 to Audi.

In the second chukka, the Audi game plan came into force as Clarkin took control of the ball and Clare Milford Haven, Vanessa Taylor and Teresa Beresford went to work taking out the ladies on the Stanford side.

This allowed Nina to run the length of the field three times, scoring with superb accuracy in tricky conditions. Stanford were working and playing hard, but clearly found it difficult to penetrate the Audi defence and keep up with the inspired Clarkin.

It was great to see so many spectators turn out to watch the final of this coveted trophy. This, to me, is proof that the quality of ladies’ polo has certainly improved

Stanford came back fighting with some great team plays and clever passing between Marianela Castagnola and Sarah Wiseman, and they were able to penetrate the Audi defence and capitalise quickly and effectively with Alice Gipps and Clare Mathias running up front. This took the score to 5-4 heading into the last chukka.

The play went back and forth with both teams having to defend hard. With three minutes left a penalty gave Audi a two-goal lead, and then, with seconds left, Clarkin finished off in style with another superb goal.

Audi got their tactics right on the day and played a simple, fast game. They marked very well, making it hard for Stanford – who play a close, controlled passing game – to make headway up a heavy field. By marking so well they isolated the Stanford player on the ball, who would normally would look to release to a teammate, and forced her to carry the ball alone. Audi had a horsepower advantage and played an ideal game for the pitch conditions.

They hit big and accurately, chasing the ball at speed, knowing that when they reached the ball it would be stationary. If you know you have the horses to get past your marker, it is the ideal tactic. Audi’s goals were all scored from at least 60 yards out with decisive, accurate hitting. Clare Milford Haven was awarded MVP.

ALICE GIPPS

Sarah Wiseman (left) and Nina Clarkin give chase

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hurlingham [ action ]

Hublot Gold Cup Polo goes from strength to strength in Switzerland, as shown by the recent successful event in Gstaad, reports Yolanda Carslaw

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umpiring jobs, organisers ‘went to town’ on the two-storey VIP tent and its culinary contents.

The Gstaad Palace hotel set up kitchen at the marquee, while Miguel Novillo Astrada, now a Hublot ambassador, circulated among guests (though he didn’t take to the field).

The Hublot Gold Cup is one of five major summer tournaments in Switzerland, where the sport is increasing in popularity. More than 110 players are registered, and a cluster of enthusiastic patrons is driving the sport’s expansion. The 15-goal Swiss Open at Zurich’s Polo Park is, like Gstaad’s fixture, increasingly well-organised and competitive, with participants this year including Matias MacDonough, James Harper, Pablo Jauretche and Gaston Moore. In winter, the country also hosts snow polo at Klosters and St Moritz.

The Hublot Gold Cup is a major tournament with a cluster of enthusiastic patrons driving the sport’s expansion.

1 Gstaad Palace battle it out with Land Rover 2 The Hublot team

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ANDY METTLER/SWISS IMAGE

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The patron Fabien Pictet, absent from British high goal for two seasons, triumphed in August on home ground in Gstaad winning the 18-goal Hublot Gold Cup alongside his son, Sascha. With the Argentine duo Alejandro Agote (8) and Hector Guerrero (7), the Pictets’ 16-goal Gstaad Palace team beat Land Rover, a French-backed side.

The four-team fixture took place over a long weekend (14-17 August), with two matches each on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, plus a festive mounted parade of teams through the streets of Gstaad on Friday.

Despite corporate hospitality on a grand scale, an overwhelmingly friendly vibe and parties every night, the sporting action was highly competitive, according to the British umpire Henry Stevens, who officiated at the fixture.

‘It’s not somewhere players go for a fun ride,’ he said. ‘They go to win.’ And there’s quite a prize, too – this year’s winners each took home a Hublot watch worth $15,000.

The tournament takes place in a picturesque valley at Saanen in the Bernese Oberland, three kilometres north of Gstaad, to a backdrop of precipitous meadows, hay huts, chocolate-box chalets – and a busy little airfield frequented by private jets and skydiving planes. The three-quarter-size field, a flat Alpine meadow, is kept pristine all year, then boarded and lined with grandstands, marquees, chi-chi boutiques and public bars for Gstaad Polo Club’s single annual tournament. Though the field is next to the runway, planes are under orders not to take off or land during play. Horses are put up in temporary stabling adjacent near the field.

On finals day, Pictet’s Gstaad Palace, starting with 1½ goals on the scoreboard, faced Franck Dubarry with the seven-goal Menendez brothers and Martin Pasqual.

Gstaad Palace, the only side with two rather than three professionals, had the advantage that Fabien Pictet was on very good form, as well as feeling at home with all his team-mates (Guerrero was on his Queen’s Cup-winning side in 2002, and both Guerrero and Agote were on the last Emerging side to play UK high-goal in 2006). In the speedy, open fourchukka showdown, each side scored two goals, leaving Gstaad Palace 3½-2 at the final bell.

The Hublot team, with Swiss patrons Pierre Dillier and Thomas Rinderknecht alternating in the number one spot, beat El Mirasol for third place, with Austrian patron Robert Kofler at the helm. Other professionals to feature included Lucas Labat (the weekend’s highest scorer), Juan Jose Brane and Ignacio Tillous.

Hublot, the new title sponsor, cranked up the lavish hospitality of previous years.

According to Henry Stevens, who has seen his share of post-polo banquets in the course of

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Tom Biddle, Chairman of the USPA, holds the cup alongside the umpires and teams

Townsend Cup The US narrowly beat Great Britain in the revival of the historic competition, reports Alex Webbe

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Sheldon went on a tear, converting three consecutive goals before burying a two-point goal from midfield that ended the chukka.

Great Britain held a precarious 6-5 lead, but the US Team had finally got in synch with one another, and quickly took control of the game. An aggressive British team was awarded a Penalty 1 (awarding a goal to the team fouled). State converted a penalty shot for another goal and Great Britain stepped up to take an 8-5 lead.

John Gobin scored from the field for the US, followed by two more penalty scores from Sheldon, and the score was even at 8-8.

‘Every time we managed to take control of the match,’ said Gobin, ‘they managed to rally for a couple of goals.’

The US team was fouled in the area of the goal while on the attack and was awarded a goal on another Penalty 1. Then State converted a penalty shot for Great Britain to keep it all even at 9-9. A second Penalty 1 was whistled against the British and the US team left the field at half-time with a 10-9 advantage.

State scored all three of Britain’s goals in the third chukka, but the USA rallied with goals from Adair Seager, Gobin and Sheldon, and extended its lead to 14-12 with only one chukka left to be played.

‘Every time the US managed to take control of the match, Great Britain managed to rally for a couple of goals again’ Seager scored two more goals for the US trio before Maurice Ormerod slammed in the last two goals of the game. ‘It was a great team effort on both sides,’ said event organiser Dr Phillip Karber. ‘I couldn’t have been more pleased with the match-up.’

‘Everyone was very well mounted,’ said Sheldon. ‘It seemed that every time you needed another mount, they had one ready and waiting for you.’

The John R Townsend Cup was being played for the first time since 1923 and through the efforts of the Hurlingham Polo Association and Dr Karber, Chairman of the Arena Polo Committee of the United States Polo Association, the trophy was put into play once again. ‘I feel confident that the Townsend Cup is on the table once again,’ said Dr Karber, who is already planning the next competition.

WESLEY CROSS

California 6-goaler Billy Sheldon accounted for eight points in the USA’s 16-14 win over Great Britain at the Great Meadows Polo Club on Friday, 12 September 2008, in one of the most exciting arena polo matches of the season.

The portents weren’t good for the British team when 6-goaler Martin French Blake became ill on the Thursday evening and was hospitalised, forcing the addition of Dominic State to the British lineup. Rather than carrying a 16-goal team handicap, the British side came in with two 5-goalers (Maurice and Giles Ormerod) and English-born Virginia resident Dominic State (2). But despite the initial problems, they got off to a flyer.

‘They didn’t come here for a social game,’ said Sheldon, who found his US team trailing 6-0 in the first chukka. ‘We spotted them three goals and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves in a hole.’

Early goals from Maurice Ormerod opened the scoring for Great Britain, followed by scores from teammates Dominic State and Giles Ormerod (father of Maurice). With a three-goal handicap to start the game, Great Britain found itself in front with an impressive 6-0 lead. ‘They caught us by surprise,’ said Sheldon, ‘and I was making the adjustment of playing with John [Gobin] and Adair [Seager].’

3/10/08 11:10:46

hurlingham [ action ]

Sotogrande Ahmibah, spurred on by Pablo MacDonough, were a revelation in Spain this summer, reports Jorge Andrades

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Ahmibah were dubbed the ‘King of Cups’ during the 37th edition of the high handicap season played in Sotogrande, Spain – the world famous tournament organised by the Santa Maria Polo Club that saw eight 19 to 20-goal handicap teams taking part.

Bolstered by the marvellous play of Pablo MacDonough, who demonstrated his great skills with the ball and reaffirmed just why he’s considered one of the best players on today’s field, Bahar Jefri´s squad won for the second straight year – first the Bronze, and then the Silver and Gold Cups, with play of an equally high standard.

The outstanding playmaker was ably supported by young Argentinians Iñaqui Laprida and Valerio Zubiaurre, as the three came together to control the best opposition players, such as Adolfo Cambiaso – whose Loro Piana they also faced in the semi-final of the Gold Cup. The back and second forward of the winners put up a convincing display in defence, while Bahar Jefri was the revelation of the whole tournament, being one of the best patrons, not only as a result of the

numerous goals he scored, but also his intelligent play.

Ahmibah defeated Camilo Bautista´s Las Monjitas 10-8 and 12-9 in the final matches for the Bronze and Silver Cup respectively. In the last encounter, Pablo MacDonough scored 11 of his team’s 12 goals, giving a great show and polo lesson. Both finals were exciting and well played and in spite of their defeats, the losers, led by Eduardo Novillo Astrada Junior, and ‘Picky’ Díaz Alberdi, played with conviction and this gave them confidence for the Gold Cup, in which they reached the semi-finals.

Curiously, after winning the Bronze and Silver Cups, Ahmibah lost their opening match against Ayala (7-9) in the Gold Cup, but immediately improved their play to demolish Tiago Gallego´s La Varzea (14-11) and Michael Redding´s Scapa Valdeparras (13-10) to reach the semifinals.

The champions then faced Loro Piana, who lined up Adolfo Cambiaso to replace Juan Martin Nero. But the best player in the world was annulled by Bahar Jefri´s

DVD ACTION

Thousand of spectators enjoyed not only the Gold Cup final, but also the parties before and after the game

1 Patrons Iñigo Zobel (Ayala, white) and Bahar Jefri (Ahmibah, red) cross mallets in the final 2 Crowds flocked to the final 3 & 4 MVP Pablo MacDonough (red) won all three tournaments

CTONY RAMIREZ/WWW.IMAGESOFPOLO.COM; SALVADOR MARENO

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squad, and Alfio Marchini´s team therefore unfortunately lacked creation and goals, losing 13-8 in one of the surprising results of the season. Pablo MacDonough was again the man of the match, scoring 10 of his team’s 13 goals, most of them after excellent individual plays or through strong shots. With his help, his fellow team-mates demonstrated that they were ready to win their third Cup in a row.

Meanwhile, in their same zone, I Zobel´s Ayala, who had defeated Ahmibah in the first match, gained a 12-6 victory against Scapa Valdeparras but then lost 7-8 to La Varzea.

Despite their last defeat, they qualified for the semi-finals, where they outclassed Las Monjitas 10-5 with great work by Uruguayan David Stirling, who was one of the outstanding players of the season, along with with MacDonough.

As was the case for most of the season, the Gold Cup final between Ahmibah and Ayala was played under a sunny sky on the excellent number one field of the Los Pinos installations. Thousands of spectators

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enjoyed not only the match, but also the parties before and after the game.

Ahmibah were seeking revenge for their 9-7 defeat in the opening match of the tournament and took a 2-0 lead with two early goals by MacDonough, but Ayala managed to pull themselves back to 2-2 by the end of the first chukka. It seemed that the encounter would be close, but from the second period everything went the winners’ way and MacDonough increased their lead progressively. By the end of the fourth chukka the champions were 10-5 ahead.

The losers did not abandon the fight, however, and narrowed the gap with just two minutes to go to make it 10-11. This did not reflect the game, as the difference between the teams was more than just one goal. In fact, despite Ayala´s late reaction, the champions´ triumph was never in doubt.

The victory resulted in the recognition of Ahmibah´s outstanding performance and also Pablo MacDonough´s brilliant play. The number three was the best player and also top scorer of the season. ‘We never thought

we could gain all of the tournaments,’ he admitted. ‘We started the season trying to obtain at least the Silver Cup, as in 2007 we had won the Bronze Cup but I think this is not an important tournament taking into account everybody plays in it just to train the horses and to gain teamwork. After playing well in the Bronze Cup and winning the Silver Cup, we realized we were really a good team.

Besides, our horses were not injured and performed perfectly so we decided to play well in the Gold Cup, no matter whether we could win or lose. Fortunately things were better than we had thought, and here we are with the third cup in a row in our hands.’

‘I’m one of the happiest men in the world,’ said patron Bahar Jefri. ‘I had excellent team mates, and having won the three Cups is a dream for me. Pablo MacDonough is great.

I admire the Argentine players, as thanks to them I could achieve what I set out to do.’

Meanwhile, Loro Piana, Ayala and La Varzea were champions of the Bronze, Silver and Gold Subsidiary Cups, beating Ayala, Villareal and La Varzea, respectively.

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hurlingham [ action ]

Rolex European Polo Championship England put together an impressive unbeaten run to triumph in Aspen Manor, reports Annika Urbat

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Eight nations competed for this year’s Rolex European Polo Championship at Aspen Manor near Hamburg in Germany. Team England – Nick Pepper, Max Routledge, Ollie Cudmore and Eden Ormerod – were the only team to win all their matches throughout the tournament. Starting the preliminary round in Group B, England faced and beat group opponents Switzerland, the Netherlands and defending European champions Italy, in a clean but not especially impressive manner.

The following round saw the qualifying matches for places one to four, with England taking on France, who won those group matches by way of Deauville’s young and possibly slightly under-handicapped 3-goaler Pierre-Henri Ngoumou. The only preliminary game the French lost was the one PierreHenri had to skip: the match against Belgium, later England’s opponents in the final. The French were favourites, mostly because of Ngoumou, whose hitting power had been a major feature of their play, and never more so than in the emphatic 17-3 defeat of Team Austria.

But England’s number 2, Max Routledge, was on a mission to neutralise Pierre-Henri Ngoumou – and that mission was a success.

With France’s strongest player effectively cancelled out by ‘Sticky’ Routledge, the path was cleared for Nick Pepper und Ollie Cudmore time and again. Not having been challenged in the preliminary round, England now showed what they could do against worthy opponents, securing a clear 10-3 victory and qualifying for Sunday’s finals. France qualified for the third-place play-off, where they sank Switzerland unceremoniously 6- , securing at least a place on the dais for the French team.

England’s Max Routledge was on a mission to neutralise France’s Pierre-Henri Ngoumou - and the mission was a success

The grand finals offered two teams that could hardly have been more different. The young English against the veterans from team Belgium, fielding Gery de Cloedt, Peter Holsbeek, Fernando Morando, and captain Michael Redding, CEO of SCAPA SPORTS, FIP’s successor to La Martina as official supplier. Belgium entered the final match with a handicap advantage of 1 , and took an early lead. Ollie Cudmore appeared to score with a free hit from the spot. The goal umpire indicated a goal, but seconds later it was renounced by one of the field umpires.

Unfazed, Routledge and Cudmore scored, 1 ending the first chukka with a lead of 2-1 .

The second chukka started with Fernando Morando dismounting involuntarily, and then spending the best part of two minutes chasing his horse back to the pony line.

The English took instant advantage of their superior numbers, with Cudmore scoring after a well-placed pass from Pepper. Having returned just before the end of the second chukka, Morando made up for his truancy by reducing the Belgian arrears to 3-2 by means

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PACE POLOMAGAZIN/CHRISTOPH CURVERS

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of a well-placed free hit from the 30-yard line.The third chukka saw the English spirits rekindled. Someone seemed to have used the break to remind them what was expected from them, and it appeared to have had the desired effect.

Belgium’s Michael Redding scored a 60-yarder right after the order to ‘Play!’ The Belgians were in the lead, but this was the last time in the match that they would be in this position. England managed to lure the fiercely attacking Belgians into the same trap over and over again: every time Michael Redding released one of his wide balls, the Belgians were given ample room to stampede towards the English goal. It seemed like a suicidal strategy for England to employ, but it worked fantastically well. The Belgian ‘kick-and-rush’ tactic was spirited rather than astute. Eden Ormerod awaited the Belgian wave and relieved the attacking players of the ball. Well-hit passes to the waiting English forwards allowed Pepper (twice) and Cudmore to shuffle the ball into their opponents’ abandoned goal. By the end pf the third chukka it was 5-3 .

The last quarter began with a missed 30-yarder by Fernando Morando and, despite putting up a good fight and excellent horses, the Belgians where not up to it. Nick Pepper scored again in the third minute, as did Ollie Cudmore with 15 seconds on the clock. Team England won 7-3 and were European Polo Champions of 2008.

Thanks to PACE polomagazin

1 Max Routledge (green hat) and Michael Redding (right) go for the ball in the final 2 Michael Redding (left) and Ollie Cudmore give chase 3 On the podium (from left): Eden Ormerod, Ollie Cudmore, Max Routledge and German captain Christopher Kirsch

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hurlingham [ action ]

Beach Polo A lively event attracted a new audience, with mounts coping superbly with the unfamiliar ground conditions, reports Yolanda Carslaw

Eden Ormerod of Citrix (centre, white hat) leads the chase ahead of (from left) his brother Maurice, Spencer McCarthy, and Howard Smith, all of Sunseeker

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parachute display, as well as sport. The 5,000 attendees over the two days, including on the ‘freeview’ side for curious passers-by, certainly saw some feisty polo, with boisterous commentary upping the excitement factor.

Heaton-Ellis had gathered a largely local band of patrons, including Spencer McCarthy from the New Forest, Bournemouth-based Dan Hobson, and Simon Patterson, who lives near Sandbanks and plays at Tidworth. They in turn had taken on a medley of British pros including arena wizzes such as the Ormerod brothers, England regular Jamie Le Hardy, Peter Webb and Howard Smith, plus a handful of Argentines, including Pancho Marin-Moreno, Gonzalo Bourdieu, Nico Fontanarrosa and Jorge Tassara.

Players used arena handicaps and games were played largely under arena rules, with a snow polo ball that flitted and spun this way and that at the whim of the wind and the sandy surface. Ponies were initially wide-eyed at the bright sponsors’ banners surrounding the ground, the unfamiliar goals and the high netting, which flapped about in the sea breeze.

Players had misgivings that the surface would be uncomfortably deep, but the horses coped well, the games flowed and teams rode off smiling after each six-minute chukka.

‘To come from a very competitive grass scenario to the seaside, in the middle of the season, has been great fun,’ declared Pancho Marin-Moreno, whose mare, Marocha, beat the Audi Q7 both days in the horse v car races.

‘It’s very different for the horses: the going is quite deep, and they don’t want to go into the corners. Even the ball is different.’

‘The ponies were scared of the people and the environment,’ said Gonzalo Bourdieu, who is based at Edgeworth. ‘But it was great fun, and the other teams were tough.’

After a day of fierce competition and close results, the two ‘best’ winners (calculated on goal difference) were Audi and Damac, who faced each other in Saturday’s final. Both had altered their line-ups from the Friday due to players’ various high-season commitments: Peter Webb replaced Jamie Le Hardy, and patron Billy Sexton took over from Sophie Heaton-Ellis. With the stands packed, Audi triumphed, defeating Damac on penalties after the score was tied on the final bell.

Heaton-Ellis plans to build on this year’s success in 2009, extending the event to three days, adding international matches (possibly England v Chile and America) and adding another venue. ‘Financially we’re happy after one year and we intend to be here for a long time,’ he says. ‘We’re looking for more locations; we’re going back to Sandbanks but will also stage another event in September 2009, probably in the north.’

Beach polo is also played in Dubai, Miami, at Watergate Bay in Cornwall, on Inch Beach in western Ireland and, more informally, on the sands of Uruguay and Argentina.

Visit www.sandpolo.com

SANDPOLO LTD

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An ambitious plan to bring polo to a new audience at the seaside came to fruition this summer with the first British Beach Polo Championships at Sandbanks in Dorset.

The 12-goal tournament, staged on a Friday and Saturday in July, resembled a balmier version of Klosters snow polo, with a miniature arena surrounded by shoulder-high boards, three players in each team and spectators packed exhilaratingly close to the action – all against a backdrop of one of the priciest neighbourhoods in the world.

Organiser David Heaton-Ellis – whose management credentials include spells at Binfield Heath, Kirtlington and Watership Down – first picked the spot because of its proximity to London, the ‘fantastic’ beach and the adjacent car park (the answer to pony lines).

‘We had 32 meetings with the council, and endless health and safety requirements to comply with,’ he says. ‘Then we had to prepare the beach – we needed a decent surface to make it safe for the horses, as well as to get good players and produce a spectacle. In the end the council couldn’t believe how well it went, and we have the venue, in writing, for five years.’

The narrow stretch of sand, above the high tide mark and therefore soft and deep, needed bulldozing, rolling and watering. Meanwhile a string of sponsors, from Barclays Wealth to Sunseeker yachts to Audi, was signed up. The largely urban crowd was lured with the promise of hip after-parties, a car v horse race, and a

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Main picture: The hair-raising chuckwagon races Below: The distinctive Canadian Open trophy

Calgary Polo Club

ALLEN GAMBLETT, DYNAMIC PHOTOGRAPHY/LAWRENCE, ACCENT PHOTOGRAPHY

Venue for the Canadian Open, home to a new generation of rising Canadian players, and supporter of traditional chuckwagon racing, a perilous event at the Calgary Stampede. Sarah Eakin reports Against a backdrop of the Rockies, the Calgary Polo Club is nurturing a new generation of Canadian players. Among them is 16-year-old Julian Mannix, younger brother of Fred H Mannix – currently Canada’s highest-rated player at seven goals – and son of Fred P Mannix, Chairman of the Calgary Polo Club and patron of the Fish Creek team.

South Africa’s Joe Henderson has been picked to ‘mentor’ the young player and in so doing has experienced his own renaissance.

‘Any time you play against younger players it pushes you to be better,’ says Henderson, a former 10-goal arena polo player and 8-goal outdoors. As well-mounted as he’s ever been, he may have lost four goals in rating over the years but he’s also dropped 30lbs in weight, quit smoking and, at the age of 47, is dictating the pace on the field.

‘That’s been one of the keys [for my sons],’ says Fred P Mannix. ‘We had Julio [Zavaleta] and Joe Henderson for Frederick and now Joe for Julian. I don’t know of anybody else we could have got who could have done any better. A lot of the credit for how they play goes to Joe.’ Henderson, young Mannix (a one-goal player) and The Hawks polo team won all of their tournaments in Calgary this summer including the Canadian Open, defeating Tusk 9-8 in the finals. ’Julian’s a natural no 1,’ said Henderson of his charge. ‘Some people get nervous going to goal but he relishes the opportunity to score.’

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This year’s Canadian Open was played as a 10-goal tournament but it has been set at 20-goal in the past and the club hopes to return there next summer. For visiting teams, a highlight of the trip is attending the Calgary Stampede, tagged ‘The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth’ and featuring chuckwagon racing, a sport indigenous to Western Canada. These perilous races include eight-in-hand thoroughbreds, fearless ‘outriders’ and literally breakneck speed. The sport dates back to early twentieth-century ranching and the traditional food-ferrying chuckwagon. Cam Clark, VicePresident of the Calgary Polo Club, sponsors two of the chuckwagons and was rewarded with a distinguished fourth place this year.

Polo was first played in the province of Alberta in 1893. ‘We have a very good description of the spectators sitting on a haystack watching the game,’ says Fred P Mannix, who has a respect for tradition and is not one to ignore the advice of royalty. He built the current Calgary Polo Club upon the suggestion of the Queen. ‘In 1992 and ‘93 I played in the Queen’s Cup [at Guards Polo Club],’ he recalls. ‘After watching the finals she invited me back to the pavilion for tea. As part of the conversation she asked me if I was coming back in ‘94 and I said I didn’t know because the cost of keeping horses there and taking them back again was pretty expensive. I thought for the cost of playing polo in England I could generate 20-goal polo in Calgary within

three years – actually it took six years. She asked me why I didn’t…’

Calgary Polo Club now has an impressive clubhouse and viewing patio that sits amid its seven fields. Fred P Mannix also has a picturesque ground at his home, Chinook Downs, where exhibition games take place as Henderson and other visiting professional players flex their strength.

‘Fred gave me a good opportunity and responsibility,’ said Henderson. ‘It’s important for me not to let him down. It’s also fun to watch both boys grow up and evolve. Julian’s getting stronger and becoming a good little player.’

30/9/08 12:05:21

hurlingham [ action ]

Jack Wills University Day Grass surface, sell-out crowd, crashing bodies, bitter rivals, Harvard versus Yale. No, not an American football game, but a thrilling polo match thrashed out across the Atlantic at Guards, reports Nick Snow

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The legendary American football rivalry between the two Ivy League universities – simply referred to as ‘THE GAME’ – is an annual happening that draws throngs of enthusiastic students, alumni and fans to the last game of the year for each team in November. Harvard and Yale have clashed for 124 consecutive years beginning in 1884, which makes it the oldest American football rivalry. The competition receives national media attention and, other than graduation, is the largest congregation of alumni. A recently released documentary at the Toronto Film Festival entitled Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 depicts the marvels of the rivalry’s most noted game, when undefeated Harvard trailed undefeated Yale by 16 points with 42 seconds to play, and famously tied the game.

With this history as a prologue, the Harvard-Yale showdown was recreated in June on English soil, with the undergraduate polo teams traveling across the Atlantic to compete in University Day at the Guards Polo Club. The US rivals were billed alongside the annual Cambridge v Oxford match, which is described as the oldest continuing polo fixture in the western world. The event attracted around five thousand spectators to Smith’s Lawn on a spectacular summer day, trailing only the Queen’s Cup final and Cartier International for attendance on the Guards calendar. Busloads of students and alumni shuttled from near and far to cheer for their alma mater – and enjoy a Pimm’s or two.

Whether the draw of ‘THE GAME’ is the actual athletic competition or the tailgate festivities accompanying it is open to question, and the same could be said of the University Day event. Thousands of students streamed onto the polo grounds hours before the first throw-in to enjoy the unique setting.

Spectators wandered the Great Park at Windsor, admiring the polo ponies and chatting up the players.

Of course, the English version of ‘THE GAME’ differs from its American football ancestry. Cleats were swapped for horseshoes, shoulder and thigh pads were replaced with knee guards and white breeches, pigskin with plastic, Budweiser for Pimm’s No. 2, and body slams were of the mounted variety. The speed of the game was accelerated, with four-legged athletes replacing bipeds on a playing field that is ten times the size of an American football field.

The event was sponsored by Jack Wills, an English clothing company that caters to college students. The company provided transport for fans from London, made transatlantic travel arrangements for

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the visiting teams and helped arrange their mounts. Jack Wills also provided entertainment throughout the afternoon and into the night with a double-decker Pimm’s bus, party tent, food and drinks, bike polo, merchandise giveaways, and a popular rock band playing in a field-side tent.

On the field of play, three long-standing rivalries were featured; one interscholastic, two intercollegiate. The oldest school rivalry in England opened the action on Smith’s Lawn with youthful polo talent on display as Harrow edged out Eton 4-3. Next, Oxford handily defeated Cambridge 4-0, setting the stage for the American collegiate visitors to battle it out.

There was hard bumping and fast-paced action from the first throw-in as the Crimson gained an early advantage. Two goals by Captain Nick Snow ’09 gave Harvard the lead as Yale struggled to keep up with the speed of the Crimson attack in the opening minutes.

Alex Levin ’08, got on the receiving end of countless passes from Snow and quickly registered 4 goals to take Harvard to a 6-0 lead in the second period. By half-time, the Bulldogs had adjusted to the style of play and narrowed the gap to 6-2 with goals by 3-goal English substitute, David Ashby.

To the excitement of the crowd, a hard collision in the third chukka with the force of a

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Spectators wandered the Great Park at Windsor, admiring the polo ponies and chatting up the players

football tackle sent Harvard’s Pablo Botero ’09 spiralling through the air, resulting in a rude awakening to life on two legs. Brushing the dirt off his breeches, Pablo went on to play a central role in limiting the Yale attack for the rest of the game.

The play tightened in the second half as tough marking by the Bulldogs put a hold on the Crimson runs downfield and, as it often does, that defence quickly turned to offence for the Yale squad. A pair of goals by Adam Nelson ’08 narrowed the gap to 6-4 with three minutes left. There were anxious moments for Crimson supporters in the last period as the Bulldogs continued to barrage the Crimson

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goal. The comeback fell short, however, as Nelson put one more through the posts as the hooter sounded with the final score at 6-5.

Fans swarmed the field after the game – not to raise the victorious Crimson players over their shoulders as is traditional after the football game, but for the very different tradition of the ‘tread in’. Alex Levin was awarded Most Valuable Player for his impressive four-goal performance, and Chino, a horse he played two chukkas, was awarded Best Playing Pony. Most importantly for the Crimson, it was back to Cambridge with their mallets held high and their pride intact. Until next year, at least.

DVD ACTION

1&4 Action from Harvard v Yale 2 Pimm’s o’clock! 3 Eyes on the ball: Oxford v Cambridge

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Santa Barbara

DAVID LOMINSKA

Audi enjoyed a great summer with their bold attacking style paying rich dividends as they swept all before them, reports Alex Webbe It was Audi’s year, as Marc Ganzi’s highpowered polo team drove over the competition on the storied fields of the Santa Barbara Polo Club this summer. Audi managed to capture the Robert Skene Trophy, the USPA America Cup and the Bombardier Pacific Coast Open, becoming the first team since 1982 to capture all three events without losing a game. ‘I gave Gonzalito [Pieres] the opportunity to put the team together,’ said Ganzi, ‘and he managed to organise one that complemented one another’s playing style to a T.’ The fiercely offence-minded Audi foursome of Marc Ganzi (1), Sugar Erskine (7), Gonzalito Pieres (9) and Gonzalo Del Tour (3) averaged just over 14 goals per game while giving up a mere 10.5 goals against. Audi began its run in the Robert Skene Trophy with wins over Long Beach (11-10), Lucchese (15-9) and Piocho Ranch (16-12) before hammering Grants Farm 15-10 for the championship.

Lyndon Lea’s Zacara (2007 defending Pacific Coast Open Champion) team arrived in Santa Barbara in August after a competitive British campaign to complete a field of eight teams for the USPA America Cup. Audi paid little attention to last year’s champs, scoring consecutive wins over Lucchese (15-13), Grand Champions/Klentner Ranch (15-13), and Piocho Ranch (14-10). Zacara answered with wins over ERG (13-7), Grants Farm (11-10 in OT) and Long Beach (14-10), but it was Audi on the winning end of a hard-fought USPA America Cup final 11-10 for its second consecutive tournament title. The defending Pacific Coast Open champion had been defeated in America Cup play, and Audi was the odds-on favourite to sweep the season.

Audi opened the Pacific Coast Open with consecutive wins over Grand Champions/ Klentner Ranch (13-10), Long Beach (15-13), Piocho Ranch (14-10) and ERG 16-9. Zacara followed suit in its first two matches (defeating Long Beach, 15-8; and Piocho Ranch, 17-9) before suffering an 8-7 upset by ERG. They rebounded with a 15-7 victory over Grand Champions/Klentner Ranch to qualify for the semi-finals, but their confidence had suffered.

Lucchese was the surprise guest at the party as it scored three consecutive wins before losing a one-goal game to Piocho Ranch, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Texas-based team out of the next round.

Grants Farm earned a spot in the semis with a 13-12 win over Long Beach.

Audi eliminated Lucchese with a 14-10 win. Gonzalito Pieres scored seven goals, Gonzalo Del Tour added four while Sugar Erskine accounted for three scores in the win.

Zacara came out with guns blazing once again, scoring three unanswered goals in the first chukka. Its usually successful defence got them into trouble, however, and Grants Farm

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2 capitalised on it. Fred Mannix converted five penalty shots and teammate Jeff Hall added two more conversions as Grants Farm upset the 2007 defending champions 12-10 and to earn a showdown with Audi in the finals.

‘We knew they [Grants Farm] were wellmounted,’ said Erskine, ‘and that it would be a battle but we were confident.’ Audi’s Del Tour scored the opening goal. Pieres added two more from the field for a 3-0 lead.

Hall got Grants Farm on the scoreboard in the second chukka with a goal from the field and a penalty conversion. A third goal from Pieres was countered by two well-placed goals from young Cachi Garcia, and the teams were tied at four goals apiece. Pieres added two more goals to the Audi total in the third chukka, but Hall and Andy Busch each scored to knot it again at 6-6 to end the first half.

Pieres converted two penalty shots in the fourth chukka, but goals from Hall and Mannix kept it even at 8-8 after the first four periods.

Pieres scored again to open the fifth chukka.

Mannix countered for Grants Farm. A technical foul called against Busch gave Audi a free hit and Del Tour turned it into the go ahead goal to end the chukka. Audi was in front, 10-9.

Pieres scored again to open the sixth chukka. Two more well-placed goals from Erskine sealed it, and in spite of a goal from Jeff Hall, Audi held on for the 13-10 win and a third consecutive tournament championship without a loss. This was the first time a team had accomplished such a feat since 1982 (when the Open was an 18-goal tournament).

Pieres and Ganzi were named MVPs. Sugar Erskine’s Shell Rock was named Best Playing Pony (Pro) and Andy Busch’s Perla received BPP honours in the Amateur class.

Three-goaler Gonzalo Del Tour was awarded the Robert Skene Award, being named the season’s MVP, as voted by the players.

3

Marc Ganzi’s team drove over the competition on the storied fields of the Santa Barbara Polo Club this summer

1 Sugar Erskine (white) is chased

by Fred Mannix Jnr 2 Action from the finals 3 MVP Amateur Marc Ganzi

7/10/08 12:46:33

hurlingham [ archive ]

Meadow Brook: (from left) Phipps, Guest, Boeseke, Post

all-conquering The 1932 Meadow Brook team set a record that still stands today, writes Alex Webbe

The Meadow Brook team from the United States is the only foreign team in the last 115 years to win the Argentine Open.

On 7 August 1931 the president of the Asociación Argentina de Polo, Francisco Ceballos and Honorary Secretary Felix Videla Dorna sent a letter to Louis E Stoddard, Chairman of the United States Polo Association, inviting one of the strongest possible teams from North America to participate in the Argentine Open Championship of 1932 and a special ‘best-ofthree’ series for the Cup of the Americas.

The plan called for the Abierto to begin on 5 November and the Cup of the Americas to begin on the 20th. The North American contingent consisted of Carleton F Burke, William Post, Elmer Boeseke, Jr, Seymour H Knox, JC Rathborne, Michael G Phipps, Winston FC Guest and Stewart B Iglehart.

Two weeks after their arrival, the Open championship began, with a number of other US players playing in Argentine teams.

Playing under the Meadow Brook name, the US lineup had Michael Phipps playing

64 Archive.indd 1

number 1, Winston Guest number 2, Elmer Boeseke, Jr number 3, and William Post II was at back. Meadow Brook opened strongly with a 19-6 win over Venado Tuerto. Six days later Meadow Brook didn’t skip a beat, hammering out an 11-5 win over a strong Hurlingham team in the semi-finals.

The finals pitted Meadow Brook against a Santa Paula team that had opened with a 15-7 win over La Pampa followed by a powerful 16-4 semi-final victory over Los Indios. On 12 November, Meadow Brook was pressed by the Santa Paula team of Luis Nelson, Martin Reynal, Juan Reynal and Manuel Andrada. The powerful offensive

The Argentine association invited the Americans to send one of their strongest teams for the Open

thrusts of both Meadow Brook and Santa Paula were countered by disciplined defense, with Meadow Brook holding on to become the first and only foreign team to win the Argentine Open on the strength of an 8-7 victory.

The Cup of the Americas, rested on Meadow Brook’s ability to win the Open, making the international series a certainty.

President Justo of the Argentine Republic had offered a trophy for the winners, with the first game to be played on 19 November.

Argentina would select international veterans Arturo Kenny and Juan D Nelson from the Open’s Hurlingham team and Santa Paula’s José Reynal and Manuel Andrada. Kenny and Nelson had competed in the first Cup of the Americas competition at the Meadow Brook Club in 1928, winning one of the three matches.

After playing together through the Argentine Open, the US beat Argentina 9-6 in the opening match. Argentina regrouped four days later, and won 8-7, setting up a winner-takes-all third game.

On 26 November, both teams pulled out all the stops. Phipps led the charge from his Number 1 position, while Californian Elmer Boeseke broke through and either scored or left it in position for Winston Guest.

William Post was swarmed by the Argentine attack, but the Americans prevailed 12-10 to capture the Cup of the Americas.

MUSEUM OF POLO

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3/10/08 11:09:57

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