Autumn 2013 by Hurlingham Polo Magazine

HURLINGHAM p ol o m ag a z i n e

the british season

o c t ob e r 2 013

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contents

09 Ponylines News from the polo world, including the HPA Chief Executive’s column 16

he birth of the Westchester Cup T How polo’s transatlantic trophy was conceived after a chance comment by an American spectator at Hurlingham

nigel À brassard, tony Ramirex/imagesofpolo, Michael Chevis/Polo Archive, Midhurst

18 Blood ties Already an invaluable resource for players, breeders, owners and patrons alike, the Polo Studbook is now establishing itself online

family affair A The name J Salter & Sons is synonymous with polo equipment of the highest calibre – and has been for 130 years

26 Simon Tomlinson The HPA Development Committee chair reveals plans to produce England’s first 10-goal player in 70 years 28 World of polo Polo has not only become a global pursuit, it has recently returned to its ancient Persian roots

new wave 22 Polo’s Australia’s inaugural Polo by the Sea event proved to be an intimate and accessible yet suitably stylish day out

he seven ages of polo 34 T Veteran 10-goaler Adam Snow reflects on the illuminating lessons to be learnt from growing up in the sport

Show Media Editorial Managing Director Peter Howarth 1-2 Ravey Street, London EC2A 4QP + 44 (0) 20 3222 0101 info@showmedia.net; www.showmedia.net Hurlingham Media 47-49 Chelsea Manor Street, London SW3 5RZ +44 (0) 771 483 6102 hurlingham@hpa-polo.co.uk www.hurlinghampolo.com Colour Reproduction fmg www.groupfmg.com Printing Gemini Press www.gemini-press.co.uk

Hurlingham Magazine Publisher Roderick Vere Nicoll Executive Editor Peter Howarth Editor Arabella Dickie Deputy Editor Herbert Spencer Contributing Photographer Tony Ramirez Editor-At-Large Alex Webbe Art Editor Julia Allen Chief Copy Editor Chris Madigan Copy Editors Cate Langmuir, Hilary Pereira, Gill Wing

urn a visit into an adventure 40 T From Jaipur to Palermo, including a polo event in your holiday plans can only spice things up 47 Action The polo world in news and images, including the Queen’s Cup, which was attended by Her Majesty for the first time in 25 years; British vs US university teams competing in north-east China; the Deauville Coupe D’Or; and yet another Ellerston win at Sotogrande times the player 66 Ten In 1912, amateur polo enthusiast Major ‘Rattle’ Barrett overcame astonishing odds to become Britain’s first-ever 10-goal player

Cover: Facundo Pieres, photographed by Dominic James www.dominic-james.com

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. The HURLINGHAM Polo Association magazine (ISSN 1750-0486) is published by Hurlingham Media. The magazine is designed and produced on behalf of Hurlingham Media by Show Media Ltd. It 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 welcomes feedback from readers: hurlinghammedia@hpa-polo.co.uk

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foreword roderick vere nicoll – publisher

What a great summer of weather and of polo. Our cover sums it up, with Facundo looking skywards at the end of the gold Cup at Cowdray Park. he continued his win at the uS Open by dominating the English and the Spanish high-goal seasons, all of which we cover in action. The other big event for the summer was the revival of the Westchester Cup. in Ponylines, we acknowledge marc ganzi’s role in spearheading, sponsoring and playing in the uSa team, while in Talk, nigel à Brassard explains that the second-oldest sporting trophy was started by a chance comment in 1886! You can read herbert Spencer’s account of the game England won in the seventh chukka in action and watch a full replay on hurlinghampolo.com, where you can

also see highlights of several of the other major tournaments.Elsewhere, herbert offers tips on where to go and what to do in two of the most popular countries for polo vacations, india and argentina. England has not had a 10-goal player since 1939. in Profile, Simon Tomlinson, Chairman of the hPa Development Committee, describes a new initiative to change that, with the launch of the gerald Balding appeal. Former 10-goaler adam Snow will enter the Polo hall of Fame in Wellington, Florida, in early 2014. in Features, he recounts his journey to the top, detailing the inevitable challenges and outlining what’s next for him. We close this issue, in archive, with a story on Britain’s first-ever 10-goaler, who, amazingly, played only in his spare time.

contributors

Dara Williams is an international polo correspondent based in London. Educated in England, France and Italy, she grew up around horses and now reports from around the world, including the UK, from where she covers the high-goal season every summer. Dara also designs polo accessories, including her famous polo-stick handle umbrella.

Luis Eduardo Nieto is an attorney, partner and director at Nieto & Chalela law firm in Bogota, Colombia. Luis first started polo when he was 30 years old, and currently plays at Bogota Polo Club on the outskirts of the capital. He is the father of Manuela (12) and Eduardo (10), who are already showing promising signs as young polo players.

Diana Armstrong-Wilson has written about polo for 20 years, covering events in South America, Europe, China and the Middle East. She created the Press & PR department at Guards Polo Club, which ofers a full, professional media service. Her free time is spent with her husband and sons who, fortunately, have decided golf, not polo, is their sport of choice.

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Adam Snow was born in Japan and grew up in Hamilton, MA. He attended Yale University where he received a BA in History. Adam has played polo professionally since graduating from college and currently resides in Aiken, SC, with his wife, Shelley, and three sons. In 2014, he will be inducted into the Museum of Polo’s Hall of Fame, FL.

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ponylines

tony ramirez/imagesofpolo

one to watch This is the second time that American 1-goal amateur polo player Marc Ganzi has been featured as the one to watch. The first occasion followed his Audi team winning the US Open Championship in 2009. This time, we acknowledge his role in the 2013 revival of the Westchester Cup series between the USA and England, the world’s oldest and most famous international. The International Committee of the US Polo Association (USPA) authorised Ganzi to put together the USA team, which he helped fund and played on himself. The 26-goal USA team took 28-goal Audi England into extra time before losing 12-11. At home in Wellington, Florida, Ganzi and his polo-playing wife Melissa own the prominent Grand Champions Polo Club, which is classed by the USPA as a high-goal facility. In business, Ganzi founded Boca Raton-based Global Tower Partners, a mobile-phone mast company, and was its CEO until the group was sold for $3.3bn this September. Herbert Spencer

ponylines POLO NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

{ upperville youth polo In early September 2013, young American polo players competed for youth polo’s top honours at the Virginia International Polo Club in Upperville, Virginia. Sunday 3 September was the final round of the inaugural United States Polo Association National Youth Tournament Series, which culminated in Zone 3 team from the Florida region winning the Cecil Smith Cup by defeating the team from Zone 2, the Southeast, Midstates and Central region, with a score of 9-4. ‘I would like to commend all of the participants in this year’s tournament for demonstrating that junior polo in the United States is being played at a level that is among the highest in the world,’ said Chrys Beal, Junior Polo Committee Chairman of the United States Polo Association. To promote youth polo in the US, the Junior Polo Program aims to provide the structure to support clinics, tournaments and international competition.

{ copenhagen polo open Denmark held its first-ever polo tournament on 22 and 23 June 2013. The inaugural Copenhagen Polo Open featured teams from London, Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm and hosted 5,000 spectators over the two days. Matches were played three a side on a smaller pitch, giving a close-up view. The event was opened by Mayor of Copenhagen, Anna Mee Allerslev, who gave her wholehearted support. The Open is seen as a great event, not just for Copenhagen but for Denmark as well. Finals day saw the subsidiary final played first, in which Rossini Caviar Team Stockholm beat Care Service Team Oslo by three goals in a thrilling and engaging match. The main final was the big event: both Maserati and Shamballa Jewels looked strong in the opening chukka, keeping scores even up to half time. Into the second half, great open plays by captains Ryan Pemble and Ross Ainslie plus equal goal scoring saw a tie into the final chukka. A foul by Shamballa in front of their goal saw Ryan Pemble convert a penalty in the last 15 seconds of the match to win by a single goal, 9-8.

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ElizabEth a. hEdlEy

It is hard to believe that the 2013 season is now complete and that, after a fairly wet start, we have had as good a season weather-wise as we have had for many years. In the St Regis test match at Cowdray, Facundo Pieres, who led South America, was simply too good, but our players should not be too downhearted as he proved too good for everyone else as well when playing for Zacara. At Beaufort, the first match of the Audi International series, England fell to a young but strong Commonwealth team. However, for the flagship International at Guards, they triumphed over America to retain the Westchester Cup; and in September, the England team selected for the Super Nations 24-goal tournament at the Metropolitan Polo Club in China won at Chester Racecourse against a Rest of the World team. In the high goal, Zacara won both the Queen’s and Gold Cup. For the Queen’s Cup, El Remanso were beaten by Facundo Pieres’s all-round play, and in the Gold Cup final, Dubai lost out despite their form in the semis. In the Victor Ludorum, La Indiana are to be congratulated on winning the 18-goal; Emlor C on the 15-goal, Cadenza Juniors in the 12-goal and Windmill Farm in the 8-goal. In the new 6-goal, introduced this year, Chester Polo enjoyed the first win. In the Pony Club Championships, the final of the Gannon provided as good a game as you could wish to watch. It was the last Championships for Theresa Hodges, who has done a huge amount in her six years as chairman, and we owe her a debt of gratitude. Post-season, the England team will compete with America, Argentina and Hong Kong in China, but there are no other overseas internationals currently planned. For the October half term, we will once again be sending a squad of Young England players to Buster McKenzie in South Africa. The HPA has awarded bursaries to Richard Le Poer, Max Charlton and George Meyrick in order to encourage them to play at a high-goal level in Argentina. At home, the arena season will kick off in November. The Metropolitan Polo Club is planning its 16-goal snow tournament again for January and it is planned that England will take part. Let us hope the fine weather continues so the ponies that have served us so well can put on some weight and thick coats in preparation.

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{ uspa goes green Deerfield Academy, a secondary school in Massachusetts, USA, is honoured that the USPA has ‘gone green’. This is not about the USPA’s carbon footprint but its new hoof print: the recently formed Deerfield Academy Polo Club. Our school colour is green and our founding year of 1797 pre-dates the USPA by a century, but we have some catching up to do on the polo pitch. We three Deerfield players – from left: Alex de Vries (Minnesota), Will Beck (Kentucky) and Olivia Mehm (Switzerland) – are busy preparing our game schedule with seasoned Intercollegiate coach and former Cornell University polo player, Hilary Blythe. We have a very ambitious goal of qualifying for the USPA Interscholastic National Tournament. Some days we play better than others but, as they say: ‘A bad day on the polo field beats a good day in the library!’ Olivia Mehm, Deerfield Academy, class of 2014

hooked on polo

{ ocean endurance challenge Four British polo players will be rowing across the Atlantic in December against 20 other teams from around the world as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Professional players Henry Brett, Bobby Dundas and James Glasson will join amateur player Fergus Scholes. The team, sponsored by Musto clothing company and Surrey Sports Park, will set off from the Canary Islands on 2 December. The race is expected to take 40 to 60 days to complete and will end at English Harbour, Antigua. The challenge takes place only every two years and is one of the toughest endurance races ever

undertaken: more people have been to space than have completed it. The event is expected to receive publicity worth around £4m. There will be live broadcasts at sea using GPS technology and cameras. To support the Atlantic Polo Team, you can track their progress via their Facebook page (of the same name) and donate through the website atlanticpoloteam.com. The team will be rowing in aid of Right To Play, a charity enabling children in disadvantaged countries to access sport, and Hilton in the Community Foundation, which awards grants to UK children’s charities and communities. x polo club comes to youtube The Polo Club has a new YouTube channel dedicated to polo coverage. You can subscribe free for up-to-date content featuring live match streaming and re-runs, player interviews, and behind-the-scenes action. The channel is being launched by specialist sports marketing agency Influence Sports – following their launch of Pole Position P1, YouTube’s first dedicated motorsport channel – and will cover seasons around the world, from the snow-covered peaks of St Moritz to the heart of Buenos Aires. To sign up, visit youtube.com/thepoloclubchannel.

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Giorgio Brignone is the founder of the Costa Careyes polo Club on Mexico’s pacific coast and, together with his family, the creator of the famous Costa Careyes estate private resort. Giorgio plays between 6- and 12-goals. ‘I first hit a polo ball 25 years ago at a clinic in Mexico City. It was a baptism of fire with three legendary players: Carlos and Memo Gracida, and 9-goaler Antonio Herrera. Then, in 1989, I attended a clinic in Cirencester with Antonio Herrera on my way to visit Major Hugh Dawnay in Ireland. I was inspired to play from watching polo games in Bagatelle, France, where I was born and lived until I was 22 years old. Mexico has one of the strongest horse cultures in the world, so it was only natural to introduce polo at Careyes. Everything was a challenge at first, as the sport had never been seen outside of Mexico City, but we have succeeded in building the most recognised polo club in the country, with two incredible Bermuda grass fields and stabling for up to 200 horses – in the middle of the jungle! Polo is a passion; it has changed my life for the better and it keeps me fit. I admire Carlos and Memo Gracida who, 20 years ago, defined what a pro should be. I also have huge respect for the late Hugh Dawnay, who analysed and taught polo at both intellectual and physical levels. Susan Stovall, now polo manager at Careyes, is another inspiration. Susan could control the egos of players from up to 24 teams while managing El Dorado club in Palm Springs for 25 years. She has a firm hand but a permanent smile. My most memorable polo game was last year on my birthday. My team won the Agua Alta/Careyes tournament for the first time in 10 years, and I scored the winning goal. I wish that everyone involved in polo could contribute to its future by improving training for all. We need more and better non-pro players.’

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chukkas The weather for the Gold Cup at Cowdray this summer was ideal: the grounds were excellent and allowed for some fantastic individual play and shows of horse power. Most of the games were close until the semi-finals and final. Dubai defeated El Remanso by a margin of 10 goals. Zacara beat Talandracas 14-8. It is no surprise that the two best teams in terms of players, style of play and horses ended up in the final. Zacara flew in eight ponies from America and received four from the Ellerston string in England for the Cup, while Dubai had four ponies flown in from America. For the English 22-goal, the Prince of Wales Trophy 2014 will be played as a standalone tournament after the league stage of the Queen’s Cup. The Warwickshire will be played as a knockout for four teams between the end of the Queen’s and the start of the Gold Cup. Currently, there are 12 teams for the Gold Cup in 2014, including two new ones: King Power from Thailand and Shoreline from Nigeria. Dropping out are La Bamba de Areco, Les Lions, Emlor and Sumaya. Undecided are Salkeld and Cortium.

y historic painting re-homed America’s Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame recently received a very important donation for its art collection. The painting, entitled The Polo Match and dated 1927, was recently located in England by S K ‘Skey’ Johnston, who immediately made arrangements to bring the painting back to the United States to donate to the Museum. Johnston recalls with some amusement how the painting, being of a rather impressive size, would barely fit through the door of his jet. It is believed to be part of a series by Ludwig Koch, an Austrian artist (1866-1934) specialising in equestrian art. Peter Vischer wrote in the old Polo magazine in 1927 that, in that same year, the United States Polo Association invited Koch to visit and create mementoes of international polo matches. The player in the foreground appears to be the great 10-goaler Malcolm Stevenson mounted on his legendary pony Gay Boy at the Meadow Brook field, both stars of the 1927 internationals. We are immensely pleased that this important piece of polo history has come to reside at the Museum and will be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations. Brenda Lynn

In the 49th Jockey Club Open in Buenos Aires, the experienced Chapaleufú players beat excellent young team La California 13-12 with an overtime corner goal by Eduardo Heguy. Chapaleufú was Alberto 7, Eduardo 8 and Bautista Heguy 8 and Francisco Elizalde 7 for a total of 30. La California consisted of Diego Cavanagh, 7, Guillermo Terrera, 7, Ignatius Du Plessis, 7, and Tomás García del Rio, 8, for a total of 29.

After five years of sharing a team in the Triple Crown with Pilará, Swiss watchmaker Piaget will sponsor Ellerstina for two years. The defending champions of the Argentine Open, with a total handicap of 39, comprises the three Pieres brothers, Gonzalo, Facundo and Nicolás, and brother-in-law Mariano Aguerre. Piaget have been involved with polo for over 30 years and have a big presence in the USA.

For the first time in the Triple Crown, a Chinese company, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, will sponsor both La Aguada and La Aguada Las Monjitas. Additional sponsors for both teams are BMW and Rio Uruguay Seguros.

There is an opportunity for up to two players to play in Argentina: six chukkas (three times a week), two hours’ stick and ball per week and practice games; generally 6 to 15 goals on superb Tifton grounds. The club is within an hour’s drive of BA. Cost: $2,000 per week all inclusive, except accommodation and transport. For more details contact Alexander Harper: aharper@mbh.com.ar / +54 11 5218 2333.

{ la aguada junior polo Some of the biggest names in polo were on the sidelines of the polo fields at the Dorchester Collection’s Coworth Park on Saturday 15 June. This time, their focus was not on their high-goal rivals but their own children, who were taking part in the first La Aguada Guards Youth Tournament. One of the UK’s leading polo clubs – Guards – and Novillo Astrada La Aguada Polo Club, Argentina, joined forces to organise the event, which featured some of the youngest players of the sport. Well-known names such as Cambiaso, Novillo Astrada, Merlos, di Paola, and Monteverde were featured in the team lists. The tournament was the brainchild of 9-goal player Eduardo Novillo Astrada, who runs a similar competition in his native Argentina. However, this was the first time the children of the Guards players were given the opportunity to play against and alongside their South American counterparts in the UK. In the more senior game, Charlie Pidgley was named Most Valuable Player, while Max Rumsey received the Fair Play Award from Eduardo Novillo Astrada. With the team from Coworth Park hosting a delicious lunchtime barbecue for all involved, and with Disney, La Martina and La Aguada providing some great prizes, everyone went home happy. Diana Armstrong-Wilson

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ponylines

love oF my liFe... poNy’s Name: doN urbaNo roliNga sex: stallioN origiN: argeNtiNa

saddle up with… Name: matthew perry NatioNality: british polo haNdicap: 3 goals

The MuseuM of Polo and hall of faMe ,Tony raMirez/iMages of Polo , alice giPPs, briTish Polo day

perry woN the gold cup this year aNd received the FergusoN trophy when and how did you start to play polo? I first started playing at Cambridge and Newmarket Polo Club at a Pony Club rally when I was about 10 years old. I was taught and supported there mainly by Jeremy Allen, Ali Schwabe, Fabio Lavinia and my mum. I have always played sports and have ridden since I could walk. Polo combines sport with riding, so I was hooked! I also love horses and bringing on the young ones, seeing them improve and hopefully going on to play at top level.

Don Urbano Rolinga is an eight-year-old stallion. His dam was called Celosa and his sire is Vasco Mambo. My cousin Hernan Pieres bought him from my uncle Alfonso. The first time I played Rolinga was in Sotogrande 2011. In 2012, I rented him for the English high-goal season. In the St Regis International Test Match at Cowdray I played for the USA vs England: Rolinga was awarded Best Playing Pony and I was named MVP. I usually play him in the third chukka for several minutes and then ride the whole of the last chukka without changing him. In the final of the 2012 Gold Cup, we were losing 8-7 going into the last chukka, but I then scored three goals to win. Rolinga has a huge heart and adores playing polo. When I ride him, I’m a different player – full of happiness and confidence. This year, he was named the Kerry Packer Most Outstanding High Goal Pony at the Audi Polo Awards for the 2012 season and Best Playing Pony in the Westchester Cup and in the Gold Cup in Deauville. Polito Pieres

who do you respect most in polo? I have a lot of respect for many players, but Malcolm Borwick helped me a lot when I was first starting out and I wouldn’t be where I am today without his support and encouragement. Facundo Pieres has given me a lot of confidence in the two seasons I have played with him, resulting in my handicap being raised each time. For 2014, I will be raised to 4 goals. how many tournaments have you played in this year? So far this year I have played the Queen’s Cup and the Gold Cup with Zacara, both of which we won. I also played the Silver Cup in Sotogrande with La Indiana. what are you doing this winter? I am going back to Argentina with Eduardo Heguy: this will be my third year with him playing his young horses. Eduardo has been very good to me and I have learnt a lot from him about horses, riding and playing. Until the handicap changes are announced, I am not sure exactly what my plans are for next summer, but I will hopefully be playing the high goal again. what has been your most memorable polo game? It would have to be winning the semi-finals of the Queen’s Cup because that was the game that for me really kickstarted our season. Having just beaten Les Lions in an extra chukka in the quarters, beating Dubai by four in the semis gave us all a lot of confidence, especially as they were probably favourites going into the game.

{ british polo day charity cup ‘If you miss the ball on this ground, there is something wrong in you,’ said 1-goaler Dhananjay Singh Rathore, surveying the impeccable turf of Black Bears’ River Ground. He had just arrived on the morning of 29 June with the Jodhpur team for the culmination of the British Polo Day Charity Cup with the Royal House of Jodhpur. The main match of the day was a high-goal encounter between British Exiles and the Commonwealth. Two late field goals by both sides seemed to point to a draw, but with 15 seconds to go, Rob Archibald led the Commonwealth to a 6-5 victory. During Eton vs Jodhpur, squandered penalties gave Eton a 5-4 win. Just shy of £60,000 was raised for charity. Tom Hudson and Ben Vestey. Image: The Maharajah of Jodhpur with Princess Anna Oettingen-Wallerstein (left) and her daughter, Princess Yoanna Otto

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the birth of the westchester cup It was a chance comment after a polo match in 1884 at Hurlingham, writes Nigel à Brassard, that led to the establishment of one of polo’s most prestigious tournaments In the spring of 1886, the American Nathaniel Griswold Lorillard, son of a US thoroughbred racehorse owner, watched a game of polo at the Hurlingham Club. After dinner, he told the English players that the sport was also played in America and suggested Hurlingham send a team to Newport to play a series of matches against the Westchester Polo Club. The English players agreed – on condition the Americans offer a cup and share the travelling expenses of the visiting team and its ponies. Lorillard sent a cable to Frank Gray Griswold, Westchester’s secretary, informing him of the conversation. He replied that all expenses would be met and the club would commission a cup to be emblematic of the first polo championship between the two countries. The members of the Westchester Polo Club

donated the necessary funds and Tiffany & Co of New York was commissioned to make a trophy. A London silversmith was later to describe the cup as depicting ‘six figures of polo players, mounted, springing therefrom, the whole being surmounted by a massive three-handled egg-shaped cup, with three panels on it. The first panel contains the inscription “International Polo Challenge Cup, presented by the Westchester Polo Club, USA”, the second bears the arms of England and America, while the third is a representation of a couple of players passing each other in opposite directions. The players are Captain Brocklehurst and Captain Herbert as depicted in George Earl’s picture of a polo match between the Royal Horse Guards and the Monmouthshire Club that was decided at Hurlingham on 7 July 1877. The cup is said to

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have cost $1,200, or £240.’ The Tiffany & Co archives show the cup was made from 396.3oz of sterling and the manufacturing cost was $840. In August 1886, a Hurlingham team captained by John Watson travelled to Newport, Rhode Island to play the Americans. Thomas Hitchcock, who had played for Oxford University, was chosen to lead the very best American players that made up the Westchester side. The games attracted huge crowds and local newspapers commented on ‘the great applause’ for the English team that showed ‘there was a large body of friends from the old country’. The first game, played on 25 August, was won by Hurlingham 10-4. The visitors, with a score of 15-2, also won the second match, played on 28 August. The games were all played in tremendous sporting spirit, prompting John Watson to state:

talk

I have played polo in all parts of the world and I never met fairer intending opponents

Graham Dennis, niGel À brassarD

Opposite page Westchester players in 1886 This page, from left The cup, in 1921, being taken under police protection to Buckingham Palace, where it was presented by King George V to the American polo team; the Westchester Cup depicting six figures of polo players

‘I have played polo in all parts of the world and I never met fairer or better intending opponents.’ The games were a great sporting and social success. The Americans concluded they needed to learn the backhand stroke used so effectively by Watson and the team-play exhibited by the Englishmen. One American who had watched the games, Cochran Sanford, felt ‘the military sabre drill of the Englishmen comes in good play in polo. They use the mallet with the same ferociously wicked sweep with which they would have slashed down the Egyptian rebels in the Sudan campaign.’ He concluded: ‘We can never bring back the cup until we meet the Hurlingham players at their own system.’ The Field reported that ‘the American genius for assimilating knowledge may enable the Westchester polo players to correct their play,

and learn how to turn defeat into victory. In any case, they will receive a hearty welcome at Hurlingham whenever they come to do battle with their old rivals.’ It also noted that the American hosts lavishly entertained the English team. Newport – ‘the luxurious summer retreat of New York society, where all that is politest and most cultivated and most exclusive in the Empire gravitates’ – made a very agreeable location for the games. The Americans extended lavish hospitality to their guests, and the bijou palaces – which, with mock modesty, were called ‘cottages’ in Newport – of the Lorillards, Griswolds, Belmonts and Keenes were kept open day and night to offer hospitality to the visitors. The Englishmen stayed at the Ocean House Hotel, where they were described as the ‘cynosure of neighbouring eyes’.

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When the Hurlingham team set sail for home, they did not take the real cup with them as it had not yet been completed. Tiffany’s records show the hollow-ware blueprints were entered into the ledger in October 1886 and the trophy manufactured on 17 January 1887. The Field noted sagely in 1886 that: ‘The Westchester Club is determined to come next season and endeavour to recapture the thousand-dollar cup. If they do, they will probably discover for themselves the difficulties of bringing polo ponies across the Atlantic, getting them fit for play, and playing to win on a foreign ground.’ No doubt as a result of these difficulties, it was to be 14 years after the English victory in Newport before a team of American players, captained by Mr Foxhall Keene, had a return match.

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blood ties England is regarded as one of the top polo nations in the world and, since the 1800s, English polo pony owners, players and breeders have been refining the type of pony used. Back in the 1850s, polo breeders imported Arabians from the Middle East and India to breed with smaller thoroughbreds to create their ideal pony. By the 1850s, the first Polo Studbook was published with a foundation stock of 57 Arab and thoroughbred stallions including the famous Arabian Mootrub as well as the thoroughbred Rosewater (GB) 1885. With the advent of war in the early 20th century, the need for polo ponies diminished and the Polo Pony Society blended into the National Pony Society so this record has no bearing on today’s UK Polo Studbook (PSB). With the modern era of computer data technology, it has been possible to create an online Polo Studbook, documenting details such

as the breeders, countries of birth, stud fees and availability. PSB is capable of registering the breeds with their back family as well as showing off these bloodlines as tabulated pedigrees, which is unique. After the first year, there are more than 22 UK-based polo stallions, many archive stallions from all over the world and a total of more than 300 top-quality polo ponies already registered. Every breeder, player and owner is encouraged to become a member online at polostudbook.org and to add their pony to the directory, following the basic steps as required on the website. Owners can apply to enter all ponies to the PSB and may succeed after passing the required criteria as stipulated. A select team that is truly passionate about establishing the polo-pony breed carefully administers PSB. It was the brainchild of Emma Tomlinson and Nick Wood, with founder members,

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Alan Kent, David Morley, Charlie Hanbury, Claire Tomlinson and Piers Plunket. While some question the worthiness of a UK-based polo studbook, others who understand breeding are excited to see this development. Argentine polo-breeding wizard Gonzalo Pieres merely smiles and says: ‘Now the ponies are beginning to get their airtime!’ Claire Tomlinson is of the view that ‘It’s lovely to see our best breeding stock properly recorded in clear format for everyone to access and see at last.’ A few UK players will argue that it is not economical to specifically breed and break your own polo ponies, and that reaching for the thoroughbred throw-outs is the answer, especially as there has been a glut over the past 15 years… and they have managed this with a reasonable degree of success. However, the cream always rises to the top. Players and teams

david sinclair

With its online database, the Polo Studbook ofers an invaluable tool to breeders, players, owners and patrons alike

thai polo & equestr i a n club pat taya – t h a i l a n d • pa d d o c k s & s ta b l e s f o r 2 0 0 h o r s e s • i n t e r nat iona l c ro s s c ou n t ry c ou r s e • r ege lu dw ig i n t e r nat iona l polo sc hool • t o u r n a m e n t s u p t o 14 g oa l s

( n ov e m be r - a pr i l)

• t h a i s pa & s a lt wat e r p o o l

www.thai-polo-club.com

Above The growth of the latest breeding technology has helped develop sought-after bloodlines and led to the creation of faster and sounder polo ponies

with the highest proportion of purpose-bred polo ponies are the most successful. Ellerston and Ellerstina have the most successful breeds in the world and, interestingly, while they began with thoroughbred stallions such as Rainbow Corner, (2nd in two Group 1 races) and Australian breeding legend, Jim Gilmore’s Norman Pentaquad (sire of Melbourne Cup winner Doriemus), they wisely mixed them with their polo-pony broodmares and, to a degree, vice versa. In the UK, Alan Kent’s Madams Farm breeding operation in West Sussex has successful thoroughbred stallions such as Stuart (UK) 2004 (The Catisfield Kid x Mullins). Modern-day examples of the specifically bred polo stallions are the thoroughbred-influenced Ellerstina Picaro (ARG) 1995 (Pucara x Simpatica) based at Ellerstina in Argentina, as well as the likes of Javad (AUS) 2006 (Norman Pentaquad x Java) or Open Maestro (ARG) 2006 (Sportivo x Grappa Ilustrada) who are based at the Beaufort Embryo Transfer Centre in Gloucestershire. Top breeders will now always go with this selective breeding

and it will include an infusion of thoroughbred as well as the purpose-bred polo pony. PSB will help with this selection process as well as evaluate what stock you might have in hand. Breeders strive for a more refined finished article, because breeding ponies specifically for polo produces animals uniquely suited to the sport. The cost of breeding and keeping a homebred is higher, but this balances out overall with the success ratio and the knowledge of the dam’s and sire’s performance as well as basic soundness and handling techniques. With a homebred, many of the required attributes are already installed with thoughtful breeding. Even a pony that is superb at the lower levels of polo can come unravelled after making the move to high goal. With the expansion of the polo season, top players need more good horses than ever before and this has been

Breeding ponies specifically for polo produces animals uniquely suited to the sport

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made possible by the use of highly selective breeding techniques. This growing movement to use the latest breeding technologies, such as equine embryo transfer, helps propagate desirable bloodlines and create swifter, handier, sounder and more trainable polo ponies. Selective breeding today includes an important infusion of thoroughbred as well as purpose-bred polo pony. PSB, as a reference point, helps with this selection process and the evaluation of what stock you might have in hand. PSB expects to take five years to establish itself. As it grows organically, it can expect more PSB Best Playing Pony awards and Breeders Cup matches. The marketplace could become much bigger as the likes of Brazil, China, India and Russia throw their helmets into the ring. PSB will serve as a historical perspective of the polo-pony breed and a reference to evaluate those all-important pedigrees. The future for UK polo pony breeding is encouraging, with many young passionate breeders such as Charlie Hanbury, Richard le Poer, Ollie Cudmore, Guy Schwarzenbach, Emma, Luke and Mark Tomlinson already deeply involved. PSB is proving invaluable to the breeder, owner, patron, player and sport as a whole.

lovelocks stud

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polo’s new wave Australia’s picturesque Gold Coast was the location for the inaugural Polo by the Sea, reports Janek Gazecki

Australia is a land of permanent summer. That is, at any time of year, you can find weather, somewhere in the country, that falls into the broad definition of summer, regardless of what the calendar season would otherwise imply. And so, when the temperature in our southern states eventually calls for an additional T-shirt and the swapping of thongs (flip-flops) for Ugg boots, it is time to shift polo focus to the north. This is partly why Polo Enterprises Australia, the creators of the hugely successful Polo in the City series, forged plans to develop Polo by the Sea. While Polo in the City focuses on the corporate community in Australian capital cities, Polo by the Sea targets regional cities, and in

particular, seaside towns and holiday destinations. Polo by the Sea is, in a sense, intended as a tourist attraction – a means of extracting southerners from their impending hibernation for one last ‘summer bash’. Working closely with the Gold Coast Council, the Mayor Tom Tate, Gold Coast Tourism, local hotels and Virgin airlines, Polo by the Sea ran a public relations, television, print and radio campaign, declaring boldly that they were ‘bringing summer back for a day’. It was clearly a catchphrase designed to pique the interest of New South Welshmen, Victorians and South Australians, who viewed advertising images of beach, bikinis and prevailing sunshine with some degree of envy.

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The location, Doug Jennings Park, a sandy peninsula that hosts hotels, a yacht club and a Sea World and serves as a launch pad for recreational anglers and surfers, constituted a spectacular location with international appeal. The event, held on 1 June 2013, attracted a solid crowd, with the ‘invite-only’ VIP Marquee sold out and the popular Polo Lounge brimming with younger revellers, who, champagne and Pimm’s in hand, gracefully swayed to the tunes of a capable DJ and live band in between games without spilling a drop. As with Polo in the City, Polo by the Sea is played on a smaller field, despite the fact that there is often the option to play on a larger field.

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Left An aerial view of the inaugural 2013 Polo by the Sea at Doug Jennings Park, Gold Coast Below Action between team Pimm’s (in white) vs. Blue Sky Brewery (in navy)

Peter Hamilton, Joe mcinelly

The event proved a resounding success, winning accolades from the local media

The reason is that the game is quicker and more spectator-friendly on a smaller field. Without substantial grandstands, watching polo on a full-size field can reduce audience appeal – the play can get stuck at the far end and people lose interest. The initial parameters of a regulation polo field were, I suspect, established more with the players in mind (the need to exercise the cavalry and their horses, most probably), rather than spectators. Like others, I prefer playing on a full field, however, we have found that it’s not as good for corporate entertainment. For the game, we used a custom-made ball which is a plastic composite and hard, although not as rock hard as a polo ball. This ball is about

five per cent larger than a standard ball, which means it won’t fly quite as far as a regular polo ball so it works better for our smaller fields. Largely adopting the production framework developed by Polo in the City, the event proved a resounding success, attracting accolades from the local media, which declared Polo by the Sea an instant hit and ‘one of the best events of the year’. Yet, despite the summer weather, there were no thongs or T-shirts in sight. The event thronged with members of the stylish set, as seems customary in polo, and included a catwalk show from one of Queensland’s emerging talents, Aje, further emphasising the growing prominence of fashion at Australian polo meets.

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The calibre of players was not too shabby either. The likes of Ruki Baillieu (7), Ed Goold (4) and New Zealand’s Kit Brooks (5), meant a high standard of play at the event, giving spectators something to cheer about, and meeting the organisers’ primary objective of promoting polo by showcasing talent which is most likely to cast the sport in a positive and exciting light. With the inaugural Polo by the Sea under the belt, event organisers plan to extend the series further north into tropical Queensland, in particular, Townsville (the gateway to Magnetic Island and the Great Barrier Reef), and beyond – into realms in Australia where polo has not yet, historically, ventured.

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a family affair Sporting-goods specialists J Salter & Sons has played a key part in polo history for almost 130 years, writes Nigel à Brassard

Preserving its reputation for creating the finest equipment, J Salter &Sons continues to trade to this day

There are many sports that have long been inextricably associated with an equipment manufacturer: Slazenger (lawn tennis), Hardy Brothers (fishing rods and reels), Gilbert (rugby), Holland & Holland and James Purdey & Sons (gun and rifle makers). The brand that has been linked with polo from its outset is J Salter & Sons. In 1927, Salter was able to claim in The Polo Monthly that ‘the majority of the leading players in the polo world have, for years, selected Salter equipment as the correct articles for the game’. James Oliver Salter, the company’s founder, was born in 1847 in Exminster, Devon. Having

enlisted in the Royal Artillery, he served in India, where polo was a major preoccupation of the British Army. In 1876, he married Alice Walbridge and, in 1880, with a growing family, they returned to England. After 21 years’ service, he retired from the Army. While in India, Salter had built a reputation for the repair of racquets and polo sticks, so decided to set himself up in business as a sports outfitter. The garrison town of Aldershot was the home of the British Army and birthplace of polo in Britain, so it was natural that J Salter & Sons first opened its doors in 1884 in the town. Indeed, two decades earlier, it was in Aldershot

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that ‘Chicken’ Hartopp had read the article in The Field of 20 March 1869 about ‘Hockey on Ponyback’ and then, with five or six fellow officers of the 10th Hussars, had played the first makeshift game of polo in England. J Salter & Sons soon developed a reputation as the leading polo-stick makers. The firm was noted for its high standards and vast stock of well-seasoned polo heads, canes and balls. Salter maintained that the three essentials to a perfect polo mallet were: a perfect grip, a well-balanced and seasoned cane, and a head of the correct weight. The company invited customers to send their favourite polo stick ‘as,

NigelÀ Brassard

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after a life’s study, we are able to make any stick to match each client’s wish and requirement’. It received tributes from many of the era’s leading polo players. John Watson, the captain of the British team that played against America in the first Westchester Cup in 1886, wrote to James Salter to say that, ‘having used your balls and canes for several years, I can with pleasure testify to their excellence, and recommend to my friends who do not patronise you to do so, if they have any difficulty in getting what they want’. Meanwhile, Edward Miller, who, with his brothers, founded the Rugby and Roehampton polo clubs, wrote: ‘I consider your sticks the best I have ever used, and your balls too.’ By the beginning of the 20th century, J Salter & Sons was supplying most of the world’s polo clubs, including London’s Hurlingham, Ranelagh and Roehampton, as well as Meadow Brook in Long Island, the Hawaiian Club in Honolulu and clubs in Australia and New Zealand. A player was able to completely kit out both himself and his string of ponies from Salter and the company was well known for its patent pony boots, bandages, saddlery, bridles, bits, whips, caps, helmets and jerseys. It counted among its customers Winston Churchill and received Royal Warrants from both HRH the Duke of Edinburgh and HRH the Prince of Wales.

A player was able to kit out both himself and his string of ponies from Salter

Apart from individual players, Salter also supplied famous teams such as the British and American teams that played in the Westchester Cup matches in the first half of the 20th century. Underlining the company’s central role in polo history, in the Museum of Polo in Florida, there is a permanent display of Salter polo equipment. In 1936, a correspondent of the The Daily Telegraph watched the American Westchester Cup team compete against the British Army side at Aldershot and, while there, went to see the fine collection of photographs, cartoons and equipment of great players in the possession of J Salter & Sons. The correspondent noted that the favourite sticks of polo enthusiasts including the Duke of Gloucester and the Maharajah of Kashmir, were hanging on racks, each waiting to be copied faithfully for their owners. James Salter’s son Sydney took over the running of the business on his father’s retirement.

He continued the tradition of making the finest sticks, which remained in demand the world over, taking on Raymond Turner, a young apprentice, to assist him. Turner learnt the art of making polo sticks and he, too, became a great craftsman. On James Salter’s retirement, he took over the running of the shop and eventually purchased it. Under his stewardship, the company continued to flourish. It met the increasing competition for the manufacture of sporting goods from India and China, and of polo sticks from South America by continuing to insist on the best materials and maintaining the high standards of workmanship that had always been the hallmark of the Salter brand. In the Nineties, Sean Arnold bought the J Salter & Sons brand and premises. Back in 1978, he had set up a business dealing in sporting antiques. Using early Salter catalogues as reference, Arnold has continued the company’s history of crafting by hand top-quality sporting goods using only the finest woods and leather. Within the original premises where J Salter established his business in 1884, there is now a small museum dedicated to him, alongside Sean Arnold’s impressive collection of sporting memorabilia, ephemera and vintage leather goods – a fitting tribute to a company at the heart of polo history.

PROFILE

simon tomlinson Not since 1939 has England had a 10-goal polo player. However, together with the Gerald Balding Appeal, the HPA Development Committee and its chair Simon Tomlinson are determined to change that illuSTrATioN PHil DiSlEy

Three years ago, when I was given the great honour of chairing the HPA Development Committee I posed a question: ‘Why, since Gerald Balding, has Britain produced only two 9-goal players and no 10-goal players at all, despite having probably the best-organised tournament season in the world and a Pony Club programme that is the envy of everyone?’ The committee took up the gauntlet. By comparing how our children develop with how Argentine youngsters progress, we identified a number of key factors and are implementing programmes to increase the quality of and awareness among young players from the age of 10 upwards. Our aims are as follows: to instil the ambition to be better than the best; to provide coaching at home and in the southern hemisphere during our winter; to encourage better umpiring and an observance of the rules of the game; to promote team play and four-man ‘positive’ polo; to stress the importance of horsemanship, getting really well mounted, and the schooling and making of polo ponies; and to teach horse mastership and pony welfare. Steady strides have already been made, with the result that the overall standard of children’s polo has consistently improved – as could be seen by the quality of the games played by the finalists in the Junior HPA sections at the Pony

Club Championships at Cowdray in August. Each year, youngsters with potential talent are selected for development courses run by senior HPA coaches, with the support of less experienced coaches keen to improve their abilities as well. Courses are also run in South Africa by Buster MacKenzie and, over the past three years, 47 children have benefited from these intensive, week-long introductions to the Springbok sporting ethic. A summerterm four-chukka league for schools has been established too, and a ‘colts’ and prep-school three-chukka league will be instated in 2014. There are at least three major lessons to be learnt from Britain’s spectacular success in the 2012 London Olympics. Firstly, the essential ingredient is a dedicated ambition to win. Secondly, this ambition will only reach fruition if it is supported by really focused coaching and training and, thirdly, adequate funding is needed to deliver all of this. If this is true of

Youngsters with potential talent are chosen for courses run by senior HPA coaches

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cycling, rowing and track athletics, it is even more true of polo, with its multitude of different skills to be mastered and the wide scope for the improvement of both human and equine athletes, quite apart from the high cost of participating in the sport. For the Development Committee to have a chance of delivering its objectives, there is an urgent need for an income of around £250,000 a year. The HPA annual budget for development is £60,000 and this is unlikely to increase due to the many other demands and the fall in the income in recent years from the Coronation Cup, which has hitherto been the main source of funds. And what will the money be spent on? Loans to help with the purchase and hiring of ponies – children need to play three- or four-chukka polo as young as possible and this requires access to more than one pony. The funding of coaches and better players for practices – playing good-quality practices, ideally with a coach and one better player on each side is a necessity, as is the funding of a better player in each team for a tournament. The payment of expenses – no player should be forced to play as a professional in low-handicap polo. The provision of courses run by excellent coaches, who need ongoing training, and the promotion of courses abroad during the winter.

PROFILE

The Gerald Balding Appeal will be aimed at the whole polo community, from children and parents to players and clubs

As one of the objectives of the Polo Charity, set up in 1992 by the late Lord Cowdray, is to assist with the training of those in full-time education, its trustees have kindly agreed to a ring-fenced fund being set up to be used for development. In this way, both donors and the charity will be able to benefit from HMRC Gift Aid rules for charitable donations. By way of an example, at current rates of tax, a donation of £100 a month for four years would cost a higher-rate tax payer £3,360 over the four years and the charity would receive £5,760, including the tax rebate. The stewards of the HPA have agreed to launch the Gerald Balding Appeal to take advantage of this and hopefully raise quite a significant sum. The objective of the appeal

is to raise a capital fund that will be invested to generate an income. Augmented by both commercial sponsorship and the existing HPA grant, this investment will provide an annual fund of around £250,000. The Gerald Balding Appeal will be aimed at the whole polo community. Children who play in the Pony Club and at school will be invited to organise and attend fundraising events, while their parents will be asked to support their efforts, and all players throughout the HPA will be invited to contribute. Individual clubs, in turn, will be asked to have a fundraising day in which their nonplaying supporters will have an opportunity to make donations. It is hoped to eventually reach all those who may have picked up a polo

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stick at a distant time in the past in some far-flung part of the old British Empire! I hope the fund and its objectives might even appeal to those whose nearest contact with the game has been to read The Maltese Cat. We have won the Westchester Cup for the third time running – a feat achieved by England previously only in the first three matches of the historic series in 1886, 1900 and 1902. However, we have yet to win the FIP 14-Goal World Championships, we have yet to have a British team in the Argentine Open, and it is 70 years since we had a 10-goal British player – in the shape of Gerald Balding. The task to raise the funds is a tough one, but with support from the whole polo community, our goal can certainly be achieved.

world of polo Enjoyed in some of the most exotic locations on the planet, polo is a truly global sport, reports Diana Armstrong-Wilson

Winston Churchill once remarked that a polo handicap is a passport to the world. His quote is more apt today than at any other time in the sport’s 2,000-year history. The sport is no longer confined to the sporting elite in Europe, the USA or South America, but is played in many more countries worldwide. Along with such expansion comes choice. Today’s players, be they professional or amateur, have the option of playing on sand, snow or grass in some of the world’s most exotic locations. One of the most unusual places to play in 2013 is surely Iran. Although polo was banned in the country after the Iranian revolution of 1979, it was resurrected in the Nineties and has experienced a recent resurgence of popularity. Iran now boasts a national federation with links to the Federation of International Polo (FIP) and some five clubs. One such venue can be found south-east of Tehran. Qasr-e Firouze Chowgan Club hosts matches and tournaments every week and has around 150 members, both men and women, although the latter have to

follow the strict Islamic dress code. Of course, a political message is never far away in this country and a large picture of its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looms over the field, reminding all Iranians to engage in ‘sports that are home-grown, such as polo, which is Iranian’. Persia was indeed the birthplace of polo and this revival is simply the sport returning appositely to its roots. As one player explained in a recent interview: ‘The authorities encourage the game because it was born in Iran.’ However, third-generation player Amirali Zolfaghari admits that the game is not yet accessible to everyone. ‘You need money to buy and maintain a horse and to purchase the equipment. But our federation is doing everything it can to attract young people. It provides horses and equipment for beginners and we have set up four or five clubs in order to improve the standing of the national team.’ Just 800 miles south of Qasr-e Firouze Chowgan Club, polo is already thriving. This

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Persia was the birthplace of polo and this revival is simply the sport returning to its roots

is in Dubai – one of the sport’s biggest success stories of recent years. Alongside the rapid expansion of this emirate, many enthusiastic patrons, including the Al Habtoor brothers, Ali Albwardy and Saeed Bin Drai, have developed the game so that there is now an excellent choice of venues and a bank of home-grown players. Testament to the success of the game is Mohammed Al Habtoor’s confirmation that the Habtoor Gold Cup will be played off 18 goals in 2015. Added to that, one Argentine professional compared Dubai to Palm Beach, saying: ‘When you take into account the fact that polo is growing here

Opposite Players on the snow fields of St Moritz, Switzerland. This page, from top The polo fields of Iran’s Qasr-e Firouze Chowgan Club, in the Alborz foothills south-east of Tehran; the Chowgan Club women’s team conform to Iran’s Islamic dress code

Tony ramirez/images of polo, ali Kaveh

every year and that the game is attracting a high standard of player, it’s not far off Palm Beach.’ Tournament founder Al Habtoor is confident about the success of his event, saying: ‘My objective is to reach a maximum of 20 goals.’ Ali Albwardy and his high-goal polo team Dubai are already well known in the UK, thanks to their successes in the Queen’s and Gold Cups. However, as well as playing in prestigious, high-goal events in Europe, Albwardy has created first-class polo facilities in Dubai. His Desert Palm Resort and Polo Club offers excellent grounds and horses, as well as a luxury hotel, making it ideal for player R&R. It also plays host to several leading tournaments, including the Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge. As Neil Hobday, CEO of Guards Polo Club in the UK and organiser of Cartier International events around the world, says: ‘Ali Albwardy’s passion for the game, combined with Cartier’s unerring eye for style and luxury, has created a wonderful

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oasis of polo at Desert Palm. In fact, it’s the benchmark for all of Cartier’s international events around the globe.’ Included in Cartier’s ‘necklace of sporting events’ is China, more specifically Beijing. As in Iran, polo has been off the agenda here for years, but has experienced a resurgence. But the Chinese are reclaiming their equine heritage, no more so than on the polo field. Liu Shilai, the founder of Tang Polo Club on the outskirts of Beijing, has seen his club recognised by FIP, thanks to the quality of his grounds. With several Chinese members and an impressive fixtures list, including the China Open and the Cartier International China Polo Challenge, Tang Polo Club, one of three clubs in Beijing, is thriving. However, what sets Liu Shilai apart from his Chinese peers is that he has played the game around the world, from Argentina to the UK. As he told the China Daily: ‘It is the sport that fascinates me, not the social intercourse. I love polo because it is hard to play, it requires speed and it is full of passion.’

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Head north from Beijing and you will come to another polo hot spot: Tianjin. This is home to the impressive Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club. Opened in 2010, this remarkable venue offers great facilities plus another impressive fixture list, with events on both grass and snow. With Australian Derek Reid – a former polo manager at Guards Polo Club, at the helm – the polo regularly attracts many big names from the sport, including NZ international JP Clarkin and England international James Beim. Last year, the HPA sent over two teams for the Club’s Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup, in which the England team lost out in the sub-final while their under-16 counterparts lost out in the final. The standard of play and facilities at the Metropolitan would impress even polo-weary Argentines. Matías Zavaleta, an experienced 7-goaler who played in the recent Maserati Metropolitan Polo Classic enthuses: ‘We have been made so welcome here in Tianjin. Rarely have we seen a polo club with facilities like these; we have enjoyed both polo and luxurious living

Opposite, from top A view of Dubai’s skyline from the Desert Palm Club; the Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge being played at the Desert Palm Club. This page, from top The impressive facilities of the Tang Polo Club, Beijing, China; the USPA World Snow Championships in Aspen

desert palm, tang polo club, louisa davidson

during our stay.’ Such praise will surely encourage more players to experience Chinese polo. Snow polo, played in China, Switzerland, Italy, the USA and even Argentina, is another burgeoning area of the sport. St Moritz sets the style agenda, playing impressive 18-goal polo on its frozen lake in late January every year, watched by stylish spectators and featuring some big names from the grass game. However, since this tournament’s inception in 1985, there are now several countries preparing for a ride-off against the Swiss event. The challenge may well come from the USA, where the USPA World Snow Championship takes place in Aspen, or even from China, which has already

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Below, from left The Jnan Amar Polo Challenge, near Marrakech, Morocco; players at the Tseleevo Polo Club, north of Moscow, Russia

firmly established the FIP Snow Polo World Cup at Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club. Wherever the challenge, the sport is ready for this development, as some of the biggest names in polo, including Eduardo Novillo Astrada, Glen Gilmore, JP Clarkin and Chris Hyde are experienced competitors on the white stuff. A snow venue becoming firmly fixed on every player’s radar is Russia. The Russian Open Snow Polo Championship is proving popular and there is never any shortage of the right kind of weather. Today’s players are following in the footsteps of AFB patron Clive Reid, who won the Imperia Snow Cup in Moscow in 2006 alongside Jack Kidd and Victor Huaco. These days, the Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club, 42km north of Moscow, is the venue for both the snow polo and the summer’s Russian Polo Open, now in its eighth year. With Ben Vestey umpiring and Sebastián Amaya on the field in 2013, it is clear that Russia is successfully re-establishing its polo roots.

Another nation rediscovering its polo ancestry is Morocco, although polo was first played here only in the Twenties, after which it tailed off. Now interest has been renewed and, earlier this year, Oliver Ellis, former polo manager at Guards Polo Club, teamed up with Eve Branson (mother of Sir Richard) to create the Jnan Amar Polo Challenge, near Marrakech. Players such as Fred Mannix Jnr, Mariano Uranga and Santiago Novillo Astrada played alongside locals such as Lieutenant Sidi Mohamed El Mhamdi and Sergeant Ahmed Bentaib, offering the perfect platform to regenerate interest among both players and spectators. It is a similar story in Malaysia, where HRH Prince Abdullah Sultan Ahmed Shah, Crown Prince of Pahang, is inspiring a new generation of players. The president of the Royal Malaysian Polo Association, he is also an avid player of the global game. With more than 200 players now registered with the association and a burgeoning fixtures list, Malaysia is once more very firmly on the polo map.

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Beach polo is taking off globally, too, attracting big sponsors and key players. Major British tournaments, including those at Sandbanks in Dorset, Watergate Bay in Cornwall and on Jersey are now regularly scheduled into players’ diaries. Once seen as a bit of light relief from the regular game, beach polo is becoming as big as its grass cousin. Global events such as the La Martina Miami Beach Polo on Florida’s famous South Beach, will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2014, and household names such as Nacho Figueras have put this version of polo on the world map. Mexico is hot on the heels of its neighbour, with the country’s white sands making the perfect polo backdrop. One major result of this increased interest in the sport is that polo is now played around the world almost 365 days a year. With such diverse surfaces, players are spoilt for choice as to where and what they play on. However, one thing is clear – the standard is continually rising, so players will have to stay at the top of their game to ensure a chukka or two.

jack brockway, sam churchill

One result of the increased interest is that polo is now played almost 365 days a year

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the 7 ages of pol0 My decision to stop playing seasons away from my family has been a long time coming. While objectives evolved over this time, for 26 years now my polo career has been a pretty single-minded pursuit. What was I pursuing? In 1987, on graduating from college, I sought travel and fluency in a new language, as well as the adrenaline which always coursed through me during competitive sports. This brought me – then a 4-goal – to Argentina with a few phone numbers and the vague aim of improving enough to get to play a season or two professionally in Palm Beach. Through the guidance of Juan Martin Zavaleta, I ended up on an overnight bus to Trenque Lauquen. The morning I arrived at ‘El Pucará’, after assigning me a saddle, two bridles and a racing crop, Hector Barrantes pointed to one of dozens of dirt corrals and

gave me my marching orders: ‘There are your eight horses. Ride them every day and always have a reason for what you are doing.’ Aged 23, I knew I was starting late. But ‘in this sport, it’s not how many years you’ve been playing, it’s how many hours you’ve sat on a horse,’ Hector told us one night as we sat around the asado. That winter, I got to play Florida on the 22-goal Airstream team with Alfonso Pieres, who was at the pinnacle of the sport. Even though my season was cut short by a crash that broke my collarbone and dislocated my thumb, playing with Alfonso opened up opportunities that set me on a path of rapid improvement. In 1989, I married Shelley Onderdonk and decided to stop polo and seek more traditional work – Shelley was headed to Hong Kong for a two-year teaching fellowship, and I couldn’t continue my itinerant career. My Hong Kong

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textiles job came through my friend and polo patron, Brook Johnson, and did not last long. I bought two suits and studied the industry as best I could, but I never completed a ‘greige goods’ transaction. One day, weeks after our arrival, Shelley found me standing on a chair with a 52in Villamil, bouncing tennis balls off the walls of our Kowloon Tong apartment. When Brook phoned to invite me to play the following summer with him and Owen Rinehart for CS Brooks in the UK, I jumped at the chance. In 1990, I played my first of five summers in England. We lost the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup in the 8th chukka on Lawns, with widened goals. After the season, I was raised to 8-goals. And I still didn’t own a horse. At this point, I don’t think I was pursuing anything in particular, but rather responding to opportunities that allowed me to continue

david lominska

While growing older in the game may bring its challenges, it also brings illuminating new insights, says former 10-goaler Adam Snow

This page Adam on Cambicha, playing for Audi in his first Argentine Open in Palermo, BA, 1999 Opposite Adam on the farm in 2003

This page, clockwise from left Adam and Julio Arellano in finals of 2002 US Open, Florida; playing hockey for Yale; wife Shelley and sons Nathan, Dylan, and Aidan (in Adam’s arms) in 2007 Opposite Adam with Nathan and Brazilian grooms Bento and Bete Da Silva receiving Best Playing Pony prize for Hale Bopp at Palm Beach, 1999.

My philosophy was to ‘play the best polo that would have me’

in a sport I loved to play. My philosophy was to ‘play the best polo that would have me’, and I was improving quickly enough to get mounted playing invitations. My partnership with Owen developed into us playing both the US and UK seasons together and, eventually, to Shelley and I buying a property beside the Rineharts’ new farm in Aiken, South Carolina. But there were bumps on this trail, too. There was a team change in England and my summers of being fully mounted were over. We had a few young horses in Aiken by then, but I could not yet mount myself. The walkabout I began in 1987 had, by happenstance, turned into my full-time occupation. Now, to have any chance of success, I had to invest and be creative about finding horses. It’s hard to conceive of how I moved from the security of playing for CSB on Brook’s ponies to the life of free-agency on my own. But the following summer found me, Shelley

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But we owned a farm in Aiken, I had 12 horses and, as for a different career, I wouldn’t have known where to begin. Serendipitously, I received a phone call from Stiliani Chroni, known as Ani, a student of sports psychology at UVA, who asked for an interview. She flew to Florida and met my teammates Memo, Owen, Hector, Julio, Mike and me for what turned out to be her PhD thesis, Competitiveness in the Sport of Polo. Through hours of questioning, and hearing my own limiting answers, I became interested in what I could learn from her field of expertise. I had played sports – hockey and lacrosse as well as polo – my whole life and understood I was decent because I worked harder than others, yet I had done zero work on my mental game. To my ears, ‘sports psychologist’ had an awkward ring, so, after hiring Ani, I introduced her to teammates and friends as ‘my mental coach’. Fairly quickly, I latched onto a Reinhold Niebuhr quote about distractions: ‘Give me the serenity to let go of things I cannot change, the courage to change things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’ And, rather than being jealous of higher-rated Argentine players, I learnt to appreciate their skills and looked for what I could learn. My excuse of

‘how can I compete when they play 30-goal polo all the time?’ turned into an asset: ‘Just think how good I am without having played the Argentine Open!’ And if the Argentine Open was such a big deal in my mind, then I had to find a way to play it. The details of my work with Ani could fill a book. But, in essence, it was about thinking effectively about whatever aim was in sight – and that target shifted over the years. Initially, it felt like being back in school, but I liked putting my mind to work. For the first time in my professional career, I committed fully. I was pursuing excellence and, eventually, a perfect 10 – even though it looked a way off. For several years, I had it all. Shelley graduated from veterinary school and committed to travelling with me until Dylan reached 5th grade, when we felt a consistent school and peers needed to take priority. We bought a house in Florida and upgraded to a 110-acre farm in Aiken, where polo on Langdon Road proved an ideal venue for finishing horses. I had a circle of support around me that was incredible. Shelley was with me as wife, mother and top performance vet. I had loyal grooms in Bento and Bete Da Silva, a mental coach, good teammates, and sponsors who understood my

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and our four-month-old son, Dylan, travelling to Oklahoma with my groom, Fermine Carbello, and eight horses on the US summer circuit. And I almost got fired for asking to play a mare – Sue Ellen – to help my string. The following winter, I drove my rig down to Florida. I left the farm with no job. Between Titusville and Vero Beach, I finalised a deal over the phone. But soon after, smoke started spewing from my trailer and I docked on the edge of I-95 to find an axle melted to the wheel hub. Much later, I limped into my Gulfstream barn rental with only one functioning axle and a plank propping up the defunct wheel. At the national handicap meeting in October, I got lowered from 8 to 7. And the fast-track I’d enjoyed – particularly before I started making my own horses – was officially over. I was 32 years old and I had peaked. This hiccup forced me to re-evaluate what I was doing and why. If I had fulfilled my potential, did I want to continue? I wasn’t sure what I was pursuing any more. Income? It was better before I owned my own horses. Adrenaline? I still got it from playing men’sleague hockey. My father’s admonishment that ‘you can do more with your education’ resounded somewhere in the back of my head.

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objectives. Jonathan Ingram allowed me to buy horses I played in the 1999 Argentine Open; Michael Price loaned me his best horse, Jasmine, for the 2001 Florida season, and John Goodman backed me to bring my family and horses to Buenos Aires for the 2004 Argentine Opens with IPC. On the field, I partnered with Ruben Sola, Julio Arellano, Tiger Kneece, Owen Rinehart, Mariano Gonzalez and Miguel Novillo Astrada. And I prepared to the T for each match. I was also spoilt by the quality of horses I got to play: Hale Bopp, Pumbaa, Chloe, Amy, Bag Lady, Tequila and Jill. Take away all the excuses and it was easy to play well. In the spring of 2001 with Templeton, we beat Outback in the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup – and I think it was Adolfo’s only loss of the season. The following year with Coca-Cola we won seven straight games to capture the US Open – still a personal highlight.

Today, ‘nothing but polo’ is no longer enough, now I know what I’m missing

During my first year on 10-goals, our 26-goal team did not win a game, but winning tournaments in Boca Raton and Santa Barbara felt like some validation. It was a huge privilege to play in the Outback and other 40-goal exhibitions for three years alongside the world’s best. My main concern in my first 40-goal was that no one would want to buy my shirt in the auction afterwards. Christine Cato, thank you! In 2006, my handicap started to decline and my new pursuit became experiencing the

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surge I got from playing my best. In her short story about a bull-rider, Annie Proulx describes it as ‘that blazing feeling of real existence’. Now my family was based in Aiken for the school year, Ani instilled the concept that quality not quantity was the new objective. I got selective about which tournaments I chose to play away from home and cut down from three strings to two. But ageing isn’t easy. Some of my strengths – like quickness – weren’t as strong. In 2009, Sapo shot by me to score a goal in a key 26-goal match – and I was on my best horse! Shelley’s ‘Honey, they’re half your age out there’ over the phone that night was the new reality. And getting the yips about taking 30-yard penalties became a problem – and a source of family jokes. Alfonso told me about ageing gracefully: ‘Don’t fight the natural handicap decline.’ And, indeed, each year I went down, I had great opportunities – winning the US Open in 2006, losing the 2009 finals OT, and, recently, wins in Aiken and Santa Barbara. Today, being on the farm – and caring for our house, horses and children – feels productive. And being away for long seasons on my own – even with the ‘blazing feeling’ of playing, which comes as readily in an Aiken 14-goal as in the US Open in Florida – does not. Last week, Dylan left for his first year of college while I prepared far away for my next game. ‘Nothing but polo’ is no longer enough, now I know what I’m missing. On New Haven Farm, we are naturalbreeding two to three of my favourite retired mares. I’m training their offspring, as well as the young players who pass through Aiken in the Team USPA programme. I’ve begun compiling boxes of notes and journals with the goal of getting some of these experiences down on paper. And I will continue playing quality polo when it fits with my new objectives. While I don’t know what this new transition will bring, I prefer to take the first step myself and, as Niebuhr wrote, have the courage to change things I can – while I still can.

david lominska

Left Adam playing for winning team, Mansour, in the 2013 America’s Cup, Santa Barbara, CA.

Fly from London to Buenos Aires Cancun Caracas Havana Lima Montevideo Punta Cana Salvador de Bahia Santa Cruz (Bolivia) Santo Domingo Sao Paulo From December 2013 All flights are via Madrid

Playing Polo in Latin America? Get there with Air Europa, the Latin American Specialist

087 1 4 23 07 17 www.aireuropa.com THE WORLD’S SIXTH MOST PUNCTUAL AIRLINE information provided by:

With polo now being played in upwards of 80 countries around the world, there is no shortage of holiday destinations for aficionados and their families looking to combine their passion for the sport with other activities ranging from hunting and fishing to cameltrekking and tiger-spotting. International travel companies such as Abercrombie & Kent and IJ’s Exotic Polo Holidays offer luxury off-the-peg or customised packages to a plethora of destinations, but it can sometimes be more satisfying to plan your own itinerary, helped by polo friends, before you go globetrotting. Here are a few tips on where to go and what to do in two of the most popular countries for polo vacations: India and Argentina. INDIA

In the mid-19th century, representatives of the British Raj ‘discovered’ the ancient game of polo in Manipur in north-east India. The sport soon spread and today, the Indian Polo Association lists 35 clubs, from Bangalore in the south to Kolkata in the east and Delhi in the north. However, the real heart and soul of Indian polo is in Rajasthan, to the northwest, on the frontier with Pakistan. Jaipur, the region’s capital, began its rise to polo fame between the wars, when the late Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II (1912-1970) took his Jaipur team to England and won every major tournament there. ‘Jai’, as he was known, became a 9-goal player and, for more than a decade, his team dominated Indian polo. Jai went on to play polo all over the world. His Jaipur home, Rambagh Palace, became a haven for polo-playing friends and celebrities from abroad. When the Indian government withdrew the privy purse from erstwhile rulers of princely states, he was one of the first of the maharajas to turn his palace into a hotel. The Taj Rambagh Palace now offers five-star accommodation with echoes of the glory days of Jaipur polo, and the adjacent

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TURN A visiT iNTo AN AdveNTURe

pic credit line in here JaseKing.com

Adding a polo dimension to a holiday can only increase its excitement, writes Herbert Spencer

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Rambagh Polo Ground still hosts matches. Polo instruction and tournaments for visitors, meanwhile, are available at the Jaipur Riding & Polo Club, just 25km from the city. The club was founded and is run by Colonel KS Garcha, formerly a leading Indian player, who won the national championships 13 times and has competed in some 25 countries. Jaipur is also home to the Indian Army’s 61st Cavalry Regiment, which has long provided many of India’s top polo players. Don’t miss the annual spring review of the regiment on the Rambagh Polo Ground, which rivals that of the Household Cavalry. Also located on the outskirts of Jaipur, in the Aravali Hills, stands the picturesque town of Mundota, which boasts not only a fort and a palace, but now a new polo facility being developed by Vikram Rathore, India’s polo ambassador to FIP. Scheduled to open by the end of the year, the resort will offer a luxury hotel and polo ground with arena, pavilion and

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Information on polo holidays in India is available from: • tajhotels.com • abercrombiekent.co.uk • ranthamborenationalpark.com • ratanada-polo-palace.com

Vikram rathore, rajkumar Singh, jaSkirat Singh Bawa, aBercromBie & kent, taj hotelS

Previous page A local surveys the scene from one of the palaces in the ‘pink city’ of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Clockwise from far left Colonel KS Garcha, founder of the Jaipur Riding & Polo Club, in action; a Bengal tiger in the Ranthambore National Park; Mundota, a former fort and a palace near Jaipur, which will open as a luxury polo facility at the end of the year; an elephant-polo match adds to the ambience of regal splendour at the Taj Umaid Bhuwan Palace; the charge of the 61st Cavalry in Jaipur – one of the three last remaining horsed cavalry army regiments anywhere in the world

stables for 50 horses. It will also be the base for one of India’s top teams, the Sahara Warriors, which is patroned by Sahara Shri Subrata Roy, owner of Force India F1 team. Rathore is optimistic that the development will be ‘the Indian polo concierge, facilitating the needs of the discerning player from across the globe who wants to do anything to do with polo in India, be that running their own team, playing a tournament or taking lessons’. For polo tourists with an interest in wildlife, there are two national parks within 129km of Jaipur that offer the chance to spot India’s most emblematic predator, the Bengal tiger. The Ranthambore National Park – once the hunting grounds of the maharajas of Jaipur – offers guided tours for viewing tigers, leopards and crocodiles. Some 320km west of Jaipur is Jodhpur, another Rajasthan city steeped in polo tradition. This was the home of the late Rao Raja Hanut Singh of Jodhpur (1900-1982).

For the real royal experience in Jodhpur, a stay at the Umaid Bhawan Palace is a must

During World War I, at the age of only 14, he served with his father’s Jodhpur Lancers – one of the units responsible for taking Haifa from the Ottomans. After the war, Hanut became the most famous player ever to come out of India. A 9-goal player at 21, he held that rating for 45 years. I stayed with him at his house at Ratanada in Jodhpur in the Seventies, when he wrote for my book Chakkar. Now, his son, Hari, who played polo with Hanut on their Ratanada team, runs a 50-room hotel there, called, appropriately, the Ratanada Polo Palace.

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For the real royal experience in Jodhpur, however, a stay at the Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel is a must. Construction of the vast marble home of the maharajas of Jodhpur began in the Twenties and took 15 years to complete. With 350 rooms, it was one of the world’s largest private residences. Today, it is divided into three parts: the residence of the current maharaja, Gaj Singh II; a museum of the Jodhpur dynasty; and the Taj hotel. The rooms and royal suites of the latter, which have been decorated in the same Art Deco style as the original palace, offer the polo tourist unrestrained luxury. Stretching westward from Jodhpur into neighbouring Pakistan lies the vast Thar Desert – a largely desolate area of more than 200,000 sq km, where spectacular dunes rise some 150m. Several companies offer camel treks and safaris through the desert. A few nights under the stars would seem a perfect way to end a polo holiday.

A RGEN T I NA

Argentina is a vast country of fascinating geography, from the mountains of the Andes in the north to the great flatlands of the pampas to the glaciers of Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip towards Antarctica. Its appeal to the polo traveller, however, is based on its position as the world’s leading polo nation. The one annual event most likely to draw holidaymakers from abroad is the Abierto – the Argentine Open Championship – played in December in the country’s national polo stadium at Palermo, in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. The Abierto is considered the worldwide pinnacle of the sport, with teams of up to the maximum handicap of 40 goals in contention. For polo tourists flying in just for the final matches of the Abierto, Buenos Aires has numerous hotels, such as the Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt (buenosaires.park.hyatt.com), offering five-star luxury accommodation. As the most European of all South American capital cities, it has plenty to keep short-term visitors busy, with sightseeing, tango shows, great food and shopping. Most polo tourists, however, opt for longer holidays in Argentina and head out to the campo – the countryside – to seek instruction, shop for ponies, play in pro-am tournaments or go hunting and fishing. Several of Argentina’s most famous polo families have estancias that welcome visitors from abroad. For example, the Pieres family’s estancia Ellerstina, with seven polo grounds, offers visitors the opportunity to receive instruction and coaching, buy ponies and play in pro-am tournaments. With scores of estancias around the country, the holidaymaker is spoiled for choice. Some are worth a visit simply for the chance to relax in luxury.

Clockwise from opposite, top left: The luxurious La Bamba de Areco estancia; La Bamba de Areco’s exterior; the stables at El Remanso; instruction is available from top-level coaches such as Marcelo Monteverde; a gaucho rounds up horses at La Carolina; atmospheric evening rides on the pampas at El Rincon Information on polo holidays in Argentina is available from:

la carolina, el remanso, el rincon, la bamba de areco

• labambadeareco.com • haraslacarolina.com • elremansopolo.com • elrincondelpolo.com • marcelomonteverde.wordpress.com

La Bamba de Areco was acquired by JeanFrançois Decaux, chair of JCDecaux, the world’s largest outdoor-advertising company. Decaux, who also owns a polo club in France, named his high-goal team La Bamba de Areco after the estancia. In 2009, Decaux completely refurbished the whole property in French style. It was as if he had plucked the Ritz Hotel from the Place Vendôme and placed it out on the pampas: rather smaller and with traditional Argentine touches, but with all the luxury of that famous Paris hostelry. Another foreign-owned estancia worth staying at is Christopher Hanbury’s El Remanso, which is situated south-west of Buenos Aires and less than an hour’s drive from the international airport. Like La Bamba, it offers sophisticated accommodation and is set among 500 hectares of completely flat farmland – perfectly suited to polo. Its tournaments have become firm fixtures on the sporting calendar, and its popularity continues to grow each year.

For a look at the latest in polo-pony breeding, the Hanburys’ Lovelocks Polo Stud and the La Carolina breeding farm in San Miguel Del Monte are well worth visiting. La Carolina’s owners also have a playing farm in Pilar. Started by father-and-son team Sir Michael Rake and his son Ashley, the latter is the main base for their horses and features a training centre, 25 boxes, an exercise track and a schooling pen. The impressive set-up lends itself well to La Carolina’s tailored poloholiday packages, which offer Argentine-style accommodation, a pool and gym, and individual

La Bamba de Areco resembles the Ritz, plucked from Paris and placed on the pampas

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or group lessons with professionals. Sightseeing visits or trips to local spas and golf courses can also be arranged. A mere 30-minute drive from La Carolina’s sprawling farm stands the town of Open Door – the birthplace of the legendary 10-goal Novillo Astrada brothers and home to more than 30 polo clubs, including the El Rincon polo school with its 50 polo ponies. Guests can stay at the charming ranch house and take part in morning polo classes, with scheduled games in the afternoon. During the southern-hemisphere winter, holidaymakers can combine snow polo with skiing and other alpine sports at the Pire-Hue Lodge in the foothills of the Andes, while there are fine opportunities for combining polo with hunting and fishing throughout the year. Estancias can help arrange these activities for holidaymakers, including ever-popular wildfowl-shooting. With this much choice, year round, there’s really no excuse not to go.

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action

tony ramirez/imagesofpolo

the latest polo action from around the world

Audi England’s James Beim (second from right) eyes the ball in the Westchester Cup against the USA

the action 48

The Queen’s Cup Lyndon Lea led Zacara to their first victory, while Facundo Pieres also shone

Intervarsity British and american university teams competed in a new tournament in china

Deauville overtime and the ‘golden goal’ saw talandracas’s sixth cup victory

Westchester audi England had a close call in this historic event against the USa, but indomitable team play won the day

Santa Barbara ERG scored four straight wins before riding to overall victory

French Open La Quinta men’s team and ladies’ team Why not were both victorious at the Polo club de chantilly

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Gold Cup after a showdown between cambiaso and Pieres, Zacara finally took the cup

Copa Uribe after an emotional neck-and-neck final, capiro defeated otroparte in Bogotá

Sotogrande Facundo Pieres emerged triumphant with Ellerston in Spain

Metropolitan Maserati rode to glory in the eponymous Metropolitan final over Fortune Heights

EFG Bicentennial the trophy Day at RMS Sandhurst was dominated by the army teams

RMP International League KotaSaS-iBiL won the RMPa international League Final at the prestigious Royal Selangor Polo club

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aCtion THE QUEEN’S CUP, gUardS, MaY–JUNE 2013

THE quEEn’s cup After a 25-year wait, Her Majesty witnessed an all UK-patroned final of her eponymous tournament. But it was an Argentinian who stole the show, reports Herbert Spencer

Every year, the coveted Queen’s Cup at Guards Polo Club, the first 22-goal tournament of the English season, draws a cosmopolitan cohort of team patrons from Europe and from as far afield as the Middle East and Australia. While there are usually several UK-based patrons fielding teams, in recent years, almost all the finalists have been from overseas. Before the start of this year’s tournament, it had been 25 years since two UK-patroned teams made it through to a Queen’s Cup final, when, in 1988, George Milford Haven’s NCP Broncos beat Anthony Embiricos’ Tramontana to take the trophy. This year, finally, two UK teams once again met in the Cartier Queen’s Cup final, with Lyndon Lea’s Zacara taking on the Hanburys’ El Remanso.

Sixteen teams were entered in the tournament. Both Zacara and El Remanso reached the final with perfect 5-0 records. Zacara beat the 2012 titleholders, Ali Albwardy’s Dubai, in the semi-final. El Remanso defeated Adrian Kirby’s Cortium in their semi – revenge for the Hanburys loss to Kirby’s team in the 2012 British Open final. Both finalists had 10-goalers in their line-ups: Argentine Facundo ‘Facu’ Pieres for Zacara and Uruguay’s David ‘Pelon’ Stirling for El Remanso. This should have kept the odds close, but the smart money was on Zacara, who were on a roll after winning the 26-goal USPA Open Championship for the second year in a row just a month before. Zacara’s start in the initial chukka of the final on the Queen’s Ground was less than impressive.

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El Remanso won the opening throw-in, Zacara fouled and El Remanso’s Guillermo Terrera converted the 30-yard penalty shot. Five minutes into the period, Stirling broke away from midfield and raced to goal to increase El Remanso’s advantage. Zacara’s Pieres responded with his own midfield break to score a field goal, leaving El Remanso 2-1 ahead at the bell. El Remanso increased their lead in the first minute of the second period when Terrera scored from the field. Pieres pulled one back for Zacara, finding the posts with an under-the-neck shot from a goalmouth scrum. Pieres then converted a 60-yard penalty shot, tying the match at 3-3 at the chukka’s end. Zacara began their domination of the match two minutes into the third chukka when Pieres

aCtion

Zacara began to dominate in the third chukka when Pieres converted a 60-yarder

the field. El Remanso’s Stirling pulled one back with a 30-yard penalty conversion. Pieres replied for Zacara with a field goal from a goalmouth scrum. Stirling converted a 60-yarder for El Remanso, before Pieres iced the cake with another field goal seconds before the final bell to make it 15-9 and consolidate Zacara’s first Queen’s Cup victory. Queen Elizabeth II presented the Cartier Queen’s Cup to a jubilant Lyndon Lea. Facundo Pieres, who scored 11 of Zacara’s 15 goals of the final, was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, in addition to being the tournament’s high scorer with 50 goals to his credit. Pieres cornered the awards when his eight-year-old Argentine mare Galatica was Best Playing Pony and his seven-year-old mare Close Up received the Argentine Polo Pony Breeders Association’s award as Best Polo Argentino Breed mount. Lea credited Zacara’s victory to ‘the team’ and ‘the organisation’. That organisation included an impressive pony string in which Lea has invested heavily in the US and the UK over the past few years. More than half of the 40 ponies listed for the team’s Queen’s Cup effort were from the Zacara string.

tony ramirez/images of polo

Opposite page The winning team with HM The Queen between Arnaud Bamberger (left) and Jock GreenArmytage Below Rodrigo Andrades (in black) beats El Remanso teammates Guillermo Terrera (on the left) and David Stirling Jr

converted another 60-yarder. Zacara won the next throw-in, with Pieres moving the ball forward and passing to teammate Rodrigo Andrade, who scored. Pieres than worked his way through strong defence to find the posts, and that goal was followed by Andrade again scoring from the field. El Remanso pulled one back with a 40-yard penalty conversion by Stirling before Pieres got away from midfield and raced to goal, giving Zacara an 8-5 lead at half time. Both teams tightened their defences in the fourth chukka. Zacara held El Remanso scoreless, but only added one point to their total via a field goal from Pieres, the period ending with Zacara 9-5 ahead. El Remanso reduced their deficit in the first minute of the fifth chukka when Terrera made a long run to goal and scored from a scrum. But Zacara’s Matt Perry replied with a field goal straight from the next throw-in. His teammate Pieres converted 40-yard and 30-yard penalty shots before El Remanso’s Stirling scored from a scrum late in the period. Zacara went into the sixth and final chukka with a 12-7 lead and increased their advantage almost immediately when Andrades scored from

View this match online at hurlinghampolo.com

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aCtion WESTCHESTER CUP, GUARDS, JULY 2013

westchester cup

The match between England and the USA was extremely close, but in the end, says Herbert Spencer, England won by having no weak link

Audi England’s defeat of Equus & Co USA in this year’s revival of the historic Westchester Cup series between the two countries appears to demonstrate once more that, when the chips are down, an all-professional national team will always prevail against a pro-am side with a low-handicapped amateur player. When Audi England downed the USA 12-11 to take the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA)’s flagship event, the Westchester Cup, on Audi International Day in July, it was the fourth time in a row that an all-pro England side had defeated a pro-am USA team in international competition. In 1997, a USA team that included low-goal amateur John Goodman played England for the Westchester Cup and lost. In the summer of 2012, the USA fielded a team with one-goal amateur Marc Ganzi against Audi England in the St Regis International at Cowdray Park; the USA lost. In the autumn of last year, amateur Ganzi again selected himself, with the approval of the International Committee of the US Polo Association (USPA), for the USPA International Cup in Florida and promptly lost again. This year, when the USPA challenged the HPA, holders of the Westchester Cup, the HPA specified that teams must be rated between

26 and 29 goals. The Americans have higher handicapped professionals than England and could field a 32- or 33-goal side if they selected their top players. So a 29-goal USA team for the Westchester Cup seemed within easy reach. Instead, the USPA International Committee authorised Ganzi to put together the USA team. Again he picked himself, at 1 goal, with pros Polito Pieres, 9, and 8-goalers Nic Roldan and Mike Azzaro – a pro-am team of 26 goals. The HPA selected an all-pro Audi England team of Luke Tomlinson and James Beim, both 7; Mark Tomlinson, 6; and John Paul Clarkin, 8. New Zealander Clarkin, as a Commonwealth player, was allowed to play for England under Westchester Cup rules. With England at 28 goals and the USA at 26, the visitors had two handicap points on the board before the match began on the Queen’s Ground at Guards Polo Club. But it was England’s Mark Tomlinson who scored the game’s first field goal, two minutes into the opening chukka. After Azzaro took a pass from Pieres to find the posts for the US and England’s Beim scored at the bell, the first chukka ended with USA 3-2 ahead. Halfway through the second period, Beim backed the ball through the posts to tie the

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aCtion

Opposite The opening ceremony Opposite below Luke Tomlinson receives the trophy from Prince Charles This page Nick Roldan (in blue) between James Beim and Mark Tomlinson

For the fourth time in a row, an all-pro England side defeated a USA team with one amateur

goal from Beim and two from Luke Tomlinson, who converted a 60-yarder, gave England a 10-8 lead. Both teams tightened their defences in the fifth chukka, each scored only a single goal to go 11-9. England failed to score in the sixth and final chukka of regulation time. Late in the period, the USA’s Roldan scored and, in the final minute,

Azzaro found the posts to tie the match and push it into extra time. Two minutes into the seventh chukka, a pass from Tomlinson went astray. Nonetheless, John Paul Clarkin waas able to pick up the loose ball and bang it through the posts for the golden goal that gave Audi England their third Westchester Cup victory in a row. The Prince of Wales, once one of England’s leading players before his retirement from the sport in 2005, was on hand to present the Westchester Cup to Audi England skipper Luke Tomlinson. England’s James Beim was named Most Valuable Player and Polito Pieres’s eight-year-old Argentine mare Rolinga was judged Best Playing Pony.

tony ramirez/images of polo

match, before Mark Tomlinson got away from midfield and raced to goal to give England the lead for the first time. However, the US hit back seconds before the bell: Pieres scoring to tie the game again, at 4-4. And the same player reclaimed America’s lead in the third period with a field goal by Pieres, strengthened by further goals from Roldan and Azzaro: 7-4. England responded with a spot penalty by skipper Tomlinson, 7-5. Then Beim got away from a throw-in and raced straight to goal – 7-6 – before Luke Tomlinson equalised for England. But another American score right on the bell, this time by Roldan, gave the USA an 8-7 lead. The fourth period, however, belonged to England. They kept the USA scoreless, while a

View this match online at hurlinghampolo.com

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aCtion VeuVe CliCquot gold Cup, Cowdray park, 25 june – 21 july

gold cup

Cowdray hosted the long-awaited showdown between Cambiaso and Pieres. One was victorious while the other was left writhing on the ground, writes Clare Milford Haven

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky at Cowdray. The only thing hanging over the final of the Gold Cup was tension, as the crowd anticipated the long-awaited battle of polo’s two titans: Adolfo Cambiaso and Facundo Pieres. Sunshine-filled weeks of league games, many of which had been thrilling, led up to this climax. The semis had, in fact, proved huge disappointments – the calm before the storm – with Zacara and Dubai beating their opponents by six and 10 goals respectively. Both teams had immaculate previous form. Zacara had already won the Gold Cup in 2011 and, this year, taken the US Open and the Queens Cup; Dubai had also laid claim to the Gold Cup three times in 2001, 2005 and 2010, the latter two wins also

doubling with Queen’s Cup victories. So, there was nothing to lose, but everything to gain. However, the chat on the sidelines all season had very much focused on the new golden boy of polo, Facundo Pieres, and whether it was time for Cambiaso to hand over his mantle of ‘Maestro’ to him. So, perhaps just to make a point, Cambiaso opened the Gold Cup scorebook with an effortless run to goal, seemingly out-riding and out-playing Facundo in doing so. Unfazed, Facundo matched this display perfectly by stopping a long shot on the end of his stick and promptly passing it up to his second-in-command, an unmarked Rodrigo de Andrade, who then scored under Adolfo’s nose to level at 1-1.

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From then on, we witnessed dynamic displays of teamwork from both sides, which continued throughout the game. Dubai’s strategy of Cambiaso and Nico Pieres constantly backing each other up in a somewhat defensive way contrasted with the rather more bold plan of long, powerful, accurate passes between Facundo and Andrade. Although many remarked at the end that it had been a game of two on two, everyone had their part to play and no team gets to the final of the Gold Cup with just two players. Take Alec White, for instance. With Dubai trailing by one going into the third chukka, the young Australian 3-goaler scored their second goal by smartly picking up Nico’s open backhand and winning a forceful ride-off against Facundo.

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Likewise, the hard-marking Matt Perry, cheap as chips off 3 goals, deservedly scored his first goal in the second half converting a pass from Facundo and taking Zacara ahead, 5-3. In this second half, it seemed that Dubai just couldn’t catch up and there was a series of early errors. Nico shot to goal, missed and then fouled badly. Zacara was given a 5B, Facundo tapped it once, twice and then accelerated at speed, at which point, Nico stole it off him and shot to goal – but it went wide again. Facundo then sent a pass up to Matt Perry, who’d been marking hard all game and deservedly scored his first goal of the game to take Zacara to 5-3. A much-needed Dubai goal was again denied when Cambiaso’s ball hit the post, but, this time, a second chance

was granted and Cambiaso slotted it cleanly though the posts with a cut shot, reducing the deficit to one goal, at 5-4. Still, it felt like a hard battle for every single point. Even when they were given a small break when Facundo’s normally accurate 60-yard penalty-taking went awry, he made up for it moments later by scoring a cheeky goal, after his brother left it on his doorstep, and immediately popped another one in with a little cut shot just before the end of the fourth chukka, giving Zacara a healthy three-goal lead at 7-4. Cambiaso saw red at this point and the umpires promptly gave him a technical, resulting in a 5B to Zacara at the beginning of the fifth. Always good under pressure, Cambiaso came

out fighting and charged through the field, slamming the ball through the goal with a lofty, confident shot. A foul by Facundo gave Dubai another break and a converted 40 yard penalty edged them even closer at 7-6. But Zacara were quicker in the line-outs and, with Facundo now on his favourite grey, Sheltie, we were treated to more of the Andrade/Facu Show. As the gap widened to 9-6 in Zacara’s favour, the intensity started to mount. Lyndon Lea felt the full force of 7-goaler Nico Pieres coming from the opposite direction with purpose, which resulted in a dead leg for the Zacara patron. He took only a few minutes’ break and made no fuss – but something much more dramatic was to happen in the final chukka, with the score at

Lyndon Lea felt the full force of a collision with Nico Pieres, resulting in a dead leg

tony ramirez/images of polo

9-7, after a spot hit was converted by Dubai at the end of the fifth. With a 5B in Dubai’s favour, Cambiaso was taking the ball towards goal, when suddenly he dismounted, writhing in agony on the ground, holding his leg. It was hard to see what happened to cause this and, with five minutes to go and Dubai two goals down, this disruption could easily have affected Zacara’s momentum. However, Zacara managed to remain focused and a foul by Nico in front of his own goal gave the team in black an easy 30-yard penalty and a subsequent three-goal lead at 10-7. A tit-for-tat penalty for Dubai was to give them their final goal, as from nowhere, fearless Facundo stole the ball from Cambiaso at a flat-out gallop, promptly scoring the winning goal and assuring Zacara of their much-deserved Triple Crown status.

Opposite Rodrigo Andrades (in black, far left) and Adolfo Cambiaso race for the ball Left The flying Pieres brothers: Nico (in green) and Facundo (in black) View this match online at hurlinghampolo.com

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aCtion maserati metropolitan polo classic, cHina, june 2013

METROPOLITAN CLASSIC World-class players in a world-class setting produced a no-holds-barred final at the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Club in China

On 15 June, the Maserati Metropolitan Polo Classic 2013 final was played at Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club in China. The highoctane match saw Maserati prevail against Fortune Heights, winning 8-6. The four teams invited to play in this year’s tournament were made up of world-class players from Argentina, Chile, England, Italy, New Zealand and Spain, and included celebrated names from distinguished polo families, including Tomas Pieres and Sebastian Harriott. Each team played with a 24-goal handicap, which establishes this as the highest-level invitational tournament ever played in China, and places Tianjin in a prominent position on the world polo calendar. The final was attended by a select group of international sponsors, Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club members and invited guests, and the award ceremony was held on the polo field immediately after the game, with

The four teams invited to play in this year’s tournament were made up of world-class players

a representative of Maserati presenting the winning team with the Maserati Metropolitan Polo Classic Cup. The first chukka began with a strong start for Fortune Heights, who scored two goals in the first minute, before their opponents had even played the ball. What followed was a rapid and exhausting back and forth, with no further goals until Maserati’s Gonzalo Azumendi finally scored late in the chukka. Azumendi, a 6-goal player from Argentina, went on to score a total of three goals in the

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unpredictable match, and was eventually awarded the honour of MVP. After the first chukka had ended with a relatively low score of two goals to one in favour of Fortune Heights, it remained unclear which team was gaining momentum in the second chukka. Only one goal was scored, this time by Maserati’s defender Bautista Sorzana who, after rushing ahead of a powerful 70-yard forward drive made by teammate Matias Zavaleta, then cut the ball in from just in front of the goal mouth. A clear lead was again elusive during the third chukka, although there were signs that the game was turning. Maserati’s Gonzalo Bourdieu demonstrated his superior forward power, making a massive swing from near the centre line that took the ball into the Fortune Heights goal area. Despite several attempts by Fortune Heights defenders to turn the ball around, Bourdieu caught up and succeeded in

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knocking it through the goal at full gallop. Azumendi added another goal for Maserati, but Fortune Heights’ John Fisher managed to take one back with eight seconds left to play. Going into halftime, the score was a hard-fought 4-3 in favour of Maserati. The fourth chukka was equally challenging for both teams. Fortune Heights failed to score despite taking play into the Maserati goal area on multiple occasions. Bourdieu came through to score the only goal, with a shot so powerful that Fortune Heights’s Pablo Juaretche was not able to deflect it, despite a very fast defensive block that made contact with the ball. Bautista

Sorzana added a goal only 17 seconds into the fifth chukka, but then Fortune Heights appeared to take back the momentum. John Fisher, shifting from defence to offence, took his third goal of the match, then, in the final, 30 seconds initiated a sequence of play that was an outstanding example of excellent teamwork. Fisher, making a hit in from the back line, made a powerful 60-yard lofted shot, sending the ball to teammate Tommy Wilson, who took it, survived a Maserati ride-off and passed across field to Lucas Lalor, who, in turn, passed to Pablo Juaretche, allowing him the honour of cutting into the goal. The sixth chukka started

with Maserati still enjoying a single-goal lead, then proceeding to add another two goals. Fortune Heights fought back, adding one more goal, this time from the well-aimed stick of Tommy Wilson. The final score was 8-6 in favour of Maserati. Maserati’s Zavaleta, a seasoned 7-goal player from Argentina, expressed his happiness at both the outcome of the match and his contentment with the hospitality shown to the teams, remarking: ‘We have been made so welcome here in Tianjin. Rarely have we seen a polo club with facilities like these; we have enjoyed both polo and luxurious living during our stay here.’

metropolitan polo club

Opposite Bautista Sorzana, in white, and Craig Wilson in competition for the ball Left Gonzalo Bourdieu, in white, and a flying Pablo Juaretche vie for the ball Below The prize presentation of the Maserati Metropolitan Polo Classic 2013

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ACTION

TIANJIN GOLDIN METROPOLITAN INTERVARSITY POLO TOURNAMENT, CHINA, JULY 2013 of the nightlife variety, and Oxford’s James Lindsay reported back on the seedy charm, back room beers and Beyoncé cover bands that were, in a word, ‘extraordinary’. The Goldin Group has big plans for the city of Tianjin, it appears, expanding far beyond the opulent hotel and polo grounds where we played. Taking up just under two million square metres, the Goldin development includes a ‘utopian’ city for China’s growing super-rich elite, with commercial and residential sectors, which will encircle China’s soon-to-be tallest skyscraper. Acknowledging that polo has a long history in China, now being reclaimed, the Goldin Group is proactively seeking to develop and promote the sport for the next generation. ‘Our first step was to build a polo club,’ explains Harvey Lee, the Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club’s vice-chairman. In the past two and a half years the club has hosted a number of junior tournaments, with various countries sending their junior national teams to Tianjin. The founding of the Intravarsity Polo Tournament and its successful inauguration with four prestigious universities this summer, is a further development of Lee’s big concept. Towards the end of the week, he revealed the exciting news that the tournament is to become an annual event. In an effort to raise the level of polo and promote the tournament globally, the Metropolitan hopes to expand to six universities next year. For their part, the teams, in addition

Along with four horses per player and a spare, there was a team of Argentine grooms

Opposite Harvard’s Johann Colloredo-Mansfeld (left) and Cambridge player Casra Labelle in the finals Above The Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club Hotel Below The university players at the Great Wall of China

to competing in the tournament, hosted information and cultural exchange sessions for local Chinese students looking to study abroad. Perhaps the most striking feature of the tournament itself was the gallantry displayed by all four teams. Coaches Jim DeAngelis of Yale and Crocker Snow of Harvard, allowed every player the opportunity to play a few chukkas, regardless of level. With minimal exposure to outdoor polo, Yale may have lost on the pitch but their pure sportsmanship and graciousness in defeat won everyone over. Although Oxford had a fixed team, the new chairman Jerome Kamm, bravely played on after a dramatic fall, while the rising captain James Lindsay, ignoring an imminent threat on goal, stopped mid-chukka to retrieve Cambridge player Casra Labelle’s stick. Steffi Sharp, also of Cambridge, played commendably in the first match with a broken leg, and did not allow crutches to prevent her from climbing the Great Wall the next day. In conversation at Heathrow on the way home, Cambridge MVP Sam Browne reflected on the tournament: ‘Four fun teams came out to enjoy the experience and played in the right spirit, with the level and quality of polo improving as the week went on.’ Happily for Browne, the week ended with a well-deserved overall win for Cambridge, and a keen desire from all four teams to return to Tianjin next summer.

INTERVARSITY

The harmonious union of luxury and polo has at last trickled down to the sport’s collegiate level. Earlier this year, four university teams from either side of the pond – Oxford, Cambridge, Yale and Harvard – accepted an invitation to participate in the inaugural Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Intervarsity Polo Tournament. Now there’s a new pin on the map of international polo, namely in Tianjin in north-east China, the country’s fourth-largest city. There was an air of mystery on the drive down from Beijing to Tianjin, and rumours of the extravagance we should expect circulated around the bus. As we pulled into the 222-acre privately owned estate, the first of two vast polo

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fields was revealed on our left and bronze equestrian statues pranced around the hotel’s grand neo-classical entrance. We emerged from the bus into the heavy July humidity. Derek Reid, the Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club’s Australian-born director, gave us a warm welcome and an introduction to the week-long tournament. Each team was allotted 20 of the best ponies – four per player and spares for the matches to come – along with a terrific team of Argentine grooms. Everyone was thrilled, for no greater love hath a polo player than a love for good horses and a pristine pitch (except perhaps watching reruns of themselves playing on said horses and pitch on the hotel’s TV channel!).

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At the Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club Hotel, time moved at a somewhat different pace to the outside world. We had full access to spa, gym and club amenities, but perhaps the most commendable aspect of the hospitality we were shown was the culinary experiences enjoyed in several of the hotel’s nine restaurants. Only a 30-minute bullet train ride from Beijing, many of us managed to visit Beijing’s Summer Palace, the Forbidden City and the city’s highly recommended 798 Art Zone – a Soho-style breath of fresh air in the otherwise highly populated metropolis. The group also took a memorable trip to the Great Wall. Adventures in the city of Tianjin, on the other hand, were mainly

METROPOLITAN POLO CLUB

Cristina Vere Nicoll and Wilhelmina von Blumenthal report on a visit to China where British and American university teams competed in a new tournament

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Along with four horses per player and a spare, there was a team of Argentine grooms

metropolitan polo club

of the nightlife variety, and Oxford’s James Lindsay reported back on the seedy charm, back room beers and Beyoncé cover bands that were, in a word, ‘extraordinary’. The Goldin Group has big plans for the city of Tianjin, it appears, expanding far beyond the opulent hotel and polo grounds where we played. Taking up just under two million square metres, the Goldin development includes a ‘utopian’ city for China’s growing super-rich elite, with commercial and residential sectors, which will encircle China’s soon-to-be tallest skyscraper. Acknowledging that polo has a long history in China, now being reclaimed, the Goldin Group is proactively seeking to develop and promote the sport for the next generation. ‘Our first step was to build a polo club,’ explains Harvey Lee, the Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club’s vice-chairman. In the past two and a half years the club has hosted a number of junior tournaments, with various countries sending their junior national teams to Tianjin. The founding of the Intravarsity Polo Tournament and its successful inauguration with four prestigious universities this summer, is a further development of Lee’s big concept. Towards the end of the week, he revealed the exciting news that the tournament is to become an annual event. In an effort to raise the level of polo and promote the tournament globally, the Metropolitan hopes to expand to six universities next year. For their part, the teams, in addition

hurlinghampolo.com

aCtion california high goal, JUlY-aUgUst 2013

santa barbara Close calls and convincing victories alike made for some exciting action in the four finals of the USA’s Pacific Coast season, writes Alex Webbe

FMB CANTER TO EL ENCANTO CUP Four teams arrived in Santa Barbara for the beginning of the season in July. Farmers & Merchants Bank (FMB) scored an opening round 15-10 win over Mansour while La Herradura made their way to the final by downing ERG 13-10. Farmers & Merchants Bank took the final in a hard-fought 11-10 win over La Herradura. FMB’s Lucas Criado was named MVP while his mare, Civeta, received Best Playing Pony honours. AMERICA CUP GOES TO MANSOUR Lucchese and Merchant Hub expanded the field of teams to six for the USPA Lucchese America Cup with Mansour, FMB and Merchant Hub scoring opening wins over Lucchese (9-8), ERG (10-9) and La Herradura (9-8), respectively. Mansour added wins over La Herradura (11-10) and ERG (14-10) and rode into the final with a perfect 3-0 record. Merchant Hub carried a 2-1 record into the final with wins over La Herradura (11-10 in OT) and Lucchese (10-8), but couldn’t go the distance. After trailing by a single goal at halftime of the final, Merchant Hub was outscored 8-2 in the fourth and fifth chukkas, losing 16-10 to Mansour. Ben Soleimani scored five goals in the win and was named MVP while Hilario Ulloa’s Simpatica was selected as Best Playing Pony.

USPA PIAGET SILVER CUP The familiar combination of former 10-goalers Memo and Carlos Gracida led La Herradura to three straight wins in USPA Piaget Silver Cup play, but they just didn’t have enough to get the job done as they fell to an FMB team that made the final by winning a three-team shootout. Merchant Hub had dropped out of the competition, with Scott Devon’s Catamount team taking the field, and Mansour changed their name to Restoration Hardware in a sponsorship move. FMB lost the opening game of Silver Cup play to La Herradura (11-10), and looked to be the underdogs going into the final as La Herradura notched up wins over them, as well

FMB looked to be underdogs going into the final as La Herradura notched up wins

Above Sugar Erskine scored seven goals in the Bombardier Pacific Coast Open Opposite Scott Woods (left) led his ERG team (right) to four straight wins before sealing the victory deal View this match online at hurlinghampolo.com

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as over Catamount and a Lucchese team that bore little resemblance to the team that had competed in Santa Barbara over the previous three years. FMB edged La Herradura 6-5 at the end of the first half and didn’t give up their lead again as they held on for the narrow 12-11 victory. Lucas Criado led the FMB attack with eight goals and was named MVP for his efforts, while his mare, La Bamba, received Best Playing Pony in acknowledgement of their teamwork.

ERG struggled in their opening game, getting seven goals from Sugar Erskine but needing an overtime goal from Paco de Narváez to defeat Lucchese by 11-10. They cruised to an easy victory over Catamount (14-4) before losing to La Herradura (10-8). They rebounded to score a 12-10 win over the Gracida-driven team in semi-final action, earning them their place in the final. Lucchese limped into the final with a less than impressive 2-2, but were prepared to defend their 2012 title. ERG jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the opening chukka, with Lucchese struggling to counter their rivals. Five goals from Paco de Narváez in the second

and third chukkas led ERG to a 9-6 half-time lead. Lucchese spent the rest of the game chasing ERG, but came up short. It was 10-7 after the fourth and 12-8 after the fifth. ERG had firm control of nearly every aspect of the game and the Lucchese offence was limited to single goals from Stirling in each of the final three chukkas. Three goals from Erskine in the final chukka and Blake’s second goal of the game was more than ERG needed

as they ended the three-year reign of Lucchese in the Pacific Coast Open with a lopsided but resounding 16-9 victory. Paco de Narváez led all scoring with eight goals. Erskine scored six times, with Blake adding two for the victory. Stirling accounted for six goals for Lucchese. Usandizaga scored twice and Weisz added a goal in the loss. Stirling’s mare, Quinella received the well-deserved Best Playing Pony honours.

pic credit line in here

david lominska

BOMBARDIER PACIFIC COAST OPEN

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aCtion copa uribe, colombia, auGuST 2013

copa Uribe

The Uribe Cup in Bogotá culminated in an exhilarating final between Capiro and Otraparte, which saw Capiro come from behind to win the day, reports Luis E. Nieto

Between 7 and 18 August, the 18-goal Uribe Cup was played at the Bogotá Polo Club, the oldest club in Colombia, with eight fields and 850 stables during the high season. The Uribe Cup was first brought from England by Alvaro Uribe – one of the founders of the club – and it has been played in the country since 1903. Each year, the Uribe Cup has grown in strength to become the most important polo tournament in Colombia today. Its continued success is a sign of the sport’s progress in the country, particularly with regard to high-handicap players. The much-coveted 2013 Uribe Cup was contested by five teams in an atmosphere of great gallantry and high performance. The Otraparte team, from the city of Medellín, was made up of the Argentine Ezequiel ‘Gallego’ Martínez, locals Felipe Márquez, Nicolás Echavarría and top player Andrés Encinales. The Marañón team, from the city of Cali comprised the Argentines José Rivas and Lucas di Paola, and locals Felipe Sardi and Juan Esteban Uribe. The remaining three teams in the tournament, all from the city of Bogotá, were Colon-Santa Ana, El Cunche and Capiro. All three featured players of great experience and professionalism, including Pedro Montoya, Juan Salazar, Camilo Espinosa, Federico Uribe and the Argentine Santiago Toccalino. The Uribe Cup event attracted a large crowd, of all ages, who enjoyed 12 games of great suspense and excitement. With a methodology of all against all, the five teams played until the end in the hope of passing through to the finals, winning games and accumulating goals in favour. Until the Saturday, the only team that had secured its place in the final game was Capiro, which won three out of its four games. The other place in the final was disputed by Otraparte, Marañón and ColonSanta Ana. In the end, Otraparte made it through after winning their game against Colon-Santa Ana by a goal in the last minute. The Colombian Felipe Márquez (7) of Otraparte commented: ‘The game was very dynamic, but the consistency of the team rescued the result. We suffered a bit at the end.’ The final was held on Sunday 18 August, with a very impressive turnout of spectators – more than 800 people came to watch the game. The clock started to count the seven minutes of the first chukka at 3pm.

Above Otraparte (in green and black) storming through an earlier game against El Cunche (in white and black) to reach the the thrilling final against Capiro

In the final chukka, Capiro was inspired, winning 10-9 as the clock struck six

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In the end, it was a game of great emotion. Otraparte began solidly winning and kept a difference of two goals during the first five chukkas. However, at the end of the fifth chukka, Capiro tied and closed the score 8-8. The sixth chukka ended 9-9, and in the final chukka Capiro was inspired and ended the seventh chukka, winning 10-9 as the clock struck six. By a unanimous vote, the Polo Committee of the Uribe Club declared Camilo Espinosa as the best player. He had been ill the night before and had started the day with terrible stomach pains. Playing polo turned out to be the best medicine.

action malaysian international league, Kuala lumPur, June 2013

Below Martin Garrahan of Head Hunters stretches for the ball in the subsidiary final

RMPA INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

ArmAnd Ali

This year’s RMPA International League final was hard fought, culminating in a deserved victory for KotaSAS-IBIL, reports Peter Abisheganaden

KotaSAS-IBIL, led by HRH Prince Amir Nasser Ibrahim, won the 15-goal RMPA International League final, presented by Visa, beating eventual league winners Ranhill Polo 6½-6. The captivating match was played on Saturday 29 June at the Royal Selangor Polo Club in Kuala Lumpur. Raul Laplacette replaced Julio Novillo-Astrada, who missed the final because of the untimely death of his father-in-law in a car accident in Argentina. Raul is excellent value off 6 goals, and it gave KotaSAS-IBIL the half-goal on handicap that decided the match. Laplacette fit into the team as if he has been playing with them all season. Argentine 7-goaler, Manuel Crespo, had a fantastic game up right up to the win, as did his patrons, Prince Amir and Dato’ Mohd Zekri Ibrahim. KotaSAS-IBIL took charge of the match in the third chukka, forging ahead to a 5-2½ lead at one stage. Ranhill fought back, with excellent play by

their 7-goaler Gerardo ‘Toto’ Collardin and 4-goalers Facundo Llosa and Antonino Menard. In the final 5th chukka, Ranhill came within half a goal and pressed hard for the winner, but KotaSAS-IBIL held their ground to grasp victory. Stuart Tomlinson, Country Manager of Visa, presented the prizes to the winners. In addition to the trophy, they each received a voucher for a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, selected prizes from Harper’s Bazaar and a bottle of 21-year-old Scotch whisky from Royal Salute. Tan Sri Hamdan Mohamad’s Ranhill Polo took the overall honours, finally winning the RMPA International League for the first time after nine attempts. They received their trophy as well as a unique oil painting on a polo ball by American artist Anne Thomsen. In the subsidiary final played earlier that day, Jogo Polo was taken to a supplementary chukka by

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a dogged Head Hunters team. The winners were Quzier Ambak’s Jogo Polo, with Pablo Dorignac, Pablo Jauretche and Ali Mazlan Harun, after a ‘golden goal’ in the closing minutes. Martin Garrahan led the Head Hunters team masterfully, utilising and inspiring each of his players. Saladin Mazlan had a wonderful tournament, executing exciting play at super speed, while Garvy Beh was voted MVP by the professionals playing in the tournament. The final concluded this year’s RMPA International League, which began in January at the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club with the B Grimm Thai Polo Open. The Malaysian season kicked off in April with the RMPA Masters at Putrajaya, then most of June was spent at the Royal Pahang Classic at the Royal Pahang Polo Club in Pekan, Pahang, in the run-up to this prestigious final at Royal Selangor in the capital.

aCtion Deauville Coupe D’or, FraNCe, auGuST 2013

deauville

A thrilling match between Talandracas and Murus Sanctus saw Talandracas take the coveted cup for an impressive sixth time

this Gold Cup,’ Nico declared. ‘Both my brothers Facundo and Gonzalo have won it. Today, it is my turn, with my cousin Polito, who was fantastic. Even at 16 goals the tournament is not devalued in my eyes. Did you see how competitive it was?’ Édouard Carmignac said: ‘I so enjoyed playing with my son Hugues. We did very well to beat them, with their three professionals. We had a last-minute change – Nico replaced Lucas James who had an elbow injury – but, once he got used to playing Lucas’s ponies, he and Polito worked very well together. Polito is joining Talandracas in the UK next year, along with Juan Martin Nero.’ The next day, Nico Pieres left for Buenos Aires to resume training with his Argentine horses and prepare for the three tournaments of the Triple Crown, including the Argentine Open, in which he has a title to defend with his brothers. But on Sunday it was his cousin Polito who was the star, named Best Player of the Final having treated the 1,500 spectators to some skilfull air-dribbling. Polito’s stallion Don Urbano Rolinga, was crowned Best Pony of the Match.

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Above Edouard Carmignac, Polito Pieres, Nico Pieres and Hugues Carmignac celebrate their win Below Polito Pieres on Don Urbano Rolinga

The 63rd edition of the coveted Deauville Coupe D’Or ended as it began: with a fantastic match between Edouard Carmignac’s Talandracas team and the Parisian team, Murus Sanctus, comprising Pelayo Berazadi, Juan Zubiaurre, Facundo Sola and patron Corinne Ricard. If Murus Sanctus had dominated the teams’ first meeting on 8 August (15-11), then this final delivered an entirely different spectacle. It was a tense final game, with surprises and twists. Regulation time ended in a perfect tie, 12-12, so the game went to overtime and the ‘golden goal’ rule: the first to score wins. At the end of the sixth chukka, the whistle had announced a foul against Murus Sanctus, meaning the following period resumed on a 40-yard penalty that Nico Pieres would have to convert. His first attempt at goal was stopped by Facundo Sola, who brought the ball out of the corner. Nico did not throw away his second chance – despite the angle and distance of 54m – hitting the ball high in the air and between the posts. ‘I cannot hide my delight at having won

action french open, chAnTILLY, SepTeMBer 2013

FRENCH OPEN

RB PResse/P.Renauldon

There were hard-won victories for both the men’s and women’s teams this autumn at the Polo Club de Chantilly

Starting on 6 September 2013, six men’s teams competed at the Polo Club de Chantilly to win the coveted trophy for the 13th French Open. There was high expectation for top-class polo, with a plethora of talent taking part that consisted of two formerly victorious teams, three foreign teams and one French team of four professional players who are in training for the next World Championship. The German players of Tom Tailor Polo and French team La Quinta demonstrated skilled play and teamwork in the first week, winning all their matches. The second edition of the tournament, the Open de France Féminin Chopard, got underway on 12 September and saw some fierce action between defending female champions Tom Tailor Centre Roissy Porsche and six other women’s teams. Both the men’s and women’s finals took place on Saturday 21 September after three very competitive weeks of play. In the women’s polo, Tom Tailor Centre Roissy Porsche failed to get ahead in the action despite some proficient and spirited play from Lìa Salvo; the team eventually lost by a single goal to Why Not, 4-3. Why Not captain Hazel

Jackson commented after the match: ‘Tom Tailor well deserved to win. Lìa played better than me, but I was lucky that my three co-players were excellent today. They really helped me a lot.’ The men’s final, featuring La Quinta vs Tom Tailor Polo, took a while to get into the rhythm of play, and the first chukka drew to a disappointing close without any goal scores. La Quinta 4-goaler Edouard Pan won the French Open with Body Minute in 2012, and admitted that his experience of this year’s tournament was more of a challenge as a result: ‘Last year, we were outsiders and surprised everyone, but this year, with La Quinta, we were the audience’s clear favourites, which made our lives a bit difficult at the beginning of this match.’

The fact that we understand each other certainly made a difference

Left Ladies’ team Why Not, who won by a single goal against Tom Tailor Centre Roissy Right Victory for the men’s team, La Quinta, whose 4-goaler Edouard Pan credited their success to the fact that the team know each other well

In the second period, Tom Tailor took a 3-1 lead, however La Quinta finally began to show some strong teamwork and gradually broke down the defence of their German adversary despite some brilliant attacks at tearing pace by Gaston Maiquez. Seven goals later, La Quinta eventually stormed through to their 8-6 victory. Edouard Pan commented: ‘Our team is usually rather smooth, but I don’t know what happened at the beginning of the match. We were all certainly stressed because we knew what was at stake. In the third chukka, it all started to work well again. We know each other well. I played alongside Dario Musso all season and the fact that we understand each other certainly made a difference. ‘I have to add, of course, that our captain, Alexandre Sztarkman, was very efficient and helped a great deal this afternoon.’ View this match online at hurlinghampolo.com

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aCtion SOTOGRANDE SEASON, SPAIN, AUGUST 2013

sotogrande Camilla Sykes sees Facundo Pieres win yet again with his Ellerston teammates

Suddenly, the Pieres brothers changed tactics, keeping possession and drawing fouls

ended tied at 14-14. By the end of the sixth, the game was still deadlocked, now at 17-17, and was thrown into sudden death overtime. Facundo Pieres converted a 30-yard penalty to score his 17th goal of the match and the winner. The MVP, however, was Sebastian Merlos and ‘Indultada’, owned by Gonzalo Pieres and played by Facundo Pieres, was named the Best Playing Pony. The Corte Inglés Silver Cup final had already gone to Ellerston, who defeated Halcyon Gallery, with Guillermo Terrera (7), Charlie Hanbury (5), Max Routledge (5) and Jota Chavanne (5) – a team that starred prominently in the Silver Cup but seemed to run out of steam in the Gold Cup. Winning both completed Facundo Pieres’ run of five consecutive wins in high-goal tournaments:

Above Facundo Pieres on the nearside with Lucas Monteverde on his hip

from the US Open in April, through the British season with Zacara. Ranked number one in the world, he was awarded the World Polo Tour’s MVP Pro Award for August. The MVP Amateur award went to Tommy Beresford, who, aside from playing for UAE in the high-goal, also won both the medium-goal Gold and Silver Cups with Equus, a well-mounted, highly organised team that outshone the 16 other medium-goal teams in very competitive tournaments. View this match online at hurlinghampolo.com

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camilla sykes.com

The immaculate fields of Santa Maria Polo Club, Sotogrande, Spain, have become well and truly established on the international polo circuit for the month of August. The most notable difference between this year and last was the increase in level from 20 to 22 goals, bringing the Spanish tournaments in line with the Queen’s Cup, the Prince of Wales Trophy and the Gold Cup for the British Open and thereby allowing teams to play continuously throughout the European season. Sotogrande was alight in August, with 32 teams competing in the three categories, more than 1,100 polo ponies stabled at Santa Maria and the neighbouring polo clubs of Ayala and Dos Lunas, and many of the world’s best polo players, including 10-goalers Facundo Pieres and Adolfo Cambiaso. Three important patrons were, however, not in attendance: Ellerston’s James Packer was replaced by his very capable friend Johnny Williams; 17-year-old Tommy Beresford (1) played instead of HRH Sheika Maitha for UAE Polo Team; and professional Luis Domecq (2) substituted Dubai Polo Team’s patron, Rashid Albwardy. Ellerston with Ali Patterson (2), Gonzalo Pieres (10), Facundo Pieres (10), Johnny Williams (0) won both the Silver and Gold Cups in spectacular style. The ever-professional Pieres brothers were committed to winning in Sotogrande and consistently played with focus – their team tactics, horsepower and ease of communication on the field outfoxed every other team. The final of the Hublot Gold Cup between Ellerston and UAE Polo Team, made up of Tommy Beresford (1), Santi Stirling (3), Lucas Monteverde (9) and Sebastian Merlos (9) was an epic. On paper, UAE appeared the stronger, more balanced side and, two days prior, had knocked out Adolfo Cambiaso and the Dubai team in a thrilling semi-final. Indeed, they held a four-goal advantage in the fifth chukka, having dominated throw-ins and with Santi Stirling playing a great game and scoring four goals from the field. Suddenly, the Pieres brothers changed tactic, keeping more possession and drawing several fouls from the opposition and the chukka

action EFG BICENTENNIAL TROPHY, sANdHuRsT, AuGusT 2013

EFG BicEntEnnial

PETER MEADE

Military prowess decided both games during this year’s EFG Bicentennial Trophy Day at RMA Sandhurst, as Dara Williams reports

Introduced last season to mark 200 years of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, as well as the long association of the British Army with polo, the EFG Bicentennial Trophy has developed into a popular tournament. This year’s edition, played on the Round Ground at Sandhurst, saw British Army Select, sponsored by EFG, narrowly ride out the winners by 5-4 over Cambridge Select. The victors were captained by Gaston Devrient, who for has been coaching Army polo coach to success for five years. He was joined by Robert Mehm of EFG, Captain Robert Freeman-Kerr, late of the Royal Hussars, and Colonel Michael O’Dwyer, former Irish Guard and currently deputy chairman of the Army Polo Association. The team wore shirts with the distinctive blue and yellow sash derived from the old 4th Hussars ‘Crossbelts’ squad of 1890, with whom Winston Churchill played as a subaltern in India. Cambridge were led by Sebastian Dawnay, whose family has been at the forefront of polo since the 1870s, backed up by Jeremy Pemberton and Jeremy Allen from Haggis Farm Polo Club and Beaufort’s Sam Browne. Devrient opened the Army’s account with a brilliant goal, answered by a Cambridge equaliser from Allen. In the second chukka, Mehm scored from halfway down the field but two goals from Dawnay gave Cambridge a 3-2 lead by treading-in time. Although Army equalised in the penultimate

chukka, a backhander from Allen restored the Cambridge advantage. The last chukka, however, belonged to Army. First, Devrient equalised from a 30-yard penalty, then he converted a 60-yarder to decide the outcome. Polo was revived at Sandhurst in 1998, due largely to the enthusiasm of the then commandant, Major General Arthur Denaro, himself a player. The original Sandhurst Polo Club had been established in the late 19th century, when George, Duke of Cambridge, cousin of Queen Victoria and commander-in-chief of the British Army for nearly half a century, gave the game his support. Ten years later, however, the duke decided the game encouraged extravagance among young subalterns and the club was disbanded. Wellington, a military club founded nearby in 1884, survived until the outbreak of World War II, after which army polo was concentrated at Tidworth, where polo began in 1907, and at Aldershot Camp. A Sandhurst club was resurrected in 1968, but closed again after six seasons, and Aldershot Polo Club was disbanded during the early Sixties. Earlier in the day, a Hackett-sponsored Young Army squad captured the Mons Cup with a close 6-5½ victory over a Cambridge Varsity side. Major Alex Eade, Royal Engineers, captained Young Army, while Cambridge were led by Canadian-born Casra Labelle, a Harvard graduate currently taking a master’s course at Cambridge. By half time, the

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Above Gaston Devrient playing for EFG/ British Army Select on the ball vs Cambridge Select (in blue)

Varsity squad were 4-3½ up, thanks to the play of James Marshall and to a 1½-goal handicap. But their lead was cut to just half a goal by the end of the penultimate chukka, with goals for Officer Cadet Albany Mulholland, a Harvard graduate in his first term at Sandhurst. In the final period, there was only one goal scored – again, Mulholland slotted it home – and this time it was decisive. The Mons Cup was presented by EFG’s head of strategic marketing and communications, Keith Gapp, accompanied by Colonel Raj Kalaan, former commandant of the President’s Bodyguard in India, who played for many years for his country’s oldest military polo regiment, the 61st Cavalry. The colonel and his wife, Sonny, had come from India specially for the match. The Bicentennial Trophy was presented to Gaston Devrient by Keith Gapp, with General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, commander of land forces. A presentation was also made to Lt Colonel Simon Ledger, chairman of the Army Polo Association, who had provided an erudite commentary for both games. Afterwards, guests enjoyed a reception on the steps of Old College and in the historic Indian Army Memorial Room, accompanied by the band of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

Autumn 2013

Articles inside

Ten times the player

Turn a visit into an adventure

Simon Tomlinson

World of polo

A family affair

The seven ages of polo

Polo’s new wave

Blood ties

The birth of the Westchester Cup

Ponylines