La Low Goal
The Polo Pod
The first ever polo podcast
Cheshire Polo Club National 4 goal
Chukka Wellness
Warming up ankle joints
James Westcott
On his introduction to polo
Opinion Article
Professional Revolution July Issue
by low goal for low goal
The 2019 season is in the peak of its life. Up and down the country games are being played at all levels, from -8 to 22 goal. This month we’ve tried to reflect this by adding a new club news feature (page 45) to bring you up to date with at least some of the goings on across the country. Elsewhere in the issue we’ve also got all the saddle information you could ever wish for, from where to buy them in the Gear Guide to tips in saddle fitting from Performance Polo.
As ever Chukka Wellness are back, with their tips or warming up your ankles, an almost forgotten part of the body when it comes to warming up. James Westcroft is our player introduction this month, as he retells his dramatic introduction to polo, and where he would like to take his polo in the future. Finally, remember to check out The Polo Pod, the first ever podcast about polo which will be launching at 8:00 today (1st August). All the details about Rupert Lewis and his brand new venture are inside. (Page 36)
Enjoy the issue. Connor Kay (editor) 1
Contents Page 3
Ignacio Llorente - Polo Professionals
Page 6
Opinion - Centralised Handicapping
Page 10
Cheshire Polo Club -National 4 goal
Page 16
James Westcroft -James’ introduction to polo
Page 24
Chukka Wellness - Warming up your ankles
Page 28
Opinion - Professional Revolution?
Page 32
Gear Guide -Polo Saddles
Page 36
The Polo Pod -The first ever polo podcast
Page 38
Performance Polo -Saddle fitting
Page 45
Club News -News from clubs around the country
Page 46
#lalowgoal -The latest from our online contributors
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Ignacio Fernandez Llorente POLO PROFESSIONALS For more than 30 years, professionalism in polo is in sight, that is, a player charges money to play. Before players did not charge for playing but sold horses to their teammates, as compensation.
When a team is formed where a professional participates, the professional is expected, with his talent compensates the performance of the other players.
From so many years of professionalism, you can see a considerable improvement in the skill of the players and improvement in the level of horses.
Getting to this level and to dedicate yourself as a polo professional, although it does not seem to require skills, and requires training.
In most sports, being professional, that is, the person who lives from competing in his sport, is only possible for a small number of athletes. If you are not among the first in the world rankings, you cannot live off the sport. We can see fabulous athletes who cannot live off the sport.
To train you need horses, and time, so training is not free, it is an investment, which begins to recover through participating in tournaments. From the point of view of the amateur, where polo is fun, it is hard for him to understand professionalism, but the professional lives off the sport, and cannot give away his work.
In polo, being a sport of few people and the existence of a handicap system, there are professionals of all levels who live from playing polo. In many cases this is helped by the buying and selling of horses, horse training and polo classes. In polo through handicap, a world ranking can be established. Despite the ranking we find professionals of all handicaps. Polo is very generous compared to other sports, low level players live from polo. My estimates on Polo are that a person who does not live from polo, and who has another job can play up to 2 handicap. To play 3 handicap you have to almost dedicate yourself and have started before 18 years of age to play and still be young. So it can be said that from 3 handicap players are professionals.
The professional charges for what he brings to his team. The professional will also risk capital when using their horses, and will have to demand much more than their amateur peers, it can be said that the professional provides a service to their peers to play better, to win the game, to have fun. The amateurs who do not accept professionals can compete against them, but for this they will have to dedicate a lot of training. In short, the professional is an athlete who trains and competes for much longer (have more kilometres on a horse). In Argentina where there are more Professionals, the practices and matches are 6 chukkas, when in most other countries there are 4 chukkas. In other words, there is 50% more training on the same day. This is 3
enhanced in weeks, months, years. Professionals are looking for ways to compete throughout the year so they move to countries. The amateurs every year expect their season to begin again. There are countries that raise handicaps without to keep in mind that your players cannot compete against players who are dedicated to it all year. The amateur player after a certain time, the handicap is raised, improved. a few in comparison others amateur, and nothing in compare Professions It is to incentivise faster improvement. This takes away competitiveness. Amateur players usually have overvalued handicap compared to professionals. The amateur players between -2 and +2 there is more difference than 4, so the creation of the amateur handicap, as the female handicap is necessary. And players who begin to decline their level of play do not lose their handicap, which also takes away competitiveness. (you can't live from the past) When we talk about professionals, I include horses, a player who has to contribute almost everything to the team will have to render their horses at a superlative level compared to the rest of the players. A Patron would have to know what horses the professional is going to contribute to the game. If the professional has horses that are not up to par, success is unlikely. If the professional does not help anyone on the team, and you have to play against two
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professionals, the two professionals will almost certainly win. As it is also very likely that a team with a very good organisation and budget (good horses and professionals, that is, spend more money) wins a team with little organisation. The professional who loses will seek to blame the referee, the player of the team that is not a Patron (3rd player in handicap), the ground, the schedule of the game, the organisation of the tournament, the groom., etc He will never assume that his horses are inferior, that his handicap is overrated, that he had a bad day, tournament or season, that the team does not work, that the game strategy was wrong, that they had to have previously trained and trained, that with this team there are few chances of winning or that the other team is better. Professionals who, on the ground, with all the work they have, seek to discuss with the referee, in order to obtain benefits or blame the defeat, instead of empowering and improving their peers. Every day I see teams surprised by a defeat, when before starting the games, they already know who is the favourite. (Will they enter the field thinking that they are the favourites?) The professional off the field has an advisory role in everything related to polo where to have horses, tournaments to participate, team building, buyer and seller of horses, relationship with grooms, polo teacher. And he establishes a friendly relationship with his Patrons. It is a shame that the professional relationship Patron has an excessive obligation to win. We know that only one wins, it is very difficult.
la_low_goal
*minus two hits the ball out of the air* minus two:
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The Rumour Mill 4
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At the time of writing, we have not even reached the end of the UK high goal season, yet already speculation is rife concerning next season. Recently both the Cambioasos, Proto and of course, the legendary 10 goaler Adolfo, returned to the UK for what appeared to be a single match. This, combined with flying reports suggesting the Cambiaso duo is set to team up with the successful Park Place team, alongside there regular 10 goaler Hillario Ulloa, has resulted in the cynical of us (lets face it, thats most of us) suggesting that this one off appearance is mearly an attempt to find loopholes within the HPA handicapping system. Many have pointed out that, for the proposed Park Place team to meet the 22 goal handicapping criteria, Poroto needs to remain at his current handicap of 2 goals. Elsewhere in the world, however Proto’s rapid improvements has seen his handicap skyrocket. Therefore to maintain this handicap, Proto must play at least once within the UK, otherwise his UK handicap would have been eliminated and he would have been rated next year, judged on the highest of his handicaps abroad. By only playing once, and, you would expect not to his full potential, Proto can avoid the HPA increasing his handicap.
This is blatantly unfair, as now opposition teams are set to be faced with a hideously under handicapped team, made up of two of the worlds leading 10 goalers, and an up and coming hotshot, playing far and away above his handicap. A daunting task for anybody. People are all ready predicting they could completely dominate the 2020 season, ruining it for some, even before the prior season has ended. But this, under the current regulations at least, is entirely legal and therefore unpreventable. In fact, there is only one solution I can think of.
Do we need a global handicapping system? So, first lets consider the pros. It is true that this issue regarding Proto and his wildly varying handicap is not a lone occurrence. A number of international players do have varying handicaps in different areas of the world, however very few seem to play the system in the same way that the cambiaso’s seem to so blatantly be doing. There is no doubt that a global handicapping system would be fairer, as we have all experienced the frustration of playing against blatantly under handicapped players. It may also have the ability to actually improve the standard of polo, across the different levels. If players are more closely regulated, teams will likely be more competitive and equal, therefore resulting in fairer, faster and more exciting games. This could attract both spectators and sponsors alike.
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Presumably, this theoretical overseeing body would also control the regulation aspects of the game. Although fundamentally the same game across the world, small differences in the rules can be seen across the globe. An overseeing body could also help to iron out any of these slight differences and make the game easier to follow globally for both the players and committed fans.
As with everything though, there are downsides. First off, although the Cambiaso issue does occur occasionally, it is still fairly rare. Therefore is it really worth investing in such a large scale operation to fix such a small problem? Some would also go to the extent of saying that polo has always been and should remain to be, partly about finding the four best players off their handicap. With the current handicapping levels, there is always going to be a variation within a handicap, no matter how well people are categorised, meaning people are always going to seek out the players with the most ability off a given handicap. In reality this is just what the Park Place team are alleged to be preparing for, begging the question, at what point does this become an issue?
Furthermore, a overseeing body which spanned such a large area, and such a large number of people would likely relax the handicapping guidelines, especially at the low goal end of the scale, as the sheer amount of people that need reviewing could be far too much for a single organisation, mitigating any of the positive aspects as stated above.
So, maybe a global polo association isn’t the way to go. The scale of the operation, combined with the cultural differences, would likely make this an unworkable challenge, especially when the positives seem so niche and limited. However, more can, and should be done to bring the various governing bodies together. In fact, a closer relationship between foreign polo associations was stated in the HPA’s recent ‘vision for polo’ outline of the sport moving forwards. Perhaps a closer collaboration between the existing governing bodies could see handicaps and rules unanimously agreed on, while small differences and the defining features of each area can be kept the same. Moving closer together, rather then the feuds we have all seen between, especially the HPA and AAP, could see a brighter and more globalised future for all of polo.
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National 4 Goal
1010 Photo: Stephen Wall Photography
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Cheshire Polo Club’s
annual national VL 4 goal took place on Sunday 14th July, to a packed out marquee of over 190 spectators. The final saw the experienced A.W Jenkinson side, playing in the white, come up against the Clinova team, playing in blue, headed by 3 goaler Charlie Walton.
After a lengthy introduction, play got underway, with Clinova quickly capitalising, taking the first run to goal. The ball rolled just wide however, and the A.W Jenkinson side soon retaliated, scoring the fist goal of the game, courtesy of George Smith’s backhand goal just 2 minutes into the chukka.
A.W. Jenkinson then seemed to find their stride, scoring a penalty, followed by narrowly missing out on another run to goal. Despite Charlie’s best efforts and a great run along almost the full length of the field, the chukka ended with a score of 2-0 in favour of A.W. Jenkinson.
Clinova came out firing on all cylinders in the second chukka, as Charlie took the ball straight out of the line out to the goal to put Clinova on the scoreboard. A 60 yard penalty was soon awarded to the A.W. Jenkinson team though by the mounted umpires, Martin Fewster and Will Padden. Cristian Chaves struck the ball but it rolled along the ground and was defended by Issa Patel, the Clinova team captain. Charlie then took control of the ball for Clinova and ran all the way to goal to equalise the score at 2 all. A series of misses then followed, with both teams narrowly missing the goal. However one last push towards the end of the chukka by Cristian Chaves saw the ball slowly roll over the goal line, just as the 30 second horn sounded, to give A.W. Jenkinson a slender 1 goal advantage going into half time.
After the traditional divot stomp by the mass of spectators, play resumed and A.W Jenkinson immediately began to push towards goal. George’s shot failed to find the goal, before Chaves capitalised on a rare mistake by the Clinova team to bring the score to 4-2.
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The A.W Jenkinson team were now the attack however as Chaves continued shooting for goal. Firstly missing a goal as it ran wide, and then a second miss, as when hitting a 60 yard penalty awarded against Charlie, it shot high and short, before finally converting a 30 yard penalty, giving his team a 3 goal lead, 4 minutes into the third chukka. Clinova were not yet out of the running however, as Clinova were awarded a spot hit. Some good teamwork on the Clinova team saw off the defence by Ben Malasomma of the Jenkison team and Charlie fired a shot towards goal, it looked like it was to be dropped by Chaves but it got passed his defence and rolled in the make the score 5-3 in the 6th minute of this third chukka.
After a battle from the line out Ben regained control passing it to Chaves who hit hard at the goal as the horn went for the end of the chukka. The goal was given and the chukka ended 6-3 to A.W. Jenkinson.
The final chukka saw the ball ping pong between the two sides backhands before Henry Smith took control for Clinova and made a shot from the 40 yard line, only for the ball to once again roll wide. This gave A.W Jenkinson the opportunity to attack, as Chaves passed to Ben, who sent the ball to George who’s open backhand to goal, narrowly missed. Charlie Walton then passed forward to Henry Smith, in a last push to bring his team back into the game, Henry made a determined run but unluckily missed the bouncing ball ¾ of the way down the field. After some further determined play, Ben and Charlie then came together, and a 60yd penalty was awarded to Clinova. Charlie took the 60 which looked strong but was intercepted by Ben Malasomma out of the air and then it rolled wide. After the hit in, and a mid field tussle, Chaves found himself underneath Charlie’s swing and a further 60 yard penalty is awarded to Clinova. This one was converted to bring Clinova within 2 goals with 4 mins still to play. A.W. Jenkinson came forward, with runs from Ben, Chaves and George with Ben eventually managed to breach the busy Clinova defence to bring the score to 7-4. Despite some strong teamwork from Clinova, A.W Jenkinson ran out the winners of this exciting match, sponsored by Parfums de Marly Paris, by 7 goals to 4.
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Define This
grooming
(verb)
1. to clean and brush (an animal) 2. the process of transferring dirt from the horse to the groom.
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James Westcott
“It’s the back end of
last summer, I’m stood at the side of a practice pitch at Kirtlington, waving off an ambulance carrying my instructor for an introduction to polo, soon to be diagnosed with a sizeable wrist
”
fracture
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The scary part of the story was not the unfortunate trip that led to the break, but the fact that I was in no way dissuaded from having a crack at learning the sport, despite my only riding experience having been some 25 years earlier. The reality of equine sport is that every discipline is exhilarating to witness in person, whether the final furlong at Ascot or show jumping at the Olympics, and it’s these events that led me to seeking out an opportunity to jump on a horse. As a small child, my parents were keen riders, from hacking out to hunts, point to point to eventing, and even when they stopped riding their love of horses continued. We spent many hours watching a Whitaker or Nick Skelton going for glory. It was watching Nick Skelton triumph at the Rio Olympics that showed age was no barrier.
I was a keen rugby player for many years, the combination of playing such a physical sport with friends and going straight to the club house afterwards kept me coming back until battle fatigue meant I could no longer play at the level I wanted to. I had been searching for another sport to fill the gap, and while attempts at golf and tennis had been fun and still pass the time occasionally, they do little to satisfy my competitive spirit and I missed the camaraderie of a team. I’d never really considered polo, it always seemed a sport that one was born into rather than adopted, however after attending a match I was presented with a flyer for beginner lessons and thought why not, whilst the club I was at wasn’t close enough to get to regularly I set about finding one.
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This turned out to be pretty straight forward. There’s a directory on the HPA website and coincidentally almost all are trying to attract new members and offering opportunities to try the sport and share in their passion. Prior to the first lesson I was doing all I could to read up on what to expect, this was surprisingly hard with little information available. As an outsider to the sport it still surprises me how little information is available beyond the most basic, and although I agree with the old adage that there’s nothing quite like doing, I still think there’s more the polo world could do to provide interactive information. The one thing I was certain of was that I’d be introduced to a wooden horse on my first lesson, this turned out to be completely wrong and I found myself mounting a pony five minutes after arriving. It’s fair to say my first experience was mixed, the injury to my instructor aside, I was awful! At 6’ 4” and the best part of 100kgs I wasn’t the ideal shape for finding my centre of gravity. Hitting the ball was fairly straight forward, a lifetime of sport took care of that, but getting from a walk to canter was frankly
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impossible. The few moments of speed however were addictive, I was hooked. Unfortunately the season was coming to an end, and I was in need of a way to continue learning over the winter, it was at this point I discovered arena polo and Rugby Polo Club. Arena polo offers a great opportunity to learn the basics, the sport has a very different pace, but the fundamental aspects are exactly the same and you certainly get a lot of opportunities to play in close contact. My first lesson with Phil Baker went much the same as my introduction to polo, I bounced about and did my best not to look too ridiculous, but finished with the same desire to progress. Phil, like everyone I have encountered, has a love for the sport and relaxed approach to it, quickly matching you to an appropriate pony and providing encouragement from start to finish. At the end of my first lesson I was warned the next would be worst, I’d be pushed to get out of the saddle from start to finish and I’d feel it the next day. This was absolutely true, my legs felt ready to burst the next day, but come the next lesson it was far easier to get forward.
It turns our from here you can progress at a good pace, it gets easier to get the horse going and to stop very quickly, and before I knew it, I was having to learn to manage my pace so that I could try to hit the ball cleanly. After a few lessons there’s no better way to learn than to join group lessons and get used to playing the game and learning the rules, before a first experience of chukkas. The first chukka is fantastic, there’s a real mix of people from students to experienced riders looking for a new challenge. Everyone knows you’re new, you get plenty of time on the ball and encouragement and at this point it’s a done deal, you’ll be looking for every opportunity to play. Oddly, as I got more comfortable on the pony, it got harder to hit the ball cleanly – either arriving too fast or having to navigate the first experiences of a ride off, but little by little improvements to timing come. Rugby Polo Club has a fantastic set up, a proper club atmosphere and plenty of opportunities to play all year round for all levels, I finished the arena season with a first tournament win and an official handicap. Everyone that’s helped me along the way, from preparing the pony to offering advice is
extremely supportive, and the atmosphere in the club house afterwards is as good as any I’ve experienced. Next came the start of the outdoor season, its bigger, faster and slightly mad – but getting a horse into gallop is a feeling unlike any other. I’m only a short way into a first season, but its every bit as exhilarating as I hoped it would be, a massive release from the daily commute. I’ve had the opportunity to play in beginner tournaments at Rugby, a great concept with no pro players ensuring you can get involved from start to finish, and recently played in a first 0 goal tournament. It’s amazing how much quicker the game gets with every step up, offering a continuous challenge, but a rewarding one nonetheless as you become more and more competitive. There’s been a few lessons along the way, tape the mallet when the grass is wet or you’re likely to smash the head, get boots with grip on the sole, and the right technique is more important than hitting the ball – practice makes permanent so focus on the basics.
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For the future I want to be a better rider first and foremost, with that a more competitive player and an opportunity to lift my handicap. I have a lot to learn about looking after the ponies, something I look forward to, but most of all I look forward to the potential of playing with my young sons, currently mastering walking and running I have their path to polo clearly mapped out in my mind!
http://www.rugbypoloclub.com/ http://www.kirtlingtonparkpoloschool.co.uk/
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One of the 3 Chukka Wellness key elements is flexibility because staying mobile reduces the risk of injury and improves your range of movement and control, during defence and attack in play.
The ankle is an area that is pretty much forgotten about in a training programme however, there is a lot of pressure going through the ankle joint when you are in the saddle. Not only is the ankle joint loaded every time you stand up in the saddle but it also endures a slight twisting action every time you rotate in the saddle. Therefore, at Chukka Wellness we wanted to provide you with some simple but effective mobilising exercises to warm up the ankle joints before playing.
1. Resistance Band Ankle Opener Attach a resistance band to a stable platform and wrap it around your ankle joint. Move the foot forward so that you have a good amount of tension on the band, then bend your knee forward. When you have enough tension on the band contract the front ankle muscles and hold for 4 seconds. Relax and allow the ankle to be pulled back by the band. The idea of this exercise is that the band pulls the ankle back slightly more to open up the joint and allow for more movement and flexiblity.
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2. Dynamic Calf Stretch Stand on a box with your toes on the edge and hang your ankle down until you feel a stretch, immediately relax and bring the ankle back up again. Every time you stretch the heel down, push your knee forward over your toes. Keep this exercise dynamic – you don’t want to hold the stretch especially if you are just getting warmed up. Repeat for 1 minute then switch legs.
3. Wall Calf Stretch Place your toes up against a wall and gently rock backwards and forwards with the hips transferring your weight from the back leg to the front leg. Every time you move forward you should feel a small stretch in the back of the lower leg and ankle region. Ensure to keep this exercise moving to reduce your risk of injury.
4. Toe Stretch This is a really simple but effective stretch – sit back on your heels and gently rock the hips backwards and forwards with your toes tucked underneath you. This stretches the toes and the sole of the feet.
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5. Trigger Point We want to keep all of the muscles around the ankle joint mobile too. Grab a hard ball (trigger point ball or a tennis ball) and place it in any tight areas in the lower calf muscle and sole of your foot. Gently add some pressure over the ball until you feel the muscle gently relax.
For more mobility and stretching routines along with nutritional advice and strengthening routines - check out our 6 Week Pre Season Exercise Programme at www.chukkawellness.co.uk
In other news‌ Chukka Wellness have partnered up with the recently launch Ladies Polo Foundation. An organisation created to offer support for the development of women’s polo. The LPF is hosting a ladies training day at Cirencester Polo Club August 12th 2019. The training day will include an exercise & nutrition workshop hosted by yours truly followed by lessons from some of the top uk female polo players and a tournament to finish. Only a few spots left, to book yours contact ladiespf@outlook.com To learn more about the Ladies Polo Foundation visit - https:// www.lpf.chukkawellness.co.uk/
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All photos by PoloPhoto,
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Professional Re
evolution?
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That’s it,
the English high goal season
is over for another year, and what a year it’s been, epitomised by the thrilling overtime gold cup final between Dubai and King Power. And we all know by now, that is was Dubai who came out victorious by a hairs breadth. Many will agree that it was spectacular to see the young, but hungry Dubai side clinch the British Open crown, yet there may be even more afoot than that.
Last year, the all pro side of El Romanso took a fairytale win to secure the Gold Cup in their final year playing together, while this year Dubai took over this title, also utilising a 4 man style of polo. Slowly and steadily we may be witnessing the changing of the guard, from the traditional patroned teams, made up of a low goal patron, two high goal pros and a young ringer to make up the handicap, towards an all pro style of team, where there are no patrons, or if there are, they are fundamental in playing with the team. The statistics seem to be telling us that this 4 man style of polo is the more successful way to go, yielding the last two gold cup wins. As this becomes more and more apperant to people and they catch on to the advantages of playing in this way, we have to ask, are we about to see the demise of the age old system of patrons and pros which has for so long been a staple of the sport?
There is no doubt that the patron system is holding the sport back from achieving popularity within the general public, as those outside the sport will often feel that they want to watch true professionals play at the highest level, rather then rich amateurs. However, this system, of pros and patrons, has proven itself to work over centuries of play, and offers a number of benefits, such as offering opportunities to up and coming players, and making the payment of pros more sustainable. If the high goal shifts towards an all pro set up, it could have serous ramifications for the entire polo community, sending shockwaves which could make or break the sport.
The big problem with moving towards an all pro set up is, unsurprisingly, money. Patrons pay the wages which keep the pros in work. Simply put, no patrons = no professionals. The only reasonable way this issue can be overcome is by completely overhauling the structure of polo teams, making them more like football teams, permanent entities which buy in players and horses, funded by non playing patrons and sponsors. This is a concept already envisioned by Gladiator Polo, however it is yet to take shape in a meaningful way.
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This relies on polo becoming far more marketable than it currently is, in order to attract the sponsors and crowds which would now be relied upon to pay the pros salaries. Thus would need a massive overhaul of the television broadcasting system (don’t get me started on the Polocam’s coverage of the gold cup) as well as some serious marketing, especially towards attracting non polo specific fans.
Second on the long list of issues is the development of players. Young or upcoming players are often brought into higher and higher level games as they improve, either keeping team handicaps low or substituting for patrons. This allows them to play against better and better players, therefore enhancing their learning. Under a new system however, where players play with and against players of a similar skill level to themselves, it is not hard to image players getting stuck at a certain level, not having the experience or chance to improve beyond their current league. Although this could be a valid concern, almost every other sport, including lesser known games such as polocrosse, manage to implement development systems which support improving players without forcing them into higher and higher level tournaments before they are ready. You don’t start paying football, to be thrust into the middle of a premier league match the week later, do you?
These development systems generally rely more on coaching and teaching, rather than figuring the workings of the game out, simply by playing more, and to a higher standard. There is no reason, other than, once again, a lack of funding, that something similar cannot be achieved within polo. We already have numerous coaches up and down the country, they just need utilising and paying, perhaps by scouts of the afore mentioned high goal teams.
Yet another issue that this kind of professional revolution would have to overcome is the inevitable decrease in patrons. It seems somewhat unlikely that former high goal patrons will be content playing low goal polo, along with equally skilled players, after the speed and prestige of the high goal. We can only assume that a number of these would quit polo altogether and spend there, considerable, wealth elsewhere. This could cut off significant income streams for polo, which currently provide the life blood for many pros and grooms. However, this kind of reworking should, with time attract more and more traditionally non polo people to the sport, replacing those who have left, and then some.
All photos by PoloPhoto, Visit www.polophoto.co.uk for more
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Gear Guide.
(Part 4)
Now you have the helmet, boots and whites. If your skills are growing like your polo wardrobe you should be able to pass as a polo player by now. You can hit the ball and you’ve learnt the rules so now its time to get serious and get a pony! And that means one thing….you need some tack.
Saddles
Have a look at the article elsewhere in this issue that tells you all about the importance of a saddle on your horse and your game. This will give you some idea of what you need to be checking for to make sure your saddle is comfortable for your horse. With this in mind where do you look?
So whats the choice?
Budget to exclusive, lets take a look.
The budget end will always mean searching the internet for second hand but this can be risky. Or…. you may fall on a bargain, and if you manage to find a deal nearby you might be able to arrange something with the vendor regarding checking the fit on your horse before you complete the deal. But more often than not (as with all second hand) you will need to ask the right questions and take the plunge. But beware, this may leave you with a saddle that doesn’t fit, out of pocket and no further forward in getting your pony correctly attired for that upcoming match. Chukkout polo on facebook is a great place to look for all kinds of polo equipment and saddles do frequently come up for sale. Varying widely in style, condition and price. Also eBay occasionally has polo equipment fo sale. Personal contacts are another great way to find tack and this should eliminate some of the risk. Hopefully this means you can examine the goods carefully, take measurements, check for damage and try tack on before parting with any cash. Also, some stores sometimes have second hand stock they are happy to sell. If
buying new, we have included below some of the options available.
Polo Splice 19" (Traditional ) Wooden Tree Polo Saddle
New improved model with reinforced pommel head & a smooth rounded seat, also adding more padding over the seat making it less deep then previous models but softer, the underneath has been improved with more padding on the panels to fit the horse and giving a soft & more comfortable fit to the horse and rider.
Still come's with Large flaps and stronger girth pulls & extra slit for overgith as before ,available in Full suede & 1/2 Suede (Pig print) these saddles can also have the panels dropped a little so it makes the saddle sit lower to fit a broader wither
These trees are similar as used in Tackeria,Texas Polo & KB saddles
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RJ Polo
Handmade English Leather and Suede seat Polo Saddle
Handmade English saddle with suede seat.designed with the help of top professionals to bring you a lightweight polo saddle. This saddle comes with a lifetime guarantee for the tree, available in 18inch as standard and 19inch available to order.
Black Country polo saddle
This internationally renowned Polo Saddle is a unique design which has been developed with the assistance of top international riders and trainers.
The tree has reinforced forged steel to provide extra durability and saddles can be custom-made outside the realms of the standard narrow and medium fits with natural hand-whipped close-contact foam panels.
This fabulous saddle is available in full Polo leather or Buffalo.
We also offer this model as one of the worlds first truly “custom” made Polo saddles with pure wool flocked panels allowing for fitting adjustment.
Berney Brothers Polo Saddle
This Dynamic light weight saddle features a medium deep seat, square cantle and forward cut flap with a slot for the over girth. It also has leather lined half panels flocked with pure new wool for a perfect fit. This polo saddle provides a balanced seat and leg position made on a specially designed tree with a reinforced gullet combined with best quality leather throughout and Buffalo hide girth straps makes this saddle very durable. Available in all leather, all suede (for extra grip), and suede seat leather flaps.
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Ainsley “MVP” saddle ◦
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The MVP is available with three different styles of panels:
Alto (memory foam) - ideal for most horses, even those with less defined muscle tone
Medium (wool flocked) - ideal for all shapes of horses (additional charge)
Slim line (memory foam - ideal for young horses with muscular backs
Exchangeable gullet plates ensure perfect fit for all shapes and widths, providing exceptional clearance at withers. Supplied with the MVP in three sizes, and can be exchanged in less than 5 minutes
Light, yet strong synthetic saddle tree (polypropylene copolymer) with spring steel reinforcements. The saddle tree comes with a 5 year warranty for any material or manufacturing defects.
The MVP saddle tree has a natural flex, both longitudinally and diagonally, allowing the MVP to follow the horse's movements
There are a number of master saddlers that would happily discuss your needs regarding producing bespoke polo saddles. The Archer Polo Saddle is handcrafted in England using fine English materials. The tree is especially designed so it doesn't impede the horse's shoulder movements. The short quilted panel allows more air to flow cooling the pony, it also minimises bulk under the riders legs improving communication between pony and rider. It is wool flocked so the wide bearing surface can be adjusted and balanced to help distribute the rider's weight evenly. It also has a wide gullet which gives room for the spinal processes, particularly when turning. The saddle is made from durable and grippy brushed leather and a comfy suede seat as standard but are also available in soft grain leather or full suede. These saddles can be custommade outside the realms of the standard NW fit.
From £1250.00
There are may more makes and models of polo saddle available manufactured in the UK and many quality polo saddles can be bought and imported from the USA and Argentina.
This list is in no way exhaustive and time and research should be done before purchasing a saddle for your horse. Expert fitting advice is recommended. ,
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“The first ever podcast covering polo” My name is Rupert Lewis I’m 27 I’ve played as a professional for 10 years and I’m 3 goals. I’ve played polo all over the world from Australia, South Africa, Dubai, Pakistan and Argentina. I became involved in the polo world from a young age in the pony club and all my family played my father played in the army I have 13 cousins on one side 9 of which played polo to some degree and 3 of us continue to play as professionals whilst one is the polo manager at Cirencester; so it’s in the blood!
The idea for the podcast came about one day whilst listening to podcasts on other sports whilst I was making young horses in Northern Ireland. I thought “I wonder why there’s no polo podcast”. Then I just decided to give it a go!
I want the podcast to be a varied platform covering everything from the high goal to the pony club polo. I have a lot of friends playing the sport at the highest level so I want to provide listeners with access to them. As well as trying to recall the brilliant, funny and classic tales often heard in clubhouses across the land! Throwing a lot of mud and hoping something sticks will be the order of attack!
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The first issue of The Polo Pod will be available from Thursday 1st August at 8:00 across all the usual podcast providers. 37
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Are your saddles stealing from you?
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Ill-fitting polo saddles rob you of performance on the field and money out of your pocket for vets, chiropractors and unintended downtime - the Ainsley MVP can help you protect and enhance your investment in horses - at all levels. Whenever the conversation amongst polo players turns to polo saddles, someone will invariable say that they get their saddles for $4-500 in Argentina, so why pay more for your saddles? While there are decent saddles coming out of Argentina, the biggest issue is that polo saddles are often purchased unseen and untrialled, and it's not surprising that many of these saddles fit poorly or will change shape over time to fit poorly. Another significant issue is that a saddle priced at $500 to the consumer cannot cover the cost of high grade materials, workmanship and, most detrimental of all, any kind of innovation that would further the performance of polo horses and players. The combination of a relatively small market (as compared to other equestrian sports) and low prices for polo saddles, has meant that the polo saddle has seen virtually no innovation for the past 25-30 years, despite the fact that we as polo players demand more from our horses than in any other equestrian sport. The MVP sets a new yardstick for innovation and performance. Our horses contribute 70-80% to our performance on the field, but an ill-fitting saddle may cost you 5-20% of your horses' capabilities, be it in a match, in the course of a season or over an entire career. One of our 10-goal ambassadors tells us that a good saddle on a good horse, may add 1-2 goals to your handicap. Below, we take a look at some the things you should look out for: warning signals that a saddle may be robbing you of some of the performance that your horses are capable of, and we try to illustrate how the MVP may give you as close to 100% as possible, bearing in mind that it's much better and easier to prevent a back problem than it is to cure one.
Impediment of shoulder blade movement In polo, we ideally wish to be positioned over the horse's shoulders, where they are the strongest, and where we can create the most stable hitting platform. Generally, polo saddles are positioned forward and the horse's scapulae therefore need to pass behind the front section of the saddle panels. As there are no skeletal connections between a horse's scapulae and rib cage (horses have no collar bone), the shoulder blades are surprisingly flexible, and a well designed saddle will guide them to slide easily behind the front panels. Anything that obstructs the movement of the shoulder blade is likely to cause discomfort and possibly soreness with time. 39
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In this example, the panels are 'edged', creating a barrier for the scapulae as they move back and need to pass behind the panels, often causing an abrupt turn-in of the scapulae as they move back behind the panels.
The MVP may be placed both behind or over the scapulae. If placed forward, the soft, sculpted panels of the MVP, extending forward of the saddle, effectively guides the scapulae to slide easily behind the panels of the saddle.
Saddle lifting at the back The polo saddle should distribute the player's weight over a large surface. A saddle that pivots forward during hooks or neck shots, places all your weight on the horse's shoulders and there is good chance that the saddle tree points are pinching the horse's shoulders. Even if this only happens for short periods of time, the movement of the horse's shoulder blades are physically impeded, causing discomfort or worse for your horse and reduces your stability.
This saddle is probably too narrow at the shoulders and the panels have been compressed so much that it no longer conforms to the horse's shape.
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Correctly adjusted in width across the withers and with the right choice of panels, the MVP will distribute the player's evenly in all situations.
Little or no clearance at the withers  Some polo saddles are just too wide for certain horses. They might have been designed to be wide or they have spread with age, which happens with many polo saddles. The result is that the saddle comes too close to the withers or even sits on the withers. If this is the case when the player is in a neutral position, then the issue is compounded when the player is in the half seat. Not surprisingly, a load directly on the withers is painful for the horse and may give rise to adverse reactions and longer term back problems. You can perform this simple test yourself: as you ride off the field after a chukka, put 2-3 fingers between the withers and the pommel, then lean forward. You will know immediately if the saddle has a problem and the effect this has on your horse.
This saddle has probably spread over time, leaving no space between the saddle and the withers. Leaning or reaching forward will almost certainly put the saddle in contact with the withers, which can have serious consequences.
The MVP comes with three different, exchangeable gullet plates made from spring steel, which will never spread, providing ample space above the withers - also when you are well forward hitting a neck shot or hooking your opponent 41
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Use of risers or multiple saddle pads Ideally, a polo saddle should fit your horse's confirmation without any additional padding or with just a thin saddle pad. Although you may, to some extent, be able to use a poorly fitting saddle by using risers or multiple saddle pads, you will also raise your center of gravity, thus negatively influencing your connection with your horse, and there is a substantial risk that your weight will not be evenly distributed across the footprint of the saddles panels.
As polo players we benefit from as close a contact with our horses as possible. The addition of an inch of padding may mask a poor fit, but it will raise your centre of gravity and impede a good connection between horse and player.
The width adjustment options and multiple panel styles, ensures that the MVP can be fitted to virtually any polo pony, enabling close contact, perfect fit and ideal weight distribution across the entire surface of the panels.
Poor fit and over-tightening of girth Poorly fitting saddles, especially those with a flat profile across the saddle and saddles with 'tired' panels, often shift from side to side, compelling grooms to over-tighten the girths to keep the saddle from from doing so. Research on the effects of girth tension in racing has demonstrated that a girth tension above an optimal 10 kgs (22 lbs) can have a significant impact on the 'distance to fatigue'. The tighter the girth, the sooner your horses get tired. The implication is that the better that your saddles fit your horses, the less girth tension is required, and your horses will be able to perform for longer periods of time.
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An example of a saddle that is placing most of the players weight along the horses spine and less along the outside of the panels. As such a saddle will tend to shift sideways, the girth is often over-tightened, causing the horse to fatigue sooner than necessary
With numerous possible configurations, the MVP enables you to achieve a perfect fit, reducing the need for tightening the girth beyond an optimal 10 kgs (22 lbs) of tension, in effect giving increasing the stamina of your horses to run longer distances and recover faster.
Tilting saddles  If you see polo saddles with the cantle much lower than the pommel, the saddle may either be too far forward, which could be intentional, although counterproductive, to place the player sufficiently forward, or it could be caused by a forward girth groove, or the saddle is too narrow at the shoulders. Whatever the reason, a tilting saddle is likely to impede and pinch the horses shoulders and it will place a seated player too far back, concentrating the player's weight at the back of the saddle, close to the weakest point of the horse's back, and extending the effort and the distance of the movement that the player has to go through to get back into the half seat from seated
In this photo, the cantle is clearly much lower than pommel, interfering more than necessary with the horse's shoulders and placing the seated player too far back, to the detriment of both horse and player
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Advertisement All Ainsley saddles, including the MVP are designed to allow the player to get into the half seat with the least amount of effort, and without placing the saddle too far forward over the shoulders
Ainsley Saddlery Ainsley Saddlery is the world's only polo saddlery owned by a professional polo player (hcp 5) and an accomplished polo horse maker, Ross Ainsley. Over the past 10 years, Ross has used his vast experience as a polo player and master horseman to continuously develop a range of technical polo saddles, uniquely created to ensure that neither you nor your horses play below your capabilities.
Performance Polo Distributor of Ainsley Saddlery products dedicated to providing polo gear that truly makes a difference and doesn't just meet a functional need.
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Fyfield Flyers and Perth Polo Club drew in the final of the 4 goal at Druids Lodge Polo Club, while TARMAC ran out the winners of the subsidiary final 7-5 over Canonbury.
Rex Homes ran out the winners of the 2 goal July Intro tournament at Beaufort, in a round robin played over two days.
Lodge Services ran out the winners of the Polo Valley 2 goal Final against Cotswald Airport. The subsidiary final was won by Inglesham Polo Centre over Smiths Polo. Lodge Services ran out the4 Exeter University Polo Club members remained unbeaten and won the UOTC Challenge Cup at the Royal Military academy Sandhurst.
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This months submissions
#lalowgoal @j_west_6
Great weekend at Dallas Burston winning the Clarnet Cup. (read more about James on page 16)
@triskelionpoloclub
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The family heroes trophy tournament.
This Month’s Contributors: -
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Ignacio Fernandez Llorente James Westcott Chukka Wellness Rupert Lewis Performance Polo Triskelion Polo Club PoloPhoto
@la_low_goal La Low Goal
August Issue
Coming Soon
