La Low Goal
May 2019
La Low Goal Online magazine available at issuu.com
“Well...that was bloody hard work” This month has been the busiest, and quite frankly, most hectic month yet. We’ve launched some of our biggest projects ever, such as the printed 6 month specials, which should be making their way to all the U.K clubs as I write this. We’ve also created some of the clothing merchandise, running a competition over on Instagram to give away one of these special hoodies, as well as overhauling the look of the ‘standard’ magazine, which we bring you now. Now fit that all round playing myself, and sitting GCSEs, and you can see how time may be of the essence.
BUT… were not done yet. We’ve got another very special announcement. So (drum roll please), due to popular demand (well, lets not get ahead of ourselves) La Low Goal hoodies will now be available on sale. So if you want to get your hands on one of these rare, fashion statements (and lets face it, who doesn’t) just send us an email at connorkay73@icloud.com or message on any of our social media platforms.
Enjoy the issue
Connor Kay (editor)
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Contents Page 4
Harper Adams -2nd Annual Charity Tournament
Page 10
Chukka Wellness - launch of the 6 month training program
Page 14
Extreme Polo -The opinion on the illusive league
Page 18
Tidworth Polo Club - Help For Heroes Tournament
Page 20
Cambridge Polo - Cambridge University Vs The Royal Navy
Page 24
Equine Physiotherapy - What is it and how can it help polo ponies?
Page 31
Gear Guide -Polo Boots
Page 36
Women In Polo (WIP)
Page 40
Ignacio Llorente - Zoom in on the team enclosures
Page 41
#lalowgoal -the latest from our online contributors
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Harper Charity Adams
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Tournament
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Harper Adams Polo Club completed their second annual charity tournament in aid of student minds and Riding for the Disabled Association.
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The 2nd annual Harper Adams Polo charity tournament held on the 18th march at Moor farm polo club was a great success and enjoyed by all. We hosted 60 players of varying ability including those who had never sat on a horse before alongside some of Harper’s most experienced international players. The event also gave our players a chance to train on grass in the lead up to the SUPA Summer Nationals to which we are sending ten teams! The event was held to raise money for two charities, Student Minds and Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) both of which are important to our polo club.
Student Minds are the UK’s student mental health charity. They train students and staff in universities across the UK to deliver student-led peer support interventions as well as researchdriven workshops and campaigns. The RDA is an inclusive and diverse organisation that welcomes clients of any age, with physical and learning disabilities and autism. They provide the opportunity for people to ride who wouldn’t normally get the chance, something which we as a club are passionate about. The day was a great success and, including the raffle with some brilliant prizes, raised a grand total of £1460. Many thanks to Moor Farm for use of the pitch and to Glynn Henderson for his amazing coaching and horses. Looking forward to this event next year and hoping it will be even bigger and better! You can donate to these amazing charities via their websites or get in touch with Harper Polo on our Facebook page or via email at HAUpolo@outlook.com
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The launch of the 6 Week Pre Season Exercise Programme
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Chukka Wellness have recently launched their first exercise online programme aimed to improve the health and fitness of polo players on the run up to the playing season. The 6-week programme focuses on Chukka Wellness’ 3 core elements • • •
Flexibility – Reduce the risk of injury through mobilising joints Fuel – Ensuring your body is sustainably energised through correct nutrition Functional – Provide different types of polo-specific training types to improve strength & fitness
Who is the programme for? • • • • •
Those polo players who are working towards going up a handicap Who want to improve the effectiveness of their swing Who struggle to know how to fuel their bodies efficiently before, during and after chukkas Those with biomechanical weaknesses that may be hindering athletic performance Those who want to become stronger and more effective in ride offs
What’s inside the programme? • • • • •
Nutritional Guidance, recipes & meal suggestions designed to help you prepare for the busy season Stretching and mobilising routines to reduce the risk of injury Resistance workouts to improve overall muscle tone and strength Polo Specific workouts designed around the functional movement patterns of play A mixture of cardio sessions to improve fitness and overall health
Benefits ** Stay supple and injury free with our quick mobility and stretching routines ** Improve fitness with our easy to follow cardio sessions ** Enhance strength and muscle conditioning with our fun and unique polo specific workouts ** Improve Power and effectiveness of your swing ** Increase strength and control in your ride offs ** Improve suppleness and reduce risk of injury ** Quicker recovery rates post play ** More energy during chukkas ** Quicker reaction times and decision making when on the field 11
Interested in starting your own 6 Week Polo Pre Season Exercise Programme? Join the mailing list now – click on the link below to sign up and receive exclusive access to the programme plus some extra freebies! https://indiaparkersmith.wufoo.com/forms/xcr59an0l6l2m9/ Chukka Wellness has also just launched their Facebook page – Chukka Wellness so go and check it out for helpful tips on polo-specific health and fitness Instagram - @chukkawellness
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Exercise Of The Month: Swiss Ball Glute Bridge
This exercise is a great addition to your workout routine as it fires up the Glute and Hamstring muscles allowing you more control when in the saddle. These 2 muscle groups are used constantly in polo such as when you’re standing out of the saddle and moving in the different planes of movement. 1. Lie on your back with both feet planted on the Swiss ball 2. Slowly roll your spine up off the ground so that your hips move up towards the sky 3. At the top of the movement squeeze your glute muscles and keeping your abdominals tucked in, fully extend your legs away from you 4. Slowly flex the legs back towards your hips and lower your body back to the ground 5. Repeat 12x for 3 sets NB. For added difficulty put a resistance band around your knees.
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Chicken Or
Egg
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Which came first; The chicken or the egg? The age old conundrum which has plagued our thinking for... for... a really long time. And yet, it remains largely unanswered (except by the occasional smartarse who spouts a load of meaningless waffle in order to make himself feel intellectually superior). And now, it is this very same conundrum that the polo world faces, egg-sept (honestly, I promise I will stop, please don’t let this put you of the rest of the article) in regard to the growth into mainstream sport.
Polo wants spectators, because spectators bring sponsors, which bring money, which results in more teams, which attract more spectators, which bring more sponsors, resulting in more money, therefore more teams... (I think you understand where this is going). However this first step into this apparent spiral to inevitable success, has proved tricky. So tricky in fact that the game’s been around for ???? years and still hasn’t shuffled over the line. And this all comes down to promotion. Promotors, such as TV channels aren’t interested in airing something which nobody knows or wants to watch.
But nobody will ever grow to demand it when they don’t know anything about the sport because it’s not promoted. This is a viscous cycle, and one that seems incredibly difficult to break into. And you may be now thinking “well, it’s all buggered then, the mainstream media don’t want us, and we can’t generate the demand without them, so as to force them too”, and you’d be entirely right. Egg-sept (sorry, too tempting) there are a couple of things we can do...
Enter Extreme polo league, but not too dramatically (a single article in Spanish only will do nicely)
Now, Extreme polo claims to be a ‘polo concept similar to Formula 1’, or at least I think it does, google translate is often inaccurate. They propose a league, comprising of several separate events around the world, including tournaments in the US, England, Argentina and Spain. This league would have a handicap limit of 28 - 36 goal, higher than is currently played anywhere in the world, excluding Argentina, and would have a number of set teams who would travel the world together, much like, you guessed it the F1 world championship. It would also signal a shift, in all countries except Argentina, away from patroned polo, and towards an all pro set up. This would be a major win, as having rich amateurs on the field in the top level, has long been a barrier to many people taking the sport seriously.
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Extreme polo claims to be a ‘polo concept similar to Formula 1’, or at least I think it does, google translate is often inaccurate It is not clear (and it is not entirely down to the fact that I am currently failing Spanish GCSE either) whether the league will be run as a championship, where points are obtained each round resulting in a overall victor, or whether the rounds are to be held as entirely separate events, although I suspect and secretly hope that it will be the former. This would allow spectators to really get involved with a long, and somewhat more important campaign, rather than a single stand alone event. It would also make sense, as the same teams will be competing in every round, and would allow big prize money sums to be offered, or even grand slam bonuses such as that seen in the USPAs Gauntlet of Polo to be introduced. I could really see people being able to back ‘their’ team, throughout the campaign, and as a result, get more involved with the sport. Further more, the league
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manages to guarantee fast and competitive polo, by making the players shareholders in their own team. This way they will benefit directly from any winnings rather than taking a paycheque home from the patron, no matter weather they win or lose. And it doesn’t stop there either, a number of the big Argentine teams have already signed up, including Algeria, La Dolfina and Las Mojitas, meaning this, almost unknown league, actually has some traction.
So polo is saved then? Should we all get down on our knees and worship Juan Zavalia for founding this magical fix? Well, hold up just a minute. There are a number of challenges Extreme polo still needs to overcome, primary of which is actually existing. Not a single game of the league has been played, or is scheduled to be played.
I think we need to wait until it actually hits the ground before we start hailing it as the next big thing. In addition to this, especially considering promoting to the mainstream world is the big plus point of the Extreme league, the current level of promotion is at present almost non-exsistant. They need to build a bit of a buzz and really get people talking about this league in order for it to be considered the top level of polo. After all, non polo people are never going to get to know about it, if those in polo don’t have a clue.
The final issue... and its a bit of a biggie. If we want this new league to be the top flight of the polo world, we’re going to need to get rid of the Argentine triple crown, something I can guarantee will not be received well. This championship needs to trap the headlines, and to do this it really be the ceiling of the polo world, much like Formula 1 is to motorsport, or the premier league is to English football.
So what are our options, for all of the historic tournaments played all around the world. Well, mostly it’s pretty simple. Most of the lower handicapped tournaments can be raised to the proposed 36 goal level, after all the USPA recently dropped their most pregistous tournaments from 26 to 22 goal level, meaning their is room for some of these existing tournaments such as the Queens cup in England or the US open in America to rise to meet this new standard. The Argentine season however is a different kettle of fish. The Argentine triple crown is so steeped in history, and still so relevant to many that pulling it
down to comply with the rest of the world would likely be seen as sacrilege. And, I’m afraid I don’t have the answer. Of course we could drag it down to the new handicap level, deal with the criticism, and move on, but, as previously stated, this would be an unpopular move. Alternatively, the Argentine open could just become its own standalone tournament, sitting solely atop the polo world. But again, this is not ideal, as this would detract so much from the Extreme league, as it would no longer have the claim to fame that made it so appealing. Why would promoters show the Extreme league when the Argentine Open is available and a higher standard? Finally, the handicap limit of the league could just be lifted, making it an open series. However this is still not perfect, as the handicap limit, combined with the limit on 10 goalers in each team, is designed to keep the tournaments competitive and unpredictable, and if this limit was lifted, their is a worry that the series could become boring and predictable, which defeats the point of promoting polo to the masses. Just look at the situation in Argentina where you can almost bet your bottom dollar either Ellestina or La Dolfina will take each of the three titles. And do I have an answer? No. No of course I haven’t, but the creators of the league, and the rest of the big wigs in polo, need to sit down and have a big long think about these issues. The potential is there, but there’s a way to go before this scrawny little chick can spend its wings, and take over the world.
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HELP for
HEROES
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With Heroes Day fast approaching we here at Tidworth Polo Club are raising money for Help for Heroes. We have set up a Just Giving page in the hopes that anyone and everyone will be able to donate a few pounds and pennies to this great cause! TPC works very closely with Help for Heroes all year round with Heroes Day being their day to shine!! Whether you are joining us on the day or will be watching on from afar please follow the link below to give what you can so that Help for Heroes can continue their fantastic work!
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Left to right: Charlie, Aeisha, Josh, Si, Max, Harry, Kate, Erik
Cambridge University Vs The Royal Navy Tuesday 14th May saw the Royal Navy’s Polo Team travel from all corners of the country to take on Cambridge University’s Polo Team in a friendly match at Cambridge County Polo Club. The history of Cambridge and the Royal Navy goes back with many scholars' leaving Cambridge to pursue a career in the Navy, from the Prince of Wales to Lord Mountbatten. It was a close game with quick plays in the first couple of chukkas, by half time Cambridge, were leading 2-1. The open play 20
was only bettered by a tight defence from both teams. The final score ended with Cambridge edging ahead with a 4-2 victory in what was a closely fought final chukka. The Royal Navy team was invited to a St John’s College Formal Dinner to showcase the hospitality and tradition that Cambridge has to offer. Clearly the fierce rivalry on the pitch has been set aside during the evening, resulting in some members of the teams retiring to their rooms in the early hours of the next morning.
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6 Month Special
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Available at a club near you
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Women In Polo UK (WIP) is a sporting organisation designed to create more opportunities for girls and women in polo. The organisation is run voluntarily by mother and daughter duo Sarah Wood and Georgie Gregory who believe passionately about making a difference in ladies polo. Their aim is to make the sport more accessible, inclusive and realistic for female players while shouting loud about it in the process. Alongside day jobs and growing families, the pair have been working since 2012 to bring about change in ladies polo. One of the most notable achievements
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is the WIP UK Ladies League which has been running since 2014, offering opportunities for ladies at both 0-8 and 8-12 goal levels. The league was the first of its kind to be established in the UK and offers fantastic opportunities for a variety of players from beginners to professionals. The league works on a tiered point scoring system where teams achieve points for entering the tournament, points for reaching a sub-final and final etc. The idea of the league is to encourage teams to get to together and travel to different clubs – it’s all about fun, friendly, competitive polo!
“2019 is set to be a busy season for the organisation�
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2019 is set to be a busy season for the organisation as it welcomes the first WIP International Ladies Series in the UK all in aid of Breast Cancer Care. The series will be between a WIP UK team and a visiting Australasian team at three different venues (see details below). The WIP UK team has some rotating slots to offer opportunity to several players to be involved across the series and WIP will be showcasing the events across the media. “We are incredibly excited to have a WIP International event this season. We have been working closely with similar lady’s polo initiatives in Australia who have the same ethos as us, meaning it’s been possible to join forces and make this happen. Its all about having fun and showcasing some awesome female players. Most importantly the series is in aid of Breast Cancer Care who do amazing work with women battling breast cancer” – Sarah Wood In addition to the league and this year’s international series, WIP also supports low goal university tournaments, mixed doubles and low goal club ladies matches. The organisation is keen to keep supporting low goal polo and see this as the most important area of the sport, with the highest number of players. With this in mind WIP is in the process of building a UK base facility 38
complete with polo arena where coaching, workshops and low goal tournaments can be run. It is really set to be an exciting year for the organisation! “WIP has always been dependent on our fantastic partner clubs to host matches and support us. While we will continue to work together in the future, having our own facility will make a huge difference for us. We can better achieve our aims for the organisation and do more for grass roots players” – Georgie Gregory WIP does dip its toe into some higher level polo with the annual WIP Ladies vs Hackett Army Men match held on the Heroes day at Tidworth polo club in early June each year. Playing at mixed 6 goal level this event is a real showcase of the incredible lady’s talent here in the UK and is a thrilling match to watch. With WIP holding the trophy for the last three consecutive years, this year is set to be a full on fight, so stayed tuned for the results! The organisation could not succeed without support and collaborations with brilliant, likeminded people. If you have an idea, proposal or want to work with WIP then get in touch and let them know your thoughts. Without great partnerships the work that WIP does would not be sustainable.
Remaining League Dates: 1st/2nd June – Westcroft Park Polo Club
15th/16th June – Tidworth Polo Club 22nd/23rd June – Silverleys Polo Club 6th/7th July – Beaufort Polo Club
13th/14th July – New Forest Polo Club
“it’s all about fun, friendly, competitive polo!”
International Series Matches: 30th June @ Tidworth Polo Club
6th July @ Beaufort Polo Club 14th July @ New Forest Polo Club
Contact: Keep posted with all things Women In Polo UK below: www.womeninpolo.org.uk
www.facebook.com/WomenInPolo Instagram: @wip_uk Email: info@womeninpolo.org.uk
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Ignacio Llorente Zoom in on the teams enclosures Each year, in the most important polo championship of the year, in the centre of Buenos Aires, you can see that in the palenques (the team enclosures where the horses are tied and the players have their base) of the teams there are a lot of public.
Last year people were so keen to be up close with the players that high security measures had to be taken to avoid people staying over at the palenques.
We always talk about the need for polo to attract more viewers. There are many ideas such as using TV coverage to turn the players into “celebrities",or even changing the rules so there are fewer interruptions and a shorter duration, etc.
A spectator at a polo field may find it very difficult to follow the game when the horses are so far away, and if we add in the complicated rules, they lose interest, and when they change sides after each goal they give up.
The palenques is in a corner, almost as far as possible away from the public. It's like trying to get players and horses to hide, to isolate.
But this is what you need to try to change, right?
A spectator who does not know polo, if asked about the game, may say ‘nice horses, I did not understand anything, there was a nice atmosphere of people, and even say I liked champagne”.
But those who have ever had the luck to be invited to the palenque by a player and share the game from there, probably from that day forward will try to go to as many games as possible. This viewer, will become a fan.
In the palenques you can see the horses, how they are prepared, the player each time he changes horses, the coach, the dialogues between the players. There is a lot to see and it is very interesting. Maybe the view of the action in the game is not the best, but what you can see in the palenque is more than enough.
At polo fields, the grandstand is usually in the centre of the field at the edge of the boards and this is where spectators are located.
If the main stand was not very long, and the palenques of the two teams were placed on both sides in such a way to provide a good view of both palenques, the spectacle would be unforgettable.
The game always looks pretty bad, the field is very big. It is necessary to locate the palenques as close to the public as possible, the palenque is more interesting than the game for the public.
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@triskelionpoloclub
Another fantastic tournament this weekend with CBS winning the Shore Hotel plate.
@stephanie_leitnerskunstate
BEACH POLO MIAMI
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This Month’s Contributors: - Harper Adams Polo Club - Chukka Wellness - Tidworth Polo Club - Cambridge University Polo Club - Women In Polo
40 The views expressed by contributors may or may not represent those of the editors of La Low Goal, but may be expressed here for balance within the UK Low Goal.
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