Horses In Harmony

Hundred + 85th Editions

HORSEMANSHIP and

BEYOND

Horses must be gently inducted into practice after returning from a break 1

Index

POLO

The Precise Pawn: A Mallet Many brands have taken the symbol of the mallet to show their association with the sport.

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Diversity And Inclusion

Unstoppable

SPAIN

The victors of the Zone-C play-offs of the FIP World Cup,

More and more organisations are showing interest in funding interested polo enthusiasts from diverse backgrounds.

Heterogeneity in the sport is, thus, poised to get a boost.

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Spain; held a record of consistent triumph throughout the eliminatory matches and will now move on to defend their position from October 26 to November 6 at the International Polo Club.

A Horse Hiatus Horses must be gently inducted into practice after returning from a break

Digital Liaisons Haute Couturiers of the 2022 season exhibited a collection of extravagant fantasies and flamboyant tones, unlike ever before, in a digital show!

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Source: @Instagram_fip_polo

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Source: Creative Commons

EQUIPMENT

The Precise Pawn: A Mallet Many brands have taken the symbol of the mallet to show their association with the sport.

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he mallet consists of 3 parts-cane shaft, sling and the head.

The cane is naturally made from Rattan cane or the best viable alternative macau cane/malacca or Manila cane (as it is known in different states). In the advanced age of composite mallets, many still prefer to use cane mallets because they absorb vibrations better than composite material. Slings are the thermoplastic grip of cotton on strong polypropylene handles. The mallet head is usually made of hardwood tipa. It’s 9 ¼ inches long and weighs in between 160g (5.6 oz) - 240g (8.5oz).

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Equipment

BRANDS AND MALLETS

EVOLUTION Over the years, mallets have seen a ground-breaking evolution, from arc shaped heads to cigar shaped. Japan and Byzantium sticks had racquet attached on top instead of mallet heads.

Fine quality cane mallets have been deteriorating over the years due to deforestation and ecological disturbances. Macau cane is getting eliminated from the Amazon forests and thus it is becoming unavailable.

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Brands such as Ralph Lauren, USPA, HACKETT, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Jaeger LeCoulture have been designing exclusive range of polo apparels such as t-shirts, watches etc. Their brand logos more or less involve a mallet at the core centre, in an attempt to portray their association with the sport. HACKETT polo shirts’ trademark logo of two mallets in cross position has also appealed to players. Many brands have been associated with the sport. For example, Jaeger LeCoultre was the official timepiece sponsor for the German Polo Tour in 2019. They gifted a Reverso Classic Large Small Seconds to the winner of the tour.

Sporting groups such as the Suneendra Group own a polo team and have invested in horses and polo players. “Polo is a great platform for people to get their brands tagged with the most elitist sport in the world,” says Kanna Phaneendra, co-owner of the team and polo player.

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Polo Around the World

Polo Around the World

POLOPARK BERLIN

EUROPE ZONE PLAY-OFFS

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he five teams participating in the European Zone play-offs of the World Polo Championship at the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly have communicated their line-ups to the Federation of International Polo.

Teams: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Swiss

L Image Source: Baltic Polo Events GmbH

Image Source: Website/ Pololine

LA IRENITA WINS THE TITLE

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a Irenita took a narrow 8-7 win over SD Synergy Cloning to claim the La Cañada Open Ezequiel Fernández Guerrico Cup, one of the most prestigious tournaments of the Argentine Autumn season, on April 24, at La Cañada Polo Club, in Open Door.

The Alejandro Cavanagh Subsidiary Cup (played on handicap) went to Brava, who earned the trophy

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after their rival, Trenque Lauquen, withdrew. The tournament was played from April 17-24 and saw four teams competing for up to 28 goals.

Dates

Teams and Scores

30 April, 2022

Italy (7) vs. Swiss (5)

30 April, 2022

France (3) vs. Spain (5)

2 May, 2022

Italy (6) vs. France (3)

2 May, 2022

Swiss (6) vs. Germany (8)

4 May, 2022

Italy (7) vs. Germany (6)

4 May, 2022

Swiss (2.5) vs. Spain (8)

os Pingüinos Why Not-Orion Advisord defeated Thai Polo by an 11-8 score and claimed the second edition of the Ladies Masters (Gold Cup), after the finals that took place at the AAP grounds, in Pilar, on April 23. The Silver Cup and the Bronze Cup went to Polo del Parque Lincoln La Invernadera, and La Cañada 303 Polo Ranch, respectively.

The attractive polo tournament, the only one that allows teams between 0-40 goals, to compete, saw six teams between 16 and 23 goals in participation.

LADIES MASTERS AND LADIES CHAI FINALS

Image Source: Website/ Pololine

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he PoloPark Berlin in Dallgow Döberitz OT Seeburg opens its doors again.

At the season opening tournament, from April 29 to May 1, six international polo teams with over 100 polo horses from six nations (Germany, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Persia and Luxemburg) registered for the official tournament of the German Polo Assn. There will be three polo games every day.

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Polo Around the World

PILOT CLAIMS TITLE FOR SECOND TIME

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ilot defeated La Elina 11-6 to win the US Open Polo Championship, the most coveted tournament in the United States, at International Polo Club Palm Beach, in Wellington, United States.

For Curtis Pilot and Matías Torres Zavaleta, it was their second US Open win, while the young Mackenzie Weisz took his first title.

Teams and Scores

20 April, 2022

La Elina (10) vs. Tamera (9)

20 April, 2022

Park Place (7) vs. Pilot (8)

22 April, 2022

Upatoi Green/Foxdale Equine (11) vs. Bottega (12)

22 April, 2022

Hutchinson Farms (5) vs. LBL (9)

24 April, 2022

La Elina (6) vs. Pilot (11)

HUBLOT POLO GOLD CUP

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ost the 2 year hiatus the Hublot Gold Cup returns to the mountainous region of Gstaad, Switzerland from August 18-21.

Three teams, Gstaad Palace, Hublot and Keilder Afro will be vying for the Cup from defending champions Clinique La Prairie, led by the outstanding Sébastien La Page. Alongside the 16 players an astounding 120 horses will be flying to Gstaad this year to aid each of the teams. The glamor of one of the oldest tournaments in team sport history will once again return.

Image Source: @Instagram_polo_club_gstaad

Dates

Polo Around the World

PROGRAM: Thursday,

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18 August

Qualifier Matches

Friday,

19 August

Polo Parade

Saturday,

20 August

Semifinals

Sunday,

21 August

Finals

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PEOPLE

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

More and organisations are showing interest in funding interested polo enthusiasts from diverse backgrounds.

Heterogeneity in the sport is, thus, poised to get a boost.

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n essential feature in equestrian sport is diversity. Many people are coming forward and speaking about the challenges faced by them and how they overcame it. For instance, 18-year-old Jordan Allen, the only African-American to compete for the Gamecocks on their equestrian team. She showed nothing is impossible.

Allen managed to pay for the costly lessons and shows while 12

Source: Creative Commons 13

People

People provide opportunity to the urban youth of colour, aged 7-17, in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. Their motto is that it is the right of every child who has an interest in horses to experience them and not be stopped by any obstacles. Their different programmes aim at developing emotional self awareness and regulation in young people, opening up new possibilities, give them a sense of community, and empowering them to become all they were born to be.

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working outside of school. All this made her the role model for people of all backgrounds and colours.

There are many organisations working towards promoting diversity. One of the most popular among them is the City Ranch Inc., founded in 2007 and dedicated to providing accessible and affordable horseback riding to the greater Baltimore community and surrounding counties. Another organisation is The Crew Urban Youth Equestrians, founded to 14

Katie Ebbage Equestrians offers horsecentred education enhancing the well being and performance of equestrian athletes from all disciplines, with a focus on the next generation of equestrians.

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COVER STORY

A HORSE Horses hold infinite potential even after loss of consistent practice. When designing a fitness program for your well-rested horse, ensure that unique considerations are taken along the way so that the transition may be completed safely and effectively.

HIATUS

Creative Commons Image Credit: Creative Commons

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Cover Story

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hether you are returning your horse to work after a winter break or recovering from an injury, or you are wanting to improve their fitness and increase workload, preparation is essential!

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Rider Health and Fitness To be a good horse companion, you must also be concerned with your own fitness. No matter what discipline or mounted activity you participate in, you must be able to maintain balance and follow the movement of your horse. The rider’s cardiovascular fitness is also important in this. If you become weary while riding, you will most likely begin to lose your balance. Riding off-balance and adjusting your weight distribution in the saddle on a regular basis might result in imprecise and inconsistent assistance. As a result, the horse may have to modify their job to accommodate the movement, which may raise the horse’s activity needs.

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Consider how your horse’s health and fitness will be maintained during the fitness regime and once the ideal level of fitness has been achieved.

A conditioning program’s growth should be such that fitness and strength improve in tandem with the development of technical skills. Once a horse has learned a technical talent, it tends to stick with them, albeit refinement may be

required, whereas fitness must be maintained by frequent training. A horse that is not trained for more than one month loses cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, and bone, muscle, ligament, and tendon resilience. Strength regresses to pretraining levels after a few months. Before returning to full training and competition at their previous levels, these deficiencies must be corrected.

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Equine Around The World

Equus Around the World

WORK TO RIDE PROGRAM

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he Santa Rita Abierto was held on April 16 to raise funds for Work To Ride, and bring awareness to the underrecognized national-caliber program. Work To Ride is

Image Source: Chukker TV/Candace Ferriera

a non-profit that runs an equestrian program geared towards helping low-income youth in the Philadelphia area by teaching them how to ride, care for, and respect horses.

YEAR OF THE HORSE EXHIBITION

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round 100 historical saddle blankets and other horse trappings were donated to the Textile Museum at the George Washington University, making them one of the largest curators of Equestrian Textiles. This display will be exhibited under the Year of the Horse theme which falls in 2026 as per the Chinese Zodiac alongside a catalogue and scholarly resources. It’s a donation by Judy Brick Freedman, world renowned rider and competitor and Allen R Freedman a former trustee of the Museum.

Breeders’ Cup grand equestrian tournament returns this weekend 20

Image Credits: GW Museum Official Press, Gabrielle Rhoads

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Equus Around the World

Equus Around the World

THE ROYAL WINDSOR HORSE SHOW RETURNS

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he 79th edition of the magnificent 4-day equestrian event took place between May 12-15.

Kicking off the event is a 90-minute performance highlighting the regal history of England in the last century, stories of the Spanish Armada, and of Shakespeare and Marlowe. On the first day Show Jumping event took place with horses leaping between 1.2-1.6m. Next are the Endurance Championships on different routes of Windsor

Park. The Shetland Pony Grand National took centre stage in the Castle Arena, alongside the Pony Club Mounted Games and performances from The Musical Ride of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment. Likewise a tri-service orchestra performance supported by members of the National Symphony Orchestra took place. The music has been curated by musical directors Debbie Wiseman and Lieutenant Colonel Jason Burcham.

Image Source: @Instagram_kentuckyderby

THE KENTUCKY DERBY SURPRISE

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Image Source: @Instagram_royalwindsorhorseshow

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he tournament returned after a two-year hiatus and saw around 1,50,000 spectators. For the first time after 100 years in Derby History a long-shot of 80-1 took the unexpected victory especially since Rich Strike, the horse, was bought in only after a dropout. Likewise, it was also the first Kentucky Derby win for Kentucky trainer, Eric Reed, who commented, “I passed out. I’m so happy. This is the reason everybody does this. We’re not supposed to be here but I knew this horse loved this track and he has been training so well all year.”

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BRANDS

Brands

Digital Liaisons Juxtaposed against the semidystopian times we live in, Haute Couturiers of the 2022 season exhibited a collection of extravagant fantasies and flamboyant tones, unlike ever before, in a digital show!

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he Haute Couture show presented by the Federation française de la couture, du prêtà-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode, that takes place in January and September, is a presentation of iconic fashion labels with longstanding status of workmanship.

Here are a few noteworthy shows that took us to a euphoric, alternate universe: 24

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Brands

Brands

AELIS Couture: Established in 2017, it is the first maison under Sustainable Art-To-Wear Haute Couture by the Italian designer Sofia Crociani. Crociani previously worked under fashion houses such as Dior during the John Galliano era and for a decade with Karl Lagerfeld. The brand known as the torchbearer of eco-ethical luxury, produced a collection for the SpringSummer 2022 season with NFTs and Light as the focal point. The digital presentation began with Nyx, the Greek Goddess of Night, where Crociani’s vision depicted the bridge between research in the fields of sustainable fabrics as well as soft French aesthetics.

Chains and rhinestones created

by Les Intéressants sported over hooded shirts, 20th century over-the-necks in embroidered cottons, rhinestone necklaces and oversized tunics, gossamer silk tulle dresses with feathers -- all were penultimate depictions of the evocative light element.

“We’re going very fast, but we like to go slow,” she stated about the collection. The slow26

Ronald van der Kemp:

motion show was amplified by the subtle rhythms of Stefan Hristov Smiff’s compositions and the marble hallways decked with the works of Olafur Eliasson.

The Dutch creative of the eponymous brand known for his visionary revisits on prèt-a-porter pieces took his Spring-Summer 2022 collection to a new level. He deemed it as a “present to the fashion world” made through a rework on the couture cycles in techniques like applique work, collage, hand painting and soldering. Prior to this collection his meeting with the inventive 71-year-old model Pat Cleveland, he stated, was an instant spiritual connection and hence she proved the apt showstopper donning a full-length black coat dress with accentuated hips, made from materials of his previous collections. The peculiar collection, that was an ideal collation of sustainability and couture, was completed with a powerful performance by Cleveland of her original song, “I’m Falling in Love” in a tulle capelet and a petticoat underskirt CLICK TO READ MORE >

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