Hundred + 89th Edition For Team Samir Suhag Shamsheer Ali Kuldeep Singh RathoreNaveen SiddhantSinghSharma HH Sawai Padmanabh Singh Gaurav Sahgal INDIA Make Way
Eduardo Marquez And Equine Art NFTs - the Spirits The Indian Polo Association released a new and improved handicap list of Indian players across the country this season. With the tempo for the final matches of the XII FIP World Cup soaring, Team India is preparing for the Zone E Qualifiers, leaving no stone unturned. After the 5-year hiatus of the tournament and newer faces in the team, LA POLO brings the behind-the-scenes action. Marquez Gallery, an immer sive experience into equestrian art, has some outstanding polo art pieces that capture the lines on the pitch with immense precision. NFTs have caused a stir in the digital world, from the famous Ape to Paris Hilton’s exhaus tive collection. With security improving in this field, Spirit brands have stepped in to create phygital hybrid avenues.
Important HandicapTeamRevisionsIndia In Top Shape
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3 POLO That’s a wrap for the English Season of Sujan Indian Tigers! Leading the unstoppable quartet, Jaisal Sujan Singh exhibited his polo prowess across 25 matches by reaching the semi finals of HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother’s Centenary Cup, Aotea Cup and the Mountbatten Cup. Likewise they successfully reached the quarter finals of the Royal Windsor Cup, Coworth Park Challenge Cup and the Harrison Cup. Image Source: @Instagram_sujanindiantigers
SPOTLIGHT
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With the tempo for the final matches of the XII FIP World Cup soaring, Team India is preparing for the Zone E Qualifiers, leaving no stone unturned. After the 5-year hiatus of the tournament and newer faces in the team, LA POLO brings the behind-the-scenes action. ight teams battle it out for their position to grab the enviable trophy that was once named the Jaipur World Trophy and the zonal qualifiers B and C matches have already played out. Returning after the outstanding 2017 games, Team India has a thrilling lineup of players contesting against the Zone E contenders, Pakistan and Africa.
TEAM INDIA IN TOP SHAPE
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5 TEAM INDIA HH Sawai Padmanabh Singh (Pacho) Shamsheer(+4)Ali (+4) Siddhant Sharma (+4) Kuldeep Singh Rathore (+3) Gaurav Sahgal (+3) Naveen Singh (+3) Samir Suhag- Coach and Manager The impeccable partnership between Shamsheer Ali and Sawai Padmanabh Singh is bound to bring calculated and strategic shots, as seen in their fruitful 19 tournament victories under the same team between 2021-2022. Shamsheer Ali won the maximum tournaments the past year and Gaurav Sahgal
6 ruled the Mumbai Season through effortless teamwork. The players have proven their unmatched merit in the international circuit, taking on matches in Argentina, France and the Britain Season during April- June 2022 and are being coached by the remarkable polo player, Samir Suhag. LA POLO caught up with Suhag who shared how the preparations are going on. For starters, the team has been involved in both a twoweek camp and a singleweek camp in South Africa while their daily routine is intense. “In the mornings, we have been maintaining our physical training, exercises, penalty shots and chukker practices and in the evenings we focus on chukkers. If we can’t do the chukker practice everyday, we resort to alternate day practices.” He continues on the amplified methods as the tournament Spotlight
7 gets closer. “Since September is round the corner, we started recording the sessions for pinpoint accuracy in movement and measuring the strength for the selection of the Indian Team captain which will be announced on AugustSlated24.”for September 10 and 11 in Johannesburg, South Africa the team will first compete with the Pakistan Team. TEAM PAKISTAN Raja Sami (+4) Hamza Mawaz (+4) Ahmed Ali Tiwana (+3) Temur Nadeem (+3) Raja Mikayel Sami (+3) Jalal Arsalan (+3) Brig(R) Bader Uz Zaman –Manager and Coach Spotlight CLICK TO READ MORE >
The
thisacrossIndianhandicapandreleasedAssociationPoloanewimprovedlistofplayersthecountryseason
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Important Handicap Revisions Indian
USPAPEOPLEOfficialPress
9 hrough meticulous observation of performances, the victories and the losses, the Indian Polo Association has released the handicap changes for Season 2022-2023. The Handicap Committee of 2021-2022: • Col. J. S. Virk, VSM (Retd.), Chairman • Col. Nakul Yadav • Uday Kalaan • Shyam Mehta • Cdr. Akhil Sirohi • Digvijay Singh Shekhawat • Hony Secretary Col. Rohit Dagar T
10 People Revisions on the list were followed by some outstanding polo action in the 2021-2022 Jaipur, Jodhpur, Delhi and Mumbai Seasons and some intra-club competitions across the country. A good boost was evident in some younger players’ handicaps such as Hurr Ali (2), Vishwarupe Bajaj (0) and Dino Dhankar (-1) who contributed to victories in the Maharaj Prem Singh Cup and the Southern Command Cup while also carrying out a wipe-out at the Spring Jaipur Season. Other players that saw an increased handicap were Ashley Parekh (-1), Mahakrit Singh (-1), Ashok Chandna (1) and Jayvirsingh Gohil (1). Playing a
11 CLICK TO READ MORE > fantastic game in Gujarat, Manoj Panchal also received an increase from -2 to -1. Many Army officials also received an increase after playing exhaustive intra-club and tournament matches. Maj Abhimanyu Singh Panwar received an increase from -1 to 0 and Maj MS Chouhan received an increase from 0 to 1. Additionally Capt Raumik Sharma’s handicap went from -2 to -1 after wonderful exhibition and tournament matches; Dfr. Sukhjeet Singh also gained a boost from -1 to 0 while Sep. Mukesh Gujjar received an increase from -1 to 0
12 Polo Around the World WADIYAR CUP Starting off the Indian Polo ‘22-‘23 season are the tournaments lined up in time to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day i.e. ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ on Bangalore grounds. Kickstarting the fes tivities was the 4 goal Wadiyar Cup at the ASC Riding and Polo Image Source: @Instagram_lapoloindia Image Source: @Instagram_lapoloindia END OF THE BANGALORE SEASON The 6 goal Gyan Jyoti Cup, second tournament of the season, featured 4 teams going head to head for the Cup between August 15 to August 19. Bangalore crowd favorites like Wasim Akram and Basheer Ali didn’t disappoint leading to the Bangalore Season finale, the Embassy Polo Champion ship Cup played on the last day. Dates Team & Scores 16 Aug Navy - Chennai 2.0 (6) vs. ASC (5) 16 Aug RVC (5) vs. 61st Cavalry (4) 17 Aug 61st Cavalry (7) vs. Navy - Chennai 2.0 (6) 17 Aug ASC (6) vs. RVC (5) 19 Aug - Finals ASC (7) vs. 61st Cavalry (4) 21 Aug - Embassy Polo Championship Cup Embassy Raiders (9) vs. Embassy Chargers (6)
13 THE NATIONAL SHERMAN MEMORIAL Instagram@uspoloassociation Dates Team & Scores Aug 11 61st Cavalry (12) vs. Chennai 2.0 (5.5) Aug 12 ASC (7.5) vs. Navy-RVC (3) Aug 13 (Arena Polo Match) Team Chennai (10) vs. Team Bangalore (8 Aug 14 61st Cavalry (7) vs. ASC (6.5) Polo Around the World Dates RESULTS 30/06/2022 Burdick Equine (19) vs. Arctic Wolf (15) 01/07/2022 Hotels At Sea (23) vs. Piedmont Polo (13) 04/07/2022 Burdick Equine (11) vs. Hotels At Sea (18) Academy between August 11-14 with four teams vying for the cup. A few highlights were the attendance of the Bangalore International School students on Day 2 while the famed Army players took the pitch and the epic Arena Polo action that took place on Day 3.
Black Oak (11) vs. Del Rancho (6) (9) vs. Black Oak (10)
20/07/2022
17/07/2022 Black
Del Rancho (13) vs. Husaria/Glen Farm (12) Oak (10) vs. Husaria/Glen Farm (11) Rancho (10) vs. AVID/Longmeadow (11)
14 Polo Around the World CHAIRMAN’S CUP Instagram@uspoloassociation Dates RESULTS 15/07/2022
17/07/2022 Del
20/07/2022
Husaria/Glen Farm (9) vs. AVID/Longmeadow (10)
22/07/2022 AVID/Longmeadow
27/07/2022 To be played
15 THE INDIAN EMPIRE SHIELD DATE RESULTS 30/06/2022 Bardon (6) vs. Green Gates (7) 30/06/2022 Black Bears (8) vs. SONA Polo (5) 02/07/2022 Bardon (6) vs. White Crane (5) 02/07/2022 Ferne Park (10) vs. Perfect Moment (9) 05/07/2022 Black Bears (9) vs. Emlor Black (10) Image source: Instagram@guardspoloclub Polo Around the World
Altamira K (5) vs. Emlor (6) 06/07/2022
Black Bears (7) vs. Green Gates (3) (Sub14/07/2022Semi-Finals)
Altamira K (7) vs. Ferne Park (8) 12/07/2022
16 Polo Around the World 05/07/2022
Bardon (9) vs. Oscarshamm (7) 09/07/2022
Emlor Black (12) vs. SONA Polo (9) 12/07/2022
Green Gates (6) vs. White Crane (9) 09/07/2022
Emlor (5) vs. Emlor Black (9) (Semi-Finals)14/07/2022
Emlor (12) vs. Ferne Park (7) 08/07/2022
Four Quarters Black (9) vs. SONA Polo (8) 06/07/2022
Ferne Park (2) vs. Four Quarters Black (5) (Final)16/07/2022
Emlor Black (0) vs. Black Bears (0) (Sub-Final)16/07/2022
Green Gates (9) vs. Oscarshamm (8) 07/07/2022
Black Bears (7) vs. Four Quarters Black (6) 12/07/2022
Emlor (10) vs. Perfect Moment (11) (Semi-Finals)14/07/2022
Emlor Black (5) vs. Four Quarters Black (6) 12/07/2022
Bardon (6) vs. Altamira K (7) (Sub14/07/2022Semi-Finals)
Altamira K (0) vs. Four Quarters Black (0)
Altamira K (9) vs. Perfect Moment (8) 07/07/2022
Orcarshamm (13) vs. White Crane (9) 12/07/2022
Harum Scarum (6.5) vs. Honesty (7) 16/07/2022
K2/AMOS (7) vs. Mad Dog/Previse (6) 21/07/2022
Tchogan (9) vs. Maidabino (2) (Semi-Finals)22/07/2022
Maidabino (7) vs. Conosco (6) 20/07/2022
Harum Scarum (8.5) vs. Mad Dog/Previse (6) (Sub22/07/2022Semi-Finals)
Honesty (5)) vs. Shoreline/Limitless (4.5) 17/07/2022
Maidabino (9) vs. K2/AMOS (5) (Sub-Final)24/07/2022
Cadence/Carisbrooke (4) vs. Mad Dog/Previse (5) 21/07/2022
Conosco (6) vs. Tchogan (9) 15/07/2022
Tchogan (7) vs. Shoreline/Limitless (5) (Sub22/07/2022Semi-Finals)
Cadence/Carisbrooke (5) vs. K2/AMOS (3) 15/07/2022
Harum Scarum (4) vs. Shoreline/Limitless (5) 20/07/2022
Honesty (3) vs. Tchogan (8)
17 SOCIAL CUP 2022 DATE RESULTS 12/07/2022
Honesty (7) vs. Cadence/Carisbrooke (4) (Semi-Finals)22/07/2022
@Instagram_guardspoloclubsource:Image Polo Around the World
Maidabino (5) vs. Harum Scarum (4.5) (Final)24/07/2022
18 RURAL (ASSOCIATIONEXHIBITIONOFARGENTINA POLO) SNOW POLO (ARGENTINA)TOUR AAP is all set to organize its Rural Exhibition and celebrations for completing 100 years, which will include a series of events, including exotic tournaments, Triple Crown, the sale of the new clothing line and much more! The best players ahead of Triple Crown in action are Facundo Pires, Poroto Cambiaso, the brothers Barto, Jeta Castagnola, Aguz Imaz and Ina Lalor. Polo Around the World Instagram@ascodepoloInstagram@argentina_polo_tourFor 17 years, the event has been a full dedication towards creating and having a space to enjoy polo and this year is no exception. Argentina has announced its next month’s Polo Tour schedule.
19 COPA DE BRONCE (ALTO HCP) The Ayala Polo club announces its July tournament to be played on the grounds of Sotogrande, Spain on 29 July. The teams and players include: Polo Around the World SAINTE MESME DOS LUNAS PLAYER HCP PLAYER HCP Pelayo Berazadi 4 Joaquin Pittaluga 7 Robert Storm 4 Cruz Heguy 6 Santiago Tanoira 5 Pascual Sainz de Vicuna 5 Juan Guinazu“Tito”Ruiz 7 Luis Domecq 2 Instagram@pololineok
20 stableownhisatEduardo PEOPLE
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MARQUEZEDUARDO AND ART
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Marquez Gallery, an immersive experience into equestrian art, has some outstanding polo art pieces that capture the lines on the pitch with immense precision. ithin the kaleidoscopic history of art, equestrian art stands out for robust figurines of the horse as the muse. Columbian artist Eduardo Marquez captures the grand scale of the scene with exceptional finesse. Many of these works can be seen at the Marquez Gallery. Marquez seamlessly merges the world of art and equestrianism, and sees polo
EQUINE
Eduardo Marquez Gallery
22 People through a body of work that ranges from paintings (oil on linen, graphite, watercolor and charcoal on paper) as well as sculptures of the same. He couldn’t escape the stimulating environment of equine sports. From an early age, it was the invigorating and refreshing locale of Valle del Cauca with its colourful sugarcane plantations, salsa music, Paso Fino horses (known for their smooth gait) and mixture of cultures that had palpable influences on his work. He attended the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, which he claims “was priceless to me as a young painter” as the combination of technical and artistic inputs from extraordinary professors opened his horizons to international art. He painted an outstanding vision of Platinada, the polo horse, in 2020 for Overo Z7 as sent by the
23 legendary player Horacio Heguy a few years back. Expressing his awe for the mare, he states, “Platinada is definitely my favourite and a large piece. Horacio sent me the images and videos a few years back and I was captivated by its look and gestures. I love how the sun comes from the left and right hitting her body. It depicts a perfect day for stick and balling and the position of the mare looking firmly focused on her rider shows how perceptive and intelligent these equine players are.” CLICK TO READ MORE > “Platinada” Oil on Eduardo2020(160cmx140cm)62.99”xlinen55.11”Márquez People
Equines Around The World The FEI World Cham pionships 2022 are making their way to Herning, Denmark with Dressage, Showjumping and Racing veterans getting ready for the matches chalked out from August 6 to 14. Source: @Instagram_fei_global
World Image
One of the hardest and toughest Equestrian courses, the 1000km Mongol Derby sets across the Mongolian Steppe for 13 days in August. This concept began through the path trekked out by Genghis Khan in 1224 where he set up the world’s first long-distance postal transmission system. Using a massive network of horse stations – ‘morin urtuus’ in Mongolian – his hardy messengers could gallop from Kharkhorin to the Caspian sea in a number of days. Now 40 selected riders from across the competed in this long-winded tournament involving the locals through cultural fetes. Riders stayed with Mongolian families, in a tent or under the stars next to the horses when they arrived at each checkpoint and consumed the typical diet reaching the desti nation on August 20 successfully. The adventurous nature of this route was quite the thrill for riders eagerly excited after the slowdown of the past two years. Around the Credits: GW Museum Official Press, Gabrielle Rhoads
@Instagram_fvmaSource:Image
Equus
RETURNS The 58th Edition of the Conference hosted by the Florida Association of Equine Practitioners saw innovative minds of the equine industry come under one roof on 23rd July. “There are opportunities for veterinarians, working to see new technology and new products that we can use for the performance horses to keep them from having arthritis, and so on,” said Asso ciation president Armon Blair Jr. After concluding on 24th July, the conference will return on a larger scale at the World Equestrian Centre in January 2023.
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OCALA MONGOLCONFERENCEEQUINEDERBY
26 ‘NOPE’ AND THE HORSE HORROR GENRE Genius Director and Comedian, Jordan Peele, adds his third installment to his horror flicks with his nuanced take on Horse Acting, a new direction altogether. Film critics and lovers are filled with praise for Peele’s distinct ability to add fear in the everyday rather than the unknown and this new movie, ‘Nope’ takes place entirely on the set of Haywood’s Hollywood Horse Ranch based on an “artistic mishap”. Centered around Eadweard Muy bridge’s ‘The Horse In Motion’ circa 1878 he adds a thriller twist to its background story involving a black jockey and mysterious happenings with horses. This alien-like take on horses may just be the ironic revival of horse cinema altogether. Image Source: @Instagram_nopemovie Equus Around the World
27 KING GEORGE VI AND QUEEN ELIZABETH STAKES, ASCOT Atwist in horse action took place with the surprise victory of Pyledriver and William Muir while last year’s Victor Mishriff placed at a 5-2. “I’ve never lost faith in him. In our second or third year, we had a horse who came here and won a five-furlong race and we were partying in the car park for ages. This is a big, big moment. It means the world to me,” states Muir. The Irish Derby victor, Westover and German Torquator Tasso were unable to keep up with the speed and the determination and ended at the disappointing last and second position respectively. @Instagram_racingtvSource:Image Equus Around the World
28 SPIRITS BlockBarondropsNFTSpirit
NFTs & SPIRITSTHE
NFTs have caused a stir in the digital world, from the famous Ape to Paris Hilton’s exhaustive collection. With security improving in this field, Spirit brands have stepped in to create physical-digital hybrid avenues. N on-fungible tokens can be simply understood as tokens that are blockchain based but cannot be interchanged and are hence unique units of data stored in digital accounts. Another important term to remember here is minting which is publishing your NFT token on the blockchain to make it Althoughpurchasable.digitalart and musicians have taken up this space by storm, liquor companies have found a safe vortex through a famous source: BlockBar. Founded by the Falic Group, owner of Duty-Free Americas, this platform is the hot Spirits
MWalkerJohnnie
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30 and happening marketplace for NFT trading. Dov Falic, Co-founder and CEO of BlockBar explains to LA POLO that the gap of authenticity, transparency and apt storage was what drove them to open this platform. He says: “We sell NFTs directly from luxury wines and spirits brands including Hennessy, Ardbeg, The Dalmore, Johnnie Walker, Remy Martin and Penfolds. Each NFT corresponds to an actual physical bottle, exclusive to Spirits BlockBar, available to purchase with ETH, credit card or wire transfer. Owners can resell, collect, gift, or at any point «burn» their NFT in exchange for the physical bottle, shipped globally from our state-of-the-art storage facility in Singapore.”
CollectionLaliquexDictador
Collection5DecadesOrlinskiRichardxDictador
The centurion Colombian Rum company, Dictador, created quite the wave building on the motive of becoming one of the finest NFT Spirit brands. In hopes of cementing their presence in the art world, after
31 Spirits the fantastic collaboration with Lalique, they worked with contemporary visionary Richard Orlinski to create the first ever wholly encased artwork: the bottle itself. The collaboration took place between Dictador Master Blender Hernan Parra and Orlinski wherein five specific decade casks were chosen: 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996 and 2006 each representing a decade of Orlinski’s life and fabulous career. Each cask was carefully chosen by Parra to represent the flavor without being overbearing and divided into models, RO Platinum, RO Gold, RO Red, RO Blue and RO Black. On special request one could even order the RO Handpainted set made with illustrative graphics of Orlinski’s signature styles. The digital art NFT of one of these bottles achieved a world record price of $100k at Art Basel and now the brand is going full force into creating an NFT Metaverse: Arthouse Dow. “With an exclusive DropsNFTDictador’s
32 Spirits
33 availability of 20,000 members only, each member will receive a one-of-a-kind digital art NFT of a bottle relief depicting a city/city district for instance, the Paris arrondissement, New York Borough or a whole city which has the potential to increase the value,” says Ken Grier, Creative Director of Macallan Distillers and consultant to Dictador Rum. On the winery front, the market has seen the rise of allNFT wine as pioneered by the brand Hello Fam. The brand made its grand entrance with two blends from Israel’s highest rated winery, Jezreel Valley alongside the digital asset. It was founded by Jacob Ner-David founder of Vinsent, Adam Ghahramani who runs the NFT community and collection, Untamed Elephants and Tiffany Wong, a designer with immense acumen in wine and spirit Droppingbrands.hints on a few prospective ventures Adam adds, “We love the idea of personalizing wine with your NFTs, for example if you own an Untamed Elephant NFT or Bored Ape you can create a wine based on it with NFT on the label. Likewise as we grow we’d like to leverage the network of Vinsent’s 100+ wineries for future drops.” CLICK TO READ MORE >
Hello Fam Grape Fam NFT
Spirits
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