Pride of Equestrians

Hundred + 90th Edition

WHEN THE HEAD IS HELD HIGH

Indian equestrians have provided phenomenal performances on international turf despite the challenges.

When The Head Is Held High

Indian equestrians have provided phenomenal performances on international turf despite the challenges

The Arabian Horse

Rated as among the finest breed, these horses have been venerated since antiquity.

Polo bids adieu to Britain’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II

After 95 years of an extraordinary life dedicated to duty towards the citizens of the UK, and countless charities, polo patron Queen Elizabeth II passed away on 8 Sep. 2022.

Autumnal Bespoke

With the cozy fall foliage around the corner, here’s how to spice up your space!

LA POLO explores bespoke furniture that’s tailored to your needs and aspirations.

Achievers Polo Team is on a roll

Kicking it with back to back victories at Jaipur’s low goal tournaments: Army CDR Polo Championship and Sapta Shakti Championship, they are now eyeing the hat-trick for the 2022 Season. The quartets of Sahara Warriors and Achievers ASC made a phenomenal comeback to the Pink City.

WHEN THE HEAD IS HELD HIGH

Indian equestrians have provided phenomenal performances on international turf despite the challenges as seen in the 2022 World Equestrian Championship. LA POLO converses with debonair dressage stars Shruti Vora and Anush Aggarwalla on their journey of creating history with every gallop.

n Herning, Denmark from August 6-14, the crowd at the Stutteri Ask Stadium roared as the dressage championships rolled around. Two familiar names atop saddles etched with the bright tricolour flag of India left everyone astonished by being the first Indians to compete in the Federation of International Equestrian’s World

Championships under the individual dressage rider category. First, Shruti Vora, bounced back, after winning the second position at the Asian Games in 2019 by scoring an average of 64.534% with her horse Astride gaining the 33rd position at the quadrennial globally. She tells LA POLO: “It is a very proud moment for me personally and professionally wherein I could represent India and show the international community that

we have what it takes to participate at the highest level of dressage.”

Although her incredible performance was commended by all judges, this was a battle for her. After a 14-year hiatus, she only returned to professional competitions a decade back and won the 8th position at the Asian Games in 2014 after four years of practice. The fitness level demanded a thorough

practice. Taking up the highest level for dressage like any sport requires unforgivable dedication, determination, discipline and commitment to purpose. She further elucidates on her structured regime: “In this sport one is very dependent on the horse and the utmost compatibility and understanding between the rider and horse is essential. Hence, both on and off the horse (in the stables and post training sessions) one needs to be in complete sync. Typically in equestrian sports one needs at least 6-7 hours with the saddle in a day so that the human body perfects that

art.” Fluid lines and seamless structure are requisites for higher scores in dressage.

Remarking that she was introduced to horses at the age of 3 in the Kolkata Race Course and encouraged by her family to take it up as a sport (considering the male domination at the time) is what she deems helps her stay on track. However, there is some work required within the Indian circuit to develop this into a full-fledged system. She opens up: “From India’s perspective, we need to have a more proactive and virile ecosystem that includes the

National Federation and the governing bodies nurturing talent from a very young age and creating the requisite infrastructure for this talent to train and thrive. We also need to engage with the international bodies that have mastered the art in their respective countries and have made it a robust sporting industry to assist us in creating the same in India. Places like Denmark, Germany and England can be espoused in that regard for their systems.”

Another player, Anush Aggarwalla stole the spotlight

as the youngest participant within this category and shared India’s historic participation with Shruti. “I’m really proud to be the one who achieved this feat. It’s a great feeling walking into a competition like this against the best equestrians around the world. I have been training in Germany for the past 5 years with my coach, Hubertus Schmidt. I feel humbled to even think that, in the smallest of ways, I have become linked to the glorious history of German Equestrian,” he tells LA POLO. He won the 28th position at the quadrennial competition and if he

Cover Story

maintains the position, will qualify for the Grand Prix special where he could compete to achieve the title Individual Dressage World Champion. Achieved alongside his horse Sir Caramello OLD with an average of 66.832% he competed against Isabelle Herth of Germany who has the world record of winning 12

Olympic medals (7 gold and 5 silver) and being a six-time Olympian. At the same time the equestrian is being trained by Hubertus Schmidt who himself won an Olympic gold medallist (2004 Athens), team gold medallist at the 2006 World Championships and team gold and individual silver medalist at the 2006 European Championships.

Recently at Ludwigsburg, Germany host to the CDI1* Grand Prix Championships from September 22-25, Divyakriti Singh Rathore marked a pivotal victory. Atop her Dancier mare Donna Wetter she became the first Indian individual dressage

rider to achieve the qualifying score for the 2022 Asian Games. Known for her unbridled grasp of the polo pitch and dressage, the equestrian all-star did so with 66%.

Divyakriti Rathore Image Source: LL Foto

The Arabian Horse

Rated as among the finest breed, these horses have been venerated since antiquity.

audi Arabia has had a significant historic impact as a former hub of commerce, as it was halfway between Mesopotamia and the Nile River Valley, two major centres of civilization. Caravan routes became

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commerce arteries that made life possible on the sparsely populated peninsula, and trade was essential to the region’s growth.

Arabian horses have historically been transported throughout the globe through trade and war. Nearly every breed of riding horse in existence today traces ancestry from the Arabian horse. It is distinguished by elegant movement, athletic endurance, and the ability to flourish in hot and dry climates.

Ali al-Ghabban, vice-chairman, Department of Museums and Antiquities, said at a news conference: “Horses were

domesticated in the Arabian Peninsula for the first time more than 9,000 years ago, though previous studies estimated the domestication of horses in Central Asia dating back to 5,000 years.”

The Arabian horse has a unique head form and a high tail carriage. It is one of the oldest breeds with 9000-year-old archaeological finds in the Middle East. Paleogenomic data suggests that ancient Persian lineages played a role in the early evolution of contemporary European horse breeds. The Bedouin tribes revered these

Polo Around the World

TRIPLE CROWN POLO TOURNAMENT

The Triple Crown is due to start on Tuesday September 27, with the Tortugas Open, and will come to an end on Friday December 2, with the much anticipated championship match of the Argentine Open, at Palermo.

The fixture of the Hurlingham Open will be set in accordance with the teams final standings in the Tortugas Open. Meanwhile, with regards to the Argentine Open, La Dolfina and Ellerstina are both placed within League B, and La Natividad, current title holders of the Hurlingham

Dates Name Leagues

Sept 27 - Oct 8 82nd TORTUGAS OPEN

Oct 11-29 129th. HURLING HAM OPEN

Open and the Argentine Open, are the top seeded within League A. Two more teams will be hired to play Palermo, following the qualification tournament.

Nov 1 -Dec 2 129th. ARGENTINE OPEN

LEAGUE A: La Natividad, La Dolfina, La Ensenada RS Murus Sanctus, La Irenita Clinova.

LEAGUE B: Ellerstina, La Irenita, La Dolfina II, La Irenita G Squared.

ZONA A: Tortugas Open winner, Loser of the semifinal against the finalist of the Tortugas Open, Runner up Sarmiento Cup, Loser of the semifinal against the winner of the Sarmiento Cup.

LEAGUE B: Runner up Tortugas Open, Runner up semifinal against the winner of the Tortugas Open, Winner Sarmiento Cup, Runner up semifinal Sarmiento Cup.

LEAGUE A: La Natividad, La Irenita, La Ensenada RS Murus Sanctus, La Irenita G Squared, Qualified League A.

LEAGUE B: Ellerstina, La Dolfina, La Dolfi na II, La Irenita Clinova, Qualified League B

Source: @Instagram_asocdepolo

Polo Around the World

ARMY CDR POLO CHAMPIONSHIP

Adding to the flame of the low goal tournaments, the 8 goal Army CDR Polo Championship played out between September 14 to 18 despite the damp weather

Dates Team & Scores

14 September Sahara Warriors (11) Vs. Krishna Polo (6 ½)

14 September Chandna Carysil (8) Vs. V Polo (7)

15 September V Polo (10) vs. 61 Cavalry (4)

16 September Sahara Warriors (10) Vs. Krishna Polo (3.5)

17September Chandna Carysil (8) Vs. 61 Cavalry (3)

18September Sahara Warriors (7) Vs. Chandna Carysil (6)

HQ 61 SUB- AREA POLO CHAMPIONSHIP

The thrilling HQ 61 Sub-area Polo Championship panned out from 6th september to 11th september. The details are as follows:

Date

06 September 2022

Team and Scores

Chandna Carysil (11) Vs Underdogs (6)

07 September 2022 Achievers ASC (7) Vs Topchi (3 ½)

07 September 2022 V Polo cavalry 61 Vs Bedla Polo

08 September 2022 Achievers ASC (9) Vs Underdogs (6)

08 September 2022 Black Bucks (6) Vs Bedla Polo (4)

08 September 2022 Chandna Carysil (11) Vs Topchi (5 ½)

09 September 2022 Achievers ASC (7) Vs RVC

10 September 2022 Black Bucks (9) Vs Achievers ASC (6 ½)

10 September 2022 Chandna Carysil (5) Vs Bedla polo (6)

11 September 2022 Bedla Polo (7) Vs. Achievers ASC (6)

Polo

the World

NYTS CHAMPIONSHIP

Concluding an exceptional weekend of youth polo at La Herradura Polo Club (Santa Ynez, California), Western (Sebastian Celis, Daniel Miranda, Ryan Kerley*, Piers Bossom) was in search of their first Cecil Smith Cup against Southeast (Harrison Reicher, Josh Escapite, Aiden Meeker, Joaquin Vilgre La Madrid) in the National Youth Tournament Series Championship (NYTS) final on Sunday, September 11. Charging out of the opening throw-in, Western scored the first seven goals of the match and never looked back to claim the 9-5.5 victory and bring the Cecil Smith Cup to the west coast for the first time in the tournament’s decade long history. As the official apparel sup plier of the NYTS Championship weekend, U.S. Polo Assn. outfitted the players with whites and t-shirts and provided gear bags and saddlebags as prizes. After capturing a decisive 8-3 win against Central (Joe Bob Lequerica, Shane Metternick, Lance Stefanakis, Landen Daniels), Western displayed a home turf confidence that came from familiarity with their horses.

Image Source: @Instagram_uspoloassociation

Polo Around the World

2022 NYTS GIRLS’ CHAMPIONSHIP

The National Youth Tournament Series (NTYS) Girls’ Champi onship culminated in a matchup between Electric Charge (Victoria Picha, Winifred Branscum, Olivia Reynolds, Micaela Saracco) and Ever Ready (Francesca Felhaber, Sophia DeAngelis, Aurora Knox, Robyn Leitner) at the picturesque La Herradura Polo Club in Santa Ynez, California, on Sunday, September 11.

Date

Source: www.uspolo.org

SAPTA SHAKTI POLO CHAMPIONSHIP 2022

The The Sapta Shakti Polo tournament is planned to pan out from 5th to 15th september. Here are the match details:

Team & Scores

5 September Underdogs (4 ½) Vs 61 Cavalry (12)

9 September ASC Achievers (7) Vs RVC Polo (1 ½)

10 September Salvo (6 ½) Vs Underdogs ( 5)

12 September Salvo (3 ½) Vs 61 Cavalry (9) RVC Polo (4 ½) Vs ASC Achievers (8)

13 September Salvo Vs (4 ½)ASC Achievers (7) 61 Cavalry (9) Vs RVC Polo (2 ½)

19 September ASC Achievers (4) Vs 61 Cavalry (6)

Images Source: Public Domain, Creative Commons

POLO WORLD MOURNS THE LOSS OF BRITAIN’S LONGEST REIGNING

MONARCH

After more than seven decades of service, and more than 95 years of an extraordinary life dedicated to duty towards the citizens of the UK, and countless charities, polo patron Queen Elizabeth II passed away on 8 September 2022 at her beloved country residence, Balmoral Castle.

The world is saddened, and is mourning for the loss of the longest reigning monarch of the UK. She was 25 when she ascended the British throne after her loving father, King George VI, succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 56.

The Queen contributed greatly to the universe of Polo and was a great supporter of the Royal Sport where she was papped many times donning her famous polo looks with bright colourful skirts, while

gloves and majestic pearls. The sport of polo has been a part of the Royal Family’s history dating back many generations, from the Queen Mother to Princess Charlotte.

Her love affair with horses and riding dates back to her childhood when the Queen Mother would take her to Polo matches, which passed down to her son King Charles.

Following his mother’s death, King Charles said in a statement: ‘The death of my beloved mother, Her Majesty

The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.” The Queen and her son, now King Charles III of The UK shared the love for riding; he would go on to play

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Equines Around The World

As the world mourns the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, West Newton, a 6-year old gelding, mare of the Queen’s Prize wins a race at Pimlico Race Course two days after her sad demise.

Source: @Instagram_deniselorainne

Source:

FEI PRATONI 2022

Hosted by Rocca di Pappa, Pratoni del Vivaro, Rome, the FEI Global Eventing and Driving Championships are slated for September 15 to 25. Post the successful Individual Dressage championships, 16 nations and 39 athletes compete for the Driving World Championships with 6 athletes solely from Hungary, Germany and the Neth erlands. Among the lot are Australian Boyd Exell (Ranked no. 1 Worldwide), American Chester Webber (2018 WEG Team Gold and Individual Silver) and Netherland’s FEI World Cup Champion Bram Chardon. For the 15th Edition of the Eventing Championships, 90 horse and athlete combinations from 27 countries will take the venue. Under this 16 nations will be fielding teams (3 or more riders) and 11 nations will be fielding individual competitors involving India’s Fouaad Mirza and his horse Seigneur Medicott. Likewise are rising stars of Japan, Lithuania and Switzerland, and the Olympic silver and bronze medallists Australia and France each providing a tough competition worthy of the 10-year wait for Rome.

APPLE WATCH HERMES

The Apple Watch Series 8 was horseman ship inspired including the watch face, strap and AirTag. The watch face presented bold colours that switched to the mood of the wearer with a cheeky horse head and eyes that opened at each movement. At 10 past 10, the handles become a harness on the horse’s face who occasionally winks as the day passes. The strap is an ode to the 19th Century Theirry Hermes hand-stitched saddles while the AirTag in calfskin is embossed with a house, bicycle or boat. Launched with the latest IPhone model, it’s a sleek homage to Hermes’ history and their close collaboration since 2015.

ROLEX GRAND SLAM CSIO SPRUCE MEADOWS MASTERS TOURNAMENT

The revered title unites 4 of the major Show Jumping tournaments in a unique initiative: the CSIO Aachen (World Equestrian Festival), CHI Geneva, Dutch Masters and the CSIO Spruce Meadows. After consecutive contests and victories, the CSIO Spruce Meadows

CP International was announced on September 11 as Daniel Duesser and his horse Killer Queen VDM. Representing Germany he is in live contention with CHIO Aanchen 2022 Victor, Geritt Neiberg and CHI Geneva 2021 Victor, Martin Fuchs.

J&K AND THE HORSE SPORTS REVIVAL

Alongside the renaissance of polo that took place, Jammu and Kashmir also celebrated the Gujjar Bakarwal Mela with a horse race under the aegis of the Army. The Army spokesperson said: “Tthe aim was to create a fraternity between the nomadic tribes, the social stream of Bhaderwah and the Indian Army–in belongingness and togetherness.” The Public Relations Unit of Defence added: “Around 100 riders on traditionally decorated horses and a gathering of 770 Gujjars and Bakarwals were present.” Apart from army officials, Mohd Sadiq Khan, ASI, Thanala, Irsad Ahmed, Forest Officer, Thanala, Mohd Hafij, Forest Officer, and various personalities from Bhader wah administration were present on the occasion. Likewise 100+ horse riders from Seoj, Chattargali, Gandoh, Jai Ghati, and Bhalla area participated in the Horse Race on August 30th.

AUTUMNAL SPECIAL: BESPOKE INTERIORS

With the cozy fall foliage around the corner, here’s how to spice up your space! LA POLO explores bespoke furniture that’s tailored to your needs and aspirations.

The interior of your house should have a piece of you in every corner. It should reflect your own unique personality as much as possible. Unfortunately, that is hard to achieve with collective furniture pieces that are mass produced and can be owned by anyone. Bespoke furniture is the solution. Having custom made pieces of furniture, carved with angles and intricate details with only your needs in mind, is a form of absolute luxury. Let’s deep dive into a few brands that can help you achieve the home interiors of your dream.

THE WORKS INTERIOR

The Delhi-based interior design business, The Works Interiors aspires to “create beautiful bespoke furniture pieces that add to the client’s larger narrative and potentially become heirloom pieces,” says the Creative Director of the studio, Devika Khosla.

With over 25 years of experience in interior design, Devika has time and again mentioned the luxury of owning bespoke furniture. “Customizing furniture to one’s needs and desires by adept craftsmen is indeed a luxury. Not only does the furniture last decades, but it also holds a sentimental value due to personalisation.”

According to Devika, when it comes to bespoke furniture, “One doesn’t have to settle until they are satisfied.”

TWI is a pioneer of visionary design, with the mission to create tailor-made timeless pieces that capture the essence and needs of the clients, are environmentally sound and sustainable, and elevate the lifestyle of the users.

THE WAVE CONSOLE

Built for a family of avid scuba drivers, and inspired by the waves and surfboards, the console is a symbol of the ups and downs of life and a tangible reminder of the mighty ocean.

VO LIVING

Looking for unique furniture that screams ‘YOU’, but don’t know what you want?

VO Living has you covered. An up-and-coming and speedily progressing design

studio, with a flagship showroom at Jangpura, New Delhi, VO Living brings to you a one-of-a-kind retail experience, with hand-picked and curated pieces that are bespoke as well as eclectic in nature. The Director, Priyanka Singh, has business in her brains and carries design in her heart. “Bespoke

goods draw attention to detail and define the individual’s requirements and personal style. Its exclusiveness makes it unique and valuable,” says Priyanka.

VO Living believes in natureinspired designs, with natural elements like raw wood, sustainable fabrics like

linen and ecru colours. It aims to bring to you historically inspired pieces that are elegant, eco-friendly, durable, comfortable and yet ultimately luxurious. “Sustainability is the future!”

THE WING CHAIR

An amalgamation of comfort and style, The Wing Chair

has armrests and a strong back support and promises hygge and class. That is why it is a classic.

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