from the Publisher
4
Polo Times, February 2022
2022 will be the 45th anniversary The BMW NZ Polo Open
BMW NZ Polo Open
The 45th anniversary of New Zealand’s famous polo event, The BMW NZ Polo Open, will take place on Sunday 20 February at Auckland Polo Club in Clevedon. This year sees six teams competing in the competition and while the 2022 event will be without any international players due to COVID, the calibre of the teams will be particularly competitive promising to deliver an exhilarating showcase of the best in New Zealand polo. For the first time since the event was founded, two South Islanders will each captain a team, Pete Dormer and George Cooper-Dixon; Dormer captained the NZ Polo Open winning team in 2016. To complement the action on the field, there will be plenty of exceptional hospitality and side-line action with an exciting new twist on Fashion at the Polo. The ‘Horsepower’ race between a BMW and a polo pony will be sure to entertain just before the main polo match.
Photograph by Matias Callejo
Nick Hine, Publisher
Photograph by NZ Polo Open
Well, what a difference two months makes. Whilst the previous issue was published in the midst of winter’s doom, gloom and global uncertainty surrounding the COVID situation, as this issue is arriving with our readers, we have cause for real optimism. ‘The shortest day’ is already some way behind us; the first signs of spring are upon us with the first daffodils valiantly emerging from the cold earth; the UK arena season is in full swing; whilst finally, public health restrictions have all but been removed across the entire country, with masks, social distancing and forced self-isolation no longer on everyone’s minds. 2020 and 2021 were two very challenging years for most of us and as the oldest polo publication in the world, on behalf of the Polo Times team, I would like to thank every reader who has not only contributed over the years, but contacted me with thoughts, ideas and inspiration – we could not have done it without you. As many people religiously keep their old copies going back decades, what really will people think when reading old back issues of Polo Times, (or any publication for that matter), in years to come… I guess, the same as when one reads those journals of 104 years ago when Spanish flu ran rampant as a deadly global influenza pandemic. There are also similarities in that we still have global powers jostling for the limelight on the world centre stage. With fuel prices – particularly gas – rocketing skywards as a direct consequence of the tensions, there will be no winners. Therefore, we must all hope and pray that the posturing which is currently being metered out will not see tensions escalate further, but rather, that diplomacy will be the order of the day. Being part of the polo community means many things, to many people. For most of us, it is overwhelmingly, the camaraderie which goes with enjoying similar things in life, with like-minded individuals. It really does not seem to matter what level of polo you play, new friendships are made, regardless of whether you are playing the high goal, or club chukkas. So, with ponies shortly coming back into work for the eagerly awaited 2022 polo season, here’s to friends of old meeting up again and to new acquaintances soon to be made.
News
Bel Polo, winners of The President’s Cup
Bel Polo Team Secure President’s Cup
Sunday 12 December saw Bel Polo Team (Sebastián Merlos, Edward Banner, Henry Lunn & Santos Merlos) secure the inaugural Presidents Cup at the Campo Argentino de Polo, in Palermo. Eight teams up to 14 goals competed in the tournament, with each date of play held at a different venue which included the Tortugas Country Club, the Alfredo Lalor Estate and the Jockey Club of San Isidro. www.polotimes.co.uk
