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Volume 20 • Issue 1 • January/February 2015 • £6.50

LA DOLFINA Argentine Open triumph

www.polotimes.co.uk

NEW! Club Focus Arena Facts and Figures

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Contents

Contacts Publisher Nick Hine publisher@polotimes.co.uk

What’s inside...

January/February 2015

Production Editor & Group Editor in Chief Richenda Hine richenda@polotimes.co.uk Commissioning Editor Charley Larcombe charley@polotimes.co.uk

Polo Reporter & Researcher

News

Tilda Woodd tilda@polotimes.co.uk

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Advertising Manager

Comment

Ben Bovill ben@polotimes.co.uk

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All the latest news HPA news Your views: Letters

Features Club Liaison & News Manager Lucy Wilson lucy@polotimes.co.uk Principal Design James Morgan

18 22 38

Reports 30 36

Additional Design Tony Ruddy

Financial Controller

Richard Hine renewals@polotimes.co.uk

58 54

Contact details Hill Farm Studios, Wainlodes Lane, Bishops Norton, Glos, GL2 9LN Tel: 01452 730770 email:admin@polotimes.co.uk

www.polotimes.co.uk

© Polo Times Limited 2015 and Database Right 2015 Polo Times Limited holds the copyright & database right to the information it publishes in Polo Times and on the Polo Times website. No content may be reproduced or distributed without the consent of the Publisher. ‘Polo Times’ is the trade mark of Polo Times Limited. ISSN 1461-4685

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Pony Club update and round up of university polo The Big Picture

Knowledge

Contributors

Katherine Andrews, Nicola Bell, Stephen Biddlecombe, Sebastian Dawnay, Lorna Edgar, Alice Gipps, Dominic James, Tony Ramirez, Charles Whittington

An international round up of recent all-female polo tournaments

Youth Polo 50

Subscription Sales

Cover Story: The Argentine Open HPA Christmas National Club Championships

Women’s Polo 46

Angie Clark accounts@polotimes.co.uk

Cover Story: Interview with FIP President Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers Cover Story: Arena facts and figures Cover Story: New! Club Focus

60 62 64

Know your horse: the importance of correct vaccination and nutrition Pony running reports Umpire’s corner with Sebastian Dawnay Equipment focus: bits

Sidelines 66 68 74 78 80

Gossip: don’t be the last to know Social pages What’s on in February Polo Times Marketplace Passions: Pablo MacDonough

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Call on +44 (0)1452 730 770 Subscribe online: www.polotimes.co.uk Cover photograph: David ‘Pelon’ Stirling, who received the MVP Award in The Argentine Open Final, helps La Dolfina to victory By © Dominic James Photography, www.dominic-james.com

Polo Times, January / February 2015

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Metropolitan Polo Club An Exceptionally Refined World at Your Service www.metropolitanpoloclub.com Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club, 16 Hai Tai Hua Ke Jiu Lu, Bin Hai Gao Xin Qu, Tianjin 30384, China.

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Locations – 25 de Mayo & Pilar

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Polo Holidays

Polo School & Clinics

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from the Publisher Welcome to the January/February issue of Polo Times in which we bring together the very best of what’s been happening from all corners of the polo-playing globe including the new Club Focus pages which allow the spotlight to be shone at Club level, both at home and internationally.

The report on the historic Argentine Open Final, in which La Dolfina defeated Ellerstina, demonstrates that it was a game not only played between the world’s most skilful players, but also perhaps the most tactical. A staggering 49 penalties were awarded – proving, if nothing else, that there’s merit in the saying, “if you are not making the odd foul, then you are not trying!”

This issue’s HPA News pages provide an overview of what is new for the 2015/16 season – there are a number of developments highlighted, most notably new recommendations and guidelines on the emotive subject of player, (and groom), hat safety.

2015 sees a number of birthdays in polo, perhaps most notably, Guards Polo Club celebrating its 60th anniversary and Polo Times its 20th anniversary. GPC have a number of festivities planned, whilst we are planning a number of initiatives.

From our sponsorship of the England Team’s visit to Manipur in November ‘14, (see next month’s issue for a full report), the Polo Times 2015 Best Playing Pony Series, to the Polo Times Summer 20th birthday party… read the weekly e-Newsletter for our Save The Date and much more – we very much look forward to seeing you at polo this Summer.

Have fun and play safe.

Nick Hine

News

Australian professional Lance Shepherd has passed away AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL LANCE Shepherd has sadly passed away following a serious fall he had last year in Western Australia. Lance began his polo career working for Sinclair Hill before moving to Ellerstina. In 1998 he spent time at Bobby Aguirre’s Timor Station, before heading to Queensland for several years where he worked with Ron Wanless and Mike King.

A former member of Binfield Heath Polo Club here in the UK, Lance gained a handicap of 5 goals. Lance was husband to Linda, father to Ashleigh and James, who is currently based at Garangula Polo Club, and stepfather to 6 goaler Nacho Gonzalez. His funeral was held on Monday 12 January in Murrurundi, Australia.

Australian showcase polo is on the up A GOLF COURSE on Tasmania’s north-east coast is preparing to host the state’s first professional polo match. Barnbougle Lost Farm golf course near Bridport is to unveil its purpose-built polo field on the Australia Day weekend with an event set to see three past or present Australian polo team captains playing in the inaugural tournament. Barely ten days into the New Year, The Jeep Portsea Polo has already set itself up as hard to beat, attracting 6,000 of Melbourne’s finest fashionistas on Saturday 10 January at Point Neapean Park.

Guards Polo Club Vice President dies GUARDS POLO CLUB Vice President, The 8th Duke of Wellington Brg. Arthur Wellesley, passed away on Wednesday 31 December aged 99. A keen champion of the Club throughout the past six decades, His Grace was in fact one of the Club’s founding players. Despite retiring from the game some years ago, he continued to take a keen interest in the sport at Smith’s Lawn, regularly attending matches including presenting his own Duke of Wellington Trophy every August. Neil Hobday tells Polo Times, “Guards Polo Club is deeply saddened to have lost such a strong supporter of the Club. Not only was the Duke of Wellington a founding member and our first Chairman in 1955, but also he remained an interested and active member of the Club for the next 59 years. He always supported the Duke of Wellington Trophy, created in his honour, even presenting the prizes as recently as last summer. His death is particularly untimely for us as he will not now be part of our 60th anniversary celebrations, but his passion for the game and this Club in particular will be remembered by us this year and so in many more years to come.”

The details for the memorial service have just been published. The service will be held at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London, at noon on Tuesday 12 May. If you would like to attend please write to the Secretary, Apsley House, London W1J 7NT, enclosing a stamped addressed envelope.

Liza Crisp unwell

FIP Update

AS WE GO to press, we have heard that Liza Crisp, widow of the late John 'Buff' Crisp, former Pony Club Polo Chairman and HPA Secretary is unwell. During a recent trip to Kenya, Liza became ill and is currently recovering at home in Oxfordshire.

“Liza helped myself and countless other pony club players over her many years in charge of the Bicester Pony Club.

Through her kindly stewardship and encouragement, many went on to become leading British polo players. The team at Polo Times send Liza and her family, our best wishes.”

Polo Times’ Nick Hine commented.

MAIN SPONSOR RANGE Rover and Official Supplier La Martina have been confirmed for The 2015 FIP World Cup in Santiago, Chile. The teams are due to arrive on 20 March, with draws for the horses to be done on the 21 – 22 March and the first round of games to start the following day.

Also, 12 teams have been confirmed for The FIP Snow Polo World Cup in Tianjin, China, due to be played between January 28 – 2 February: Argentina, USA, England, Hong Kong, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Canada, France, Spain, New Zealand and Peru. To read more about FIP plans for the future please turn to page 18 for our interview with Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers.

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2015_BP

Explore the world with us.

ABU DHABI | DUBAI | MOROCCO | USA GREAT BRITAIN | CHINA | AUSTRALIA NIHIWATU | MEXICO | INDIA To apply for an invitation to attend a British Polo Day please call +44 1242 547 895, alternatively email info@britishpoloday.com for more information. www.britishpoloday.com

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News

PIPA International Snow Polo Championship England will face the home side at Kihikihi Tour to start in Seefeld, Austria Polo Club for New Zealand Test Match

Lorenzini Titanium Bits now available at Tally Ho Farm

Lorenzini Titanium Cheltenham jointed gag

LORENZINI MAY BE short on experience in the equine market. However they have been working with Shipping and Aircraft for over 40 years! Titanium is, by nature, covered by a layer of dioxide, which destroys bacteria with great power, and is effective also against high polluting agents. The specific characteristics of this metal are: Strength, lightness, resistance to damage, bio-compatible and non magnetic with very low heat conduction. Being nonmagnetic offers greater protection from the Earth’s magnetic field, which is responsible for most dysfunctional behaviour, not only in us, but also our animals. Titanium is the only metal among 11,000 alloys and non-alloys known thus far to be completely bio-compatible with the human body.Lorenzini bits are now available at Tally Ho Farm in store or Online.

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Photography courtesy of Audi

Photography courtesy of PIPA

FOLLOWING ON FROM the 2014 event, the Polo Instructors’ and Players’ Association (PIPA) have made their Snow Polo Championship Tour even bigger and better for their second year. Polo Times are delighted to announce their support and Media Partnership of the event series. The Olympic region of Seefeld, which was also the location for the Winter Olympics in 1964, 1976 and the Winter Youth Games in 2012, will host the opening of the 2015 tour, with a Action from the 2014 PIPA Snow Polo Championship Tour further two more seasons in 2016 and 2017 also secured in the same location. The tour uses a smaller arena-sized snow-field, with two aside teams for fast, action-packed games. The four teams set to play are Austria, England, Germany and Slovakia. The next confirmed date in the tour diary includes Bad Gastein in Austria from February 27 – 1 March and Groeden/ Wolkenstein in Italy taking place between 13 – 15 March. There are however, two unconfirmed dates that are being considered, the 6 – 8 February and/or the 13 – 15 February in either France or Switzerland. Seefeld Snow Polo Championships Teams include Austria (5): Klarina Pilcher (2) and Uwe Seebacher (3); England (6): Marc Aberle (1) and Tim Ward (5); Germany (4): Chris von Eupen (2) and Joe Reinhard (2) and Slovakia (3): Alexandra Bencikova (1) and Ladislav Agardi (2).

James Beim will play for England at The International Polo Day against New Zealand

ON SATURDAY 7 February, Kihikihi Polo Club will host the annual International Polo Day, pitting a visiting England side against an experienced home team. Taking to the Nga Rakau Polo Ground at the North Island Club in the distinctive England shirts, will be Tom Morley (6), Max Charlton (7) and James Harper (6). The line-up will be led by recently appointed England Captain, James Beim (7); his first International since former Captain, Luke Tomlinson made the announcement to step down in July last year. The New Zealand side will include John Paul Clarkin – at 8 goals, the highest handicapped player on the field – Simon Keyte (6) and brothers, Craig (6) and Tommy Wilson (7).

A Ladies Test Match between England and New Zealand will also be played earlier in the afternoon, turn to page 46 to read about the line-up in our Ladies Polo section.

www.polotimes.co.uk

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News

Brits take centre stage on the lake of St. Moritz

News in brief AEPC Hickstead The International Test Match for The Bryan Morrison Trophy has been confirmed as England vs. Ireland. The warm-up game will see a second Irish team take on Ricky Cooper’s Clogau Wales Polo Team.

Sandbanks Beach Polo launches new website The annual event in Dorset will be held on 10 – 11 July with further details available on their new website. Tickets are now on sale for the event starting at £25 per head. Go to www.sandpolo.com for further information.

The Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly The French Club is set to start their spring season with a trilogy of 12 goal tournaments; The PGH Cup, Charity Cup and Laverine-Elie de Rothschild Cup. The French Open is also scheduled for the first three weeks of September 2015.

Chris Hyde in the thick of the action in the thrilling 2014 Snow Polo World Cup Final

AS WE GO to press The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz, which takes place from January 30 – 1 February, gets underway, welcoming a host of great players from seven nations onto the frozen lake in the Engadine Valley. As always there is a strong British contingent. Polo Times and The Polo Magazine are Media Partners and will be reporting from the historic resort.

Team Cartier: Max Charlton (7), Chris Hyde (6), Jamie Morrison (3) and Jonathan Munro Ford (0) – who, following their teams’ victories in 2013 and 2014 – will be looking to secure a hat-trick in winning the tournament.

Trois Pommes: Tutti Wolfensberger (1), Cedric Schweri (0), Pepe Riglos (6) and Piki Diaz Alberdi (7).

BMW: Rommy Gianni (1), Paolo Netzsch (1), Dario Musso (7) and Lucas Labat (6). Badrutt’s Palace Hotel: Richard Fagan (1), Max Hutchinson (3), Richard Le Poer (6) and James Harper (6).

Polopermits specialise in work related immigration in the polo industry.

IMMIGRATION For a complete service for polo players, grooms, managers and coaches coming to the UK. www.polotimes.co.uk

PAYROLL

Burningfold Polo Centre Polo Manager Gary Jones is to leave Burningfold Polo Centre. He has been part of the Club for the last nine years and was instrumental in setting up and running the Club alongside the Muddle family. Gary has begun his new post as Polo Manager at Hurtwood Park Polo Club.

French Arena Polo Tour kicks off The first Arena Polo Tour in France began back in November at the Salon du Cheval de Paris in front of the crowds at the annual horse show at the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte. The tour includes four dates in total ending on 14 – 15 March.

Megève Snow Polo Masters At the time of going to press, a UK team line-up of Michael Henderson, Sebastian Dawnay and Richard Thomas will be playing at the 20th edition of the event.

New Forest Polo Club The Polo Office have had a change of staff with Lloyd Ellis and Kim Davies stepping down for an all-lady line-up of Daisy White as Polo Secretary and Laura Elliot as Polo Manager for the forthcoming summer season.

Contact: Tel: Fax: email:

Amber Knight – Senior Advisor +44 (0)1798 869496 +44 (0)1798 869497 info@polopermits.co.uk www.polopermits.co.uk

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News

Ladies Re-united

Aiming High RUGBY POLO CLUB The Warwickshire Club has a new Polo Manager. Jeremy Pidgeon started his new role in January. To read more about the latest news from the Club turn to page 40

Club news

New chairman at Cowdray Park Photography courtesy of HPA Year Book 2008

HONG KONG POLO

A new team has beenin launched

by Dave Savage of Club news brief

Asia World Polo Ltd at Boujis in Hong Kong.

They are PARK POLO Club has appointed Peter COWDRAY scheduled play inCLUB an exhibition match atBarfoot The FIPasSnow BLUEY’StoPOLO is its new club chairman for the 2014 season. currently membership Polo Worldoffering Cup at the Metropolitan Polo Club, Tianjin He takes over from Robin Butler, who has retired after

for the 2014 season for just seven years in the role. £400, if taken up before Barfoot is the former chairman of New Forest Polo USA WIN FIP ZONE A QUALIFIERS Tuesday 15 April. For more Club, where he also worked as treasurer, and has please contact Ainformation strong American team of Jared Sheldon, Jesse Bray, played at Cowdray Park with his Maiz Dulce team for polomanager@blueyspolo.co.uk.

Felipe Viana and Patrick Uretz, have secured their place in the past 14 years, from 4-goal to 12-goal level.

March’s FIP World Polo Championships in Chile “It would be difficult to replicate the special Cowdray HEATHFIELD POLO CLUB will The historical all-ladies team dominated the HPA low goal in 2007-2009 & are planning a run two new tournaments this atmosphere anywhere else,” he said. “I know all the return in 2015. season. The La Golondrina Cup, playing members really well and I also look forward for players aged 18 and below, is to meeting as many of the non-playing members as From 2007 to 2009, the all-ladies team of Emma Wood (née Tomlinson), Lucy Taylor, on 12-13 July, while the ladies’ possible during the course of the season.”

Tie Polo tournament runs from Nina Clarkin (née Vestey) and her sister Tamara Fox (née Vestey) dominated 17-18 August. much of the HPA 8 goal. Facing predominantly all-male teams at one of the most

Swinging Low

SPENCER MCCARTHY

Peter Barfoot, the new chairman at Cowdray Park Polo Club

competitive levels of polo in the UK, this ladies team made history. From winning The Gerald Balding at Cirencester, to beating 42 other teams to win The Holden White at Cowdray Park, this team put women’s polo on the map. A bona fide side, which proved that with skill and fine pony power, women could compete RANELAGH POLO CLUB against the men on an even playing field. as a 20-goal four-a-side arena tournament.

BURSTON POLO Club has announced The suffered a fireClub early will in December DALLAS in the annex of STClub ALBANS POLO Five years on and six babies between them, they are reuniting in May 2015 The winning teams of each tournament will will hostwas two new tournaments in 2014, with a once again hostno Polo Heroes the house, luckily onefor was hurt and theitdamage as an 8 goal team. “No other receive four ladies have come together to try and steal £10,000 in prize money. Entries are combined prize pot of £20,000. this summer.

The charity event not extensive our crown,” Lucy Taylor told Polo Times.

“We only tournament foursome inin history will take place on Saturday currently open forare the the 12-goal July, The first of two IXL Gold Cups will be played at 28 June and feature a match toJuly, achieve what weclub’s did and we were no other female players have with teamsaddened entries costing £400.

12-goal level on 12-13 as part of the AEPC military HICKSTEAD between and civilian Please Fine & Country Polo Day. It will together. be the highest grouped So we’re going for itemail againphil@rugbypoloclub.com to inspire! We want tofordo it for teams.

To findImages out more email Their inaugural of Polo Tournamenthandicapped had to be further details or to women in the sport – and obviously to win!” info@stalbanspoloclub.co.uk. cancelled due to bad weather, but has been rescheduled enterbrands a team. such as tournament the The team, formerly sponsored by a range of high-end Warwickshire club for 31 January THE OUTDOOR POLO season Diamonds International, is looking for sponsorship to help cover the costs and has hosted to date. is already underway at the Vale entry fees for this exceptional ladies team. Contact Lucy Taylor for enquiries: The second IX of York Polo Club, with the first taylors@whitehall500.freeserve.co.uk chukkas played on grass on Gold Cup will be The Dallas Burston RUTLAND POLO CLUB’S Had a nasty fall whilst holidaying at La Aguada Polo Club 6-goal Assam Cup tournament inwill Argentina; wetoarethe allVictor wishing him a speedy recovery be added Ludorum fixture list for 2014. It takes place from 12-22 June.

Two new events at Dallas Burston

Sunday 9 March. The club’s polo field is built on glacial sand deposits, giving it great drainage.

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Polo Times, January / February 2015

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played in the club’s SuperArena in November,

SuperArena, which will host the 20-goal arena tournament in November

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News

RETRAINED RACEHORSE 16-year-old Fille de Dauphin (Marmite) was presented with the 2014 RoR Elite Polo Champion at the inaugural RoR Awards ceremony, which was held at The Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket on Wednesday 26 November 2014. The Awards offered a total of £16,500 prize money and were co-presented by the charity’s Patron Clare Balding and her former TV partner, champion jockey Willie Carson. Presentations were made to each of the 2014 RoR Elite Series’ Champions in dressage, show jumping, showing, endurance, eventing and polo.

Fille de Dauphin’s owner, Mark Tomlinson was delighted with the win and said, “Marmite has been at the top of my string for more than five years now, winning The Queen’s Cup in 2009, Best Playing Pony in the 2014 Gold Cup Semis and several Coronation Cup wins. She always double chukkas and she has everything you could want in a polo pony. Her most outstanding attributes are her stamina and guts, not to mention her good looks!”

‘Marmite’, who ran five times on the flat as a two and three-year-old, was bought by Bruce Urquhart in 2003, before Tim BromleyMartin, son of Scottish Racing’s former

Photography courtesy of RoR

Retraining of Racehorses Elite Polo Champion announced at inaugural RoR Awards Ceremony

Clare Balding co-hosted the first ROR awards with jockey Willie Carson

Marketing Manager, Lorna Bromley-Martin, retrained Marmite to play regularly in low and medium goal polo matches. Tim says that he corrected a number of flaws, such as her dis-uniting on a flying leg change, “She was well known for bucking off everyone who rode her and used to kick the horsebox to tinder.

Eventually we managed to work this out of her and she has become one of the best horses I ever trained or played. It has been amazing to see how she has progressed with Mark at top level of polo.”

With the appointment of Lucy Wilson as Club Liaison and News Manager here at Polo Times last September, we have been busy forging strong links both in the UK and further afield with clubs. We are delighted to announce that as a result of a burgeoning ‘inbox’ we could not fit all of our club reports into our News pages. As such,

Bloodstock agent Charlie Budgett picked up the prize money of £2,500 and the RoR Elite Polo Champion’s trophy on behalf of Mark who was in Argentina. The presentation of the Awards to the RoR Elite Champions celebrates the achievements of the thousands of former racehorses competing successfully in equestrian disciplines and shows both the adaptability and versatility of former racehorses retraining in new careers for their lives after racing.

we have launched a specific Club Focus area in Polo Times. See page 38 to read reports and see your local players in action. If you have any local news or reports that you would like to see in print or featured on our website or weekly newsletter, please contact Lucy: lucy@polotimes.co.uk

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Obituary

John Lascelles Lucas 1929 – 2014

John Lucas died on Monday 1 November 2014

John Lucas was one of the most talented English polo players of his generation. As well as achieving wins in both The Queen’s and Gold Cups, John, on reaching a 6 goal handicap, also secured an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records as, at the time, he was the ‘highest handicapped English polo player’.

Born in Hornchurch, Essex on 19 December 1929, John was the first child of Arthur and Ethel Lucas. His sister Pat was born two years later while his youngest sister Claire (later Tomlinson) arrived at the end of the Second World War, when John was 14-years-old.

At the age of 11, John was forced to spend four years of the War away from London, staying at Malvern Wells prep

school throughout both term time and school holidays. He then went on to attend Marlborough College, where he was House Captain for cricket and School Captain for squash, before securing a place to study at Clare College, Cambridge.

During his time at University, John achieved success in a variety of fields. After completing his degree in Estate Management and qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor, John decided to stay for a further year to study law – a decision that was largely influenced by his love of squash. Away from the books, John attained Half Blues for squash, but also for real tennis and polo, and once again he was presented with the role of Squash Captain.

On leaving Cambridge, John proceeded to complete his two years of National Service with the Army Officer Cadet Training Unit. Once he had finished his training with the RAF, where he earnt his parachute wings, John went on to start his professional working life in London, working at both Jones Lang Wootton & Sons and W.Goodchilds & Co before setting up his own company, Real Estate Consultants in the late 1950s.

In 1955, John married Ann Moller, also an incredibly talented sportsperson, who he had met during his time at Cambridge. John and Ann lived in Essex and between 1958 and 1965, the couple had four children, Annabel, Caroline, James and William, before enjoying travels to the Americas, Europe and India throughout the 60s and 70s.

Although reluctant to start with, John had learnt to ride at a young age. The family moved to Woolmers Park in 1946 and it was at this point that his father Arthur acted on his desire to play polo. From the start of his

News

polo career, John regularly played in teams alongside both his sisters and father at the family Club.

Despite being one the most talented English players, John continued to work full time whilst playing; at the time it was unusual for someone to play polo professionally.

Throughout his polo career, John achieved wins in all the major UK tournaments, enjoying a particularly successful 1967 season. Sent to Argentina by his father, John was given instructions to come back with 30 horses and three teammates in order to play the English high goal. John returned with Dr. Jorge Marín Moreno, Enrique Zorilla and Celestino Garrós and this Woolmers Park team went on to win The Queen’s Cup, Gold Cup and Warwickshire Cup, without losing one game. Their success resulted in a rapid change in the rules: ergo a high goal side could no longer feature three Argentine players. High goal success however was by no means a one-off accomplishment for John. From 1964 through to 1968, John won The Queen’s Cup a successive five times – a record that has not been matched to this day.

John and Anne divorced, with John going on to marry Carroll Crane from Boston in the late 1980s. John and Carroll later divorced in 2009 but remained in contact until his death.

John is survived by his four children and his family remain one of the most influential in today’s polo world. His sister Claire reached a handicap of five goals and his son William played the sport professionally, representing England regularly from 1987-2004 while his nephews, Luke and Mark Tomlinson are members of the current England squad.

HPA News

Latest from the HPA HPA chief executive David Woodd rounds up the news from UK polo’s headquarters Overseas Matches China A 16 goal England team will travel to China for the Snow Polo World Cup at the Metropolitan Polo Club. The tournament runs from 25th January to 8th February.

The team will consist of Jack Richardson (6), Max Routledge (5), Matt Perry (5) with www.polotimes.co.uk

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Jonny Good (5) as reserve. The team will be coached by Alan Kent.

New Zealand An England team will play New Zealand in a Test Match at the Kihikihi Polo Club on Saturday 7th February. The team which will be captained by James Beim (7) and will be made

up of Tom Morley (6), Max Charlton (7) and James Harper (6). The New Zealand team will be John Paul Clarkin (8)(Captain), Simon Keyte (6), Craig Wilson (6) and Tommy Wilson (7).

Akuma Akuma, who are the provider of the Audi England team apparel, have agreed to continue their relationship with the HPA for the 2015 season. Akuma Polo’s innovative products are considered cutting edge both on and off the field. Specifically developed for England Polo, Akuma’s new Revolution Jersey uses the latest cut-andsew technology combined with their unique Auratex Bamboo fabric and has fast become a team favourite.

Polo Times, January / February 2015

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HPA News Horse Passports – Important Notice Due to DEFRA’s ongoing steps to regulate all Passport Issuing Organisations, the HPA have reviewed how they issue horse passports. Any HPA Blue passport that has not been endorsed by the HPA is no longer valid. In order to apply for a horse passport the owner of the horse will be required to download an Application Pack from the website and this must be completed by their vet and returned to the HPA for endorsing.

Change of ownership of HPA passports and overstamping of passports issued by other organisations remains the same process.

Insurance For all members of the HPA, please ensure that your horse passports are in order and that horses are registered to the correct owner with the HPA. If the passports are not registered correctly with the HPA the 3rd Party insurance that is provided as part of the HPA membership package will not be valid.

For any queries refer to the HPA website or contact the office. Please note that players of 3 goals or above or those who own more than ten horses, are not covered by the members liability insurance because they are deemed to be running a business within polo.

Welfare A reminder to all clubs and members that they are ultimately responsible for the care and welfare of their ponies throughout the year and the importance of ensuring that they are properly cared for during these inclement conditions. See Rule 4a.

Development South Africa December 2014 The following group of 7 children attended a one week training clinic in South Africa with Buster Mackenzie in December: Jasmine Stanhope-White, Marcus Cork, Charles Turk, Henry Frisby, George Deverall, Freddie Jodrell. The group were chaperoned by Caspar West.

South Africa February 2015 In February this year the following group of 6 have been selected by the Development Committee to attend a week’s training clinic with Buster Mackenzie in South Africa: Charles Cooney, James Emlyn, John Dalton Morgan, Tommy Severn, Hugo Taylor and Tom Townsend.

Helmets At the HPA Council Meeting held on Thursday 13th November it was agreed

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that the intention should be that, by the 2016 season, all minors playing HPA polo would be required to play in a hat that met the minimum standards and this rule would then come into force for the 2017 season for all players and grooms. However, the EU Commission has now announced that the European equestrian riding helmet standard BS EN 1384 has been withdrawn from the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ). It is not known when a new European standard will be agreed, but assuming this is achieved within a reasonable time frame it is proposed the above will still apply for 2016 and 2017.

Life Memberships At the HPA Council Meeting held in November 2014 Liza Crisp and Jim Haigh were presented with Life Memberships.

Jim had been Chairman of the Finance and Grants Committee since 1994 and had significantly increased the funds of both the HPA and the Polo Charity in this time.

Liza Crisp has made a personal contribution to polo for many years in particular to the Pony Club.

Membership subscriptions and fees Outdoor Type of Membership

UK Resident

OSR

Full Associate Membership

£130

£265

Temporary Associate Membership

£105

£105

Junior Associate Membership

£60

£60

Chukka Membership

£105

£165

Country House Polo (No Handicap)

£160

£265

Direct Non Playing Members

£105

N/A

Type of Membership

UK Resident

OSR

Full Membership

£130

£265

Arena season 2015/2016

Arena Full –Paid up Outdoor Member

£80

£80

Temporary Associate Membership

£105

£105

Junior Associate Membership

£60

£60

HPA Appointments for 2015 Stewards

Handicap Committee

Chairman: Brig. J.A. Wright C.B.E Vice Chairman: S. Hutchinson Esq Past Chairman: N.J.A Colquhoun – Denvers Esq J.M. Tinsley Esq – Chairman of the International Committee R.I. Vere Nicoll Esq - Chairman of the Handicap Committee G.S. Tomlinson Esq– Chairman of the Development Committee A.M.B. Barlow Esq– Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee K.T. Jones Esq – Chairman of the Finance and Grants Committee The Lord Phillimore – Chairman of the Umpire and Rules Committee M.B.J. Amoore Esq – Chairman of the Arena Polo Committee K.S. Dhillon Esq Col. J.L. Seddon-Brown P.C. Barfoot Esq C.R. McCowan Esq J.T. Morrison Esq J.M. Green-Armytage Esq J. Gottschalk Esq Brig P.D.P Hankinson M.B.E H. Taylor Esq The Earl of Tyrone

R.I. Vere Nicoll Esq (Chairman) M.B.J. Amoore Esq P. Fewster Esq H. Ali Hyder Esq J. Harper Esq Lord Charles Beresford S. Hutchinson Esq S. Dhillon Esq G. Schwarzenbach Esq W. Emerson Esq R. Graham Esq

www.polotimes.co.uk

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Comment

Your views

Letters

Write to the editor in the following ways: ◗ letters@polotimes.co.uk ◗ Letters, Polo Times, Hill Farm Studios, Wainlodes Lane, Bishops Norton, Glos GL2 9LN

Letter of the month The writer of Letter of the month wins a bottle of BLOOM Gin

Sir, Well done, excellent article on arenas.

Full of good solid information and easy to read. We really appreciate the in depth, technical subjects you cover amongst the match reports and social stuff. Plenty of relevant photos and well laid out to make it easy to read.

Tae Ormerod

By Email Sir, I read Polo Times every month and love it, apart from one fairy story of an article, which appears month after month.

I refer to the Pony Running Reports… I must be living on another planet if these are accurate or maybe I am just too realistic and my ponies are spoilt? To illustrate my point, let’s look at a typical month in the life of Garufa: (I was visiting late and nowhere else was open) - £1.99 Misc transport costs - £300 Mane and tail spray - £11.00 Fly spray - £10.99 Bag of conference pears (she loves them) - £1.50 Vets fees (flu/tet) - £30 Wormer - £20 Aloe Vera gel (itchy mane) - £12 TOTAL: £985.82

Even my 18 month old foal Tally Lu Lar has higher running costs than some of the fairy ponies featured.

Grass livery - £120 Salt lick - £7 Carrots - £2.50 Hoof trim - £15 Turn-out rug (her first one ever) - £30

Turn-out rug (to replace the first one which lasted 2 days) - £30 Repair and clean first rug - £20 Wormer - £20 New lead rope - £4 TOTAL: £248.50

Photography by Jasmin Calvert Ansari

Livery £400 Shoes £50 Extra strong mints (7 pack, admittedly Waitrose) - £3.90 Himalayan salt lick - £6.99 Equine massage - £50 New PolyPad - £27.00 Gallop shampoo - £7.95 Turnout Rug repair and clean - £20 Carrots – large bag (to be shared) - £2.50 Emergency carrot batons from M&S

Crazy winter clip outs cause dissent in the pony lines

Nick Beitner playing one of his zebra clipped string of four at the HPA New Year Arena Club Championships at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club

At first I read these reports with envy, thinking how lucky these owners are to have a fully playing pony costing just £90 for a month (e.g. Rainbow) but as the months have gone on, I do wonder where this series is heading?

Can we perhaps have an amnesty next month with all those owners coming clean and listing out the real costs? I cannot believe none of those ponies have ever tasted a carrot or an extra-strong mint or had a lovely massage?

Open for thought…

Q: Both La Dolfina (2013 & 2014) and Coronel Suárez (1974 & 1975) have consecutively won the Triple Crown series. In 1974 which Coronel Suárez team member was the highest handicapped at 10 goals?: Alberto P. Heguy, Horacio Heguy, Juan Carlos Harriott or Alfredo Harriott?

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Photography by Sophie Heath

Lucy Bolton

By Email Publisher’s note: Thank you for your letter. Glad to hear you love Polo Times. We take on board your comments regarding Running Reports.

In past issues we have made it clear that costs listed are plus livery/ feed but this was not the case in the Nov/Dec issue. We can assure you however, that the rest of the costs are genuine. Rocky Racoon who featured in the summer issues 2014 is part of the Polo Times string and everything down to his new fly rug was recorded. He does not like carrots or mints so sadly no costs to record on that front though!

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Polo Times decorates the Greenpoint Polo Christmas Tree

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A: Turn to page 75 to check your answer.

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Feature

Passion for Polo Charley Larcombe talks to Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers as he takes over the mantle of President of the FIP.

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Interview with Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers

Feature

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n his habitual immaculate suit and tie, sat in his glass-fronted offices overlooking Battersea Park, Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers, looks every inch the new President of the Federation of International Polo (FIP). Surrounding his desk are polo paintings from the late 1800s depicting the first matches played at Nassau in the States and a striking portrait of Gonzalo Pieres Snr., a recent addition to his collection of polo art. Elegant bronzes of players on alert thoroughbreds catch the sunlight streaming through the window on this sharp winter’s day as we settle down for our interview. This may be the office of a working businessman, but it’s one, which showcases a passion outside the building’s walls.

An impressive roll call of his past and current positions within the polo world – from Chairman of the HPA, to his current longstanding tenure at Ham Polo Club – is a fine CV for the new President of an international polo organisation. Here, Nicholas tells Polo Times about the biggest issues faced by FIP, how he and his team will tackle them and his hopes in changing the perception of the Federation.

Describe the role of the FIP. Unfortunately, very few people appear to understand the role of FIP, or indeed its potential to benefit the world of polo.

Probably, the easiest way to start would be to explain the basic premise behind it and how it originally came about. It was Marco Uranga’s original dream to start an international federation that would encourage and foster closer relationships within the international polo community by unifying the associations of all playing nations. His aim was to try and encourage them to work together to produce a set of international rules and to lobby for the return of our sport to the Olympics. As it says in our mission statement, “to promote the concepts of friendship, team spirit, equality, respect, integration and embrace the idea of fair play and safety”.

Whereas the HPA is “an association of Clubs in the UK and several other European and Commonwealth countries”, FIP is the “Federation of all the national associations in the international polo community”.

What are the biggest issues faced by the Federation?

Currently, I believe the biggest challenge FIP needs to address is the transition from an organisation run, as it has been in the past, on a non-professional basis by a series of extremely dedicated and generous patrons, into a more professional and effective www.polotimes.co.uk

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“When I agreed to take the post, I had my eyes wide open; I knew it would be a challenge.” organisation, which ultimately does not have to rely entirely on such largess for its survival.

The Federation has started this process by employing an interim CEO, Alejandro Taylor, whilst we complete the due process of recruitment of a permanent CEO, and it has also established a permanent office in Buenos Aires. The next step will be to ensure that the Federation becomes financially self-sufficient to ensure that we can always cover these administrative costs in all financial climates.

Running in parallel with these initiatives, the Argentine Polo Association, Hurlingham Polo Association and United States Polo Association are working together under David Woodd on a set of acceptable FIP International Rules. This is not to say that their individual national rules will change, but the FIP rules can be used for international matches wherever FIP is involved.

Currently, FIP runs a 14 goal World Championship and an 8 goal European Championship every three years. However, there are many nation members of FIP who cannot attain these levels and so one project we will be looking at is ways of addressing this disparity and encouraging ways to promote some lower goal FIP tournaments to support participation at more achievable levels.

Another project will be a social media campaign to raise awareness of FIP within the polo community. Many people within our sport are unaware of what FIP is, what it does or what it can offer (follow: @FIPpolo).

Personally, I can vouch for some of the benefits of the FIP, as I have been fortunate

enough to have played in FIP tournaments in Argentina, India, Iran and Brazil and these trips have forged enduring friendships through the FIP family ethos.

How would you describe your personal role?

Do you have big plans to ‘shake things up’, or is it more of an evolution of what the FIP already supports?

We all need a passion in life, otherwise it can be pretty boring – for the past 49 years, my passion has been polo and I love, live and breathe it as my wife will tell you. I accept that it will not be an easy task as there are some very large egos floating around the polo circuit – if you think ‘a woman scorned’ is difficult to deal with, then you have not yet met ‘a sorely bruised polo ego’!

However, joking aside, actually the FIP ethos promotes values within the sport that I was brought up with and totally endorse.

Professionalism and money changes all sports and not always for the better, so to have a governing body that openly promotes a culture of friendship, team spirit and fair play has to be of benefit. With very few exceptions, all the FIP members I have encountered over the years have been delightful, charming and a credit to the sport.

I would certainly like to ensure that during my time in the role, there are changes that will benefit and strengthen the Federation and ensure that it contributes to the growing international polo community. When I agreed to take the post, I had my eyes wide open; I knew it would be a challenge, but then I have always enjoyed a challenge.

Polo Times, January / February 2015

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Feature

Interview with Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers

“If we are to encourage more interest, we need to make polo more interesting.”

The perception of the FIP is perhaps that it lacks the ability to implement guidelines etc; how will you correct that perception?

With the assistance of our member nations, I am sure this perception will change. We already have a group working on changes to the international disciplinary procedures, which should be beneficial.

How do you feel your past and current roles have prepared you for this position?

I do sincerely hope that both my military and commercial experience combined with 20+ years as the Chairman of Ham Polo Club in London as well as some 16+ years as a Steward of the HPA will stand me in good stead. I won’t bother to re-hash Winston Churchill’s oft-repeated comment on ‘polo handicaps and passports’, but needless to say, I consider myself extremely privileged to have, over my time in the British Army and then in subsequent years, been able to play in over 17 countries around the world – and I still have friends in many of those places through this wonderful sport.

I have also been lucky enough to have seen the game played at all levels and have an equal appreciation of the complexities involved in the administration of running both the high goal level as well as the grass roots of the sport. I am still an active low goal player (although rather slower and lower than I used to be!) and I hope that that too will be an advantage. I certainly trust that my varied polo experience over the years will help me in my new role.

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Photograph by Robert Piper

Which members of the FIP Committee are you particularly looking forward to working with?

I am looking forward to working with all the FIP Committee members as well as the Council of Administration to benefit the Federation. I am particularly grateful that the AAP, HPA and USPA have appointed extremely experienced members to the FIP Executive Committee, which will certainly strengthen the Federation and hopefully people’s perception of FIP. To have a serving Chairman of the HPA, Brigadier John Wright, as well as a past Chairman of the HPA (myself), the immediate past President of FIP [Dr. Richard Caleel] as the USPA representative, in addition to a past Board Member of the AAP [Alberto Marina], a serving European Zone Director [Piero Dillier] and one of the Founding Members of FIP from Guatemala [Francois Berger], will make it the most experienced Executive Committee there has ever been in FIP’s 35-year history.

Let us hope we can achieve what we have been tasked with.

competes in the top three-four playing nations in the world.

The difference to a game can often be the Commentator who, if they are accomplished and knowledgeable enough, can turn the meanest low goal match into the equivalent of a Gold Cup Final. If we are to encourage more interest, we need to make polo more interesting.

You have proposed ideas about opening polo to a wider audience; can you expand on that?

There has always been a vast gulf between player and spectators, it is almost as if there were two different sports in one. As a player, you want to win (or some cases, you are paid to do so), which can often make for a pretty soulless game for the spectators who want to see fast and exciting skills and action.

To really appreciate the game, I believe you need to be seated as high up as possible to be able to see the play and be able to appreciate the team tactics as well as the horsemanship and stick skills. Palermo is of course the ultimate venue for spectators and the IPC in Florida obviously thought this through when they built their stands, but in most Clubs we revert back to the 1890’s quote of “polo – a game played by one’s peers on the far side of a large field.” The one thing I have noted is that the smaller the ground, and the closer the spectators, then the better the atmosphere.

I also believe that we miss a great opportunity to promote our sport by not stressing or promoting the unique history of the sport to newcomers. Modern polo is probably the greatest unsung British sporting success story there is. Britain discovered it in North Eastern India, tried it out, wrote the first rules, which are still used today with variations around the world, and then exported the game to around 70+ countries, won three gold, three silver and two bronze medals in five Olympics and England still

You wish to encourage a Junior Ambassador’s Cup; would you like to see greater support from FIP for the development of young players?

We are always open to new ideas on promoting the sport, especially to the future generation – FIP already support a Polo Development Fund for junior programmes with funds available from the ARISF International Olympic Committee as well as a fund from Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club in China to those member nations who run approved junior development programmes.

This will continue and hopefully expand.

We are also hoping that we could encourage a version of the established international FIP Ambassador’s Cups, which are held around the world (the next being the 86th at Victoria Polo Club in Canada) and start some similar tournaments for players under 21 or 24 years of age. The friendships established at such events last for a lifetime and help unite the sport.

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Safety is a particularly pertinent topic at present; how will FIP be addressing these concerns?

It is always extremely difficult for either a National Association or an International Federation to arbitrarily impose specific rules, especially if you cannot police them. It took years for the HPA rule of helmets to be worn at all HPA-registered establishments and you will see the rule being broken from time to time. I agree that we must encourage all players and association to be safety conscious, but at the end of the day, the decision will be an individual one. If we can assist by making that decision as informed as possible, then we must of course do all in our power to do so Starting in our March issue, Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers will be our new columnist, telling Polo Times readers about the latest news and views from FIP.

www.polotimes.co.uk

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Feature

Arena Polo History

A Factfile History of Arena Polo Playing polo through the British winter in arenas is a pastime that many take for granted. However, the discipline is relatively new and was only introduced to our shores in the early 1990s. Lucy Wilson takes a look at the names and dates that have charted arena polo’s progress from novelty to normality.

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here are now approximately 28 acres worth of HPA affiliated arenas in the UK, not including private facilities at high goal yards such as King Power’s Gadbridge or Simon Arber’s Emsworth. 20 years ago there were only three players holding a 6 goal handicap or above, John Horswell was the only 7 goal player for the 1995/6 season and just 168 individuals were registered as arena members of the HPA. However, nearly ten years later (the 2004/5 season), the HPA saw membership increase to 350 registered players at club level, with 17 HPA affiliated arena clubs. There were nine players that held 6 goal and above handicaps. Playing off 6 goals were Jamie Morrison, Howard Hipwood, and John Horswell; 7 goals, Jamie Le Hardy, Howard Smith and Johnny Good and three 8 goal players: Tim Bown, Nacho Gonzalez and Chris Hyde.

The iconic late Bryan Morrison, who was credited with introducing arena polo to the UK. Pictured here in the stands at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club ever watchful and surrounded by cigar smoke

With thanks for the use of their images to: the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club, The Hurlingham Polo Association, Hine Marketing, Gillian Hughes, Mike Roberts, Tony Ramirez Images of Polo, Alice Gipps, Centaur Photographic, British Open Show Jumping Championships, Lynn and Jim Bremmer of PoloZONE.com

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Now, the current 2014/15 season Hurlingham Polo Association Arena Polo Year Book, the ‘Green Book’, listing shows a total of 540 members and 31 affiliated clubs. For this season there are 19 players above 6 goals. Nacho Gonzalez and Chris Hyde are playing off 9, whilst Max Charlton, Seb Dawnay, Johnny Good and Ryan Pemble all hold an 8 goal handicap.

Interestingly, arena polo peaked in the 2008/9 season, reaching its highest membership numbers to date. Although numbers since then have begun to slowly decline, despite the growth in the building of arenas in the country, the real growth of the sport today is very much evident in the university and schools sector.

We will be publishing an article discussing the reasons for the fluxing membership levels in the March edition of Polo Times, so watch this space.

Bryan Morrison and the beginning of arena polo for the UK Arena polo really took off in the early 90s in the UK, despite it already being an established sport in the USA. Bryan Morrison is often regarded as the ‘godfather’ of arena polo, having being widely credited with bringing this particular USA import across the Atlantic.

Bryan’s son Jamie told Polo Times about the moment his father came across arena polo.

Whilst on a business trip to Chicago, the music mogul and owner of the newly formed Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club “Went up to his hotel room to settle in and upon opening the curtains in his room, he saw a huge neon sign that read ‘POLO’ with an arrow. It was the middle of December and there must have been at least a foot of snow outside, so he went downstairs in search of what this sign meant.

He followed it to the end of the block to find another neon sign, he continued until he came to the doors of ‘The Armory’. He knocked on the door and was invited in to be shown an underground arena and stable where every week polo was played.” This visit inspired www.polotimes.co.uk

27/01/2015 09:22

Arena Polo History

Feature

“Interestingly arena polo peaked in the 2008/9 season, reaching its highest membership numbers to date”

The 1995/96 season saw a dedicated Year Book for arena polo, until then the rules were listed in the main HPA Year Book (Blue Book)

Bryan, and on returning home he built his own arena at The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club in 1990, just four years after the Club’s official opening. The rest as we say is history.

The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Cub is the home of the Arena Gold Cup and the HPA National Arena Championships. This year the Arena Gold Cup celebrates its 20th year.

Bryan wasn’t the only member of the polo community to see the true worth of the introduction of arena polo. Polo Times spoke to Pippa Grace about her late father’s involvement in the sport. “Peter was one of the early founders of arena polo as he was determined to continue teaching polo year round. He did not have his own facilities in the 1970s and 80s, so was always travelling to teach nearby and further afield. Venues included the Knightsbridge Barracks, Big Barn and Little Barn near to the Royal County of Berkshire, and the Indoor Military Arena in Aldershot, where Winston Churchill first learnt to ride. Horses were taken to Olympia and the NEC as well as Regent Street to publicise the opportunity and the fun of the indoor sport.” Michael Herbst from Polo Wicklow, who was part of the HPA Arena Polo Committee until the end of the 2007/8 season, was the first in Ireland (third in the UK) to build a polo arena shared his story with Polo Times. “I found it most frustrating having just the short four and a half month season for polo on the ‘green isle’, as well as the cancelled play days within the season. Michael Butler, the original producer of the musical, Hair, and a frequent visitor to Ireland, told me www.polotimes.co.uk

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about his venture to hire a car park in Chicago centre in order to organise an International Arena Polo event. The more I heard of the event, the more I knew that this was the necessary solution in order to realise my 12 month polo dream. At the same time, the RCBPC had built the first arena in England, which was then followed by a fabulous international-sized arena built by my friend, the Earl of Morton, in Edinburgh. A trip to inspect the Berkshire facility, followed by a game in Edinburgh convinced me that this was what we had to have in Ireland.”

Arena Polo was “Born in the USA” Arena polo in the USA began during the last century, when the officers of a US Army cavalry regiment needed a means to practice field polo during the harsh winter months. At their barracks, they had a large indoor riding school, and they developed the game of arena polo to train themselves and their horses for field polo. In 1876, James Gordon Bennett, a noted American publisher, introduced the sport of polo to New York City. Having seen polo being played at The Hurlingham Club in London, on his return with bundles of mallets and balls, he organised a group of cow mustering ponies to be brought to New York in the winter of 1876. He planned the first polo match in the United States at Dickel’s Riding Academy at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue, and in the summer of 1877 they moved to Jerome Park Racetrack north of New York City to play outdoors. According to the United States Polo Association (USPA), arena polo began in America and they played with what was noted as a ‘large softball’.

It wasn’t until 1910 that The Indoor Polo Association was formed (five years after handicaps were introduced in England and India), which later became part of the USPA. The height restriction on polo ponies was abolished in 1916 and the game became popular in its own right. Today there are more arena polo clubs in the United States than there are field polo clubs and the number of players is much higher than in field polo. It also has an extensive network of Collegiate polo. The USPA told Polo Times, “2,402 of our members have arena handicaps. However, there are several more that play on a club level, but do not have handicaps that enable us to track them.”

Unlike the arenas constructed in the UK, American arenas tend not to be specially designed with specified sizes or even any trends on the use of surfaces. In our last issue we looked into how arenas in the UK are constructed, and the massive amount of technology and science behind surfaces.

Climate and the number of rain days in the UK does have a huge impact on how our arenas need to be constructed compared to the dry states in America. It wasn’t until 1989, nearly a hundred years after the first indoor polo was played in the United States, that it began to take centre stage – with the creation of an all-professional arena league which was played at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center (LAEC), and later in a similar league formed in Texas. Top stars, included Joe Henderson, Tom Goodspeed and brothers Bil, F.D. and Rob Walton. ‘Smokin’ Joe Henderson was the first 10 goal arena player in 30 years and only the third in the 100 year history of American arena polo. However, according to the late Peter Grace OBE, in his book Polo, the LAEC league was scrapped at the start of 1990 after the sponsor, Cadillac, decided to switch from polo to golf.

Schools and Universities polo The Schools and University Polo Association formalised in 1991, but the start of competitive Schools and University polo began with a small group of just four schools and two universities in 1986. Charles Betz recalls the first National Universities Tournament, which was held in the arena at Inglesham Polo Club in 1997, just after he joined SUPA and with just six universities participating.

The core universities that have competed through the years with SUPA are Edinburgh University, Combined London Universities, Oxford University and Cambridge University.

The National Schools Tournament started a year earlier in the 1995/6 winter season with between 10-12 teams participating. The National University Championships moved from Inglesham to The Hand Equestrian Centre and in recent years, up to Rugby Polo Club. With over 100 teams now entered into the arena competition at all levels, varying from complete beginners up to an Open polo section, the competition is separated into two arenas and covers a four day period, with well over 100 horses being played.

Polo Times, January / February 2015

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Feature

Arena Polo History

A Timeline of Arena Polo

A potted history of arena polo in the United Kingdom. Where will another 20 plus years of progress take this discipline?

1990

The Royal County of Berkshire build their arena and begin their first winter season.

Ascot Park Polo Club begin playing winter polo on a sand arena, the site of their existing arena.

1993

Polo Wicklow arena was built by the Herbst family, the first of its kind in Ireland

The snows of 1990/91 failed to halt play in the newly built arena

Arena Ladies Tournament winners, Zephyrus, with the late Bryan Morrison in 1994 The first Arena International played at RCBPC in 1992

1992

The first year arena handicaps were included in the HPA Blue Book, listing five clubs. Separate rules for the arena are also included in this year.

Highest handicapped player was Michael Amoore (5 goals) and highest handicapped lady player was Pippa Grace (3 goals).

The rules still included throw-ins after a goal was scored and players could change horses during any stop in play.

This is the first year the J&B Pro-Polo International begins at Epsom Polo Club.

Edinburgh Polo Club built their arena, the first to be built in Scotland.

J & B Pro-Polo International at Epsom Polo Club

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1994

The BEDS Tournament (Bristol, Edinburgh, Durham and St. Andrews Universities) was played for at Edinburgh Polo Club, headed up by Mark Emerson who was studying at Edinburgh. The tournament was a precursor to the SUPA National Universities (and is still running now).

Metropolitan (right), winners of the -2 to 2 Goal at RCBPC in 1994

1995/6

First HPA Green Book was published with a foreword from Bryan Morrison. The rules changed to include a hit from behind the 5yrd line following a goal, rather than a throw-in from the centre line and all players must be 5yrds from the hitter during a penalty.

HPA Membership for arena was only £50, continuation from the summer £40 and Overseas Player’s £20. Thom Bell built the second arena in Scotland at Kinross. The SUPA National Schools Tournament started, there were 168 registered HPA Members and the Arena Gold Cup began.

M. Fonseca, Stuart Craig and Rick Murray playing in the RCBPC arena in 1994/5 season

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Arena Polo History

Ascot Park’s Talacrest Team winners of the Berkshire 2 Goal Championships in the 1995/6 season

1997

National Universities Tournament began at Inglesham Polo Club.

Inglesham Polo Club opened its new outdoor arena in 1997

Feature

Winners of the first Arena Gold Cup 1995, Baileys Horse Feeds

1998/9

Ash Farm Polo Club was provisionally affiliated (it was still the only arena only polo club in the UK). Separate HPA Membership was introduced for University players and their handicaps were listed separately for the first time. (Outdoor handicaps were used up until this season). Arena handicaps were introduced and included the ‘S’ handicap for beginners and entry level players, with the next step taking them to a 0 goal handicap.

Popularity grew in the SUPA Universities National Tournament

The late Peter Grace OBE opening the arena at Ascot Park

1999/2000

Ascot Park Polo Club built and opened their existing arena in 1999 with an exhibition game between Champagne Pommery and Inglesham Polo Club.

2001/2

Druids Lodge Polo Club was provisionally affiliated for the first time.

2003 winners of the Advanced Section of the National Schools Championships, Radley College

Arena Gold Cup Winners 2002, Land Rover

2002/3

Ash Farm Polo Club was provisionally affiliated for the 1988/99 season

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The Atlantic Cup, a tri-university challenge between Oxford, Cambridge and Yale, was played. Each university took it in turns to host one another (it was last played for on American turf in 2003 and won by Yale).

Chris Hyde playing for Ocho Rios in the 2003 Gold Cup

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Feature

Arena Polo History

2007/8

Pre-recession arena memberships peaked with 610 registered players, and SUPA members are no longer listed alongside HPA members.

Polo was included in the British Open Showjumping Championships at the NEC Birmingham in the form of the British Open High Goal Arena Challenge.

2006 Gold Cup winners Richard Fagan, Tim Bown & Jack Kidd

2006/7 Elli Grey was the first lady player to win the Gold Cup in 2004

2004/5

The length of an arena chukka was shortened from 7 minutes to 6 ½ minutes with a note that chukkas could be made shorter if it were considered to be in the interest of the welfare of the ponies. HPA Membership for arena was £95, continuation from the summer £50.

1 goaler Ellie Gray made arena history as the first woman to win the Gold Cup with Chris Hyde and Jamie Morrison for Stellar Performance. Stewarton Polo Club completed the third purpose built polo arena in Scotland.

The Nations Cup was replaced with the HPA National Club Championships 2-6 goal and 8-12 goal.

The England team won against South Africa at the late Jamie Bruce’s Oaklands Arena Club with an 18 goal line-up of Mark Holmes (4), Seb Dawnay (6) and Tom Bown (8). There were 360 SUPA university and schools players and 588 HPA Members. Bryan Morrison passed away on 27 September 2007.

Exhibition trophy at the NEC in Birmingham for the British Open Show Jumping Championships

2008/9

38 Universities, 32 senior schools and 16 junior schools were affiliated to SUPA.

Belmont win the 6 and 12 goal in the first HPA National Club Championships England win the Arena International in South Africa

2010 Gold Cup action from Roddy Williams, Chris Hyde, Max Charlton, Jamie Morrison & Simon Holley

The late Paul Sweeney, the winner of the 2005 Gold Cup with the late Bryan Morrison

2005/6

Penalty 4 was first introduced as a defended penalty, as opposed to the previous years only allowing for an undefended hit from the 25yrd line in the form of a Penalty 3. (Turn to page 62 to read about how penalties are applied for the current arena season).

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2007 Gold Cup winners Ocho Rios in action

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Arena Polo History

Feature

2012

The American player Tommy Biddle became the first player in 23 years to be awarded a 10 goal arena handicap.

2013

SUPA National Universities Championships at the Hand Equestrian Centre in Bristol

The Townsend Cup was held on Saturday 12 January 2013 at the Empire Polo Club in California. Playing for England: Max Charlton, Oli Hipwood, Seb Dawnay vs. USA: Rob Yackley, Billy Sheldon, Tommy Biddle.

England beat USA 11-10. At the same event, SUPA Britain played the USPA Intercollegiate team, with USPA winning 18-8. SUPA: Alex Jacob, George Shelton, Charlie Scott and Sam Browne. Azerbaijan hold the first Arena World Cup on grass, repeating the event in 2014.

Max Charlton, Oli Hipwood, Seb Dawnay with Michael Amoore win the Townsend Cup

2013/14 2010 Arena Gold Cup Finalists Jamie Morrison, Roddy Williams, Michael Bickford, (Natalia & Azad Cola presenting), Simon Holley, Max Charlton & Chris Hyde

2010

SUPA National Universities Championships had 107 teams entered from 30 universities making it the largest polo tournament in the world. 212 chukkas were played by 344 players and 160 ponies were hired earning over ÂŁ70,000 in pony rental. Cold Smoke beat Ocho Rios in the Westbury Arena Gold Cup with a score of 17-15.

Gaucho polo begins at the 02 Arena in London

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2011

Gaucho Polo began at the 02 Arena in London, (the event ran for a further two years with the last edition played on 21 May 2013). Playing for England: Maurice Ormerod, Max Charlton, Jamie Morrison vs. Argentina: Oscar Mancini, Adolfo Casabel, Andrea Vianini. A victory 11-10 to England with a record number of spectators: 7,018.

There are 540 HPA registered players recorded in this year and 27 affiliated clubs and in excess of 600 SUPA University and Schools players. SUPA now has 45 universities, 35 senior schools and 22 junior schools registered. Arena games are played at the Horse Guards Parade for the first time.

The -1 arena handicap is introduced by the HPA Arena Handicap Committee, allowing for a greater range in team entry dynamics.

St. Andrews and Edinburgh University in the annual Edinburgh tournament, Dalmahoy, December 2013

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Feature

Arena Polo History

Highest handicapped American 10 goal player Tommy Biddle in action against the UK’s 9 goal player Chris Hyde in the Bryan Morrison International Test Match at the All England Polo Club, Hickstead in March 2014 with a final score of 21-17. This was the first time America has won the match having lost to England in 2009 and 2012. Both sides fielded 19 goal teams and featured a young up-and-coming player, Patrick Uretz for America and Jack Hyde for England.

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Reports

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The Argentine Open, Palermo, Buenos Aires

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The Argentine Open, Palermo, Buenos Aires

Reports

History Boys La Dolfina rode into the world record books this winter having won The Tortugas, Hurlingham and Argentine Opens for two consecutive years.

Matching Coronel Suárez’s record from the 1970s is only the start for this Dream Team, which now just leaves one question: What is left for La Dolfina to conquer?

Photography by Tony Ramirez/ www.imagesofpolo.com

W

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hen La Dolfina claimed their victory over Ellerstina at The Argentine Open, not only did they lift the trophy high into the air, but also they raised the team’s position to sit besides the gods of historical polo.

Consecutively winning the Triple Crown series secured their place alongside Juan Carlos Harriott’s legendary Coronel Suárez team who achieved the same record back in 1974 and ‘75.

Despite the Final itself not being the class of polo which spectators had come to expect, witnessing the complete line-up of Adolfo Cambiaso, Pelon Stirling, Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero (who had to sit out last year’s Final to be replaced by Sebastian Merlos) win the trophy, was to be a part of polo history.

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Reports

Ellerstina put up a strong fight, as they had done throughout the 2014 Argentine season, but undoubtedly the loss of an injured Mariano Aguerre, an Argentine Open veteran, affected their team’s tactics.

8 goaler Nachi Du Plessis was drafted in to replace him – the first South African player to start in the Final of The Open – and was an inspired choice for the Ellerstina side.

The Final was undoubtedly tainted by the losses of Javier Novillo Astrada and Carlos Gracida, two familiar faces who were 32

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very much missed from the sidelines and also the death of Juan Martin Nero’s Anay Sur Cielito during the match. However, for the British contingent, it was a great moment to see Peter Wright follow on from his umpiring of The Hurlingham Final to also take to the pitch for The Open – the first Englishman in the match’s history to do so.

The marching band played, flags and banners were waved and before long, the stage was set for the 2015 Final of The HSBC Argentine Open at Palermo.

Although it was La Dolfina’s Pelon who opened the scores for the Final, La Dolfina and Ellerstina were evenly matched for the first and second chukkas, tying at 2 all and then 4-4. In the third, spectators began to see a change in the score lines, which also bore witness to the close game of polo that set the tone of what was to come, and which began to result in penalties being awarded. Facundo claimed his fifth goal of the match, but this was met with two penalty conversions from the La Dolfina camp before Juan Martin Nero tapped the ball between the posts to give his team the two-goal advantage and ride off the pitch, 7-5. Although Gonzalito scored a sixth goal in the fourth, again fouls were blown against the Ellerstina side which resulted in Cambiaso converting twice to take the score to 9-6 at half time.

Intense heat left spectators wilting in the grandstands as temperatures rocketed and undoubtedly affected the action on the pitch. More penalties were granted in the fifth with Cambiaso scoring two and Facundo one, with the only field goal of the chukka achieved by 9 goaler Nico Pieres. Goals were sparse in the sixth, with Facundo attempting to close the gap for Ellerstina with a quick goal in the opening minutes of the chukka, but this was quickly met with a goal from Pelon, his third of the match, which took the score to 12-9.

At the start of the seventh, Pieres and Pelon once again drew swords for their teams with Facundo attempting to cut La Dolfina’s lead, but it was quickly rebuffed with another goal from Pelon less than a minute later. Two further penalties were traded by both teams at the end of the chukka, which meant La Dolfina rode into the last with a score of 14-11.

Despite being a slow match with little excitement, Ellerstina did not give up in the eighth chukka. They continued to pursue and push the La Dolfina defence, but sadly for Ellerstina supporters, they could not penetrate the wall of white shirts. A penalty from Facundo – arguably the real driving force behind the Ellerstina team throughout the Final – was converted half way through the chukka, whilst the purple shirts of his team resisted any La Dolfina attempts at goal. However, that single penalty was the only change to the scoreboard and La Dolfina rode off the pitch and into the record books with a win of 14 goals to 12. www.polotimes.co.uk

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The Argentine Open, Palermo, Buenos Aires

It was a great moment to witness La Dolfina take to the podium for the prize giving, knowing all that the team had accomplished as the best set-up for two seasons. Pelon Stirling was awarded The Gonzalo Heguy Most Valuable Player, whilst Cambiaso’s Cuartetera was awarded The Lady Susan Townley Award for the Best Playing Pony and Pablo MacDonough won The Gonzalo Tanoira award as the Best Mounted Player. Facundo’s Open Chequera received the Best Argentine Pony from the Argentine Polo Pony Breeders Association as judged by Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Benjamin Araya, whilst he also won The Javier Novillo Astrada Award as Top Scorer of the tournament after he scored 38 goals throughout The Open campaign. www.polotimes.co.uk

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Polo Times spoke to 10 goaler Pablo MacDonough after the match; “To be honest, the first thought I had after we won, was relief! But then you start to enjoy it more – when you begin to see your family enjoying it, especially my wife and children, then it hits you. And of course, it’s great to see all the people who work for me, enjoying the victory too – they deserve the win as much as I do.

“I think what separates La Dolfina from other teams is that we were all committed to the season – it was clearly the best for 2013 and 2014, but 2015 is a whole new story, and we want to be up there again. While you are competing and knowing you are part of a great team, you still have the drive

Reports

to win. You always want more and we have more challenges coming ahead.”

The Argentine Open; 9 December 2014; Palermo, Buenos Aires Result: La Dolfina beat Ellerstina, 14-12 Chukka scores (La Dolfina): 2-2, 4-4, 7-5, 9-6, 11-8, 12-9, 14-11, 14-12 Finalists: La Dolfina (40): Adolfo Cambiaso (10); David ‘Pelon’ Stirling (10); Pablo MacDonough (10); Juan Martin Nero (10) Ellerstina (37): Facundo Pieres (10); Gonzalito Pieres (10); Nico Pieres (9); Nachi Du Plessis (8) [replaced an injured Mariano Aguerre (9)]

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Reports

The Argentine Open, Palermo, Buenos Aires

Match Analysis Former 10 goaler Pite Merlos was watching from the La Dolfina team tent with his brother, Sebastian, La Dolfina’s substitute. Here he tells Polo Times the view from the pony lines.

“The 2014 Argentine Open was both a memorable and a special one from every point of view. Firstly and on the down side, we missed Javier Novillo Astrada and Carlos Gracida. On the other hand, La Dolfina were making history, matching up to the greatest team ever, Coronel Suárez on winning two Triple Crowns in a row.

“The match itself was very disappointing.

Expectations were high as La Dolfina played nice and open polo throughout the season, whilst Ellerstina needed to invent or create something to prevent another loss in a main Final. Suddenly Aguerre was injured in his first Open match and was replaced by Nachi Du Plessis. This change to their line-up inspired the Pieres brothers as they needed to change positions, moving Nico forward, a more natural position for the 9 goaler. The team played well in the Semi Finals and were able to proceed into the Final with a 50/50 chance.

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“Ellerstina played a close game, rigorously man-on-man, closing the space between the plays and not giving any room for manoeuvre for the main La Dolfina guys. The game became untidy, with lots of fouls (a record of 49, I think). The soaring heat (42 °C), fouls and lots of tight ball control resulted in a slightly boring match.

“Pelon Stirling stepped up for La Dolfina and played a great game, moving everywhere, scoring decisive goals and breaking through the Ellerstina defence. Adolfo was a little quiet, Pablo MacDonough kept things very simple and Nero wasn’t attacking much, but instead controlling Ellerstina’s offensive actions.

“Ellerstina depended totally on Facundo, which made things difficult for the ‘men in black’ – who for this game played in purple, having been told by a ‘witch’ that the usual black ones would be unlucky.

“La Dolfina ended up winning by two goals, but only at the end of the seventh chukka, when Ellerstina almost narrowed the margin to one goal – but really it never looked like the result would be threatened.

“Looking to the horses, I particularly liked mares like Pelon’s Daisy, Facundo’s Open Chequera and Nico’s Open Guillermina, whilst Adolfo’s Cuartetera only played two chukkas throughout the season (in the Semis and the Final) due to an old injury. Her training was based on work in a swimming pool to make her fitness as high as possible and she ended up winning the Best Playing Pony Award.

“For me the sad part of the Open, was not seeing Aguerre in another Final and the loss of Juan Martin Nero’s mare, Anay Sur Cielito, which died during the game.”

www.polotimes.co.uk

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Reports

The HPA Christmas National Club Championships

Black Eagles and MHF Eclipse win at HPA Christmas National Club Championships The Banner-Eve brothers dominate the Berkshire and Munro Ford reigns triumphant again

Lucy Wilson

T

he Final of the 15 goal HPA Christmas National Club Championships was a tightly fought game between Black Eagles and Chopendoz. By the time the final was due to start, the stands had filled with arena polo enthusiasts from around the county, and the Glühwein was going down well in the fresh winter breeze. The tournament had seen its fair share of substitutions and team changes over the course of the fortnight, with Black Eagles swapping Richard Blake Thomas for Sergio Baselli before the games had even begun. Adolfo Casabal stepped into Sebastian Dawnay’s boots for MHF Eclipse in the 15 goal, after a two week ban was imposed as a result of an incident in one of the qualifying games. Jamie Morrison was sidelined with an injury for the 15 goal final so Roddy Williams substituted for him last minute.

Jonathan Munro Ford was not the only player defending a title, as Ed Banner-Eve had been in the winning team for Udo’s Choice last year with Amy Guy and Richard Blake Thomas.

Black Eagles’ Chris Hyde struggled to get into the game during the first chukka, having suffered from a fall the day before, and it showed in the initial scores. Roddy Williams for Chopendoz, played a smooth, fast game, but it was his teammate, Leon Allen who led the scoring in the first chukka leaving Black Eagles trailing 6-5. However, Sergio Baselli and Chris Hyde settled into their game after a lacklustre start, to make it eight-all at the

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Photographs by Gillian Hughes

reports from Berkshire

Winners Black Eagles with runners-up Chopendoz, Greta & Jamie Morrison

three-minute mark in the second chukka, before Hyde pushed the team into the lead with a penalty. Sergio’s defensive blocking of Leon Allen stemmed the flow of goals from Chopendoz and, by the end of the second, it was 11-9 in favour of Black Eagles. Munro Ford’s team continued applying the pressure on the opposition with Hyde’s sixteenth goal of the match, perfectly illustrating his 9 goal skills; Hyde tapped the ball into the air out of a scrum by the north goal whilst being ridden off by Roddy Williams. The third chukka ended 17-14 in favour of Jonathan Munro Ford but there was no room for error going into the final chukka. Leon Allen scored a two-pointer, three minutes into the third to close the gap to 19-17, still in favour of Black Eagles. A questionable foul went in favour of Black Eagles in the south goal, which Hyde converted into a 20-17 score line. Allen missed a defended 25 yard penalty with an air shot, and then a 15 yard penalty for Chopendoz was changed into a roll-in, which could have cost them the game. Hyde turned up the heat in the final minutes and carried on scoring, leaving Ed Morris-Lowe and his teammates treading water on the scoreboard with a final score of 23-19. Jonathan Munro Ford spoke

to Polo Times about the game saying “I was very pleased with the results. It was a hard fought tournament, with a very strong performance from Chopendoz in the final.

A slow start for us in the first chukka but my team quickly came back and Chris and Sergio performed brilliantly. With handicap changes, we have a new structure from last year and I couldn’t be happier with the way the team gelled. We look forward to defending the 12 goal Nationals and the Gold Cup which no doubt will see some tough competition. Thanks to our team behind the scenes and the Berkshire for putting on a good show as always.”

Chris Hyde was awarded The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Award and Jamie Morrison’s 17-year-old bay mare Paz, played by Roddy Williams was awarded the Best Playing Pony prize. Groom Keri Dyte led the mare up for the prize and spoke to Polo Times afterwards about her charge, “She is a total gem to look after except when you put her pyjamas on! Then she likes to try to bite your face off ”.

Played earlier in the day, the 6 goal HPA National Club Championships Final was won by Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius’ MHF www.polotimes.co.uk

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The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club

Eclipse. The Banner-Eve brothers, Ed and Alec beat Yevgeny Chichvarkin’s Hedonism Wines team of Roy Prisk and Nick Beitner, with a final score of 16 goals to 9. The game was fast, clean and a true example of why arena polo makes a great spectator sport. Ed Banner-Eve is a talent to watch, his ability to play on the nearside had a huge part to play in the winning result. Jonathan, who had not long been back in the game following a nasty fall in South Africa, has the swing of a pro when it comes to penalty shots. In the final chukka he went to score with a huge shot from the 25 yard line which drew a gasp from the stands, but was blocked by a scrum of players. After the game Jonathan spoke to Polo Times about his experience in the tournament “It was Eclipse’s first tournament and we enjoyed it greatly.

I thought the standard of the other teams, namely Hedonism Wines, was very high and the games were all played in a very sporting

manner and in good spirits. Alex Banner-Eve held our team together and manages it. Alec and his club MHF polo also care for the team’s horses and my own. The Eclipse team has benefitted from the coaching of various pros, including Chris Hyde and Sebastian Dawnay. Eclipse aims to not only play the arena season but also the summer season.

A revised team to include Ed and Alec will also be competing in the Arena Gold Cup. We hope to make a stir!” Ed Banner-Eve was awarded The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Award but attributed his award to the latest addition to his string – Nora. Ed commented that it was really down to “her speed and lightness, it’s like riding a grass cutter, she is so smooth and light on her feet.

Nora came from Cambridge University Polo Club a month ago, but I have had my eye on her for a long time, her full sister was sold to America for £80,000”. The 6 goal Subsidiary Final was won by Moor Hall Farm II.

Sergio Baselli turns the ball for Jonathan Munro Ford’s Black Eagles as Roddy Williams watches on.

Reports

The 15 goal HPA Christmas National Club Championships Final Teams Black Eagles: Jonathan Munro Ford, Sergio Baselli & Chris Hyde Chopendoz: Ed Morris-Lowe, Leon Allen & Roddy Williams Result: 23-19 to Black Eagles The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player: Chris Hyde Best Playing Pony: Paz, played by Roddy Williams, owned by Jamie Morrison Sub Final Teams MHF Eclipse: Ed Banner-Eve, Alec Banner-Eve & Adolfo Casabal Hedonism Wines: Yevgeny Chichvarkin, Tim Bown & Max Charlton Result: 15-14 to Hedonism Wines The 6 goal HPA Christmas National Club Championships Final Teams MHF Eclipse: Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius, Ed Banner-Eve & Alec Banner-Eve Hedonism Wines: Yevgeny Chichvarkin, Nick Beitner & Roy Prisk Result: 16-9 to MHF Eclipse The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player: Ed Banner-Eve Sub Final Teams MHF I: Nell Jacob, Richard Newman & David Banner-Eve MMF II: James Mann, Alan Ruzzaman & Simon McDonald Result: 16-10 to MHF II

www.polotimes.co.uk

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Club Focus

Your Club News from both Home and Abroad

Huge support gained for The Paul Sweeney Memorial Trophy from friends and family THE VIEWING GALLERIES at the Surrey Club, were jam-packed with spectators and members for the annual Paul Sweeney Memorial Trophy held on Sunday 11 January. The afternoon match, between two enthusiastic teams, was a fantastic display of what arena polo is all about – fast and fun. The Sweeney family 12 goal team was represented by sisters Charlotte and Georgia alongside their ‘hired hit man’, Sebastian Dawnay. Their opposition was in the form of Moor Hall Farms’ 6 goal side, Eclipse, featuring Ed and Alec Banner-Eve and Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius.

From the minute umpire Howard Smith threw the ball in, there were goals galore.

Ed pounced on the ball in the first thirty seconds, scoring the first goal of the match, before his brother followed up with a twopointer stolen from underneath Sebastian.

Charlotte scored the first Ash Farm goal in the last 10 seconds before the first bell.

Dawnay had his best chukka for scoring goals chalking up three for Ash Farm, whilst Alec scored a further two goals to add to Ed’s three to bring Eclipse into the lead with a score of 7-4.

The second chukka started with a twopointer from the line out from Dawnay, which was quickly answered with a cheeky back hander from Ed. A flurry of goals between both teams ensued, including one from Georgia, before the first half of the match finished with a close score of 12-11 to Eclipse.

Sebastian Dawnay, Charlotte Sweeney, Georgia Sweeney with Ed Banner-Eve, Alec Banner-Eve & Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius

Jonathan came into his own in the third chukka; despite recovering from severe burns to his hands from a recent accident, he managed to score three goals, including a penalty spot hit and a two-point shot for Eclipse, keeping them ahead of their opposition. The fourth did not produce any goals until the final two minutes, when Ed managed to free the ball and race the length of the arena to score. Despite a last minute goal from Sebastian – who, to date, has not yet won this particular trophy – it wasn’t enough as the final bell rang with Eclipse

winning The Paul Sweeney Memorial with a final score of 19-15. Turn to page 71 to see the social report from Ash Farm.

Result: Eclipse beat Ash Farm, 19-15 The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player: Charlotte Sweeney Best Turned Out Team: Ash Farm Ash Farm (12): Georgia Sweeney (1), Charlotte Sweeney (3) & Sebastian Dawnay (8) Eclipse (6): Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius (-1), Ed Banner-Eve (3) & Alec Banner-Eve (4)

WHY GO TO Aspen when you can play snow polo on the beach in Yorkshire? Four teams were reduced to three when snow and ice stopped them in their tracks whilst heading to the Vale of York’s regular beach polo matches. However, the remaining three teams enjoyed ‘snow beach polo’ Cleethorpes-style. The Christmas Animals team of Lisa Piddington (the reindeer), Richard (the camel) and beach polo virgin, Ben Sutcliffe (a minion) linked up well to comfortably beat the Christmas Decorations and the Santas to win The Christmas Cup. Not content with just playing polo, a record 18 Members of the Club turned up, mounted on polo ponies, for the Boxing Day Hunt meet in Bawtry alongside hundreds of spectators and another 80 hunters! The Club have announced that on Sunday 19 July 2015 they will be playing a match to raise funds for Neurocare Charity, Sheffield.

VYPC member Deborah Newton is a supporter of the charity and hopes that it will be well attended by Club members and visitors.

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Photography by Lesley Pickersgill

Beach snow polo and hunting in Yorkshire

The Vale of York Polo Club arrive at the Bawtry Hunt meet

www.polotimes.co.uk

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Your Club News from both Home and Abroad

Hunting Polo Ponies

Photography by Alison Schwabe

Polo player Carl Harris on his polo pony

POLO PONIES OUTNUMBERED hunters at the New Year meet of the Cambridge University Draghounds. More than a dozen players from Suffolk Polo Club, Haggis Farm and Cambridge County Polo Club turned out in freezing fog at Trumpington Hall at the meet hosted by the Pemberton family. The pack is over 160-years-old and is believed to be the only student-run mounted pack in the world! Trumpington Hall also boasts a fine polo pit built for Prince Charles when he was a student and subsequently is used by current Cambridge University players.

Tournaments galore in Berkshire THE ROYAL COUNTY of Berkshire Polo Club is having a busy winter season of tournaments and social events. Between their 10 goal challenges and the beginning of the New Year HPA Nationals Championships they have also managed to fit in a photography exhibition and Christmas drinks. On Sunday 30 November the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club kicked off their high goal arena season with The Paul Castle High Goal Challenge. The Black Eagles 15 goal team of Chris Hyde, Jonathan Munro Ford and Richard Blake Thomas won against Chopendoz. The 10-12 goal Metropolitan Trophy was played for on Sunday 4 January and won by Jonathan Munro Ford’s Black Eagles team against Hedonism Wines (Yevgeny Chichvarkin, Roy Prisk and Max Charlton). The Black Eagles line-up featured Jonathan’s right hand arena man Chris Hyde and Cambridge County Polo Club’s Phil Sellar who recently returned from Argentina. Colin Johnson’s Corfina Sangliers team won The Chairman’s Trophy on Saturday 3 January. The HPA New Year National Club Championships will feature in our March issue. For a full report on The Christmas HPA National Club Championships please turn to page 36.

Dallas Burston Polo Club announces new Polo Manager HUW BEAVAN, WHO took up his new post in January, will be in charge of organising all the polo activities. Huw has been part of Rugby Polo Club for the last six years, originally joining as a groom in 2009, before becoming Polo Manager in 2011. The first social dates for your diaries from both Clubs, will be their Opening Season Parties: the 16 May at DBPC and at RPC on the 2 May. The Warwickshire Club has already released dates for the return of The Fine & Country Gold Cup. The event is due to take place at Dallas Burston Polo Club on 5 July 2015 from 11am-5pm. The event will be in its seventh year and tickets will be available online from early January on the Fine & Country website. A reciprocal relationship has also been announced with Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club in China. The reciprocal membership will allow members of both Clubs to visit, play and enjoy the hospitality of the host Club. www.polotimes.co.uk

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Club Focus

Club Close Up Ash Farm Polo Club, Ottershaw, Surrey QUICK CLUB STATISTICS: Chairman: Chris Benford Polo Manager: Georgia Sweeney Size of Arena: 100 x 30m Number of Members: 30 Number of Ponies: 25 Polo Schools Taught: Royal Holloway, Hurst Lodge School in Ascot and Private Lessons Polo School Coaches: Charlotte and Georgia Sweeney WHY ASH FARM? The winter season in the UK is not for the faint hearted, the sideways rain, sub zero temperatures and shin deep mud is not for everyone. Ash Farm Polo Club is, however, the exception to the rule for players and spectators. Fun is the word for this Club. Friends and family are the most important ethos, which comes from Ash Farm founders, the Sweeney family.

The covered galleries overlooking the arena complete with open log fire and a help-yourself to tea and coffee bar next to the sofa is the most appealing venue on the arena circuit. Lesley Sweeney told Polo Times, “We just want polo to be fun and for people to enjoy themselves”.

This was certainly the case at The Paul Sweeney Memorial Trophy with shouts of laughter rather than “surely umpire” coming from the arena. The Club first opened its arena doors in the winter of 1995, and whilst they mostly run challenges rather than tournaments, which makes it more flexible for clients, they do play host to regular fixtures for both schools and universities. This season they have lots of lady players in the Club, so there are plans in the pipeline for a Ladies’ Tournament at the end of the season – dates TBC.

Ed Banner-Eve stealing the ball from Charlotte Sweeney at this year’s Paul Sweeney Memorial Trophy

Polo Times, January / February 2015

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Club Focus

Your Club News from both Home and Abroad

ON THE WEEKEND 6 – 7 December the Club had a festive weekend of challenges with competitive games between Hilali Noordeen’s Santhosh Deloitte and the Menshenina’s Algeria. This was followed by a mini-match with Richard Blake Thomas playing alongside his daughter, Imogen for the first time, in a children’s match as team Golden Mallets played against Santhosh Deloitte Juniors. The day was rounded off with some barrel racing and games.

The Club has also hosted a series of schools games between St. Mary’s Ascot (two teams), St. George’s Ascot, Heathfield (two teams) and Salesian School.

Rugby Polo Club are ready for entries in The Midlands Polo Festival Photography by Jenny Blake Thomas

Junior polo and barrel racing at Ascot Park

Fun and games at Ascot Park

Knepp Castle plans for the Lake Ground INTERNATIONAL LADY PLAYER Sarah Wiseman’s Aspect Polo will be continuing to run the summer season at Knepp Castle offering low goal polo, including three-a-side challenge matches all the way through to 6 goal tournaments. An additional 50 stables are now available for members and livery clients. Aspect Polo have also taken on the Lake Ground at Knepp, formerly used by Azzurra and Emerging polo teams.

THE FESTIVAL, NOW in its second year, will be played on the weekend of 20 – 22 February.

2014 was a huge success with a total of 18 teams entering the five tournaments. Last year’s winners included: The 15 goal: Core Physiatry (Grant Collett, Matias Amaya and Mikey Henderson); 8 goal: Dawson Marauders (Freya Dawson, Josh Cork and Mikey Henderson); 4 goal: Beverley (Seb Funes, Charlie Kemp/ Sarah Cliffe and Jenny Haycox); Schools: Rugby (Hassan Usman, Freddie Houlker and James Glew). Finally, the University section was won by Exeter (Lucy Gibson, Katie Loutsiou and Kate Howe). The levels being run this year will be a high goal level (13-15), 8 and 4 goal, universities and schools.

Sidesaddle shenanigans Aspen’s Snow Polo won by Piaget in the Polo Wicklow arena

Photography by Nick Tininenko

Jamie McCarthy sitting sidesaddle on Manuel the polo pony

Winners of the 2014 Trophy, Nic Roldan and Marc Ganzi celebrate

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Photography by Siobhan Herbst

THE FINAL OF the 2014 Piaget World Snow Polo Championship culminated in a win for Piaget (Marc Ganzi, Jeff Hall and Nic Roldan) against the U.S. Polo Association team (Grant Ganzi, Brandon Phillips and Tommy Biddle) at the Rio Grande Park in Aspen, Colorado, Saturday 20 December. Piaget had a nail-bitingly close win against their rivals with a final score of 4-3. Winning team member, Nic Roldan was named MVP for the second year in a row, whilst the Best Playing Pony prize went to the eight-year-old mare, Piaget (owned by Halo Polo and played by Marc Ganzi). The Subsidiary Final of the tournament between Audi and Flexjet resulted in a final score of 11-8 in favour of Audi, with Kris Kampsen taking MVP for his efforts in securing the win for his team. In the consolation match, MVP went to Alejandro ‘Negro’ Novillo Astrada whose Aspen Valley Polo Club team beat the St. Regis side.

POLO MANAGER, SIOBHAN commented to Polo Times, “I have a sidesaddle from when I was a kid and dragged it out to try my hunter in it. Of course, once the boys at the Club saw it, they had to try sidesaddle polo. Jamie McCarthy was stick and balling in the arena afterwards and apparently the near side shot is much easier when you’re riding sidesaddle! He didn’t brave the match though!”. www.polotimes.co.uk

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Your Club News from both Home and Abroad

Club Focus

AFTER 10 DAYS of tense league games and close Semi Finals, Amr Zedan’s team of the same name, faced Rashid Albwardy’s Desert Palm I in the Final of The HH President of UAE Polo Cup. Desert Palm I (Rashid Albwardy (2), Martin Valent (4), Santiago Laborde (6) and Facundo Castagnola (6)) led in the first chukka with Zedan (Amr Zedan (0), Martin Gandara (4), Facundo Fernandez Llorente (4) and Pablo MacDonough (10)) trailing by a goal.

However, MacDonough displayed his 10 goal prowess throughout the next three chukkas, scoring five of his team’s seven goals to keep them ahead of Albwardy’s Desert Palm I. Yet, all was not lost for the opposing team as Santiago Laborde and Albwardy scored twice within two minutes in the penultimate chukka to level the scores at 7 all and leave the game ripe for the taking.

Laborde, like the impressive display of jet planes overhead, swooped onto the ball in the sixth, securing two goals and taking Desert Palm I back into the lead for the second time in the match. Having won the tournament in 2014, Laborde was clearly keen to make it a consecutive victory. In

Photography by Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club

Desert Palm I win The President Polo Cup

Desert Palm I’s Rashid Albwardy (centre) holds The HH President of UAE Polo Cup

with Desert Palm II, his brother, Rashid was undoubtedly delighted to keep the victory within the family. In the Subsidiary Final played earlier in the afternoon, Bin Drai beat Abu Dhabi, 12 goals to 7. Most Valuable Player honours went to Santiago Laborde whilst Pablo MacDonough’s Paloma was awarded the Best Playing Pony prize.

a remarkable solo effort, patron Albwardy scorched down the pitch and powered through an exceptional goal to take the score to 10-7 and, despite MacDonough and Gandara attempting a late comeback with a goal apiece, Desert Palm I won the match with the scoreboard reading 10-9. As Tariq Albwardy had won last year’s trophy

Saturday 7 March 2015 BOOK TICKETS NOW ADMISSION £5, LUNCH £45 10.30 Gates Open 11.30 12 Goal Challenge

IRELAND v WALES 1.30 Test Match for the Bryan Morrison Trophy

ENGLAND v IRELAND 4.00 Post Match Lunch

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polo@hickstead.co.uk

01273 834315 Polo Times, January / February 2015

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Club Focus

Your Club News from both Home and Abroad

La Irenita win The Copa Camara de Diputados Copa Camara de Diputados statistics: 21 teams, 36 games, 84 players, 54 six goal players, 19 seven goal players, two English players and two locations for games at the AAP grounds in Pilar and Palermo.

Photography by www.imagesofpolo.com

AFTER A STAGGERING 36 games, The Copa Camara de Diputados 30 goal tournament ended on Thursday 11 December with a win for La Irenita against La Esquina Don David with a final score of 13-10.

La Irenita were defending their 2013 win of the tournament with a slightly different team line-up featuring Juan Zavaleta instead of Alejandro Agote. La Irenita also had a second last minute team change as Alfredo Cappella replaced Matias MacDonough who was suffering from illness. The score remained in La Irenita’s favour for the duration of the game with La Esquina Don David only coming close in the second and sixth chukkas. Diego Cavanagh took the lead for La Esquina scoring a total of seven goals, three of which were penalties, but it wasn’t enough against stand-in Alfredo Barabucci’s goal scoring prowess taking 9 of the 13 goals scored for La Irenita.

Charlie Hanbury’s 29 goal team El Remanso Lovelocks were on a winning streak until they reached the Semi Finals to face La Esquina Don David who beat them 13-11, taking the place in the Final. Mark Tomlinson’s team La Quinta Bio Polo fared less well being knocked out of the tournament before the Semi Finals.

The AAP Best Playing Pony Award went to Irenita Vero played

by Alfredo Barabucci.

Winners La Irenita hold the trophy for The Copa Camara de Diputados

DWB Holding conquer in Kitzbühel

Photography by Matias Callejo

Photography by Reinhardt & Sommer

Guards La Aguada Polo Cup ends in a draw

The participating teams in the 2014 Guards La Aguada Cup with Neil Hobday

DWB Holding win in Kitzbühel

THE FINAL OF the Guards La Aguada Polo Cup, the second edition of a partnership with UK Clubs and La Aguada following the Cowdray Cup, was played for on Friday 5 December. The Final was really too close to call between Clive Reid’s AFB and Laura McCarthy’s Emlor and so both patrons agreed on a gentlemanly draw, after the scores showed 9-9 at the end of the fifth chukka. Clive Reid’s AFB team were ahead 2-1 after the first chukka, but Emlor were straight back into the game, and at half-time both teams had five goals apiece. AFB pulled ahead by one in the fourth, only for Emlor to close the gap in the fifth and final chukka.

The hallmark of this tournament is that each team not only features a Guards patron, but also a member of the Novillo Astrada family.

Neil Hobday, Guards Polo Club’s CEO was at La Aguada to present the trophy to both Clive Reid and Laura McCarthy. The Final was followed by an equally close Subsidiary Final, featuring Karim Sheikh’s BHC Polo and Nicola Anderson’s Nirvana. There was a definite winner in this game with Nirvana winning 11-9 and taking the trophy.

COLD AND CRISP weather conditions for players and ponies saw DWB Holding taking the trophy on Saturday 18 January at the 13th Valartis Bank Snow Polo World Cup. This was the first snow polo event of 2015 in Europe, which ran two days of competitions in the glamorous alpine location. Sebastian Schneberger, Philipp de Groot and Valentin Novillo Astrada led from the start, but their opposition Kitzbühel Country Club/ Transgourmet only managed to score 4 goals to their 8½. Phillip de Groot was awarded the honour of Most Valuable Player, despite playing with an injury to his leg. The Subsidiary Final was won by Steffi von Pocks’ Bernd Gruber team, with Eva Brühl and Adrian Laplacette beating Uwe Schröders’ 13 goal Tom Tailor team by just one goal with a final score of 5-4. The final game of the day saw Valartis Bank take fifth place with a 7-5 win over Audi. Despite a lack of UK players appearing in the team lists, Beaufort Polo Club’s Caspar West was Chief Umpire for the weekend.

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www.polotimes.co.uk

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Your Club News from both Home and Abroad

Club Focus

Reader Fishing win South Island Open THE SOUTH ISLAND Open has only been running for four years, but is now the largest and most prestigious tournament in the South Island. Attracting players from overseas and all over New Zealand, six teams battled it out over a three week period for The South Island Cup. At the close of the first weekend, hosted

by Blenheim Polo Club, most of the six teams entered were still finding their feet, except for Hotel Montreal who were the most dominant side, winning both their games. Reader Fishing got off to a shaky start, losing 5-9 to Hotel Montreal in the first game of the tournament, before they went on to secure a victory in their second match.

During the following weekend, at South Canterbury Polo Club, Hotel Montreal were again the team to beat winning their games and securing a place in the Semis. Other contenders, Core Consulting were playing well and earned their place in the Semi Finals after five games and one loss. OPES

Partners and Reader Fishing did just enough to claim the final two places.

The four teams in the Semi Finals all put in an impressive display to try and gain a place in the final. In the end however, Reader Fishing, comprising of Ash Reader, New Zealand 6 goal player Tom Hunt, Garth Mackenzie and Bridget de Barre powered through to face Core Consulting in the form of British Professional Olly Tuthill, Henry Wood, Sam Martin and Scott Higginson.

Close goal scoring throughout the Final made for a very tense game and, as players rode onto the pitch for the deciding fifth chukka, the outcome was still uncertain.

Both teams pushed themselves to their limits with impressive teamwork on both sides, but eventually Reader Fishing secured the victory with a solid score of 10-8.

Ash Reader was named Most Valuable Player for his consistently strong performance throughout the Final and a couple of great plays that were

Photography by www.foreveryoungphotography.co.nz

Katherine Andrews reports from New Zealand

Reader Fishing, winners of The South Island Open

instrumental in sealing a win for his team.

The Best Playing Pony Award went to Garth Mackenzie’s bay mare Coke, played by Tom Hunt. Coke is a brilliant horse that has previously been played by South African 8 goaler, Nachi du Plessis in The New Zealand Open when his team won in 2013 and will be played by English Captain James Beim in the 2015 New Zealand Open.

Home team clinches 2015 Thai Open

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Action from the Final of The BMW-B. Grimm Thai Polo Open

Photography by Dominic James Photography

FOUR TEAMS COMPETED in the 2015 edition of The BMW-B. Grimm Thai Polo Open for The HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Cup, Thai Polo, Fast Fish, The 300 and BMW. The first rounds of the tournament saw The 300 narrowly defeat BMW by 5 goals to 4.5, whilst Thai Polo edged ahead of Fast Fish, 5-4. Four days later the second set of league games took place with Thai Polo once again triumphing, this time over The 300 with a score of 12 goals to 8. In the second match of the day, Fast Fish defeated BMW 6-4. Wins for Fast Fish and Thai Polo in the final tough matches of the round-robin tournament the following week, meant they were through to the Final played on Saturday 17 January.

The annual tournament, one of the highest-level polo events in the country, welcomed spectators to The Thai Open, as well as providing other distractions such as an exciting show jumping competition with 100,000 baht up for grabs, fashion shows and children’s entertainment. However, the main event of the day was the Final between Thai Polo (Harald Link, Caroline Link, Agustin Garcia Grossi and Pedro Fernandez-Llorente) and Fast Fish (Pablo Jauretche, Tommy Martinez, Damian Marco and Windson Rao). Patron Harald Link – who was also celebrating his 60th birthday – and his Thai Polo teammates finished the match by defeating Fast Fish, 8 goals to 5 with Agustin Garcia Grossi being awarded Most Valuable Player and Mandinga being crowned Best Playing Pony.

The Club now looks forward to The B. Grimm Thai Polo Masters (28 Jan – 1 Feb) and the second Asian Polo League Cup (13 – 15 February).

Teams at the 2015 prize-giving for The BMW-B. Grimm Thai Polo Open. By Thai Polo & Equestrian Club.

Polo Times, January / February 2015

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Club Focus

Your Club News from both Home and Abroad

PRINCE HARRY AND the Sentebale Huntsman team beat the St. Regis side, 5 goals to 4 in The Sentebale Polo Cup presented

by Royal Salute World Polo in Abu Dhabi on 20 November. 6 goaler, Malcolm Borwick, Saeed Bin Drai and Abdulla Ben Desmal joined eventual Most Valuable Player, Prince Harry for the floodlit match against Sentebale Ambassador, Nacho Figueras, HH Sheikha Maitha, Mohammed Al Habtoor and Amr Zedan. Guests at the Ghantoot Polo & Racing Club included Sir Jackie Stewart, actress Sienna Guillory, actor Dan Stevens and newly engaged couple, Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner. Speaking of his work for Sentebale, during his dinner speech, Prince Harry commented, “The money raised this evening will go towards teaching many more HIV-positive young people how to live with the virus. Work on the Mamohato Children’s Centre in Thaba Basu, Lesotho, is well underway. The Centre is due to be completed next year and will enable us to reach four times as many children than we are currently able to.”

Malcolm Borwick, Captain of the Sentebale Huntsman Team and Royal Salute Ambassador also said, “It is a privilege to play polo in support of Sentebale; a charity which is helping the lives of the children of Lesotho. It has been a great honour to play at the renowned Ghantoot Polo & Racing Club in Abu Dhabi, alongside many friends of mine. Royal Salute have continued to support polo on a global scale through the Royal Salute World Polo Series and special events alongside great causes like this. It is great to see what the brand is doing to raise the profile of the sport.”

“Royal Salute is honoured to be partnering with Sentebale for the

Photography by Samir Hussein 2014 Getty Images

Prince Harry wins Sentebale Polo Cup hosted by Ghantoot Polo & Racing Club

Prince Harry & the Sentebale Huntsman team accept The Royal Salute Sentebale Polo Cup presented by Sienna Guillory

fourth year and to see Sentebale Huntsman take the title,” said Neil Macdonald, Brand Director Royal Salute. “We are thrilled to be in Abu Dhabi supporting such a noble charity.”

THE FINAL OF the 20 goal Herbie Pennell Cup welcomed the start of the Florida polo season on Sunday 4 January. An exciting match saw Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Nic Roldan) rally in the second half to overcome Villa Del Lago (Jim Zenni, Agustin Obregon, Polito Pieres and Julian de Lusarreta), 13 goals to 11.

Polito Pieres – playing off his American 9 goal handicap despite being raised to 10 in Argentina – opened the account for the Villa Del Lago team and scored the first goal of the game. Although Roldan quickly equalised for Casablanca, the first half of the match was very much in Villa Del Lago’s favour, ending the third chukka 9 goals to 5.

Despite this four-goal deficit, Casablanca, headed up by Grant Ganzi, a promising young player and son of high goal patrons Marc and Melissa Ganzi, considerably improved their game in the second half. In the fourth chukka they managed to keep the Villa Del Lago attack at bay and notch up three goals on the scoreboard, meaning the team were only a goal behind their opposition going into the fifth. A 30-yard penalty apiece for Roldan and Pieres in the penultimate chukka meant the goal tally read 10-10 and all was to play for in the sixth. During the last chukka, 9 goaler, Novilla Astrada took Casablanca into the lead for the first time in the match, closely followed by his teammate Roldan who increased the team’s lead by two goals to take the score to 12-10. Villa Del Lago’s Pieres scored 44

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Photography by LILA PHOTOS

Casablanca victorious on first Sunday of US season

Winners of The Herbie Pennell Cup, Casablanca

once again, but a final goal from Casablanca meant they rode off the pitch the first winners of the 2015 season at International Polo Club Palm Beach. Miguel Novillo Astrada was awarded Most Valuable Player whilst his mare, Paulina received the Best Playing Pony honours. www.polotimes.co.uk

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The Association of Polo Schools and Pony Hirers Looking for a provider or polo school?

Are you a polo provider looking to join us?

Please visit our website for a complete list of fully licensed and insured providers and membership information. www.apsph-polo.org.uk

enquiries@apsph-polo.org.uk

We aim to The HPA wholeheartedly support The Association of Polo Schools and Pony Hirers as a vital step in encouraging the growth of polo in the UK and delivering a consistent and safe environment The Hurlingham Polo Association

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• Provide information to support all existing and emerging Polo Schools and Pony Hirers • Promote welfare and safety standards in polo • Deliver a ‘Gold Standard’ across our sector of the industry in all aspects of our business Ensure consumers have the information and understanding they need to make informed choices about where and with whom they learn to play polo or from whom they hire polo ponies

26/01/2015 18:12

Women’s Polo

International

With women’s polo gaining momentum around the world, Charley Larcombe provides a regular round-up of International tournaments, dates for the diaries and the latest tips and advice from the lady players at the forefront of the sport.

Thailand

The Queen’s Cup Pink Polo Pasiano Dragons featuring two UK professionals, Sarah Wiseman and Bryony Taylor defeated the favourites, Maple Leaf at the St. Regis-sponsored Queen’s Cup Pink Polo at Harald Link’s Thai Polo & Equestrian Club in Pattaya, Thailand. In a low-scoring match, -1 goaler Anne Ringen and 0 goaler Isabelle Larenaudie assisted Taylor and Wiseman in their 3-2 victory over Claudia Zeiberger’s team despite the world’s greatest lady player, Sunny Hale, playing in the Maple Leaf shirt. Pasiano Dragons led throughout the match, but in the last chukka inspired plays from the Maple Leaf team, saw them score a goal with just over a minute left on the clock, before slotting the ball through the posts for a second. Sadly for the Maple Leaf camp, it was a little too late as the final bell rang out.

Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana presented The Queen’s Cup to the winning team.

Launched in 2010, The Pink Polo Tournament is organised by the owners of Thai Polo, high goal patron, Harald Link and Nunthinee Tanner in aid of the Queen Sirikit Center for Breast Cancer.

Photography by Dominic James

Maple Leaf’s Sunny Hale keeps a close eye on Sarah Wiseman of Pasiano Dragons who chases the ball up the ground.

Guests enjoy the day at Thai Polo & Equestrian Club

Princess Sirivannavari Nariatana with Harald Link

The Queen’s Cup Pink Polo competing teams

Argentina

Four teams competed for the 2014 Copa Las Hermanas at the Hanbury’s El Remanso Polo Club in Salvador Maria, Argentina in December. A Longdole team of Alison Clark, Hanna Hyojeon, Lauri Moyano and Cande Fernandez-Llorente faced El Remanso (Kiki Severn, Gabriela Benoit, Delfi Cavangh and Luli Podesta) in the first match of the tournament. The former secured their place in the Final by just pipping El Remanso to the post, 3 goals to 2. Hands Off (Susy Rosenkranz, Yamiula Ruano, Maddy Meacher and Rosario Balmaceda) then defeated Lovelocks (Claudia Pistarini, Yoanna Otto, Sofi Pucci and Vero Magnasco) 5 goals to 2. In the three-chukka Final of the ladies tournament, Hands Off claimed a decisive victory over Longdole, notching up a goal tally of 6 goals to 2. The winning team’s Maddy Meacher was awarded Most Valuable Player, whilst El Remanso’s Delfi Cavanagh won the Fair Play prize.

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Photography by Cande Fernandez-Llorente

Hands Off win Copa Las Hermanas

Hands Off (white shirts) won El Remanso’s Copa Las Hermanas in Argentina.

www.polotimes.co.uk

26/01/2015 18:06

Photography by Dominic James

International

5 minutes with…

Bryony Taylor

1 GOALER, BRYONY has recently returned from playing in The Queen’s Cup Pink Polo Day at Harald Link’s Thai Polo & Equestrian Club, where she helped her team, the Paisano Dragons to a 3-2 victory over Maple Leaf. Winner of the 2013 Catherine Yates Award for most promising female player, 22-year-old Bryony talks to Charley Larcombe about her role models and how she sees the future of women’s polo.

How did you first become involved in polo? My step dad introduced me to the sport at a young age and my mum was very serious about it for a few years, but gave up when I took over. The 6 goal Argentine professional, Pepe Riglos taught me a lot and I used to follow him around on my 13.2hh show pony when I was eight-years-old, whilst he was schooling his ponies and I tried to copy everything he did. Onlookers thought it was rather comical! I started to take polo seriously when I was about 16.

Describe your average day. Is polo your ‘day job’? Polo and horses are my life; I live and breathe it. I used to event at a young age, but then my love for polo

took over. I look after my own horses (13 of them!) and bring on a few young former racehorses on the side, during the summer.

Where have you been playing this winter? I usually fly to New Zealand for six months of the year to play, but this year I wanted to stay in the UK and put some time and work into my young horses ready for the summer. I have been playing in the arena at Hickstead and I recently went to Thailand to play in The Pink Polo. It was an amazing experience and our team had a great win!

Which of the top playing ladies do you admire and why? Sunny Hale; I think she is amazing! And such a lovely person. I could

Women’s Polo

sit for hours and listen to all her stories.

She is always so calm on the field, and directs a team so well. However, my biggest role model is Sarah Wiseman, who works so hard at what she does, and is not just an inspiration to me, but to everyone.

Favourite polo event to play in? The recent tournament I played at Harald Link’s Thai Polo. It was so well organised and everything there is just astonishingly beautiful.

Dream team? It would have to be Cambiaso, Facundo and Polito Pieres.

How do you see the future of women’s polo? I think it’s really changing, Sunny Hale has been doing a great job promoting women’s polo, and I see a really bright future for it. I think as a professional lady player, I have joined at the right time.

Which myth would you like to dispel in polo? I want to dispel the thought that woman can’t compete with men on an even playing field. It’s not all about strength. The main factor is natural ability and horsepower, whether it be a female or a male.

Argentina

Four teams entered the seventh La Aguada Ladies Cup at the Novillo Astrada’s estancia in Open Door, Argentina back in December. After two days of league matches, El Paso Polo Ranch (Andrea Ferreira/ Jazmin Dupont (0), Lucia Podesta (2), Clara Cassino (5) and Lia Salvo (8)) had beaten Emlor 12 goals to 4½, and the Exposed team 6½ to 4 ensuring their place in the Final. Their opposition, Why Not (Gaelle Gosset (2), Stephanie Haverhals (4), Hannah Grill (3) and Hazel Jackson (8)) defeated Exposed 7 goals to 4 before overcoming the lower handicapped Emlor, 12-7½. With a handicap of 15, El Paso started the game with a half goal advantage and managed to retain this lead over the higher handicapped 17 goal Why Not side.

Lead by La Martina Ambassador and International player, Lia Salvo, El Paso captured The La Aguada Ladies Cup with a score of 7½-5.

Exposed (Raya Sidorenko (0), Sol Lopez Llames (4), Annabel McNaught-Davis (6) and Maria Gimenez (6)) took third place after defeating Emlor (Laura Ormerod (0), Leonora de Ferranti (0), Celeste Gimenez (5) and Rebecca Walters (2)), 11 goals to 9½.

Jazmin Dupont, who replaced Andrea Ferreira in El Paso Polo Ranch, was honoured as Best New Player, whilst Emlor’s Rebecca Walters took the award for Fair Play and MVP was presented to Raya Sidorenko.

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Photography by Pablo Ramirez

El Paso win at La Aguada

Negro & Nacho Novillo Astrada with the winning El Paso Polo Ranch team.

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Women’s Polo

International

Thailand

Polo Escape’s Silver Cup “British players Sarah Wiseman, Charlotte Sweeney and myself recently visited the stunning Polo Escape resort in Thailand for the mixed doubles Silver Cup. There we joined Polo Escape’s owner Robin Lourvanij and players from Kenya, Argentina, France, Germany and Turkey for a memorable international tournament, which ran from the 2-4 January.

“Cirencester Polo Club Manager Tim Keyte, a familiar face at Polo Escape, ensured a high standard of professional umpiring while commentator Ebe Sievwright kept the crowd informed of the polo action from the sidelines.

“Charlotte Sweeney, a regular face in Thailand for ladies polo, showed some strong plays alongside her teammate Ploy Bhinsaeng.

The ladies were joined by resident Thai professional, Nattapong Pratumlee and the talented Argentine, Santiago Galland. With the tournament run on a points system, and having won all their games against Kuppa, Polo Escape and Makaron, King Power proved victorious in the 2015 Silver Cup. “The tournament was the perfect mix of fun flowing polo combined with enjoyable evening entertainment. Great food and a fantastic live band made it a truly memorable event for both players and spectators.”

Photography by www.alicegipps.com

Alice Gipps reports

The King Power team lift The Silver Cup at Polo Escape

The four competing teams were: Kuppa (3): Robin Lourvanij (0), Murat Ozgel (0), Andres Gomez (1) and Daniel Acosta (2) Polo Escape (3): Conrad Stoyke (-2), Alice Gipps (0), Tiva Goss (2) and Miguel Ayala (3) Makaron (3): Charlotte De Caraman (-1), Philippe De Caraman (0), Sarah Wiseman (2) and Agustin Arestizabel (2) King Power (3): Ploy Bhinsaeng (-1), Charlotte Sweeney (0), Santiago Galland (2) and Nattapong Pratumlee (2)

News snippets Cirencester International Ladies Tournament (21-26 July) is to become part of the Women’s Championship Tournament (WCT) League. Launched in 2005 by prolific player, Sunny Hale, the WCT has had great success in the US, Argentina and Malaysia, but has yet to be a fixture in the UK summer season. The tournament, now in it’s fourth year, will be played under the ladies handicapping system which will make it a 12-16 goal level event.

is hosting The Women’s Polo Masters 29-31 May. The Club, famous for its fantastic food, wine and weather, boasts two full Tifton grounds, stabling, grooms accommodation and a 10-room boutique hotel. The tournament is set at 10-12 goal (ladies handicap) and welcomes complete teams and individual players.

For enquiries, contact: Jeanine Hugo (jeaninehugo@outlook.com/ +549 1126338339).

In December, the Argentine Polo Association announced end of season handicap changes. Notable alterations for female players: Lia Salvo’s handicap rise from 8 to 9 and Leonora De Ferranti amongst those to go up to 3 goals.

Mia Novillo Astrada went to 2, whilst Adolfo Cambiaso’s daughter, Mia rose from 0 to 1.

Despite being postponed due to torrential rains, the Finals of the Circuito Feminino were eventually played on ground two at Palermo. The 17 goal El Paso Polo Ranch team beat the 18 goal Miramar in the high handicap tournament, 12 goals to 4. However, El Paso couldn’t claim a second victory of the day as they lost to La Dolfina Aventura, 3-9.

Hazel Jackson, Sarah Wiseman and Tiva Gross will play alongside bajan lady players for a week-long Battle of the Sexes Tour in Barbados in February.

Villa a Sesta Polo Club found in the heart of the Chianti area of Tuscany, Italy,

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An England team of Lucy Taylor, Lottie Lamacroft and Harriet McKelvie has been announced to face a New Zealand ladies line-up of Missy Browne, Renn Erceg, Susie Hamilton and Maddy Rankin. The fourth member of the England side is yet

to be announced, but the teams will play on International Day at Kihikihi Polo Club on Saturday 7 February.

The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club hosted their 3 goal Arena Ladies Tournament just after Christmas. The Gaucho team of Georgina French, Olivia Lamphee and Alex Jacob beat Cool Riders to lift the trophy. The Club’s ladies polo will continue in the summer as part of the annual Polo Festival in early August.

Ascot Park Polo Club will host their Women’s Arena Nationals on the 21 and 22 February. Polo Manager, Jenny Blake Thomas is expecting 12 teams for the 3-4 goal section and two other levels of 1-2 goal and 0 and below.

Beaufort Polo Club will also host the WCT League in late July, preceding another Gloucestershire ladies tournament. Scheduled for the 25 July to the 2 August, the Club is hoping to encourage lady players from France and Spain to make the trip to the Cotswolds Club.

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Youth

Youth News Snippets

Charles Whittington Pony Club Chairman

Date for the diary SUPA Universities AGM Friday 13 February at Rugby Polo.

A

Very Happy New Year to all Polo Times readers and I hope you had a good Christmas. The winter is quiet for Pony Club Polo, but the committee has been hard at work thinking about the organisation, the rules and the usual extensive Schools and Universities (SUPA) arena programme which goes on throughout the Spring term.

First, there are two changes on the Pony Club committee: I am pleased to announce that Mrs Liz Wicks has accepted the committee post of Training Coordinator. She has already started work, so anyone wanting advice on starting polo and organising rallies, courses, camps, instructors, Clubs with training facilities, etc, should contact her through the Pony Club. Brigadier Christopher Price has also kindly agreed to run Rendell (U21 one chukka polo) continuing from last year and join the committee.

Second, we have raised the upper age limit on Langford (2/4 chukka polo) to Under 18. We feel this will fit better with Junior HPA and will ease the transition into Gannon (4 chukka polo) at 19 rather than 18. Remember, there are no lower age limits on these two sections for players who are good enough.

Third, we have changed the handicap limits for Langford and Gannon. Langford is now -6 to -2 and Gannon is -2 to 2. We think this is a better reflection on the level of Pony Club players available at these age groups. There is also a small change to the handicap restriction for Langford and Gannon, in that the restriction is now on the team rather than the player. So a Langford team with, for example, three -2’s and a -1 (-7) must now play off -6 and not -4 as was the case last year. These two competitions are a fantastic opportunity to play with friends under the umbrella of the Pony Club.

Please be aware that the Pony Club helmet rules are changing for 2016. Please read the rulebook and the Pony Club website – where we have clarified the rules.

Finally, please take the opportunity now to look at the following: • Could your children play in the arena with Schools and Universities Polo Association?

• If you are an instructor, are you properly qualified to teach Under 18s with safeguarding training and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks in place? The Pony Club can advise on the requirements.

• If you are organising training or courses for Under 21s, are they advertised in the right places? Mrs Wicks can help with this.

• Are your ponies all vaccinated and passports up to date? Are they wintering well with appropriate worming and attention to teeth etc?

Did you know?

SUPA statistics have seen a dramatic rise in members and over the last four years, numbers have grown from just over 370 to in excess of 600 registered members in 2014.

Oxford University Polo Club Winter Cuppers were held on Sunday 6 December at Holbrook Farm in Oxfordshire, with congratulations going to reigning champions St. Peter’s College. Favourites for the day, St. Peter’s, featuring Jacky He alongside husband and wife duo, William and Lana Hsu, with secret weapon Varsity Captain Lawrence Wang, managed a narrow win over St. Catherine’s and a convincing victory with a score of 4-0 against Lady Margaret Hall. Most Valuable Player went to Sally Cactús for a consistent display of skill, and Freddie Hamilton was awarded Best Goal for two winning shots including an impressive scoring backhand.

1st St. Peter’s: William Hsu, Lana Hsu, Lawrence Wang and Jacky He 2nd Lady Margaret Hall: Thomas Johnson, Adam McKay and Issa Patel 3rd Brasenose: Rachel Harrington-Kandt, Natalie Page, Chau-Jean Lin, Elli Gilje and Rachel Tanner 4th Christ Church: Lizzy Hamilton, Amy Nizolek and Elizabeth Foley 5th Balliol: Eline Thorup Ringgaard, Martyna Zelek and Kasey Morris 6th St Catherine’s: Ryan Mao, Andrew Li and Sally Cactús 7th New College: Jasper Wessling, Jasper van Dijk, Emmanuel Efunbote and Freddie Hamilton 8th St Antony’s: Kathleen Derose, Peter Kutzen and Emma Hersée

Useful websites: www.supa.org.uk www.pcuk.org and search for “Polo Discipline”, there is also a very useful section on Safeguarding. www.hpa-polo.org.uk and go to Development/British Junior Polo.

Thank you all so much to those of you who help, sponsor, and lend facilities for Pony Club, SUPA and British Junior Polo. Also, thank you to those of you who wrote to me expressing appreciation of our efforts in 2014. It is a pleasure to get your letters.

Have a fantastic 2015 season!

The Polo Pony Club Chairman starting his grandson off early on a polo path

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Photograph by Peter James Derby

Pony Club contact: Laura Armstrong – laura@pcuk.org Tel: 02476 698 309

Oxford University Polo Cup Winter Cuppers teams

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Youth

University of London battling with home team Exeter University

Greenpoint Polo University League The Greenpoint Polo University League is well underway at the Buckinghamshirebased Pyatts Farm arena. The polo school has a staggering 14 teams entered from universities based in the South of England.

So far in the Beginner section Oxford Brookes A and C teams have each won a game. In the Novice section Oxford Brookes B and University of London have both won their games whilst the Oxford Brookes B vs D match was a draw.

Rugby Polo Club Teams from Warwick, St. Andrews, Liverpool, Birmingham, Birmingham City, Harper Adams, Nottingham, Loughborough, Manchester and Newcastle entered The University Challenge. There were a total of four sections, starting with 12 teams in a single Beginner section, seven teams in Novice and nine teams in Novice One. There were a further three teams in the Intermediate/ Combined section. With a total of 414 chukkas played throughout the weekend, over a hundred ponies were required each day for the numerous players.

With 94 players in total, including half-seat participants, the University winter polo season is well underway which bodes well for The National University Tournament run

by SUPA at Rugby Polo Club.

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Spotlight on ‘new to polo’, Greenwich University Equestrian and Polo Club Polo Times talks to President of the Club, Adele Wilkinson about her aspirations for polo at Greenwich Statistics How many members? 17 (16 girls and 1 boy) How many lessons have you had? 1 taster session and 2 lessons How many times have you played: Once on Saturday 17 January 2015 Where are you based? Greenpoint Polo, High Wycombe.

found cantering around out of control at training and frequently crashes into Adele. Yasmin is Vice-President and co-founder of UoG’s Equestrian and Polo Club.

Miranda Wyne is a third year film production student hoping to work as a production designer for films and TV. Miranda has ridden since she was three years-old and has owned her lovely horse, Jed, for nine years. Miranda is Treasurer of UoG’s Equestrian and Polo Club, and loves cake!

How did you all get started as a Club was it a planned idea, or had some of you played polo before?

Adele Wilkinson (President and founder of the Club) was the only one to have played before having had one polo lesson at home in North Yorkshire. She loved it and decided it would be fun to set up a Club at University and therefore recruited fellow horsey students at Greenwich. We hope to continuously grow as a club over time.

What do you love most about the sport as an activity to do at University?

Having the Olympic equestrian events held on our doorstep in 2012 at Greenwich Park, it became apparent that the University of Greenwich lacked any form of equestrian club. Since forming in late 2014, the Club has brought together lots of competitive students who share the same love for horses. So far the Club has been an enormous amount of fun. We hope to be successful in 2015 and would love to raise the profile of the University through its success in polo.

What are your aspirations as a Club?

To be successful in our matches, continuously improve both as individual players and as a team, have lots of fun and hopefully gain sponsorship by the end of 2015.

Will you be going to The SUPA University Nationals in February?

Hopefully (if our finances allow).

Tell us a bit about each of your players?

Adele Wilkinson is the founder and President of UoG’s Equestrian and Polo Club. Adele is a second year law student.

Completely horse mad, Adele learnt to ride at the age of three and has competed her own, and other people’s horses, in a variety of disciplines ever since.

Alexa Dietsch is a second year business and economics student. Alexa is the most elegant member of the Club and when not riding can often be found in what she calls ‘banking heaven’, Canary Wharf. Alexa is also UoG’s Equestrian and Polo Club Social Secretary.

Hollie Martin is a first year law student.

Hollie comes from a show jumping background, but is adapting to polo very well as she always appears to know what she is doing. Hollie is the ditzy one of the team, but we love her for it.

Yasmin Morris is also a law student in her second year. Yasmin can often be

Have you all got favorite ponies?

All of the ponies at Greenpoint Polo are great, but Midnight, Milonga, Calloi, Bundie and Maggie are a few of our favorites.

What has been the hardest shot you have all had to master?

All of them! Joking aside, probably the nearside backhand.

Any advice for other universities who are thinking about forming a polo Club?

Go for it! It is an enormous amount of fun and a fantastic sport to learn how to play.

Be careful though as it is very addictive!

Photograph by Adele Wilkinson

Photograph by Clive Bennet Photography

Druids Lodge Polo Club The Druids Lodge University League is now halfway through the competition London and Southampton Universities are currently at the top of their respective groups. It could still go any way with many teams close behind. The Druids Super League, with five teams entered, saw Bristol triumph over Exeter 19 – 9 and Druids Combined beat Exeter 14 ½ – 10 in the second match.

Greenwich University team training teams

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Youth The tournament between the older teams saw a clear winner emerge, with Summer Field (Christian Oberschneider, Tomi Ojura and Amil Folawiyo) beating Aldro (Matthew Valetsky, Freddie Pritchard and Hugh Shilson) by nine goals over two chukkas.

The Aldro team also lost against Papplewick (Scott Murray, Alessandro Angelucci and Chase Daley) whilst the latter’s game against Summer Fields ended in a 1-0 defeat, leaving Summer Fields as the outright winners.

Photograph by Perdy Humfrey

Division 1 Winners The RAU: Patrick Wales, Daisy Miller, Perdy Humfrey (Captain) and Angus Lowe

prize, whilst Jenny Boylett from Norland College won the Most Valuable Player Award for the beginner section and Miles Martin for the novice section, with prizes sponsored by RJ Polo.

West Wycombe Park Polo Club The Buckinghamshire Club held a SUPA Schools tournament on Sunday 30 November. The Conifers team of Noah Hyde, Alfie Hyde and the tournament’s sole girl player, Sabrina Bradley, began the day with a win against the Aldro boys, Freddie Cooper, Darius Heinen and Billy Cooper (the youngest player at just seven-years-old).

Photograph by Sandy Pritchard

Inglesham Polo Club Inglesham was once the host Club for The SUPA University Nationals when the tournament was a two-day affair and the likes of the Emerson brothers were still at Bristol and playing in the Open section. The Club, now run by professional player Matt Evetts (4 goals in the arena), is experiencing a renaissance of university polo.

On the weekend of the 29 – 30 November Winchester, Bath Spa, Norland College, Cardiff, the Royal Agricultural University and the Defence Academy descended on the Wiltshire based club for a beginners and novices tournament. The Saturday evening was also a chance for the competitors to enjoy a carnival-themed barn party complete with fire throwers. The Royal Agricultural University’s first team took lead place in Division 1, Cardiff University’s second team took first place in Division 2 and the Defence Academy took the honours for Division 3. Bath Spa won the indoor twoaside league with the Defence Academy taking second followed by a combined team in third place. Sarah Glover from Cardiff University was awarded the Top Scorer

Aldro player Matthew Valetsky with Freddie Pritchard

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Knowledge

Know your horse

The Importance of Correct Vaccination A

s a veterinary surgeon I get many queries from horse owners about vaccinations, what to vaccinate their horses against and why. There are several infectious diseases that are endemic to the UK and can have repercussions not only to the individual horse’s health, but also to our businesses within the polo community.

Widespread outbreaks of these diseases could have huge consequences to the polo industry, as it has done in the past with racing. An industry-wide outbreak of any of the infectious diseases could cost into the hundreds of thousands of pounds, both in treatment of those animals affected and also due to a loss of revenue from those whose livelihood is reliant on their horses. The two diseases of particular concern are Equine Influenza and Equine Herpes Virus.

Basic biosecurity should be our primary defence against infectious diseases. The main thing that should be implemented is quarantine of any new horses coming into your string. Two weeks is the minimum period of quarantine before horses should be integrated into a string. During this period ensure that all equipment and tack is separate, and no other horses are in contact. Taking regular temperatures

Nicola Bell BVetMed MRCVS graduated from the Royal Veterinary College and spent time working near Buenos Aires, before returning to the UK to a position at Riverside Vets in Hampshire. Having captained the Royal Vets Polo team for several years she continued to play club polo at Lacey Green, before moving to Hampshire with three of her polo ponies in tow. Nicola has a particular interest in equine medicine and performance, which incorporates preventative medicine. from the horses in quarantine is also recommended. If possible separate grooms should also be allocated to those horses in isolation.

Equine Influenza Equine Flu is caused by a virus, and is highly contagious between horses, particularly young horses. Clinical signs will appear approximately 1-3 days after exposure to the virus. The clinical signs of Flu include nasal discharge, coughing, fever and decreased appetite. Diagnosis of Flu is usually made via isolation of the virus from swabs taken from the nasopharngeal region, or detecting antigens from paired blood samples taken no more than two weeks apart.

Treatment of horses with Flu usually involves supportive therapy and prevention of secondary bacterial infection. Horses should be adequately rested until recovery.

Appropriate vaccinations can safeguard against infectious diseases, such as Equine Influenza and Equine Herpes Virus

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Individual horses that have mild infection and no secondary complications can be expected to take 2-3 weeks to recover, but some can take as long as six months before they can return to strenuous exercise.

Preventing Equine Influenza affecting your horses and businesses is primarily achieved through vaccination and good bio-security.

Vaccination against Flu requires a primary course of three vaccinations.

Primary vaccination can be given as early as four months of age, second vaccination should be given between 4-6 weeks later, and the third vaccination five months after that. The onset of immunity is 14 days following the second vaccination, but will only last five months, hence the need for a third vaccination before moving to annual booster vaccinations.

The current recommendations from the HPA is that all horses registered after 2014, or with no previous vaccination history, must receive a course of three vaccinations with the second vaccination given 21-92 days following the first and the third vaccination given 3-7 months following this. Every horse must have received a minimum of a first vaccination to be permitted to play at any club or tournament.

The World Organisation for Animal Health currently recommends that horses should be vaccinated against Equine Influenza with a vaccine that contains two particular strains of Flu, to provide the best protection against flu. Contact your Veterinary Surgeon to ensure your horse is adequately protected.

Equine Herpes Virus (EHV) There are several types of EHV, but the most commonly seen to cause clinical diseases in horses are EHV 1 and EHV 4. EHV 1 causes neurological disease, respiratory disease, alongside abortion and death of newborn foals. EHV 4 causes respiratory disease with www.polotimes.co.uk

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Know your horse

similar clinical signs to Equine Influenza.

Many horses may have EHV without clinical disease, these horses are known as ‘carriers’, they can develop clinical signs if the virus is re-activated; this can occur during periods of stress, such as the onset of training, transport or illness.

The spread of EHV can occur via aerosol particles in cases of respiratory disease, and in broodmares can be passed either by the respiratory route or via fluids, placenta and foetal tissues into the environment. The virus may survive for up to 30 days in the environment.

Diagnosis of EHV is done via nasopharyngeal swab and blood samples.

In cases of abortion, the placenta, foetus, and fluids should be sent for post-mortem.

Vaccination against EHV requires two vaccinations as a primary course with the second 4-6 weeks following the first.

Booster vaccinations are required at six monthly intervals. The vaccination offers

some protection against respiratory disease and can help prevent ‘abortion storms’ in broodmare herds.

There is currently no compulsion to vaccinate against EHV in the HPA rules, however my recommendation to horse owners in any sphere would be to vaccinate if their horses are involved in competition, breeding or are exported/imported.

If you suspect any of your horses have any of the clinical signs associated with Equine Influenza or Equine Herpes Virus, seek urgent veterinary advice. Keep this horse isolated from other horses and

Knowledge

implement strict biosecurity measures including disinfection and hand washing before handling other horses. The HPA should be informed should any infectious disease be suspected.

In conclusion, appropriate vaccination and biosecurity measures will ensure that we safeguard our horses’ performance and business viability.

Nicola Bell BVetMed MRCVS Riverside Equine Vets Tel: 02380 620605 Email: nbell@rvc.ac.uk or visit www.riversidevets.co.uk/equine

For more information, please see the references below: www.aht.org.uk/cms-display/science_herp.html www.hpa-polo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/HPA-Rules-2014.pdf Codes of Practice 2015: Horserace Betting Levy Board codes.hblb.org.uk/downloads/codes%20of%20 practice%20complete%202015.pdf www.aht.org.uk/skins/Default/pdfs/OIE_Bulletin_2014.pdf www.oie.int/our-scientific-expertise/specific-information-and-recommendations/equine-influenza/

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Knowledge

Nutrition focus

Lorna Edgar – specialist equine nutritionist

As Fat As Butter….

The ‘belly’ is not an area where the horse holds fat. Sometimes this area becomes more prominent if they are on lush spring grass due to the amount of gas produced during fermentation in the hind gut, or if they are being fed a poor quality ‘stalky’ hay or haylage that sits in the hind gut for longer to be digested.

The horse also has abdominal muscles, and being a polo pony they work in an inverted outline and are rarely worked in an outline to carry itself correctly so the abdominal/core muscles are not used in the correct manner. This can then cause those ponies with a certain type of conformation to have a more predominant ‘belly’.

The ideal Body Condition Score?

A fit polo pony should have a Condition Score of 5, (using the American scoring system of 1-9).

At this time of the year the polo world is making final plans for bringing ponies back into work for the summer season and the term “my ponies are as fat as butter” out in the field is commonly used. Are they really as fat as butter? Very often I feel this is not so, and once ponies come back into work I find myself explaining where the horse actually stores fat and encouraging Body Condition Scoring.

Where does the horse store fat?

When condition scoring your pony: • You need to touch them – not just stand and look at them, especially when they come in from the winter with thick hairy coats!

• Look at them from different angles – from the side, standing behind, standing in front.

• Watch them move – riding ‘sets’ is an ideal place to be looking at the condition of your lead ponies!

• Take photos – especially if there is a pony you are concerned about – taking pictures at fortnightly intervals, from different angles, can help you see their progression.

Can the ribs be felt easily?

If so, then being fat is not a problem and the area being focused on is most likely the ‘belly’, which stands out significantly

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when the pony has no top line muscle.

Being able to feel ribs easily is indicating a Body Condition Score of 4 – and NOT FAT! Conformation?

Always take conformation into consideration as deep girthed, wide sprung ribs does not mean it is fat, it is more likely a predominant ‘belly’ and lack of top line. So often these ponies have their feed and forage restricted in the hope they lose weight off the ‘belly’.

They don’t, instead they lose more top line and their condition score gets less.

When ponies come in from the winter, a condition score of 6 would be ideal, but more often we see a condition score of 4. What we don’t want to happen is for a condition score of 6 to turn into a 4 within a month of being in work as this suggests their diet is not supporting their workload.

As always, a balanced diet is essential all year round!

Contact Lorna Edgar of Baileys Horse Feeds on lorna@baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk

4 - Moderately thin

Outline of ribs discernible although covered. Scapula and hips covered. Neck reasonably well covered with some top line.

5 - Moderate

Ribs not easily distinguished but can be felt. Well muscled top line, shoulders and neck blend smoothly into body. Fat around tailhead feeling spongy. No hollowness through quarters.

6 - Moderately fat

May have slight crease down back. Fat over ribs feels spongy.

Fat around tailhead feeling soft. Starting to deposit fat down withers and behind the shoulder.

4

5

6

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the

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picture

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On top of the world Young Mongols are impressed by their prize for participating in the Genghis Khan Polo Club Summer Camp.

The London Alumni Polo Club took a step back in time with a visit to the Ghenkis Khan Polo Club in the Orkhon Valley at the base of the steppe overlooking the Orkhon river in Mongolia. The players from Reading, Imperial London and Regents Universities enjoyed the hospitality of Christopher Griecke and his family.

Christopher’s sons D’Artagnan (who plays for Harrow School) and Ich Tenger both participated in the games. The Genghis Khan Polo Club are hoping to raise funds by encouraging polo tours such as these to be able to train and involve more local children in the game of polo. ◗ Photograph by: Thijs Povel

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Knowledge

Pony running reports

PONY running reports As the UK arena season hots up with major tournaments and SUPA National Tournaments just around the corner, we continue to follow the preparation for polo with Matt Evetts’ school pony Squeaky at Inglesham Polo Club and Chris Crawford’s multi-talented Rainbow.

Huw Beavan’s move to Dallas Burston Polo Club included a change of scene for off the track polo pony-in-making Madge, who has been learning figures of eight. Our international four legged friends Passion and Mexicanita have had a busy lead up to winter. Passion has travelled many miles as part of Glen Armstrong’s main string to play in tournaments held at all the different clubs around the South Island of New Zealand. *PUBLISHER’S NOTE This ongoing feature is aimed at following the training programmes, the amount of polo played, and any additional costs incurred on top of the usual livery or field rental costs.

Livery can be hugely expensive, but keeping ponies at home or at grass in a rented field can be vastly different in price. By excluding the cost of livery, which can vary greatly across the UK and internationally, the feature focusses more on the costs such as shoeing, vet bills or chiropractor appointments. Likewise we track the number of miles travelled from an interest point of view, but do not enter in to discussion about costs of diesel, trucks, drivers etc. We hope you find the included facts and figures enlightening.

MEXICANITA Age: 5 Height: 15.1hh Sex: Mare Owners: Carlitos & Mariano Gracida Breeding: Out of Valid Expectations From: Mexico Base: The former Crab Orchard barn, Palm Beach, Florida Level of polo: High goal “Currently, I don’t have any polo on, so I will be obligated to get Mexicanita

to a top player. Because she is one of the best horses I’ve ever played, I would like to see her get as far as possible. However, at present she is still in training. She trains on sets where she gets around 15 minutes of trotting and 45 minutes of walking in intervals, and then plays chukkas about three times a week. She eats a scoop a day (3/4 oats, 1/4 pellets), but once she starts performing harder, then I will up her feed, but right now it’s not necessary. I don’t like giving the thoroughbreds too much oats, because it makes them temperamental.

They usually already run on very little, so they only really need enough feed to keep them balanced and not too fresh and overfed.”

January/February overview: Number of chukkas played: 12 chukkas (3 per week) Number of miles travelled: 0 Cost this month: $150 per month on grazing Total cost this month: Unavailable for this month

SQUEAKY Age: 16 Height: 15hh Sex: Mare Type: Polo pony Name of owner: Matt Evetts Base: Inglesham Polo Club Level of polo expected: Beginners to intermediate “Squeaky’s exercise regime has stayed much the same, although she did have a four-week holiday over Christmas to kick her heels up and chill before the universities came back for lessons. The plan is to give her another holiday at the end of the arena season and we will then see if we need her for the summer season; she has worked very hard so it will be nice for her to have a good break. In the Royal Agriculture University Tournament she was played by Caroline Kane from RAU and Libby Round from Norland College, with Caroline coming second in her division thanks to Squeaky – she truly is a favourite to everyone. We haven’t needed to change her feed and she still plays in her Pelham, we find she ‘bores down’ (puts her head down too far to avoid the bit) if we play her in a gag.

She also recently played in a 2 goal Club level tournament. The winter has been so mild that we have had to clip her again, we can’t keep up with the coat growth! The students always ask if I would ever sell her, especially the girls from Bath Spa, but Squeaky is worth her weight in gold. The only downside to her is that she is a grey, and a grey that loves to get filthy in the field and stable. Her groom Brian Taylor knows this all too well, however she does love a good bath – which is lucky.

Squeaky will be playing mainly at Inglesham over the next few months but she will be heading to SUPA National Universities at Rugby Polo Club in February.”

January/February overview: Number of chukkas played: 16 chukkas (4 per week) Number of miles travelled: 0 Cost this month: Shoeing £80 Total Cost: £80*

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Pony running reports

RAINBOW Age: 6 Height: 15.1hh Sex: Mare Type: Argentine Thoroughbred Name of owners: Chris Crawford (CSC Polo)/ Tristan Pemble Base: Kirtlington Park Polo Club Level of polo expected: 10 goal in arena “We initially decided to keep Rainbow in over the winter to build on the lessons she learnt during the summer season. She found her foray into other disciplines (team chasing and hunting) exciting and came back into polo with a braver outlook. This last month she has really come into her own and now rides off opponents more boldly and fearlessly than ever.

“Playing highlights this month included the HPA National 6 Goal at Berkshire (we made it to the Semi Final) and Sworders Challenge (6 goal) at Rugby, where we won.

“Her exercise regime remains the same, apart from the addition of lunging. She’s worked during the week and has Mondays turned away in the field. When she’s not being ridden, she either goes on the walker or she is lunged in a De Gogue, a training aid to help encourage a rounded frame.

Over Christmas, she was turned away with her summer comrades for a much deserved two weeks off.”

MADGE

(ON THE BIAS)

Age: 4 Height: 15.2hh Sex: Mare Type: Thoroughbred Name of owner: Huw Beavan Base: Rugby Arena Polo Club Level of polo expected: Youngster so, not 100% sure “Madge was progressing well towards the end of December and was responding well to neck reining and the leg aids in trot. I had been doing a couple of exercises to achieve this, which included lots of figures of eights and using the arena walls to encourage her to step underneath herself without running on. I gave her some time off over and between Christmas and New Year so she had her shoes removed, but maintained her feet with trimming. I then brought her back into work this week and she has been going on set with my main string, which helps to accustom her to being around other horses. Over the last few days I have been walking her out and reinforcing the training covered in the run up to Christmas.

She doesn’t seem to have forgotten any of it and continues to enjoy her work. Over the next month or so I hope to move onto her checking down and reining back, but I will do this once she begins to build up more of a top line and some muscle behind.”

January/February overview:

January/February overview:

Number of chukkas played: 7 tournament chukkas and 4 practice chukkas Number of miles travelled: 720 miles Cost the month: Rug £50, Worming £8, Minty treats £3.99 Total cost: £61.99*

Number of chukkas played: 0 Number of miles travelled: 10 (from Rugby to Dallas Burston Polo Club) Cost this month: Shoeing £15 (shoes off and trim) Total cost: £15*

Knowledge

PASSION Age: 13 Height: 15.1hh Sex: Mare Owner: Glen Armstrong Breeding: NZ Thoroughbred Base: Christchurch, New Zealand.

Level of polo: 4-18 goal

“Passion had a very busy run up to Christmas playing several local tournaments before the South Island League started at the end of November. The League is played over three consecutive weekends with two to three games each weekend. As a different club in the South Island plays host each weekend, the horses end up travelling a long way between fixtures. Passion held up well during the League and was consistently my best horse. She is the fittest horse in my string and naturally lean, so it can be hard to keep weight on when playing her a lot. We’ll be keeping a close eye on her condition throughout the season. All the horses had 10 days off over the Christmas period to freshen up and are now back in full exercise, playing and getting ready for a month playing in the North Island.”

January/February overview:

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Number of chukkas played: 18 (2 in practice) Number of miles travelled: 1,001 Cost this month: £0 Total cost: £0*

Polo Times, January / February 2015

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Umpire’s corner with Sebastian Dawnay

This season’s arena rules for the perspective of a player and umpire - part two As the arena season is well underway Sebastian Dawnay talks to Polo Times about the rules and regulations of the game Sebastian Dawnay has been playing arena polo at the highest level for nearly e es es i ll i e i ll is ee i li s i l e l i i e l e ks i e s ee e l ei i es i li e i essi e si si s le i l i s i i e se in January 2013 (a feat last achieved in 1923); and captaining Ireland i 4 ei l i l se s s ee l k e l s e e es e s e s s e s i esse e e l i l e el e i e l e e e s ls s i e s e i e s ee e e i i ee si e e se s e e les i ee si e e se s e s e e ll e i les ee i s si e e e s e ii i s e i e l l e is e issi es lis i s e ll e le l es s e s is e e s les e s l ei e isi e e e les e Is there a particular reason as to why arena chukkas are six minutes long rather than the seven minutes in grass polo?

It is simply due to the nature of continuous play and how fast the game is. The shortening of the chukka length from seven to six is purely for pony welfare – the players and the ponies don’t have the opportunity to have a breather and canter back to the middle after a goal, as there are no throwins. Also outdoors you can change anytime, but in the arena this just isn’t practical!

How have penalties in the arena changed over the years and why have the changes come about? For example Penalty 4b has changed again for the 2014/15 season.

They have changed massively. When I first played in ’98 if you missed a 25 yard or 15 yard penalty then the surrounding players could simply charge at the ball for a hit (in this situation everyone should have been behind the ball, bar one player). The ball was known as ‘live’ and was for anyone to play for. This was utter chaos in the arena, and frankly terrifying for both players and ponies. Now if you miss, the defending team have a knock in and you only need 62

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to be 5 yards away. It was too aggressive before. If I was going away from the goal and making an attacking play and I was fouled by the opposition it was deemed a 25 yard hit penalty, which seemed unfair. Now the choice of a spot hit has come back again for this season. The next difference is the distance the ball can travel. It must move 10 yards forward rather than 5 yards. The mid season review of the rules by the committee on 6 January made the change to Penalty 2 to make it simpler for all the clubs to implement the rules. It makes more sense for defended goals to be worth 2 points and undefended for 1 point. To explain, if I get a 15 yard undefended hit I can now choose to bring it back to a 25 yard defended. This change will stop people from professionally fouling in the last seconds of the game. For example, there are 30 seconds left on the clock and I am one goal down so I need to score 2 points to win, I could manufacture a foul in the time I have left. The change will discourage this kind of play.

Penalty 4b is still being discussed and it will change again and continue to be reviewed each season. As part of the standardisation, I am hoping that all measurements should be 10 yards, so

players must be 10 yards from the hitter in a penalty, the ball must travel at least 10 yards, rather like when outdoors everything is 30 yards. This has also been included in Penalty 10.b. (b) with a change from 5 yards to 10 yards for Penalties 5 and 6.

In what kind of situation would Penalty 9 (the match shall be forfeited) be used and why?

Bad weather would mostly be applicable for a Penalty 9. Any extreme sudden changes in weather during the middle of the game preventing play from continuing, or even outrageous behaviour by one of the teams could also cause a Penalty 9.

The Yellow Flag (Rule 10.d. (iv)) was introduced last season. Why was the rule introduced?

The Yellow Flag was introduced in the 2013/14 season to the technical armory of the umpires.

Prior to this, the umpires could only award up to four technicals, the fourth resulting in the player being sent off. Originally, the Yellow Flag would be awarded for a period of 15 minutes subsequent to the end of the game. The Yellow Flag could also be carried forward to the next game. For the 2014/15 seasons the Yellow Flag will be awarded in conjunction with the relevant penalty. Should a player accumulate three flags in a match, or two flags in the same play, then the player will be sin binned. The Yellow Flags are removed from the player when they return to the game. If the player is sent to the sin bin for a third time in the match then the umpire will award a Penalty 7 (removal of the player for the remainder of the game).

With reference to the Right of Way and the Line of the Ball rules, do the umpires find it easier to track the line and infringements in the arena?

The right of way in the arena is easier for an umpire to keep track of, as the line of the ball, and fouls made by crossing the www.polotimes.co.uk

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Knowledge Arena rule changes by the HPA Arena Rules Committee Tuesday 6 January 1. Negative Play: If, in the opinion of the umpires, a player is considered to be making a ‘negative play’ then the whistle may be blown and a Penalty awarded.

2. Penalty 2: In the case of the umpires awarding a Penalty 2 (15 yard hit), the team fouled will be given the choice of a Penalty 2 for 1 point or a Penalty 4 (25 yard defended) for 2 points.

3. Reminder: Any goal scored from a Penalty 4 is worth 2 points.

HPA Arena Rules Committee: Marcus Hancock, Michael Amoore, Tim Bown, Sebastian Dawnay, Francis Matthews, Simon McLaren Tosh and Giles Ormerod. line, happen much closer than they would outdoors. The umpire is in front of the action all the time in the arena so infringements of the line are easier to spot. There is less interpretation of the line in the arena, even with the added line changes from the deflection off the walls.

Can you ride someone off into the boards?

You absolutely cannot push or ride someone off into the boards, but a player can push you over the ball. To ride someone into the boards is a serious foul. Thankfully, I have never seen a pony that has been hurt having been ridden into the boards in the 20 years I have played arena polo which is a relief.

What is the Morton Line?

The Morton Line began as a complicated American rule to prevent players from dribbling the ball down the boards to score; it was taken over by the introduction of the Hancock Zone. Essentially it is a rule created to make a fast and free flowing game; again it is about positive play rather than negative play.

What is the Hancock Zone?

The Hancock Zone was brought in to simplify the Morton Line rule. Any ball brought in from the 15 yards line heading for goal by an attacking player couldn’t be taken to the goal by dribbling it down the boards. It refers to play that goes down to the corner of the arena, play that is slowed www.polotimes.co.uk

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Sebastian Dawnay in action at Ash Farm’s 2015 Paul Sweeney Memorial Trophy

to a walk or a player that has stopped with the ball. In this situation you were considered to be making a negative play, which would result in a foul. The player would need to accelerate, that’s if you aren’t being blocked; you would be fine to continue with the positive play.

How has this changed over the years?

This was then changed to the 25 yard line and now it is anything 5 feet in from the arena walls. This has changed the way people play in a positive way.

You talk a lot about negative and positive play. Is this how the umpire looks at plays and gauges them for fouls?

Negative and positive play are the main qualities of play that we look for. This, and of course the welfare of the pony, are the most important aspects for the umpires in the arena season to consider. Negative play is when a player, who is challenged, chooses to slow to a walk or stop. Essentially negative play equates to keeping the ball and deceleration or walking. Positive play is anything that allows acceleration with the ball and hitting away.

Half chukkas and pony changes. These rulings are very different to grass polo and they don’t seem to support pony welfare as strongly. The rules state that you can change a pony once in a chukka but half chukkas are very popular even at lower goal polo now. Do you think this will change in years to come?

There have definitely been some conversations about introducing eight chukka games to accommodate the half chukkas, but this would require some considerable discussions as to how we could do this, and the length of the periods of play.

At the moment, the rules allow for players to only change once, a player may do so when play has been stopped, or by requesting to change with the umpire. Any interference with subsequent play will result in a penalty.

Why was the -1 rating introduced to arena handicaps?

The -1 handicap was introduced to make it more accessible and create more combinations for teams and tournaments.

We wanted to encourage more patrons to come into the arena games. There has always been a push to be 1 goal and above in your arena handicap so we felt that -1 should be the starting handicap rather than reverting to -2 or outdoor handicaps. It gives a bit more oomph to the title for the patron.

You could be a -2 outdoors, but in the arena, as it is an easier game and the more you play the more you improve, we felt the introduction for the -1 handicap would be positive for the sport.

Why were all the 0 goal players (most of which are -2 outdoors) allowed to stay on 0 rather than be reassessed by the Clubs to hold -1 handicaps?

It was felt that they had all been seen before as arena players, and if there was a specific case the Clubs would have suggested a change.

Mid-season arena handicaps – effective from Tuesday 16 December Sebastian Dawnay: (8) to 8 Chris Crawford: (5) to 5 Gavin Turner: 4 to (4) Spencer McCarthy: (3) to 3 Saskia Meadows: NR to (1) Nicholas Male: 1 to 0 Hannah Parry-Jones: 1 to 0 Charles Cooney: (0) to 1 Francesca Smith: (0) to 0 Luci Surridge: 0 to 1 Carla Burt: (-1) to -1 Tom Gordon-Colebrooke: (-1) to 0 Carl-Henrik Heimdal: (-1) to -1 Caroline Keeling: (-1) to -1 Katherine Manderfield: (-1) to -1 James Mann: -1 to 0 Polo Times, January / February 2015

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Equipment Focus: Bits

Bit by bit

In the first of a new bitting series, Stephen Biddlecombe of Equine Management Ltd. looks at the merits of individual bits

Which is strongest?

It isn’t really possible to say that one of these two bits, a Gag or Pelham, is stronger than the other, as there are many options for raised ports, rollers or hinges in the centre of the bits that have their own actions or effects – meanwhile, there are different materials of bit available. For example, a copper or sweet iron bit encourages more saliva, while a rubber mouthpiece may be considered more comfortable than metal.

Gags in many guises are widely used in polo. Pulley-type gags raise the bit up in the horse’s mouth, the Big Ring Barrie Gag from Bombers Bits is pictured

A

s we know, Gag and Pelham bits continue to be the most popular bits in polo, with the three ring gag notably gaining popularity with riders of young horses. But why is this?

Firstly, let’s look at what the bit does.

In simple terms, a bit passes on requests from the rider to the horse, regarding speed and direction. The mouthpiece of a bit is selected to suit a horse’s requirements – what fits their mouth conformation and what they are comfortable and happy in.

The bit rings, or cheek pieces, help the rider communicate with the horse.

Bits exert pressure on some or all of the following internal parts of the horse’s mouth: the bars, palate, tongue, lips and corners.

Bits also exert pressure on the poll and curb groove.

As we know, polo is fast and furious, and requires fast turns and changes of speed and direction – hence, what would be termed ‘stronger bits’ are usually preferred for polo, as they work on multiple areas of the mouth, have clear signals, and therefore obtain quicker results.

Gags and pelhams Gags are often preferred by riders of horses that pull. They work in the same way as

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a loose ring snaffle, but have an added leverage element that gives extra control at speed, in the form of a bigger ring, normally four inches in diameter.

In polo, a ‘pulley’ type gag is commonly used. The Balding (like a loose ring) and the Cheltenham (like an eggbut which remains stable in the mouth) are the most popular.

These have extended cheek pieces, usually a nylon cord, that passes through holes in the metal cheekpiece, with a ring at the base for the reins to fasten to. The pulley type of gag works by raising the bit up in the horse’s mouth and exerting pressure on the bars and roof of the mouth as well as giving poll pressure.

Pelhams feature elements of both a curb and a snaffle, giving a similar leverage function to a double bridle, and are available with various mouthpiece styles. The element that makes the Pelham a Pelham is the two fixed bit rings, one near the mouthpiece and one at the end of the shank. These are normally bigger on polo Pelhams. The mouthpiece itself varies! These reins have a similar action to the curb and bradoon reins in the double bridle. Pelhams are of course designed to be used with two reins; the ‘running’ rein on the larger ring, and the curb rein on the smaller, loose bottom ring.

Choosing a mouthpiece – key points: 1. Generally, the thicker the mouthpiece, the greater the bearing surface – the pressure exerted is spread over a wider area. A vulcanite Pelham is a good example of a thicker mouthpiece.

Smooth, unjointed mouthpieces have a more even bearing surface. To add to the mix, there are rollers and lozenges used within the centre of the bit.

2. Bits with ports make room for the tongue, but may still act on the tongue as well as the bars when engaged by the rider.

3. Conformation and dentistry issues, such as a large tongue, a low palate, overshot or undershot jaws, and hooks and tushes on the teeth affect mouthpiece choice. Horses with small mouths and short bars will actually find a thicker bit more uncomfortable, simply because there is not enough room for it – those with low palates may have similar difficulties with ported bits, so the height and shape of the port chosen is critical.

Other disciplines It is hard to definitively state what the most popular bits are for non-polo riding disciplines, but based on my own experience, I would say that for showjumping, something like the Buster Roller Loose Ring is popular – this has a 40mm roller that increases pressure on the horse’s tongue, and prevents the horse taking hold of the bit. When the rein is used, the increased bar pressure helps correct the heaviness in the hand and to lift the horse’s head – meanwhile, the loose ring provides a quick-release effect. www.polotimes.co.uk

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Equipment Focus: Bits

In dressage, the bitting rules are strict, with bits such as curbs being prohibited.

In general however, plain snaffles with a straight bar or joint at the centre (or a smooth double jointed central pieces) are allowed. The Elliptical Loose Ring from Bombers is popular – it features a 45mm lozenge in the centre which has a small surface area, so a horse that uses its tongue as a means of pushing against the bit will ‘draw back’ to a better point of control.

For cross country, the Ringed Continental is without doubt the most widely used bit – it is also known as a Dutch Gag. Three rings are very common. Ringed Continentals are best described as a cross between a traditional gag and a pelham.

Can polo learn from other disciplines?

I have been asked whether the sport of polo could learn anything from the other riding disciplines, and I would say that the use of 2½ ring bits, a fairly modern phenomenon, is a great evolvement for riders. These are undoubtedly kinder and have less leverage than their three ringed cousins. These gaghybrids introduce poll pressure as well as creating some leverage on the mouthpiece; when the reins are attached to the bigger ring, the bit has a more of a snaffle action, while the lower ‘gag’ style ring increases poll pressure for more control. The addition of a curb strap offers even more control.

As an example, there’s a Bombers bit called the McHardy, used for horses with a low head carriage that tend to lean on the bit. It offers increased pressure on the bars of the mouth, which act to lift the head, while the ‘buster roller’ central piece increases pressure on the tongue, bringing the chin in and encouraging the horse to soften as he plays with the roller. It has a medium port to create space for the tongue, a Buster roller centre with a 40mm roller link to increase tongue and bar pressure. This bit is available in a loose ring, full cheek, 2½ ring or Pelham.

The bit allows for immediate release of pressure when the rein aids are relaxed, thus rewarding the horse for a correct response.

Furthermore, I’d like to see more polo riders and trainers NOT seeing polo bits as a ‘one for all’ scenario, especially where inexperienced riders are concerned – with so many mouthpiece options available, it is possible to find a bit that suits the horse.

In forthcoming issues of Polo Times we will follow on this article to discuss the attributes of specific types of bit.

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Knowledge

The Elliptical Loose Ring bit is popular for dressage where many bits, including those with curbs are prohibited

The Buster Roller Loose Ring bit is used widely for showjumping, where the 40mm roller increases pressure on the horse’s tongue and prevents the horse taking hold of the bit

The Happy Tongue Big Ring Gag has ports to make room for the tongue

The 2½ Ring McHardy is an example of the fairly modern phenomenon of gag-hybrids which are best described as a cross between a traditional gag and a pelham. These are ideal for horses with a low head carriage

Bombers Bits include hundreds of off the shelf bitting solutions, and customers can even design their own bespoke bit from a selection of mouth pieces, cheek pieces and widths, using the ‘design your own bit’ service at www.bombersbits.co.uk. Bombers bits are made from blue sweet iron – the metal oxidises easily, creating a warm, sweet taste in the horse’s mouth.

This encourages the horse to salivate. Call Equine Management on 01825 840 002.

Polo Times, January / February 2015

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Sidelines

Gossip

We are delighted to announce the arrival of a new Jones member. Casey Jones, daughter of Jayne and Kenney, and her partner Jason Sheppard welcomed their healthy baby boy, Zachary Harry Sheppard on 3rd December at 5.20am weighing 5lbs 10oz. Zachary arrived a few weeks early but he is doing well, and so is mum!

Mike Rhys Jones, a farrier and a member of Surrey Polo Club and his wife, Carly celebrated the arrival of their baby, Barnaby Jack Rhys Jones. Barnaby was born on 20 November and weighed 9lbs.

CHRISTMAS ARRIVALS

Cowdray 4 goaler, South African Derreck Bratley and his partner Julie Punchard welcomed their first baby, Louisa Jane, on 8 December, just two weeks before Christmas.

Congratulations to you all.

Beverley Polo Club’s 4 goaler Sebastian Funes and his partner Emma Nicholson have welcomed their first baby, Santiago Federico Nicolas Funes. Santiago was born on 17 January at 2.02pm weighing 7lb14oz.

A HOLIDAY TO REMEMBER

On 7 January, Epsom Polo Club’s Lance Anderson got engaged to his partner Leticia Rogan whilst on holiday in South Africa.

GOOD CRAIC

Tell us yours at gossip@polotimes.co.uk Anonymity guaranteed if you want it...

0 goaler Saffron Hutchinson recently got engaged to Irish racehorse trainer, Andy Oliver.

Andy proposed to Saffron at the South Tyrone Foxhounds Hunt Meet on 29 November. The couple are set to get married in Ireland later this year.

WINTER WEDDING

NORTHERN LIGHTS

El Remanso’s George Hanbury recently got engaged to his long-term girlfriend, Tori Bigge. The 3 goaler proposed on January 14 and the couple, who met at Milton Abbey, are planning to get married near Tori’s home town of Whorlton in County Durham. Congratulations George and Tori.

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Uber Polo’s Leigh-Anne (née Moore) married Chris Davies at St.James’ Church, Selham (near Ambersham polo grounds) on 19 December. With Tarquin Southwell as Best Man and Jamie Le Hardy and Rupert Leuff as Ushers, their wedding was a polo-player filled affair.

LOOKING PRETTY IN PINK!

3 goaler, Tim Bown, was spotted playing a rather colourful pony in the Final of the 6 goal Christmas HPA National Championships.

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Sidelines

Ann Holmes-Drewry & Sophie Brogan

Bruce James, Edward Olver & Joseph Chama Srour

Sam Carter & Hugo van Belle

British Polo Day Mexico; Balvanera Polo & Country Club; Saturday 29 November 2014

Tipple of Tequila Over 800 guests attended the third British Polo Day Mexico at the de Alba family’s Balvanera Polo & Country Club back in November. VIPs kick-started the afternoon with a champagne Taittinger reception before enjoying a three-course lunch by revered Mexican chef Matteo Salas accompanied by fine wines from Justerini & Brooks. A quirky take on a quintessentially British pastime, the afternoon ‘tea and tequila’ continued to refresh everyone throughout the afternoon of polo. Crowds gathered at the end of the day to see Carlos Hernandez CEO of C&H and Bruce James, MD of Hotel Matilda present the prizes to the expectant winners. The Hackett Trophy was awarded to the C&H Mexican polo team, whilst The Land Rover Trophy went to the winning Palacio de Hierro team. The Holland & Holland Shot of the Day was presented to Lewis Pereza and the final prize was the Royal Salute Most Valuable Player to Imelda de Alba.

Then, in typical Mexican style, the after-party began and lasted until the early hours.

Photographs by Keoma Zec British Polo Day Chepo de Alba & friends

Natasha Dangerfield & Edward Craig

George Sunderland & Luis Perez

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David Ashby preparing for the game

Polo Times, January / February 2015 Miguel Cheschistz, Oscar Santos, David Arelle & Charlie North

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Berta Cordova, Miguel Calzada, Imelda de Alba & Miguel Cheschistz

Badi Burad, Jorge Contreras & Marijo Contreras

www.polotimes.co.uk Adriana Leal, Caros Diez & Francisco Garduno

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Sidelines

J P Armoire Showgirls doing the Can-Can

Nottingham University Polo Club girls & boys

Christmas Gala; Dallas Burston Polo Club, Warwickshire; 5 December 2014

Showgirls and Shetlands Nottingham University Polo Club girls

DBPC Christmas Gala on Saturday 5 December welcomed local polo players from Nottingham University, Rugby and Offchurch Bury Polo Clubs as well as sponsors and friends of the Club for a fabulous evening of entertainment. Over 200 guests were welcomed by carol singers, mulled wine and star guest Sooty, the Shetland Pony.

Entertainment included J P Armoire Elite Show Girls, talented young singer Rosie Samaras, a seven piece funk band and an incredible fireworks display.

Anna Roberts, Laura Ricketts, Tanya Ricketts, Suzie Carney & Liz Taylor

Photographs by Peter James Photography More extravagant entertainment from J P Armoire Showgirls

Amelia Kate Smith, Emma Cheshire & Hannah Dow

Lucy Cox & Ella Cloake from the Dallas Burston Polo Club Office Rosie Samaras 17 year old singer

Sooty the Shetland as a reindeer

L-R: Lily Oyamburu, Gary Allen, Graham Carter, Geoff Matthews, James Glew & Amy Harper.

Insledge-Karolina Tomczak, Phoebe Matthews & Viv Carter

Oompfh Funk Band lead singer

Fireworks display over the Super Arena

www.polotimes.co.uk

PT JanFeb15 46-80.indd 69

Polo Times, FebruaryFebruaryxx 2015

69

26/01/2015 18:07

Sidelines

Will Ramsay

John Stevenson & HH Maharaja of Marwar Jodhpur

Ben Vestey, Ed Olver & Tom Hudson

British Polo Day India; Jodhpur Polo & Equestrian Institute; 12-14 December 2014

British Polo Day

Cameron Bacon & Lucy Boorman

“British Polo Day has given me purpose – from weaving together the presence of some of Britain’s most luxurious brands with India’s rich culture and heritage, to giving regional players an event to aspire to play in and create new talent,” so said HH Maharaja of Jodhpur at the 2014 edition of BPD India. “We have now built long-term relationships with our partners, sponsors and guests and – galloping into its fourth year – India remains the proud host of the year’s finest British Polo Day.” Three days of fast-paced polo saw the Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces Jodhpur, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Eton and the President’s Bodyguards teams reign supreme. Away from the polo pitches, guests including the British Deputy High Commissioner Chandigarh, Bobby Dundas, Lanto Sheridan and Olivia Inge travelled with Abercrombie & Kent and enjoyed a host of magical evenings at some of India’s most historic settings. British Polo Day, hosted

by Land Rover, welcomed VIPs to drinks on the roof of the Umaid Bhawan Palace and a candlelit dinner in the Mehrangarh Fort, as well as a spectacular fashion show with pieces by McQ Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Hackett London. A live auction was also held in aid of The Indian Head Injury Foundation and Head Injury Through Sport charities, which raised an impressive $9,000 for these worthy causes.

HH Maharaja of Marwar Jodhpur & Lucy Lowe

Photographs by Sam Churchill British Polo Day

Nikhilendra Singh, Violet Manners & Bozzo Singh

Katie & Will Gayner

Oliver Browne, Lanto Sheridan & Bobby Dundas

JulesPolo Phillimore, Phillimore Catherine Raines & Angus Kirkby 70 Times,Natalie January / February 2015 & Tristan Phillimore

PT JanFeb15 46-80.indd 70

Olivia Inge

Jessica Ashooh & Sam Browne

Alexandra & Marc de Panafieu www.polotimes.co.uk

26/01/2015 18:07

Heather, Andy Mckenzie, John Forsyth & Gillian Hughes

umpire for the day Howard Smith

Charlotte Sweeney, Jemma Byrne & Georgia Sweeney

Paul Sweeney Memorial Trophy; Ash Farm Polo Club; Surrey; 11 January 2014

Friends by the Fireside A huge gathering of friends, family and supporters of the Sweeney’s watched the game for the Paul Sweeney Memorial Trophy. Spectators were treated to a real display of fun and fast polo whilst watching from the covered galleries of the clubhouse. Friends of the Club could be found hanging out by the fireside, conveniently located next to the bar reading their copies of Polo Times and The Polo Magazine as they waited for the second half of the game to begin. Even the four galleries weren’t enough to hold the fans as they spilled out of the club house to get a close up view of the action by the arena gate. The afternoon finished off with the teams showering each other with champagne and the hardy supporters headed off to the Brickmakers in Windelsham to continue their celebrations into the night.

The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Charlotte Sweeney with Chris Benford

Graham Wooldridge & Daisy Geer Wooldridge

Melissa Hicks, Lesley Sweeney & Laura Hicks

Photographs by Graham Morrison Chris Benford, Charlotte Sweeney & Jonathan Tidswell-Prestorius

Simon Brothers, Helen Taylor & Sophie Byrne Commentator for the day Will Randall-Coath

Daisy Geer Wooldridge , Sophie Morrison & Harvey Philips Ash Farm and Eclipse showering in champagne

Anouska Santos & Charlie Wooldridge

PT JanFeb15 46-80.indd 71

26/01/2015 18:07

Sidelines

Francisco Dorignac, Juan Carlos Harriott & Daniel Gonzalez

Ali Albwardy & friends

Andrea Vianini

The Argentine Open; Palermo; Sunday 7 December

Witnessing History Matias Macdonough & his father Jorge

Huge numbers of the polo world descended on Palermo back in December to catch the Final of The Argentine Open. Those in attendance watched as Adolfo Cambiaso, Pablo MacDonough, Juan Martin Nero and Pelon Stirling defeated Ellerstina and rode off the pitch and into the record books. By winning The Triple Crown, La Dolfina had matched Coronal Suarez’s consecutive win.

Definitely cause for celebration.

Photographs by Tony Ramirez/ www. imagesofpolo.com

Alix & Malcolm Borwick

Lucas & Piki Diaz Alberdi I

Maria Vazquez

Charlie Wooldridge & friends

Lando Simonetti, Miguel Novillo Astrada & Gachi Ferrari

Eduardo Novillo Astrada & Astrid Munoz 72

Polo Times, January / February 2015

PT JanFeb15 46-80.indd 72

George Sunderland & Ameer Jumbahoy

Negro Novillo Astrada & Ignacio Archain

Peter Wright

Kian Hall, Jack Hyde, Hugo Lewis & Ralph Richardson www.polotimes.co.uk

26/01/2015 18:07

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PT JanFeb15 46-80.indd 73

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Polo directory

Dates for your diary

What’s on in February 2015 UK highlights – Listed in date order Test Matches AEPC – The Bryan Morrison International Trophy (OPEN): 7 March

High Goal RCBPC – FCT Invitational High Goal Challenge (13-15): January 29 – 1 February RCBPC – The Arena Gold Cup (13-15): 13 – 28 February Rugby – The Midlands Polo Festival (15): 20 – 22 February

Medium Goal RCBPC – Olin Trophy (7-10): 7 – 15 February Rugby – The Midlands Polo Festival (8): 20 – 22 February Rugby – The Kiwi Cup (4-8): 7 – 8 March

Low Goal Vaux Park – Coffee Cup (2-6): 7 – 8 February Epsom – St. Valentine’s Cup (2-4): 7 – 8 February Maywood – 2 Goal Cup (0-2): 7 – 8 February Epsom – St. David’s Cup (2-4): 14 – 15 February RCBPC – The Katie Tunn Trophy (4-6): 17– 23 February Rugby – The Midlands Polo Festival (4): 20 – 22 February Ascot – Tessa Memorial Challenge (2-6): 21 – 22 February FHM – Falcon Equine Feeds Tournament (-3-0): 22 February Epsom – St. Patrick’s Cup (3-4): February 28 – 1 March Rugby – The OGEC Cup (-2-2): February 28 – 1 March Epsom – 4 Goal Tournament (2-4): 7 – 8 March Rugby – The Kiwi Cup (-3-0): 7 – 8 March

Ladies Ascot – National Women’s Polo Tournament (OPEN): 21 – 22 February

Coronel Suarez Polo Club – Copa Juan Carlos Harriot (8-10 & 12-16): Begins mid February

21 – 22 February AEPC – The South Lodge Hotel Final (OPEN): February 28 – 1 March Wicklow – France (Deauville) vs. Ireland (OPEN): 7 – 8 March Longdole – Spring Club Tournament (OPEN): 7 – 8 March Druids Lodge – Druids Spring League Finals Weekend (OPEN): 7 – 8 March

America International Polo Club, Palm Beach – Ylvisaker Cup (16): January 28 – 22 February International Polo Club, Palm Beach – C.V.Whitney Cup (OPEN): February 15 – 1 March International Polo Club, Palm Beach – Iglehart Cup (8): February 21 – 7 March

Youth Polo Highlights Druids Lodge – Varsity Match Bristol vs. UWE (OPEN): 31 January Druids Lodge – Varsity Match Southampton vs.

UWE (OPEN): 7 February Rugby – SUPA University Nationals (OPEN): 12 – 15 February Rugby – The Midlands Polo Festival (Schools & University): 20 – 22 February Druids Lodge – Varsity Match London vs.

UWE (OPEN): 28 February Rugby – SUPA National Senior Schools (OPEN): 8 March

Australia Yaloak Polo Club – VPA Championships (Handicap TBC): 7 – 8 February Victorian Polo Club – Jeep Ladies Day (International): 21 February Barbados Holders Hill & Apes Hill Polo Club – Ladies International Tour (Handicap TBC): 1 – 8 February Apes Hill, Holders Hill and Lions Castle Polo Club – Roger Gooding Memorial Trophy (TBC): 17 – 28 February

Snow Polo Highlights Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club, Tianjin – FIP Snow Polo World Cup (14-16): January 28 – 8 February St. Moritz, Switzerland – Snow Polo World Cup (14-16): January 29 – 1 February Courcheval, France – 20th BMW Polo Masters Tour (6-8): January 29 – 1 February Sport Gasein, Austria – PIPA International Snow Polo Championships Tour (2-6): February 27 – 1 March

International Highlights

Dubai Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club – Silver Cup (18): January 23 – 6 February Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club – Gold Cup (18): February 23 – 13 March New Zealand Kihikihi Polo Club – International Test Match (OPEN); England vs. New Zealand: 7 February Kihikihi Polo Club – International Ladies Test Match (OPEN); England vs. New Zealand: 7 February For a full list of all the tournaments and results dating back to 2007 visit www.polotimes.co.uk

Argentina Palermo – Polo Tour Pilar (TBC): Begins 25 February

74

Polo Times, January / February 2015

PT JanFeb15 46-80.indd 74

Photograph by Peter James

AEPC – Images of Polo Tournament (OPEN): January 31 – 1 February Wicklow – Spain (Barcelona) vs. Ireland (OPEN): 7 – 8 February Rugby – T-Bone Challenge (OPEN): 10 February AEPC – The Aston Scott Polo Cup (OPEN): 14 –15 February Longdole – Valentines Club Tournament (OPEN): 14 – 15 February Vale of York – ABI Beach Challenge (OPEN): 15 February Druids Lodge – The Watersfield Challenge (OPEN): February 20 – 15 March Vaux Park – The Casco Cup (OPEN):

Photograph by Gillian Hughes

Open

Exeter action from 2014 SUPA National Universities which will be played at Rugby Polo Club again this year

3 goal HPA New Year National Club Championship winners Moor Hall Farm 1

www.polotimes.co.uk

26/01/2015 18:08

Dates for your diary

Polo directory

Open for thought…

Answer -

to the question posed on our Letters page

Special occasion polo cards for birthdays, anniversaries, get well soon, weddings, & baby congratulations; from £2.99 plus p&p

Juan Carlos Harriott played off 10 goals in 1974 for the Coronel Suárez team.

Visit www.Katesart.com or txt/tel 07887 678421 or email: enquiries@Katesart.com image copyright protected by Katesart.com 2007

Club contacts UK and Ireland CLUB

PHONE

All Ireland Polo Club

+353 (0) 1 6896732 dstone@indigo.ie

* denotes winter arena polo venue hTo contact the HPA, tel: 01367 242828

EMAIL

CLUB

PHONE

EMAIL

Lacey Green Polo Club

07956 525222

mfdarritchon@fibertel.com.ar jameshreeve@hotmail.com

All England Polo Club Hickstead* 01273 834 315

polo@hickstead.co.uk

Leadenham Polo Club

01400 272885

Ascot Park Polo Club*

01276 858545

info@polo.co.uk

Little Bentley

01206 250435

fred@littlebentleypark.co.uk

Ash Farm Polo Club*

07799 812739

ashfarmpolo@hotmail.com

Longdole Polo Club*

01452 864544

jo@longdolepolo.com

Asthall Farm Polo Club

01367 860207

ashfarmpolo@hotmail.com

Luton Hoo

07934 882713

poloprive1@gmail.com

Apsley End

01462 712444

peter.pollak@btopenworld.com

Lychett Heath

01202 623985

office@lytchettpolo.co.uk alec@mhfpolo.co.uk

Beaufort Polo Club

01666 880510

enquiries@beaufortpoloclub.co.uk

Moor Hall Farm Polo Club*

01279 450637

Beverley Polo Club*

01964 544877

info@beverleypoloclub.co.uk

Moyne

+353 85 1313224

moynepolo@hotmail.com

Binfield Heath

01491 411969

bhpcmanager@googlemail.com

New Forest Polo Club

02380 811818

info@newforestpoloclub.co.uk

Blueys Polo Club*

0771 0558485

polomanager@blueyspolo.co.uk

Norfolk Polo Club

01508 480400

office@norfolkpolo.co.uk

Bunclody Polo Club

00 353 87 6605917 info@poloclubbunclody.com

Northern Ireland Polo Club

02890 727905

shutchinson@tayto.com

Burningfold Polo Club

01483 200722

info@burningfoldpolo.co.uk

Offchurch Bury Polo Club*

07816 830887

info@offchurchburypoloclub.co.uk

Cambridge County Polo Club

01223 812922

info@cambridgecountypoloclub.co.uk

Pangbourne Polo Club

07708 906810

aprice@polofix.com

Chester Racecourse Polo Club

01244 304602

ctaylor@chester-races.com

Peover Polo Club

07876 254110

polomanager@peoverpoloclub.co.uk

Cheshire Polo Club

01270 611 100

info@cheshirepoloclub.co.uk

RAF Cranwell

07739 569491

rafcranwellpoloclub@yahoo.co.uk

Cirencester Polo Club

01285 653225

kim@cirencesterpolo.co.uk

Ranelagh Polo Club*

01344 885697

polo@ranelaghfarm.com

Cowdray Polo Club

01730 813257

enquiries@cowdraypolo.co.uk

Ranksboro Polo Club*

01572 720046

joe@ranksboropolo.co.uk

CSPA

01672 5649114

markcann@cspa.org.uk

RCBPC*

01344 890060

info@rcbpoloclub.com

Curraghmore Polo Club

00353 51 387102

mkennedy@cssgroup.ie

RMAS Polo Club

07738 414133

rmas-stables-polo-oic@mod.uk

Dallas Burston Polo Club*

01926 812409

april@dbpoloclub.com

Royal Navy Polo Club

07950 328097

jockiewilson@hotmail.co.uk

Druids Lodge Polo Club*

01722 782597

abi@druidspolo.co.uk

Rugby Polo Club*

01788 817724

huw@rugbypoloclub.com

Dundee and Perth Polo Club*

07831 365 194

gillian@glockhart.wanadoo.co.uk

Rutland Polo Club

01572 724568

polomanager@rutlandpoloclub.co.uk

Eastwood

07875 743475

secretary@eastwoodpolo.co.uk

Rockett’s Castle

353 87 2520301

rcpoloclub@gmail.com

Edgworth Polo Club

01285 821695

edgeworthpolo@gmail.com

Rowley Park Polo Club*

07971 200160

carterlegeorge@hotmail.co.uk

Edinburgh Polo Club*

01314 496696

djamesjamie@aol.com

Silver Leys Polo Club

07535 697854

silverleyspoloclub@gmail.com

Epsom Polo Club*

07961 232106

epsompoloclub@hotmail.com

St. Albans Polo lub

07535 697854

info@stalbanspoloclub.co.uk

Fifield Polo Club*

01628 620061

fifieldpoloclub@live.co.uk

Suffolk Polo Club

07990 576974

aes3@cam.ac.uk

FHM Polo Club

07778 436468

fhmpolo@yahoo.co.uk

Sussex Polo Club

01342 714920

admin@sussexpolo.co.uk

Guards Polo Club*

01784 434212

polo@guardspoloclub.com

SWF*

01962 885500

info@maywoodpolo.com

Cambridge Polo Club*

07711 217004

info@haggisfarmpolo.com

Taunton Vale Polo Club

01823 480460

jstanhopewhite@aol.com

Ham Polo Club

020 8334 0000

polomanager@hampoloclub.com

Tidworth Polo Club*

01980 846705

tidpolo@tiscali.co.uk

Heathfield Polo Club*

07762 069 420

chris@cscpolo.com

Toulston Polo Club

01422 372529

info@toulstonpoloclub.com

Hertfordshire Polo Club*

01707 256023

polo@hertspolo.co.uk

Vale of York Polo Club

07788 426968

info@valeofyorkpoloclub.co.uk

Higham Polo Club

07788 753948

sarah@highampoloclub.com

Vaux Park Park Polo Club*

07703 524613

vauxpark@gmail.com

Hurtwood Polo Club

01483 272828

hurtwoodparkpolo@btconnect.com

West Wycombe Park Polo Club* 01494 264725

secretary@westwycombepolo.co.uk

Inglesham Polo Club*

01367 358051

mattevetts@hotmail.com

White Rose Polo Club

01430 875767

info@whiterosepolo.co.uk

Kirtlington Park Polo Club

01869 350138

secretary@kirtlingtonparkpolo.co.uk

White Waltham Polo Club

07748 670587

kim@playpolo.co.uk

Knepp Castle Polo Club

07920 023639

info@aspectpolo.co.uk

Wicklow Polo*

+353 404 67164

siobhan@polowicklow.com

www.polotimes.co.uk

PT JanFeb15 46-80.indd 75

Polo Times, January / February 2015

75

26/01/2015 18:08

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PT JanFeb15 46-80.indd 76

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26/01/2015 18:08

Classifieds

Polo directory

Dallas Burston Polo Club Stoneythorpe Estate Southam Warwickshire CV47 2DL Tel: Email:

Dr Dallas Burston Huw Beavan Tomas Iriarte Karl Ude-Martinez

Chairman: Polo Manager: Chief Umpire: Welfare Officer:

01926 811 111 polo@dbpoloclub.com

www.dbpoloclub.com 2015 Key Dates February

28th/1st March The Bascote Bowl Tournament (8) (4 aside)

March 1st 14th/15th

Arena opens for pre-season practice The Jubilee Cup (8) (4 aside)

April 7th 11th/12th

May

9th/10th 16th

5th/7th 9th/14th 13th/14th 27th/28th 28th

First Club chukkas The Genesis Cup (8) (4 aside)

July

The Southam Trophy (0) The Jordan Trophy (6) DBPC Opening Season Party, 7pm – 10pm

5th

www.polotimes.co.uk

PT JanFeb15 46-80.indd 77

Correct at time of going to press

June

4th/5th

SUPA University Polo Nationals The Chairman’s Cup (6) The Players’ Cup (0) The Stoneythorpe Cup (6) The Champagne Cup (0) DBPC Ladies Day

The Fine and Country Warwickshire Gold Cup (6) The Lexington Cup (0) Fine & Country Polo Day

August 1st/2nd

The Arthingworth Trophy (6) The Middleton Cup (0)

18th/23rd 22nd/23rd

The Burma Bowl (6) The President’s Cup (0)

September 8th/13th 12th/13th 13th

The Dallas Burston Gold Cup (6) The Farewell Cup (0) DBPC Polo in the Park

December 5th

DBPC Christmas Gala

Polo Times, January / February 2015

77

26/01/2015 18:08

Polo directory

Classifieds

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ǁǁǁ͘ǁŽŽĚŵĂůůĞƚƐ͘ĐŽŵ Polo Times, January / February 2015

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Final bell

In association with Aprés Polo

La Dolfina team member, Pablo MacDonough

Having won The Triple Crown for the second consecutive year with La Dolfina, Pablo MacDonough and his teammates have ridden into the history books.

Charley Larcombe talks to the 10 goaler about corrupt governments, golf and being part of the best team in the world.

What is your favourite polo memory?

When I started playing polo at the age of six. I enjoy polo now of course, but those days were amazing.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?

It was so embarrassing, that there is no-way I’m mentioning it here in Polo Times!

Who are your favourite teammates?

My brother, Matias, Bahar Jefri Bolkiah and Juan Martin Nero.

Favourite film?

The Pursuit of Happyness.

Who is the hardest opponent?

Cambiaso by far!

Favourite polo venue?

Palermo – the one and only. There is no comparison with any other polo place.

Favourite sport outside polo? Which others do you support?

I like skiing and golf a lot, but I like most sports. In particular those that require a lot of hand-eye coordination.

If you weren’t involved in polo, what would you be doing as a career?

I am sure golf would’ve been my life!

[MacDonough came close to choosing a career as a professional golfer, before he focussed on polo].

Which person would you most like to meet?

Michael Jordan – I don’t need to explain why I would like to meet MJ!

When was the last time you fell off?

At Palermo in the first game of The Open.

What was your first car?

A Renault 12!

Most prized material possession?

My watch, the Richard Mille 053. [The Tourbillon RM 053 was specifically designed for Richard Mille’s polo-playing Ambassador].

Describe yourself in three words: Very good friend.

Who has had the biggest influence on your life?

My brother, Matias and my father, Jorge have influenced me so much. Without their support, it would have been very difficult to reach the top.

Which has been your proudest polo moment to date?

Being a part of the two best teams in Argentina for the last 12 years.

What do you love most about the sport?

The connection between a human being and a horse. Working around nature is a privilege.

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Who would be in your dream team?

The one I am in right now, La Dolfina!

Which is your favourite pony in your string?

Nuera. She is so much better than the rest. You forget about being on a horse while you play her. And I bred her too, which makes her even more special.

What makes you angry?

Kids going hungry and corrupt governments not doing anything about it. I don’t like resentful people either.

If you could change one thing in polo, what would it be?

I like it the way it is!

Which polo person offers the best advice?

Milo Fernandez Araujo [the La Dolfina Coach] who I trust 100%.

Photographs by Tony Ramirez/ www.imagesofpolo.com

www.polotimes.co.uk

26/01/2015 18:08

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