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Well, as they say, all good things come to those who wait, and having first entered the UK high goal season in 2013, eight years later, HH Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has proven how true this saying is. With true grit and perseverance that possibly comes from her formative years honing her skills in karate and taekwondo,

HH Sheikha Maitha and her UAE teammates, effortlessly saw off the strength of Scone Polo, to finally lift The Queen’s Cup. In doing so, HH Sheikha Maitha not only achieved what most players can only dream of, but she also made history in being the first lady patron to win The Queen’s Cup. What a shame the same could not be said of our national football final ambitions – hopefully, it will not be another 55 years before we next get a crack at the silverware!

As this issue of Polo Times was going to print, the government’s roadmap to fully re-opening the country was firmly insight. So very long in the waiting, one can only hope that again, all good things really do come to those who wait – and in particular, that the government and its advisors, have looked at all possible scenarios and that set to the backdrop of spiralling infection rates which will undoubtedly ensue, the vaccine programme staves off a resurgence of Covid-19.

Fortunately, the polo community, seems more restrained than our football fans; granted, we do streakers, (of both sexes, much better), but even at the height of the China White polo parties, revellers would not have stormed the barriers to get in, sans tickets.

Finally, after 20 years in the position, David Woodd has announced his retirement as CEO of the HPA. Diplomatic to the last and a consummate professional, polo owes David a debt of gratitude – he will be a hard act to follow, and from the Polo Times office, we wish David, Fra, Tilda and Tabba, the very best wishes.

Nick Hine, Publisher

HPA Mid-Season Handicap Changes

On Friday 25 June, the Hurlingham Polo Association announced their Mid-Season Handicap Changes, which will be effective from Monday 28 June. Only two players over 3 goals were raised in handicaps: Ed Hitchman has been raised from 3 to 4 goals, while Adolfo ‘Poroto’ Cambiaso Jnr has seen his handicap raised from 6 to 7 goals. While Poroto’s handicap raise was expected, some are asking questions over fairness with the raise of just one goal after his performance in The Cartier Queen’s Cup and when compared with his two goal raise in both American and Argentine seasons, from 6 to 8 goals, with his current 8 goal handicap in America due to be raised to 9 goals on 1 The HPA has announced their Mid-Season Handicap Changes January 2022 ahead of their 2022 high goal season.

Photograph by HPA

Performance Polo Store

Performance Polo opened their first shop on Friday 2 July

Photograph by Performance Polo

Continuing the theme of Better Polo, Performance Polo opened its first bricks and mortar shop inside the listed barn at Black Bears Polo Club on Friday 2 July. “Black Bears is a beautiful location with superb polo facilities, and the team here have been fantastic,” said Performance Polo’s owner Michael Husted, “Black Bears is a great match as we are focussed on stocking leading brands dedicated to helping you get more out of your polo. Some of the brands represented are: Ainsley Saddlery, Casa Fagliano, Casa Zappala, The HUSK, Instinct Polo, ONA, MacWet and Cancheros mobile tack rooms

Bentley Scottsdale Tickets on Sale

This year sees The Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships celebrating its 10th anniversary on Saturday 23 October, with Nic Roldan and Melissa Ganzi returning for Aspen Valley Polo Club who will go head-to-head with defending champions, Hotels at Sea Polo Team, as well as team entries from The Royal County Berkshire Polo Club, Centtrip Wales Polo Team, Arizona Polo Club and the Gay Polo League. The day will feature four matches, plus additional events such as the inaugural Morning Beer Festival.

Congratulations!

Polo Times is delighted to report that Karl Ude-Martinez married Kelly Baddeley on 12 June at Guy’s Cliffe in Warwickshire – congratualtions!

Photograph by Sam Churchill Photography

Karl Ude-Martinez & Kelly Baddeley have tied the knot

Polo Rider Cup 2022 Dates

After the success for their inaugural event, see our Reports pages for the full results, the Polo Rider Cup has been confirmed to return for a second year in 2022 and will be played from 8 – 18 June at Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly. Olivier Godallier, President & Co-Founder of GAME Polo commented, “We are really looking forward to the second edition of the Polo Rider Cup. This new polo club competition was greatly accepted at an international level. We received positive feedback from all the clubs, players, federations, partners, and media, so we are excited to prepare on next year’s edition, making improvements and working to make it even more competitive.”

Polo Park Zürich secured the inaugural tournament title

Photograph courtesy of GAME Polo

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APP Confirm 2021 Triple Crown Zoning & Scoring

Photograph by AAP The top eight ranking teams from 2020 scores

The Argentine Association of Polo (AAP) has announced how the zones will be decided for the 2021 Triple Crown. The top eight scoring teams form the 2020 ranking, automatically qualifying for The Triple Crown, with the two highest scoring teams from the 2020 ranking – Ellerstina (1332 points) and RS Murus Sanctus (1100 points) heading the leagues in the Tortugas and Argentine Opens; the other six teams will be placed in a zone following a draw. In order to avoid match repetition, the teams in the second and fourth position of each zone will swap zones in the Tortugas Open. The Hurlingham Open zones will depend on the results from the Tortugas Open, while the Argentine Open zones will be determined by the AAP and the AAJP.

Following on from this, the AAP has also announced the socrig system for the upcoming high goal season in Argentina: • The Tortugas Open, Hurlingham Open and Argentine Open will each award points. • The winner of each game will be awarded 200 points. • The finalists of each tournament will be awarded an additional 200 points. • The winner of each game of the

Subsidiary Final will be awarded 100 points. • The Subsidiary Final runner-up will receive 100 extra points. • Each team will be awarded four points per goal scored. • Teams that enter the 128th Argentine

Open from the Qualification tournament will start the tournament with the same number of points as those ranked last after The Hurlingham Open. • The winner of The Cámara de Diputados

Cup will be awarded 200 points; the runner up, 100; and the two semi finalists, 40 apiece. • Playoff: If the winner of the Cámara wins the playoff, they will keep the 200 points already obtained, or eventually, they will be awarded the same number of points as their defeated contender – whichever is the highest of the two. • Individual scoring: 25 per cent of the team’s points will be given to each existing player, substitutes could also be awarded points.

Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) Chief Executive

The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) is the national governing body for polo in the UK and Ireland. The primary focus is on the governance and development of the sport of polo at all levels. This includes the rules and regulations of the game, which cover tournaments conditions, handicapping, discipline and pony welfare. The development of commercial opportunities is also an important aspect.

The Chief Executive reports to the Chairman and Board of Directors and the membership of the HPA consists of circa 70 independent clubs. The role is a full-time appointment and involves travel around the UK during the very busy summer season, from May to the end of August especially at weekends, and occasional travel overseas, usually during our off season. The office of 4 other persons is based near Faringdon in Oxfordshire. If already involved in polo, any existing paid commitments within the sport would have to cease.