Polo Times October 2014

Volume 19 • Issue 9 • October 2014 • £6.50

www.polotimes.co.uk

Audi England triumph at Chester Luke Tomlinson’s England Captaincy in review Victor Ludorum, interviews & feature

100 page bumper issue

PLUS: FIP success for England & wintering ponies special focus

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    

 

Tally Ho Farm EUROPE’S LARGEST POLO SUPPLIER

Official Equestrian Supplier to the England Polo Team

www.tallyhofarm.co.uk

Contents

Contacts Publisher Nick Hine publisher@polotimes.co.uk

Production Editor & Group Editor in Chief

Commissioning Editor Charley Larcombe charley@polotimes.co.uk Polo Reporter and Researcher Tilda Woodd tilda@polotimes.co.uk Advertising Manager Ben Bovill ben@polotimes.co.uk

Club Liaison and News Manager Lucy Wilson lucy@polotimes.co.uk

Principal Design

What’s inside...

October 2014 News 8 18

Youth polo All the latest news HPA news

Comment 22 25

Umpire focus on AAP rules change Your views: Letters

James Morgan

Features Additional Design Tony Ruddy

Financial Controller Angie Clark accounts@polotimes.co.uk

Subscriptions Sarah Foster sarah@polotimes.co.uk Subscription Sales Richard Hine renewals@polotimes.co.uk

Contributors

Carlos Beer, Jo Beim, Janie Dear, Lorna Edgar, Mark Emerson, Sarah Gardener, Kate Gibbons, Tamara Gibbons, Lottie Goldstone, Rege Ludwig, Tony Ramirez, Ann Spicer, Charles Whittington

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 2014 and Database Right 2014 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

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36

Richenda Hine richenda@polotimes.co.uk

28 30

Argentine season preview Luke Tomlinson’s Captaincy in review

Reports 36 40 46 48 50

FIP Gold for England Victor Ludorum round up Cover story: England win at Audi International Chester Sotogrande Finals UK Women’s National Tournament, Ascot Park The Deauville Coupe d’Or

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Pony Club Polo Chairman, Charles Whittington round up & end of season youth review School Focus: Dean Close

Sidelines 84 86 91 95 98

Gossip: don’t be the last to know Social pages What’s on in October Polo Times Marketplace Passions: Tommy Beresford

Cover photograph: Max Charlton on the ball at the Audi International at Chester Racecourse Polo Club By Tony Ramirez, www.imagesofpolo.com

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Pony running reports Retraining of Racehorses Polo Challenge Playing tips with Rege Ludwig Know your horse Pony Power: Sotogrande string Accountancy matters Equine legal advice: winter grazing Wintering polo ponies special focus Overseas focus: La Tarde Polo Club

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Times Limited. ISSN 1461-4685

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Polo Times, October 2014

7

It is hard for the team

here to believe that we are already one year on since Polo Times first came into our publishing ‘stable’.

Back then, we set out to ensure that PT continued to provide its readers with knowledge and information, to help develop their enjoyment and hone their skills of polo. To this end, we are particularly grateful to the Guest Editors who, over the summer months, have not only shared their own views on what they felt should be done differently in polo – for the betterment of the sport – but who have also given an insight into the life of a professional polo player.

2015 sees Polo Times celebrate its 20th birthday. It is in fine fettle and in recognising this benchmark anniversary, I would like to salute Margie Brett for her stewardship over the years – and for her quiet, but meaningful support since Richenda and I acquired PT in August ‘13.

On behalf of everyone involved, please keep subscribing; contributing, advertising and reading Polo Times.

Nick Hine

News

Guards Polo Club takes Brazil in The Guards International Sao Paolo Trophy ADDING TO ITS events in China, Dubai and Argentina, Guards Polo Club has hosted its first Guards International Sao Paolo Polo Trophy at Helvetia Polo Club in Brazil.

With a staggering 45 fields, this incredible location was the ideal venue for a competitive challenge between Brazil’s top handicapped amateurs and Guards’ patrons Adriano Agosti, Alex Brodie, Eitan Koren and Grant Mayer.

The Guards Polo Club team of Charlie Pidgley, Igor Pinheiro, Rafael Villela Rosa and Noberto Pinheiro, went into the Final as the only unbeaten side in the tournament. Young The Guards Polo Club Team win The Guards International Sao Paulo Trophy Charlie Pidgley defeated Alex Brodie’s EFG Bank team of Jose Eduardo de Souza Aranha, Francisco Marcos, Junqueira Netto and Luiz Paulo Martins Bastos, with a solid final score of 9-7. Igor Pinheiro was named Most Valuable Player for his contributions to the nine goals scored and the teamwork displayed with his brother Noberto, who was making his debut in this tournament. Junqueira Netto was named the highest scoring player in the tournament and his mare Xamata received the La Martina Best Playing Pony blanket. The deterioration of the weather meant that the Guards Polo Club Trophy Subsidiary Final between Yagura and TeleAtlantic was cancelled.

Tony Ramirez/imagesofpolo.com

from the Publisher

Guards’ 2015 Merlos brothers take safety decision The Bombardier Pacific Coast Open by storm

8

Polo Times, October 2014

ERG COMPRISING OF Kerstie Allen, Remy Muller, Agustin Merlos and Sebastian Merlos beat Lucchese at Santa Barabara Polo & Raquet Club. Kerstie Allen stepped in to play for Scott Wood and held her own in the 20 Goal Tournament. The Merlos brothers scoring most of the goals for ERG caused the biggest headache for ERG presented with The Bombardier Pacific Coast Open Trophy Sapo Caset and Lucchese.

Field goals made up the majority of the overall score with a flurry of penalty goals in the fourth chukka creating the closet score of 9-8 to ERG. A last ditch attempt from Caset – who was later awarded The Skene Award – in the sixth was answered by a goal from Sebastian Merlos in the last minute, bringing the final outcome to 12-10 for ERG. Sebastian Merlos was awarded MVP and Sapo Caset’s pony, Noche won Best Playing Pony.

David Lominksa Polographics

FOLLOWING THE DEBATE online, in social media and in the press started by Aurora Eastwood (featured in the August Issue of Polo Times) about the safety standards set in polo for helmets, Guards Polo Club has decided to make a decision about which hats players and members at the Club can use for the 2015 season. The debate was sparked following an accident involving Juracy Santos at the Club earlier in the season. A campaign to push the HPA into changing a ruling to require all players to wear at the least a hat with a three-point harness has begun. Others have called for tougher measures to only include hats that have been kite marked. As of yet the Club has not issued any statement containing the particulars or specifying which hats will be acceptable however, it is a big step forward for the improvement of safety standards in the sport.

www.polotimes.co.uk

News

LA DOLFINA Have kicked off their Argentine season in style.

The 40-goal side defeated Chapaleufu La Mariana 14-7 to win The Jockey Club Open KING POWER HOPEFULLS Rumours are circulating that young English players Hugo Lewis and Seb Hancock are being trialed for next season’s King Power team in Argentina over the winter BIG APPLE POLO New York’s Central Park Horse Show hosted the first arena polo match on the city’s hallowed turf, in a challenge event support by the USPA. The match which featured top US player Nic Roldan was telecast on the NBC Sports Network, becoming the first ever nationwide telecast of an arena polo match

Swinging Low INJURY NEWS Richard Le Poer has suffered his second serious injury this season when he received a blow to the face, causing a broken cheekbone.

Thankfully he sufficiently recovered to win the 12 Autumn Cup at Cowdray RAIN RAIN RAIN So far, heavy rainfall in Argentina has interrupted play in both The Jockey Club Open and The Tortugas Open IT’S ALL OVER Another English outdoor season has come to an end. Whilst most of the polo contingent set off to sunnier climes, the English outdoor Clubs will close their doors until next season

Feedmark has been at the forefront of equine nutrition for over 35 years MANY OF THE now commonly used equine nutraceuticals were formulated and developed by Feedmark’s expert team. They have changed the way horses are fed and therefore perform in many disciplines and are now keen to work with polo players and their horses. In order to develop effective supplementation they need to work with a number of polo yards both high and low goal. If you feel you would like to be involved in improving the performance, condition, and recovery of your string please email your details to polotrials@feedmark.com. Please include your name, address, handicap and basic details of your string. For more information on Feedmark award winning range visit www.feedmark.com or call 0800 585525.

Blueys Polo Club Charity Day THE BLUEYS POLO Club Charity Day in support of Horse World Trust was held on Sunday 31 September.

The Horse World Trust is a charity organisation that rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes horses, ponies and donkeys that have been abandoned, neglected or ill-treated.

The Blueys Charity Challenge was won by FORMIT (Jeanine Vos, Brent Sanders, Duane Grey & Roddy Williams). The Club also had classic cars on display and a tent pegging Matt Pinney, Jerry Watkins, Juan Quintana after the tent demonstration kindly organised by pegging demonstration Mr. Jerry Watkins. The Horse World Grand Match Final was won by ANB GroundCare made up of Alistair Brooker, Gemma Craig, Kirsty Craig and Matt Pinney.

The Polo Shop at Tally Ho Farm gathers momentum EXPANSION GATHERS PACE with the goal of Christmas being the completion deadline for the ongoing works. The message from Verity Adkins Store Manager is, “Business as usual, but please be patient with some minor disruption, we are ready to give the first class service our customers have come to expect”. Tying in with the Polo Times wintering ponies feature on page 69 Tally Ho Farm’s advice is, “Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail”. So get organized and make sure you have the rugs needed for this winter, as they predict that there will be shortages after recent mild winters.

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Polo Times, October 2014

Tony Mearman

Aiming high

Ham Polo Club Billy Walsh Tournament HAM’S FINAL TOURNAMENT of the season, The Billy Walsh Tournament, saw Libertine and Quadriga reach this year’s Final. Olympia Paus’ Libertine Polo Team established a four goal lead in the first two chukkas, and despite Quadriga’s Martin Roman putting in a great performance for his side throughout the second half, Olympia Puas and her Libertine team were presented with both the trophy and bottles of Frerejean Freres Champagne. www.polotimes.co.uk

News

Jaeger-LeCoultre Autumn Cup at Cowdray Park

Clive Bennett

TEN TEAMS ENTERED Cowdray’s final tournament of the season, the 12 goal JaegerLeCoultre Autumn Cup. Local patron Laura Ormerod and her father’s Emlor team reached the Final where they faced Romilla Arber’s Four Quarters Black. A 3–1 lead in favour of Emlor at the end of the first chukka could have led the crowd to believe that the winners were already decided. However, Four Quarters returned to the field determined to ensure that was not the case. Charlton and Le Poer added five goals to the scoreboard between them, taking The winning Four Quarters Black team with Arber’s side into the lead, six goals to three. The Jamie Gordon of Casablanca Polo (L) and Leonard Pictet of Jaeger-LeCoultre (R). second half of the match was nowhere near as adventurous, with both sides just managing to find the posts once more each, the final score reading 7–4 to Four Quarters. Following his spectacular performance in the second chukka, Max Charlton was awarded the Most Valuable Player Award while Ed Hitchman’s Rose was presented the Best Playing Pony prize by Leonard Pictet of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Ascot Park Polo Club Pro Am City Championships NOW RUNNING IN its tenth year the Pro Am City Championships held on the 7 September, boasted twelve teams from Academy level upwards. The day’s winning teams included Alegria, which featured mother and daughter combination Tatiana and Anna Menshenina alongside professionals, Roy Prisk and Richard Blake Thomas. The Blake Thomas family winning streak continued as Andrew and Charlie Blake Thomas went on to help White Crane Polo, led by husband and wife duo, Jasmine and Lex Calvert Ansari achieve success.

DUE TO THE increase in popularity since their purpose built polo arena was constructed in 2010, Sussex Polo Club have now extended the arena by a further 25%. In addition to the extra length, they have also topped up the Martin Collins all-weather surface ready for the start of the 2014/15 season. Additional improvements to the arena include a new sheltered seating area which will overlook both the arena and beautiful Sussex countryside plus an extended viewing platform for those wishing to get closer to the action.

Sallie-Anne Lent

Sussex Polo Club Arena Extensions

The completed arena ready for action

The arena extension complete and ready for more Martin Collins surface

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Polo Times, October 2014

11

News

HAC 105 Cup Day at Hurtwood Park Polo Ham Polo Club Club Aviation Polo Club news Challenge New chairman at Cowdray Park Celine MP Genonceau

THE AVIATION POLO Challenge was played for on 9 September at Club news in brief Hurtwood Park Polo Club. Newcomers to the tournament, London COWDRAY PARK POLO Club has appointed Peter Executive Aviation (LEA), faced from Stobart BLUEY’S POLO CLUB is fierce competition Barfoot as its new club chairman for the 2014 season.

Air,currently Stansted-based FBO and maintenance firm Inflite. was Robin the Butler, who has retired after offering membership He takes overIt from for the season for just Stobart Air2014 team, captained

by Eddy Stobart, who went on to seven years in the role. if taken up before be £400, victorious against the Inflite team, who first joinedisthe Barfoot thebattle formerinchairman of New Forest Polo Tuesday 15 April. For more Club, where he also worked as treasurer, and has 2010 under RotorMotion colours. LEA Managing Director George information please contact played at Cowdray Park with his Maiz Dulce team for Galanopoulos commented, “All three matches were tightly fought, polomanager@blueyspolo.co.uk. the past 14 years, from 4-goal to 12-goal level. with outstanding play on show from every team.” First-time sponsor “It would be difficult to replicate the special Cowdray HEATHFIELD POLO CLUB will Bombardier Business Aircraftthis also enjoyedatmosphere the day, which included run two new tournaments anywhere else,” he said. “I know all the a charity auction in support of The Prince’s Trust as well as live well and I also look forward season. The La Golondrina Cup, playing members really for players aged entertainment from 18 theand LOLbelow, band, isdrinks alongside the polo to meeting as manyaction of the non-playing members as Polo Team with their hard earned trophy The Household Cavalry July, while the ladies’ possible during the course of the season.” andona 12-13 traditional Argentine asado.

Tie Polo tournament runs from THE HONOURABLE ARTILLERY Company (HAC) hosted its fifth 17-18 August. annual HAC 105 Polo Invitational at Ham Polo Club on Saturday 6 Peter Barfoot, the new chairman at Cowdray Park Polo Club September. The triple match polo event was in aid of the regiment’s RUTLAND POLO CLUB’S charity – The HAC Benevolent Fund. The HAC Regimental, Veteran 6-goal Assam Cup tournament will be added to the Victor and Saddle Club teams played against the Household Cavalry Ludorum fixture list for 2014. It Regiment, The Kings Royal Hussars and The Army Reserves, takes place from 12-22 June. battling it out on the lawns in the autumn sun.

Fifield Polo Club Polo Two new events at Dallas Burston for Heroes The ‘Ham Jam’ Live Gig

as a 20-goal four-a-side arena tournament.

DALLAS BURSTON POLO Club has announced ST ALBANS POLO Club will The winning teams of each tournament will it will host two new tournaments in 2014, with a once again host Polo for Heroes receive £10,000 in prize money. Entries are combined prize potClub of £20,000. this summer.

The charity ARMY AND CIVILIAN teamsevent took to the fields at Fifield Polo take place on Saturday currently open for the 12-goal tournament in July, The firstaofnew twobranch IXL Gold Cups will be played at on will Saturday 6 September in aid of Polo for Heroes, 28 June and feature a match with team entries costing £400.

12-goal level on 12-13 July, as part of the club’s of Help for Heroes.

Polo for Heroes works to support the aims THE FIRST EVER ‘Ham Jam’ music evening took place on 18 between military and civilian Please email phil@rugbypoloclub.com for Fine & Country Polo Day. It will be the highest of Help forTo Heroes with fundraising Last Saturday September alongside the Bucks Club vs. Kildare Club polo match. teams. find out more email polo events. further details or to handicapped theinfo@stalbanspoloclub.co.uk.

British Army took on a team of civilians, narrowly losing to Ham Polo Club’s very own rock band made up of Charlie Wood, enter a team. tournament the theTHE ‘civies’ by just half a goal.

“It was a good match with a lot of Chris Graham, Martin Roman and Loic Pohl performed an hour Warwickshire club OUTDOOR POLO season has hosted to date. running,” commented Ben Marshall for the Army team. long set with some of the members’ favourite music.

The band had is already underway at the Vale The second ofother York Polo Club, with the first made up from Two games included a team injured IX been practicing all season and members of the Club packed the chukkas played on grass Cupat will be The Dallas servicemen and women whoon have been inGold training Clubhouse to see the guys in action. Ham now hopes toBurston make this SuperArena, which Sunday 9 March. The club’s played in the club’s Cool Hooves Polo in Berkshire. an annual event.

Look out for the next edition of the ‘Ham Jam’. will host the 20-goal polo field is built on glacial sand SuperArena in arena tournament in deposits, giving it great drainage.

November, November

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Polo Times, 2014 Polo Times, April October 2014

www.polotimes.co.uk www.polotimes.co.uk

News

Dallas Burston Polo Club Polo in the Park Robert Lewis Photography

THE DALLAS BURSTON Gold Cup was taken by Freya Dawson’s team of Jason Warren, Hannah Fitzpatrick and Michael Henderson, who had had a busy weekend also winning the £10,000 prize money Chester 8 goal for Stella Artois. Polo in the Park was more than just polo Amaranther Cup Winners – Ben Hickman, Charlie Bulmer, Gary Allen and with stands, food and jousting James Glew with Major Richard Carney MBE amongst the attractions. The Arthingworth Cup was also an action-packed game. Having missed out on a trophy all season, Offchurch Bury Polo Club member Gary Allen joined Environmental Energies team of James Glew, Charlie Bulmer and Ben Hickman to beat Rugby Polo Club, taking home the silver.

Emma Gedge

Druids Lodge Salisbury Cup

Spencer Mcarthy for Emlor clearing the field of loose shoes

www.polotimes.co.uk

DRUIDS LODGE’S SALISBURY Cup Final was won by their home team, with Druids Lodge beating Emlor 51/2–3. The Club’s Arena dates will be coming soon but currently we understand that Junior Polo will start in the middle of October and club polo on 30 October. Abi Meakin also confirms that they will be running their popular University League again this winter.

Rutland Polo Club Bicycle Tournament A BICYCLE TOURNAMENT at Long Clawson village recreation ground on Sunday 28 August was held with teams being made up of mixed ages with a practice session being held on the Saturday before.

All players needed to bring was a bike and a picnic to enjoy before the prizegiving in the afternoon.

West Wycombe Polo Club Lakeside Cup THE LAKESIDE CUP was well supported with teams from Eastwood Polo Club and Lacey Green Polo Club. The Frankum family were the runners-up in the Final against La Mariposa headed up by Stuart Beetles. The Subsidiary Final saw another family affair with Chilworth Farm featuring the Barlows and the Giljes, unfortunately they lost out to La Mariposa 2.

Polo Times, October 2014

13

News

Sandbanks Beach Polo 2015’s British Beach Polo Championships in Sandbanks, Dorset will be held from 10–11 July.

Ascot Park Polo Club Ascot Park closes its doors to livery clients for the forthcoming winter season.

However the Club, their 100 x 50m arena and polo school remain open.

Cambridge University Polo Club Cambridge University Polo Club has moved from its historical base at Haggis Farm to Cambridge County Polo Club in Lode for the forthcoming arena season.

Blueys Polo Club The Berkshire-based Club will now be running Club chukkas and winter Membership throughout the arena season at the Berkshire College of Agriculture on Wednesday evenings from 7.30pm until 9.30pm.

The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club Club chukkas and practice matches will start in the arena from 1 November. Their first tournament is scheduled for the weekend of 15-16 November.

FIP 14 Goal Qualifiers At the time of going to press England kicked off the games at Beaufort Polo Club with a win against Spain 8-7 on Wednesday 24 September. Peter Webb scored the winning goal in the final seconds of the fifth chukka.

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Polo Times, October 2014

Home side win the 2014 BMW International Polo Series 2014 in Johannesburg THE FIRST GAME of the 20 goal International match series between South Africa (Davey Evans, Dirk Van Reenen, Tom de Bruin and Gareth Evans) and the United States team (Scott Devon, Mike Azzaro, Memo Gracida and Tommy Collingwood) was played at Durban Shongweni Club, South Africa on 7 September. Initially, it looked to be an easy win for team USA with a 5-1 lead after the first four chukkas, Action from the first Test match in Durban but the talented South African team came roaring back with their strongest mounts in the fifth and sixth to end the game in a tie. Memo Gracida received MVP honours for his brilliant defensive work and the Best Playing Pony was awarded to Goldie who had been lent to Mike Azzaro. Many of the 5,000 spectators in attendance called the match the most exciting game played in years at the grounds in Durban.

The second and final game in Johannesburg took place on Sunday 14 September.

Following the tie in the initial Test Match, a battle between the youth of the South African team and the experience of the American side commenced. The South Africans, who had never played together as a team before the Test series, pulled out all the stops to beat the USA team 10-6. The Most Valuable Player award went to Tom De Bruin and the Best Playing Pony prize went to 40 Carrots owned by James Kane-Berman and ridden by Mike Azzaro.

“Our team has been treated to exceptional hospitality by the South African Polo Association,” said USA team patron, Scott Devon after the match. “And we would like to thank Graham and Sue Armstrong for personally looking after our team.”

Shane Doyle Photography

News in brief

www.polotimes.co.uk

News

Longdole Polo Club Emerging Tournament LONGDOLE HELD THEIR Emerging tournament from 6–7 September.

The tournament is run each month to encourage everyone, no matter what their experience, to take part in a tournament. It is a competitive tournament aimed at teams comprising of friends or players with young horses, as it is a good way to get them going.

This time around, Longdole had four teams take part, their handicaps ranging from -2 to 0 goals. The young Welsh Wizards team of Tamara Gibbons, Ed Williams, David The winning Welsh Wizards with Brokeback.

Gibbons and Charlie Hitchman were the victors over team Brokeback, 71/2 to 3 goals. All players received a voucher to redeem at the Club for Membership.

Rugby Polo Club End of Season Ball

ON 4 OCTOBER Rugby Polo Club will hold their End of Season Ball with charitable proceeds going to the Midlands Air Ambulance. The 80’s/90’s themed black tie evening looks set to be filled with ‘pop-loaded fun’ including auctions, awards, prizes and surprises. Contact Rugby Polo Club for tickets: 01788 817724

The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club Lambourne Tournament Alex Jacob

THE FINAL OF the Lambourne Tournament was held on Saturday 20 September following a week of games between Black Eagles, Tempest Inspirit, Broad Oak Farm and Hedonism Wines. Black Eagles have reigned triumphant this season, achieving successes across the country. Having beaten The winning team Black Eagles Tempest Inspirit in their first game by just half a goal, they went on to defeat Broad Oak Farm two days later, consequently securing a place in the Final against Hedonism Wines. Jonathan Munro Ford and his unbeatable duo of Jack and Chris Hyde went on to beat their Hedonism Wines with a run away score of 9-41/2. The Subsidiary Final was won by Tempest Inspirit who beat Broad Oak Farm 7- 5. www.polotimes.co.uk

Polo Times, October 2014

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News

THE CARLITOS POLO Pony Bronze is now running in its eleventh year at White Waltham Polo Club. After a hard-fought battle in this year’s Final, Mount Loftus scored the winning goal to claim top prize, just a few seconds before the final hooter was blown.

Kim Sherman

White Waltham Polo Club

The winning team Mount Loftus

New Forest Polo Club Holly Hill Cup THE NEW FOREST Polo Club hosted the Holly Hill Cup on 6 September in aid of The Women’s Trust, a charity that helps women affected by The winning teams in front of the Clubhouse domestic violence and abuse to take back control of their and their children’s lives by providing counselling and other services. It was a gloriously sunny afternoon with the crowd watching from the elevated balcony of the new Clubhouse. New Forest Polo Club team played The Woman’s Trust team which comprised of Robyn Evans, Phoebe Parker, Steve Cooper (visiting) and Harry Wheildon.

The Women’s Trust narrowly beat New Forest’s Laura Elliot, Julie Mackay, Nick Gheisari and Stuart Broughton. Everyone enjoyed tea and delicious cakes kindly donated by Members and friends to help raise additional donations for charity.

Vicomte A take first place in The French Open in Chantilly THE FINAL OF The French Open in Chantilly boiled down to the home team Vicomte A playing the Parisian team, Sainte-Mesme.

In a match that saw Sainte-Mesme’s Brieuc Rigaux play his usual exceptional standard of polo, it wasn’t until the fifth and final chukka that spectators really began to sit on the edge of their seat. Field goals from Vicomte A’s Dario Musso and Facundo Llorente were retaliated with a beautiful equalising goal from Sainte-Mesme’s Robert Ström and finished the chukka 9-9 forcing the Final into extra time. The result was decided by Edouard Pan who converted a 60-yard penalty to win the trophy for Alexander Sztarkman and their team Vicomte A. The eight-year-old mare, Black ridden by Robert Ström won Best Playing Pony.

Tony Ramirez/www.imagesofpolo.com

New high goal ground opens at Team Sezz Flemish Farm with The Board secure St Tropez Directors’ Cup Gold Cup AFTER FIVE YEARS in the making, Guards Polo Club officially opened the Castle Ground at its Flemish Farm complex on Saturday 6 September. The Flemish Farm project now includes 100 stables, a Martin Collins, allweather exercise track and a stick & ball field The inaugural match on the Castle Ground with a second medium goal ground scheduled for 2015. Neil Hobday presented some mementos of the day to three families who have been instrumental in creating this vision of Flemish Farm, including Freddie Stisted who stepped forward to receive one in recognition of his late father Charlie, the Club’s former CEO, who had worked tirelessly to kick-start the Flemish Farm project. Graham Wooldridge received one on behalf of the Wooldridge family who have supported and worked alongside James Neighbour and the team at Guards to ensure Charlie’s vision has now become reality. Lord Patrick Beresford, who also cut the ribbon to open the grounds, was the third recipient in recognition of all that he has done for the Club over the past 59 years. The first players to experience a match on the Castle ground were the Club’s Board Directors, plus Polo Manager Glen Gilmore and playing member Charlie Wooldridge. The friendly match ended on a 7-7 draw.

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Polo Times, October 2014

SHAHÉ KALAIDJIAN LED his team to victory at St Tropez Polo Club adding the 2014 Gold Cup to his Silver Cup win from last season on the Cote d’Azur. He and his teammates beat Alshair Fiyaz’s F Polo Team with a final score of 8-6. Los Lobos, led by Sebastian Le Page took the title for the Subsidiary Cup after a tight match against Andreas KnappVoith’s Pink Energy, 81/2-8.

St Tropez Polo Club has played an impressive 53 days of polo this year, with 19 teams playing a total of 86 matches.

The Club is continuing its development and extension works prior to the 2015 season.

www.polotimes.co.uk

HPA News

British duo Hazel Latest from the HPA Jackson and Charlene Goudkuil win The Open de France Feminin HPA chief executive David Woodd rounds up the news from UK polo’s headquarters

TOM TAILOR POLO team featuring British players, Hazel Jackson and Charlene Goudkuil beat Hecla 6 goals to 0 in the Final for The Ladies French Open at Chantilly Polo Club on 22 September.

Four UK-based players had flown to out to France, including Emma Boers and Heloise Wilson-Smith, for the tournament with four teams displaying the strength of women’s polo in Europe. An exciting league stage saw Naomi and Tahnee Schröder’s Tom Tailor and team Hecla – the only side not to feature a British player – make their way through to the Final despite rain affecting play and some games being decided by a penalty shootout.

Despite Hecla beating Tom Tailor in an earlier league game, the latter stormed through to a convincing victory with Hazel Jackson in particular, playing on top form and claiming a win for the Schröder sisters after they lost out on the title last year. Chariol La Victoire played Esprit Du Maryland with Emma Boers for Chariol beating Heloise Wilson-Smith and her team Esprit, 3-2.

OVERSEAS The HPA has accepted an invitation to send an England team to play in the Fortune Heights Super Nations 24 Goal Tournament at the Metropolitan Polo Club in China from 1–5 October 2014. The team will be as follows: Tom Morley (6), George Meyrick (6), Max Charlton (6), Jack Richardson (5). Coach Alan Kent. Teams from Argentina, USA and Hong Kong, China will also taking part. A full report will appear in the November/December edition of Polo Times.

PASSPORTS The HPA will be continuing to process Equine Passports for the foreseeable future.

DEFRA are continually tightening their regulations and we urge you to ensure all of your equine passports are fully up to date. If you have any queries, please contact the HPA.

END OF SEASON HANDICAP CHANGES The end of season handicap changes have now been published and you can also access them from our website www.hpa-polo.co.uk Please be aware that they are subject to endorsement by the Stewards on 29 October and will become effective as of 1 January 2015. A full write up of the changes can be found below.

For full reports on England’s FIP win and the Audi International at Chester Racecourse Polo club, please see pages 36 and 46.

DATES FOR HPA MEETINGS Stewards Tues 28th Oct, 1030 Cavalry and Guards Club, London Council Thurs 13th Nov, 1430 Cavalry and Guards Club, London

End of season HPA handicap changes announced Following the second handicap meeting of the HPA held on 9 September, please see all the agreed end of season handicap changes. This list includes those changes made to all players in the high goal and Victor Ludorum as well as the remainder of players in the UK. These changes are subject to ratification by the Stewards on Tuesday 28 October and will become effective 1 January 2015.

Moving to 9 goals Pieres, Pablo: 8 to 9 Nicholas, Pieres: 8 to 9 Moving to 8 goals Cavanagh, Diego: 7 to 8 Di Paola, Marcos: 7 to 8 James, Lucas: 7 to 8

Moving to 6 goals Benoit, Jose: (6) to 6 Garcia Del Rio, Gonzalo: (6) to 6 Le Poer, Richard: 5 to 6 Llorente, Pablo S: 5 to 6 Mackenzie, Chris: 5 to 6 Richardson, Jack: 5 to6 Vianini, Andrea: (6) to 6

Moving to 7 goals Charlton, Max: 6 to 7 Diaz-Alberdi, Alejandro: (7) to 7 Gilmore, Glen: (7) to 7

Moving to 5 goals Cudmore, Ollie: 4 to 5 Gibrat, Guy: 4 to 5 Iriate. Tomas: 4 to 5

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Polo Times, October 2014

Mallett, Bradley: 4 to 5 O’Dwyer, Patrick: 4 to 5 Otamendi, Daniel: 4 to 5 Perry, Matt: 4 to 5 Sherriff, Glen: 4 to 5 Moving to 4 goals Ainsley, Ross: (5) to 4 Allen, David: 5 to 4 Hagedoorn, Zac: 3 to 4 Harrison, Pedro: 3 to 4 Hunter, Lochie: 5 to 4 Isla, Juan Cruz: (4) to 4

Johnson, Kelvin: 5 to 4 Le Hardy, Jamie: 5 to 4 Lucas, William: 5 to 4 Paterson, Alastair: 3 to 4 Ussher, Tomas: (4) to 4 Valent, Martin: (5) to 4 Watson, James: (4) to 4 Moving to 3 goals Alexander, Sebastian: (3) to 3 Armstrong, Glen: (3) to 3 Ashby, David: 4 to 3 Ayala, Miguel: (3) to 3 www.polotimes.co.uk

News Beresford, Tomas: 2 to 3 Connolly, Michael: (3) to 3 Diaz-Alberdi, Lucas: (3) to 3 Evetts, Matthew: 2 to 3 Gross, Casimir: (3) to 3 Guevara, Juan Manuel: 2 to 3 Gutierrez, Miguel: (3) to 3 Hutchinson, Max: 2 to 3 Higginson, Guy: (3) to 3 Keyte, Nick: (3) to 3 Logioco, Matias: (3) to 3 Mawaz, Hamza: (3) to 3 Merlos, Juan Cruz: (2) to 3 Mourino, Justo: (3) to 3 Veronesi, Franco: (3) to 3 Moving to 2 goals Aguayo, Martin: (2) to 2 Banner-Eve, Edward: 1 to 2 Beavan, Huw: 1 to 2 Bombin, Ariel: (2) to 2 Brodie, Thomas: 1 to 2 Cabrera, Carlos: (2) to 2 Camus, Orlando: (2) to 2 Castagnola, Marianela: (2) to 2 Clover, Joshua: 1 to 2 Espinosa Aravena, Andres: (2) restricted to 2 Espinosa de los, Yago: (2) to 2 Gebbie, Andrew: 1 to 2 Llorens, Toma: (2) to 2 Luna, Mario: (2) to 2 McCullagh, Mario: (2) to 2 Mesquita, Jack: 1 to 2 Muddle, Harry: 1 to 2 Muriel, Danny: (2) to 2 Pearson, George: 1 to 2 Penafiel, Jose: (2) to 2 Skerrett, Beau: (2) to 2 Small, Tom: 1 to 2 Warren, Jason: 1 to 2 White, Lucas: (2) to 2 White, James: (2) to 2 Moving to 1 goals Abdel-Ghaffer, Plaza Karim: 0 to 1 Al Habtoor, Habtoor: (0) to 1 Ang, Roon Kai: (1) to 1 Asker, Eric: 2 to 1 Boucher, Alex: 0 to 1 Brasher, William: 2 to 1 Buxton, Freddie: 0 to 1 Connolly, Denis: (0) to 1 Crowe, Ben: 0 to 1 Davis, Harry: 0 to 1 Davis, Hugo: 0 to 1 Desenzani, Ciro: (2) to 1 Di Filippo, Paolo: 0 to 1 Drummond, Moray: (1) to 1 Fair, Hector: 0 to 1 Flavin, John: (1) to 1 20

Polo Times, October 2014

Hall, Kian: 0 to 1 Holley, Charlie: 0 to 1 Jones, Cody: 0 to 1 Jornayvaz, Bob: (1) to 1 Kiely, Jack: (0) to (1) Law, Charlie: (1) to 1 Lent, Terence: 0 to 1 Lewis, Hugo: 0 to 1 Lopez-Valido, Pedro: (1) to 1 Mackenzie, Michael: (1) to 1 Marin-Moreno, Tomas: (1) to 1 Marks, Dean: (1) to 1 Mayer, Grant: (1) to 1 McCarthy, Spencer: 2 to 1 McGregor, Izzy: 0 to 1 McNaught-Davis, Annabel: (1) to 1 Medina, Harry: (1) to 1 Milford Haven, Marquis of: (1) to 1 Mwangi, Peter: (1) to 1 Norman, Amanda: 0 to 1 North, Joe: 2 to 1 Ormerod, Robin: 0 to 1 Pagel, Aaron: (1) to 1 Pictet, Sacha: (1) to 1 Pidgley, Charlie: 0 to 1 Pitts, Toby: 2 to 1 Potter, Fraser: 0 to 1 Revell, Harry: 0 to 1 Schwarzenbach, Guy: 2 to 1 Srivaddhanaprabha, Aiyawatt: 0 to 1 Stanhope-White, Lolly: 0 to 1 Tyrone, Earl of: (2) to 1 Ude-Martinez, Karl: (1) to 1 Usman, Kabir: (1) to 1 White, Douglas: (1) to 1 Wightman, Chris: 0 to 1 Wood, Henry: (1) to 1 Young, Martin: (1) to 1 Moving to 0 goals Abdullah, Farid: -1 to 0 Anderson, Ryan: -1 to 0 Andrew, Susannah: -1 to 0 Attias, Tim: (0) to 0 Awuah-Darko, David: (1) to 0 Bahlsen, Sascha: -1 to 0 Bateman, Mark: (0) to 0 Benyon, Freddie: -1 to 0 Berry, Willian: 1 to 0 Black, Lavinia: (0) to 0 Bolkiah, Azemah: -1 to 0 Boyd, Charles: -1 to 0 Brooman-White, Alex: -1 to 0 Campbell of Lochnell, Alick: (0) to 0 Cecil, William: -1 to 0 Chichvarkin, Yevgeny: -1 to 0 Clarke, William (Jnr): -1 to 0 Clutton-Brock, Amber: 1 to 0 Coid, Thomas: -1 to 0 Cooney, Charles: -1 to 0 Cooper, Ricky: -1 to 0

Corbett, John: (0) to 0 Cork, Ollie: -1 to 0 Cork, Andy: -1 to 0 Dee, Robbie: -1 to 0 Denman, Robert: -1 to 0 De Poligny, Alexis: (1) to 0 De Poligny, Nicolas: (0) to 0 de Vos, Marc: -1 to 0 Dowie, Lucy: -1 to 0 Elser, Peter: (1) to 0 Emlyn, James: -1 to 0 Fagan, Chris: -1 to 0 Fewster, James: -1 to 0 Fitzwilliams, Edward: -1 to 0 Fleming, Robert: -1 to 0 Giercke, IchTenger: (0) to 0 Giercke, D’Artagnan: (0) to 0 Hanson, Edward: -1 to 0 Harrison, Guy: -1 to 0 Hay, Martin: -1 to 0 Haverhals, Stephanie: 1 to 0 Hayward, Jamie: 1 to 0 Heaton-Ellis, Sophie: 1 to 0 Henderson, Glynn: (1) to 0 Hoare, Harry: -1 to 0 Holland, Simon: (0) to 0 Holroyd, Katie: 1 to 0 Instone, Sam: -1 to 0 Jacob, Nell: -1 to 0 Jeffrey, Ben: (0) to 0 Junus, Zul: -1 to 0 Kamper, Maximilian: (0) to 0 Le Ber Smith, Ross: (0) to 0 Le Seelleur French, Georgina: -1 to 0 Levy, Barnaby: -1 to 0 Lodge, Dominic: -1 to 0 Lodge, Patrick: -1 to 0 Lomri, Sam: -1 to 0 Louzada, Oscar: -1 to 0 Luard, Oscar: -1 to 0 Maddison, Gabriel: -1 to 0 Mathias, Chris: 1 to 0 McCreight, Jason: 1 to 0 Molyneux, Francis: -1 to 0 Murray, Andrew: (0) to 0 Oberschneider, Paul: 1 to 0 Ottosson, Mats: -1 to 0 Penafiel Snr, Alejandro: (0) to 0 Porter, Henry: -1 to 0 Reynolds, Sean: -1 to 0 Richard-Carsasal, Lucas: -1 to 0 Robertson, Sheena: (0) to 0 Rumsey, Max: -1 to 0 Rutland, Henry: -1 to 0 Sanderson, Emma: -1 to 0 Schiebel, Hans Georg: (0) to 0 Scott, Jamie: -1 to 0 Shaykh, Bilal: -1 to 0 Simms, Jonny: (0) to 0 Smith, Francesca: -1 to 0 Surridge, Luci: -1 to 0

Sweet, Milo: -1 to 0 Tay, Samuel: -1 to 0 Taylor, Hugo: -1 to 0 Taylor, Lucy: 1 to 0 Teroerde, Patrick: (0) to 0 Tomlinson, G S: (1) to 0 Townsend, Thomas: -1 to 0 Townsend, Charlie: -1 to 0 Turner, Jonathon: -1 to 0 Ventura, Michael: 1 to 0 Vivian de la Pedrosa, Marcos: -1 to 0 Walker, George: -1 to 0 Walker, Christopher: -1 to 0 Watson, Lucinda: -1 to 0 Weatherby, Jack: -1 to 0 Whyman, Paul: -1 to 0 Williams, Edward: -1 to 0 Wilson, Allan: (0) to 0 Wrottesley, Clifton: (0) to 0 Zindel, Luca: -1 to 0 Moving to -1 goals Adams, Robert: (-1) to -1 Allen, Gary: -2 to -1 Appen, Eric: -2 to -1 Archer, Rebecca: 0 to -1 Banducko, Zhanna: -2 to -1 Benjumea, Rafael: -2 to -1 Berner, Florence: -2 to -1 Benest, David: (-1) to -1 Bolano, Mauricio: (-1) to -1 Boorman, Deborah: -2 to -1 Bosley, Keira: 0 to -1 Bowman, Julian: -2 to -1 Braathen, Eline: -2 to -1 Buck, Claudia: -2 to -1 Bullivant, Duncan: -2 to -1 Byrne, Christian: -2 to -1 Cadogan, George: -2 to -1 Cadogan, Charlie: -2 to -1 Calvert-Ansari, Jasmine: -2 to -1 Chamberlain, Simon: 0 to -1 Chandler, Steve: -2 to -1 Clay, Paul: -2 to -1 Cloake, Eleanor: -2 to -1 Cole Fontayn, Arthur: -2 to -1 Connolly, Emmett: -2 to -1 Cork, Marcus: -2 to -1 Dainty, Mark: -2 to -1 Davenport, Juliet: 0 to -1 Davies, Andrew: -2 to -1 Dawson, Freya: 0 to -1 de Poligny, Ivan: -2 to -1 Derry, Niall: -2 to -1 Deverall, Lottie: -2 to -1 Dickins, Kate: (-1) to -1 Dickinson, Diana: -2 to -1 Doherty, Jenny: -2 to -1 Driver, Sam: -2 to -1 Duncan, Damian: (-1) to -1 Du Preez Paterson, Liam: (-1) to -1 www.polotimes.co.uk

News Edwards, Alexandra: -2 to -1 Elliot, Charlotte: (-1) to -1 Elsmore, Peri: -2 to -1 Ewart, Kate: -2 to -1 Fadairo, Andrew: -2 to -1 Fincham, Matthew: -2 to -1 Fox-Davies, Daniel: (-1) to -1 Frankum, James: -2 to -1 French, Harriet: -2 to -1 Frisby, Henry: -2 to -1 Frost, Jane: -2 to -1 Gardner, Hamish: -2 to -1 Gates, Jonathan: (-1) to -1 Glew, James: -2 to -1 Goncalves, Tarsis: -2 to -1 Gough, David: -2 to -1 Gray, Helen: -2 to -1 Guerrand-Hermes, Edouard: (-1) to 1 Guy-Jovy, Amy: -2 to -1 Hartley, Luke: (-1) to -1 Hay, Richard: -2 to -1 Haycox, Jenny: -2 to -1 Heathocote Hobbins, Julian: (-1) to -1 Herbert, Danny: 0 to -1 Herzer, Jella: (-1) to -1 Hine, Milly: -2 to -1 Hine, Ned: -2 to -1 Holmes, Emma: 0 to -1 Holt, Tilly: -2 to -1

Holtzman, Tahl: (-1) to -1 Hutley, Valentine: -2 to -1 Jodrell, Freddie: -2 to -1 Johnston, Colin: -2 to -1 King, Amy: (-1) to -1 Latcham, Nick: -2 to -1 Lawrence, Oli: -2 to -1 Layzell-Paine, Alexander: -2 to -1 Mackay, Zoe: -2 to -1 Manderfield, Katherine: (-1) to -1 Mann, James: -2 to -1 Marchant, Grace: -2 to -1 Marson, Charlotte: 0 to -1 Matty, Stuart: -2 to -1 Mawdsley, Simon: (-1) to -1 McAlister-Martin, Richard: -2 to -1 McCarthy, Keelan: -2 to -1 Mendez de Vigo, Cristobal: -2 to -1 Mitchell, Anita: -2 to -1 Morello, Alan: 0 to -1 Morris, Arabella: -2 to -1 Morris-Lowe, Emily: -2 to -1 Mowat, Abigail: -2 to -1 Noel, Lettie: -2 to -1 Norris, Luke: -2 to -1 O Kane, Stephen: -2 to -1 Parmenter, Mark: 0 to -1 Peagram, Charlie: -2 to -1 Pearson, Lila: 0 to -1

Perry, Anne-Marie: -2 to -1 Pinto, Octavio: -2 to -1 Plant, Laura: (-1) to -1 Poppel, Michael: -2 to -1 Power, Evan: -2 to -1 Richardson, Wendy: (-1) to -1 Rigby, Jake: -2 to -1 Robinson, Patrick: -2 to -1 Roessner, Nicholas: -2 to -1 Rourke, Harry: -2 to -1 Rowan Hamilton, Angus: -2 to -1 Rumsey, Jayne: 0 to -1 Sajjad, Anita: (-1) to -1 Salter, Luke: -2 to -1 Schiebel, Laura: -2 to -1 Schrager, Plum: -2 to -1 Sharp, Henry: -2 to -1 Shea, Olivia: (-1) to -1 Stanhope-White, Jasmine: -2 to-1 Stanwick, James: -2 to -1 Styles, Harriet: -2 to -1 Sweeney, Georgia: -2 to -1 Szembel, Nigel: -2 to -1 Tatlah, Yasmin: -2 to -1 Teroerde, Natalie: (-1) to -1 Tighe, Charlie: -2 to -1 Turk, Charlie: -2 to -1 Vere Nicoll, Elias: -2 to -1 Vickery, Jonathan: -2 to -1

Walton, Mark: (-1) to -1 Watson, Moira: -2 to -1 Weatherby, Max: -2 to -1 Webb, Alex: -2 to -1 Whitechurch, Ed: (-2) to -1 Whiteley, Vanessa: -2 to-1 Wills, Nicholas: (-1) to -1 Winsor, Heather Ann: -2 to -1 Zank, Deitrich: 0 to -1 Moving to -2 goals Barrett-McGowan, Charlotte: (-2) to -2 Blakiston, Claire: (-2) to -2 Chamberlain, Hector: (-2) to -2 Cosby, Max: (-2) to -2 Crawford, Lucy: (-2) to -2 Erhahiemen, Paul: (-2) to -2 Gilmore, Lachlan: (-2) to -2 Gortazar, Gonzalo: (-2) to -2 Whitefield, Becx: (-2) to -2 Willis, Nikki: (-2) to -2 Wooldridge, Tatiana: (-2) to -2 Moving to NR Araya, Jose: (6) to NR Girard, Olivier: (5) to NR Merlos, Agustin: 9 to NR Pieres, Tomas: (7) to NR

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

www.polotimes.co.uk

• 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

Polo Times, October 2014

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Comment

AAP Rules Feedback

New Rules Tried and Tested in Argentina’s San Jorge Open

La Dolfina Vs La Alegria in The Argentine Open Final 2013

R

ecently, the AAP have confirmed that they are introducing two new rules this season; one being that a player taking a spot or penalty hit may not travel further than 50 yards away from the ball, the other stating that once an umpire has called ‘Play,’ the hitter has just 15 seconds to hit the ball. The penalty for violating either rule will result in a throw-in from where the hit was to take place.

Before the above rules were confirmed, the AAP recently tested out the following rules in The San Jorge Open: a) A field goal counting as two, a penalty goal counting as one; b) Four players (two from each team) will be allowed at the line-up for throw-ins, the other four will stand 10 yards away from the throw-in but will not actually take part in the throw-in; c) Circling to hit a penalty will be restricted to 50 yards to avoid time wasting.

Polo Times spoke to three highly respected individuals in the sport to discover their views on the AAP’s ‘potential’ rules and the difficulties in general behind introducing any changes to the game.

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Polo Times, October 2014

The AAP recently tried out three new rules in The San Jorge Open with the idea that they may introduce them permanently this season. If the rules had been deemed suitable, and most importantly beneficial for the sport, we could have seen the following rules introduced to the Argentine game.

Robert Graham who is a member of the Umpires and Rules Committee reveals his thoughts on the AAP’s approach and why it can be difficult to introduce new rules to the game: “I find the rule changes interesting. The ones being implemented in Argentina are only a few of many possibilities that have been discussed internally and in meetings between the HPA and the AAP. “However, what I really find fascinating is the common wish from several Polo Associations to speed the game up both in the time needed to play games (the total time required to play the game from the first throw-in to the last whistle) and the way the game is played (the more open and galloping play that was more common in the last century).

“Last year in the high goal tournaments we had a foul average in the low 20’s. This year we started with the same but during The Gold Cup we saw a foul average creeping up to the upper 20’s. My experience is that the more fouls, the longer the game takes, and the less enjoyable it is to watch.

“Any rule changes or ‘directives’ that reduce game time and fouls has my full support. A number of rule changes were tried out at the RCBPC several years ago. The feedback from the players was positive. Armed with this positive reaction, Cowdray was asked to trial the same rule changes... they declined! This goes to show how difficult it can be to get new rules accepted.

“Congratulations to the AAP for making an attempt to speed the game up. We will be watching with interest.”

www.polotimes.co.uk

AAP Rules Feedback

Pepe Heguy was one of the players who tried out the ‘potential rules’ in The San Jorge Open. Here he explains his opinions and whether or not he thought they should have been introduced to the game permanently.

“Having played each of these rules in a competitive situation, I can honestly say that I do not think any of the three rules should be introduced to the game permanently.

“Looking at each rule individually, there is only one that in my opinion is ok. Rule a) in reality is actually impossible to apply on the field. The spirit of the rule is ok but instead of it opening up the game, the opposite happens; the play is stopped more often because of a foul. As an opposition, instead of getting out of the way, it is more beneficial to foul right in front of goal as the other team then only receives one point for a goal. Rule b) is simply ridiculous, it does not work at all whereas rule c) is ok and is easy to umpire.

“As a player I would like to see the sport come back to the basics of polo; a foul should be blown for a dangerous play.

I think umpires need to stop with the idea that everything is a foul. Let the players play and don’t protect the player that controls the ball.”

Comment

Tim Keyte, a member of the Umpires and Rules Committee tells Polo Times why he thinks it is good for the sport that Associations are looking at changing aspects of the sport and what alterations he thinks could work in the future.

“I think it is great for polo that players and associations are thinking a little outside the box with rule changes. It is really good for us here in the UK that the Argentine Polo Association is trialling these rule changes. We get to see the results of some of the new rules that we probably would try here ourselves.

“One thing I do think may be well worth a try is widening the goals from eight yards to 12. This I think would encourage more long range shots at goal and may stop the congestion and looking for fouls in front of the goal. If I could quote Arthur Douglas Nugent: “In high goal we now see the scoring player often go through the goal before the ball.”

“Polo as a sport has changed so much in the last 20 years; fields, ponies and the skill level of the players has improved so much, but our basic rules have not evolved. Many other team sports like rugby and rugby league have leaped ahead because of the rule and format changes that they have introduced. Change is not always good, but we need to keep looking to keep our sport safe, interesting and to make sure the rules continue to develop in pace with the other aspects of the game mentioned above.”

La Quinta Argentine Polo at its Best!

Luke and Mark Tomlinson are offering the opportunity for players to play at their club in Pilar, Argentina (45 minutes from BA).

A typical week’s stay would include: • • • •

Between 4 & 6 practices of a good standard on suitable ponies Stick and Ball whenever A couple of lessons with Luke or Mark (if wanted!)

An indoor arena and a polo field that dries out very quickly after rain - enjoy riding whatever the weather

Your time at La Quinta can be intense and structured, or not – it’s your choice! There is limited accommodation at the Club. Otherwise we can help you find a place to stay locally (house or hotel) or you may like to stay in a Hotel downtown Buenos Aires. Guide price for 1 week: US$3,000 (excluding accommodation). Longer/shorter stays possible.

Price depends on length of stay and on any personal requests.

You may have your own ponies or even ponies to try and are in need of a base to play and practice from. We can offer this too. Whatever your polo needs in Argentina are please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

29th November – 5th December Copa Quatro Tacos – 14-goal tournament with an emphasis on enjoying fun polo on great fields

marcotomo@hotmail.com www.polotimes.co.uk

www.laquintapoloclub.com.ar Polo Times, October 2014

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Your views

Comment

Letters

Write to the editor in the following ways: w letters@polotimes.co.uk w L etters, 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, I was really pleased to receive the September issue of Polo Times with its emphasis on the children and the schools’ polo. But I couldn’t let it pass without asking you to make special mention of Melissa Wadley and her Kirtlington Park Polo School at Kirtlington Park Polo Club and her 20-year contribution to children within polo and especially within the schools.

I recognised a number of children within the various articles who came up through Melissa’s polo school and no doubt there were a number more who I don’t know.

Melissa reached her 20th anniversary at Kirtlington Park Polo Club this year, but let it pass without celebration so I wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate her and her massive contribution to children’s polo (and plenty of adults too).

Sir, It’s that time of year again where all the polo playing community eagerly awaits the handicap changes... I for one was waiting to see if all the anomalies from the previous year were resolved. It’s with great dismay that yet another year goes by where the same abuses of a dysfunctional system seems to serve the needs of the few over the good of the many continues, that I throw my hands in the air! And tear out what little hair I have left.

The circus continues... Under-handicapping (kids so they get free polo, those with connections to keep them valuable and pros handicaps more competitive) and conversely those going up to satisfy egos and ensuring the wallet continues to pay out.

Once upon a time, the sport was a sport played with a spirit of sportsmanship and honour and every now and again, I have the privilege to play against those types of teams. Where did the spirit of polo go? At times it seems that the professionals are more like hired guns and no longer ambassadors of the game. The days of sportsmanship, aptitude, self-improvement and personal accomplishment are long gone. All underpinned and reflected in the abuse of the handicap system.

It’s at the low goal level that the disparity or anomalies of handicaps makes an enormous difference. It throws the team out of balance and no longer reflects what handicaps are for.

At times, the difference between two players on the same handicap is so wide even a lay person could see it.

You should not be able to get away with manipulating the handicap system to serve your own interests, but yet there seems to be too many examples of this behaviour. It’s used for creating unfair advantages, protecting self interests or satisfying egos, and none of these things should have a place in polo.

Take a look around, how many 0 goal players do you know that should really be -1 at best? Conversely, how many people are on 0 that should be at least 1. There are a frightening number of changes that when taken in the broader context, are at best badly managed, www.polotimes.co.uk

She is passionate about her cause to bring polo to the schools.

Her calmness and considerate approach to the horses and their wellbeing results in safe, reliable and trustworthy horses on which we parents are happy to mount our children. She always takes the time to assess the children and match them to the right horse(s), pitching them at the appropriate stage of their development whether it be a complete novice requiring confidence or a more experienced rider needing something to bring them along a bit. She is always bright and cheerful (whatever the weather and she has to put up with some treacherous weather during the winter when she continues to ensure that the children and her horses continue to play in the arena!) and this creates a calm but enthusiastic atmosphere in which our children can flourish. She is without doubt an important contributor to schools polo, and to Kirtlington Park Polo Club, and very worthy of a mention please!

Tanya Warner

By Email

at worst an abuse of the system. I support and understand the need to nurture and develop talent, but not at the expense of other people being able to enjoy their polo fairly. Every player should be handicapped on their ability, taking into consideration their horse power, without bias, financial and selfish manipulation. It’s troubling when conflict of interest has a place in judging handicaps.

It should be the job of the HPA to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Some suggestions to improve the system: 1. There should be a 360 degree review of handicaps 2. The bottom handicaps are too congested, add ½ goal handicaps or lengthen the scale to 20 3. Do not allow people who have a direct or indirect interest in the person to handicap them 4. The system should take place in two rounds, the first to publicise the recommendations and the second to compare them across the polo community for ‘harmonisation’ before confirming them 5. A group of neutral knowledgeable people familiar with the players should be involved in the handicapping process 6. All Clubs should have an amateur representative on the handicap committee 7. All Clubs have an obligation to submit recommendations for any player who has played at their Club, irrespective of whether they are a Member or not 8. The Club should make a point of watching its Members prior to handicapping 9. Players should be able to request a review with an independent body after the provisional changes are announced 10. It should be public record what each of the handicap committee have recommended, open to public scrutiny and reviewed by the HPA. In extreme cases tribunal /arbitration should be possible Name and address withheld Polo Times, October 2014

25

Comment

Your views

“Pick any number between 1 and 4 because I have no idea how many goals you just scored” Sir, I was a spectator on both days of the first weekend of September, and listened to three professional commentators.

Sad to say, if I had been a complete newcomer to polo, or not had a match card, then my presence (let alone my needs) would have effectively been ignored by all those commentators – apart from their almost peremptory demand for my applause at the end of each chukka and a routine request to tread in at half-time. Only one bothered to say (once) that ends were changed after each goal was scored, another muttered the match card (despite noisy celebrations still in progress on the field), and only one called every player out (but without remarking on any departures from the match card); none mentioned the numbers on the shirts or remarked on any identifying features of any player’s kit.

Thereafter, all the commentators seemed to be in pursuit of some mutually agreed nirvana of correctly naming every player and every shot of that player without pausing to take breath (yet even Marcus Bentley of Big Brother fame uses the dramatic value of pauses). Mostly they did succeed in that apparent quest, and may even have achieved a personal best. But they never carried the spectators with them as they had neither encouraged spectators to identify individual players nor had they made any effort to explain the broad flow of the play.

Of course, it was near the end of the Season – so they may have considered that the small numbers or low importance of the spectators (whether in the stand or on the ‘other side’) did not warrant any such explanation. On the other hand, maybe this is a South v North thing, and that somewhere North of Watford Gap commentators do continue to care for their spectators, and even bother to listen for that precious commodity ‘audience reaction’?

So is polo commentary trending towards being a thing apart from 26

Polo Times, October 2014

the game, admired in its own right for the commentator’s speed and ability to deliver a stream of words like a verbal machine-gun?

The polo community was first alerted to this danger by a letter published in the August 2003 issue of Polo Times – that letter called for a return to an “enthusiastic, informative, but not intrusive” commentary style. Polo is “the finest game of the world” and very often speaks for itself – so the late John Cotterell’s dictum, “the commentator’s best weapon is silence” should be observed whenever appropriate. After all, even the best melodies have rests between the notes.

In 1976 the late Ronnie Ferguson said to umpires, “Do remember you are the custodian, not the dictator of the game”. In 2014, maybe someone should say to commentators, “Do remember you are the catalyst (to help spectators appreciate the game), not a verbal athlete”.

Roy Law Hampton Hill

By Email

Sir, Regarding Malcolm’s opinions expressed in Polo Polemics featured in the Polo Times, I know that many people have been expressing the same feelings but never ‘officially’. I am glad that someone has finally been brave enough to put these opinions on paper in a very high profile magazine so they can’t be ignored anymore.

Sascha Bahlsen

By Email

www.polotimes.co.uk

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.

T: (86) 22 8372 8888 F: (86) 22 8371 7733

Argentine season

Argentine Forecast

Photography by Polo Today

Feature

La Dolfina, winners of the 2013 Argentine Open at Palermo

Polo Times hears from our man on the ground, Carlos Beer on what to expect from the forthcoming Argentine season.

T

he moment has arrived. After nine months of playing all over the world, the best polo players have returned to their homeland. And so, the Argentinian polo community readies itself to enjoy another quality season, with the best squads, players and horses. As in every year, 2014 has the ultimate allurement of The Triple Crown, composed by The Tortugas Open, The Hurlingham Open and The Argentine Open at Palermo.

If the sport was guided by logic, then perhaps it could be argued the result is so certain that the tournaments shouldn’t be played: La Dolfina is the favourite to win everything, just as in 2013. However,

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Polo Times, October 2014

the interest in the sport is generated by the unexpected, the surprise results.

This unpredictability seems to happen in Argentine polo even more now than in the past, adding to the excitement.

Adolfo Cambiaso’s team was brilliant last year. La Dolfina won everything, played marvelously and it exhibited exceptional mounts. Could they be better for 2014?

The simple answer is, ‘yes’. The squad has returned to a 40 goal handicap and is promising more. “One always tries to do better. It would be an amazing feat to win The Triple Crown two years in a row. Adolfito [Cambiaso] had a great year overseas, and we have also brought some

Carlos Beer reports from Argentina

new horses to improve upon the ones we already had”, Juan Martin Nero revealed to Polo Times.

So, that is this year’s challenge for La Dolfina: maintaining the level the team showed in 2013 which will make defeat improbable. If they improve as they promise, then it would be unthinkable that the team doesn’t stand on top of every podium.

Just as has happened for the last decade, the man rival for Cambiaso’s team is Ellerstina. “We had a bitter end last year, and are looking for a rematch,” explained Facundo Pieres. To him, his two brothers Gonzalo and Nicolas, and Mariano Aguerre, the defeat in the semi-final against Alegría www.polotimes.co.uk

Argentine season

Feature

KEY DATES IN THE 2014 ARGENTINE SEASON: The Tortugas Open: 23 September – 11 October The Hurlingham Open: 14 October – 2 November The Argentine Open: 15 November – 6 December was an unexpected loss, leaving the team outside of Palermo’s Final for the first time since 2006. For 2014 we see changes in the team’s management, with Alejandro Agote quitting his coach position, to be replaced this season by Gonzalo Pieres Snr. and Ernesto Trotz; old partners and friends in La Espadaña’s golden times back in the eighties.

Alegría’s situation is special. “Last year’s events are behind us now, and we have to prove ourselves again,” Polito Pieres explained to Polo Times, referring both to his squad’s great season and to his own, even more so since he was elected as the MVP of last year’s Palermo Final. It will not be easy for Alegría after their surprise win against Ellerstina in 2013, as these unexpected results certainly don’t happen every year. The team has potential, given that three of its men are on a winning streak: the already-mentioned Polito, Hilario Ulloa and the Canadian Frederick Mannix, while Lucas Monteverde is the most experienced player and is having a good run as the Argentine season commences.

La Aguada and Las Monjitas, respectively the fourth and fifth teams out of the six main ones will have a harder road ahead of themselves. The passing away of Javier Novillo Astrada hit home in both squads, his brothers feature in each team: Miguel and Ignacio in La Aguada and Eduardo and Alejandro in Las Monjitas. Faced with the suffering of great losses like these, the human being reacts in either of two ways.

They either don’t react, or converesly the pain brings energy from deep within and heals. That is La Aguada and Las Monjitas’ challenge for this season – managing the reaction from within their hearts.

The sixth and last team is Magual, which enters the principal set-up for all three tournaments for the first time (last year the team qualified to play only Hurlingham and Palermo). It would be rather unexpected for Magual to overcome any of the stronger teams, but, as we have already mentioned, polo is full of surprises. Not only that, it is an organised team with Ignacio Toccalino playing well this season.

www.polotimes.co.uk

Ellerstina’s Facundo Pieres in action

Hurlingham and Palermo are still missing two teams each for the initial set-up which will come from the qualification round.

Following their appearance in the Final of The Jockey Club Open, the Chapaleufu La Mariana team, featuring Alberto (H.) and Eduardo Heguy, will be hoping to secure a place in this year’s Open.

Players aside, the Argentine Polo Association (AAP) will also be playing some rules which have been modified to try to hasten the game. The most important ones involve adding distances for half-field throwins to avoid fouls and complaints about the lines. It will be interesting to see how these impact on the game and results.

The Argentinian Season is coming: the best polo of the world returns to its home.

Teams La Dolfina (40): Adolfo Cambiaso 10, David Stirling 10, Pablo MacDonough 10, Juan Martin Nero 10.

Ellerstina (38): Facundo Pieres 10, Gonzalo Pieres 10, Mariano Aguerre 9, Nicolás Pieres 9.

Alegría (36): Pablo Pieres 9, Hilario Ulloa 9, Lucas Monteverde 9, Frederick Mannix 9.

La Aguada (36): Facundo Sola 8, Guillermo Caset 9, Miguel Novillo Astrada 10, Ignacio Novillo Astrada 9.

Las Monjitas (33): Lucas James 8, Cristian Laprida 8, Eduardo Novillo Astrada 9, Alejandro Novillo Astrada 8.

Magual (33): Alejandro Muzzio 8, Ignacio Toccalino 9, Marcos Di Paola 8, Jaime García Huidobro 8.

The polo world will be feeling the loss of Javier Novillo Astrada this season

Polo Times, October 2014

29

Luke Tomlinson “Contrary to the opinion of many people, leaders are not born. Leaders are made by effort and hard work.” Vince Lombardi. Tilda Woodd reviews Luke’s long term England Captaincy

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Polo Times, October 2014

Photographs by Audi UK, Eduardo Grunberg/www.imagesofpolo.com, Tony Ramirez/www.imagesofpolo.com and Centaurphotographic.com

F

ollowing this year’s Coronation Cup match where thousands watched as England put up a tenacious fight against an Argentine team featuring the two best polo players in the world, Luke Tomlinson announced some big news; that he would be stepping down as England Captain and handing over the role to his teammate and fellow 7-goal player James Beim.

Luke went on to explain the reason behind his announcement, “It’s time for me to step aside and hand over the reins.

There are lots of new guys now coming up, I’ve done a long stint as Captain and we should keep it fresh.”

Luke first took on the role of England captain in 2006 and throughout the past nine years, English polo has been led by a man who is regarded as one of the most professional, hard working and determined individuals in the sport.

Luke has since been challenged by some of the toughest opposition in the polo world. Players such as Adolfo Cambiaso, Facundo Pieres, Gabriel Donoso, Memo and Carlos Gracida are just a handful of polo’s superstars that Luke and his England teammates have taken on in a quest for International victory.

Luke’s full-time commitment has not only resulted in him becoming the most successful Captain England polo has ever had, but has also earnt him respect worldwide as well as incredible results which only further demonstrate his natural understanding of the role.

33 captaincies and 20 victories say a lot about England polo’s most recent leader. With his reign as Captain including six Coronation Cup wins, two Westchester Cup triumphs, two successes against Argentina at Palermo as well as a number of Audi, St. Regis and Williams de Broë wins, his time as England Captain is certainly one that will be remembered throughout the polo world far into the future.

www.polotimes.co.uk

Luke Tomlinson

Feature

Not only has Luke played against some of the world’s greatest polo players in the history of the sport, he has also led the following into International polo battle since 2004: James Beim – ‘06, ‘07, ‘08, ‘09, ‘10, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14 Malcolm Borwick –­ ‘07, ‘08, ‘09, ‘10, ‘11, ‘12 Henry Brett – ‘06, ‘07 Max Charlton – ‘13, ‘14 John Paul Clarkin – ‘13 Ollie Cudmore – ‘12, ‘14 Satnam Dhillon – ‘07, ‘08, ‘09 Henry Fisher – ‘13 Nacho Gonzalez – ’07, ’11, ’12, ‘13 James Harper – ‘13 Chris Hyde – ’06, ‘09 Jamie Le Hardy – ‘08 Eduardo Novillo Astrada – ‘09 Matt Perry – ’13, ‘14 Max Routledge – ‘09 Mark Tomlinson – ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ‘14

What has been your greatest memory during your time as England Captain?

I think winning The Westchester Cup in Florida or in the UK and beating Argentina twice in Palermo but the collective memories of playing some great polo with a good team will be the ones that I remember most.

What would you like to see happen to English polo in the future?

I feel that the polo needs to be made more sponsor friendly. The teams need to be slightly more formalised and the money from the high goal teams needs to find its way down through the levels to enable the medium and low goal to become stronger again.

Do you remember your first England Captaincy? How did it feel? Were you nervous?

I remember it and really it was not a nervous thing. I had already captained at 22 goal level and done well with four man teams in The Prince of Wales and The Gold Cup so it was more of an honour than pressure.

James Beim is taking over the position as England Captain, why do you think he is the right man for the job?

I think James has put everything into his professional career and is a very talented and professional player. He gets on well with the whole squad and has got the experience to lead and is at the top of his game. I know www.polotimes.co.uk

that he will embrace the position and he has a strong squad from which to make good teams.

Is there anything you will miss about being Captain?

I will miss the involvement and the responsibility, which I think I carried well.

However, at the same time I will be relieved of both as I will be able to concentrate on playing as well as I can for the rest of my career and direct energies towards this and towards other aspects of the polo business.

Why did you decided to announce the end of your Captaincy this year?

There were many reason. Firstly, I think it is one of those jobs where I have had a great time doing it and it is better to go out on a high and to jump, rather than be pushed.

The extra work that goes into the role is quite substantial and the responsibility towards team selection is a very strong one – I felt that my angle on the team had been there for long enough. I felt that Beimy has been working so hard and playing very well and deserves a shot at running the team. It has not become easy with selection especially as a lot of the good up and coming players rarely play in high level four man polo… I think that despite this, the squad is stronger than ever and look forward to being able to represent England again under the new helm and with a strong dynamic team.

Is there anyone else you would like to see as England Captain in the future?

I think that Mark (my brother) is a very disciplined and professional player with good leadership qualities and is also good at forming teams and great in that level of polo.

Who was your toughest opponent in your time as Captain, and why?

I think Facundo and Adolfo between them for obvious reasons!

What was the hardest decision you had to make?

Ooo…luckily there were not too many hard decisions (except possibly stepping down!).

I think that each year, different situations arise, but if you stick to the logic of forming teams at each level, the decisions happen on their own.

Describe the feeling of captaining your country in sport.

It is an honour and a responsibility. You are usually the first target for criticism if things don’t go according to plan – but the honour is high. I like to think that the English team has been able to learn to play true team polo or at least strive for that. Having the best coaches has helped this but it has also always been part of my plan – feeling of a team playing like a team is one of the best parts of the sport!

Polo Times, October 2014

31

Feature

Luke Tomlinson

I have played both with and against Luke at high goal and International level and he is a fantastic teammate and a very tough opponent. He is a born Captain and always gets the best out of his team. As an opponent, he is frustrating to play against because he is so disciplined and very difficult to get past. He works very hard off the field with the preparation of his horses and team strategy, and this translates onto the field and allows him to be level-headed and focused even in the toughest of circumstances. He is a very talented player, but also extremely hard working and motivated which has been reflected in his many successes.”

– John Paul Clarkin, New Zealand Coronation Cup team member (2009 and 2010), and Westchester Cup teammate, 2013 Luke Tomlinson receives The Coronation Cup from HRH The Prince of Wales

Luke is undoubtedly the most successful English player of the last 15 years. He has achieved multiple Queen’s and Gold Cup wins, two Westchester Cup victories and seven Coronation Cup triumphs, and of top of that he has qualified for The Argentine Open and also the Camara many times.

Luke’s success is down to an extremely professional and detailed approach to the way he plays the game. He is a solid penalty hitter and one of the best backs in the sport.

From the start of Luke’s career, he has been fortunate to have the support of Simon and Claire, who have been completely committed parents.

Luke’s main strength is his dedication and it is this characteristic that has helped him to achieve his huge amount of success.

Luke is a great teammate who gets the best out of any team – his ability to do so has certainly been helped by his experiences of playing with the sport’s greats, such as Carlos Gracida and Milo Fernandez Araujo, in his early years.” – Andrew Hine, England teammate, 2002 and 2003, also former England Manager, Coach and Captain

I have played with and against Luke since playing in the UK. I have always found Luke to be fiercely competitive and a good teammate. His reign as England Captain is impressive and his record of wins around the world even more so. He is a good tactician, world-class penalty hitter and an excellent rider who has given a lot to English polo. I wish Luke all the best with whatever he does going forward.” – Glen Gilmore, former Australian Captain, played against Luke in his first Coronation Cup

Luke has made a first class Captain and has never produced anything but a competitive team. During his time as England Captain, he has achieved an incredible amount of success. He took up the reins back in 2006 and has had a huge influence on England’s International polo as we know it today. Two Westchester Cup wins, a Nations Cup victory, and 12 Coronation Cup appearances means his leadership will be a very hard one to follow. James Beim has been selected as the man to follow in his footsteps and I don’t doubt that he will do his very best to match his predecessor’s success.” – John Tinsley, Chairman of the International Committee

Luke Tomlinson’s record as England Captain is amazing with a very high winning percentage. In all of Luke’s teams he has the team very well organised, and extremely well disciplined, to add to that he is very well mounted and one of the best penalty hitters in world polo. It’s not hard to see why he has been so successful.”

– Tom de Bruin, South African Coronation Cup team member, 2012 Luke Tomlinson, Malcolm Borwick, Mark Tomlinson and James Beim with The Coronation Cup, 2008

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Polo Times, October 2014

www.polotimes.co.uk

Luke Tomlinson

Feature

It has been a huge advantage for me on the polo field to have had Luke as an older brother, and there is no doubt he has been one of my primary influences in polo.

With the five year age gap, right from a young age, I was able to look to Luke and tap into his experience. It is perhaps his unbelievable and almost annoying attention to detail towards the preparation and the tactics in a lead up to a big tournament which best characterises Luke’s approach to polo. For any team, especially a national one, a professional and committed leader like Luke is so important, not only to achieve success, but also to enable players in and around the team to thrive. So while my personal benefits have obviously been huge, it is clear that the HPA and the England team have a huge amount to thank Luke for.

There have been so many great moments while playing with Luke for England and its hard to single them out, but the 2009 Westchester Cup in Florida and the 2014 Nations Cup win over Argentina in Palermo have to be two of the highlights. Perhaps it’s good to know that those triumphs were both with James Beim also on the team so that bodes well for the future seeing as he will be Luke’s successor!

I am sure Beimy will have plenty of success in the years to come and we can look forward to the England team having a new influence.” – Mark Tomlinson, brother and England teammate Luke has been a very professional and well respected Captain on and off the field.

His approach to any England game has always been highly competitive and under his captaincy the team has always been well prepared both here and overseas, especially in Argentina where his knowledge, and contacts have been instrumental to our successes. His own carefully considered views and opinions have been provided when requested and he has always listened carefully and respectfully to the views of others. He has held many a game together with his penalty taking frequently a key to the result. He has accepted his few losses with good grace and good manners, blaming himself rather than any other player if things have not gone as well as hoped. He can certainly be very proud of what he has achieved with the team and I have been very lucky to have such a reliable and helpful Captain these past nine years.”

– David Woodd, Chief Executive of the Hurlingham Polo Association www.polotimes.co.uk

Winning Copa de Las Naciones Team, 2014: Luke Tomlinson, James Beim, Mark Tomlinson and Ollie Cudmore

Luke has done an amazing job as Captain for over a decade. It is more often than not, a very thanksless task, with hours spent on the phone organising. Luke is a stickler to detail and has a huge passion for the game, and this came across to the whole team. His determination and steely grit spurred the team on whenever needed, as he lead by example. I hope to emulate the heights hit by the team over the last decade under his leadership, with memorable wins such as the Westchester Cup at home and abroad, and more recently the Copa de Nacionnes win in Argentina. Not to mention the numerous Coronation Cup wins. His input will not be forgotten as we move into a new era.’ – James Beim, England teammate and current England Captain

Luke is great to play alongside as he always makes sure that the team is very organised going into the game. He motivated me and has given a lot of confidence to younger players such as myself.”

– Matt Perry, England teammate, 2013 Luke has helped me a lot in my polo career. Off the field he has always been very approachable for advice and is always very happy to help. On the field he’s a great teammate and a very intelligent player.”

– Ollie Cudmore, England teammate

Polo Times, October 2014

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Feature

Luke Tomlinson

The opposition and the results during Luke’s Captaincy: 2006

New Zealand International, Kihikihi, NZ Vs New Zealand S Keyte T Wilson J P Clarkin C Forsyth Result: England 13 New Zealand 9 Coronation Cup Vs New Zealand S Keyte T Wilson J P Clarkin C Forsyth Result: England 9 New Zealand 7

2007

Williams de Broë Test Match Vs New Zealand C Watson T Wilson J P Clarkin S Keyte/J Watson Result: England 7.5 New Zealand 6 Coronation Cup Vs Chile J Zegers J Donoso J Huidobro M Zegers Result: England 9 Chile 8 St. Regis Test Match, Cowdray Park Vs South America S Gaztambide A Vianini G Moore B Sorzana Result: South America 12 England 10

2008

Williams de Broë Test Match, Beaufort Vs New Zealand S Hopkinson C Wilson J P Clarkin T Wilson Result: England 6 New Zealand 4 Coronation Cup Vs Australia R Archibald J Baillieu G Gilmore D Johnston Result: England 10 Australia 9 St. Regis Test Match, Cowdray Park Vs Italy L Talamoni M di Paola M Pascual B Sorzana Result: England 9 Italy 6

2009

Westchester Cup Vs USA J Blake J Hall A Snow N Roldan Result: England 10 USA 9 Copa de las Naciones, Palermo, Argentina Vs Brazil Result: Brazil 15 England 14 Vs Argentina Result: Argentina 12 England 8 Vs Rest of the World Result: England 12 ROW 11 Audi Test Match, Beaufort Vs Australasia R Archibald J Baillieu J P Clarkin G Gilmore Result: Australasia 7 England 6½

Coronation Cup Vs Argentina G Usandizaga F Pieres A Cambiaso M Valent Result: Argentina 12 England 5

2010

New Zealand International, Kihikihi, NZ Vs New Zealand C Wilson T Wilson J P Clarkin S Hopkinson Result: New Zealand 11 England 7 Audi Test Match, Beaufort Vs The Americas L di Paola N Pieres M d Paola I Toccalino Result: The Americas 9 England 8½ Coronation Cup Vs New Zealand S Keyte T Wilson J P Clarkin S Hopkinson Result: England 9 New Zealand 7

2011

Copa de las Naciones, Palermo, Argentina Vs Argentina T Garbarini V Zubiaurre G Pieres F Pieres Result: Argentina 13 England 8 Audi Test Match, Beaufort Vs New Zealand A McKelvie T Wilson J P Clarkin S Keyte Result: England 10 New Zealand 6½ Coronation Cup Vs Brazil L Paulo Bastos R Andrade J Paulo Ganon J Eduardo Kalil/L Carlos de Mello Result: England 8 Brazil 6

2012

St. Regis Test Match, Cowdray Park Vs USA M Ganzi P Pieres N Roldan J Hall Result: England 11 USA 10½ Coronation Cup Vs South Africa C Mackenzie J du Plessis I du Plessis T de Bruin Result: England 9 South Africa 8

2013

Copa de las Naciones, Palermo, Argentina Vs South Africa Result: South Africa 14 England 10 Vs Argentina Result: England 12 Argentina 6 St. Regis Test Match, Cowdray Vs South America A Muzzio N Figueras/B Sorzana F Pieres S Grahn Result: South America 11 England 9 Westchester Cup Vs USA M Ganzi N Roldan M Azzaro P Pieres Result: England 12 USA 11 (7th chukka) Audi Test Match, Chester Vs Rest of the World H Ali Hyder M Plaza de Ayala J Good G Gilmore Result: England 9 Rest of the World 6 Super Nations, Metropolitan Polo Club, Tianjin, China Vs USA Result: England 14 USA 13 Final Vs Hong Kong Result: Hong Kong 11 England 7

2014

Copa de las Naciones, Palermo, Argentina Vs Rest of the World Result: Rest of the World 12 England 11 Vs Colombia Result: England 12 Colombia 6 Final Vs Argentina Result: England 10 Argentina 9 Coronation Cup Vs Argentina F Pieres F Belaustegui J Ruggeri A Cambiaso Result: Argentina 13 England 8

Luke Tomlinson in action against New Zealand in The 2010 Coronation Cup

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Photographs by RB Presse & Janie Dear

Reports

FIP Gold For England Tilda Woodd reports on how the England team were victorious in The FIP European 8 Goal Championships in Chantilly, France In the early part of September, France without a doubt became the epicentre of the horse world – a fitting occurrence considering Chantilly is considered as the horse capital of France. Whilst perhaps the majority of the equine population was focused on the World Equestrian Games taking place in Normandy, the attention of the polo world was directed slightly more towards the activity in The FIP European 8 Goal Championships at the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly.

This Club, which is often regarded as one of the most beautiful on the planet, hosted The World Championships back in 2004. This year, the Club opened its doors to the international polo circuit once again, 36

Polo Times, October 2014

inviting eight national teams and their ponies to compete in the 220 hectares of 18th century estate from 4–14 September.

Set amongst the grounds of Ferme D’Apremont, teams from the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, France, Ireland and of course England, travelled to Chantilly to play on one of nine high quality playing fields in the shadow of a spectacular Chateau. “The facilities at Chantilly are amazing and the horses were amazingly looked after with vet inspections before every match,” revealed Janie Dear, mother to players Max and Freddie.

With European polo as competitive as ever, the HPA were keen to send out the toughest team they could to battle in France.

Therefore, prior to the tournament, the HPA decided to take a slightly new approach with regard to the England ‘team selection’.

Polo’s governing body introduced The FIP European 8 Goal Qualifier tournament, in which any legitimate English 8 goal team could enter. Oliver Hughes, Deputy Chief Executive of the HPA, explains the reasons behind the HPA’s decision, “The idea to invite teams to enter a qualifying tournament to represent England in Chantilly came from a discussion with Will Emerson. It was hoped that the teams who entered would have played at least part of the season together and that this could give the qualifying England team a competitive edge that would benefit them in Chantilly. The tournament www.polotimes.co.uk

FIP European 8 Goal Championships

Reports

The vaulted interior to the historic stable block

was a great success and the Final, in which Apache defeated Chester Racecourse, provided an exciting opening match for Audi International Day at Guards.”

Following Apache’s victory against Chester Racecourse on International Day, the Dear’s family team had therefore truly earnt their right to represent their country and their place in The FIP European 8 Goal Championships.

Before arriving in France, the Apache line-up had already undergone a couple of changes due to players’ previous commitments. Their original number two, Ralph Richardson was replaced first by George Pearson before Jack Mesquita agreed to step up for the biggest challenge of all, joining Max and Freddie Dear and Olly Tuthill in their pursuit for national success overseas.

Whether the HPA’s approach contributed to the competitive spirit England had evidently brought across The Channel or not, England certainly arrived in Chantilly with their eyes on the prize. England’s Captain, Olly Tuthill explains the benefits of having played a tournament together before they travelled to France, “It was good to play the tournament back in the UK to get an idea of how everyone in the team would gel. It showed us what our strengths were, but it also showed what weaknesses we needed to work on.”

Relocating both players and entire strings of ponies is by no means an easy feat – the organisation that goes into a tournament such as this should not be underestimated.

Janie Dear, the force behind this England team, gives Polo Times an insight into the extensive planning and immaculate organisation of the team at Chantilly, “We were beautifully looked after by the Club and the FIP throughout our stay. The tournament’s programme included a variety of entertainment in order to keep us all busy: an introductory party on the Friday night, an evening at a club in Paris, an incredible party www.polotimes.co.uk

Enthusiastic celebrations for the victorious England team

at La Victoire, as well as trips to the stables at Chantilly and a visit to the horse museum were just a few of things that featured on the tournament’s agenda.”

So, with all the horses landed safely and the players settled in to their accommodation in Senlis – a stunning, cobbled French market with its own Notre Dame cathedral and located just eight minutes drive from the Club – it was finally time to get the real show on the road.

England Vs Austria England’s first challenge came in the form of Austria’s Walter Scherb, Martin Bleier, Diego Braun and Robert Kofler. Despite murmurings that Austria were fielding a strong line-up, some open polo and good team play rewarded England with a 4–0 lead by the end of the first chukka. England were a little slow in both attack and defence in the second, a sudden change in the score to 4–2 reflecting the action on the pitch.

Thankfully, England were quick to regain their earlier composure and went on to score another four times before the final whistle, in comparison to Austria’s solitary goal, meaning the final score read 8–5; a confident start for England.

England 8 Austria 5 England Vs Spain Next up on England’s plan of attack was none other than defending champions, Spain. England had had the opportunity to watch, and study, the other teams in their league on the Saturday when Spain had suffered a 6–4 defeat to Ireland; and consequently received a slight dent in their former gold armour. England started their second conquest in much the same way as they had opened against Austria.

However, a slight lapse in concentration and suddenly the scoreboard wasn’t looking so positive; five goals apiece going into the last. Following a team talk and some firm

The magnificent stables at Chantilly

Polo Times, October 2014

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Reports instructions from their Captain, Olly Tuthill, who had impressed the spectators with his team management during play, England went on to produce their best polo of the match.

Three quick goals gave Spain no option of a comeback, and cemented a second victory for England.

England 8 Spain 5 England Vs Ireland Both England and Ireland arrived into this third league game with a guaranteed place in the Semi Finals. However, the winner would be rewarded with an ‘easier’ Semi Final game, and therefore there was certainly no backing down from either side. Both teams demonstrated why they had already qualified through to the final four, producing fluent and consistent play. The match featured close play throughout, with neither team appearing more dominant than the other at any one time.

On the final whistle however, it was the green shirts of Ireland who held the advantage, seven goals to six, meaning England had suffered their first defeat – “a good wake up call” in the words of Janie Dear.

Ireland 7 England 6 Semi Final England Vs France England’s loss to Ireland meant they had to face France, the top team in the opposing league. France had previously defeated Netherlands, Germany and Italy and were therefore yet to suffer a defeat.

England however were equally determined not to experience their second loss of the tournament. France opened the scoring and maintained a one goal advantage throughout the first chukka. England replied with a solitary goal in the second making the score 1–1 at half time. Both teams appeared to be playing cautiously, not wanting their respective opposition to gain any advantage. The result, as it turned out,

Runners-up Ireland

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Polo Times, October 2014

Jack Mesquita & Freddie Dear in action during the Final

was to be determined in the third chukka.

France found space between the posts for the second time in the match, but England were able to get one step ahead of their opponents, converting twice to give them a 3–2 advantage. A goal-less fourth and final chukka meant the score remained at three goals to two and England had secured a spot in the Final.

England 3 France 2 Final England Vs Ireland Ireland winning the other Semi Final against Italy meant that England had to face their nemesis of the tournament, once again, in the Final – although as it turned out, perhaps it is better to play a side you know rather than one you have yet to come up against.

England were keen to get off to a good start and with early goals from both Mesquita and Tuthill, they went on to do just that.

However, some slack marking from England – a common denominator in their second chukka activity it seems – allowed Ireland to close the gap and go one further, meaning England were suddenly a goal down come half-time. As ever, England received some stern words and a wake-up call in their half time break and returned to the field with the determination they needed. Consequently they returned for the third chukka with a fresh and attacking drive which went on to reward them with no less than three goals, leaving Ireland with a lot of work to do and just one chukka in which they could do it in. Thankfully for England, there just wasn’t enough time for Ireland to make any kind of a comeback to their quick flurry of goals; England had won the FIP European 8 Goal Championships in style, six goals to Ireland’s three.

England 6 Ireland 3

This England team started their European Championship journey back in July, and what a way for them to finish their 2014 summer season. Following their victory, England’s Freddie Dear went on to say, “The Final was a tough game. At half time we were down by one, so we knew we had to come out strong in the third and get the next couple of goals otherwise the Irish could easily run away with the game.

Fortunately we had a cracker of a third chukka and scored three quick goals, two from Olly and one outstanding neck shot from my younger brother. This put us in a good position for the last and luckily we managed to hold onto our lead!” Not only did England win gold, but Olly Tuthill’s Cognac was presented with the Best Playing Pony Award – the perfect end to their season-long pursuit.

David Woodd, Chief Executive of the HPA said, “Many congratulations to Janie Dear and her team for representing England and winning against Ireland 6–3 in the Final, and to Ireland for such a successful tournament, especially as they had to substitute an injured Stephen Hutchinson after the first match.”

FIP European 8 Goal Championships; Polo Club du Domaine du Chantilly; 4–14 September Result: England beat Ireland, 6-3 Handicap: 8 goal Best Playing Pony: Cognac, owned and played by Olly Tuthill Teams: England (8): Max Dear (0), Jack Mesquita (1), Freddie Dear (3), Olly Tuthill (4) Ireland (8): Richard Fagan (1), Siobhan Herbst (1), Sebastian Dawnay (4), Max Hutchinson (2)

www.polotimes.co.uk

Langley School Polo Academy’s outstanding achievements in 2014 Langley School Polo Academy (LSPA), which is in partnership with world class polo coach, umpire and former 6 goal professional player Jason Dixon, officially launched in September 2014.

This unique School Polo Academy is the first of its kind and incorporates the full Langley boarding and education experience, along with a choice of two polo programmes which integrate fully with the school timetable. This enables the students to combine up to 16 hours of Polo Training per week without missing any lesson time.

LSPA has been active since March 2014 in the lead up to September’s launch. The photos below are just a snapshot of the many LSPA Team and individual successes so far.

March - Schools & Universities Polo Association (SUPA) National Arena Championships.

Winners - Intermediate Section, beating Harrow, Marlborough & Wellington.

L to R - Charlie Tighe, Tom Towsend, Charlie Townsend.

May - Suffolk Polo Club: Students and Coaching/ June - Beaufort Polo Club: Prince’s Charity Day. Played in the supporting Playing Staff played at Hare Park Grounds. match following Prince William, Prince Harry & Facundo Pieres (10g player).

Winners 0-2g Finals.

Awards presented by Langley School Headmaster - Dominic Findlay.

L to R - Charlie Tighe, Tom Townsend, Jason Dixon (Director LSPA), Miles Underwood (Instructor), Paul Newman.

July - Norfolk Polo Festival: Young South America (7g team) v LSPA (0g team).

L to R Back Row - Mark Holmes (ump), Gaston Devrient, Tomy Marin Moreno, Miss Norfolk, Jose Araya, Pepe Araya (former 7g player), Matt Evetts (ump) L to R Front Row - Charlie Townsend, Tom Townsend, Christian Oberschneider, Jason Dixon (former 6g player).

August - LSPA Player, Charlie Townsend played in the victorious Silver Leys Team to become Junior HPA Hipwood Trophy Champions 2014 at The HPA Youth Championships at Cowdray Park Polo Club.

L to R - Terrence Lent, Martin Rodriguez (4g), Tom Townsend & Charlie Townsend

July - Students & Staff participate in a film documentary about Polo, aired on SKY television during Summer 2014.

August - LSPA Player, Tom Townsend captained the England Schools Team to victory over Ireland, Scotland & Wales in the 2014 SUPA Home Nations Championship.

July - Victorious LSPA Team with The USA Polo Training Foundation Youth Team at Norfolk Polo Club.

L to R Back Row - Miles Underwood, Tom Townsend, Charlie Tighe, Paul Newman, Charlie Townsend & Jason Dixon L to R Front Row - Christian Weiz, Harrison Azzarro (Son of US 10g Hall of Fame Player, Mike), Rachel Kelly & Cipi Echezarreta.

August - LSPA players, Tom and Charlie Townsend, were both selected by the HPA to play the Colts Cup at Cowdray Park Polo Club. HPA White were the eventual winners.

L to R Charlie Townsend (LSPA), Henry Frisby, Tommy Severn, Angus Rowan Hamilton

For more information, please contact:

Langley School Polo Academy – Jason Dixon (Director) : jason@norfolkpolo.co.uk, Office +44 (0)1508 480400 or mobile + 44 (0)7584 575771 Claire Mayes (Headmaster’s PA) : cmayes@langleyschool.co.uk, +44 (0)1508 522474 Langley School Polo Academy, Langley Park, Norwich, NR14 6BJ

• www.langleyschool.co.uk

Reports

Victor Ludorum

Winning the series There were some standout teams – and players – in the 2014 Victor Ludorum tournaments. Polo Times reviews the season and talks to the winning players and patrons who secured wins up and down the country, from Rutland to Cowdray Park in this series which translates from the Latin as “the winners of the games”

W

How it works: The Victor Ludorum Championships are run under the jurisdiction of the HPA and are used to encourage participation in tournaments up and down the country, with champion teams established through an assigned points system.

• 20 points are given to a team on entry • 10 points for every match won in a league/group /qualifying stage. In a draw situation, 5 points are awarded • 10 points for a Quarter Final win • 20 points for a Semi Final win • 30 points for a Final win • 10 points for a Subsidiary Final win

If teams are on equal points, the order of merit will be based on the following: If there are two teams equal, first place will be ascertained by whom beat who if they have played each other an uneven number of times or, by goal difference if they have played each other an even number of times.

The respective Clubs then send scores to the HPA who then assign the teams to their Victor Ludorum league table.

Not only is the series an important aim to many of the teams playing either in the 18, 15, 12, 8 or 6 goal levels, but it also creates an opportunity for patrons and players to visit other Clubs. The presentation for the Victor Ludorum champions will be made at the Polo Awards held in May 2015.

Tony Ramirez/ www.imagesofpolo.com

ith 26 tournaments played across five different levels ranging from 18 to 6 goal, with over 150 teams competing, it is no surprise that the Victor Ludorum Championships are perhaps the most competitive of medium and low goal level polo played anywhere in the world.

The winners this season are Dell Park, Cadenza Juniors, Black Eagles, AFB and Rigby & Rigby, but a particular special mention should go to patrons Simon and Romilla Arber. Their Four Quarters set-up has seen their various teams dominate the medium goal, as they were runners-up in the 18, 15 and 12 goal levels. An incredible achievement – with such a record, this year’s teams should start preparing for 2015.

Dell Park win The Indian Empire Shield at Guards Polo Club

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www.polotimes.co.uk

Victor Ludorum on Independence Day, which saw 5 goal professional, and Dell Park regular, Richard Le Poer suffer a nasty fall, breaking his collarbone. He was replaced by Dirk Gould, but Richard refused to go to hospital until he saw his team lift the trophy, beating Cadenza Juniors 9 goals to 2.

Fortunately Le Poer was back to peak fitness in time for the last Final of the 18 goal season where once again Dell Park triumphed, winning The Duke of Beaufort’s Cup at Gloucestershire’s Beaufort Polo Club.

Sadly, The Cowdray Challenge, the usual last 18 goal of the season, was cancelled due to lack of entries, perhaps affected by the migration of many players to Sotogrande, Spain. However, Dell Park’s accumulated points still ensured their success in the Victor Ludorum 18 goal.

Polo Times spoke to Richard Le Poer about his season with the team: “It’s very important to do well in the

18 GOAL Winners: Dell Park Runners-up: Four Quarters Orange Team Nikolai Bahlsen 1 Malcolm Borwick 6 Richard Le Poer 5 Max Charlton 6 18 The Guards-based Dell Park patroned by the Bahlsen family had a storming season, cleaning up at the 18 goal level. They started the season with a win of Cowdray Park’s Duke of Sutherland beating Michael Bickford’s La Indiana 8 goals to 6 before heading to Cirencester, where the team picked up 30 Victor Ludorum points by beating Trewsbury in the Subsidiary Final in June.

It was an exciting Final for The Indian Empire Shield at Guards Polo Club played

Reports

Victor Ludorum at the medium goal level, to be amongst the league winners gives you good recognition as a successful player and team. I think the VL is the toughest medium goal league in the world, so it is the most prestigious to win. Our team was successful because we were individually well handicapped. We also all made a group decision to invest heavily into our horses to give ourselves every chance possible. My standout ponies were Cheeky M, Selena, Jet, Katie, Saffron and Dig Deep. They played a serious amount of polo [Richard also won the 15 goal Victor Ludorum with Cadenza Juniors so played roughly 100 games this season] and were always there for me, consistent in every game. They all have different qualities, but the one they all share is that they have huge hearts. Another aspect which helped our team be successful was our great team atmosphere – win or lose we stayed tight together as a unit.”

15 GOAL Winners: Cadenza Juniors Runners-up: Four Quarters

The young Charlie Pidgley is a definite one to watch – especially after a successful season in the medium goal. His father Tony used to play the high goal, so the integral planning and infrastructure required for any team was already in place for Pidgley and his Cadenza Juniors team. They took second place in their first Victor Ludorum tournament of the season coming below the 15 goal Dell Park set-up in The Arthur Lucas held at Beaufort Polo Club. Then it was onto The Al Habtoor Royal Windsor where an incredible 18 teams, featuring some of the best players in the country, were battling for the trophy. As Richard Le Poer, Pidgley’s teammate commented; “The Royal Windsor for me is the most important and difficult tournament to win. At that time of year your horses are playing most days so it’s hard to keep them fresh. On top of that, the teams are very strong and to win you have to win six or seven games.” Cadenza Juniors reached the Semi Finals, overcoming 14 teams to get their place, but sadly lost to eventual Royal Windsor winners, Four Quarters. www.polotimes.co.uk

Clive Bennett

Team Charlie Pidgley -1 Zac Hagedoorn 3 Max Charlton 6 Richard Le Poer 5 13

Cadenza Juniors win The Jaeger-LeCoultre Harrison Cup at Cowdray Park

Polo Times, October 2014

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Reports

Victor Ludorum about his summer with Cadenza Juniors: “There is a considerable amount of planning that goes into a successful Victor Ludorum run. I considered and worked on the selection of the teams the year before we started in order to make sure everyone was well prepared and well mounted before the start of the season. I try to win every tournament for my patrons, and winning the Victor Ludorum tournaments for them is paramount – it is one of the pinnacles of our British game. For me, competing in the Victor Ludorum tournaments is critically important; it demonstrates true consistency of both team and individual player’s performance across the season. It also shows

The Eduardo Moore at the Royal County of Berkshire and The Coworth Park Challenge at Guards weren’t the team’s strongest tournaments, despite being played on the team’s home turf, but they were preparing for Cowdray’s Harrison Cup which featured 12 tough teams. Cadenza Juniors beat Cowdray Vikings with a convincing win of 8½ to 4 despite being the lower handicapped team on paper. For the last 15 goal of the season, Cadenza journeyed to Cirencester where they were victorious over Creed Polo in the Subsidiary Final of The County Cup. Max Charlton, the team’s highest handicapped player, spoke to Polo Times

that each player is a real team participant who is committed to playing to the best of their ability, for the benefit of the team as a whole, and who possesses the drive and hunger to win.

“Our teams were successful [Charlton also played with Dell Park] because we all bounced off each other with our shared committed drive and ambition, so we pushed and encouraged each other to give that little extra. Our patrons were fantastic throughout the season, as were our teams behind the scenes including our great grooms who made a huge difference to us. They share our ambition too.”

15 GOAL Winners: Black Eagles Runners-up: Four Quarters Black

Jonathan Munro Ford has played with his professional, Chris Hyde for several seasons both in the arena and on grass. He has also been a staunch supporter of Chris’ son Jack who has been proving himself throughout the season. In fact, he was playing so well this summer, that his handicap was raised to 2 mid-season, forfeiting his position on the Ellerston team in Sotogrande, but in turn assuring him a place on Lyndon Lea’s high goal Zacara team in 2015. This handicap increase may have been an inconvenience to the team, but patron, Munro Ford, reflected that; “if we didn’t beat the opposing team by over half a goal, then we didn’t deserve to win anyway.”

Having such young talent on the allBritish team, was undoubtedly a good start for the Black Eagles who secured their first 12 goal Victor Ludorum during the earliest part of the UK season. They beat Cowdray-based Maiz Dulce 7 goals to 3 to win The Dollar Cup. Moving West to Gloucestershire, they reached the Semi Finals of The Prince of Wales Cup at Beaufort, losing out to eventual Finalists, Vampire Bats by just half a goal. The Queen Mother Trophy at Cirencester was a close affair, but Black Eagles still powered through, winning their games by mere

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Polo Times, October 2014

Clive Bennett

Team Jonathan Munro Ford 0 Chris Hyde 6 Jack Hyde 2 Jonny Good 5 13

Black Eagles win The Dollar Cup at Cowdray Park

half or single goals, clinching a win over Casablanca in the Final by 6 goals to 4½.

Sadly for the team, The Duke of Wellington at Guards did not play out in their favour, but the team pulled together for The

Cheltenham Cup back in Cirencester where Ollie Cudmore joined the team and they narrowly beat the tough Arber-led team Four Quarters Orange, 6 goals to 5.

Polo Times spoke to successful patron, www.polotimes.co.uk

Victor Ludorum

Mike Webster

Jonathan Munro Ford at the end of the season: “After a relatively successful couple of seasons at Guards, we felt like a new challenge, with an opportunity to play at other Clubs, against other teams. I’ve played with Chris [Hyde] for four or five years now and we sat down last September to plan ahead for the 2014 season. We decided

Reports

to jump on the 12 goal Victor Ludorum opportunity and intersperse it with some higher level polo. This season we were successful because of various things such as the chemistry within the team – I don’t believe in just one player making the critical difference to the end result – good planning, passion from the players to succeed and

being as well mounted as possible. Winning the Victor Ludorum series, says a lot about the particular team and it’s a major plus to win it. We’ve already planned ahead for next season when we will be taking on the 15 goal level and then progressing to the 18 goal after that. We’re always thinking of the long-term plan.”

2009 and 2010. The team took a break from the series to play some different polo, but Clive was keen to get into the competitive aspect of the 8 goal again for the 2014 season.

Despite no wins for the team this year, their consistency in doing well throughout league stages and reaching Finals proved their ability to be a reliably good team to watch. They had an unlucky loss in Cirencester’s Gerald Balding, losing by just a goal, to Richard Thomas’ Chester Polo and sadly missed a place in the qualifiers for the Final of The Archie David by a mere half goal. With 27 teams participating in the Guards tournament, even reaching The

Claude Pert Semi Finals of the tournament is seen as a very good result. The team then secured 60 points in The Julian and Howard Hipwood Trophy at the Berkshire, before heading to Cowdray for another supremely competitive 8 goal, The Holden White, which featured 19 teams. They lost in the Semi Final – but patron, Clive Reid says their earlier game against the eventual winners HPA (Ed Banner-Eve, Jack Mesquita, George Pearson and Will Emerson) was by far their hardest game of the season and so he was delighted when they beat them 9-7 during the league stages.

Clive Reid reflected on the season to Polo Times: “It would have been nice to

AFB were Finalists in Cirencester Park’s Gerald Balding

8 GOAL Winners: AFB Runners-up: La Rosada Team Clive Reid 0 Henry Porter -1 Sebastian Dawnay 4 Peter Webb 5 8 Guards-based AFB patron Clive Reid has been playing with his professional, 5 goaler and England team squad member, Peter Webb for eight years. Webb is integral to the AFB set up and was part of the 8 goal team, which won the Victor Ludorum with Clive in www.polotimes.co.uk

Polo Times, October 2014

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Reports

Victor Ludorum

competitive, there’s a need for good horses, it’s very physical and great fun. There’s also nowhere to hide!

“To play with Pete Webb as our team Captain over the seasons has been lots of fun and we plan the team around the two of us. I enjoyed playing with our whole team this season, with Seb [Dawnay] and Henry [Potter]. We may have been a little

win the Victor Ludorum season outright, but nonetheless it was fantastic to win overall. I particularly like the opportunity the series gives teams and players to travel – it was nice to play at different Clubs such as Cirencester and not just stay at our home Club of Guards.

“I love playing the 8 goal level because you are actively involved in the game; it’s

unlucky in not winning a Final, but we’ve always known we maybe weren’t playing quite right on the day or the opposition was particularly tough; we haven’t ridden off the pitch disappointed by an umpiring decision or something not going in our favour. I really thought that we were wellumpired this season and decisions were reasonable.”

6 GOAL Winners: Rigby & Rigby Runners-up: Strategic

The Rigby & Rigby team is a family affair.

Based in the Warwickshire area, the family learnt to play at Offchurch Bury, Dallas Burston and Rugby Polo Clubs before rapidly leaping into the competitive polo arena. Patron, Steve Rigby clearly was progressing swiftly when he set his eyes on the Victor Ludorum series. The 5 goal professional, Matias Amaya, has been with the team for several seasons, not only playing in the team, but running the Rigby’s yard and organising the season.

The initial plan for the Rigby & Rigby team was to win each individual tournament, but unfortunately the 2014, 6 goal series was very competitive. The first Victor Ludorum of the season was The Eduardo Rojas Lanusse at Beaufort, where the team picked up 40 points by winning each league game until they reached the Semi Finals against Peter O’Rorke’s Strategic; the team, which would prove to be their nemesis throughout the 2014 summer. 20 points were picked up at both The Assam Cup at Rutland and The Junior County Cup at Cheshire, before the team really picked up momentum. They then picked up a strong win (and 100 points) when they beat Louise Jebson’s C.A.N.I in The Budgett Everett at Kirtlington Park Polo Club.

Strategic were leading the Victor Ludorum series up until the final tournament at Cirencester, but Rigby & Rigby powered through (with a slightly different line-up featuring 0 goaler, Hugo Lewis instead of Jenny Rigby) to win The Kingscote and so gain a valuable 80 points which took them 44

Polo Times, October 2014

Tom Reynolds

Team Jake Rigby -2 Jenny Rigby -1 Matias Amaya 5 Grant Collett 3 5

Rigby & Rigby win The Kingscote Cup at Cirencester with a slightly different line-up with Hugo Lewis replacing Jenny Rigby

to the top of the leader board, beating Strategic by a mere five points. Undoubtedly the closest call of the 2014 Victor Ludorum series.

Polo Times spoke to 3 goal professional Grant Collett about his season with Rigby & Rigby: “A fair amount of planning had gone into Rigby & Rigby’s preparation for the 6 goal Victor Ludorum series and this was mostly down to Matias Amaya and the Rigbys themselves. The game plan was to ideally win every tournament – but of course, things are never that easy. It was a very competitive level and our opponents were always strong.

Strategic in particular were a very tough team; we never managed to beat them in

any tournament. Right through to the end of the season, until we won The Kingscote at Cirencester we were just behind them in the Victor Ludorum league – fortunately with that win, we managed to clinch the series.

“I think Matias made all the difference to our team; his unbelievable horsepower made our team a little more successful.

We also grew as a team as the season progressed; we were definitely stronger towards the end and that’s down to teamwork. Personally, this year was a step up for me playing as a 3 goaler [Grant’s handicap was 2 last season], but naturally it’s quite hard to judge yourself. I made vast improvements to my horsepower, so again, that made a huge difference.” www.polotimes.co.uk

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Reports

Chester Remains a Happy Place for England Audi England return to the International stage with confidence as the most recent line-up save the best ‘til last in order to defeat Rest of the World

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hester Racecourse Polo Club once again hosted the finale of the Audi International Polo Series with the picturesque setting providing the perfect backdrop as England set about their quest to claim a third consecutive Chester International title, and in fact a third triumph of the season.

England were returning to the field for the first time since their spectacular display against Argentina on Audi international Day. Although the visiting team from South America had lived up to their reputation as the best polo-playing nation and more, England had put up a tough and very respectable fight and consequently had every reason to hold their heads high.

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Polo Times, October 2014

Tilda Woodd reports

The country’s northern polo supporters welcomed a completely separate England lineup to that of Audi International Day. Under the leadership of Captain Tom Morley, English polo saw the young and extremely talented trio of Jack Richardson, George Meyrick and Max Charlton return to this year’s International stage for the second time this season.

Richardson, Charlton and Meyrick previously engraved their names into the history of English polo earlier on in the season when they defeated Hong Kong at Beaufort to win The Goldin Jubilee Cup, and were subsequently returning in a bid for a successive triumph together at Chester.

As crowds lined the side of the pitch to

England Rest of the World

7 4½

watch the action of Northern England’s only polo International event, a performance by the North Yorkshire Fire Brigade Band and a rendition of the English National Anthem provided the perfect warm-up for the action that was to follow. The familiar white and red shirts of Audi England cantered onto the field to take on the contrasting yellow shirts of Veuve Clicquot Rest of the World (ROW), the opposing line-up featuring a collection of Argentines and an Irishman. Having had to www.polotimes.co.uk

settle for second place in this same event last year, ROW returned to Chester determined to knock England off the podium. ROW’s Argentines Matias Torres Zavaleta, Manolo Fernandez Llorente and Guy Gibrat brought the South American influence to the day whilst Richard Le Poer added his very own Irish influence. Interestingly, Le Poer has represented England on many occasions in the past, meaning he had the added advantage of knowing his English opposition very well.

ROW were awarded half a goal on handicap but this was in fact the only time that the visiting team would hold any advantage.

The crowd were entertained throughout the first chukka with end-to-end polo, yet neither side was able to have much impact on the score. Only in the final seconds did Morley find the posts for England, giving the home side the lead for the first time, and ultimately an advantage that they would go on to maintain for the remainder of the match.

Despite a slow start, the second chukka featured more open and flowing polo as both sides began to establish their own rhythm as the game progressed. Le Poer led the way for ROW in the second chukka and despite an almost immediate reply from England, ROW had made their mark on the scoreboard. With England appearing to be the more attacking side, ROW naturally accepted a defensive role throughout the third chukka, preventing their opposition from increasing their 2–1½ advantage any further. Consequently the score remained unchanged and at half-time there was just half a goal separating the two sides.

England, having settled into their newly established attacking momentum, returned for the final two chukkas with even more determination and drive. Richardson, the youngest player on the field, was the next to contribute to his country’s goal count, confidently tapping a penalty hit through the middle of the posts. Once again, ROW were quick to respond but Morley illustrated why he had been selected as England’s man in charge, scoring for the second time in the match and taking his side into the lead, 4–2½.

With one chukka of play to go, England’s one and a half goal advantage was certainly not enough to ensure victory, and ROW’s leading player, Matias Torres Zavaleta was quick to prove that. Barely seconds into the final chukka, Torres Zavaleta had showcased every goal of his 7 goal handicap, producing a spectacular goal for ROW and reducing England’s advantage to just half a goal – the results could not have been any closer.

However, the increased pressure seemed to have a very positive effect on England’s www.polotimes.co.uk

Reports

Photographs by Tony Ramirez/imagesofpolo.com

Audi International; Chester Racecourse Polo Club

Max Charlton. Having seen his 6 goal handicap raised to 7, in the recent handicap changes, to become one of only three English 7 goalers, Charlton simply dominated the final minutes of the match. There was little ROW were able to do except admire Charlton’s assertive play as he went on to create opportunity after opportunity for his England teammates. The half a goal difference that was in place at the beginning of the chukka rapidly became history as England went on to play the best polo we had seen all day in the final stages of the match, scoring three quick goals in comparison to ROW’s single conversion, taking the final score to 7–4½.

The Test Match provided this England lineup with the perfect preparation before they set off to China where they will represent their country in The Super Nations Cup. England Captain Tom Morley gives his personal view on his team’s performance and looks forward to their next appearance, “It was so great to Captain the main England team for the first time at the Audi Chester International. Not only was it great to beat Rest of the World, but it was also great preparation for our team before The Super Nations Tournament in China. Jack and George attacked very well throughout the game and Max played very well at number three, controlling the midfield, which meant I was able to concentrate on defending well. Our plan was to play a fast, open game and move the ball quickly, and we achieved that. We managed to step it up a gear

at the end of the fourth chukka and kept that same intensity during the fifth chukka which allowed us to secure the win.”

Audi England were presented with The Diamond Jubilee Trophy, a trophy that is yet to be won by a visiting team, while Veuve Clicquot Rest of the World received The Audi Silver Plate. Following his outstanding performance in the last chukka, Max Charlton was awarded The Links of London Most Valuable Player Award as well as The Lycetts Best Retrained Racehorse for Taper Jean Girl, while Richard Le Poer was presented with The LDF Best Playing Pony Award for his pony Jet. udi International; Saturday 6 September; A Chester Racecourse Polo Club Result: England beat Rest of the World, 7–4½ Principal sponsor: Audi Handicap level: 23 goal Links of London Most Valuable Player: Max Charlton Lycetts Best Retrained Racehorse: Taper Jean Girl, played by Max Charlton The LDF Best Playing Pony: Jet, owned and played by Richard Le Poer Teams Audi England (23): Jack Richardson 5; George Meyrick 6; Max Charlton 6; Tom Morley 6 Rest of the World (22): Guy Gibrat 4; Richard Le Poer 5; Manuel Fernandez Llorente 6; Matias Torres Zavaleta 7 Polo Times, October 2014

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Reports

The Bulgari Gold Cup, Santa Maria Polo Club, Spain

Valiente take the triple Bob Jornayvaz wins The Gold, Silver and Bronze Cups during his first season in Sotogrande

Charley Larcombe reports

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t may have been American patron, Bob Jornayvaz’s first taste of victory in Spain, but he is by no means a stranger to polo success. With his Valiente team – complete with hired assassin, Adolfo Cambiaso – he is a real force to be reckoned with in his usual polo grounds of Palm Beach, Florida. Earlier this year, Valiente were the team to beat, clinching both The CV Whitney and The Piaget Gold Cup, before just losing the Final of The US Open to underdogs Alegria, after Cambiaso was sidelined with injury.

With such a strong organisation, it perhaps came as no surprise that this team transferred so well to the month-long Santa Maria Polo Club season in Sotogrande. They beat Ayala to win The Bronze and played a clean sweep in The Silver, securing victory over Dos Lunas. Adolfo hadn’t lost a game since June, when he dominated The British Open at Cowdray with Dubai and having played with Santi Torres during the US season, the pair worked brilliantly together.

The fourth member of the line-up, Santi Laborde was an inspired choice who worked well with the Valiente stalwarts. They seemed unbeatable.

Much of the Sotogrande high goal season had been a foregone conclusion, with even the mighty Ellerston comprising of the two Pieres brothers, not getting close to a win.

However, not since 2008 when Bahar Jefri and Pablo MacDonough clinched the triple tournaments, has a team won all three, so Valiente couldn’t afford to be complacent.

Ellerston had a tough August, being without their patron, James Packer, 48

Polo Times, October 2014

Photographs by Tony Ramirez/ www.imagesofpolo.com

Valiente Ellerston

Adolfo Cambiaso shows his delight in winning all three high goal tournaments during the 2014 Sotogrande season

and so fielding a team of two relatively inexperienced and young teammates in Tom Brodie and Felipe Gomez. In pre-Finals’ Day interviews, Facundo and Gonzalito remarked that they both had to be playing at their highest standard to compete against the more balanced teams. Although they were quick to remark that the young Brodie and Gomez had played tremendous seasons, it was evident that the Pieres’ were feeling the pressure.

Come the Final however, anxiety and expectations were laid aside, as both teams played an outstanding match, showcasing the talents of the world’s greatest players as

well as the future ones to watch. It was high goal at its best; an opinion shared by much of the crowd who regarded it as the finest game of the season.

In the opening chukkas, Valiente edged just ahead finishing a mere goal ahead in the first, and despite a penalty scored by Gonzalito in the second causing Ellerston to equalise, Valiente managed to ease ahead again, going into the third, 5 goals to 4.

It was during the third chukka, that the game really started to hot up – mirroring the Costa del Sol weather – with the teams equalising first at 7 goals a piece and riding off the pitch at half-time, at 8 all. www.polotimes.co.uk

The Bulgari Gold Cup, Santa Maria Polo Club, Spain

Chukka four brought great excitement for the Ellerston fans as a goal from the Pieres’ drew them ahead for the first time in the game. Sadly it didn’t cause much of a breather, as once again excellent play between Cambiaso and Torres saw them clinch another goal. Despite only two goals being scored in the fourth and again in the fifth, they were strong moments in the game, which showcased both teams vying for victory.

The last chukka was definitely owned

by Valiente though. Cambiaso proved how much he wanted the Triple Crown for himself – the only accolade to allude him in his successful career – notching up four goals alongside his teammates to beat Ellerston 14 goals to 11. It meant that he was naturally awarded The Javier Novillo Astrada Memorial MVP as the match’s outstanding player, but Facundo did have the consolation of winning the Best Playing Pony prize for one of his incredible string, Open Magnifica.

The title for the Subsidiary Final, played earlier in the day, went to Victor Vargas’ Lechuza Caracas, who beat Halcyon Gallery.

The Lechuza win was a great success for 4 (soon to be 5) goaler, Matt Perry whose last victory had been with Zacara in The 2013 British Open.

Reports

Action between Valiente and Ellerston in The Gold Cup Final

In The Gold Cup Finals for the low and medium goal levels, Huntsman beat Serdañola to secure their triple win and

England player, James Beim helped his team Equus to clinch their second 2014 tournament win at Santa Maria Polo Club.

Match Analysis by James Beim New England Captain and 7 goal professional, James Beim was fresh from his success with team Equus after they had won the medium Silver and Gold Cup at Santa Maria Polo Club. He was pitch-side to give Polo Times his thoughts on the high goal Final between Valiente and Ellerston.

“This was one of the best matches I have seen all year. The meeting of the two best polo players in the world did not disappoint! Their Messi/Ronaldo rivalry continued with another great chapter culminating on the Los Pinos fields in Sotogrande. Cambiaso representing Valiente and Facundo Pieres, as always, for Ellerston.

“The match started at a furious pace, with some spectacular field goals from both teams. The scoreboard was ticking over quickly, but the two teams were never more than a goal apart – the third chukka ending 6-6, the forth 9-9, and the fifth 10-10. Therefore the whole month – the winning of the third and biggest high goal tournament of the Sotogrande season – came down to one chukka.

“Cambiaso came out on the stand-out Primicia and Pieres on board Cube. It was Valiente that made the early advantage, going quickly to 12-10. However, Pieres sprung into action scoring the goal of the game, an impossible 80 yards neck shot from the boards with an angle, which defied belief! Then came Adolfo and his mare, Miami to score two further goals to seal the victory for Valiente. The horsepower of both teams was immense and a pleasure to watch. Players from both teams excelled, creating a hugely enjoyable and exciting match. Special mention should go to Valiente’s Santi Torres playing well above his 6 goal handicap, and young Englishman, Tom Brodie who improved greatly throughout his month with Ellerston, and looked very much at home in the high goal level. I’m looking forward to the next instalment of the Cambiaso/Pieres rivalry.”

www.polotimes.co.uk

Valiente win The Bulgari Copa de Oro or Gold Cup. L~R: Adolfo Cambiaso, Santiago Laborde, Bob Jornayvaz and Santi Torres

The Bulgari Gold Cup; Saturday 30 August 2014; Santa Maria Polo Club, Spain Result: Valiente beat Ellerston, 14-11 Principal Sponsor: Bulgari Handicap level: 22 goal The Javier Novillo Astrada Memorial Most Valuable Player Award: Adolfo Cambiaso Best Playing Pony: One Magnifica, played by Facundo Pieres Teams Valiente (22): Bob Jornayvaz 1; Santiago Torres 6; Santiago Laborde 5; Adolfo Cambiaso 10 Ellerston (22): Felipe Gomez 1; Gonzalito Pieres 10; Facundo Pieres 10; Tom Brodie 1 Polo Times, October 2014

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Reports

The 26th UK National Women’s Tournament, Ascot Park Polo Club

Photographs by Gillian Hughes & Lucy Wilson

Women’s polo still fills the fields at Ascot Park

Twelve Oaks battling it out against Nephilim in the 2 goal Final

The Woman’s National Tournament plays host to the top female professional players and patrons who took to the fields at Ascot at the end of August

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ith over twenty of the players holding handicaps of 0 goals and above, the standard of play for women’s polo was impressive. The tournament this year had eighteen teams entered and had a first time women’s polo sponsor, Tally Ho Farm. The tournament was split into four different sections ranging from -7 to 2 goal with players coming from as far as Yorkshire. Play was at times fierce and the professionals had their work cut out for them, as a number of strong

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Polo Times, October 2014

amateur teams had entered. Lucy Taylor and the Sweeney sisters pinged from field to field meeting their team commitments, however the games ran smoothly.

Sarah Wiseman and Ascot Park’s own Rosie Ross (holding the highest handicaps of the tournament) battled it out in the 1-2 goal section for the main Final on Sunday 24 August. Rosie Ross picked up The Gillian Hughes Photography Best Ambassador Prize for her contribution to women’s polo despite losing out in the Final of the 1-2 goal with her

Lucy Wilson reports

team Twelve Oaks. Ross, not long back in the saddle after recovering from injury earlier in the season, fought hard against Nephilim, but a combination of Bryony Taylor’s cut shots to goal and Sarah Wiseman’s ride offs proved too much in the final chukka, meaning a loss by just half a goal. Hazel Jackson, playing for Twelve Oaks was awarded the Polo Times Best Playing Pony Award for Bounty. After the match she admitted she was surprised at the accolade; “Bounty is the only horse I have ever made myself.” www.polotimes.co.uk

The 26th UK National Women’s Tournament, Ascot Park Polo Club

Reports

2 goal Finalists Twelve Oaks and Nephilim with Janey Grace

Quick Statistics Number of teams: 18 Highest handicap: 2 Players of 0 goal and above: 21 Number of Sponsors: 12 with Tally Ho Farm Polo as title sponsor.

MVP of -5 goal section Nell Jacob

Polo Times Best Playing Pony, Hazel Jackson's Bounty

Bryony Taylor was awarded The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Award: “I felt the standard was really high for ladies polo, and there were some seriously competitive teams.”

The -1 to 0 goal section was another strong contest with Amy Guy’s Player Layer team of Claire Donnelly, Claire Maldonado and Rebecca Walters winning by a respectable margin against Gel Eze Babies. The Best Turned Out Team Trophy was deservedly awarded to Gel Eze Babies for their matching canary yellow bandages and saddlecloths. Amy Guy’s pony Fabiana won The Shotter & Byers Veterinary Clinic Best Playing Pony Award and Rebecca Walters won The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Award.

Herts Polo championed the -3 goal section with Vicki Griffin – who later went on to receive The Polo Magazine’s Most Valuable Player Award – leading the way with some exceptionally hearty plays to win against Claire Hocking’s DEVA. Lucy Taylor’s home-bred pony Phoenix won The Shotter www.polotimes.co.uk

& Buyers Veterinary Clinic Best Playing Pony Award: “She is fantastic and the only successful embryo transfer I have had”. The -3 goal section was possibly the most brightly coloured with some unusual team shirt designs, especially from PAZUKI. Rather than the usual women’s pinks and baby blues, bright greens, purple patterns and oranges were the shirt colours of choice.

The lowest section of -7 to -5 goal saw six teams with a first-time entry from White Rose Polo Club. Alegria just pipped Fit4Polo to the winning post in the Final thanks to some strong direction from Heloise Wilson-Smith, who is only recently back to playing following the birth of her son. Nell Jacob, on her third game of the day, won The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Award as the majority goal scorer for Fit4Polo and Tatiana Menshenina’s pony, Overa won The Best Playing Pony rug sponsored by Petra Sones. Claudia Aylott from White Rose won The Black Hound Best Turned Out Prize.

Results 2 Goal Section Result: Nephilim beat Twelve Oaks; 5–4½ The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Award: Bryony Taylor of Nephilim Polo Times Best Playing Pony Award: Bounty, owned and played by Hazel Jackson 0 Goal Section Result: Player Layer beat Gel Eze Babies; 5½–3 The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Award: Rebecca Walters The Shotter & Byers Veterinary Clinic Best Playing Pony Award: Fabiana, owned by Richard Blake Thomas and played by Amy Guy -3 Goal Section Results: Herts Polo beat DEVA; 4–2 The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Award: Vicki Griffin The Shotter & Byers Veterinary Clinic Best Playing Pony Award: Phoenix, owned and played

by Lucy Taylor -5 Goal Section Results: Alegria beat Fit4Polo; 9–4 The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Award: Nell Jacob The Best Playing Pony Award from Petra Sones: Tatiana Menshenina Polo Times, October 2014

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Deauville Gold Cup, Deauville International Polo Club, France

Photographs by © RBPresse/P.Renauldon

Reports

Royal Barriere and Marques de Riscal both battle it out for The Coupe d’Or

Royal Barriere, winners of The Coupe d’Or at Deauville International Polo Club

Royal Barriere crowned the winners Despite the handicap being lowered once again and bad weather marring play, The Coupe d’Or Final was still the crowning glory for The Deauville International Polo Club Royal Barriere Marques de Riscal

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13 10

adly the biggest news about the polo in Deauville this August was the rainfall. With games cancelled and grounds waterlogged, the team at The Deauville International Polo Club had a logistical nightmare on their hands.

Fortunately however, after two weeks of dodging rainclouds and the constant drying of whites and polo shirts, Finals Day of the 64th Coupe d’Or (or Gold Cup) was played in brilliant sunshine.

Following on from 2013’s handicap lowering from 22 to 17 goal, this season the handicap was lowered once again to 12.

Nonetheless, four teams including Edouard Carmignac’s Talandracas featuring his hired gun, Polito Pieres – on his way to 9 goals – battled it out for the spoils of the tournament.

Played on new grounds, Talandracas were odds on favourites; as well as being the title-holders, Carmignac and Pieres enjoyed 52

Polo Times, October 2014

playing the UK high goal together earlier on in the season. Another team to watch early on in the tournament was the all-French team, Equipe de France, which featured the highest handicapped French player, 5 goaler Pierre-Henri N’Goumou.

However, come Sunday, the Final featured neither Talandracas or Equipe de France.

Instead we saw the two unbeaten teams from the league stages, Tommy Rinderknecht’s Royal Barriere and the Aznar’s Marques de Riscal. Despite fielding Martin Aguerre, it was in fact the Spanish, Marques de Riscal team who went off to a flying start, winning the first chukka 3 goals to 2.

Sadly for the Marques de Riscal team, it was the only time they were able to stay ahead of their opposition. At half-time – oddly enough for 12 goal level, the teams played six chukkas – Royal Barriere were ahead by six goals, with the scoreboard reading 9-4. In the fourth chukka, Marques de Riscal only managed one goal, but also prevented the leaders from further adding to their goal tally.

However, Royal Barriere raced ahead again in the fifth, riding off the pitch 12 goals to 6, proving that their man of the match, Martin Aguerre controlled much of the game.

The Spanish managed to claw back four goals in the final chukka, but sadly were too far behind to push the game into extra time.

Royal Barriere secured The 2014 Coupe d’Or, 13 goals to 10, whilst 5 goaler Aguerre was awarded Most Valuable Player. As some consolation, Patricio Cieza was awarded the Best Playing Pony prize for Enana.

Meanwhile the 8 goal Bronze Cup Final was played between Mungo and La Conception. Having beaten four other teams to reach their place in the Final, it was a close game with Mungo gaining a narrow victory 7-6 whilst one of their team members, Ernesto Trotz Jr won MVP.

Deauville Gold Cup; 14 – 31 August 2014; The Deauville International Polo Club, France Result: Royal Barriere beat Marques de Riscal, 13-10 Handicap level: 12 goal Number of team entries: 4 Teams Royal Barriere (12): Tommy Rinderknecht 0; Martin Aguerre 5; Facundo Fernandez-Llorente 4; Tuki Ruiz Guinazu 3 Marques de Riscal (12): Alejandro Aznar 1; Luis Aznar 0; Patricio Cieza 5; Pedro Soria 6 www.polotimes.co.uk

T

PONY running reports

he outdoor season has now come to an end and consequently it is time for our first set of Pony Running Report stars to return to their respective fields. Having started this feature back in April, Polo Times has consistently followed six ponies from all walks of polo life throughout the season, our selection ranging from Pony Club Polo right through to the fast-paced action of the high goal, in order to see the difference in costs and performance.

There are often murmurings amongst the polo world about how a flight can affect a pony when playing their first season.

Among our six ponies, Fortune and Tiburon only arrived in the UK at the start of this season, having travelled from New Zealand and Argentina. Looking at our feedback, does it seem as though either of them were particularly tired following their respective journeys? Not really; Fortune was able to compete at the top level of polo played here in England whilst Tiburon played an outstanding

86 chukkas. Perhaps however, this is just the start of what can be expected from these two individuals and come next year, maybe, they will be able to bring a lot more to the field.

Comparing the number of chukkas played across the board, it is interesting to see, with the exception of Tiburon, that the ponies have on average played around 40 chukkas each. Fortune (Ollie Cudmore’s horse) may have started her season slightly later than her Polo Times contemporaries but once she had made her way into Ollie’s high goal string, she certainly made up for lost time and consequently was quick to tally up a total of 37 chukkas before being turned out half way through August. Malcolm Borwick’s Irish underwent Shockwave treatment, at quite an expensive cost, in order to assist a suspensory ligament injury and as a result had to be rested. Thankfully he returned to full strength and was able to catch the ferry to Spain with the rest of Malcolm’s horses to play the high goal in Sotogrande – money well spent and a credit

to Malcolm’s vet Shane Foughty.

Looking back, it seems the only major thing that differentiates the costs, across all levels, were flights. Other than that, and without taking into account the cost of livery, feed, or grooms’ wages, the cost of looking after a polo pony, whether it be a 13.2hh Jorrocks pony like Jerry or a top-class high goal horse such as Fortune or Irish, there is no massive difference in the behind-the-scenes maintenance.

With the UK winter season around the corner and many of polo’s top players headed off across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, Polo Times plans to continue this feature with a new collection of ponies. Watch this space to be acquainted with some of Arena’s top equine stars alongside representatives from America, Argentina and Australia.

We would like to thank all of the Pony Running Report contributors for their regular updates and reliability and we look forward to introducing the new ponies to follow in the next issue of Polo Times.

Fortune as she has changed in shape throughout the season.

Enjoying a little time off before catching her flight from New Zealand

www.polotimes.co.uk

In peak condition, mid high-goal season

Fat and happy post swim in the pond – Fortune seems to be ‘wintering well’

Polo Times, October 2014

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Knowledge

Pony running reports

FORTUNE Age: 9 Height: 15.2hh Sex: Mare Owner: Ollie Cudmore Type: New Zealand Thoroughbred From: New Zealand Base: Previously with Sam Hopkinson at Clevedon in Auckland, New Zealand.

She was based at Anningsley Park, Surrey with UAE during the UK season Level of polo: High-goal (22-goal) “Fortune has now been turned out for seven weeks and is appreciating her first proper holiday since last year (she only had a few weeks off between finishing the New Zealand season and coming over to the UK), and it is safe to say she is certainly ‘wintering well’!

“So far, Fortune has had a fairly adventurous first English winter – the horses escaped from their field in the middle of the night and she was the only who made the most of her liberty and decided to go for a swim in the pond!

Originally, Fortune, along with the rest of my string, was turned out at home, but I have recently moved them all to a bigger field where there is better grass and they will stay there for the rest of the winter.”

September overview: Number of chukkas played: 0 Number of miles travelled: 1 (moving fields) Total cost this month: £0 Season overview Total number of chukkas played: 37 Total miles travelled: 12,315 Total cost this season: £11,870 54

Polo Times, October 2014

CHITA Age: 15 Height: 15.1hh Sex: Mare Owner: Freddie Younger Type: Argentine From: Argentina Base: Currently in Kirtlington Level of polo: Aiming for the HPA Hipwood.

Playing SUPA for Radley College, club chukkas and the Scottish Pony Club Polo camps.

“Chita played one last tournament at Edinburgh Polo Club the day before I headed back to boarding school, now that it is the end of the season for Chita and I. We are keeping her in slow work until mid October; she will just be walked out around the farm three to four times a week. Then it’s shoes off and she is turned away in a massive field for the winter. The winters can be pretty hard up in Scotland, so we rug her when the weather gets very cold, probably around late November. She winters well so we don’t feed her a daily hard feed like some of the others (unless it is very cold wet/snowy weather). All the ponies revert back to the herd instinct and as they are in such a large field it’s difficult to find them, let alone catch them! I think Chita enjoys the freedom, she will come back in the middle of February and I will be counting the days! Thank you Chita for a great season, you were never sick nor sorry and always performed your best. I have some great memories!”

September Overview Total chukkas played: 2 Total miles travelled this month: 66 This month’s cost breakdown: Wormer £20, shoeing £85 and winter rug repairs £20 Total cost this month: £125 Season overview Total number of chukkas played: 35 Total miles travelled: 1,515 Total cost this season: £1,625

TIBURON Age: 7 Height: 14.2hh Sex: Gelding Owner: Hugo Taylor Type: Argentine Thoroughbred From: San Antonio d’Areco, Argentina Base: Cheshire, but moved to Trumps Farm, Windsor in April Level of polo: 6, 8, 10 and hopefully 12goal

“Tiburon has been on top form this month, playing in tournaments at Berkshire, Cowdray, Emsworth and Guards Polo Club, around four times a week. His last game was on Sunday 21 September and he is now getting ready to be turned out for a well-deserved rest – his winter coat is finally starting to come through.

“Tiburon has recently travelled back to Cheshire where he will be wintered. The plan is not to play any arena on him as he has had a long summer season with only a short break between the Argentine and UK season at the beginning. His food has gradually been lowered and he is now eating very little mix and more haylage. He has been kept in overnight but has been turned out often in the day. He has put on a little weight due to less intense exercise – we have been slowly getting him ready for the winter.

“Tiburon has improved every month this season and has had the best possible start in England. This winter will be Tiburon’s first in England and I hope he will come back very fat and ready to go for next season – at the moment it is looking to be a big one!”

September overview Total number of miles travelled: 500 Total number of chukkas played: 16 This month’s cost breakdown: New shoes (£100) and dentist (£90) Total cost this month: £190 Season overview Total number of chukkas played: 86 Total miles travelled: 8,915 Total cost this season: £1,259 www.polotimes.co.uk

Pony running reports

IRISH Age: 13 Height: 15.3hh Sex: Gelding Owner: Malcolm Borwick Breeding: Blue X Norman Pentaquad From: Ellerston, Australia Base: Trippetts, West Sussex Level of polo: Medium to high-goal

“Irish completed the high goal season in Sotogrande, caught the ferry home and after having his shoes taken off he was turned out in the field almost straight away for a nice, long holiday. I winter all of my horses with Faye and Josh Tuthill in Oxfordshire and I have been told Irish has been running around the paddock like a three-year-old!

“Irish winters very well and so is very low maintenance and requires no extra ‘TLC’.

“The shockwave treatment that I used on him half way through the season has been brilliant, and consequently I hope to get another 50 chukkas out of him next season.

At the moment the plan is to play the 15 and 18 goal Victor Ludorum and also to return to Sotogrande, and Irish will be in my string for each of those tournaments.”

ROCKY RACCOON Age: 6 Height: 15.3hh Sex: Gelding Owner: Polo Times “office” polo string Type: Irish Thoroughbred Breeding: My Native Gesture X Presenting From: Originally bred in Ireland, then trained by Jonjo O’Neill Base: Bishops Norton, Gloucestershire Level of polo: Low-goal – it’s his first real season “Rocky was turned away right at the beginning of September, so it has been a quiet month for him. He took part in the ROR Polo Challenge but sadly missed out on the prizes. The torrential rain that started just as he was starting his routine may have hampered his chances.

“He has now had his shoes off and is settling in to a life of leisure in the field with his polo mates. As you will have seen from the season so far, he is never one to put on much weight, but he is beginning to bulk up with the flush of autumn grass, unseasonably warm weather and no work. We are not feeding him additionally at the moment, but will keep a close eye on him as he does drop condition easily. As a consequence, he will be one of the string that does get rugged up when the first frost starts and will get extra rations and hard feed probably after Christmas. We try to leave his rug off as long as possible so he develops as much of a fluffy coat as he can (not much) and natural oils. That is it for Rocky for this year. Next season which will be his second season as a polo pony and we plan to play him mainly at 6 and 8-goal level.”

Knowledge

JERRY Age: 22 Height: 13.2hh Sex: Gelding Owner: Lucas Stern Type: Connemara X From: Various Pony Club families, but most recently from the Beims Base: Lyfords Meadow Polo Livery Yard, Winkfield Row, Berkshire Level of polo: Pony Club (Jorrocks)

“The 2014 summer polo season concluded fairly quietly for Jerry. Since the end of the school holidays, he has been restricted to playing at weekends only. His weekend polo has chiefly comprised of instructional grass chukkas close to home at GB Polo in Maidens Green, under the expert guidance of Simon McLaren Tosh. Lucas and Jerry have enjoyed playing regularly this month alongside fellow pupils from Lambrook School, all of whom have taken up polo over the last year.

“Jerry will have a well-deserved couple of weeks off during early October and Lucas is now looking forward to taking him to several children’s meets with both the Kimblewick Hunt and the Staff College & RMA Sandhurst Draghunt in Autumn.”

September overview: Number of chukkas played: 0 Number of miles travelled: 1,900 (ferry back to England) Total cost this month: £0

September Overview: Number of chukkas played: 3 Number of miles travelled: 192 This month’s cost breakdown: £60 (shoeing), £20 (shoes off), £18 (winter rug minor repair, wash and re-proof) Total cost this month: £98

September Overview: Number of chukkas played: 10 Number of miles travelled: 20 This month’s cost breakdown: £70 (shoeing) Total cost this month: £70

Season overview Total number of chukkas played: 23 Total miles travelled: 8,415 Total cost this season: £4,120

Season overview Total number of chukkas played: 42 Total miles travelled: 2,561 Total cost this season: £549

Season overview Total number of chukkas played: 49 Total miles travelled: 1,102 Total cost this season: £451

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Polo Times, October 2014

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Knowledge

RoR Racing to Polo Challenge Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), British horseracing’s official charity for the welfare of horses who have retired from racing, has become a permanent presence on the UK polo scene. With thoroughbreds rapidly becoming the preferred type of polo pony, the charity truly appreciates that polo often turns out to be an incredibly successful second career for ex-racehorses.

Consequently, RoR shows continuous support of the sport at all levels, from Junior Polo right through to the high goal.

On 1 September, Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club hosted their RoR Racing to Polo Challenge with this year’s competition welcoming a record 68 participants to the event.

Any RoR registered horses that have raced in Great Britain could take part, with the day’s programme consisting of four

different classes; 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds and above.

Prize money was awarded down to sixth place in each class.

A panel of respected individuals judged each horse on conformation, turnout, movement, responsiveness and willingness, with marks also awarded for performance.

The judges included Jenny Hall (vet trotup), Judith Balding (turnout), Patrick Beresford and Ian Balding (conformation) and Alan Kent, Rob Cudmore, Henry Brett, Antony Fanshawe and Mark Tomlinson (performance).

The star horse of the day was Roddy Matthews’ five-year-old mare Tiny Tittle. Not only did the duo pick up first prize in the fiveyear-old division but the judges also voted Tiny Tittle as Supreme Champion of the day and consequently the combination were

presented with The Balding Trophy and an additional £1,000 in prize money.

Other winners included Ben Eeley and his grey mare Maysville who triumphed in the three-year-old section. Having raced for the last time in June this year, Maysville was already showing high hopes for a future in polo. Ben Turner and his mare Edna were victorious in the four-year-old class while Alan Kent’s Twisted Wings, who was ridden

by Freddie Horne, was awarded the top prize in the 6-year-old and above section.

With entries increasing year on year and RoR as an organisation becoming more and more recognised across the sport, there are unsurprisingly already mentions of introducing additional competitions for retrained racehorses.

For further information please visit www.ror.org.uk

Tiny Tittle

Owner: Roddy Matthews Breeding: Balmont (Sire from USA) x Rumuz (Dam from Ireland) When did she last race? She raced only once as a 2-year-old Did she win any prize money? Sadly no prize money What made you buy her? I bought her because I liked her conformation and build and she had a calm nature.

When did you buy her? I bought her 3 years ago as a 2-year-old.

What are her strengths? She is a very quick learner and is quiet enough for our 9-year-old daughter to ride in a snaffle bit but if you ask for more, she has a very big engine for such a small horse.

A little bit about her character: She is so sweet natured, no vices and a dream to own. I think she has a big future ahead of her, she is only 5-years-old and is now ready to play some serious polo.

Tiny Tittle, Supreme Champion and winner of the 5-year-old class

Results: Class Three – 5-year-olds 1st Tiny Tittle – Owned and ridden by Roddy Matthews.

2nd Red All Over – Owned and ridden by Ben Eeley.

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3rd Cool Light – Owned and ridden by Roddy Matthews.

4th Fantastic Indian – Owned and ridden by Matt Lodder.

5th Shout For Joy – Owned by Adele Lewis. Ridden by Matthew Simpson.

6th Lady Jane Grace – Owned by Rebecca Blandford. Ridden by Sebastian Chialvo. www.polotimes.co.uk

Retraining of Racehorses

Maysville,

Maysville, winner of the 3-year-old class

Although I call her Cara D – she was named by my ‘Employee of the month’ Ollie Clark, who is obsessed with Cara Delevingne!

Owner: Ben Eeley Breeding: Lawman x Morality Number of times raced: 9 When did she last race? 4 June 2014 Did she win any prize money? £192!

What made you buy her? It was love at first sight When did you buy her? July 2014 What are her strengths? She has everything you would want for a polo pony.

She is a nice type and the perfect size for a professional player. She has an easy going temperament, soft mouth, very good balance, nice action and is very lateral. She is also very natural to play.

Edna

her stable though – she likes her own space!

Luckily she is a pleasure to ride.

Owner: Ben Turner Breeding: Papal Bull x Walt Mc Don Number of times raced: 1 (she came 7th out of 7) When did she last race? 20 March 2013 Did she win any prize money? No When did you buy her? I rode her on the 21 March (the day after she had raced) and I bought her that day What are her strengths? She was very calm to ride and had a great mouth, even the day after she raced – that’s why I liked her.

A little bit about her character: She has a very good lateral movement and is very soft. However I wouldn’t trust her one bit in

Twisted Wings, winner of the 6-year-old class

Twisted Wings Owner: Alan Kent Breeding: Camacho X West Life Number of times raced: 2 www.polotimes.co.uk

Results: Class Two – 4-year-olds 1st Edna – Owned and ridden by Ben Turner.

2nd Vonn – Owned by Jack Richardson.

Ridden by Dean Marks.

3rd Sarahmanda – Owned by JC Boher.

Ridden by Roddy Stanning.

4th Hilda Ogden – Owned by Antonio Javier Quaintana. Ridden by Henry Brett.

5th Medici Dancer – Owned by Alan Kent. Ridden by Freddie Horne.

6th Chandelle Celeste – Owned and ridden by Sebastian Chialvo.

When did she last race? 22 February 2011 Did she win any prize money? No What made you buy her? I was sent to her on spec by her trainer and on her arrival I could see she was a lovely type for polo.

When did you buy her? February 2011 What are her strengths? She has good conformation, good bone and a strong physique. She has a lovely calm nature, a very soft mouth and excellent balance, she is also like a platform to hit the ball off – basically all the things you look for in a good polo pony. I wish I had a few more like her!

A little bit about her character: She is very laid back and nothing seems to bother her which makes her one of the easiest ponies you could wish to look after – you could even put your granny on her!

Knowledge

A little bit about her character: She hasn’t been here long so I will find out more about her character with time but at the moment she is very straightforward to deal with.

Class One – 3-year-olds 1st Maysville – Owned and ridden by Ben Eeley.

2nd Ivan B – Owned by Sarah & Jason Coupe. Ridden by Jason Coupe.

3rd Kindanyce – Owned by Jack Richardson. Ridden by Dean Marks.

4th Marsden Cuckoo – Owned and ridden by Henry Brett.

5th Roodee Lady – Owned by F King Polo. Ridden by Oscar Mancini.

6th Outback Lover – Owned and ridden

by Sebastian Chialvo.

Edna, winner of the 4-year-old class

Results: Class four – 6-year-olds + 1st Twisted Wings – Owned by Alan Kent. Ridden by Freddie Horne.

2nd Madam Superior – Owned by Nicola Foley. Ridden by Roddy Williams.

3rd Molly Mylenis – Owned by Alan Kent.

Ridden by Freddie Horne.

4th Complicate – Owned and ridden by Roddy Matthews.

5th Mr Cheers – Owned and ridden by Roddy Williams.

6th Talkin Italian – Owned by Stephen Biddlecombe. Ridden by Ed Winterton.

Polo Times, October 2014

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Knowledge

Playing tips with Rege Ludwig

Little Things Matter

Renowned polo coach, Rege Ludwig gives his expert advice about how to get more out of your game.

Figure 1

Figure 2

If I remember reading The Canadian Polo Association’s Level One Instructor Manual correctly, they conducted a hitting techniques study consisting of eight players ranging in handicap from 1 to 8 goals. Of the approximate 200 balls hit, close to 90% of those hits demonstrated a noticeable degree of instability of the hitter during the hitting process.

Unavoidably, accurately hitting the polo ball is directly and proportionately associated with stability of the hitting platform. If the hitting platform from which you hit the ball is not stable, there is a good chance the ball will be mishit causing it to go where it was not intended to go. More often than not, the degree to which the ball was mishit will serve as an indication as to the degree of instability.

Fact is, as you are in the process of hitting the ball, your horse, most likely, will be changing speed and/or direction to some degree. Consequently, establishing and maintaining a stable hitting platform will not be easy. That becomes increasingly true if you are not securely attached to your horse.

When it comes to hitting the polo ball accurately, it is imperative that you are as securely attached to your horse, and stably positioned on that horse as you can possibly be.

To create that secure attachment and stable positioning, you must grip quite strongly with your upper legs, and maintain that gripping pressure throughout the hitting process. The truth of the matter is, your upper legs are the

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Polo Times, October 2014

Figure 3

primary gripping source used for attaching yourself to your horse. Consequently, they are the main source for keeping you secure and stable on your horse.

When teaching the riding aspect of polo, I use the analogy of a bolt passing through your knees to securely attach yourself to your horse. If there were a bolt with a nut on it, then the nut should be tightened to the point where your knees are pressing securely into your horse’s shoulders. With the bolt securely attaching your upper legs to your horse’s shoulders, you can securely maintain yourself on top of your horse, as it is moving under you. Not only does the bolt serve a good purpose under riding conditions, the bolt holds you secure to your horse as you are leaning out and over the polo ball to hit it. See Figures 1 and 2.

However, if you choose to not have a bolt passing through your knees to accomplish being securely attached to your horse, and stable on its back, then you have no choice but to train and condition your core muscles, (lower abdominal, lower back, buttocks, and adductor muscles of the upper legs) to hold you securely on your horse as you are leaning out and over the ball to hit it.

To make sure you are gripping as strongly as you should be with your upper legs, pay attention to your feet. You should be turning your toes up, while pushing your heels down. With your heels down, the muscles on the back of your legs are being

Figure 4

stretched down, which pulls your legs down and along your horse’s sides producing a stronger gripping effort for a more stable hitting platform. Heels down also creates a lower center of gravity; again, yielding increased control of balance and stability.

Another positive affect of heels down is, your hips are being rolled backward, which moves your upper body back and over your hips producing more effective balance and stability control. Conversely, your toes turning down and being lower than your heels causes your hips to roll forward, causing your upper body to tip forward initiating a decrease in control of balance and stability.

Figure 3.

Another concern of your feet is that of having the majority of the weight in the stirrups on the medial aspect, or big balls, of your feet. To accomplish that, turn your heels out and away from your horse’s sides, push your feet ever so slightly out and away from your horse and turn the balls of your little toes skyward. That produces a wider foundation to your hitting platform creating greater stability of hitting effort. At the same time, your knees are being pushed into your horse’s shoulders producing a more secure attachment of you to your horse; thereby, providing a more stable platform from which to hit the ball. Figure 4.

Often the lesser thought of aspects of riding and hitting produce the better results.

Little things really do matter.

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Know your horse

Mark Emerson MRCVS is a two-goal polo player and an ambulatory equine vet

Planning for winter Evaluating last season’s injuries before the onset of winter

By far the best way of assessing the damage to any swollen tendon or ligament is to get your vet to perform an ultrasound scan.

By the time this article is published, the polo season in the UK will have finished and most polo ponies will have been turned out for the winter. A large number of polo ponies have undoubtedly ended the season carrying some sort of sports injury – polo is physically very demanding for the ponies and for many, the season is relentlessly long.

Nearly all the polo ponies that have been turned out to enjoy a well-earned break are unlikely to come in again until March at the earliest. However, it is still not too late to do something with any ponies that may have been turned out carrying an injury. For logistical, as well as cost reasons, many players turn horses out knowing that they have minor injuries that have not been properly assessed nor treated – and some of those injuries may not be as minor as you think.

In most cases, five or six months resting in a field with plenty of ‘cold therapy’ – standing in wintery mud – is sufficient to allow swollen limbs to reduce in size and for mild lamenesses to resolve. However, many soft tissue injuries actually need far longer to heal and a large proportion of these socalled ‘minor’ injuries will recur as soon as 60

Polo Times, October 2014

the horse starts playing regular polo again.

The types of ‘minor’ injuries that polo ponies might have are numerous but are likely to be associated with tendons, ligaments, joints and splints.

Injured tendons and ligaments tend to swell up and are often hot and painful when palpated. Unless a horse is obviously lame, many polo players keep playing horses with slightly swollen tendons and ligaments – perhaps after getting the initial swelling down with anti-inflammatories and ice.

It is worth remembering that from an evolutionary perspective, horses are prey species and it is not in their best interest to demonstrate signs of overt pain, such as lameness, as it would signal to predators that they might be easier to catch.

Consequently, just because a horse with a swollen tendon is not lame, does not mean the injury is not serious.

By far the best way of assessing the damage to any swollen tendon or ligament is to get your vet to perform an ultrasound scan. A scan can help differentiate between a tear, a sprain, bruising, etc., and can enable one to assess the degree of damage both qualitatively and quantitatively. Most importantly it is the best way to monitor healing. A sprained tendon with a hole in it may look fantastic after 10 days of aggressive anti-inflammatory treatment, but only an ultrasound scan will allow one to see the internal damage. A sprained tendon with a large hole in it (where tendon fibres have snapped and an area of haemorrhage has filled the void) may take 18 months or more to heal, regardless of the treatment and management. Sequential scanning every few months will allow one to monitor healing and most importantly, make sure that the horse is ready to re-commence full exercise again.

It is not too late to arrange to scan any horse that was turned out with a swollen tendon or ligament. Even if for logistical or financial reasons the horse has to be kept out in a field all winter, knowing the degree of damage now can help you plan for next season. If a significant lesion is seen on a scan then the horse can be re-scanned when brought in at the end of the winter

to assess whether it has healed sufficiently before one spends time and money getting it fit and taking the risk of damaging it further. As well as assessing the damage with a scan, your vet can also advise you on potential treatments that can help improve the quality of the healing and reduce the chances of re-injury.

Swollen and sore joints are often more difficult to fix long-term as the majority of polo ponies that finish the season with joint problems have ‘degenerative joint disease’ as a result of cumulative wear and tear. These horses’ joints often improve with rest over the winter, but because their fundamental problem is degenerative, their joints become painful and swollen again as soon as they return to playing regularly the following year. Nevertheless with valuable horses it is worth having your vet assess the joints sooner rather than later so that you can plan ahead and potentially treat the

An X-ray of a hind limb cannon bone close to the hock - the red arrow points to a large splint

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Know your horse

Knowledge

Lorna Edgar – specialist equine nutritionist I felt prompted to talk about this subject after hearing the success of The ROR Racing to Polo Challenge, unfortunately I was unable to attend but I have enjoyed hearing the feedback about the horses that were presented for evaluation/judging.

Although I understand that feeding can be an expensive commodity, I have never quite understood why some young horse producers are feeding just grass/hay/ haylage. Surely young horses that are still growing and developing need as much nutritional support as possible to aid this development, particularly whilst they are being worked and exercised in a way their immature musculoskeletal system has never experienced before?

The integrity of the muscles, tendons and ligaments is dependent on good quality proteins (amino acids); remodelling of bone is reliant on a balance of minerals, in particular the calcium phosphorous ratio; muscle and nerve function is reliant on a balance of minerals and vitamins – just some areas we need to consider!

A young horse whose work is progressing but not being fed a balanced diet is going to find the work so much harder with weak and under developed muscle and the chances of performance related injuries are significantly increased as a young horse or later in its playing career. Young horses should have top line muscle, as ‘grown ups’ do in hard work, to aid power and balance. Only a combination of work AND DIET will enable this to be built, not work alone!

What do we feed young horses that most likely have plenty of energy but need muscle and condition?

Ideally when on an ad lib forage diet of grass/hay/haylage, a balancer (proteins, vitamins and minerals) will suffice, but when calories are required we could look at using a Horse & Pony Cube or a Conditioning Cube, depending on the calories required – feeding approximately 6-10lbs (1½ -2 ½ round bowl Stubbs scoops) PER DAY depending on workload and condition.

Should calories be required but energy is abundant, then rather than using a Conditioning Cube, a slow release source of oils and digestible fibres may be preferable – such as Outshine or Endurance Mix, or using Fibre-Beet or Speedi-Beet perhaps?

Another idea for those young horses that find their work stressful or are quite tucked up and hollow for the work they are doing or are coming from the race track is to use pre and/or probiotics to aid efficient digestion of fibre in the hind gut.

And finally, but importantly, there is absolutely NO NEED to reduce the forage/ fibre intake of the young horse. For the level of work they are doing and being full of their own natural energy, it will be better for their state of mind to have access to forage and being able to chew at all times, thus reducing the onset of stable vices and gastric ulcers.

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

appropriate prior to the winter.

Splints are another orthopaedic condition that are often ignored at the end of the season. Most splints in polo ponies are ‘traumatic splints’ – bony swellings on the lower limbs caused by knocks from sticks and balls. Splints are only a problem if they are active and painful. An active splint is one that is inflamed and growing. The inflammation itself can be painful, but a large splint can potentially interfere with other structures such as ligaments or joints which can also cause pain and lameness.

A relatively small but active splint that is ignored can potentially grow over the winter and become a bigger problem the following season. X-rays are useful to assess whether a splint is active and to rule out possible fractures. Treatments and management plans can then be implemented to allow the splint to settle and prevent future problems.

Attending to any veterinary niggles at the end of the season can help ensure a healthy winter and avoid problems next season

joints to help their longevity. Flexion tests, X-rays and in some cases, ultrasound scans can be used to assess the degree of joint damage and establish whether the horse www.polotimes.co.uk

is likely to be able to handle the following season and at what level. In some cases, joint injections to reduce inflammation (which in itself adds to the damage) may be

Mark Emerson works as an ambulatory equine vet based near Ascot and has polo clients across the south of England: tel 07973 800358, email mark@emerson-watson.com or visit www.emerson-watson.com

Polo Times, October 2014

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Pony Power

Sotogrande string Charlie Hanbury and his Halcyon Gallery teammates travelled down to the high goal in Sotogrande, Spain for August at Santa Maria Polo Club. After a tough season of Queen’s and Gold Cup campaigns in the UK, Charley Larcombe talks to the 4 goaler about two of the thoroughbred mares in his string

Cartridge Height: 15.3hh Age: 8 Colour: Bay Sex: Mare Breeding: Euro Ready x Turtle Island Where is she from? She is an Irish thoroughbred off the racetrack.

How long have you had her? We bought her over to England in 2008 from Ireland.

Tell us about her background? She was retrained by Charlie Agar at Longdole Polo Club. Once Cartridge had finished the re-breaking, she was played by Rob Cudmore and Dave Miller at Cirencester Park Polo Club.

I then took her for the 2013 season and she played with Will White at Cowdray before

Gravel Height: 15.1hh Age: 9 Colour: Liver Chestnut Sex: Mare Breeding: Stoney x Metreman Where is she from? She was owned by Jim Gilmore and is from Australia.

How long have you had her? I bought her over to England in April 2012.

What is her playing background? She was broken in Australia and went through the Ellerston horse programme. I tried her in February 2012 and decided to bring her over to England.

What are her strengths? She is incredibly easy and has great strides.

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Polo Times, October 2014

making her way into my string for The Queen’s and Gold Cups this season.

What are her strengths? She is extremely powerful, strong with the man and also has a lot of speed.

How has she gone this season in Sotogrande? Is she more suited to the season there? Due to her size and power the more open flowing polo of Sotogrande suits her a lot better. In England she preferred The Gold Cup due to the better fields at Cowdray than the fields in The Queen’s Cup. Has she won any best playing pony prizes? Not yet.

What are your plans for her future?

Facundo Pieres tried her whilst here in

Does she have any weakness or quirky character traits? She is not the quickest horse in the world, but due to her handiness she makes up for it. She is also not a fan of blondes and tries to bite me every time I’m in the stables!

Sotogrande, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed as it would be amazing to see her play with him.

Editor’s note: Facundo has since bought Cartridge.

I will keep breeding from her. She will go out for a holiday after Spain and come in again in March for the 2015 UK season.

What have you played her in? She has played the high goal in England and Sotogrande for the last three years with me.

How has she gone this season in Sotogrande? Gravel has been going well and has played every game since she has been here.

What are your plans for her future?

I already have some embryos from Gravel using a stallion I have based in England, Julius (Holy Roman Emperor x Crystal Curling). I will see how they come out and hopefully they’ll have more power – if so www.polotimes.co.uk

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Accountancy matters

Are you a UK Resident or not?

Are you sure? The new Statutory Residence Test The UK authorities have introduced a new test which provides greater certainty and which may affect your tax position.

Whether your worldwide income is taxable in the UK will depend on whether you are UK resident for tax purposes each year. Where a taxpayer is not resident for tax purposes in the UK for all or part of a tax year they will be taxed only on income which has arisen in the UK during the part of the tax year. Where a taxpayer is UK resident for tax purposes for all or part of a tax year they will be taxed in the UK on their worldwide income which has arisen in the tax year.

Confused? So were we.

The new statutory residence test was introduced on 6 April 2013 and gives a definitive ruling whether you are tax resident in the UK for a tax year. The test applies for the purposes of establishing your residence status for income tax, capital gains tax, and where relevant, corporation tax and inheritance tax. In certain circumstances, you may be able to split the tax year for this purpose. There are three parts to the test, each having complicated multiple measures whereby every individual has to be considered on their own facts: Automatic Residence Test This test is met if you satisfy one of the following conditions: • You spend 183 days or more in the UK in the tax year • You have accommodation in the UK for more than 91 consecutive days (this can include staying at a friend’s house, not just owning or renting!)

• You work full time in the UK for a period of 365 days 64

Polo Times, October 2014

•

You die having been a tax resident in the UK for each of the previous three years

Automatic Overseas Test The next test looks at the amount of days spent in the UK for one or more of the three tax years preceding the tax year and whether you work full time overseas throughout.

The Sufficient Ties Test If the first two tests cannot define whether you are a resident or non-resident the sufficient ties test will have to be applied.

The aspects of this test include family ties to the UK, accommodation in the UK, work in the UK, presence in previous years and whether you have spent more days in the UK than any other single country.

What do you need to do?

It is extremely important that you keep good records regarding which country you are in each day and for what purpose, be it work or personal, so that your UK residence status can be monitored and proven to HMRC should they question it. Each situation is different and will be assessed individually.

If you are still confused by your tax position you should take professional advice.

Sarah Gardener is an Accounts Manager working at Shaw Gibbs. Sarah works closely with David Rickwood on all Personal Tax matters. If you have any further questions please contact Sarah in the first instance on sarah.gardener@shawgibbs. com or call 01865 292 286. Sarah is the specialist within the Shaw Gibbs team in looking after equestrian and polo-related businesses. www.polotimes.co.uk

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Knowledge

Equine legal advice

Winter grazing: Do I need a licence or a lease when renting land?

As the end of the UK polo season is nigh, attention is turned to winter grazing for the polo ponies. This article looks at the issues to consider when deciding when and how to let land for grazing purposes and considers the most common forms of grazing arrangements put in place to protect all parties.

The most common types of grazing arrangements are:• Grazing Licences; • Farm Business Tenancies; • Grazing Agreements or Common Law Tenancies Grazing Licences This does exactly what it says on the tin and allows the Licensee a right of access onto the land for grazing animals. These are popular for winter grazing where it is a short term let and generally a more informal arrangement.

Licences are favoured as they avoid the Licensee having security of tenure and generally a licence will not affect a landowner’s entitlement to any grants, payments or subsidies. The landowner should use the Grazing Licence in each of the following situations:1. Where vacant possession of the land needs to be obtained quickly for example: for development;

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2. Where the landowner wants to avoid losing any government or agricultural subsidies; 3. Where the landowner needs to be in occupation of the land for tax planning purposes.

Be mindful however when adapting or amending the format of a grazing licence so that obligations imposed (e.g, repairing obligations) do not more closely resemble those imposed in a tenancy. If the grazing licence needs substantial amendment, it may be better to consider using a farm business tenancy.

Farm Business Tenancies (FBTs) FBTs are much more formal than Grazing Licences and are tenancies of agricultural land governed by the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995. All agricultural tenancies granted after 1 September 1995 confer no long term security of tenure on the tenant or any rights for the tenant’s family to succeed to the tenancy.

In order to be validly granted, a FBT must satisfy certain criteria namely: (1) the business condition and (2) either the agricultural condition, (3) or the notice condition.

1. The Business Condition This requires that all or part of the land comprising the tenancy must be farmed as a trade or business throughout the term and

at least some of the land must be farmed commercially. If land is let to individuals for grazing for exclusively private purposes and there is lack of any commercial element, then the tenancy will be a Common Law Tenancy.

2. Agricultural Condition This requires that an element of the tenancy must be wholly or primarily agricultural having regard to each of the following:a) terms of the tenancy; b) the use of the land; c) the nature of commercial activities; d) any other relevant circumstances.

Interestingly, agricultural includes livestock (livestock breeding and keeping) but will not necessarily include horses.

3. Notice Condition This element requires that Notices under Section 1 (4) of the ATA 1995 must be served by the landlord and the tenant on each other before the grant of the tenancy. If this has not been done, then the tenancy must satisfy the agricultural condition. In practice, this element is normally complied with rather than the agricultural condition thereby avoiding the risk that the tenant may diversify and demand agricultural business leaving the agricultural condition unsatisfied.

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Knowledge There are constraints on provisions dealing with rent reviews, compensation for improvement and fixtures within an FBT. There are two types of FBT’s: long and short form arrangements.

The key issues to consider when deciding whether an FBT is more suitable than a grazing licence are: • whether the choice between a licence or an FBT would affect the landowner’s entitlement to grants or payments; • where grazing land includes buildings; • where a milk quota attaches to the land (or where the transfer of a Single Farm Payment is intended); • where the activities to be carried out on the land go beyond the definition of grazing (for example, ploughing or planting); • where the landowner wishes to impose repair or maintenance obligations on the occupier (inconsistent with the terms of a bare licence); • where it is important to avoid the grazier having the right to remain on the land at the end of the original term of occupation; • where tax-planning issues favour the use of an FBT rather than a licence.

Complications can arise where land is used for grazing horses however. The key issue to understand is that, if grazing horses becomes an incidental use of the land, the tenancy agreement may not be an FBT (and may instead be a common law tenancy, which can give rise to unforeseen problems).

The reason for the complication is that, whilst grazing land is deemed an agricultural activity,

horses are not considered to be “livestock” (unless kept for farm work). Horses kept for the purpose of rearing foals, riding, jumping or recreation, are not therefore considered to be livestock. Horses kept for stud purposes also fall outside the relevant definition.

If there will be no exclusive occupation of the grazing land by the occupant, then the arrangement is more likely to be deemed a licence, however if the occupant will be using the grazing land exclusively, then the arrangement is likely to be a tenancy. In this situation, if the grazing is for purely private purposes (i.e. not connected in any way with a trade or business, then the grazing tenancy will be a common law tenancy).

Where land is used just for grazing horses in connection with a trade or business, and the land is bare land (and does not contain any buildings used as a riding school or livery purposes) then it is more likely that the tenancy will be an FBT. Where land is let for grazing horses but the grazing is incidental to some other main use of the land (such as a riding school), the tenancy will fall outside of the definition of an FBT (because the land is not farmed for the purpose of a trade or business) and will instead be a common law tenancy.

With common law tenancies protective steps must be taken prior to the grant of the tenancy to ensure that no statutory rights are inadvertently granted to the tenant such as security of tenure.

The tenancy should therefore be contracted out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. This

must be done to prevent the tenant gaining an interest in the land and effectively becoming a sitting tenant.

Tax planning Grazing licences are commonly used to help with tax planning. In certain situations there is a tax advantage where the landowner is in occupation of the land. If a farm business tenancy is granted, it will be the tenant who will be in occupation, not the landlord. A grazing licence will be more appropriate in the following tax situations: 1. For inheritance tax purposes, agricultural property relief can be claimed if: • the landowner is in “occupation” of the land; • the term is granted for less than a year; • the grazing land does not confer any property rights; and • the property is vacated at the end of the licence period.

2. For income tax purposes, HMRC treats the landowner as still “farming” the land where the landowner ceases to keep livestock but lets land on short term grazing licences, whilst remaining in occupation of the land.

This means that the grazing rent is treated as trading income. If land is let on a farm business tenancy, the income is treated as property income and fewer costs can be offset against it.

3. For Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes, agricultural land and farm buildings can qualify for Business Asset Roll Over Relief.

It may be important that land is not let on a farm business tenancy as special rules apply when a tenancy is granted.

4. For VAT purposes, the grant of grazing rights and the supply of grass for feeding animals are zero-rated.

It is essential before allowing anyone into occupation of grazing land to consider carefully the nature of the occupation, any tax angles, security of tenure risks and the length of the arrangement and/or flexibility provisions. Simply labelling something as a ‘grazing licence’ or a ‘Farm Business Tenancy’ will not be enough.

Do also remember that your horses need to be insured whilst turned out as you are responsible for them if they get out and, for example, they damage a car irrespective of who left the gate open or if the fencing was in a poor state.

www.polotimes.co.uk

For more advice please contact Lottie Goldstone (nee Prentice) at lgoldstone@hcrlaw.com or 01242 246 432.

Your membership with the HPA allows for a 15 minute free consultation with Lottie and 10% discount in fees for the first instruction.

Polo Times, October 2014

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Bluey’s Farm

Twyford Road

Waltham St Lawrence RG10 0HE

www.blueyspolo.co.uk

Sebastian Alexander (3) and Tomas Llorens (2) being challenged by Kirsty Craig (1) and Matt Pinney (2) in HorseWorld Grand Match, final of Bluey’s Charity Tournament. August 31st, Bluey’s Farm

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Bluey’s Polo Club Winter Membership Club chukkas at Bluey’s Polo Club will now be played throughout the arena season at the Berkshire College of Agriculture (SL6 6QR) on Wednesday evenings from 7.30pm until 9.30pm.

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8th October: Bluey’s Winter Season Grand Opening Challenge!

Bluey’s is pleased to invite you to the opening date of our first ever Winter Arena Season.

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Bluey’s Livery Bluey’s is offering various livery options that range from DIY @£30 to Full Livery @£135 (prices per week per horse).

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Bluey’s Polo School Lessons are offered on a regular basis at Bluey’s and are always available for first time riders and long term players looking to improve specific skills.

Our Instructors are HPA qualified and Bluey’s is a Licensed Riding School and full member of the APSPH (The Association of Polo Schools and Pony Hirers).

For more information, please contact us on 07712 105 780 or email polomanager@blueyspolo.co.uk

Knowledge

Wintering Polo Ponies Lucy Wilson discusses the pitfalls and considerations of wintering ponies

W

intering polo ponies can be a minefield of problems and pitfalls for all parties concerned. If you are lucky enough to have the facility to winter your own ponies then there are many areas of conflicting opinion and advice on what you should do and when to ensure the best condition. If you are sending your ponies away, there are many aspects that need to be considered when looking for the right place for your ponies. It can be a case of ‘out of sight out of mind’, but you need to be sure that the service you need will be up to standard as ultimately as the owner you are responsible for their condition and welfare even if they are being wintered away and under the care of a third party. The concept of wintering polo ponies is unlike any other sector of the equine industry. Eventers, showjumpers and riding school ponies stay in work all year round. Polo in contrast, is the only equine sport that sends large numbers of horses to rest for such a lengthy amount of time; this makes it unique to our sport.

Many debate that turning ponies away for six months is not always beneficial and the process of getting them fit from scratch and the extreme change in work can cause more

problems. On the other side of the argument, some welcome the stress-free rest for horses that work extremely hard, travel large distances and are exposed to high workloads during the summer season. The number of people offering winter grazing is growing, offering a competitive market, but there can be a huge disparity in the service offered. Here we debate the options for feeding, the different prices and expectations as to how a conscientious owner can manage winter grazing.

Do you know the people looking after your ponies, have they been recommended by another party?

Researching who will be looking after your ponies is important. Being confident that the people you choose will check you ponies daily and make sure they are fed enough through the winter and that they receive the right care and attention is essential to your ponies having the best rest and preparation for the next season. It is all too easy to ship ponies off for the winter without realising that the choice of winter grazing could leave you with a late start to the summer because ponies have come back either in poor condition or conversely severely overweight and therefore are harder to get fit and ready for a season of polo.

What kind of ground are the fields on?

This will affect the drainage capacity in wet winters i.e. chalk or clay for example.

It is best to choose somewhere with free draining land. The last few winters have been particularly wet and mild with mud causing the majority of issues. Picking hilly fields can be an advantage for more than one reason.

The drainage capacity of hilly fields is much better than low lying flat land so ponies are less likely to be stood in deep mud. The second advantage is that the ponies are spending their winter moving around harder terrain so they retain a level of fitness that will give you a head start when bringing ponies back into work.

What kind of fencing is used in the fields?

Is it always a good idea to visit the fields and see what condition they are in; how much grass there is; are there many weeds, what is the water supply like? The best way is to walk the boundary of the fence line. It is worth considering what kind of fencing is used: do they have post and rail, electric or stock wire? Not all ponies are respectful of field boundaries and during the winter when they are cold and if they are left hungry, testing the boundaries of fencing can cause some unwelcome and serious injuries.

Post and rail or a thick hedge are the best options for winter grazing

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What kind of water supply do the fields have?

With all grazing scenarios a reliable source of water is essential. If the water is not reliable then it may mean your ponies will be reluctant to eat especially if you are feeding them hay. When checking the fields, always look over the water troughs; are they placed in the field so the ponies can easily access it, and what is the ground like around the trough? Unlike feeding, where you can move the hay around the field, water troughs are fixed so hard standing around the troughs is a good idea. In the autumn when leaves are dropping, it is essential to keep the troughs clean and free of rotting vegetation or dead birds that have fallen in. In the winter temperatures will drop below freezing so it is another question to ask your winter grazing supplier: will they be able to check the water for ice and do they have water bowsers if the pipes freeze? Lagging around the trough, the pipes and the connections will help.

If you have access to a muck heap, then fresh manure piled around the pipes and connections can work well for short periods of time. Flooding from water courses and ditches can pose another problem so it is worth enquiring about an history of flooding in past years. Ponies in fields that rely on drinking from streams, ponds and rivers can be dangerous as banks can become slippery and ponies have been known to get stuck with disastrous consequences.

To rug or not to rug, that is the question?

It is more common in our community to leave rugs off ponies that winter out.

Generally the consensus is that no rug means you can see exactly what is going on with your pony and its condition. A rug can hide more than just the condition of the pony. They may look warm and snug but underneath the rug bacteria and fungal infections can become rife, and go unnoticed. Sores and build up of oils can cause even more skin issues. However, if you have a pony that you know struggles to hold condition when the temperatures drop then a rug can be an advantage, but it does mean constant checking. If you do rug, it is worth keeping more than one rug available for the pony as keeping the same rug on for the winter can cause sores and rubs. Rugs do get wet through, so having a spare is important. The pony may look snug in his rug, but he might be wet through and cold underneath. Another point to be aware of is if you do rug some of your ponies it is worth 70

Polo Times, October 2014

Photograph by Claire Skinner

Knowledge

Rug on or rug off? It boils down to personal choice and each individual pony, but how well your’s ‘does’ during the winter should be a consideration

separating them from the other ponies as a mix of rugged and non-rugged can cause fighting and problems within the herd. Rug injuries from broken straps, rips and sections getting stuck in legs and or fences can cause even nastier injuries.

How much should winter grazing cost?

Price ranges may vary for many reasons across the country and this is not necessarily a reflection on the quality of service. You can expect to pay anything from £20 to £40 per week per pony. Some prices do include

hay and haylage, hard feed, but it is always important to check exactly what is included in your livery rate as the service offered can vary hugely.

Is shelter available?

Do the people offering winter grazing have stables in case your pony has an injury or a problem? Choosing fields where there is natural cover is best for ponies on full time turn out. When the weather turns, an indoor option is important for any older ponies or ponies that struggle to keep condition.

CASE STUDY A family run farm in Gloucestershire that offers winter grazing.

How many ponies do you winter in total (your own + clients)? About 16 (used to be more) so same conditions apply.

How many bales of hay do you get through on average? 70 large square bales of haylage (wrapped) per winter.

How much do you pay per bale or do you make your own? We make our own, I cost it at £10 per bale but it would cost more to buy.

Do you rug or not? Absolutely NO rugs, ponies always find the warmest place to stand and the mud and grease build up keeps them warm along with good forage.

What are the most common issues you face? Feet problems, pus in foot mostly.

How many ponies do you allow per acre? Approx two acres per horse, we feed in a different place every day and we don’t want poaching as the field may be cut for silage the following summer.

When do you start giving hay? Depends on seasons but they generally start to pick at forage about the third week in November and are eating properly in December; they eat the most in February. It is VERY important to have plenty of grass when they are first turned out, you need to get them in good condition right at the start of the wintering period.

Do you use hard feed? No, never any hard feed.

How often do you have the farrier out? Only if one is lame.

What do you do if you have one struggling in the winter conditions?

I don’t have strugglers! www.polotimes.co.uk

Wintering Polo Ponies Hay or haylage: how much should it cost?

Not all of us are fortunate enough to have our own haymaking facilities, so the price of hay and haylage is an important consideration especially if it isn’t part of the rate you pay per week. Usage is always dependent on how well your ponies cope in the cold, how long the ‘goodness’ lasts in the grazing and if you feed hay or haylage.

Choosing between the two options can be as simple as which you feel is more cost effective, but equally your ponies may decide for you. Some ponies cannot handle the richness of haylage, this can be the case for older ponies so they may require to be fed hay. The size of bales are also a consideration as hay and haylage can come in a variety of sizes and shapes. If you are being sold a bale for £25 when the area standard price is £35 it may not be a bargain – just a smaller or less dense bale.

Some suppliers will sell by the tonne, which can be more cost effective especially if you are wintering large numbers of ponies.

How to feed your hay and haylage can be another decision to make. There are a couple of options from hay feeders to daily portions being dished out. Hay feeders in the traditional style metal cattle feeders for round bales, custom made feeders, specially designed plastic equine feeders such as a Hay Hutch. Feeders can be a good option with medium to large herds, but if ponies have never used them before they can get into trouble with the metal feeders. To avoid nasty cuts around the head and the neck area, make sure there aren’t any sharp edges or rusted sections.

Ponies that aren’t used to feeders can also get their legs stuck and at best pull muscles and damage tendons. The alternatives are spreading portions of hay or haylage around the fields on a daily basis. This cuts down

Knowledge

CASE STUDY JJ Spark, Greenpoint Polo Livery and Polo School, Buckinghamshire How many ponies do you winter in total (your own +clients)? Roughly 15 (room for more) How many bales of hay do you get through on average? We love our hay, we buy from Apsley Manor Farm Ltd and they deliver no matter the weather. We use their heston bales which roughly weigh 700 kgs, hay is given as needed.

How much do you pay per bale or do you make your own? £80 per bale Do you rug or not? Yes, usually December time or when the weather turns against us, checked daily.

What are the most common issues you face? Mud glorious mud! We have a full valley with plenty of drainage yet some of our fluffy friends in the winter choose to live like swines and stand in mud.... we use a fabulous mud cream designed and made for us by Bourton Vale Vets, and it WORKS! How many ponies do you allow per acre? Not really relevant for us as the valley is 60 acres, we all know the guidelines but ours are spoilt rotten with four acres each, finding them can be the issue!

When do you start giving hay? With the first frost.

Do you use hard feed? They do not need it as they have plenty of grazing and ad lib hay; we have during harsh winters, introduced small feeds.

How often do you do have the farrier out? The farrier visits turnout horses every six to eight weeks.

What do you do if you have one struggling? We bring them in and seek advice from the vet. on ponies lower down in the herd from missing out on feeding but it can cause serious damage to the land and wastage from hay being trodden into poached ground.

Pre and post winter feeding: when to stop and start?

Another common misconception that can cause problems with ponies holding condition is that stopping feeding your ponies the day they stop playing is the way forward. The best time to get condition on a pony is well before the weather changes.

The fatter the better before the cold and wet sets in. They are also more likely to hold their condition for longer through the toughest

parts of the winter. Ponies can quite often drop condition when they suddenly come out of work, so continuing to feed at the end of the season is still important. Cutting corners with feed and hay at this stage can end up costing you more at a later date.

It is still important to remember any feed changes should be made in gradual stages – the age old saying ‘little and often’ still applies. Not all ponies will fare the same, some will do better than others and it is a good idea at this point to feed for the pony rather than the herd.

Coming out of the winter feeding when you bring them back into work is equally as important. Fuel and exercise will build muscles faster than hard work on hay.

HAY AND HAYLAGE PRICES AROUND THE COUNTRY North (Yorkshire): Big bales hay £30-£35 haylage £35-£40 Midlands (Warwickshire): Big bales of hay £30-£35 Central (Oxfordshire): Big bales low quality haylage £30, top quality £45 South East (Hertfordshire): Big bales of hay £20- £35 small bales £3.50-£8 West (Gloucestershire): Small bales £4 rising at the end of the winter to £4.50 Wales (Pembrokeshire): Small bales £2.50-£3.50 Berkshire and surrounding areas: Big bales of hay £45, big bales of haylage £25-£35

www.polotimes.co.uk

Big bale, small bale, haylage or hay, the important thing is to make sure ponies are given sufficient feed during bad weather

Polo Times, October 2014

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CASE STUDY Melissa Wadley, Kirtlington Park Polo School, Knowledge

Oxfordshire

How many ponies do you winter in total (your own + clients)? Approx 30 (20 of my own and 10 liveries).

How many bales of hay do you get through on average? Depending how hard the winter is, approx six large bales per week (rectangular ones).

How much do you pay per bale or do you make your own? I buy it in and I usually pay between £25-£45, depending on the quality. I use meadow to seed haylage not hay.

Do you rug or not? I will separate the older ponies and rug them, they also get a feed.

What are the most common issues you face? Punctured feet if very wet.

How many ponies do you allow per acre? Approx 2 acres to 1 pony.

When do you start giving hay? Normally start to hay straight after the first frost or if there has been no frost by November.

Do you use hard feed? I will give hard feed to the older ones as well as the mares and foals.

How often do you have the farrier out? Farrier comes out in October to remove shoes and trim, they should be ok until Feb but as I check the ponies daily I can make a call as and when I need to.

What do you do if you have one struggling? If one is struggling I will bring it into the barns, assess, and treat accordingly.

What wormer to use and when?

Not all wormers do the same thing, so it is important to understand which wormers to use when. All wormer suppliers, tack shops and vets, are able to advise which wormer is best. Regulations on selling wormers have changed over the years so when you buy a wormer your details must be registered. Some active ingredients are starting to see resistence against the treatment of worms so Worm Egg Counts are becoming more popular. WEC’s should be done every 8-10 weeks and can cost as little as £12 from your vets. They will show what burdens need treating and when, rather than worming seasonally, which with the irregular seasons and unusual mild winters are disrupting cycles. WEC’s don’t however show up encysted redworms and quite often don’t show tapeworms. Tapeworms can show up in specific blood tests but there is not currently a clinical test for encysted red worm so it is best to treat for this if a burden is suspected.

The principal drugs found in wormers licensed for use in the UK Ivermectin: Single dose in May, July and December. Kills large redworms, small redworms, pinworms, large roundworms, lungworms, intestinal and neck threadworms and stomach worms.

Praziquantel: Single dose in Spring and Autumn (March/April and September/ October). Kills tapeworms.

Moxidectin: Single dose in winter. Kills small redworm including encysted stages, large redworm, pinworms, large roundworms, intestinal threadworms.

Pyrantel: Every four-six weeks during summer and autumn for grazing ponies.

Kills large redworms, small redworms, large roundworm and pinworms.

Fenbendazole: There is widespread resistence to this ingredient in the UK. Kills large redworms, small redworms including encysted stages, pinworms, large roundworm and intestinal threadworms.

Winter injuries Whilst we all hope our ponies enjoy their winter holidays in the field injury-free, spending their time eating and milling around, it can and will happen. Falling foul of hiding yew tree in hedges or fencing that has come down unnoticed can cause some nasty injuries or at worst a death. It is important that whomever you leave your ponies with is diligent with their daily checks to avoid hefty vet bills. Common ailments that ponies are likely to suffer from include foot abscesses, mud fever, rain scald, poor condition and for those rugged up, lice can also be an issue. Catching all of these early will allow for the best outcome. If you are at all worried about any unusual lumps, scabs or injuries it is always best to have it checked over by your vet. Damp, muddy conditions are not the best environments for healing. Cuts and broken skin heals better when it is dry. So making sure you have an indoor or covered option such as a pen or stable to deal with any injuries and ailments is helpful.

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Vet advice from Holly Baird MRCVS Holly works for Scott Dunns Equine Clinic and is also the Guards Polo Club Veterinary and Welfare Representative. Below Holly offers her advice for wintering ponies.

The most important thing is to be dynamic in your approach to wintering. By this I mean monitoring body condition of every horse on a weekly basis. Individuals should be caught with a head collar, the rugs rolled back and a hand run across the body to make an assessment of fat cover.

Looking over the fence is not sufficient!

Winter managers must then be prepared to adjust their routines accordingly. If the whole herd seem to be losing condition it is time to increase the amount of hay or haylage being fed. If the winter is tough and ponies are not doing well it may even be time to consider adding some concentrate feed. A mash of soaked sugar beet, copra meal and/or rice bran, sweetened with some molasses and placed on top of freshly fed hay is a good way to provide extra calories. Ponies will love this and as it is a mash it will stick to the hay rather than be wasted in the mud.

The other thing is to be prepared to remove individuals that need extra attention.

Ponies that are timid, and are consequently not getting their share of the feed, or ponies that are poor doers may need to be isolated and given extra feed. They can be removed from the herd permanently and placed in their own field, or separated for the time it takes to finish an additional meal on a daily basis. Animals not doing well in this scenario, or animals suffering from injury or illness should be moved to a stable.

Any pony which is doing poorly for no apparent reason or loses weight suddenly should be examined by a veterinarian to ensure there is no underlying disease. Liver disease and infestation with cyathostome larva are two problems which can sneak up on owners, especially in winter, and cause rapid weight loss and serious illness.

Lastly, I think it is a great idea to keep a record. Written records are great, but nothing is more simple than a quick iPhone snap of each pony. This gives a reference point to come back to and will help to monitor the progress of each pony throughout the winter months. www.polotimes.co.uk

Wintering Polo Ponies

Knowledge

Legal Responsibilities

Farrier advice from Jason Lewin DIP WCF

The view from the HPA (Annex B – Regulation of the welfare of ponies and the misuse of drugs, point 5, 5.1) states that, “Owners must take all responsible steps to ensure the welfare of their ponies, including during winter months, and should only use farriers registered with the Farriers Registration Council and veterinary surgeons who are current members of RCVS. ‘Owner’ shall mean the individual or individuals whom the Disciplinary Committee is satisfied in fact enjoy the rights, privileges and powers incidental to ownership.” As the owner of the ponies you are ultimately responsible for their wellbeing and any damage that they cause.

No one wants to think about the implications should ponies escape, but it has happened and accidents can be costly. Making sure you are insured for third party liability is a must. If you are sending your ponies away for the duration of the winter it is a good idea to make sure you are able to check on them yourself and that you can receive updates from whomever is looking after them for you.

Jason Lewin is a registered farrier working on the Berkshire and Surrey area who also specializes in remedial shoeing and problem feet. He has shod polo ponies at numerous yards and clubs around the country from school ponies at pasture to professional players.

I would take your ponies’ shoes off at the end of the polo season, ensure they have a good trim, but leaving enough hoof to support the pony to prevent it becoming foot sore as the ponies hoof is used to having the support of shoes. I would then recommend that feet are trimmed through the winter months between seven to nine weeks, but each pony will differ.

In my opinion, ponies that have problem feet throughout the summer months don’t necessarily need to keep their shoes on in the winter, but your farrier will advise according to the problems the pony has.

Tax and winter grazing From an accounting and tax perspective we follow Sarah Gardener’s analysis of VAT and livery charges in our July Issue as we take a brief look at how this applies for winter livery grazing.

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1 1 Hoof wall cut out following a severe abscess 2 The result of neglectful trimming 3 Week and broken foot following the loss of a shoe 4 A neglected trim growing out of balance 4

Common Problems

Spotting them

Treatment

Hoof splitting and cracking

Visual splits up to old nail holes

Call the farrier

Flaring of the hoof wall

The outer edge of the hoof wall will curve outwards

The hoof walls need to be dressed by a farrier

Foot sore

Lame and reluctant to bear weight

Call the farrier

I’m just renting a field? Is there VAT on that?

If you are just renting a field and as the owner you are undertaking daily checks and feeding as your own responsibility, then the supply is zero-rated for VAT, as the supply of grazing rights dominates.

Thrush

Smelly with black discharge

Regular cleaning with antibacterial spray

Seedy toe

Difficult to spot without prior experience

Call the farrier as every case differs

Abscesses

Lameness, heat in the foot and a raised digital pulse

Poultice or ‘tubbing*’ to draw out the infection

I’ve got my horses at full winter livery service with daily checks, rugging and vet care. Should I pay VAT on that service?

Where a stable is not provided as well as grazing and the supply of the grazing rights dominate, then the supply may still be able to be argued as zero-rated. Alternatively, a mixed supply could be argued whereby part of the price is zero-rated and part of the price is standard rated. In the worst-case scenario, a stable may be provided, but not an exclusive right over land meaning the whole supply may be standard rated. Each case will always be judged individually. In short it’s best to check with a polo-specialist accountant.

Low, weak heels

Lack of growth at the back of the foot

Corrective trimming or shoeing is required

Conformational problems

General conformation or skeletal injuries

Corrective trimming or shoeing is required, but every case differs

Medial and lateral inbalances

Difficult to spot without prior experience

Corrective trimming or shoeing is required

Can I claim back the VAT on winter grazing?

If the person receiving the service is VAT registered (as some players are) they should be able to reclaim any output VAT charged.

Unfortunately those who are not registered cannot reclaim.

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*Putting the affected foot directly into a bucket of very warm water with salt and a disinfectant.

Other problems that can continue in the winter that will affect their feet Tendon problems Poor quality of hooves Sand/grass cracks Lamness

Polo Times, October 2014

73

Knowledge

Wintering Polo Ponies

HPA Welfare Guidelines Chairman of the Polo Pony Welfare Committee David Morley comments on making welfare reports and expands on the new guidelines in the HPA Polo Pony Welfare Guidelines newly published this year, and outlined below.

“We are always happy to treat a welfare report anonymously, all reports will be dealt with in confidence and will always be investigated. Every complaint made is looked into by either a representative of the HPA or by a vet. We have a duty towards the ponies, the members of the HPA and to the sport. Where appropriate we ask a vet to offer advice and if we feel someone is being negligent we do take action. Rugs are fine if they are checked individually and daily. It is also important to think of the economics; remember the better your ponies winter, the better they start the season, rather than play catch up in the spring.”

HPA Polo Pony Welfare Booklet 2014 helpful hints on wintering and feeding Wintering equals rest and recuperation and then preparation for another season Do ensure: · Good land and clean water · Regular observation, worming and trimming · Shoes off and feet trimmed prior to turnout · Body mass is natural cover, ponies should be well covered by November and maintaining bodyweight is important · Feed before the need

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Polo Pony Welfare Guide lines Recomendacio nes Para El Bienestar de Los Caballo s de

Tips: · Feeding away from the water supply creates movement · Feeding ad-lib better for natural foraging tendencies, digestion and nutrient absorption · Constant availability of hay or haylage reduces fighting · If feeding daily, put feed piles well apart and away from gateways and fences · Separate ponies dropping even slightly in condition and supplement with concentrates · Unusual behaviour or a change in pecking order may be a sign of health issues · Only rug if you can monitor and adjust daily · Common problems: rain scald, mud fever, mites, infected foot · A well covered pony is easier and cheaper to get fit · As the owner you are responsible all winter · If you delegate that responsibility, make sure it is to someone you can trust

Polo

Welfare2014.ind

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09/04/2014

HPA Disciplinary Sub-Committee: Polo Pony Welfare

It is key to make sure that ponies have sufficient forage and feed to get a good weight build up in September and October before the weather turns

David Morley, Esq. (Chairman) M. B. J Amoore, Esq Lord Patrick Beresford R. R. Cudmore, Esq Brig. A. R. Douglas-Nugent N. H. H. Knapp. Bsc., M.R.C.V.S. P.J. Mahon, M.V.B, MRCVS. Miss A.E.Schwabe

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Polo Times, October 2014

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Youth

Youth

Pony Club Polo Chairman Charles Whittington rounds up the latest youth polo news Now the junior season is just about over – I hope you enjoyed the wonderful coverage of The Pony Club and British Junior Polo in the last edition of Polo Times – our thoughts turn to a review of the season and looking to see what improvements we can make for next year. Inevitably, I find myself going back to first principles and asking the basic question, “What are we trying to do with our juniors?”. The opportunities available to them are: Schools and Universities Polo (SUPA), The Pony Club, British Junior Polo and, of course, direct entry to adult polo. All these routes depend heavily on sponsorship from the HPA, commercial sponsors large and small, clubs and individuals who provide facilities, volunteer organisers and, of course, parents. What is the best leverage of this fantastic sponsorship to the benefit of young players? Some players are talented and will aspire to professional polo. Some will enjoy the game as patrons and amateurs. So we

have a very wide remit. These are my thoughts: The Pony Club and SUPA provide access to polo for families who have never played before at a reasonable cost. SUPA most obviously by encouraging pony hire by the chukka or lesson, and The Pony Club by providing for play on one pony and, for younger players, their Pony Club pony. The Pony Club also provides a graduated route to two and four chukka polo based on handicap. The main objective here must be to keep up the level of sponsorship so that the cost of entry is kept as low as possible, to give us the largest possible pool of players.

The Pony Club and SUPA also provide something very valuable to youngsters whose parents play – and that is a degree of distance from the sometimes cut-throat world of professional/patron polo. The Pony Club and SUPA provide a framework of competition, rules and ethos which is largely dominated

by volunteers and non-players. I believe this is very important for young players because they can appreciate that the polo is organised ‘for them’, as opposed to ‘for adults’.

In keeping with the objective of enabling every junior to improve to their maximum potential, all branches of junior polo need to enhance the training opportunities available.

We have to do this through courses, both intensive and weekly, both here and overseas, and team coaching before and after matches.

So this autumn we will be debating how to strengthen our team of volunteers, our organisation and our player recruitment, and improve sponsorship, training and coaching.

All this is easy to say, but not quite so easy to do! So I welcome any practical ideas which might lead to improvement in any of these areas.

Longdole Polo Club – Junior Tournament

By Jo Beim

Division 1 (14-18 years) 1st – R T Photography 2nd – Little Devils 3rd – Go with the Flo 4th – A C Milan 5th – Outnumbered Division 2 (11-14 years): Group 1 1st – Centaurs 2nd – Pink Panthers 3rd – The Chicks 4th – Thunderbirds

The winners of Longdole’s division 2, Group 2 (11-14 years) were the Heythrop (the standing team).

Anyone who frequents Longdole Polo Club (with its own micro-climate!) knows that the weather is a dominant factor and a common subject of conversation. We all arrived at the Club with a plethora of garments to cope with a range of clement and inclement elements, so it was no surprise when I arrived at 8am to set up for the day, that I couldn’t see the polo fields for all the mist that had descended! The promise of an early burn off, however, was lurking in the sky in the form of a watery sun, but by late morning we were all disappointed to find that our youngsters were playing in windy, wet and squally conditions.

Weather aside, players and their supporters travelled from destinations as far and wide as Cowdray, Lancashire and Dorset and rose to the occasion to participate in an impressive display of youth polo. 74 juniors (both Cowdray teams fielding three-man teams) competed for wonderful prizes supplied by our generous sponsors, R J Polo, The Polo Magazine, Casablanca, Polo Times and Longdole Polo Club. Under the steely rule of our wonderful volunteer timekeepers and scorers, the day ran only 15 minutes behind schedule and all in all, it was a very enjoyable day.

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Division 2 (11-14 years): Group 2 1st – Heythrop 2nd – Los Bandidos 3rd – Northwood (playing with a 10 and an 8 year old Hine with permission) 4th – Los Monos Division 3 (Up to and incl.

11 years riding fluffies) 1st – Cowdray Blue 2nd – Cowdray Yellow 3rd – Northwood 4th – Transformers 5th – Lutheridge 6th – Old Berks

www.polotimes.co.uk

Youth

SUPA round up

By Ann Spicer

We have had a wonderful season this year with our two major tournaments, Arena at Rugby and Grass at Kirtlington, both played in warm sunshine – what more could we ask for?

At the arena tournament we played 42 chukkas of polo in two different arenas, culminating in some nail-biting Finals with an impressive list of school coaches present and the level of play improving with each chukka.

In May, we held the Trials day in torrential rain – as it was hosted by Rugby we were lucky enough to be able to go indoors and improvise. It was good to have so many schools send their representatives to the trials and an excellent day for the Stewards to have the chance to meet the players properly.

Unfortunately, the HPA School four-chukka league Semi Finals and Finals had to be cancelled. Sadly this format of polo was neither workable nor popular with most of our Member’s schools.

The HPA Development Committee will assess the tournament and decide whether there is a future for it.

At Kirtlington, we played 22 chukkas of polo and again, it was so interesting to see how the players improved with each chukka, especially in the lower divisions. Dean Close ran out the winners of The National Senior Schools Championships.

I would like to thank all the School Managers for all their hard work and endeavours and look forward to seeing them all at the AGM at Dean Close on Saturday 1 November.

Cheshire Polo Club – Home Nations Cup to contest the Final, with England now having their fourth confirmed player on the pitch. Unfortunately the match turned out to be a rather scrappy affair. Both teams defended well and the score going into the final chukka stood at 21/2 to 2 in England’s favour. Wales whipped in a quick goal, but England managed to capitalise on their half goal advantage in the final chukka, converting two penalties and running in a field goal to make the final score 51/2 to 3. England were crowned the victors, but it was exciting to see Wales coming a very respectable second – not bad for a country which doesn’t even have one polo Club registered with the HPA. The final match of the tournament saw the UK team, comprising of players from Cheshire Polo Club take on Scotland. UK came together as a team much better than on the previous day, and ran out winners by 9 goals to 2.

The whole weekend was played with great spirit, with teams camping and

Action from the SUPA Cup Final, Wales v England

socialising together and congratulating each other on good play; players even lent ponies to opposing teams where needed!

Thanks must go to Cheshire Polo Club and Sheryl Rollinson for hosting the event, providing the grounds, umpires, organisation and prizes.

Photograph by Sarah Clegg

The August Bank Holiday weekend traditionally sees the playing of The SUPA Tri-Nations Cup at Cheshire Polo Club, which this year was transformed into The Home Nations Cup with teams from England, Scotland, Wales and the United Kingdom taking part.

As the teams arrived for the Saturday matches there were a few heavy showers, but they quickly cleared to give way to blue skies before play started. The first match between Wales and UK started with a quick goal scored by UK, putting them into a 3-0 lead due to handicap. This goaded Wales into action, and they quickly scored three goals to draw the scores level. By the end of the fourth chukka Wales came out the winners 9-3, placing them in the Final the following day. In the second match of the day, England beat Scotland by 51/2 goals to 2 despite having to use a substitute player.

Sunday dawned fair and sunny for the final games of the tournament. First to take to the field were Wales and England

By Kate Gibbons

www.polotimes.co.uk

Polo Times, October 2014

77

Youth

My thoughts on my 2014 SUPA season‌ On a very wet Tuesday in May half-term, my brother David, representing Dean Close School, and myself representing Cheltenham Ladies College, were lucky enough to be selected by our schools to go to the SUPA National trials held at Rugby Polo Club. Not only is Rugby probably the most central of the polo Clubs for people to get to, it also has the best indoor facilities which proved very useful as the weather was too bad for any games to take place outside. The original trials were to include the Dawnay Test, which I had been practicing, but unfortunately it was not practical to do this in the arena. Instead we were given different exercises to do in teams, followed by a couple of arena chukkas. At the end of the day, ranking and selections were made for SUPA events in the forthcoming season, and I was selected to play in the match to be held against an RCBPC side on 5 July.

My brother and I headed off to the Berkshire to play with Will Penfold (Millfield School) and Rob Fleming (Radley College).

RCBPC fielded a side of equal ability, which led to a good close match being played. Our coach helped us pull together as a team when our opponents scored two quick goals against

Photograph by Charles Betz

Tamara Gibbons of Cheltenham Ladies College

The SUPA Team beat RCBPC

us at the beginning of the first chukka. Having changed our tactics we pulled back our two goals and the rest of the match was very close, with SUPA eventually running out the winners by one goal at the end of the fourth chukka.

RCBPC were very unlucky to just miss a penalty 2 in the last few seconds of the match, which would have led to a tie or even a fifth chukka. Jamie Morrison, Chairman of the Club presented the prizes.

Luckily, on the last weekend of August,

David and I were again selected to play for SUPA-Wales in The SUPA Home Nations Cup held at Cheshire Polo Club, which was a really enjoyable weekend. We yielded to SUPAEngland in the Finals in what was a very close game. SUPA-Scotland just lost to SUPA-UK in the Sub Final. Playing with SUPA has meant that we have been able to play at different grounds and with different people, therefore widening our polo experience, which has been both good for our polo and great fun.

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Polo Times, October 2014

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Youth

School profile – Dean Close

Dean Close School Polo is on the up The Gloucestershire school has achieved wins in both SUPA Intermediate Arena and Outdoor Tournaments and boasts players selected for the Schools National Squad.

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Tom Coid and David Gibbons in open play against Bradfield

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Polo Times, October 2014

heltenham’s Dean Close School has been playing polo for the last 14 years. The school, founded in 1886, has just under 500 scholars and prides itself on being competitive, with many boys and girls excelling at their chosen sports.

The polo is overseen by Senior Housemistress, Mrs Paula Watson, who runs the school’s Equestrian Club that incorporates all equestrian activities – from dressage, show jumping and eventing to riding lessons on offer from year four upwards each week – and boasts 50 Members.

Over the years, there have been polo wins at Novice, Girls and Intermediate Tournaments and in 2013, the Intermediate Team won both the Arena and Outdoor SUPA Tournaments.

But 2014 saw a combined team of three Dean Close boys, Robbie Dee (Captain), David Gibbons and Jake Bainbridge, and Tom Coid of Kingshill School, Cirencester, take their first win at the SUPA Open Tournament held at Kirtlington Park Polo Club in June.

“It has been great to see the explosion in interest in polo at Dean Close in the last few years,” remarks the school’s Headmaster, Jonathan Lancashire. “Having two players on opposite sides in The Tri-Nations Cup and winning The Open Division of The SUPA National Senior Schools’ Polo trophy have put us on the map. I sense a polo tour coming on...”

The teams train throughout the year, together forming an invaluable bond of understanding of the game. Their hard work certainly paid off at The SUPA Schools Championships. They showed their intent and focus right from the start of their first game www.polotimes.co.uk

School profile – Dean Close

Dean Close action against Stowe School in the Open Tournament

Youth

against Radley to win 1–0. Throughout the day, all four players watched the games intently, tactically analysing their opposition before skilfully putting their game plans into action.

Against Bradfield, the team scored the only goal to take their second game, which left the Dean Close team only requiring a draw against Stowe in the Final. Parents and supporters, who turn out in all weathers to support their sons and daughters at all the fixtures, became increasingly enthralled as the tournament developed.

Captain, Robbie Dee, led the team with his usual charming but competitive style. Charles Betz, SUPA Chairman, presented the Trophy accompanied by loud cheers from the parents.

Robbie Dee and David Gibbons, the top players at Dean Close were selected for The SUPA Schools National Squad. They represented England and Wales respectively in the Home Nations Tournament at Cheshire Polo Club in August of this year. They also played for the North Cotswold Hunt Polo teams in the Rendell and Langford Sections of the Pony Club Championships. So far the school has not seen any professional players be born out of their school teams, but there is no reason why this couldn’t change with players such as Robbie and David coming through the ranks.

For the 2015 summer season, Dean Close will be giving all those who wish to compete, the opportunity to play at whatever level they have reached and are already building Novice through to Open teams for the future. Although the school does not have on-site facilities, the players who have their own ponies continue to keep them at home and truck them to training sessions or tournaments. The polo players train all year round each Tuesday under the expert eye of HPA Instructor, Dan Banks, at Longdole Polo Club in Gloucestershire. The grounds are excellent for chukka practice and the all-weather, floodlit arena provides the added facility to enable training to take place every term. The selection of ponies available at Longdole means that Dean Close can accommodate children new to the sport and those who already play.

School information in brief Name: Dean Close School Year Established: 1886 Polo played since: 2000 Age range: 13-18 Type of school: Co-education, independent, day and boarding school.

Headmaster: Jonathan Lancashire Shelburne Rd, Cheltenham GL51 6HE 01242 258000 www.deanclose.org.uk At the National Girls SUPA Polo Tournament

www.polotimes.co.uk

Polo Times, October 2014

81

Photographs courtesy of La Tarde Polo Club

Knowledge

Afternoons well spent at La Tarde At Argentina’s La Tarde Polo Club, polo isn’t just a sport, it’s their lifestyle

Just an hour from the hub of Buenos Aires and thirty minutes from polo capital, Pilar, La Tarde Polo Club has been a family-owned business for over 30 years. Run by Juan Martin Sarli, a professional 4 goal player and qualified vet, and his parents, they have built up their home over the past three decades into a Club offering idyllic polo holidays to all types of players from professionals to complete beginners.

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Polo Times, October 2014

Guests enjoying a fully inclusive stay can indulge in stick and ball sessions in the morning, lazy lunches cooked by a local chef, siestas spent by one of the two swimming pools followed by four to six chukkas of polo with Club members in the afternoons. You can work on your fitness and core strength in the on-site gym before relieving your aching muscles in the spa, all the while improving your polo by listening to Juan Martin’s polo

tactics lessons and playing on one of the three polo fields or in the arena. After polo there is tea on the terrace to watch the Argentine sunset whilst, in the evenings, there are drinks in the Clubhouse before being treated in yet another home cooked supper, all the time discussing the day’s polo with Juan Martin or one of the other coaches, such as Ignacio Boronat. You can even work on your Spanish in the classes on offer at the Club.

Each stay is tailor-made to the guest so you can enjoy a truly bespoke experience.

La Tarde organises weekend tournaments with other Polo Clubs to give guests the opportunity to experience competitive polo with surrounding players; an added extra not offered by other polo holiday estancias.

The Club also presents up-to-the-minute technology by way of Go Pros and drones, which film guests during their games and training sessions so they can watch the playback footage later and further improve their polo. Juan Martin explains, “Some guests need to improve in different areas so it is very important to us that every player can work on their weaknesses and enhance their strengths.

By looking back on their films, guests can really understand how they can improve for their next chukkas – and the footage makes for great films for guests to take home with them and keep as a memory of their stay.” www.polotimes.co.uk

La Tarde Polo

Even more excitingly, a stay at La Tarde isn’t just an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Having set up the La Tarde breeding programme, Juan Martin can offer the Club’s clients their own string of ponies and ensures guests have the best horses from different well-known Argentine bloodlines.

The ponies bred on the farm can be raised and trained at the Club until they are ready to be played by the guests. This unique offer means that guests regard La Tarde more as their home-away-from-home rather than just a quick getaway.

Away from the daily polo and the bright Argentine sun, there are 12 private en suite cottages overlooking the polo fields where guests can wake up to excellent views of the surrounding pampas and wisteria-shaded terraces. Attention to detail to the interiors means that guests have a

www.polotimes.co.uk

comfortable stay – much needed after a long day in the saddle.

It is very important to the Sarli family that their guests at La Tarde feel part of the place and their family; they take special care to make sure you are always relaxed and content. Chris Byrne, a guest from England, should have stayed six weeks at the Club, but prolonged his trip to three months; “La Tarde truly made me feel like part of the family. As you can imagine I was sad to leave that amazing place.”

“Guests always come back due to the memories they collect here and the friends that they make,” continues Juan Martin. “We are more than just a hotel and get to know every single guest. It is important to us that everyone feels part of the La Tarde team.”

It’s why a stay at La Tarde isn’t a mere holiday; it’s a lifestyle experience.

Knowledge

W: www.latardepolo.com E: infor@latardepolo.com T: (0054) 11 4798 9231 A: La Tarde Polo Club, Tomas Jofre, Mercedes, Provincia de Buenos Aires

Polo Times, October 2014

83

Sidelines

Gossip

JAMES PACKER EMPLOYS A DIFFERENT TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS

Whilst holidaying in Sotogrande, Ellerston’s James Packer was reaching headlines with relation to his newest Melco Crown movie-themed resort, Studio City in Macau, China. It was recently revealed that Packer and Lawrence Ho will take up the roles as Executive Producers of a short film to promote Packer’s global resorts and casinos. Not only did Brad Pitt reportedly put his honeymoon on hold in order to star in the short film, directed by none other than Martin Scorsese but Pitt will also be joined by Hollywood legends Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film will be produced by Brett Ratner, whose successes include box office hits Gravity and Lego Movie, and will premier next year.

BROKENSHA BABY

3 goal South African player Shaun Brokensha and his wife Alicia, who is daughter of HPA Chairman, John Wright have recently welcomed their first child into the world.

Max Brokensha was born on Friday 29 August at 12.30pm weight 8lbs. As Polo Times goes to press, Max is about to make his first trip abroad, to his dad’s native South Africa.

Congratulations to you both.

COWDRAY DOG SHOW

There were scores of entries for the annual Dog Show held at Cowdray Park’s end of season day.

Anna Marioni’s Hungarian Vizsla, Henry won The Hanlon Rosebowl for Best In Show. Other notable mentions include Leonora de Ferranti’s whippet, Teal who won the Dog Race and Beanie Bradley’s Best Veteran winner, Trida the Lurcher.

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

COLOUR CO-ORDINATED COMMENTATOR

Roy Law has reported back to Polo Times, from the fields at Cowdray Park that commentator Felix Wheeler has been spotted wearing a red hat to match his signature red trousers. What will be next Mr Wheeler? Red tie, red socks, red sunglasses… red shoes?

Look-a-likes CONGRATULATIONS KELLY AND TOMMY

Kelly (née Keyte) and Tommy Fernandez recently became parents for the first time. The Argentine 3 goaler and Kelly, daughter of Greg and Janice Keyte, now have a son, Santos Fernandez who was born on Tuesday 23 September at 10pm.

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Polo Times, October 2014

John Martin and Kevin from American Pie

BRITISH POLO DAY ACTION AT GARANGULA British Polo Day have recently launched in their sixth continent, taking the event to Australia. The event will be held from 24–26 October at Garangula, the Schwarzenbach’s family estate. This is the first of three new dates that have been added to the British Polo Day calendar. Since its inception, British Polo Day has grown to include an impressive network of 10 events held annually in Abu Dhabi, Australia, China, Dubai, India, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, USA and of course, Great Britain. www.polotimes.co.uk

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Sidelines

Ben Eeley, Pippa Vincent, Melissa Wadley, Chris Davies, Nick Wakefield and Phil Asker

Sally Richards, Jane Eley, John Meyer and Sarah Taylor

End of Season Party; Heathfield Park Polo Club; 20 September 2014

‘Double Denim Disco’ in the ‘Party Bus’ Heathfield Park celebrated a fine end to the season with some ‘double denim’ fun in their pitch-side double decker bus. After a day of back-to-back polo, Members and visiting players enjoyed a disco, drinks, and the chance to dress up and dance in the legendary ‘party bus’ on the side of the ground.

Eric Asker and Carren Abernethy

Sebastian Petragallo and Pumpkin

Photographs by Lucy Wilson

Chris Crawford, Henry Brett and Hector Worsley

Winners of InnoVent Leasing Trophy 2014; InnoVent Leasing Ben Sim, Duane Lent, Telmo Maidana and Hugh McKie

Caribbean chef Femi greeting VIPs!

Mandita Fontanarrosa

Lucy Willet and Amber Meyer

Runners up Nick Clague, Daniel Acosta, Richard Buckfield, Nick Farnhill, COO of Innovent Leasing Adrian Saint with winners of the 2 goal; Hugh McKie, Duane Lent, Ben Sim and Telmo Maidana

Nacho Ramirez

InnoVent Leasing Trophy; Sussex Polo Club; 14 September 2014

Polo with a Caribbean twist Sunday 14 September saw the Finals of the inaugural InnoVent Leasing Trophy at Sussex Polo Club. The event was to mark sponsor Innovent Leasing’s first two years operating in the UK. Over 150 of their customers, suppliers, business partners and many of their families attended the Caribbean-themed day. InnoVent played visiting team Plain Clothes Portugal in a very close 2 goal Final with InnoVent just pulling ahead in chukkas three and four to win 8-5. After burning the calories on the field, players were invited into the sponsor’s tent to refill on the delicious authentic Jamaican menu of jerk chicken and fruity rum punches.

86 Polo Times, October 2014 Telmo Maidana playing for InnoVent Leasing (navy) against Nick Clague for Plain Clothes Portugal

Lorna Simmonds NND Photography, Christopher Pollard www.ChristopherGphotography.co.uk

Best Playing Pony ‘Julio’ with groom Sami Dennington

www.polotimes.co.uk The Sussex boys getting in to the spirit!

Sidelines

Jono Smail, Tim Dare and Evelyn Williams

Hugo White

Loo Naylor

Augustin Dandreiz and Tim Dare in background

Hannah Pennington

End of Season BBQ and Gymkhana; Edgeworth Polo Club; 10 September 2014

Rosettes all round Edgeworth had a fine end to the season after Club Member Loo Naylor badgered Jono Smail into hosting a Gymkhana. With the promise of lots of fun, brightly coloured rosettes and a BBQ in the Clubhouse, Members all turned out to try their hand at apple bobbing, relays and bending races. Fines for unscheduled dismounts were promised, but everyone managed to stay on board. However, there were a couple of loose horses who took offence to the applebobbing race – who would’ve thought that buckets full of Granny Smiths would spook treat-happy polo ponies? Club Chairman John P Smail was Gymkhana Judge and handed out the well-deserved rosettes for each race at the end of the evening.

Photographs by Lynne Dare and Lucy Wilson

Lucinda Keen Some of the teams with their hard earned rosettes

Rachel Maddicks, Dahna and Jess Hinamen Charlie Boyd Cath Elsemore

www.polotimes.co.uk Loo Naylor receiving her rosettes from John P Smail

Polo Times, October 2014 87 Hannah Sharpe on her pony Molly – their first gymkhana!!

Sidelines

Another successful event for British Polo Day

Linny Lin and Andie Wang

British Polo Day; Tang Polo Club, China; 14 September 2014

British Polo Day in Beijing

Wendy Gio

Susie C Sun and Olivier Ceccaldi

88

For the fourth edition of British Polo Day in China, the players, spectators, sponsors and organisers were greeted by blue skies at Tang Polo Club, Beijing, which is apparently a rarity in the bustling financial city nowadays.

It proved to be the perfect backdrop for a Taittinger champagne reception followed by a Brompton Bicycle polo match to welcome the 800-strong crowd before the main polo events of the day. The first game was played for The Hackett Cup, which saw the InterContinental Financial Street BCC team beat The Hackett British Exiles, 11 goals to 6. After a brief pause of a quintessential British afternoon tea, the second match for The Land Rover Trophy took place between the Pond Mobile British Schools and the Royal Salute Tang Polo Club teams. The latter clinched a close victory over British Schools with a win of 6-4 – the first two goals being scored by newcomer to the British Polo Day global series, Ollie Browne.

Post the prize-givings, VIPs enjoyed an asado and after party which continued late into the night in the Royal Salute VIP area.

Bobby Dundas

Anna Matthews and Michael Joshua Johnson

Polo Times, October 2014 Edward Olver and Shilai Liu

Vanessa Hou

P hotographs by Greg Mei/ British Polo Day

Karen Chu, Patrick Cao and Sophie Chi

Diego Gomez and John Stevenson

Lily Chen and Kelly Liu

Cliffton Wrottesley

Jeremy Hackett and George Meyrick

Branko Perovic and Eric Cossutta

www.polotimes.co.uk James Horton, Mrs Horton and Alvaro Rey

Sidelines

George Meyrick and Isabella Staveley O’Duffy

Nikki Ratcliffe and Duncan Brown

Simon and Beverley Lowe with Martin and Clare Williams

Laura Winkler and Claudia Camarena

Annie and Nicholas Colquhoun Denvers with Marina, Alejandro and Isabel Taylor

Will Healy, Olivia Shea, Sam McNeil, Sophie Horgan and Louise Brown

Summer Polo Ball; Ham Polo Club; 25 July 2014

9

An Oriental Masquerade

Laura Winkler and Benjie Davis

Lion Dance Acrobats

Ham’s Clubhouse and marquee were transformed into an oriental temple party where guests enjoyed their champagne reception under the Clubhouse grapevines covered with red and gold lanterns and were welcomed by a traditional lion dancer.

Party goers then moved down the bamboo walkway, into the marquee for dinner where they were greeted by giant gold Foo Dogs, Terracotta Warriors and a huge Chinese Pagoda; Rachel Davis had created without doubt the best party space Ham had ever seen.

Several courses of oriental inspired food were followed by an auction with wonderful prizes donated

by Acuro Immobilien AG of Switzerland, Gaucho, Royal Riviera Hotels and Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha including 5* holidays, concert tickets and football hospitality. Following dinner, the live band kept the dancefloor rocking and the dodgems outside raced on until the small hours.

The count of empty Frerejean Freres Champagne bottles the following morning was higher than ever before and it was widely agreed that this had been the best edition of the Ham Polo Club Summer Ball to date.

Alexi Azoulay and Andrew Heald

Chris Collins Rachael and Quentin Davis

Words by Benjie Davis and photos by Robert Piper Olivia Ferdi, Omar Mangalji and Jessica Wakefield

Lisa Cohn, Debbie Houghton, www.polotimes.co.ukMartin Roman, Pierre Durand, Toni Nash and Paul Miller

Polo Times, October 2014 89 Jane Sturgess and Matt Ford

Sidelines

Charlie Budgett

Camilla Fellows and Becky Arkwright

Agnes Stamp and Annabel Elliot

Ruth Johnson, Jack Norton, Steve and Hazel Baker

Chris Crawford, Vimmy Whiteley and Puff Whiteley driving his 1926 Chevrolet

Jen Liggins, Annabel Elliot, Charlie Westerman, Jemma Carson and Beth Russell

Skye Barbour, James Blanchard and Roger Brown

The Summer Ball, Kirtlington Park Polo Club, 2 August 2014

Great Gatsby Galore Matthew and Claire Halsey, Nicky and Crispin West

William Newman, Hector Worsley and Pete Fewster

The annual ball at Kirtlington was a true evening of glitz and glam with guests throwing themselves into the Great Gatsby theme with patent loafers and beaded head-dresses galore. Puff Whitely set the scene with a drive around Ground 1 in an original 1926 Chevrolet car, whilst guests were met with a champagne reception and Loch Fyne Oysters served from a kitted out double decker bus. A fabulous threecourse dinner was served with Art Deco style place cards and peacock feathers adorning the marquee.

The revelry continued either onto the dancefloor or to the bar for cocktails with sequined frocks shaking their tail feathers ‘til the small hours of the morning.

Kevin Swann and Alex Swann

Laura Gerard Leigh and Alexander Jones Davies

Photographs by Ashley Good

Liam and Christina McCormick, Catherine Young, Vanessa Weissenberger and Davy Young

Hannah Collings and Eric Asker

David Ashby and Max Kirchhoff

Robert Simpson and Ellie Rivers

Sasha Holt and Archie Smyth-Osbourne

90

Alexander Stewart, Jamie Collins and Harry Aubrey-Fletcher

www.polotimes.co.uk

Polo Times, October 2014 Hannah Wythe, Rachel Hendry and Victoria Tar

Tania and Kevin Warner

Dates for your diary

Polo directory

What’s on in October 2014 UK and Ireland highlights Ranelagh – Copa Fin De Temporada (Open) 4 – 5 October Rugby – T-Bone Challenge (Open) 7 October Lagrima Trophy (2-6) 25 – 26 October Epsom – United Nations Cup (2-4) 11 – 12 October All Saints Day Trophy 25 – 26 October Vale of York – ABI Beach Challenge (Open) 19 October Lay-Soft Arena Challenge (Open) 22 October Druids Lodge – Sandpool Half Term Cup (Open) 23 October Maywood – Ladies Tournament (0-2) 25 October Wicklow – Novice Cup (0-8) 25 – 26 October

China Tianjin – FIP Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup 1 – 5 October Argentina Tortugas – Tortugas Open (34-40): 23 September – 12 October Singapore Singapore Polo Club – Ladies International Polo Tournament (1–3 goal) 8 – 12 October Germany Sellin – German Beach Polo Championships (2-6 goal) 3 – 5 October Berghof – Autumn Trophy Arena Cup (2-6 goal) 10 – 12 October

Overseas highlights Australia Windsor – Winten Cup 4 Goal Championship (4, 0 subzero goal) 11 – 12 October Sydney – Sydney Polo Club Gold Cup Tournament (12, 4, & 0 goal) 18 – 19 October New South Wales – British Polo Day Australia – 26 October

Club contacts UK and Ireland CLUB All Ireland Polo Club All England Polo Club Hickstead* Ascot Park Polo Club* Ash Farm Polo Club* Asthall Farm Polo Club Apsley End Beaufort Polo Club Beverley Polo Club* Binfield Heath Blueys Polo Club* Bunclody Polo Club Burningfold Polo Club Cambridge County Polo Club Chester Racecourse Polo Club Cheshire Polo Club Cirencester Polo Club Cowdray Polo Club CSPA Curraghmore Polo Club Dallas Burston Polo Club* Druids Lodge Polo Club* Dundee and Perth Polo Club* Eastwood Edgworth Polo Club Edinburgh Polo Club* Epsom Polo Club* Fifield Polo Club* FHM Polo Club Guards Polo Club* Cambridge Polo Club* Ham Polo Club Heathfield Polo Club* Hertfordshire Polo Club* Higham Polo Club Hurtwood Polo Club Inglesham Polo Club* Kirtlington Park Polo Club Knepp Castle Polo Club www.polotimes.co.uk

PHONE +353 (0) 1 6896732 01273 834 315 01276 858545 07799 812739 01367 860207 01462 712444 01666 880510 01964 544877 01491 411969 0771 0558485 00 353 87 6605917 01483 200722 01223 812922 01244 304602 01270 611 100 01285 653225 01730 813257 01672 5649114 00353 51 387102 01926 812409 01722 782597 07831 365 194 07875 743475 01285 821695 01314 496696 07961 232106 01628 620061 07778 436468 01784 434212 07711 217004 020 8334 0000 07762 069 420 01707 256023 07788 753948 01483 272828 01367 358051 01869 350138 07920 023639

For a full list of all the tournaments see www.polotimes.co.uk

Other dates Tattersalls – October Sales (book 1) 7 – 9 October Brightwells, Ascot – Bloodstock Sale 7 October

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

EMAIL dstone@indigo.ie polo@hickstead.co.uk info@polo.co.uk ashfarmpolo@hotmail.com ashfarmpolo@hotmail.com peter.pollak@btopenworld.com enquiries@beaufortpoloclub.co.uk info@beverleypoloclub.co.uk bhpcmanager@googlemail.com polomanager@blueyspolo.co.uk info@poloclubbunclody.com info@burningfoldpolo.co.uk info@cambridgecountypoloclub.co.uk ctaylor@chester-races.com info@cheshirepoloclub.co.uk kim@cirencesterpolo.co.uk enquiries@cowdraypolo.co.uk markcann@cspa.org.uk mkennedy@cssgroup.ie april@dbpoloclub.com abi@druidspolo.co.uk gillian@glockhart.wanadoo.co.uk secretary@eastwoodpolo.co.uk edgeworthpolo@gmail.com djamesjamie@aol.com epsompoloclub@hotmail.com fifieldpoloclub@live.co.uk fhmpolo@yahoo.co.uk polo@guardspoloclub.com info@haggisfarmpolo.com polomanager@hampoloclub.com chris@cscpolo.com polo@hertspolo.co.uk sarah@highampoloclub.com hurtwoodparkpolo@btconnect.com mattevetts@hotmail.com secretary@kirtlingtonparkpolo.co.uk info@aspectpolo.co.uk

CLUB Lacey Green Polo Club Leadenham Polo Club Little Bentley Longdole Polo Club* Luton Hoo Lychett Heath Moor Hall Farm Polo Club* Moyne New Forest Polo Club Norfolk Polo Club Northern Ireland Polo Club Offchurch Bury Polo Club* Pangbourne Polo Club Peover Polo Club RAF Cranwell Ranelagh Polo Club* Ranksboro Polo Club* RCBPC* RMAS Polo Club Royal Navy Polo Club Rugby Polo Club* Rutland Polo Club Rockett’s Castle Rowley Park Polo Club* Silver Leys Polo Club St. Albans Polo lub Suffolk Polo Club Sussex Polo Club SWF* Taunton Vale Polo Club Tidworth Polo Club* Toulston Polo Club Vale of York Polo Club Vaux Park Park Polo Club* West Wycombe Park Polo Club* White Rose Polo Club White Waltham Polo Club Wicklow Polo*

PHONE 07956 525222 01400 272885 01206 250435 01452 864544 07934 882713 01202 623985 01279 450637 +353 85 1313224 02380 811818 01508 480400 02890 727905 07816 830887 07708 906810 07876 254110 07739 569491 01344 885697 01572 720046 01344 890060 07738 414133 07950 328097 01788 817724 01572 724568 353 87 2520301 07971 200160 07535 697854 07535 697854 07990 576974 01342 714920 01962 885500 01823 480460 01980 846705 01422 372529 07788 426968 07703 524613 01494 264725 01430 875767 07748 670587 +353 404 67164

EMAIL mfdarritchon@fibertel.com.ar jameshreeve@hotmail.com fred@littlebentleypark.co.uk jo@longdolepolo.com poloprive1@gmail.com office@lytchettpolo.co.uk alec@mhfpolo.co.uk moynepolo@hotmail.com info@newforestpoloclub.co.uk office@norfolkpolo.co.uk shutchinson@tayto.com info@offchurchburypoloclub.co.uk aprice@polofix.com polomanager@peoverpoloclub.co.uk rafcranwellpoloclub@yahoo.co.uk polo@ranelaghfarm.com joe@ranksboropolo.co.uk info@rcbpoloclub.com rmas-stables-polo-oic@mod.uk jockiewilson@hotmail.co.uk huw@rugbypoloclub.com polomanager@rutlandpoloclub.co.uk rcpoloclub@gmail.com carterlegeorge@hotmail.co.uk silverleyspoloclub@gmail.com info@stalbanspoloclub.co.uk aes3@cam.ac.uk admin@sussexpolo.co.uk info@maywoodpolo.com jstanhopewhite@aol.com tidpolo@tiscali.co.uk info@toulstonpoloclub.com info@valeofyorkpoloclub.co.uk vauxpark@gmail.com secretary@westwycombepolo.co.uk info@whiterosepolo.co.uk kim@playpolo.co.uk siobhan@polowicklow.com Polo Times, October 2014

91

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Polo Times, October 2014

93

New Pope. New Hope.

Classifieds

Polo directory

Equine Consultancy Group

Marketplace Ponies

15.1HH ARGENTINE MARE Bay, 14yrs. Very easy suit patron/lady/PC. Quick end of season sale needed hence ÂŁ2,500. Hertfordshire Tel: 07825 170313

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15.3HH EYE CATCHING COLOURED MARE 15.3 10 year old mare. Fit and ready to play. Excellent to stick and ball. Currently playing low goal. Strong in a ride off. Weight carrier. Excellent to travel, shoe etc.

Essex ÂŁ3,000 ono.

Tel: 07769 347815.

RELIABLE 14.3HH SCHOOL MISTRESS Pretty mare. Easy in every way, suitable for all levels and ideal for pony club. Fit and ready to play. 15 years old. Suffolk ÂŁ3,000 ono.

Tel: 07835 961562

QUICK POWERFUL 15.1HH MARE 15.1 HH15 year old chestnut mare. Really easy with soft mouth.

Has played up to 6 goal. Would suit anyone as so easy. Dorset. ÂŁ4,000.

Tel: 07515 472110

Planning permission is now easier to obtain for dwellings associated with equine businesses; but only if your proposal is correctly justified.

Over the last three years more than 95% of our clients have been successful, therefore saving the costs, anxiety and uncertainty associated with an appeal.

15.2HH SMART LOOKING MARE Great conformation. 8 years old.

Easy uncomplicated ride, but with ample pace. Light mouth, had played this summer 0 to 6 goal. Great in the arena. Easy enough for lady player, young pro or patron. No vices, sound legs. Priced to sell at ÂŁ5,500. Ascot.

Tel: Amy Guy on: 07515 651778

If you’ve had a planning application refused or an appeal dismissed, you’ve now found the right people to have a fresh look at your case and to help you get the permission you want.

Please drop us an email or give us a call. rebecca@westonbirt.biz

01666 880 120

www.equineconsultancygroup.co.uk

07770 526 148

Transport

HGV 10 HORSE TRUCK FOR SALE year 2000. 229,000km, taxed 30/4/15 and MOT till end November. Takes 10 horses, has internal camera, skirt lockers, rubber ramp and floor and sides of truck. Very easy to drive and in great condition. Berkshire. ÂŁ9,500.

Tel: 07917 100222

Located in the heart of the New Zealand Polo Scene we offer Polo for beginners and experienced players alike, together with an unforgettable Kiwi holiday experience.

Chukkas, matches and tournaments at the famous Waimai Club plus farm chukkas trekking and beach rides. Holidays tailored to suite your requirements.

Reduced rates for early bookings, Groups, Schools and Universities.

Check us out at www.newzealandpoloholidays.co.nz or call Ken Pitts – NZ +64 7 825 4535, Matt Pitts – UK 07721919465 or Toby Pitts – UK 07514433033 email – amberwood@farmside.co.nz www.polotimes.co.uk RXEOH &ROXPQ ER[ WK RI SDJH LQGG

Polo Times, October 2014

95

Polo directory Polo Timing Clock

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NON HGV, FORD INVECO 2001 Very smart truck, rear completed 2010. Partitioned for 6. Lots of extras, comprehensive service in 2013 many new parts. Taxed/plated til March ‘15.

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GRASS LIVERY AVAILABLE in clean, well-drained pasture on chalk down land in Hampshire. Twice daily checks and turn out in well monitored areas. Separate paddocks for each group with no mixed turnout. Previous clients highly recommend. Visit www.hooked-on-polo.com for testimonials. Book early to ensure best rates from £25/week including hay.

GRASS LIVERY FOR RESTING/ RECUPERATING HORSES Secure, well drained, hedged and fenced fields with quality grass, on farm with own TB’s and youngstock. Between Cirencester and Malmesbury. £35 per week to include top quality hay when needed. Please contact Alex Dupree on 07775 770666.

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Polo Times, October 2014

422250 Email: sales@tristarhorseboxes.co.uk www.polotimes.co.uk

Marketplace Ponies • Equipment • Trucks • Tack • Situations Vacant • Property

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Groom wanted for Wiltshire polo yard. Sole charge of 6 pones for 2014 season. Previous polo experience essential. Chance to play some chukkas etc. Reliability essential. On-site accommodation Tel: 0123 000000

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Final bell

In association with Aprés Polo

One to watch young player, Tommy Beresford

Charley Larcombe speaks to the recently promoted 3 goaler about his favourite polo memories, playing The Gold Cup with Dubai, and his fond memories of his late uncle, Gabriel Donoso.

What is your favourite polo memory?

Playing The Gold Cup this year and the 2013 Sotogrande season.

Favourite teammates?

Will Beresford, George Pearson, Ralph Richardson and Jack Taylor.

Hardest opponent?

Will Beresford.

Favourite polo venue?

Santa Maria Polo Club, Sotogrande, Spain and Great Trippetts Farm in Sussex.

Are you going to be a professional polo player? If not, what else would you do?

I hope so! If not, I would be Peter La Anguila [Editor’s note: Google Senor La Anguila].

Favourite sport outside polo?

Football and the occasional golf or tennis session.

What other sports teams do you support?

Chelsea here in the UK and River Plate in Argentina.

Person you would most like to me?

Will Ferrell.

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Polo Times, October 2014

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

Scoring an 80 yard own goal over the top of the posts; to this day probably one of the best goals I have ever scored!

Favourite film?

Wedding Crashers.

Most prized material possession?

My Gabriel Donoso belt.

Who has had the biggest influence on your life?

My father by FAR and then my mother, my brother, my sister, Uncle Jose and Ray Fine are always there to support me.

Which has been your proudest polo achievement to date?

This summer, playing for Dubai in place of Rashid Albwardy with Diego Cavanagh, Adolfo Cambiaso and Ali Paterson.

What was the greatest thing you learnt about playing with Cambiaso and Dubai for part of the season?

The management of the horses and the team and that general organisation is essential.

Also watching Cambiaso’s determination and ability to win a game when and how he wants to is incredible.

What do you love most about the sport?

The horses.

Who would be your dream polo team?

I would have loved to play with my Uncles Gabriel and Jose Donoso and my brother.

Favourite country to play polo?

Spain.

Something not very many people don’t know about me is…

I like Destiny’s Child.

Which is your favourite pony in your string and why?

Santita because of her agility.

If you could have one top player’s string, whose would it be?

Adolfo Cambiaso’s.

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