Polo Times

Volume 25 • Issue 9 • October 2020 • £6.50

DOÑAR PILAR Cloning, Breeding & Training VICTORY FOR LES LIONS PANAREA 2020 Open De France VICTOR & VICTRIX LUDORUM End of Season Roundups PLUS: COVID-19 Era Education, Equine Winter Vitamins & Minerals

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The Gin and Tonic has been the Polo Players’ choice™ of refreshment for over 150 years, since the first polo match involving British Officers in 1859; hence the creation of British Polo Gin®.

Our Classic Gin is the third from our stable and has proudly been released to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the first polo match played on British soil at Hounslow Heath in 1869.

Created to a vintage London Dry style with a modern twist, our classic British made British Polo Gin® London Dry is lovingly hand crafted in batches of only 300 bottles deep in the heart of the Cotswolds; with wild botanicals rosemary and thyme coming directly from our farmhouse garden.

Based on the polo player with the most power and punch, No.1; this gin is the ultimate drinks cabinet show stopper for gin classicists the world over.

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“Polo Times is undoubtedly the most influential contemporary polo magazine” Contents Horace Laffaye

Contents Publisher Nick Hine publisher@polotimes.co.uk

What’s inside…

October 2020

Editor in Chief Richenda Hine richenda@polotimes.co.uk

Editorial Rosabella Hine rosabella@polotimes.co.uk

Principal Design James Morgan

56

16

Design Tony Ruddy

Financial Controller Angie Clark accounts@polotimes.co.uk

Accounts & Administration Assistant Rosalind Cutter ads@polotimes.co.uk Administration Assistant Lynne Berry

20 Contributors: Lorna Edgar, Rob Gould,

4

India Parker-Smith, Tony Ramirez

Comment

Cover photograph: Tommy Beresford celebrates his Open de France victory with Les Lions Panarea. By Helen Cruden www.helencruden.com Contact details Hill Farm Studios, Wainlodes Lane, Bishops Norton, Glos, GL2 9LN Tel: 01452 730770 email:admin@polotimes.co.uk

www.polotimes.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTION PRICES

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Call on +44 (0)1452 730 770 Subscribe online: www.polotimes.co.uk © Polo Times Limited 2020 and Database Right 2020 Polo Times Limited holds the copyright & database right to the information it publishes in Polo Times and on the Polo Times website. No content may be reproduced or distributed without the consent of the Publisher. ‘Polo Times’ is the trade mark of Polo Times Limited. ISSN 1461-4685

2

News

Dr.med. Andreas Krüger, Rege Ludwig,

Polo Times, October 2020

10

All the Latest News Letters: Your Views & Social Media

Features 12 14

Breeding Focus: Doña Pilar Simply Learning: COVID-19 Era Education

Reports 16 18 20

2020 Open de France The Deauville Gold Cup Victor Ludorum Update

Club Focus 27

Your Club News from Home and Abroad

Youth Polo 32 32

All Aspects of Youth Polo University Focus: University of Loughborough Polo Club

Women’s Polo 35 38

A Round-Up of Women’s Polo Victrix Ludorum Update

Knowledge 41

42

44

46 48 51 54

56

Pony Power: Polo Times Best Playing Pony Series Nutrition Focus: Yard Focus – Harry Muddle Paddock Power: Prevention is Better Than Cure Polodoc: Double Impact, Triple Trouble Vet Insight: Treating Laminitis Chukka Wellness: The Offside Backhand Playing Tips with Rege Ludwig: The Joy Stick Affect Cotswold Forager: Let’s be Sloe!

Sidelines 58

Gossip: Don’t Be the Last to Know!

Polo Directory 61

What’s On

Final Bell 64

Passions: Will Harper www.polotimes.co.uk

from the Publisher

News

.With October,

Nick Hine, Publisher

POLO TIMES READER COMPETITION

3 PAIRS OF MACWET GLOVES TO BE WON

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Polo Times, October 2020

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KING POWER GOLD CUP Next Generation Triumph KNIGHTS,

COMMENTATING & POLO Karl Ude Martinez Interview WARWICKSHIRE CUP A Happy Hanbury PLUS: Foaling Tips, Electrolytes & Hydration

Focus

Argentine Triple Crown Dates & Teams

Photograph courtesy of Polo Times archive

brings the end of British summer time, autumn leaves, the nights drawing in, and of course, the grass polo season officially at a conclusion… and what a season it has turned out to be.

Despite the restrictions and multi-faceted challenges that have been thrown in every polo player’s way, polo has been enjoyed, the length and breadth of the country. Yes, those early matches were delayed, and yes, they were non-competitive, but casting my mind back to the many interviewees that Polo Times has conducted over the last 25 years, the two key ingredients of polo for those featured is always: the unique bond with one’s horses, and the strong camaraderie that the sport evokes.

Looking ahead, the future is definitely looking unclear as to how long restrictions will continue, and just how many more keynote polo events around the world will be postponed as a result of the pandemic.

However, what is abundantly clear, is that our collective human spirit will never be down-beat for long and that we will defeat Covid-19.

Stay safe and play safe.

Will Argentine polo also be played behind closed doors?

Although the Argentine authorities have yet to give the green light for the start of polo tournaments, some dates for the upcoming Spring season have been released: Tortugas Open: 20 – 31 October Hurlingham Open: 3 – 21 November Qualification Tournament: 6 – 17 November 127th Argentine Open: 28 November – 19 December Eight teams will be competing in the 2020 Triple Crown and the match schedules have already been released, with The Tortugas Open scheduled to begin on Tuesday 20 October with the teams split into Zone A (Ellerstina, RS Murus Sanctus, La Natividad/Las Monjitas & La Irenita) and Zone B (La Dolfina, La Dolfina Polo Ranch, Los Machitos & La Ensenada/La Aguada).

This year’s Qualification Tournament will see two teams earn their places in the 127th Argentine Open tournament, however as with the 2019 season the two qualification teams will not compete in The Hurlingham Open. The provisional dates have been announced as 6 November (Match 1), 10 November (Match 2) and 17 November (Match 3).

2020 Argentine Triple Crown Teams: La Dolfina (40): Adolfo Cambiaso (10), David Stirling (10), Pablo Mac Donough (10) & Juan Martín Nero (10) Ellerstina (39): Facundo Pieres (10), Hilario Ulloa (10), Nicolás Pieres (10) & Gonzalo Pieres (9) La Dolfina Polo Ranch (33): Guillermo Terrera (8) , Juan Britos (8), Diego Cavanagh (9) & Jejo Taranco (8) RS Murus Sanctus (35): Facundo Sola (9), Francisco Elizalde (8), Sapo Caset (10) & Alfredo Cappella Barabucci (8) La Natividad/Las Monjitas (36): Camilo Castagnola (8), Polito Pieres (10), Barto Castagnola (9) & Ignatius Du Plessis (9) Los Machitos (31): Agustín Merlos (8), Mariano Aguerre (7), Ignacio Toccalino (8) & Santiago Toccalino (8) La Ensenada/La Aguada (29): Segundo Bocchino (6), Alfredo Bigatti (8), Matias Torres Zavaleta (8) & Jero Del Carril (7) La Irenita (30): Facundo Fernández Llorente (7), Mín Podestá (7), Juan Gris Zavaleta (8) & Juan Martin Zubia (8) 2020 Qualification Tournament Teams: Alegría (30): Gringo Colombres (7), Ezequiel Martínez Ferrario (7), Sebastián Merlos (8) & Fred Mannix (8) Coronel Suárez (28): Marcos Araya (7), Felipe Vercellino (7), Ignacio Negri (7) & Diego Araya (7) Cría GT (32): Lerín Zubiaurre (8), Magoo Laprida (8), Joaquín Pittaluga (8) & Iñaki Laprida (8) La Esquina (28): Pascual Sáinz de Vicuña (6), Lucas James (7), Juan Agustín García Grossi (7) & Bautista Bayugar (8) La Irenita (29): Santiago Loza (7), Tomás Fernández Llorente (7), Tito Ruiz Guiñazú (8) & Pedro Falabella (7) Los Machitos (28): Genaro Ringa (7), Lucas Díaz Alberdi (7), Victorino Ruiz (7) & Martín Aguerre (7) www.polotimes.co.uk

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17/03/2020 10:40

News USPA 2021 High Goal Schedule

Photograph courtesy of USPA/Gauntlet of Polo

postponed, but there are plans to resume the tournament with the Semi Finals on Wednesday 10 February and the Final on Sunday 14 February. After the USPA Gold Cup Final, the 2021 Gauntlet of Polo will commence, returning for the third year, with the C.V. Whitney Cup beginning on Wednesday 17 February.

The safety of staff, players and spectators are of the utmost importance, so the Club will be introducing safety protocols and the plans for spectators, grandstand seating and brunch in the Pavilion will be released once they have been fully formalised.

2021 IPC Polo Schedule (Dates subject to adjustment) 18 Goal Joe Barry Cup (16-18 goal): 3 – 17 January 2021 Ylvisaker Cup (16-18 goal): 20 January – 7 February 2021 Iglehart Cup (16-18 goal): 10 – 21 February 2021 Action from the 2020 USPA Gold Cup

The United States Polo Association (USPA) and International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC) have announced their 2021 high goal schedule, which will begin on Sunday 3 January with The Joe Barry Cup and will end on Sunday 18 April with the U.S. Open Polo Championship Final.

Due to Covid-19 the remainder of the 2020 USPA Gold Cup was

22 Goal (Gauntlet of Polo) 22 Goal Warm Up: 1 – 14 February 2021 2020 USPA Gold Cup Semi Finals & Final: 10 – 14 February 2021 C.V. Whitney Cup (18-22 goal): 17 February – 7 March 2021 U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship: 10 – 20 March 2021 USPA Gold Cup (18-22 goal): 10 – 28 March 2021 U.S. Open Polo Championship (18-22 goal): 31 March – 18 April 2021

New HPA Sponsor

Bentley Scottsdale Returns Under New Name Photograph by Stella Artois Polo Classic

The Scottsdale polo events has gained approval to return under a new name and with key safety measures in place, under the new name of The Stella Artois Polo Classic and will be played at WestWorld on Saturday 7 November. There will be a limited capacity due to Covid-19, but tickets are on sale now. The event will incorporate a social distancing enforcement team, mandatory masks, sanitation stations, temperature checks and an all open-air approach with tables.

The Stella Artois Polo Classic will be played on Saturday 7 November

The HPA has announced an innovative sponsorship deal with STATSports, the world’s leading player tracking and analysis provider in elite sports, this will be STATSports’ first venture into tracking and analysing athletes on horseback. The England polo team players will have access to a data monitoring programme to help improve their performance, giving them access to the performance technology used by the other elite athletes and top professionals and sports teams around the world, including football Premier League teams Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, as well as Rugby Union, the NBA and NFL, among others.

POLO IMMIGRATION SPECIALISTS 01798 343693 WWW.POLOPERMITS.CO.UK Authorised by the OISC Ref No F201400827

6

Polo Times, October 2020

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News

Photograph by Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz

The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz Postponed

The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz has been postponed until January 2022

It has been announced the 37th Snow Polo World Cup which was due to take place 29 – 31 January 2021 has been postponed to 2022. The Board of Directors of the event cited several contributing factors; not least their responsibility towards visitors, partners, players, their staff and volunteers in the difficult times caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The global uncertainty surrounding the freedom to travel also has added to the complexity. Sound planning for this

African Horse Sickness Worry in South East Asia

New Apparel Sponsor for Kitzbühel Snow Polo Snow Polo World Cup Kitzbühel have announced Casablanca as their new apparel sponsor – Casablanca will supply the team and tournament equipment for the 2021 event, with designs being released soon. The event has also announced that for the first time, Montblanc will be joining the team sponsor roster for the 2021 tournament which will be played over 14 – 17 January and celebrating their 19th anniversary.

Photograph by KitzPolo

The Royal Malaysian Polo Association (RMPA) executive secretary Peter Ibrahim Abisheganaden said the equestrian community have been on high alert since April following a surge of the disease in Thailand. The disease is spread by culiciodes midges, a tiny flying insect which bites horses and then acts as a African Horse Sickness is vector in transmitting the disease. “The spread by culiciodes midges threat is very real. In Thailand, roughly 560 horses died within two months,” said Peter. “If it hits Malaysia, it would devastate not only polo, but all forms of equestrian sports, including horse racing. Thousands of people (in the industry) could potentially lose their jobs and the government would also lose income from horse racing. We have also spoken to all the clubs and have educated and advised them on how to step up on biosecurity.”

huge event has become all but impossible given the ever-changing entry restrictions and quarantine regulations, which would have rendered it difficult to plan travel to St. Moritz for the tournament.

Shifting consumer booking patterns borne out of unprecedented planning insecurity have made it impracticable for the organisers to stage this major event. Despite the postponement, the event’s founder and organiser Reto Gaudenzi believes the world’s only highgoal polo tournament on snow’s long-term future is bright telling us, “We have been delighted to note that the response to our tournament from sponsors and partners, players and VIP guests has steadily increased over the years. The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz enjoys an unrivalled reputation around the globe.” The enigmatic ‘Godfather of Snow Polo’ Gaudenzi and his team are now focusing their energy and attention on the next objective: The Snow Polo World Cup 2022, which will be held between 28 to 30 January. The 2022 edition will see a first for the event: Six instead of four teams will compete on the frozen Lake St. Moritz. Newcomers Clinique La Prairie, the traditional champagne house Perrier-Jouët, and a lifestyle fashion brand will be challenging the existing team sponsors Badrutt’s Palace Hotel, Azerbaijan Land of Fire, and St. Moritz Top of the World. VIP tickets that have already been purchased for the 2021 tournament may either be reimbursed or credited towards the 2022 tournament.

Casablanca are the new apparel sponsor for Snow Polo World Cup Kitzbühel

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Polo Times, October 2020

7

News HPA End of Season Handicap Changes

Photograph by Justine Jacquemot

The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) has announced their End of Season Handicap Changes 2020, which are subject to ratification by Stewards.

Following their impressive 2020 season and win in The Cartier Queen’s Cup, both Barto and Camilo ‘Jeta’ Castagnola have seen their handicaps raised from 8 to 9 and 7 to 8 respectively. Other key handicap changes include: Juan Martin Zubia 7 to 8 Rufino Bensadon 6 to 7 Tommy Beresford 6 to 7 Jeronimo Del Carril 6 to 7 Poroto Cambiaso 5 to 6 Felipe Dabas 5 to 6 Patrick Maleitzke 4 to 5 There has been a flurry of young British players who have seen their handicaps raised, highlighting the talent in grassroots polo; Will Harper 3 to 4, Ned Hine 3 to 4, Luke Wiles 3 to 4 and Zac Beim 1 to 2.

While some have gone up, other players have seen their handicaps decreased; Jaime Garcia Huidobro has been moved from 7 to 6 while both George Meyrick and Matt Perry have gone from 6 to 5.

Barto Castagnola has been raised to 9 goals in the UK

18-22 Goal HPA End of Season Handicap Changes Name

2020

2021

Outdoor H’cap

H’Cap

10 10 10 10 9 9 9 (8) 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 (6) 6 6 6

10 10 9 10 9 9 9 8 9 8 8 8 8 8 7 8 7 8 6 7 7 7 7 8 7 6 6 7

Adolfo Cambiaso Facundo Pieres Gonzalito Pieres Hilario Ulloa Guillermo Caset Nicolas Pieres David Stirling Sebastian Merlos Bartolomé Castagnola Jr Diego Cavanagh Francisco Elizalde Juan Jose Britos Alejandro Muzzio Facundo Sola Guillermo Terrera Ignacio Toccalino James Beim Camilo Castagnola Jaime Garcia Huidobro James Harper Joaquin Pittaluga Jack Richardson Juan Zavaleta Juan Martin Zubia Rufino Bensadon Juan Ambroggio Marcos Araya Tomas Beresford

Name Max Charlton John Paul Clarkin Ollie Cudmore Jeronimo Del Carrill Santiago Laborde George Meyrick Ignacio Negri Matt Perry Rodrigo Rueda Isidro Strada Mark Tomlinson Benjamin Urquiza Rueda Michel del Carril Hissam Ali Hyder Malcolm Borwick Adolfo Cambiaso Jnr Felipe Dabas Nacho Gonzalez Earl of Tyrone Jose Araya Charlie Hanbury Patrick Maleitzke James Emlyn Kian Hall Will Harper Ned Hine Tomas Marin Moreno Santos Merlos

2020

2021

Outdoor H’cap

H’Cap

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3

6 6 6 7 6 5 6 5 6 6 6 6 6 5 4 6 6 4 5 CF 4 5 3 3 4 4 4 4

Name Henry Porter Hugo Taylor Luke Wiles Dillon Bacon Satinder Garcha James McCarthy Guy Schwarzenbach Lucas Nottin Rico Richert Alessandro Bazzoni Zachary Beim Andrew Dechet Spencer McCarthy Alexander Nix Evan Power Nicholas Rogerson Estelle Wagner Holly Butler Ekhard Jules David Paradise Siri Bazzoni Andrey Borodin Jean-Francois Decaux William Drewitt Oscar Power Corinne Ricard

2020

2021

Outdoor H’cap

H’Cap

3 3 3 2 2 2 2 (1) (1) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

4 3 4 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 CF 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

8-15 Goal HPA End of Season Handicap Changes Name Manuel Fernandez-Llorente Matias Hector Machado Manuel Plaza de Ayala Luke Tomlinson Santiago de Estrada Matias Amaya Callum Anderson Vieri Antinori Federico Boudou Satnam Dhillon

8

Polo Times, October 2020

Outdoor Handicap 2020

Outdoor Handicap 2021

6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5

6 6 6 5 6 5 5 CF 5 5

Name William Emerson Pedro Harrison Antonino Menard Tom Morley Ryan Pemble Glenn Sherriff Bautista Sorzana Juan Jose Storni Mackenzie Weisz Lucho Aguirre

Outdoor Handicap 2020

Outdoor Handicap 2021

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 (4) 4

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 NR 4

Name David Allen Lance Anderson Nicolas Antinori Jose Araya Miguel Ayala Edward Banner-Eve Tom Beim Andrew Blake Thomas Derreck Bratley Thomas Brodie

Outdoor Handicap 2020

Outdoor Handicap 2021

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

4 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 4

www.polotimes.co.uk

News Name Ollie Cork Jacob Daniels Niall Donnelly James Fewster Henry Fisher Nicolas Fontanarrosa Jonny Good Michael Henderson Oliver Hipwood Jack Hyde Daniel Otamendi Nicolas Roberts Nicolas San Roman Rosendo Torreguitar Peter Webb David Ashby Mark Baldwin Shaun Brokensha Adolfo Casabal Cristian Chaves Nick Clague Carina Clarkin Grant Collett Joshua Cork Segundo Darritchon Matthew Evetts Martin Ffrench Blake Lachlan Gilmore Frederick Horne Max Hutchinson Nicholas Johnson Fabio Lavinia Oscar Mancini John Martin Edward Morris-Lowe Hernan Muzzio Temur Nadeem Tomas Palacios-Bacque Thomas Severn Charlie Walton Jack Aldridge Salvador Arrastua Sebastian Chialvo Joshua Clover Charles Cooney Marcus Cork Mariano Darritchon Pedro De Lamare

Outdoor Handicap 2020

Outdoor Handicap 2021

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 NR 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 2 2 3 2 3 2 2 2

Name Ludo Ephson Tamara Fox Bautista Funes Trabucco Louis Hine Milly Hine Hazel Jackson-Gaona Terence Lent Dominic Lodge Corentin Mahe James Mann Harry Muddle George Pearson Ben Sim Ed Walker Charlie Wooldridge Pablo van den Brink Alex Webb Emanuel Arber Timi Badiru Nick Beitner Creighton Boyd Toby Bradshaw John Bunn Patrick Ephson Alan Fall Oli Fanshawe Celio Garcera Louis Heard Alfie Hyde Tunde Karim Maximilian Kirchhoff Stuart Lodge Patrick Lodge Benjamin Mancini Jamie McCarthy Pierandrea Muller Christian Oberschneider Jason Parker Jeremy Pemberton Octavio Pinto Gustav Rausing Nicholas Rogerson Thilo Sautter Alice Servaes Marcus Speed Christian Staubach Montgomery Swain-Grainger Fred Thame

Outdoor Handicap 2020

Outdoor Handicap 2021

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 CF

Name Rosanna Turk Rebecca Walters Emma Wood Luca Zindel Olivia Clowes Sultan Mustafa Edress Simon Franc Kassem Shafi Max Sponer Simon Arber Romilla Arber Peter Baldwin Amelia Grace Barfoot Mindi Byrne Alexie Calvert-Ansari Jasmine Calvert-Ansari Dominic David Ana Escobedo Chris Fagan Matt Green-Armytage Jonathan Hare Amelia Hughes Louise Jebson Kristina Karailieva Duane Lent Jean-Paul Luksic Chris Mathias Marchioness of Milford Haven Hilali Noordeen Peter O’Rorke Arabella Oppenheimer Lila Pearson Clive Reid Jonathan Rothermere Stefan Sund Justin Taylor Karan Thapar Andras Tombor Heiko Voelker Alicia Woods Adebayo karim Andrew Perryment Eclair Chen Garrie Renucci Lisa Smith Louisa Watt

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Outdoor Handicap 2021

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1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -1 0 0 0

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DOÑAR PILAR Training Cloning, Breeding & LIONS PANAREA VICTORY FOR LES 2020 Open De France IX LUDORUM VICTOR & VICTRps End of Season Roundu PLUS: COVID-19

Era Education, Equine

Winter Vitamins &

Minerals

DOÑAR PILAR Cloning, Breeding & Training VICTORY FOR LES LIONS PANAREA 2020 Open De France VICTOR & VICTRIX End of Season Roundups LUDORUM PLUS: COVID-19

Era Education,

Equine Winter

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DOÑAR PILAR Cloning, Breeding & Training VICTORY FOR LES LIONS PANAREA 2020 Open De Fran ce VICTOR & VICTRI X LUDORUM End of Season Roun dups

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Polo Times, October 2020

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Letter of the month The writer of letter of the month wins a bottle of British Polo Gin @britishpologin 18 years and over only

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@cmpolo1 New meaning to “bed head�

@horsealot Baby, it’s cold outside @johannavauphotography #horse #horsealot #horsepower #passion #horselovers #equestrianlover #equestrianlife #equinephotography #horseofinstagram #nature #equestrian #foal #babyhorse #cute

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@cowdraypolo A magnificent rainbow captured during This Esme’s recent visit, that continues to spring up as a symbol of hope. Thank you for sharing this wonderful photo with us The Pony Club.

Giving a new meaning to ‘drive-thru’!

Quick Question Q: MarquÊs de Riscal won this year’s Deauville Coupe d’Or (Gold Cup), in which year was The Deauville Gold Cup founded and for an extra point, what was the name of the winning team in that founding year?

A: Turn to page 61 to check your answer.

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Polo Times, October 2020

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Breeding Focus

Doña Pilar

D

Cloning, breeding & training oña Pilar is an Equine Reproduction Centre situated in Lincoln, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although the company started as an Embryo Transfer Centre, it became a full programme devoted to the production of polo horses at all stages of development from semen, oocytes or embryos produced in-vivo or in-vitro to cloning, the most recent technology incorporated to the laboratory.

It was founded by Dr. Fernando L. Riera who is a veterinarian with a long career in this field. Fernando graduated in Argentina, but continued his career as faculty in equine reproduction at University of Pennsylvania, USA. Since then he has participated actively in both the scientific and commercial aspects of Embryo Transfer and Assisted Reproduction Technology.

Dr. Riera has a long lasting connection with the polo industry globally. In the UK

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Pedro Harrison joined Fernando Riera and Doña Pilar in 2015. Pedro alongside Martin Riera, Fernando’s son, play all the Doña Pilar youngstock in Argentina. Every year Doña Pilar exports many horses around the world. A selected group of horses travel to the UK to become part of Pedro’s string to eventually be sold. Doña Pilar has had a big impact in Pedro’s string in the UK which have helped him win many tournaments including the prestigious Dollar Cup in Cowdray in 2020; as a 5 goal professional Pedro can often be seen on the winner’s podium during the English season. Pedro acts as commercial agent for Doña Pilar in both the UK and Argentina he actively collaborated since 2001 with Dr. Emma Tomlinson in the foundation of the Beaufort Embryo Transfer Unit, located in Gloucestershire. Moreover, his center Doña Pilar Embriones has recently joined forces with Pedro Harrison, a British/Argentinian professional polo player, who supports in the management of playing and training Doña Pilar horses both in England and Argentina. Harrison represents Doña Pilar as a commercial connection in the UK and Argentina.

Since it was founded in 1997, Doña Pilar Embriones has been commited to the application of biotechnologies to the production of sport horses particularly polo ponies. In 2007, the facility became the largest ET program achieving 1,500 pregnancies in one breeding season.

Doña Pilar have become an industry leader in the technologies applied to overcoming fertility problems in mares and stallions. Oocyte Transfer and ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection) among

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Feature

Photography courtesy of Doña Pilar

Breeding Focus

Doña Pilar is one of the few certified laboratories for the import/export of semen, embryos & genetic material

its services, two Assisted Reproduction Techniques only available in few laboratories in the world.

Most recently, Doña Pilar has succesfully expanded into to an extensive cloning program. Last season six pregnancies were achieved and are due to foal between October and January. The programme is ongoing with promising results.

To add to this, Doña Pilar is one of the few certified laboratories for the import/ export of semen, embryos and genetic material with CE, UK and many other countries in the world. The laboratory has performed semen exports to several countries in Europe and Africa.

Doña Pilar Embriones offers a Gene Banking service to save the genetics of valuable horses for future cloning. Biopsy samples are obtained from bone marrow and/or skin and then cells are cultured under very controlled conditions to produce cell lines that are then cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen. Once frozen, cells can be kept under this condition for an indefinite amount of time, so the owner can decide the best time to use them in a cloning program.

Alongside the extensive laboratories, Doña Pilar has a dedicated breeding and training center which offers a one stop solution for the breeding and training of polo ponies. Ponies are trained at Doña Pilar by a dedicated team of breakers and then continue their polo career competing at the top levels all over the world.

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Alongside the extensive laboratories Doña Pilar has a dedicated breeding & training centre

Fernando Luis Riera Tel: +5492355575553 Email: friera@donapilar.com.ar

Pedro Harrison Tel: +44 7957275646 Email: Pedroharrison48@hotmail.com

Polo Times, October 2020

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Feature

Education Focus

Photography courtesy of Simply Learning Tuition

Schooling has been hugely impacted by COVID-19

COVID-19 Era Education Should I Use A Private Tutor?

After six months of widespread disruption to students’ education, private tutoring is more popular now than ever. Since 2009, Simply Learning Tuition has been at the forefront of this shift towards a more personalised education, but they understand that some parents might be put off by the costs. In this article they explore the proven benefits of tutoring, as well as how it may be more financially feasible than many people realise.

With Covid-19 having wreaked havoc on not just the country’s health and finances, but also the youth of tomorrow’s education, Polo Times caught up with Nathaniel McCullogh, who as both a polo player and an academic, is ideally placed to give an insight into what might be done to help mitigate the long-term impact of Covid-19 on our children’s future.

A Brave New World The price of lockdown on education has been costly. A report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found that around 2 million children in the UK did little or no schoolwork between April and June. A third of pupils surveyed said they were not engaged with their lessons, fewer than half (42%) bothered to return their work, whilst 40% said they were not in regular contact with their teachers.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust and chairman of the Education Endowment Foundation, said, “When it comes to schooling, COVID-19 has done huge damage, at speed, to our children’s prospects, putting their futures in danger.

Many pupils have fallen significantly behind in their learning.”

The future looks equally uncertain.

Hundreds of schools have closed already due to positive coronavirus cases (the Department for Education recently announced that only 84% of secondary schools are fully open), and 14

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this will inevitably have an adverse effect on exam classes in Year 11 and Year 13.

It’s easy to focus on statistics and forget about the individual impacts on students. As Professor Sally Power of Cardiff University said, “We tend to talk about facts and figures, but we are talking about people’s futures here, and I think that we should be extremely worried.”

One of the ways in which parents have tried to kick-start curriculum catch up is through private tutoring. Private tutoring has become a hugely sought-after service over the last five years: according to The Telegraph, there are now over 500 tutoring agencies in the UK; parents spend over £6 billion yearly on tuition; 72% of children have used a private tutor for common entrance exams; whilst 43% of students in London have a regular private tutor.

Given the skyrocketing demand there must be a secret behind its success, but is private tutoring really worth it?

Finding a Love for Learning There are clearly many benefits to private tutors: they can offer self-paced and selfdirected learning in a distraction-free space away from the pressures and expectations of crowded classrooms. Tutors can work with students and their families to provide a bespoke, customised service that suits the pupil’s abilities, needs and interests. It is this personal approach that makes tutoring so effective.

In July, Simply Learning Tuition was featured in an article in Vanity Fair that investigated the benefits of tutoring, and concluded that “education is just one more system that can be tinkered with, tailored and fully optimized.” Our education system’s ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach has its limitations, and “perhaps the traditional curriculum is no longer relevant in a rapidly changing world.”

‘Optimized’ is the key word here: some parents may want a replacement for traditional education, but most want to simply enhance the learning that is already taking place, or minimise disruption in case of local lockdowns.

Parents’ priorities are also deeply personal. Some may want an expert to help their child fine-tune revision and exam technique; some may want a mentor to help build up their child’s confidence; some may want a planner who can help their child balance work with intensive extra-curricular commitments; or some may want a teacher who can challenge their child in a way they are not being at school. A tutor can wear many hats, and should.

Parents are also no longer looking for a tutor based on academic credentials alone; if a tutor is going to imbue ‘soft skills’ such as creativity, resilience, integrity and drive, then they need to have all of those things too. Subject knowledge is still important, but so too is empathy, passion, and being able www.polotimes.co.uk

Education Focus

Feature

November. However, when it comes to choosing the number of tutoring hours quality is more important than quantity; a few strategically placed hours, say over exeats, holidays, or weekday evenings, can have a compounded benefit even in the short term. Academic breakthroughs do not need to break the bank.

Private tutoring is one way to kick-start curriculum catch up

to instil a love of learning in an increasingly competitive world of exam pressures and league tables.

One client who hired a Maths tutor for her son said that the best thing about tutoring was that “Sebastian now comes out of his Maths sessions with a smile on his face, which I’m not used to seeing. Matthew [the tutor] has found exactly what works to keep Sebastian engaged and we like how Matthew uses practical and fun examples to keep Sebastian focused.” In her eyes, his enthusiasm for his subject was more of an achievement than his grades.

Sometimes tutors are needed because a student simply has untapped potential that isn’t being fulfilled at school. Tosca, 23, was always an academic high-achiever but became disillusioned when doing her A-levels and ended up narrowly missing out on her Oxford offer. She worked with a private tutor we introduced, re-sat her exams, and went on to graduate in Human Sciences from Oxford with a first class degree. When reflecting on her experiences she said that tutoring gave her tenacity more than anything else; the ability was always there, but her tutor helped her to keep sight of her original ambitions and aspirations.

It is easy for students to get locked into a negative mind-set, where they believe they are inherently ‘bad’ at something, don’t try, and so the vicious circle continues.

However, with a little interactivity, ingenuity and imagination, tutors can help to break these assumptions. As Nathaniel McCullagh, Director of Simply Learning Tuition, commented “Individual tuition can rebuild the child’s self-esteem and restore their will to try again.”

An Investment in The Future Many parents may understand and appreciate the benefits of tuition but argue

that the costs are prohibitive. Whilst it is no doubt an investment, it may be within more parents’ reach than they realise; tutoring is no longer something reserved solely for the wealthy, jet-setting elite (in fact, up to 30% of our clients attend state schools).

The cost of private education is upwards of £20,000 a year per child; the cost of having a private tutor for a couple of hours a week is roughly £5,000 a year per child. For a quarter of the price of school fees, parents can have a significant impact on their child’s wellbeing, academic progress, participation in class and stress levels. When put in perspective, this seems like a relatively minor investment.

There are also more options than ever before. Technological improvements have made online tutoring not only feasible, but actually favoured by many students. For example, it has removed the obstacle of physical proximity for students at boarding schools or those who live in more remote areas, and it has widened the pool of available tutors and therefore made it more likely parents can find an excellent match for their child.

Lots of tutoring agencies do pro bono work, or offer cheaper, online group classes, normally with a maximum of five students. These are particularly suited for younger students who might be preparing for entrance examinations or simply want help revising the core topics in English and Maths. At SLT, these classes normally cost around £300 for 9 lessons, and so can offer a cost-effective alternative that is still collaborative, engaging and interactive, whilst also giving personalised feedback.

Flexibility is key too. Whilst long-term, sustained support is inevitably more effective than last minute cramming, tutoring does not need to be unnecessarily intense. It can be very tempting for parents to request a quickfix solution, especially given the increased number of students re-sitting exams in

With schools closed during lockdown, many parents had to help with schoolwork

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Looking Ahead A holistic approach is needed now more than ever. As a direct result of school closures, learning loss and mental health problems are on the increase. There is no doubt that tutoring can help to provide continuity and consistency in an uncertain time. The fact that the government announced in June that it would supply £350 million towards the National Tutoring Project proves that tutoring is seen as a reliable, effective and timely solution for our current situation. SLT has applied to help provide this tuition, but we are pleased to be helping more directly as part of Tutor The Nation, a new charity that introduces university undergraduates to provide free tuition for disadvantaged students. So far, over 20,000 hours have been delivered.

In 2018 The Economist cited a largegroup study, which found that small group tuition by university students helped pupils to advance by three months – the length of school-time missed in lockdown. Their research suggested that there were three key factors to successful tutoring: consistent practice and feedback; a focus on the process of learning, rather than merely the acquisition of knowledge; and a tutor who knows their pupil well.

This is why it is so important to be proactive rather than reactive in finding a tutor. As tutoring is a hybrid of teaching, coaching and mentoring, it can take time to build up a mutual rapport. The sooner a relationship between a student and a tutor is established, the sooner a tutor can start to create a recovery plan of small, manageable targets, whether that be a change in routines, improving attendance or participation in school, or focusing on wellbeing.

In a time of such unprecedented upheaval, private tutors can offer a supportive, reassuring and personalised service. This is reflected in Simply Learning Tuition’s mission: our passion, professionalism and expertise means we know how education is not just about academic success, but also happiness and confidence. We understand that time and money are precious, but we believe that tutoring, when applied appropriately is an investment that will reap huge dividends.

Simply Learning Tuition, Studio 7, Battersea Studios 2, 82 Silverthorne Rd, SW8 3HE. +44 (0)207 350 1981 simplylearningtuition.co.uk

Polo Times, October 2020

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Reports

Open de France Final

Photography by RB Presse

Dillon Bacon & Nick Rogerson go head to head

Double Bounce for Bacon A Victory for Les Lions Panarea

side from the English season, the Open de France, played in the beautiful setting of Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly, is one of the most prestigious tournaments in Europe, with some of the best names in polo competing for the title. This year’s

French Open was special in many ways, celebrating their 20th anniversary with eight teams, 11 professional Argentine players, plus

the Castagnola brothers on opposing teams – the eyes of the polo world have been firmly glued to the action at Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly. The qualifying rounds began just two weeks after the high goal action had come to a close in the UK, which saw Dillon Bacon’s Les Lions reach both The Prince of Wales and The King Power Gold Cup Finals as well as ending their 2020 English season on a high with an impressive win at Guards Polo Club for The Cartier Queen’s Cup. Whereas during the English season both Castagnola brothers had played seamlessly side by side on the same team, in Chantilly the fraternal duo were divided with 19-year-old Barto Castagnola lining up for Bacon’s Les Lions Panarea, while 17-year-old Camilo ‘Jeta’ Castagnola was dressed to impress in Carmignac’s Talandracas pink. Both teams met on Tuesday 8 September in the qualification stage, and onlookers were treated to an epic display of polo, which saw an extremely narrow 15-14 win for Les Lions Panarea, so when it transpired that both teams qualified for the Final, there was anticipation and excitement for the showdown between both teams. The first chukka was a fast paced, excellent display of seamless polo, keeping the spectators both at the Club and streaming the match remotely, on the edge of their seats, with the scores impossibly close. However, Les Lions Panarea managed to find their form and pull ahead, and by the penultimate chukka, led 9-6. Despite the best efforts of Talandracas the final chukka remained goalless for them, while Les Lions Panarea secured an extra goal to safely take the title 10-6 – giving Dillon Bacon and Barto Castagnola their second big win in just a few weeks.

Les Lions Panarea, winners of the 2020 French Open

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Open de France Final

Reports

Francisco Elizalde & Barto Castagnola

The French Open Final Teams

Where: Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly, France

4

SEPT

FI

NA

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PT

MVP Barto Castagnola

L

Les Lions Panarea (17) Arístide Faggionato (1) Dillon Bacon (2) Barto Castagnola (8) Tommy Beresford (6)

Gastón Lucero & Rafael Silva

Talandracas (16) Camilo Castagnola (7) Nick Rogerson (1) Francisco Elizalde (8) Edouard Carmignac (0)

Chukka Score: (0-1) 3-2, 5-2, 7-4, 9-6, 10-6 to Les Lions Panarea

BPP Best Playing Pony: Federico, ridden by Barto Castagnola

To read about the Women’s French Open Final, please turn to our Women’s Polo pages www.polotimes.co.uk

Polo Times, October 2020

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Reports

Deauville Gold Cup

Photography by RB Presse

Deauville Gold Cup

Action from the thrilling Final

40 Year Victory Repeat for Aznar Family

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his year saw the Gold Cup at Deauville International Polo Club celebrate its 70th anniversary, an impressive feat. Marqués de Riscal and Barrière faced each other in the Final of the 70th Martha & Lucien Barrière Gold Cup in front of over 2,000 spectators. Such a large crowd was certainly in contrast to the

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UK polo season where all matches had been played without spectators.

Spurred on, no doubt on by the support from the crowds, both teams were eager to claim the historic trophy and from the first chukka, it was clear it was going to be an intense competition with end-to-end play. It was close and ferocious action throughout,

which saw the scores tied at the end of the first chukka and the eventual victors trailing in the second and third. However, things changed as the action reached its peak in the fourth chukka, which was marred with fouls and even saw Alejandro Aznar temporarily excluded from the match. However, despite the upsets it was a pivotal chukka which www.polotimes.co.uk

Deauville Gold Cup 70th Martha & Lucien Barrière Gold Cup Final Teams:

5

goals

Where: Deauville Polo Club, France

18 AUG

FI

NA

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AU

L

G

MVP MVP of the Final: Alejandro Muzzio

saw Marqués de Riscal pull ahead for the first time. Despite a determined effort from their oponents it was a change of fortunes the red shirted eventual winners did not relinquish as Marqués de Riscal’s Alejandro Muzzio, later named the Most Valuable Player, sent home the winning goal from a penalty, to secure an 8-5 win for Aznar – amazingly 40 years after his father had claimed the Deauville Gold Cup. Aznar commented, “It’s emotional, indeed, it’s been five times that I’ve tried to

Reports

Marqués de Riscal (16): Luis Aznar (1) Santiago Cernadas (7) Alejandro Muzzio (8) Alejandro Aznar (0)

Barrière (16): Ignacio Kennedy (4) Jota Chavanne (5) Martin Aguerre Jr. (7) Tommy Rinderknecht (0)

Final Top Scorers: Alejandro Muzzio with 5 goals

Chukka Score: 1-1, 1-3 , 4-5, 6-5, 8-7 to Marqués de Riscal

BPP Best Playing Pony: Machitos Vitamina an 11-yearold mare, bred and played by Mariano Aguerre win the Gold Cup. The match was tense, but I am very happy. I’m especially happy about this goal scored with a mare from my breeding, I’m proud of it. I have ten mares for my breeding and it is a great satisfaction when their offspring reach this level.

Then, after this goal, it’s true that I got banished two minutes (laughs), I’m a little bit hot, you know, Spanish blood! To tell the truth, I

was hit by a player in the leg and it hurt and I shouted at him, but the referee took it for him and sent me to the sidelines. But that didn’t affect the result, they didn’t score during that time.”

The thirty strong troupe of Marqués de Riscal’s polo ponies then moved on to Chantilly, to try and win the third phase of the French Triple Crown, the French Open, which they won in 2019. Despite a strong performance unfortunately Anzar and his team met defeat in the last round of qualifiers to eventual Finalists Talandracas.

Marqués de Riscal, winners of the 70th Martha & Lucien Barrière Gold Cup

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Polo Times, October 2020

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Reports

Victor Ludorum Update

Photography by Mark Beaumont

Victor Ludorum Update

Both teams fought hard for the title

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Victor Ludorum Update

Reports

Murus Sanctus, winners of The Challenge Cup Final

18 Goal Victor Ludorum Cowdray Park Polo Club – The Challenge Cup Final – Sunday 6 September Number of teams: Four Winners: Murus Sanctus Points: 100

A foul-filled first chukka resulted in Ferne Park’s Joaquin Pittaluga opening the scoring on a penalty 2 conversion, but Murus Sanctus’ Guillermo ‘Sapo’ Caset responded with a penalty 2 of his own to tie the score at the end of the first chukka. Murus Sanctus enjoyed a strong second chukka, dominating possession and striding ahead. The two evenly matched teams provided consistent pressure to begin the second half, with neither team given an inch in what turned into a back and forth match. Trading penalty conversions, Murus Sanctus maintained their one goal lead but a determined Ferne Park continued to attack unabashed.

An impressive defensive play from Caset turned the ball over in front of the Ferne Park goal, giving Murus Sanctus the opportunity they needed to extend their lead. On receiving the end of a backhand pass, Facundo Sola executed a perfect nearside neckshot to give Murus Sanctus the two goal advantage with minutes remaining.

Pittaluga converted another penalty 2 to give Ferne Park a chance to tie the score but Murus Sanctus held off the late charge to capture the 7-6 victory, securing their second consecutive 18 goal title after winning The Duke of Sutherland Cup earlier in the season.

The Vickers Trophy awarded for the Best Playing Pony went to Senora Melosa by Open Padrino out of M Honey, owned and ridden by Sapo Caset.

The Challenge Cup Final Teams: Murus Sanctus (18): Corinne Ricard (0), Lucas Nottin (1), Guillermo Caset (9) & Facundo Sola (8) Ferne Park (18): Sam Browne (0), Marcos Araya (6), Joaquin Pittaluga (7) & Malcolm Borwick (5) www.polotimes.co.uk

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Reports

Victor Ludorum Update

15 Goal Victor Ludorum Guards Polo Club – The Out-Sourcing!

Inc Royal Windsor Cup Final – Sunday 30 August Number of teams: 11 Winners: Four Quarters Orange Points: 100 Photography by ©www.imagesofpolo.com

White Crane, competing in their first Royal Windsor Final, were not intimidated by Four Quarters’ previous successes – Simon Arber’s team had won on their two prior Royal Windsor Cup Final appearances in 2014 and 2016 – and Jasmine’s team were 6-4 up at half-time and looking strong. This was thanks to some great play from Andrew Blake Thomas, Tom Brodie and James Harper.

Four Quarters fought back in the fourth, putting themselves very much in contention with the score reading 7-7. With two more goals from both sides in the fifth chukka, extra-time was inevitable, so allowing Ignacio Negri to fire through the golden goal, securing Four Quarters Orange a 10-9 victory. The young Englishman Jack Hyde, who had been outstanding throughout this tournament, was named the Out-Sourcing! Inc. Most Valuable Player and received a kabuto helmet from Andrew Bentley, representing the

Four Quarters Orange with their array of Japanese prizes

sponsors Out-Sourcing!

Inc. which is in their third year of sponsorship of this prestigious trophy, which was first played for at Guards Polo Club in 1955. Negri not only received his winners’ prizes but also a trophy for the nine-yearold gelding Forestero, who was named the Out-Sourcing! Inc. Best Playing Pony, which he played in the fourth chukka and scored two goals on. With 11 teams entered in this year’s competition, it was no surprise that the competition was equally fierce in The OutSourcing! Inc Royal Windsor Cup Subsidiary Final for The Mountbatten Trophy.

Played in the morning at Flemish Farm, Alan

Jack Hyde, Most Valuable Player, with his kabuto helmet

The Royal Windsor Cup Action from The Out-Sourcing! Inc Royal Windsor Cup Final

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Victor Ludorum Update

Reports

Mad Dogs, winners of the Subsidiary Final Mountbatten Trophy

The Out-Sourcing! Inc Royal Windsor Cup Final Teams: Four Quarters Orange (15): Jack Hyde (4), Ignacio Negri (6), Felipe Dabas (5) & Simon Arber (0) White Crane (15): Jasmine Calvert-Ansari (0), Tom Brodie (4), Andrew Blake Thomas (4) & James Harper (7) The Out-Sourcing! Inc Royal Windsor Cup Subsidiary Final Teams: Mad Dogs (15): Alan Fall (1), William Harper (3), Juan Ambroggio (6) & Will Emerson (5) Casa La Vista Ibiza (16): Louis Hine (2), Hilali Noordeen (0), Joaquin Pittaluga (7) & John Paul Clarkin (6)

Photography by John Hankin

Fall’s Mad Dogs had a comfortable win over Hilali Noordeen’s Casa La Vista Ibiza. Alan’s team last won this trophy in 2015 and looked confident throughout the five chukkas. They were 7-2 up at half-time, and despite some fast, flowing play in the second half from Casa La Vista Ibiza, they could not close the gap.

Noon Giraffe, winners of The County Cup Final

15 Goal Victor Ludorum Cirencester Park Polo Club – The County Cup Final – Sunday 13 September Number of teams: Two Winners: Noon Giraffe Points: 35 The tournament was run as a one-off Final, with no league games or Semi Finals played prior. Silvertown Properties and Noon Giraffe were the two teams playing against each other and both were eager to win the

trophy, with Jason Dixon and Tim Bown umpiring. As the sun was beaming down onto Peddington with a slight breeze, the game began with two goals from Chris Fagan in the first couple of minutes of the first chukka. Shortly after, Tommy Severn scored a third goal for Noon Giraffe ending the first chukka on 3-0. Unfortunately, Silvertown Properties were struggling to get the ball near the goal, and Marcus Araya managed to score for Noon Giraffe just as the chukka was ending. Max Hutchinson from Silvertown Properties scored an incredible goal after taking control of the ball midfield, The County Cup Final was bathed in sunshine

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Polo Times, October 2020

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Reports

Victor Ludorum Update

this put the score to 3-1, at the end. Chris Fagan scored another goal and ended the game 4-1 to Noon Giraffe. John Paul Clarkin was named Most Valuable Player and Fantoche, played by Marcus Araya, was awarded the Best Playing Pony prize.

The County Cup Final Teams: Noon Giraffe (15): Chris Fagan (0), Tommy Severn (3), Marcus Araya (6) & John Paul Clarkin (6) Silvertown Properties (15): Olivia Clowes (0), Max Hutchinson (3), Ollie Cudmore (6) & Luke Tomlinson (6) 12 Goal Victor Ludorum The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club – The John Prestwich Trophy Final – Sunday 6 September Number of teams: Four Winners: Tempest Points: 70 The John Prestwich Trophy this year saw four teams compete, double the number that competed in the 2019 tournament which had only two team entries. As with many other tournaments during this unusual 2020 season, due to the delayed start to the season The John Prestwich Trophy Final was delayed until September, whereas the Final is usually played for towards the start of the season in June. The teams enjoyed some late September sunshine on the day of the two Finals, with Tempest defeating Clarita 6-5 to take home The John Prestwich Trophy, while

The John Prestwich Trophy Final Teams: Clarita (12): Chris Mathias (0), Tom Brodie (4), Richard Tyrone (5) & Freddie Horne (3) Tempest (12): James Mann (2), Rosendo Torreguitar (4), Ryan Pemble (5) & Gustav Rausing (1) The John Prestwich Trophy Subsidiary Final Teams: Conosco (12): Jeremy Pemberton (1), Alfie Hyde (1), Pedro Harrison (5) & Will Emerson (5) RCBPC (12): Raph Singh (0), Lance Anderson (4), Callum Anderson (5) & Jamie Morrison (3)

Jumping on each loose ball, Gallagher fought their way back into the game, hitting a series of backhands that eventually resulted in Sherriff converting a shot under pressure for his second goal. Holding Ojo Caliente off the scoresheet in the third chukka, Gallagher remained deadlocked in a 3-3 tie entering an exciting fourth and final chukka. With the pressure increasing in the final chukka, Ojo Caliente struck first after Clarkin intercepted

12 Goal Victor Ludorum Cowdray Park Polo Club – The Autumn Cup Final – Sunday 20 September Number of teams: Winners: 13 Points: 110 The final 12 goal tournament of the season at Cowdray Park Polo Club didn’t disappoint, with Ojo Caliente narrowly defeating Gallagher 5-4 on Lawns Ground 2.

Gallagher opened the scoring on an impressive team play, beginning with Clare Milford Haven running the ball in front of goal, followed by a deft backhand to set up Bautista Sorzana for the first goal of the match. Despite receiving three penalty attempts, Ojo Caliente were only able to manage one field goal from Jonny Good, but it was enough to tie the score at 1-1 at the end of the first chukka. After conceding a penalty 4 to Sherriff, Ojo Caliente’s John Paul Clarkin responded with a penalty conversion of his own, while Good’s second goal gave Ojo Caliente the slim 3-2 lead at half-time.

The Autumn Cup

Photography by RCBPC

Conosco, winners of The John Prestwich Trophy Subsidiary Final

in the Subsidiary Final Consoco defeated home team RCBPC 7-4. Tempest’s Rosendo Torreguitar was awarded the Most Valuable Player prize in the Final.

Tempest, winners of The John Prestwich Trophy Final

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Victor Ludorum Update

Reports

a backhand and dribbled to goal, giving his team the one goal advantage. Jumping on a loose ball, Johnny Good sealed the 5-4 victory for Ojo Caliente, as a lastminute goal from Sherriff wasn’t enough to complete the comeback. Nova, owned and ridden by John Paul Clarkin was named as the Best Playing Pony.

Photograph by John Hankin

The Autumn Cup Final Teams: Ojo Caliente (12): Ana Escobedo (0), Terence Lent (2), Jonny Good (4) & John Paul Clarkin (6) Gallagher (12): Clare Milford Haven (0), Dominic Lodge (2), Glenn Sherriff (5) & Bautista Sorzana (5)

8 Goal Victor Ludorum Cirencester Park Polo Club – The Gerald Balding Final – Saturday 5 September Number of teams: Nine Winners: Saracens Points: Yet to be ratified by the HPA

Nine teams competed in the tournament across two groups, but ultimately it was Hascombe Stud and Saracens who went head to head in the Final. It was a sunny day but with a cool breeze as the game started, with Nick Pepper and Caspar West umpiring. The Final began with Hascombe

Saracens vs Hascombe Stud in The Gerald Balding Final

Stud taking the lead in the first chukka with two goals. As the second chukka began, Saracens quickly evened out the score to 2-2, as Hascombe Stud wasted precious time playing several fouls. When the game broke for half-time, the sun continued to shine, and the pressure continued to rise now that the game was nearing the end.

The last two chukkas were fast paced, and tension was building between the two teams. Arabella Oppenheimer and Zac Beim both scored a goal each in the third chukka, but unfortunately for Hascombe Stud,

Lucho Aguirre was quick on their tails, scoring two more goals for Saracens in the last chukka. The game finished on 6-4 to Saracens, with Nico Fontanarrosa the Most Valuable Player and Britney, played by Zac Beim, the Best Playing Pony.

Hascombe Stud (8): Arabella Oppenheimer (0), Zac Beim (1), Tommy Severn (3) & Tom Beim (4) Saracens (8): Matt Green-Amitage (0), Kristina Karailieva (0), Lucho Aguirre (4) & Nico Fontanarrosa (4)

Photography by Mark Beaumont

Ojo Caliente vs Gallagher in The Autumn Cup Final

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Polo Times, October 2020

25

Victor Ludorum Update

Photograph by John Hankin

Reports

Action from The Kingscote Cup Final

6 Goal Victor Ludorum Cirencester Park Polo Club – The Kingscote Cup Final – Sunday 20 September Number of teams: Six Winners: Noon Giraffe Points: 90

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Polo Times, October 2020

Photograph by CPPC

The Kingscote Cup Final was a very windy yet sunny day on Peddington, but that did not distract the teams from the Final that laid ahead. Umpiring were Caspar West and Ben Turner, and the third man was Tom Meyrick. The game began with two goals in the first chukka from Charlie Walton for Noon Giraffe, shortly followed by several fouls from both Jules Van Vegchel and Christian Chaves of Tafia Mafia/Senzaltro.

As the game moved into the second chukka, more fouls from Tafia Mafia/Senzaltro gave away a few 60 yard penalty shots, allowing Noon Giraffe to score three more goals, ending the second chukka on 5-0. In the third and fourth chukka, Tafia Mafia/ Senzaltro began to make a comeback, by scoring three more goals but unfortunately this was not enough. Tommy Severn, later

Noon Giraffe (L-R: Charlie Walton, Tommy Severn, Siobhan Fagan & Chris Fagan)

awarded the Most Valuable Player prize, then scored a sixth goal for his team, ending the game 6-3 to Noon Giraffe. Dave, played

by Noon Giraffe’s Charlie Walton was awarded the Best Playing Pony prize.

The Kingscote Cup Final Teams: Noon Giraffe (6): Siobhan Fagan (0), Chris Fagan (0), Charlie Walton (2) & Tommy Severn (4)

Tafia Mafia/Senzaltro (6): Jules Van Vegchel (0), Dom David (0), Christian Chaves (3) & Jonny Coddington (3) Editor’s Note: The 4 Goal Victor Ludorum tournament at Druids Lodge as well as the 6 Goal Victor Ludorum tournament at Kirtlington Park Polo Club were both cancelled.

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Your Club News from Home and Abroad

Rutland Polo Club The Club’s Chairman, Robert Dale has made the following announcement, “Camilla Speed has been acting as temporary Polo Manager at Rutland Polo Club for the second half of this season. The club’s committee has been so impressed by her performance, particularly when she brought in 6 teams for the recent Ladies WIP weekend, that they have made her position permanent. The club wishes Camilla well for what will be a challenging and exciting 2021 season.”

Club Focus

Aspen Valley Polo Club On Sunday 23 August, La Karina defeated Spindrift 10-9 in The Rocky Mountain Open, with Carlitos Gracida named Most Valuable Player. Seven-year-old Open Maradona, owned and played

by Stewart Armstrong in the second chukka, was the Best Playing Pony.

The following weekend, Sunday 30 August, McClure River Ranch defeated La Karina and Mountain Chevrolet in a round robin to take home The Carbondale Classic title. Gussie Busch was the Most Valuable Player and Colt M4, played by Horacio Heguy, was the Best Playing Pony.

Los Amigos secured the World Polo League’s (WPL) Triple Crown of Polo title on Sunday 30 August at McClure River Ranch’s Field One with an 8-6 win, Horacio Heguy was named Most Valuable Player and the WPL Best Playing Pony was once again Colt M4, played by Heguy. The APHA Best Playing Pony was Bacall, played by Juancito Bollini.

Club de Polo

Ampurdan

Photography by ChukkerTV

Photograph by @claudiaquintanafoto

La Karina, winners of The Rocky Mountain Open

Fun was had by all in The XXXIX Trofeo Principiantes Darío Campos

McClure River Ranch, winners of The Carbondale Classic

The Club had a busy August, with a selection of Finals being played. The XXXIX Trofeo Principiantes Darío Campos was won by Club Sant Antoni de Viladrau (Santi Calzado, Lucas Calzado, Tonete Ayesa & Tonete jr. Ayesa) on Sunday 2 August, while Aldo-Unión P.T. (Álvaro Calzada, Santiago Calzado, Leonel Robaldi & Guillermo Permanyer) won the V High Summer Cup on Sunday 9 August. The VII Friends Cup was won by La Mariana P.T. (Jerome Porterie, Emmanuelle Morandi, Juan Carlos Puebla & Mariano López) on Sunday 16 August and Club Sant Antoni de Viladrau (Tonete Ayesa, Pierre Fourmestraux, Benoit Tari & Polina Nazarova) secured the VII Ladies & Gentlemen Polo Cup on Sunday 23 August. The Club ended their summer with The II End Of The Summer Polo Cup, which was played on an arena ground due to rain, and was won by Aldo Unión P.T. (Alvaro Calzada, Santiago Calzado & Leonel Robaldi). The last tournament of the year at the Club will be the XII CPA Tournament, Memorial Wolfgang Reber (2 – 11 Ocotber).

Cirencester Park Polo Club Sunday 6 September saw The Jack Williams Cup Final between Los Chinos and Ballinger; Alison Clarke’s Los Chinos won 3-2 for the third consecutive year in a row. Ballinger’s Oli Fansahwe’s Cheeky was named Best Playing Pony. The Subsidiary Final for The Trewsbury Salver, saw Inglesham defeat Syreford 4-3½. For reports from The Gerald Balding and County Cup Finals, please turn to our Victor Ludorum Reports pages.

Photograph by John Hankin

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Los Amigos, winners of the World Polo League’s Triple Crown of Polo

Los Chinos, winners of The Jack Williams Cup Final

Polo Times, October 2020

27

Club Focus

Your Club News from Home and Abroad

White Waltham Polo Club pony trophy which had been donated to the Club by Paul Cheung in 2009.

On Sunday 6 September, the Telemark “Christina” was won by Mountgerald Polo Team captained by Sarah Grant, Man of the Match was Tarsis Goncalves who scored three goals in the Final.

On Saturday 12 September Bilal Shaykh’s beautiful gold Cedar Tree of Lebanon was played for between four teams, in the end Mar del Plata Polo Team won the Final 7-2. The following day, Sunday 13 September Maple Leafs won The Carpe Diem Trophy in the Final against Carpe Diem.

Maple Leafs also defeated Mar del Plata

polo team 6-2½ for the 1947 Saunders Davies three handled trophy on Saturday 19 September, whilst on Sunday 20 September Cedar Polo Team played against Mount Loftus, the final result was 5½-2 with Mount Loftus Polo Team winning Carlitos’ polo pony bronze.

Saturday 26 September saw the Final of the 4 Goal Mountgerald Tournament which was won by Nicola Davidson’s Madeva who played against Carlitos Polo Team. The action continued on Sunday 27 September with Georgina Brittain’s Mount Loftus clinching the Final of the Tai Tai Tournament along with Daniel Smith and Naji Aziz.

Mount Loftus, winners of The 4 Goal Mountgerald Tournament

Madeva, winners of The Tai Tai Polo Tournament

Mount Loftus, winners of the Carlitos polo pony bronze

Photograph by White Waltham Polo Club

The Club had a busy bank holiday weekend over three days; On Saturday 29 August, the Final of the Mar del Plata Polo Challenge was won by Mount Loftus with a final score of 6-2.

On Sunday 30 August the Final of The Summer Cup was played between Maple Leafs and Cedar Polo Team, with Maple Leafs winning 3½-3 and on Monday 31 August, the Final of The Arena Trophy was played between Odosan1485 Polo Team who won 5-3 against the Telemark Polo Team. The Aadamas Tournament was won by Adamas on Saturday 5 September, with each of the winners awarded a beautiful pewter polo

The MVP You‘ve invested in great horses - don‘t be let down by your saddles To try the MVP: Call +44(0)7487-548242

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Polo Times, October 2020

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Your Club News from Home and Abroad

Club Focus

Beaufort Polo Club Photograph by Gordon Lindsay

Los Chinos, winners of the Solitaire Salver 4 Goal Final

Hascombe Stud, winners of Somerville Livingstone-Learmonth Trophy 6 Goal

Over the Bank Holiday weekend the Final of the Somerville LivingstoneLearmonth Trophy was played for between Beaufort and Hascombe Stud. It was a close game which saw strong defence from Hascombe Stud in reply to robust attack from their opponents which meant scores were tied at 1-1 at half time. In the second half it was all to play for and Hascombe Stud pulled out the stops to secure a 4-2 victory.

The Subsidiary Final saw action between Noon Giraffe and Senzaltro. It was a game of few goals, but fierce competition which saw Noon Giraffe emerge victorious with a close but definitive 2-1 win.

Over the weekend of 19 – 20 September, Beaufort Polo Club

hosted the Solitaire Salver 4 Goal Final. The tournament had a competitive nine teams entered and after several exciting league games the Final was set between Los Chinos and DWF. The Final was fast-paced with both teams trying to gain and maintain the advantage; after half-time, father-son duo, Tom and Zac Beim turned up the heat and managed to put Los Chinos in the lead, 6-5. With victory slipping from DWF’s grasp, Henry Smith zipped past the traffic to score, levelling the scores to 6-6 and pushing the match into an extra chukka. Zac Beim made a run to goal and sent the ball towards the posts, there was an anxious moment when it hit the post, but it shot across the line to give Los Chinos the win, 7-6.

Cowdray Park Polo Club

Polo Club du Domain de Chantilly

Photography by Mark Beaumont Photography

The Trophee Castel Final took place on Sunday 20 September between Cavok IC Polo and Berlinosos. After four close chukkas of competitive polo, Cavok IC Polo secured a 6-5 win, Thomas Rolland was named Most Valuable Player and Lucerita was the Best Playing Pony.

Action from The Midsummer 12 Goal

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Photograph by Justine Jacquemot

Bank Holiday Monday saw three Finals played at Cowdray Park Polo Club. Lovelocks Polo Stud took an 8-5 win against Maiz Dulce on Lawns 2 to take home The Midsummer 12 Goal title, with Lovelocks Bonjovi, owned and ridden by Charlie Hanbury, named Best Playing Pony. Madam’s Farm defeated Ausherra/Winkfield Park 5-3 in The Lodsworth Village Cup 4 goal Final and the last Final of the day saw Gorilla Polo secure a 6-5 win against Confido in The Selham 2 goal.

The weekend of 19 – 20 September saw plenty of action at Cowdray Park Polo Club with the Cowdray vs Ham Invitation Match and Tillington 2 goal.

The annual Ham v Cowdray Invitation Match was held on the iconic River ground, with Ham receivimg a half goal handicap advantage, which ultimately clinched them the 6-6½ win.

Sunday 20 September saw the Final of the inaugural Tillington Trophy, a new 2 goal tournament added to the Cowdray fixtures list. With a young demographic for both teams, Wilf Fine’s Sea Breeze 2 goal team took on Creighton Boyd’s Confido. In the end, it was Confido who secured a 6-4 win against Sea Breeze.

The Trophee Castel Final Teams: Cavok IC Polo (8): Arnaud De Chenevarin (0), Thierry Vetois (3), Louis Jarrige (3) & Thomas Rolland (2) Berlinosos (8): Clarisa Marggraf (0), Anne Marie Grobmann (-1), Max Bosch (3) & Manuel Elizalde (6)

Cavok IC Polo, winners of The Trophee Castel Final

Polo Times, October 2020

29

Club Focus

Your Club News from Home and Abroad

Tedworth Park Polo Club Photograph by Lucy Sleeman

Photograph courtesy of Oak Brook Polo Club

Oak Brook Polo Club

The 4th Annual ‘Team Up For Tony’ raised $50,000

On Sunday 30 August Oak Brook Polo hosted the 4th Annual ‘Team Up For Tony’ benefit which successfully raised $50,000 to support Tony Sekera, who suffered a devastating polo accident in June 2017.

The first action of the day in front of a sell-out crowd was the 4 goal USPA Master’s Cup Finals between Elk Grove-Sanfilippo and Brinker Hill Farm. A close-fought match saw Brinker Hill’s Pedro Manion score the winning goal to clinch the win. Casablanca Polo’s Most Valuable Player award went to RJ Roberts and The Playing Pony went to Pico Blanco, owned by Lindor Novillo Corvalan.

The action continued with the 8 goal USPA Sportsmanship Cup Finals between Oak Brook and Morgan Creek-Good Thunder. A frenetic second half saw some fantastic polo with scores tied at every turn. However, it was Morgan Creek-Good Thunder who pulled away in the last two chukkas of the day to secure a resounding 10-8 victory over the opposition.

The Casablanca Polo Most Valuable Player Awards went to Tommy Collingwood and Best Playing Pony was presented to M&M, owned by Tomas Obregon and trained by Matt Sekera. Oak Brook Polo’s next home event will be the Gucci Challenge Cup on Sunday 13 September.

Santa María Polo Club

On Sunday 20 September Redcharms-Düsseldorf won the XVIII Memorial Count of Guaqui at Santa María Polo Club.

Over 25 – 27 September, Santa María Polo Club hosted their Santa Maria tournament, which saw Team Arte del Vino-Dusseldorf (Amy Huson, Estanislao Grahn, Jamie Le Hardy & Dirk Baumgartner) take the title on Sunday 27 September.

Photography courtesy of Santa María Polo Club

Santa Maria Tournament Final Teams: Don Carlos (6): V Desmas (0), L Reijrink (-1), P Neves (4) & S Torreguitar (3) Arte del Vino – Düsseldorf (6): A Huson (- 1), E Grahn (3), J Le Hardy (4) & D Baumgartner (0)

Socially distanced XVIII Memorial Count of Guaqui presentation

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Polo Times, October 2020

Tournament winners Team Arte del Vino-Dusseldorf

Hackett London Army Polo (Jamie Fry (1), Johnny Sleeman (2), Will Cecil (0), Max Morant (-2)) enjoyed a win in The QRH Trophy at Tedworth Park Polo Club on Sunday 27 September.

Greenwich Polo Club Photograph by ©Peter Michaelis

4 Goal USPA Master’s Cup Finals Teams: Elk Grove–Sanfilippo (3½): Courtney Rohs (0), Roueen Rafeyan (-½), Lindor Novillo Corvalan (4) & Adam Kaminski (0) Brinker Hill Farm (3½): Kelcey Roberts ( -1), RJ Roberts (0), Christian Aycinena (1½) & Pedro Manion (3).

Sportsmanship Cup Final Teams: Oak Brook )8): Jim Drury (0), Samantha Falbe (0), Mariano Gutierrez (4) & Tomas Obregon (4) Morgan Creek-Good Thunder (8): Bill Paterson (0), Tod Rackley (2), Cristobal Consigliere (1) & Tommy Collingwood (5)

Hackett London Army Polo, winners of The QRH Trophy

White Birch, winners of the 2020 East Coast Open

The 2020 East Coast Open was rescheduled for Tuesday 15 September due to rain.

Black Hound/Don Ercole faced White Birch in the Final, White Birch gained the initial advantage in the first chukka and held onto this throughout the final to take home the win with a final score of 13-10. White Birch’s Pablo Llorente commented, “Our strategy was to play fast and move the ball. I think the key was that we were really good on defence. We defended every ball as if it was the last.” Mariano Aguerre was named Most Valuable Player and his seven-year-old mare Machitos Francisca (Dolfina Cuarteto x Fantasia) received the Best Playing Pony rug.

2020 East Coast Open Final Teams: White Birch: Chris Brant, Mariano Aguerre, Peke Gonzalez & Pablo Llorente Black Hound/Don Ercole: Will Tomita, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Matias Magrini & Victorino Ruiz Jorba www.polotimes.co.uk

Your Club News from Home and Abroad

Club Focus

Guards Polo Club On Sunday 13 September Tchogan/Libertine defeated Mad Dogs 9-7 to take home The 2020 Social Cup, while Harum Scarum/Tex8n Polo won the Subsidiary Final with an 8½-7 against Quixote/Previse.

On Sunday 20 September, Alessandro Bazzoni’s Monterosso Polo Team secured The Duke of Cornwall Trophy on The Queen’s Ground following a 10-4½ win against Ana Escobedo’s Ojo Caliente. Monterosso’s Machitos Illusa was later named the Polo Times Best Playing Pony, while in the Subsidiary Final, Performance Polo defeated BHC on The Duke’s Ground. Also played on Sunday 20 September was The Autumn Amateur Final between Stable Cottage and Mad Dogs, which saw Stable Cottage clinch a narrow 5-4 win.

Guards Polo Club had a busy weekend of polo; Cuervos Negros won The Flemish Farm Trophy after beating Tchogan 5-2 in the Final, Green Gates defeated Mad Dogs 7-6 to take home The Autumn Nations Trophy and Royal Salute narrowly won The Autumn Nations Subsidiary Final 7½-7.

Photography by ©www.imagesofpolo.com

Monterosso’s Alessandro Bazzoni with The Duke of Cornwall Trophy

Tchogan/Libertine, winners of the 2020 Social Cup

Stable Cottage, winners of The Autumn Amateur

Action from The Flemish Farm Trophy

Green Gates in action in The Autumn Nations Trophy Final

Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club

Lilienbach, winners of The John Houghton Trophy Final

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Photography by RCBPC

Father and son, Mariano Darritchon and Segundo Darritchon battled it out on Sunday 20 September for The Groundsman’s Trophy, but experience prevailed over youth with Mariano and his team La Mariposa coming out the winners.

Sunday 27 September, saw the last Final of the 2020 season at The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club. Congratulations to Asian Art (Rafi Bruckner, Ed Morris-Lowe, Fabio Lavinia & Chris Bruckner) and Lilienbach (Alex Hillier, Nicholas Hillier, Nicholas Leal & Adolfo Casabal) who were the winners of the Final and Subsidiary Final in The John Houghton Trophy.

La Mariposa, winners of The Groundsman’s Trophy

Asian Art, winners of The John Houghton Trophy Subsidiary Final

Polo Times, October 2020

31

Youth

All Aspects of Youth Polo

Photograph by Olly Hughes

HPA Colts Cup

Winners of Colts Cup 2020

The annual Colts Cup matches were finally played at the beginning of September after several delays due to rain. Four teams from players aged 14 to 17-years-old, many of whom had attended the

Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) training days in July and August, were selected to play the Semi Finals at the Holyport Polo Club on Wednesday 2 September. In the first match Team D beat Team B to go through to the Finals and in the second match, which was much more closely contested, Team A won against Team C. The Finals were played on the Friday 4 September. The Subsidiary Finals were played at Emsworth Polo Grounds and Team C came out the winners beating Team B. The main Finals were played next at the Ranelagh Farm Polo Club in a very exciting match where Team A scored the winning goal in the final seconds of the last chukka to beat Team D. Team A: Toby Bradshaw, Hector Rogberg, Barney Hughes & Juana Lavinia Team B: Ollie Heard, Tomi Ballesteros, Yolanda Arber/Max Sponer & Nina Matthews Team C: Will Millard, Lucy McLaughlin, Catalina Lavinia & Lucas Stern Team D: Fred Thame/Benji Mancini, Rufus Uloth, Talan Dudd & Zara Matthews

University of Loughborough Polo Club Focus In the past year, Loughborough University has competed at both University Challenge and Winter Nationals, with both competitions proving why Loughborough is regarded as the top sporting University in the UK. Taking home two first places and one second at Uni Challenge as well as a first and second place at Winter Nationals, Loughborough is quickly rising to the top of University Polo

Photograph by Emmpix.co.uk

Oliver Martinez-Finlayson Having been brought up on a family run equestrian centre, riding was an inevitable part of my life. Despite being involved in everything from show jumping, cross-country, gymkhanas and even the occasional bit of jousting; polo had escaped me until September last year. After being thrown into my first set of chukkas, although having no clue what I was doing, I was instantly hooked. Having the opportunity to continue and develop my skills while at university has been invaluable, with every aspect of university polo being amazing. From weekly training sessions, socials, regional and national tournaments, university polo is something I would recommend to any student polo player, beginner or otherwise!

Anna Borsboom I started polo during my final year at university, October 2019. I had been riding for as long as I remember but only just discovered polo, so I thought I’d give it a try. I picked it up in no time and have loved every bit of it so far. I have had the chance to compete in the November Uni Challenge and the Winter Nationals. It was such a great feeling to bring back 2 first place trophies with the girls I took the taster session with. In a way, I wish I had discovered polo when I first started at university, but I will continue playing and seeing the friends that I really bonded with over polo for the past year.

Xenia Stoschus As a rider, polo became a sport I have always wanted to try when I started watching tournaments in my hometown in Germany. Hence, starting polo at university in England was the greatest way for me to get into the sport, which was not possible in Germany!

I liked it right after my first taster session and fell in love with it while playing and even winning my first tournaments, the SUPA University Challenge and the SUPA Winter Nationals!

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Polo Times, October 2020

For Youth polo dates, please turn to our What’s On pages

All Aspects of Youth Polo

Youth

Ruby Smith I’ve had horses all my life and had always wanted to try polo, so University was the perfect opportunity! Within the first lesson I was hooked on the sport, attending weekly lessons at Rugby Polo Club and even working at a polo club as a groom during the summer holidays. It is without a doubt a sport I wish to pursue for the future and look forward to next year.

Amelia Vance I joined Loughborough Polo Club last year having ridden most my life and wanted to continue my riding while studying at university. I wanted to learn something new, and then fell in love with the competitive fast paced nature of polo! My only regret is that I didn’t start sooner! I’m looking forward to the coming year and can’t wait to start playing again.

If you would like to see your university Club featured in our Youth pages, please email editorial@polotimes.co.uk

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International & Home

Women’s Polo

WIP Ladies at Beaufort Photograph by JRidley Art & Photography

The last of the August sunshine shone for the Beaufort Women in Polo (WIP) Ladies League 8 Goal held over the Bank Holiday weekend. Smiths Polo faced Supernova for the Final of the WIP Ladies 8 Goal. Karina Brown put the first goal up for Supernova, followed by a penalty sent through by Sarah Hughes to make it 2-0.

Smiths claimed a penalty of their own to conclude the first chukka, 2-1. In the second, Hughes made it 3-1 with another penalty, with Brown extending the lead 4-1 in the third. Smiths managed to sneak past the Supernova defences to make it 4-2, leaving the fourth chukka to be the decider. Neither team were able to break the other’s defences and the game ended 4-2 in favour of Supernova. Claire Brougham’s Boogie was named the Best Playing Pony.

In the Subsidiary Final Round Robin, Greylands took on Silverwood and the match concluded with a 4½-1 score.

Silverwood then took on Rex Homes, where Lucy Coddington ensured her team a strong win 5½-2. In the final round, Rex Homes battled it out against Greylands, the ladies in the striking yellow shirts stormed ahead in the second, with Kate Parker concluding the match 4-1.

Supernova, winners of Beaufort Women in Polo Ladies League 8 Goal

WIP Ladies 8 Goal Final Teams: Supernova (8): Izzy Playne (0), Millie Hughes (2), Karina Brown (2) & Sarah Hughes (4) Smiths Polo (8): Bel McLaughlin (0), Ida Thor (1), Lisa Smith (2) & Claire Brougham (5)

Beaufort Ladies 12 Goal

Photograph by JRidley Art & Photography

The tournament began after days of persistent rain and the players endured chilly playing conditions. By the time the day of the Final arrived on Sunday 13 September there was much fairer weather to be enjoyed by all.

The Final was played between Ice lolly’s and Cross Country Medical and the first chukka was without goals, as both teams fought hard for possession. The second chukka saw Ice Lolly’s pull ahead with three consecutive goals. A penalty by Rosanna Turk in the third chukka, followed by a field goal a second before the final bell, brought XC Medical within a nose of the opposition. With it all to play for in the fourth chukka, both teams fought for possession, but it was the Ice Lolly’s who didn’t melt under pressure and concluded the game 5-2. Prizes were very kindly provided

by Jen Winnett Art, a local watercolour artist specialising in eco-friendly products.

Ice Lolly’s, winners of the Beaufort Ladies 12 Goal

CT Consulting WIP Final

The CT Consulting Ladies WIP 8-12 Goal Final Teams: Rex Homes (12): Clare Hocking (1), Milly Hughes (2), Sam Buckles (3) & Lucy Taylor (6) Unleash Hell (12): Julie Briffaut (0), Holly Gatsby (1), Lucy Bowman (4) & Sarah Wiseman (7) For Women’s polo dates for your diary, turn to our What’s On pages

Photograph courtesy of WIP

Women in Polo’s 2020 League rounded up with The CT Consulting Ladies WIP 8-12 Goal Tournament at Aspect Knepp Castle Polo Club.

Six teams entered the tournament which was played over 25 – 27 September, with the Final played between Rex Homes and Unleash Hell. Unleash Hell were the eventual winners with a score of 7-5, with Kitty, played by Lucy Bowman, named as the Best Playing Pony, while in the Subsidiary Final HK Polo defeated Aspect Polo 4-2.

Kitty, the Best Playing Pony

Polo Times, October 2020

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Women’s Polo

International & Home

Trippetts Lady Players Celebrate 8 Goal Victories Clare, with her team newly sponsored by global insurance firm Gallagher, was equally over-the-moon about her team’s 6-3 win against Hickstead in the Brecknock Cup Final, “Because of this year’s strange circumstances, everything was very last minute, so winning the Brecknock was such a wonderful surprise and great result for Gallagher’s first year as our sponsor.

Gallagher have been fantastically supportive of myself and the team with them pledging their commitment despite a season being played behind closed doors. I am so appreciative of the help they have given and it has been such a privilege to be able to field a competitive team this year. Every game was very intense and close. The combined experience of Bauti and Fabio plus the cool head and commitment of up and coming polo star Will, gave us a great foundation to succeed.”

Photograph courtesy of Clare Milford Haven

Louisa Watt and Clare Milford Haven celebrated winning both their Cowdray 8 goal tournaments at the Trippetts End of Season asado.

Louisa, with her Farrington Polo Team won the much coveted Victor Ludorum Holden White Cup 8½-4 against Innovent.

Louisa, who, until recently, was only playing polo as a weekend hobby, was amazed that her team even made it to the final, “We were definitely the underdogs, being only a 7 goal team and this was our first 8 goal tournament. I decided at the last minute to go for it given that Covid-19 had impacted the low goal season and we were just keen to get out and play. It was a very special moment to lift that great Holden White Cup with Ed Banner-Eve who played a blinder.

So too did teammates Evan Power and Josh Cork. Those boys all played their hearts out and I am immensely proud!”

Louisa Watt & Clare Milford Haven with The Holden White & Brecknock Cups at Trippetts

Rutland’s Cordoba Cup to three. With thanks also to the umpires Andrew Collie and Henry Browne. Kate Cook was named Most Valuable Player and Vicky Griffin’s mare was awarded the Best Playing Pony prize.

The Tribal ladies won a myriad of prizes including sterling silver necklaces donated by Heidi Kjeldsen, WIP base layers and t-shirts, plus much more!

The Cordoba Cup Final Teams: Los Cambios (8): Eleanor Neyroud (1), Camilla Speed (0), Francesca Smith (3) & Vicky Griffin (4) Tribal (8): Amber Zakrzewski (1), Jess Hawes (1), Kate Cook (3) & Charlene Goudkuil (3) The Cordoba Cup Subsidiary Final Teams for The Ranksboro Cup: Pink Ibis (6): SJ. McEwan (1), Becx. Whitefield (1), Pippa Outtridge (1) & Amy Leggett (3) Not Fast, Just Furious (8): Erin Tufnell (1), Lauren Widman (1), Jayna Henderson (3) & Alice Hockin (3)

Photograph by Nico Morgan

Over 19 – 20 September, the last weekend of beautiful Autumn warmth and sunshine at Rutland Polo Club saw six teams poised and ready for the start of the WIP weekend, with four teams competing in the 8 goal. After some competitive matches on the Saturday, Sunday started with the Subsidiary Final for The Ranksboro Cup between underdogs Pink Ibis and ‘Not Fast, Just Furious’; With fast and flowing polo, things looked evenly matched to start with, but by half way through the incredibly consistent hit-ins taken by SJ McEwan, and the overall great team work of Pink Ibis proved them to be anything but the underdogs. Becx Whitefield’s very strong play on the man was able to keep Jayna and Alice under control, meaning Pippa and Amy could work really well in attack.

Hard fought right down to the wire, but Pink Ibis couldn’t be defeated. The Ladies were awarded for their efforts with lovely prizes of base layers donated by the Women in Polo league, JD Sollis belts, Krono Polo elbow pads and vouchers, Wheelcraft UK goody bags and flowers. They also had a takeaway Champagne tea box to quench their thirst.

The Final of the Cordoba Cup started fast, with Tribal straight into attack, with several strong attacks on goal by Kate Cook, luckily for Los Cambios quite a few of these went just wide. Los Cambios’ Vicky Griffin and Francesca Smith proved their knowledge of each other’s play, and capitalised on this at hit-ins and penalties moving the ball as far up the field as they could with the support of team mates Eleanor Neyroud and Camilla Speed and soon manged to turn that work into a goal, meaning they were level pegging with Tribal at half time 1-1.

Then an unfortunate infringement led to a very convincing penalty scored by Charlene to nudge Tribal into the lead, this was soon answered by Francesca Smith scoring a very smooth penalty 2.

With Jess and Amber working hard within team Tribal the Silver Leys ladies slotted in another to put them up 4 goals to 2. Not to be deterred Los Cambios fought back with Eleanor key in scoring the third goal for them. Hard and fast play by both sides continued with Tribal’s Kate Cook making a break for goal in the dying seconds, just beaten by the hooter but they still ran out the winners 4 goals

The competition over the weekend was fierce

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International & Home

Women’s Polo

The Escalina Trophy and Claire proving how well they could read each other and providing fabulous support to one another. Claire’s grey pony Bertie also proved quite the footballer, regularly kicking the ball towards their goal.

With a lovely, fun game of polo, Axholme proved to be the stronger once again after a couple of great runs from Hollie Sumner and yet more goals from Leslie Maxfield Gullett, meaning Axholme ran out the winners 5½ goals to 2 and took home The Escalina Cup. The ladies won an assortment of kindly donated prizes from JD sollis belts, Krono polo, Bat and Bottle, Oakham, Wheelcraft Uk and some flowers each, which were also followed up with individual Champagne tea boxes.

A Most Valuable Player was awarded from each team as well and an overall MVP, with each winner receiving a myriad of prizes: MVP from Axholme was Hollie Sumner, MVP from Parkgate Polo was Claire Durrant and overall MVP was Sofie Hopkins.

The Best Playing Pony was Claire Durrant’s Bertie who revieved a BPP rug

Photograph by Nico Morgan

On Saturday 19 September, the day started with the first of two 0-4 goal matches played between the two local teams of Axholme and Parkgate Polo. It saw the debut of a couple of players’ first foray into ladies polo, the youngest of these being Jasmine Speed aged 10-yearsold. As a three a side match across three chukkas it meant there was a lot of work to be done by every team member on the field. With the great team play between Sofie, Claire and Liz, Axholme had to work hard to turn defence into attack in the first chukka as both teams scored two goals each. However, Axholme started to prove the stronger as Leslie Maxfield Gullett got into her stride, scoring 3 of the 5½ goal final tally, which meant at the final hooter the score was 5½-2 to Axholme.

Both teams met again the following day, Sunday 20 September, albeit with a slightly different line up on day two, which saw Jasmine Speed play a chukka for each team!

Great team play again from the Parkgate Ladies saw them come out storming, with Sofie Hopkins on her speedy ponies, and Liz

Action from The Escalina Trophy

from Wheelcraft UK and a horse massage from GH therapies.

Rutland 0-4 Goal Escalina Cup Teams: Axholme (0): Jasmine Speed/ Hollie Sumner (0), Lesley Maxfield Gullett (0) & Camilla Speed (0) Parkgate Polo (1): Liz Penson/ Jasmine Speed (0), Claire Durrant (1) & Sofie Hopkins (0)

Women’s French Open Final Cheshire WIP and Elena Vernot was the Most Valuable Professional Player.

Photograph courtesy of WIP

Open de France Feminin Final Teams: Maison Décale (16): Pearl Venot (3), Lucie Venot (3), Elena Venot (6) & Caroline Anier (4) DS Automobile DS Store St Maximin (15): Pauline Schaer (1), Margaux Perruchot (2), Adèle Renauldon (3) & Lia Salvo (9)

Rex Homes won both sections of the WIP League at Cheshire Polo Club

Maison Décale, winners of the Open de France Feminin

Women’s Pacific Coast Open

The 2020 Women’s Pacific Coast Open began on Friday 4 September at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club with four teams competing in the tournament; wins in Friday’s Semi Final for La Herradura and Timing saw them face each other in Sunday’s Final, with La Herradura securing a 7-4 win.

For Women’s polo dates for your diary, turn to our What’s On pages

Photography by Justine Jacquemot

Early on Sunday 20 September, before the mixed French Open Final, Maison Décale and DS Automobile DS Store St Maximin took to the field at Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly for the Final of the Open de France Feminin. Going into the Final, Maison Décale were the favourites as their line-up featured the three Vernot sisters, Pearl, Lucie and Elenea, alongside Caroline Anier, but DS Automobile DS Store St Maximin were not phased and put up a strong resistance. Following their heavy defeat in the qualification stages, Lia Salvo (top goal scorer of the tournament with 12 goals in four matches) organised a new, more defensive strategy, which allowed DS Automobile DS Store St Maximin to lead for two chukkas. However, a myriad of fouls towards the end of the match saw Salvo’s team lose their advantage and Maison Décale ran out the winners with a final score of 6-4½. Becana, owned by Margaux Perruchot and played by Lia Salvo was the Best Playing Pony, Margaux Perruchot was the Most Valuable Amateur Player

Over the weekend of 6 September, Cheshire Polo Club hosted their stage of the 2020 WIP League, which Rex Homes won at both the 0-8 goal and 8-12 goal levels. Nicola Hodges’ Nymph was the Best Playing Pony and Sam Buckles was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while the Best Cheshire Playing Member was Annabelle Kelly who received the Mu Kershaw Memorial Cup.

Women’s Pacific Coast Open Teams: La Herradura (17): Suzette Yamani (0), Meghan Gracida (3), Izzy Parsons (8) & Dayelle Faregy (6) Timing (18): Nicole Ball (1), Mia Bray (5), Sofia Lorenzo (5) & Mia Novillo Astrada (7) Dundas (18): Sarah Magness (2), Sophie Grant (4), Erica Gandomcar (5) & Hope Arellano (7) PoloGear Coffee Company (18): Dawn Jones (6), Kendall Plank (4), Cory Williams (4) & Pamela Flanagan (4) Polo Times, October 2020

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Women’s Polo

International Victrix Ludorum & Home Update

The Final was won by just half a goal

Victrix Ludorum Update

Last tournament reports of the season

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Photography by ©www.imagesofpolo.com

D

espite an initial delay to the season, all seven of the 2020 Victrix Ludorum tournaments have been played across the English countryside at some of the best British polo clubs. Now that the last tournament has been played, we can see that despite getting off to an early start with the first win of the season at Black Bears, Park Place didn’t manage to take home any other trophies; however, both MJVH Polo and Monterosso Vikings secured themselves three tournament titles apiece. The points for The Ladies 18 Goal

MT Vikings, winners of The Guards Ladies Charity Polo Final

For Women’s polo dates for your diary, turn to our What’s On pages

Victrix Ludorum Update

Women’s Polo

The Guards Ladies Charity Polo Final Teams: Monterosso Vikings Vikings (18): Siri Bazzoni (2), Kayley Smith (2), Emma Boers (5) & Hazel Jackson-Gaona (9) Park Place (18): Varvara Borodina (1), Catalina Lavinia (3), Milly Hine (6) & Lia Salvo (8)

Final at Beaufort Polo Club, which was won by MJVH Polo, have yet to be ratified by the Hurlingham Polo Association, but at the time of going to print MJVH Polo were well ahead on the point tally with 350 points, followed

by Monterosso Vikings with 270 points while Park Place and Coombe Place were tied in third place on 210 points.

18 Goal Victrix Ludorum 18 Goal Victrix Ludorum

Beaufort Polo Club – The Ladies 18 Goal Final – Sunday 13 September Number of Teams: Two Winners: MJVH Polo Points: 35

Guards Polo Club – Guards Ladies Charity Tournament – Monday 31 August Number of Teams: Eight Winners: Monterosso Vikings Points: 90

The Lord Patrick Beresford Trophy

Siri received the trophy from Sarah Burns MBE, Chairman of Smart Works Reading. Every player also received prizes donated by Clé de Peau Beauté. Earlier in the day Mindi Byrne’s Tex8n Ladies claimed the Subsidiary Final, which was played at Coworth Park.

They beat Celina Lawrence’s Tarantula 5-4.

For Women’s polo dates for your diary, turn to our What’s On pages

The Ladies 18 Goal Final Teams: MJVH Polo (18): Alicia Woods (2), Emily Johnson (2), Steph Haverhals (4) & Nina Clarkin (10) Smiths Polo (17): Lisa Smith (2), Jemima Walker (2), Claire Brougham (5) & Lia Salvo (8)

Photograph by JRidley Art & Photography

Siri Bazzoni’s Monterosso Vikings secured The Guards Ladies Charity Polo Final for The Lord Patrick Beresford Trophy on Bank Holiday Monday at Guards Polo Club. Another big winner on this day was Smart Works Reading, the official charity of the Guards Ladies Polo Tournament. As the polo had to be played behind closed doors Smart Works Reading was unable to host their fundraising day at Smith’s Lawn. So, they teamed up with Guards Polo Club to host an online auction and raffle that was live throughout this year’s tournament, which raised more than £5,000 for the charity.

In the Final itself, Siri’s team received a half goal on handicap and narrowly defeated Varvara Borodina’s Park Place by a very close half goal margin, with the final score of 4½-4, in a nip-and-tuck game on The Queen’s Ground. Park Place were 2-½ up at half-time, with Lia Salvo making the most of any space that she was given. However, some great teamwork from Kayley Smith and Hazel JacksonGaona put Monterosso Vikings back into this game in the third, while Milly Hine worked hard to ensure that Park Place retained their lead.

With the score reading 3-2½ to Park Place at the start of the fourth chukka there was still all to play for. Jackson-Gaona converted a penalty to put Monterosso Vikings into the lead and teammate Emma Boers, who had a really strong game and was later named the Most Valuable Player, followed up with a fabulous goal to give Monterosso Vikings some air on the scoreboard for the first time.

Lia converted a penalty in the final moments of this match for Park Place but with the clock ticking down it was not enough.

The Ladies 18 Goal Victrix Ludorum Final was hosted on the Sunday 13 September underneath the final rays of summer sunshine.

MJVH Polo were first to score, with a penalty

by Steph Haverhals. Smiths Polo then went into the lead, 1½-1. In response, Nina Clarkin turned up the heat, sending through two goals to take the score to 3-1½. A team goal

by MJVH Polo, tapped in by Nina, extended their lead 4-1½. Not content with this, Nina continued her onslaught, sending the ball to goal, only to have it hit the post and pause before the line. She steered her stunning grey pony round and finished the job, 5-1½. Lia Salvo sent through an expert penalty for Smiths Polo to conclude the second chukka 5-2½.

In the third, Nina continued to dominate, adding a further field goal and penalty to her collection. With only the fourth chukka left to make up the difference, Smiths Polo had a moment of respite with another textbook penalty by Lia Salvo, but the clock ran out and MJVH Polo were crowned the winners.

MJVH winners of The Beaufort Ladies 18 Goal

Polo Times, October 2020

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Pony Power

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Chapa Triveca

Height: 15.1hh Age: 11-years-old Colour: Dark Bay Sex: Mare Owned and played by: Matias Amaya Tournament: 10 Goal Non-Playing Members Babdown Cup at Beaufort Polo Club

Photograph by JRidley Art & Photography

Where is she from/breeding? I bought her from my friend Sapo Caset who bred her in Argentina.

How long have you had her? I have had her for two months.

What are her strengths? She is kind, powerful and always tries her best.

How has she gone this season? She goes better every time she plays.

Has she won any other Best Playing Pony Awards? I don’t know if she has won any other BPP awards, this is her first with me.

Emily Johnson, Isabel Amaya Johnson & Matias Amaya with Chapa Triveca

What are your plans for her in the future? She will play with us until she retires and then we will breed from her.

Describe her in three words? Pretty damn good!

Does she have any special quirks? She only likes nice fields to play on!

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Enquiries to: Equine Management Ltd Tel: 01825 840002 Email: info@equineman.com

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“ I am proud to put my name to such a superb saddle. The light weight is a fantastic bonus too.”

Gonzalito Pieres

Polo Times, October 2020

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Nutrition Focus

Lorna Edgar – specialist equine nutritionist

Yard Focus Harry Muddle Burningfold Polo Club My purpose of doing the Yard Focus features is to provide a bit of an insight into how polo ponies can be fed and managed in different ways, but still achieve the same end result – horses playing and looking well throughout the season. Whilst we tailor diets as the season progresses, we must of course ensure their diets are nutritionally balanced – after all a lot of players are mindful of their own nutrition, so why not their horses too!

For the October issue I wanted to focus on a relatively new yard to me. I

was introduced to Harry Muddle, a 2 goal player based at Burningfold Polo Club in Surrey, and his long standing groom, Carlos Moyano, three seasons ago, by a client of mine, Jo Stuart. They had been convinced it was a good idea to chat about feeding their polo ponies in a slightly different manner, primarily by increasing their fibre intake and adding a balancer to their rations.

There were a few raised eyebrows to my suggestions and a lot of questions asked, but in the end, Harry and Carlos slowly

began adapting a different feeding regime to their barn of horses.

To my delight they have really embraced my way of thinking, and so far, they feel the changes have had a positive impact on his string; Carlos I am sure, as many others do too, curses me when constantly having to fill up pesky hay nets!

Although the season started late, Harry has played over 70 games, which also brings with it a lot of travelling. The horses have played and look well by combining just two mixes, Baileys No.21 Ease & Excel and No.6 All-Round Endurance Mix to meet the energy requirements for the individual.

Once polo was up and running, the focus was on All-Round Endurance Mix to increase the starch intake of the diet and provide ‘quick release energy’, but during times when games were a little more sporadic this was reduced and Ease & Excel increased – with the main focus on maintaining a balanced diet.

So, let me introduce you to the chosen four…

Beaujangles

Diet For Hard Work • Two level round bowl Stubbs scoops of No.21 Ease & Excel Mix per day • Two level round bowl Stubbs scoops of No.6 All-Round Endurance Mix per day • Two measuring mugs of Stud Balancer per day • Half a scoop of Fibre-Beet per feed

Photography courtesy of Lorna Edgar

A 12-year-old, 15.1hh, Irish Thoroughbred who has been with Harry for seven years. She generally holds her weight well, but sometimes can need more energy, especially when polo gets busy. She is the boss of the yard and field but is very easy to look after during the winter and summer and a dream to work in sets!

Beaujangles is a go to favourite for Harry as she is always reliable at any level of polo, she gives him confidence to make any plays on her and she will always give 100%. This summer she won Best Playing Pony at Black Bears.

Beaujangles is 12-year-old, 15.1hh, English Thoroughbred

Squanda

A nine-year-old, 15hh, bred by Peter Hewitt. She has been with Harry since a two-year-old and is quite a character with a great sense of humour and always up to something amusing! She generally holds her weight well and always has plenty of energy throughout the season. As long as Squanda can dunk her hay, she is happy!

Diet For Hard Work • Three level scoops of No.21 Ease & Excel Mix per day • One level scoop of No.6 All-Round Endurance Mix per day • Two measuring mugs of Stud Balancer per day • Half a scoop of Fibre-Beet per feed

Squanda is a nine-year-old, 15hh, bred by Peter Hewitt

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Nutrition Focus

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Babe

A 15-year-old, 15.2hh, English Thoroughbred who was bred for racing by Harry’s family. She can lack a little energy during busier periods of polo, so her starch intake needs to be increased, but fortunately she holds her condition well and is probably Harry’s fastest horse.

Diet For Hard Work • One level scoop of No.21 Ease & Excel Mix per day • Three level scoops of No.6 All-Round Endurance Mix per day • Two measuring mugs of Stud Balancer per day • Half a scoop of Fibre-Beet per feed

Babe is a 15-year-old, 15.2hh, English Thoroughbred

Picuru

A 12-year-old, 15.2hh, Argentine bred. He has a huge personality and is impossible to catch from the field so is left to follow the other horses in! He is a favourite as he offers ‘a bit of everything’ – being sharp, fast, powerful and loves a ride off.

He won Best Playing Pony at The Berkshire Polo Club this summer in the Julian & Howard Hipwood 8 goal tournament.

Picuru has been treated for gastric ulcers in the past, which is something we are mindful of when putting his diets together and we need to keep starch to a minimum. However, he can lack a little energy once playing regularly so this season we kept him on Ease & Excel for as long as possible, and when he needed the extra energy during busy times, we swapped to Baileys No.6 All-Round Endurance Mix to help give him endless yet controlled energy.

Carlos ensured the Endurance Mix was reduced again to try and keep the starch levels down as much as possible.

Diet For Hard Work • Two heaped scoops of Ease & Excel Mix per day • Two level scoops of All-Round Endurance Mix per day • Two measuring mugs of Stud Balancer per day • Half a scoop of Fibre-Beet per feed

Picuru is a 12-year-old, 15.2hh, Argentine breed

Notes • When feeding the larger quantities per day of the above diets during the busier polo periods, Carlos will spit the total feed over three meals, ensuring the horses are not getting too much food in one meal and over filling that ‘rugby ball stomach’ which can otherwise reduce efficient absorption of the feed and waste feed/money!

• When the All-Round Endurance Mix is reduced for quieter periods of polo, the balancer will be increased where necessary to ensure appropriate levels of vitamins and minerals are still met.

• Harry and Carlos don’t really have a need for supplements, but electrolytes are definitely added during periods of hot weather and when the horses are playing and travelling. Where muscle supplements have been used in the past, the addition of the balancer to increase essential amino acids which assist in muscle development, alongside good quality forage, has

replaced the supplements successfully.

• All the horses now receive a good quality meadow hay, which they have free access to all day/night; they are also turned out as much as possible to keep them grazing and moving.

• As the horses are on ad lib hay or turned out. Chaff was removed from their bucket feeds as both Ease & Excel and AllRound Endurance Mix have alfalfa chaff included. We found that the addition of a small amount of Fibre-Beet in each feed allows for the feed to be wet whilst benefiting from extra digestible fibre in the diet without too much bulk.

By making some subtle changes the horses have completed the strange 2020 season well and have clocked up 70+ games in quite a short space of time! I am really pleased how Carlos and Harry have taken on board these changes, without a negative impact as to how the horses perform. As Carlos said during my last visit, “Every day is a learning day,” – how true this is!

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

Polo Times, October 2020

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Winter Vitamins & Minerals

Photography courtesy of Paddock Power

Paddock power provides vitamins & minerals to help your horse through winter

Prevention is Better Than Cure Equipping your horses for winter weather

T

he weather has suddenly gone from Indian Summer to full-on winter and may have caught many on the hop with polo ponies and other competition horses now turned out for a winter break.

The autumnal flush of grass is deceptive because it gives the impression that horses will be able to get all that they need from it, however whilst fibre is a crucial part of a horse’s diet it is important not to overlook the fact that they still benefit from vitamins and minerals – especially as the nutritional value of the grass starts to tail off even further as we get into November and December. To ensure our horses stay healthy so that they can combat the difficult winter months we should be aiming to build up their defences in preparation.

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Not only that, there are certain elements that are scarce in the soil across the country such as copper (extremely important for its antibacterial properties and immune support) and some that are not in the diet at all – such as Biotin which you need for healthy foot and hair growth. When you combine this with the added need for B vitamins and elements like Zinc, then you start to see the gaps in what’s available from grass-based diets. Traditionally we only start to supplement when the problem is already there. It is proven that it takes six plus weeks for vitamins and minerals to balance in the body and some of these take longer so you need to start now.

Preparation = Prevention More traditional feeding methods require

hard feeding which can be the perfect way to teach our horse to be aggressive and fight!

How many times do we find ourselves feeding the one or two horses that do not need it in a group whilst the ones that do get chased off? And then you have the added irritation of wasted money as the feed gets trampled into the ground. Paddock Power helps alleviate these problems as it’s available all the time.

Horses treat it the same as a water trough, so everyone gets a turn.

How can Paddock Power help: • Protein, Biotin, Soya Oil, Vitamins B, A, D & E, and Zinc: As your horse changes it’s sleek summer coat to a warm winter duvet it needs these essential components to help improve the overall skin condition, lustre and quality.

• Zinc, Copper and Biotin: Key to combating mud fever, foot abscesses and rain scald.

After having shoes removed for the winter, hooves need six months to recover and regrow healthy foot for the new season. Hooves are 90% protein, made up of a substance called Keratin.

Biotin, a vitamin B-complex is essential for the proper Keratin formation of the hoof wall. The supplementation of Zinc helps the production of Keratin, the addition of Copper (especially protected sources) is a cofactor in the production of Elastin, the connective tissue that binds the Keratin together, this strengthens and improves hoof integrity.

• Selenium: Needed for healthy muscle tissue and aiding reproductive function, this works alongside Vitamin E as an antioxidant and is particularly important for the immune system.

• Protein: Soya and Potato Protein provide two different high-quality protein sources with different amino acid profiles. The most important source is Potato Protein representing 78% of the protein in Paddock Power. This provides 18 amino acids to include the essential amino acids Lysine, Methionine and Isoleucine, Threonine, and Phenylalanine. This source of protein is one of the most bioavailable sources of proteins for horses (and humans) which helps avoid digestive upset and aids in muscle growth, recovery and reparation for heavy exercise and exertion.

• Fibre: Fibre is an important part of a healthy balanced diet and can also improve digestive health.

• Salt: Improves palatability and is needed for absorption of minerals and vitamins, it also acts as a regulator of feed intakes.

• Calcium: Assists with healthy bone structure in developing foals and young stock and maintaining heathy bones in mature animals • Magnesium: Essential for promoting a calm temperament and helps balance deficiencies in pasture particularly in autumn and spring. Also important in helping reduce laminitis, and key for proper muscle function www.polotimes.co.uk

Winter Vitamins & Minerals Horses will selfregulate their intake & share between themselves

“I was introduced to Paddock Power by one of my friends who is an avid fan. I now use it on my young ponies and playing string alike. I feel they are better set to work and recuperate with the support of Paddock Power. One less thing for me to worry about or leave to chance.”

Ed Hitchman • Potassium Iodide: This has antibiotic properties, as well as being anti-fibrotic (tends to resist the development of scar tissue). Helps aid healthy tissue regrowth • Protected Copper: Maintains muscle structure and healthy growth. Improves pigmentation of hair in deficient horses.

Also works in conjunction with Zinc to produce healthy hooves.

• Protected Zinc: Essential for hoof health and hair quality.

• Phosphorus: You need Phosphorus to keep your bones strong and healthy, to help create energy, and to move muscles.

It also aids: o kidney function o growth, maintenance, and repair of tissue and cells o production of DNA and RNA (the body’s genetic building blocks) o helps balance and use vitamins such as vitamins B and D, as well as other minerals like iodine, magnesium, and zinc o important in the maintenance of a healthy heart o facilitates nerve function • Cobalt: A trace element important for “This is my ponies third winter on Paddock Power and it’s interesting to see how much better they wintered when they started on Paddock Power as they went out to grass. Starting early gives them time to rebalance their system before the bad weather hits and like this year when the rain has started already my ponies are enjoying the extra boost!”

Tom Morley www.polotimes.co.uk

“We have been using Paddock Power for a couple of years now. The breeding stock have year-round access, while the playing horses are given licks immediately when they are turned away. I have found that this regime has helped prepare the horses in maintaining body score and general health. Last winter was without doubt one of the wettest and mildest we have had. With access to Paddock Power I really noticed a big improvement in hoof wall structure, which combined with regular trimming has resulted in far less foot abscesses, and the general improvement of coat condition.”

Catriona Baker, Sumaya Polo Team blood cell formation helps maintain a healthy digestive system, particularly the cecum and large intestine. Cobalt is essential for the synthesis of Vitamin B12.

This vitamin is then used in conjunction with Iron and Copper in the formation and maintenance of blood cells.

• Manganese: Needed for correct and healthy bone formation, disease resistance and fertility.

• Selenium: Needed for healthy muscle tissue and aiding reproductive function.

Selenium works alongside Vitamin E as an antioxidant which is particularly important for the immune system.

• Vitamin A: Promotes healthy skin and coat, crucial for good vision as well as bone and muscle growth.

• Vitamin D3: Aids immune system and general emotional disposition. Essential to supplement during winter months and supports the absorption of calcium and phosphorus.

• Vitamin E: As alpha-tocopherol, vitamin E’s major function is as an antioxidant.

Thus, vitamin E is notably a key for the proper function of the reproductive, muscular, nervous, circulatory, and immune systems. It is essential to replace this vitamin in the diet during winter months.

• Vitamin K: Aids blood clotting and bone metabolism and heart health.

• B Vitamin Complex: For maximum health and vigour, essential for the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. A blood

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tonic and pick me up.

• Omega-3 and 6: Horses cannot make their own Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, so it is imperative that they are obtainable through their diet. They are important as they help regulate the immune system, develop and maintain the central nervous system and is key in oxygen transfer and cell membrane stability.

Paddock Power costs as little as 45p per day or less in bulk, which makes economic sense when considering the benefits and also the savings on vet bills for dealing with problems such as rain scald or mud fever, or injuries caused by horses squabbling over feed.

Across all the news and various social media platforms we are being told that we should all be taking extra vitamins this winter (particularly Vit D and C to help prepare our immune systems for the common cold, flu or Covid 19). Don’t be overweight, get fit, eat healthily and yet many of us do not apply these same principles when it comes to the wellbeing of our horses…

Prepare for winter properly and give your horses a boost by treating them to Paddock Power Original.

“We have already stocked up on Paddock Power as we are not yet adding hard feed to their grass diet – without Paddock Power, it would be the perfect storm for our string to lose condition now that the grass is slowing down and the weather is getting colder.”

Polo Times string

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Medical Insight: Polodoc

Dr.med. Andreas Krüger is a Swiss board orthopaedic and trauma surgeon in Zurich, who specialises in knee and shoulder surgery. Andi is a second generation of tournament doctors for equine sports, known as Polodoc since 2013 and affiliated with Polo Park Zurich

Double Impact, Triple Trouble Restarting riding and playing polo after a minor injury can be fateful when the initial injury is underestimated, and diagnostics tools are used too late. In professional sport teams, mostly maximal diagnostics are used on the injury day or within 24 hours to fully assess all dimensions of morphological damages. The precise identification of potential failure points can be crucial for the sport and can prevent on-going impairment and delayed recovery, to full function or secondary chronic disability.

Injury Mechanism

Relatively minor medical injuries like a tendinitis or partial rupture of the insertion of the adductors (riding muscle) can majorly limit your polo performance when the stable A-frame is at risk and movements out of the middle of the saddle are painful. Not

being able to hold that powerhouse in a stable position can lead to non-stoppable imbalance with an increased risk of leaving the horse unintentionally. With that increased risk, the chance of injuring the upper extremity while landing is immensly increased.

Diagnostics

Most polo clubs have some kind of medical staff, which provides basic medical care for tournaments or club events when a fall occurs. Due to the fact this basic care is trained for treating life-threating emergencies, initial minor injuries can be under-estimated or stay undiagnosed. In some cases a medical therapist like the physiotherapist or chiropractor recommends diagnostics after an unsatisfactory or delayed result due to conservative treatment. Initial body checks

Initial X-ray of the pelvis does not show a dislocated fracture of the bone.

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by the general practitioner or family doctor who is unaware of critical polo injuries can mean that the impact of these relatively small injuries can be under-estimated.

Secondary assessments of bone and soft tissue after a physical examination need more and more cumbersome referral to a radiological department when ultrasound or x-ray diagnostics are outsourced. In case of dissonance of clinical symptoms and basic radiological results, early cross-sectional diagnostics can be key for correct evaluation and interpretation of the underlying injury.

Case Study

In this case, the initial injury was an adductor injury on the left leg with a partial tear of the insertion. This is a very painful injury to the most important muscle for the polo player when stability in the saddle is needed. Initial diagnostics were done with conventional X-ray where no relevant injury of the bone was stated by the radiologist. Secondary cross-sectional imaging with MRI was recommended but refused by the player.

While recreational riding a secondary fall happened with a hard impact to the ground and landing in the ‘superman position’ with impact to the left shoulder and side of the

Partial-tear of the supraspinatus tendon

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Medical Insight: Polodoc

1

2

Pelvis MRI: The MRI reveals any fractures of the pelvic ring (Pic 1/2) and a injury of the adductors left (Pic 3)

pelvis. MRI diagnostics of the shoulder and the pelvis revealed a high-grade partial muscle and tendon injury of the rotator cuff and a pelvic ring fracture with involvement of the hip joint.

Recommendation

Primary minor injuries can open the door to tremendous impairment and a delayed return to play when initially under-diagnosed or evaluated with basic examinations by general care providers. Early cross-sectional imaging will help to improve a tailor made recovery plan. Continuous follow up with a specialised medical team and maybe the help of wearables can be a turbo speed step in full recovery to play polo.

For more information on Polodoc contact Andreas Krüger at drmedkrueger@gmail.com or www.polodoc.ch

Knowledge

3

Expert Opinion for Musculoskeletal Imaging PD Dr.med. Nadia Mamisch-Saupe Swiss medical board certified radioligist Radiology Klinik Hirslanden Zürich Switzerland Musculoskeletal imaging is widely available and primarily used in sport trauma to detect injuries of bone fractures as well as ligament or muscle injuries. The widespread use of radiological departments makes conventional X-rays easy to obtain but the interpretation can be tricky due to technical or intellectual restriction. In the case of non-displaced fractures (fracture lines) of the bone or minor injuries like bone bruises only a sensitive crosssectional imaging (CT or MRI) can deliverer the required information on the radiological picture. In particular, the MRI is powerful in detecting acute soft tissue or tendon injuries like avulsions on the bony insertion. The MRI is the gold standard when damages are in a combination with under-diagnosed bone injuries in conventional X-rays.

Delayed cross-sectional imagining in musculoskeletal trauma can be cumbersome and misleading when secondary posttraumatic arthritic joints are examined. In complicated polytraumatised or pre-injured/operated cases a musculoskeletal expertise is recommended to minimise misleading diagnosis.

Tel: +41 44 387 26 31 Fax: +41 44 387 26 35 Clinic Email: radiologie.hirslanden@hirslanden.ch Direct Email: nadja.mamisch@hirslanden.ch Radiologie Klinik Hirslanden, Klinik Hirslanden. Witellikerstrasse 40, 8032 Zürich Schweiz

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Vet Insight

Robert Stevenson is a world class farrier with many decades of experience in equine podiatry and hoof care and has worked and consulted in some of the most prestigious equine organisations and centres around the world. After experiencing first-hand the wide range of hoof problems and lameness issues that horses can face, many of which are exacerbated by traditional shoeing, Robert started working on a concept that would provide a supportive, effective and non-invasive solution. The result was Formahoof for which Robert consults on technical applications

Treating Laminitis FormaHoof as part of Lamanitis Treatment

Photography courtesy of FormaHoof

If you have ever had a horse with laminitis, you know just how painful and debilitating a disease it is. Severe or recurring episodes can quickly make laminitis a welfare issue and all too often can lead to a decision having to be made as whether it’s kind to let the animal continue to suffer. Horse and pony management should always be with a view to helping to prevent laminitis occurring in the first place, but for those that are afflicted, a revolutionary new hoof care system – FormaHoof – seems to offer laminitic horses and ponies vastly increased comfort, protection and support and allows the hoof to repair and reform, naturally.

A healthy hoof has a naturally concave sole, whereas in horses with flat soles and no concavity, the coffin bone or P3 bone is directly weight-bearing on the ground, as there’s no airspace between the ground and the protective sole. This compromised hoof structure is a major

Libby’s feet on arrival

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Polo Times, October 2020

cause of the pain associated with laminitis.

FormaHoof creates instant concavity by rebuilding the compromised solar structure immediately. This is different to having soft or hard material added under a shoe as the airspace allows the foot to expand and contract and redistributes the weight off the affected and very sore area at the tip of P3. FormaHoof also allows the vet or farrier to apply a medicated solar pack, which remains in place and facilitates abscess drainage, making FormaHoof a functional medicated bandage in which the horse can start to move.

For the illustration of what can be achieved, we are taking a look at a case from outside the UK: Libby is an 18-yearold registered Canadian Horse in Ontario, Canada. She was entrusted to the care of the Canadian Horse Rescue and Re-Homing society to find her a new home; being fans of the breed Andrea and Karli White signed up

as a foster home.

Andrea had no knowledge of what condition Libby was in, other than a picture of her in a field. She didn’t look to be in terrible condition, so finding her an adoptive home through CHRRS would have been easy. When Libby stepped off the trailer after a three hour journey, there was a feeling of shock and heartbreak seeing her condition. Her coat was long when it should have moulted, her feet were like platters, overgrown and cracked. She was obviously experiencing a lot of pain in her feet, but her personality shone through and knowing there was more going on, Andrea and Karli adopted her anyway.

The first step was to fix Libby’s nutrition.

“We got Libby on a probiotic immediately and some low NSC supplements. At the time we didn’t realise how important this was for Libby, it is just a normal thing we do with our horses.”

The second step was to take off Libby’s excess hoof. “This was done in two sessions, as she had obviously not seen a farrier in a very long time, it took well over an hour to get her trimmed up properly.”

Libby was vaccinated, her teeth were checked and blood work was done, which diagnosed Cushings and Inuslin Resistance.

But Libby was very, very sore, so it was time for X-rays.

Andrea continues “Libby had X-rays that would break your heart. X-rays, that in former times would have been a death sentence for her. I knew by the look on my vet’s face and his words that this would be a long shot in saving her life. We had to try though, we owed it to her, and Karli and I were not going to give up without trying. So, we began our journey with Laminitis.”

Libby was placed in casts in August and Andrea was told to keep her in a stable with deep bedding and as little movement as possible. Her legs and hooves were iced with ice boots twice a day and with ice gels in between – four times a day.

Libby stayed in her stall 24 hours a day for the first four weeks, until she started www.polotimes.co.uk

Vet Insight

Knowledge

The second FormaHoof application complete with glitter!.

Libby cast with ice packs

showing that she could move better. “As soon as we could we allowed Libby to wander around in the barn while her stall was cleaned and then back in again until the next day. Another four weeks went by and then she was casted again, which then meant another four weeks of being very uncomfortable. She was lying down for hours, just to take the weight off her feet. But again, she slowly started to move a little better so we could start to let her out and about.

“Throughout this time, I joined several groups on Facebook about Laminitis. I learned a lot about the disease and how to help manage it and help horses recover from it. What I found was that what works for one horse does not work for them all… Libby was no different and we had to take our cues from her.

“I knew that traditional shoes were not going to work for her. There was too much separation and the way Libby handled a trim indicated that she would not do well being shod. My daughter and I looked at many other possible approaches and FormaHoof really stood out to us. It seemed it would give her the support she needed and the comfort she wasn’t getting from casting. Don’t get me wrong, casting did what it was supposed to do. It wasn’t pleasant in my eyes, but it worked, bringing her coffin bone angles around to a much more normal angle. There is still some way to go, but casting got her well on her way, giving hoof wall support while the new, healthy hoof grew in. Had I known about FormaHoof earlier however, I would have gone that route first.

“After two rounds of casting we planned to take the casts off and to do the FormaHoof application. We re ran the X-rays and noted a significant improvement after five months of treatment. Her back feet were www.polotimes.co.uk

good enough that we didn’t require any further ‘casting’.

We put Libby in FormaHoof after the casts came off. She had a little trim and more X-rays and I have to say, I felt joy seeing her walk around the next day. It still wasn’t a perfect walk, as she was once again adjusting to new angles and learning to adapt, but after many years of neglect I felt like we had made significant progress.

What I can say is that her pain medication requirement dropped significantly. We let her out almost immediately to walk around the barn and it wasn’t long before we took her outside and let her enjoy the outdoors, even just for a short while. She rolled, probably for the first time in as many months… and even gave a little buck! And she just seemed so happy and thoroughly enjoyed walking around and stretching her legs.

“For her second FormaHoof application, we followed in the footsteps of many others and added glitter to her moulds. Let me say, it was FABULOUS. We had such fun doing

X-rays pre FormaHoof treatment, showing symptoms of lamanitis and cushings

it. It went much smoother than the first time as we had a better handle on the process and her feet were smaller as the excess had been trimmed further, so they fitted better in the moulds. We measured her feet for the moulds when they were casted, so it was a best guess as to the size.

“After two applications, it was decided that she could go barefoot to finish growing out her hooves. The stretched laminae are gradually reducing and Libby is now on a four week schedule to keep her comfortable.

She is out for the day now and only comes in at night. I am looking forward to the day that we can find out what she knows and hopefully she can be an ambassador for the Canadian Horse Breed and FormaHoof.

“If I ever have to travel the Laminitis road again, I will not hesitate to put the horse in FormaHoof. It will be my “go to” from here on out!”

For more information on FormaHoof and to read about many more hoof care challenges and soundness issues have been quickly and effectively addressed with FormaHoof, visit: www.formahoof.com

Libbys improved X-rays after two FormaHoof applications

Polo Times, October 2020

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Knowledge

Chukka Wellness India Parker-Smith founded Chukka Wellness – a company dedicated to helping polo players become fitter and stronger athletes. For several years, India worked as a Personal Trainer at one of Chelsea’s premier private members’ clubs and began to train some of the world’s leading sportsmen and women.

India trains both international and UK polo professionals focusing not only on functional movements and body maintenance, but also advising clients on fuelling their bodies correctly for mental alertness and physical endurance.

In this series Chukka Wellness founder, India will be suggesting specific exercises required to complement each type of shot in polo to give players a more accurate, controlled and powerful swing.

India recommends adding in exercises that aim to stabilise the shoulder and hip joints, strengthen the surrounding muscles and improve core control

The Offside Backhand The Chukka Wellness polo-fitness series

Polo is a very physically demanding sport and requires a high level of athletic prowess in order for players to perform at their best! Players need to be strong, stable and supple in the saddle to win in ride offs,

complete effective shots and control the horse effectively.

Recommended Exercises (three sets, 1520 reps per exercise)

This type of shot requires • Balance • Shoulder Mobility • Strong Inner Thighs • Strong Obliques

Balancing Squats (Improves balance) 1. Grab a balancing aid (Bosu, wobble board or stand on one leg) 2. Hop on to your balancing aid in either a half squat position or on one leg (depending on what balancing aid you have available) 3. Open up your toes, squeeze your glutes and ensure your knees are not wobbling all over the place!

4. Engage your core and slowly squat up and down trying to keep the balancing aid as still as possible.

Photography by Chukka Wellness

Balancing squats

Banded Shoulder Floss (Improves shoulder mobility) 1. Attach a resistance band to a stable base and put the other end around your shoulder joint. Move away from the base until you have a good amount of resistance.

2. Keeping your arm as close to your ears as possible, floss the arm up and down 3. Every time you lower the arm, relax and allow the band to pull your shoulder back out of the joint a little.

Banded shoulder floss

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51

Knowledge

Chukka Wellness

Ball Squeezes (Strengthens the inner thighs) 1. Start in standing position and put a Pilates ball between your legs 2. Lower your hips back and down into half squat position 3. Squeeze the ball with your inner thighs in a pulsing motion (15-20 reps)

Ball squeezes

Oblique Twists (Strengthens the obliques) 1. Attach one end of a band to a stable base and hold the other with both hands 2. Stand adjacent to the base and soften the knees 3. Keep your shoulders back and down and slowly rotate away from the base 4. Keep a slight bend in the elbows 5. Exhale as you rotate away from the base, inhale as you return to the start position

Oblique twists

Chukka Wellness is a company dedicated to helping polo players become fitter and stronger athletes.

Their services include: • 1-2-1 and team training in the Sussex and Surrey areas • Online Training (They have an array of clients all over the world) • Polo-Fitness Holidays and Clinics (Sotogrande and Argentina)

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Polo Times, October 2020

CW have also recently launched a Virtual Equine Membership Hub where players can gain access to a range of polo-specific workouts, mobility routines, nutritional guidance and much more!

‘Train like a pro’ and check out the Virtual Equine Hub at: www.chukkawellness.co.uk india@chukkawellness.co.uk

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Knowledge

Playing Tips

Playing tips with Rege Ludwig The Joy Stick Affect

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

release a degree of pressure on its mouth that is consistent with the rate you want it to accelerate. Your rein hand, as a part of your joystick upper body, should be moving forward and down at the same rate as your upper body, and to the same degree, so as to be releasing that pressure.

A significant point to consider is, the polo horse is an athlete trained to respond to the movements you make on its back.

Consistent with that thought, every move you make with your Joy Stick upper body goes directly into your upper legs that are gripping into your horse’s shoulders.

Because your upper legs will be pushing down and forward into your horse’s shoulders as your upper body is leaning forward and down, your upper legs are effectively pushing your horse forward.

If you combine the Joy Stick analogy to my Bolt Through Knees analogy, you will be delivering a quite strong message, through your upper legs, that your horse should be responding to your Joy Stick upper body requesting acceleration.

At the same time, your upper body movement has moved your arms and hands forward to be releasing pressure on your horse’s mouth. From that movement, your horse feels the effect of your joy stick

upper body moving your rein hand forward requesting acceleration.

If you realise that your polo horse is a trained athlete taught to respond to the movements of you on its back, and that it is trained to respond consistent with the degree of intensity with which you make those moves; then it should be obvious that it does not take much of a move of your body on that trained athlete’s back to have it respond with a degree of vigour.

Now, consider that instead of moving your Joystick upper body forward and down to accelerate, you move it back and up. Under those conditions, your rein hand should be moving back and up at the same time. That, in turn, would be applying pressure onto your horse’s mouth which would be indicating – decelerate.

At the same time that your Joy Stick upper body is leaning back, your upper

Photography courtesy of Rege Ludwi

This is more of a “consider this” article than a “how to do” article. What I would like for you to consider is; how you use your body on top of your polo horse conveys a message to the horse, either intentionally or inadvertently, as to what it should be doing for you at any given moment.

If you can accept the age old adage that the horse represents eighty percent of your ability to play the game of polo, then you should be able to accept the fact that, how you use your body on your horse’s back affects its ability to play the game with you and for you.

The first thing to be aware of is, there is no mind reading going on to where your horse knows what you want from it at any given moment. If your horse is to respond correctly to your request for it to move in a particular manner, you must communicate accurately exactly what you want, when you want it, and the degree of intensity with which to deliver it, With that having been said, your upper legs are the strongest and most direct form of communication you have to your horse; while, it is your hands connected to the reins that are the second most effective form of communication.

In a book I have written on the topic of The Polo Style of Riding, I reference an analogy I use when teaching, the Joy Stick Affect. With that analogy, I am comparing your body on your horse’s back to a Joy Stick used to control an automobile on a television screen. If you want the car to accelerate, you would move the joy stick froward. If you want the car to decelerate, you would move the Joy Stick back.

Joy Stick Affect

Similarly, if you want your polo horse to accelerate, you should lean your Joy Stick upper body forward and down to 54

Polo Times, October 2020

Bolt Through Knees

Decelerating Position

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Playing Tips

Leaning to Change Direction

legs will be lifting up and back on the bolt and your horse’s shoulders to affectively be lifting your horse’s front end up and back. That must happen if the horse is to decelerate and maintain a degree of readiness for executing the next manoeuvre.

Additionally, consider that If you were to lean your Joy Stick upper body either left or right, your horse will respond correspondingly by moving laterally in that same direction; and, will do so with a degree of intensity that is equal to the degree to which you leaned.

On the negative side, consider that if you were to move your rein hand right requesting your horse to turn right; however, your upper body was not leaning right to initiate the right turn; a negative consequence of that situation would be that your upper body will begin falling left and out of balance with your

Knowledge

horse’s balance the moment your horse initiates the right turn manoeuvre. With your Joy Stick upper body falling left, that unintended upper body, Joy Stick, movement will be negatively affecting your horses’ ability to continue turning right.

The way the riding aspect of playing your polo horse works is, the more correctly you convey your message relative to what you want, when you want it, and the degree of intensity with which to deliver it, the more you are helping your polo playing partner, the horse, play more affectively with you and for you.

Your ability to play the game of polo with maximum effectiveness is directly related to your ability to accurately communicate to your polo playing partner what you want, when you want it, and the degree of intensity with which you want it.

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Knowledge

Foraging

Photography by Rob Gould

Rob Gould is a forager with 20 years experience. In this series he will introduce readers to nature’s bounty that can be found and foraged easily. His passion is helping people to think about and develop a love for the wild food all around them and helping them grow a greater appreciation and understanding of the natural world as a whole

Rob with his giant puffball find, which unfortunately was no longer edible

Let’s be Sloe!

Autumnal foraging for the family So by the time you’re reading this, we’ll be in early October, and will have just recently experienced this year’s Harvest Moon – traditionally deemed to be the closest full moon to the celebration of the Autumn Equinox.

It’s rightly regarded as a time of bounty in plenty of habitats as far as many people are concerned, with the majority of hedgerow and woodland berries, nuts and seeds finally coming to fruition. As I sit here writing this in late September however, where I am in the Cotswolds we have gone almost three weeks without any significant rain and everything seems to be quite delayed

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Polo Times, October 2020

within the fields and pastures. I know further north the seasons are progressing more as normal, and I’ve seen pictures from fellow foragers in Scotland who have already harvested multitudes of chanterelles and the earliest flushes of ceps. but here in the more southern areas of the UK we desperately need some rain for the harvest to truly begin in earnest.

Just the other day, I came across a beautiful circle of giant puffballs in some mature, untreated pasture, all around the perfect size to harvest for a delicious dinner. However, upon further inspection the yellowing insides were already starting

Mushrooms need a bit of rain to pop up aplenty

to turn to spores, meaning that they were no longer going to be much good as an edible. The problem seems to be that many of the environmental factors promoting seasonal growth are there, but without that all important rain there is no ability for anything to grow quickly, which is particularly problematic for the mushrooms that we foragers would be expecting to look for at this time. But fingers crossed, by the time you’re reading this there will be mushroomsa-plenty popping up.

The same thing goes for ripening fruits.

Too much water and they’ll take forever to ripen anyway – fruits are literally a survival mechanism to try to ensure that a species survives the harsh winter period. If there’s too much water – and the weather is too ‘nice’ – the plants will not be stressed by the advancing seasons, and can even start aborting fruit. Conversely, too little water and what fruit there are can start to dry out and may even drop before they are fully ripe. www.polotimes.co.uk

Foraging

Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick Sloe... ... or how not to end up with cough syrup when making Sloe Gin

Sloes on the branch

Last month I told you all how to get your own batch of Bramble Whisky/Brandy/ Vodka/Gin going. I hope that, remembering or referring back to it, you’ll recall that you can swap in virtually any readily available base alcohol, pretty much to suit your taste.

So what do you do if you fancy trying something with sloes, but don’t like gin? Just substitute it out. Sloe whisky is particularly tasty in my humble opinion, and sloe brandy also works well too, especially so if you throw a few crab apples into the mix. But both need to age well, for a minimum of six months. If you want quicker results, go with vodka – it gives a more vibrant, clear flavour that may just be ready for Christmas. Although it would absolutely be better aged until next year too.

The Recipe Absolutely paramount to the creation of the best homemade sloe gin (or whatever) are the ingredients.

The Sloes To start with, and of utmost importance, your sloes need to actually be ripe. At some point in history, it became deemed important that sloes had gone through a hard frost before harvesting. But that was never the important thing. The key point was that historically they

Wait until sloes are fully ripe and soft when squeezed between finger and thumb before picking

Rob is a highly experienced forager with over twenty years of acquired knowledge. He can be booked for private foraging walks, wild edible surveys and corporate sessions, and also runs public ticketed walks, talks and workshops.

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ripened around the same time as the first frosts.

And those frosts helped soften the skins, so the flavours leeched out better.

But, with the weird weather we have nowadays, that is no longer the case. However, some people still think you can harvest sloes whenever and simply stick them in the freezer for a week or so.

It doesn’t work. It’s akin to harvesting green strawberries and expecting them to end up tasting the same as the fully ripe, most luscious red ones. It’s never going to happen.

Only pick your sloes when they have a bit of give when pinched gently between thumb and forefinger. Before that, they’ll just be woody and sour, full of tannins and with barely any natural sweetness. You’ll end up with cough syrup.

And absolutely don’t pick your sloes in July and freeze them, like some people I saw this year...

The Gin Don’t go cheap. Please. So no supermarket own brands unless you absolutely know what you’re doing. Just buy the cheapest of the commercially available brands* - I normally pick up whatever is on offer. *apologies to any quality spirit producers out there. But if you’re going to buy their good gin, you may as well throw a few extra pounds their way and buy their own branded sloe gin. You won’t regret it.

The Sugar Basic white sugar is fine. But I put it in at the end, not the start... my reasoning behind this is that when you put it in at the start, the natural sugars in the sloes can’t escape – do you remember the osmotic process from school? And those natural sugars are tied to a lot of the flavour components, so if you sweeten at the start, you end up with less flavour.

The Process At its most basic, my normal recipe is as follows: 1. Put your sloes in a jar, filling it to about half way.

2. Pour over your gin so that it covers the fruit and reaches the top of the jar.

3. Leave it alone to infuse, somewhere dark.

4. Strain off the fruit.

5. Add simple syrup to taste.

Rob also works with restaurants and food companies to bring a taste of the wild to their menus and products.

Please contact him via cotswoldforager@ gmail.com or search for Cotswold Forager across social media:

Knowledge

That’s it. If you have the patience, leave your sloe gin to settle for a few months extra, so that the flavours round out and any harshness will mellow, before enjoying with friends... if you like them enough...

The longer version 1. To speed up infusion, the sloes can be pricked all over, like in days of old, when a silver darning needle was used. Or frozen, to make the skins split. Personally, I just mash them up a bit in the jar with the end of a rolling pin.

2. Cover with your gin, or whatever other spirit you want to use. Some people add a few cracked almonds to add a bit of depth of flavour, but the same result can be achieved by cracking a few of the sloe stones.

3. Many people will leave the gin over the sloes for just three months. I prefer a minimum of six months if I’m honest, for a greater complexity of flavour. In fact, I have some at home where the sloes have been infusing for over two years, just to see the results. It’s being cracked open this winter.

4. The strained fruit can be sieved to remove the stones, and then used over ice cream as a simple dessert. Or mixed into jams for extra depth of flavour. In the past I’ve even frozen it in small cubes and then dipped them in melted chocolate to make a delicious Christmas treat. Although you may want to sweeten your sieved pulp before doing this.

5. A simple syrup is just equal parts (by weight) of water and sugar. Heat the mixture gently until the sugar has dissolved, and then leave to cool. Add slowly to your strained spirit, until it reaches the desired level of sweetness.

For me, the best bit about passing my knowledge and ideas to others is when I get to see it put into practice. So if you do make your own sloe infusions, or follow through on any of the other ideas you’ve seen in my columns, please share them with me on social media, tagging Polo Times and I.

Deliciously fruity sloe gin makes the most of the Autumn bounty

Website: www.cotswoldforager.co.uk Facebook: @cotswoldforager Instagram: @cotswoldforager Twitter: w@ForagerCotswold

Polo Times, October 2020

57

Sidelines

Gossip

BABY PRISK

BABY BOWN

Tim and Tara Bown welcomed Ernest James Bown on Saturday 26 September, weighing in at 9lb 3oz – congratulations!

Congratulations to Rosie and Royston Prisk who welcomed baby Willow Elisabeth Prisk on Friday 25 September, weighing in at 7lbs 3oz

DIDDY DAWNAY

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

Luca George Leo Tighe Dawnay was born 10 days early, on Monday 14 September at 8.1lbs to Seb and Louisa Dawnay, with proud father Seb describing their baby boy as “A total dreamboat!”

DINKY DEGANO

Christopher Degano and Tina Thun welcomed baby Kaia Lou on Wednesday 27 May, weighing in at 7lb 2oz and 52 cm, congratulations!

WHEELER WEDDING

Samantha BowersLopez and Johnny Wheeler were married on Saturday 5 Sept at St Michael’s, Aldringham with just the happy couple, their six children and the vicar present, followed by a reception at Johnny’s home in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

58

Polo Times, October 2020

CONGRATULATIONS!

Juano Britos dropped down on one knee and popped the question to Azul Rodriguez Canedo and she said yes – congratulations guys!

www.polotimes.co.uk

For the polo purist www.polotimes.co.uk

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Polo directory

What’s On – Polo Fixtures

USA

Editor’s Note: Due to the ongoing limitations for polo, not all clubs have finalised their 2020 fixtures, we have listed as many as possible here and apologise if your Club has not been included, We suggest members contact their local clubs for the most up to date fixture lists.

Club

Tournament

Handicap

Druids Lodge

Poppy Sunday Trophy

Druids Lodge

Druids Autumn League Finals: Pig Trophy

Ash Farm Druids Lodge

New Bridge

Northrup Knox Cup

8-12 goal

17/09/20

15/10/20

Grant Meadow

National Arena Chairman’s Cup

9-12 goal

19/09/20

03/10/20

New Bridge

National Copper Cup

8-12 goal

02/10/20

18/10/20

Houston

Keleen & Carlton Beal Cup

12 goal

08/10/20

18/10/20

New Bridge

Bronze Trophy

8-12 goal

07/10/20

01/11/20

Start Date

End date

08/11/20

08/11/20

0-2 goal

31/10/20

03/01/20

Winter Warm Up Cup

1-3 goal

12/11/20

15/11/20

El Roasario Trophy

8 goal

12/12/20

13/12/20

Ash Farm

Pro Am Tournament

2 goal

09/01/21

10/01/21

Druids Lodge

Bodensee Trophy

10/01/21

10/01/21

Druids Lodge

Watersfield Trophy (VL)

8 Goal

16/01/21

24/01/21

Windsor

Winten Cup

0,4 & 8 goal 03/10/20

11/10/20

Ash Farm

Paul Sweeney Memorial

0-3 goal

04/02/21

16/02/21

Sydney

Sydney Polo School

Open

06/10/20

08/10/20

Ellerston

Ellerston Spring Tournament

12 & 8 goal

10/10/20

11/10/20

Sydney

Sydney Gold Cup

0,4 & 8 goal

17/10/20

18/10/20

Druids Lodge

Valentine Trophy

14/02/21

14/02/21

Ash Farm

Paul Sweeney Memorial

0-3 & 4-6 goal

26/02/21

28/02/20

Ash Farm

Pro Am Winter Closer

Open

06/03/21

07/03/21

Druids Lodge

Druids Winter League Finals: Renshaw Trophy

0-2 goal

13/03/21

14/03/21

Grand Champions

North American Cup

16-20 goal 01/11/20

30/11/20

Grand Champions

National Twenty Goal

16-20 goal 20/11/20

27/11/20

12 & 8 goal

04/10/20

Australia Ellerston

Ellerston Spring Tournament

03/10/20

Eynesbury

Mount William Polo

Open

24/10/20

25/10/20

Killarney

Killarney

0,4 & 8 goal

31/10/20

01/11/20

Youth Polo

Dubai

Druids Lodge

University League: Exeter Cup

23/10/20

12/03/20

Druids Lodge

Druids Lodge Super League

07/11/20

20/03/20

Druids Lodge

Christmas Pudding University Tournament

09/12/20

09/12/20

Druids Lodge

Easter Bunny University Tournament

17/03/21

17/03/21

Druids Lodge

Schools End of Term Tournament

23/03/21

23/03/21

Al Habtoor

Halloween Cup

6 goal

23/10/20

30/10/20

Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club

Season Opening Cup

4 goal

01/11/20

09/11/20

Al Habtoor

7th Habtoor Polo Challenge Cup

Open

13/11/20

13/11/20

Al Habtoor

AHPRC League

4-6 goal

14/11/20

21/11/20

Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club

Commemoration Day Cup

2 goal

22/11/20

01/12/20

Al Habtoor

UAE National Day Cup

8-10 goal

25/11/20

04/12/20

15/01/21

17/01/21

Ladies Great Meadow, USA

USPA Women’s Arena Handicap

7-10 & 02/10/20 12-15 goal

04/10/20

Timor, AUS

Timor Women’s

Open

17/10/20

18/10/20

Windsor, AUS

Windsor Women’s

0,4 & 8 goal

24/10/20

25/10/20

Al Habtoor, Dubai

Ladies Charity Cup

Open

06/11/20

06/11/20

Houston, USA

Texas Women’s Open

18-20 goal

10/11/20

15/11/20

Houston, USA

U.S. Open Women’s Handicap

10-12 goal 10/11/20

15/11/20

Ash Farm

Ladies Tournament

4 goal

15/12/20

14/12/20

Snow Polo Dates Kitzbühel, Austria

19th Bendura Bank Snow Polo Wolrd Cup Kitzbühel

Open

Quick Question Answer -

to the question posed on our Letters page

A: The Deauville Coupe d’Or (Gold Cup) was created in 1950 by M. François André, the winning team in 1950 was Franco-Espagnole (Elie de Rothschild, Juan Antonio Echevarrieta,

Club contacts UK and Ireland

Rafael Echevarrieta & Henri Couturie.

CLUB

PHONE

EMAIL

CLUB

PHONE

EMAIL

All Ireland Polo Club

00353 01 6896732

dstone@indigo.ie

Cambridge Polo Club*

07711 217004

cambridgepoloclub@icloud.com

All England Polo Club Hickstead*

01273 834 315

polo@hickstead.co.uk

Cambridge County Polo Club*

01223 812922

info@cambridgecountypoloclub.co.uk

Apsley End Polo Club*

01462 712444

tobiana.scott@gmail.com

Carlton House

07901 561113

harrietservaes@hotmail.com

Ash Farm Polo Club*

07799 812739

ashfarmpolo@hotmail.com

Chester Racecourse Polo Club

01244 304602

amorris@chester-races.com

Barfold Polo Club

07778 808853

mborwick@gmail.com

Cheshire Polo Club

01270 611 100

info@cheshirepoloclub.co.uk

Bawtry Polo Club

01302 773282

info@bawtrypoloclub.co.uk

Chiltern Polo Club

07973 174542

info@chilternpoloclub.com

Beaufort Polo Club

01666 880510

enquiries@beaufortpoloclub.co.uk

Cirencester Park Polo Club

01285 653225

info@cirencesterpolo.co.uk

Beverley Polo Club*

01964 544877

info@beverleypoloclub.co.uk

Cowdray Polo Club

01730 813257

enquiries@cowdraypolo.co.uk

Binfield Heath

01491 411969

bhpcmanager@gmail.com

Curraghmore Polo Club

00353 51 387102

mkennedy@cssgroup.ie

Blueys Polo Club*

07930 323263

polomanager@blueyspolo.co.uk

Dallas Burston Polo Club*

01926 811 111

enquiries@ixlevents.com

Bramham Polo Academy

07811 993316

emmadvh@btinternet.com

Dorset Polo Club

01202 623985

office@dorsetpolo.co.uk

Bunclody Polo Club

00353 87 6605917

info@poloclubbunclody.com

Druids Lodge Polo Club*

01722 782597

abi@druidspolo.co.uk

Burningfold Polo Club

01483 200722

derrek@burningfold.com

Dundee and Perth Polo Club*

07831 365 194

jamesscrawford@aol.com

www.polotimes.co.uk

Polo Times, October 2020

61

Polo directory CLUB

PHONE

EMAIL

CLUB

PHONE

EMAIL

Eastwood Polo Club

07875 743475

frankums@googlemail.com

Peover Polo Club

07766 016 833

polomanager@peoverpoloclub.co.uk

Edgeworth Polo Club

01285 821695

edgeworthpolo@gmail.com

Polo Wicklow*

00353 404 67164

siobhan@polowicklow.com

Edinburgh Polo Club*

01314 496696

djamesjamie@aol.com

RAF Cranwell

07739 569491

rafcranwellpoloclub@yahoo.co.uk

Emsworth Polo Grounds*

01344 883112

info@fourquarterspolo.co.uk

Ranelagh Polo Club*

01344 885697

ranelagh@labravapolo.com

Epsom Polo Club*

07961 232106

epsompoloclub@hotmail.com

RCBPC*

01344 890060

polo@rcbpc.com

FHM Polo Club*

07778 436468

frances@fhmpolo.co.uk

RMAS Polo Club

07973 174542

rmas-nc-aci-projinters@mod.uk

Fifield Polo Club*

01628 620061

fifieldpoloclub@live.co.uk

Rugby Polo Club*

01788 817724

info@rugbypoloclub.com

Great Trippetts Polo Club

01428 741916

charles@trippetts.com

Rutland Polo Club

07772 040668

secretary@rutlandpoloclub.co.uk

Guards Polo Club*

01784 434212

polo@guardspoloclub.com

Silver Leys Polo Club

07730 060200

silverleyspoloclub@gmail.com

Ham Polo Club

020 8334 0000

office@hampoloclub.com

St. Albans Polo Club

07956 017090

info@stalbanspoloclub.co.uk

Hertfordshire Polo Club*

01707 256023

polo@hertspolo.co.uk

Stewarton Polo Club

07974 706045

info@stewartonpolo.co.uk

Home Farm Polo Grounds

07807672120

rachaelkearnet@hotmail.co.uk

Suffolk Polo Club

07990 576974

aes3@cam.ac.uk

Hurtwood Polo Club

01483 272828

polo@hurtwoodparkpolo.co.uk

Sussex Polo Club*

01342 714920

info@sussexpolo.co.uk

Kirtlington Park Polo Club

01869 350138

info@kirtlingtonparkpolo.co.uk

Taunton Vale Polo Club

01823 480460

nhs.wheelers@gmail.com

Knepp Castle Polo Club

07920 023639

info@aspectpolo.co.uk

Tidworth Polo Club*

01980 846705

info@tidworthpolo.com

Leadenham Polo Club

07429 299026

office@leadenhampoloclub.com

Toulston Polo Club

01422 372529

info@toulstonpoloclub.com

Longdole Polo Club*

01452 864544

info@longdolepolo.com

Triskelion Polo Club*

07624 272547

polo@triskelionpolo.club

Moor Farm Polo Club

07494 114190

shop@moorfarmshop.co.uk

Vale of York Polo Club*

07788 426968

info@valeofyorkpoloclub.co.uk

Moor Hall Farm Polo Club*

01279 450637

alecbeve@btinternet.com

Vaux Park Park Polo Club*

07703 524613

vppc@btconnect.com

New Forest Polo Club

07977 224404

annabelparryjoyner@yahoo.co.uk

West Wycombe Park Polo Club*

07787 560729

secretary@westwycombepolo.co.uk

Norfolk Polo Club

01508 480400

office@norfolkpolo.co.uk

Westcroft Park Polo Club*

01276 858545

info@westcroftparkpolo.co.uk

Northern Ireland Polo Club

07803 020577

info@northernirelandpoloclub.co.uk

White Rose Polo Club*

01430 875767

info@whiterosepolo.co.uk

Offchurch Bury Polo Club*

07816 830887

info@offchurchburypoloclub.co.uk

White Waltham Polo Club

07748 670587

kim@playpolo.co.uk

Pangbourne Polo Club

07708 906810

aprice@polofix.com

* Also open for arena polo in the UK winter

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• The Dinas – Sleeps x12, in sleepy Lower Town, Pembrokeshire.

Located 40 yards from the water’s edge.

• Apple Tree Cottage – Sleeps x4 in rural Winchcombe, Gloucestershire.

• Honey Cottage – Sleeps x4 in rural Winchcombe, Gloucestershire.

Dog and horse friendly – all properties border either the Coastal Paths of Pembrokeshire or areas of outstanding natural beauty in Gloucestershire.

For all enquiries, please call 07792 422209 or email: 3vineyardstreet@gmail.com

Subscribe now Why not treat yourself or a friend to Polo Times?

62

Polo Times, October 2020

Call our friendly subscriptions team: 01452 730 770 or visit www.polotimes.co.uk www.polotimes.co.uk

Polo directory Equipment

Marketplace In association with Chukkout Polo Transport

POLO MALLET STANDS Quartz grey polo mallet stands for sale. Hand made, very nice design and brand new. Can hold 10 mallets easily. More photos available on request. £99 plus shipping. Tel: 07730 305050

1995 MERCEDES 814 1995 Mercedes 814 horsebox. Carries 2 large horses or 3 ponies with small tack storage area including water tank and pump for wash off. Lovely lorry, nice to drive. Needs new floor and plating due end September, hence price. Only for sale as no longer needed. Priced to sell, £2,700. Tel: 07817 780688

HIGGINSON SADDLERY POLO SADDLES 2 exceptionally well made Higginson saddlery polo saddles.

Great quality leather, could do with some stitching to tidy them up, but still plenty of life left in them. Medium to wide fits. Can be collected from Somerset in next couple weeks. £75 each or £125 for the pair.

Tel: 07891 338442 RUGS FOR SALE 2 x 6ft 6 WeatherBeeta stable rugs clean and in great condition £50 each. 1x 6ft under rug/liner clean and in good condition £25 & 1x green stable rug neck attachment £5. Collection from Onley Park. Tel: 07477 563312

Misc

3 BED STATIC HOME Three bed static home, 34ft x 10ft, LPG hot water heater, cooker, fridge, microwave, LPG gas fire everything works as it should, clean and tidy. Newly purchased but no longer required.

Ready to go. Located Long Itchington, Warwickshire, buyer to arrange transport. £1,800.

Tel: 07477 563312 SCOREBOARDS AND CLOCKS DESIGNED FOR POLO Outdoor and arena sizes. Fully electronic, displaying the time counting down, both scores and chukka number.

Automatic bell/horn. Controlled wirelessly by a remote control you can even wear on your arm.

Visit www.SportingDesigns.co.uk or call +44 (0)7860 303217

HALF MOON BARRY GAG Half moon Barry gag for sale, £60.

Tel: +18328797268

ZAPPALA & VILLAMIL STICKS New sticks that I have to sell, all quite light weighted. £90.

Tel: 07538 429447

MOLENKONING HORSE WALKER 20 m diameter, 8 bay, multi speed walker was dismantled end of July after 5 years of light service.

Diameter allows small horses to canter and bays wide enough to go 2-a-breast and work 16 at same time. In full working order and complete with control box. Delivery possible. £4,500. Tel: 07703 583543

SUBSCRIPTION PRICES Print and digital subscription (inc App & Website access) UK (direct debit only)

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Polo Times, October 2020

63

Final bell

In association with AprĂŠs Polo

Photograph by Mark Beaumont

Will Harper is one of the UK’s most talented young players; having worked his way up from the grassroots levels, this year the 3 goaler had an unforgettable English season with the opportunity to play in one of the biggest organisations in polo, Park Place What is your biggest passion and why?

My biggest passion has got to be polo and everything about it especially the horses!

What is your all time best polo memory?

My best polo memory is winning The Silver Cup in Sotogrande with Lechuza Caracas in 2017!

Favourite film and why?

Bad Education the movie as it’s very funny and I am a bit of a fan of Jack Whitehall

Best holiday destination & activity?

One of the most fun holidays I ever had was skiing in France – it was a lot of fun and will never forget it!

đ&#x;¤Ł

Best pony and why?

My best pony was probably a mare called Delight who I unfortunately lost this season, she was always one of my favourites to play as she had so much run and I just always had so much confidence on her!

Favourite song/album?

Magic in the Hamptons Favourite food/dish?

A pizza from Midhurst Grill!

Favourite hobby outside of polo?

I enjoy hunting and fishing with my friends, it’s always a lot of fun!

Who were/are your favourite teammates?

My favourite teammates are Angus Rowan Hamilton and Juan Britos!

Photograph by Helen Cruden

Photograph by Helen Cruden

Most prized possession?

Would have to be my string of horses by far!

Hardest opponent?

Would definitely have to be the two Castognola brothers!

Which sports do you like outside of polo?

I’m a big fan of rugby as it’s very physical and is always entertaining to watch!

64

Polo Times, October 2020

Favourite celebrity and why?

Dan Carter was always a big idol of mine from when I used to be really into rugby, thought he was an amazing athlete!

Are you passionately superstitious?

Yeah I wear three socks on my right foot and none on my left!

Describe yourself in three words?

Relaxed, loyal, lanky

I

One thing which would surprise us about you?

I have a New Zealand passport!

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