Director of Polo’s Report by Antony Fanshawe

“Over the winter we added some 80 miles of drainage to the polo fields at Flemish Farm and The Princes’ Ground so that they better handle wet weather”

READY TO PLAY

Antony Fanshawe, Guards Polo Club’s Director of Polo, is in upbeat mood as work begins on redeveloping Grounds Six and Eight and the Club welcomes a raft of new playing members

IMAGES: IMAGES OF POLO

As we head into the 2022 season, I want to start by thanking all the players who have supported this Club over the past two years. Covid threw far too many curve balls at us but we pulled through stronger and fitter than ever before. That is thanks to all of the teams that stayed with us, supported our vision and entered our tournaments. My personal thanks must go to Tara Bown here in the Polo Office and all the ground staff that worked so hard last year to ensure we could play so many games. Sadly Peter Svoboda left the Club in December after 10 years as Head Groundsman but we are fortunate to have secured the experienced Paulius Kuklinskas to take on this demanding role, ensuring a smooth and effortless transition at a key time for the Club.

Polo came back with a vengeance last season; so many people showing their love of the sport. Ironically, I believe Covid reignited our passion for the game – when we thought we might not be able to play we grabbed every opportunity with both hands.

Because this Club worked so hard to open safely and successfully in 2020 the global polo community were able to plan their 2021 season in confidence, knowing that Guards Polo Club would deliver plenty of competitive sport. We are now reaping the rewards of that effort. The Club heads into this new season with a strong playing membership – a record number of players have joined Guards Polo Club over the past year – accompanied by our impressive fixtures list. We are very much ready to play at every level in 2022.

Despite still being in uncertain times – the price of diesel, the war in Ukraine, covid regularly returning – we are also in the incredible position of being able to move forward with the penultimate stage of our grounds plan, the redevelopment of Grounds Six and Eight. If the weather is kind to us at key times, we aim to deliver level, dry, full-size fields from next season.

The Princes’ Ground has already exceeded my expectations and will come into full use this season. We will be playing 22-goal polo on what, I believe, is the best polo field in the world this summer and I see no reason why Grounds Six and Eight will not be equally impressive once they have bedded in.

Of course such a project does not come without its inconveniences but it is important to remember our end goal – to deliver six, full-size, world-class, laser-levelled grounds at Smith’s Lawn. We plan to complete this £3million+ grounds project by rebuilding Ground Four in 2023. The ultimate result will not just be of huge benefit to our players but also for our Social Members and sponsors too. The ultimate aim is to play

all of our polo here at Smith’s Lawn.

In the short-term we are working hard to make sure that the works have as negligible an impact on your polo as possible. Over the winter we added some 80 miles of drainage to the polo fields at Flemish Farm and The Princes’ Ground so that these grounds handle wet weather. We have fully upgraded the irrigation system at Smiths Lawn, replacing more than a mile of underground pipework and adding new irrigation reels so that we can more accurately and quickly can irrigate in dry

weather. We have replaced the vertidrain machine and added a new “hollowcoring” machine that will help speed the recovery of our fields. Of course Ground Four will be in use this season and we have successfully approached Beenhams Farm, Westcroft Park and Black Bears to ensure that we can play a number of our games with them this season.

So it is all systems go for an actionpacked season for everyone. Don’t forget though that my door is always open if you want to talk about your season. My success is your success so let us all make this season a winning one. ✸

“IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER OUR END GOAL – TO DELIVER SIX, FULL-SIZE, WORLD-CLASS, LASER-LEVELLED GROUNDS AT SMITH’S LAWN”

Antony Fanshawe treading in divots on the newly created Princes’ Ground.

The Queen’s Ground looking immaculate and ready to play in 2021. With improved draining and new irrigation machinery, everything is in place to ensure all the grounds at Smith’s Law and Flemish Farm can deliver with every game, whatever the weather