Hurlingham

hurlingham polo association magazine

summer Issue june 2011

summer 2011

the centenaries [Cowdray Park and the Coronation Cup] seeing double [Alan Meeker discusses his new cloning lab] state oF PlaY [the polo season in Florida] hoMe tiMe [Argentina’s victory at Copa de las Naciones]

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hurlingham [contents]

58

40

28

24

11

Ponylines

News from around the polo world, plus interviews and the Chief Executive’s column

18

Talk

Featuring cloning, the polo career of US television host, John Walsh, and building a family polo team

26 Profile On the cover: John Cowdray painted in 1983 by Brian Organ

Taki Theodoracopulos fondly recounts the colourful golden era of Parisian polo

TONY RAMIREZ / WWW.IMAGESOFPOLO.COM, CAPTIVE MINDS, MARIE MERRETT

28 Heritage Herbert Spencer on the remarkable history of the Coronation Cup, which is 100 years old this year

36 Legacy Clare Milford Haven discusses the polo legend that was Lord Louis Mountbatten

40

Literature

A new book celebrates the centenary of Cowdray Park, home of British polo

47

Action

Reports and pictures from across the globe, including the Florida season, the Townsend Cup, Copa de las Naciones, St Regis and the Indian Empire Shield

66 Archive Alex Webbe pays homage to the formidable history of the University of Miami polo team

foreword Roderick Vere Nicoll Publisher

The dominant themes in this Summer issue are history and family. On the cover is a portrait of John Cowdray painted in 1983 by Brian Organ. Lord Cowdray was instrumental in resurrecting the game after the war in England. He played a major part in developing the Cowdray Park Polo Club and in re-starting the Coronation Cup in the Fifties. In Features, we celebrate 100 years of polo at Cowdray and the centenary of the Coronation Cup. Clare Milford Haven reports on the legacy of Lord Louis Mountbatten and the thrill of winning the Mountbatten Cup, which I was lucky enough to win as well (see below) in 2006. In Profile, Taki Theodoracopulos gives us an entertaining view of Sixties polo in the City of Light. There was plenty of activity on and off of the field! Finally, in Archive, Alex Webbe writes of the only team to win all of their games including the Intercollegiates for four years in row.

The other major thread throughout is the young and what they are doing in polo. We start off in Ponylines with the first allblack team to win the Interscholastic in the United States. For Love of my Life, Tori Wayman recounts how she bought La Fortuna – inducted into the Hall of Fame as one of the best ponies – for a penny and a kiss! Want to find out how to improve communications with your children? Have a look at Martin Armstrong’s piece on family polo in Talk.

In Action we cover, among others, the Florida season (Lechuza Caracas was the dominant team this year), the Townsend Cup, 02 Arena polo and the Copenhagen Cup, which is a new initiative for the schools’ polo at Coworth Park.

In polo the patrons and the parents support the game, for Hurlingham magazine it is the advertisers and I would like to thank all of them for their support!

John Walsh is the host of America’s Most Wanted, a programme that’s helped capture over 1,100 dangerous fugitives since its debut in1988. As well as being named Man of the Year by both the US Marshals Service and the FBI, John was also made an honorary US Marshal (the third man to receive this in the organisation’s history). John lives in Washington with his wife and children.

Ad minciduisi tat. Ut alit, se tie Taki Theodoracopulos doloboreros nisi.Perat. has Iscipbeen euipisit Taki Theodoracopulos a wis nis ad dolor dignim ex eum aliquiscolumnist foririlThe Spectator since1977, mod ex as exeraesto consequam, conse as well writing for publications that dolutate modolor tionsequam ipisis include the Sunday Times andquisl Vanity nim num euCup feumsan Fair.ipAneuis ex-Davis player vendipisfor Greece, mod exeritalso iusci nostrud te vel Taki was theblandrem captain for the Greek iure venim dolore et of 1972 and1983. national karate team Having given up polo, Taki currently lives in New York and Gstaad.

Graham Dennis Ad minciduisi tat.isUtthe alit,owner se tieof Blacklocks BooksIscip & Prints andwis doloborerosPolo nisi.Perat. euipisit is Polo Club. nisarchivist ad dolorfor iril Guards dignim ex eum aliquisBlacklocks has oneconsequam, of the largest mod ex exeraesto conse photo archives of tionsequam polo photographs, dolutate modolor quisl ipisis programmes andeuephemera nim ip euis num feumsan covering vendipisEnglish polo.

Graham began watching mod exerit iusci blandrem nostrud te vel polo at Guards in et the Sixties as a boy iure venim dolore but it was many years before he joined Guards as a social member in 1996.

Isabella Hislop to asefew Ad minciduisi tat.Prior Ut alit, tie months ago, Isabella nisi.Perat. associatedIscip poloeuipisit with mints doloboreros wis rather than horses.

Butexsince nis ad dolor iril dignim eumhandling aliquisall theexsocial mediaconsequam, for Hurlingham, mod exeraesto conse she’s grown to love this fast-paced, dolutate modolor tionsequam quisl ipisis unpredictable game.

Coveringvendipisthe nim ip euis num eu feumsan Intercollegiates great nostrud scoutingtefor mod exerit iusci ‘was blandrem vel aiure future polo-playing venim dolore et husband’. Isabella is currently on her gap year and will start her law degree at LSE in October.

HurlingHam magazine Publisher Roderick Vere Nicoll executive editor Peter Howarth editor Arabella Dickie Deputy editor Herbert Spencer Contributing editor Sarah Eakin editor-at-large Alex Webbe Designer Hillary Jayne Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. All the information contained in this publication is correct at the time of going to press.

The HURLINGHAM Polo Association magazine (ISSN 1750-0486) is published by Hurlingham Media. The magazine is designed and produced on behalf of Hurlingham Media by Show Media Ltd. It is published on behalf of the Hurlingham Polo Association

by Hurlingham Media. The products and services advertised are not necessarily endorsed by or connected with the publisher or the Hurlingham Polo Association. The editorial opinions expressed in this publication are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of the publisher or the Hurlingham Polo Association. Hurlingham magazine welcome feedback from readers: hurlinghammedia@hpa-polo.co.uk

Hurlingham media 47-49 Chelsea Manor St, London SW3 5RZ +44 (0) 771 483 6102 hurlingham@hpa-polo.co.uk www.hurlinghampolo.com SHow meDia editorial managing Director Peter Howarth 1-2 Ravey Street, London EC2A 4QP + 44 (0) 203 222 0101 info@showmedia.net www.showmedia.net

MIKE ROBERTS

08

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ponylines [news] Pilarà-Piaget team announced, FiP zone playoffs, golden goals charity and much more

getty images LiLa PHOtO / WWW.LiLaPHOtOs.cOm

One tO Watch Being forced to shuttle to and from caracas throughout the 2011 Florida high-goal season seems to have little effect on either the quality of Venezuelan banker Victor Vargas’s play or on the success of his Lechuza caracas team. they captured both the c.V. Whitney and the Us Open championship, and took audi to overtime in the final of the UsPa Piaget gold cup. a familiar figure on the high-goal scene in the United states, england and spain, Vargas has led his team back from one of the game’s worst tragedies just two years ago, when 21 of his prized polo ponies died on the field-side while preparing to play. they were later found to have been poisoned by selenium. a 25-year veteran of the game, Victor is a constant scoring threat at the number one position. Rated among the top mounted patrons in polo, his disciplined organisation continues to produce one of the game’s most competitive teams.

www.hurlinghampolo.com

hurlingham [ ponylines]

Chief executive

2011 auDi polo aWarDs Over 400 guests, including the greatest stars in polo, came together on16 May for the sixth annual Audi Polo Awards at Coworth Park. Andrew Hine, director of Polofix – organisers of the Audi Polo Awards, remarked: ‘There is no doubt that last season was highly thrilling – not least with El remanso and Enigma – two young teams who have been involved in high goal for just two years.’ Having won both The Queen’s Cup and The Gold Cup – a very rare achievement, Ali Albwardy’s Dubai team swept the board taking home four awards including The Apes Hill Most Outstanding High Goal Team.

Adolfo Cambiaso was awarded The Coworth Park Most Outstanding High Goal Player with his Dolfina Caridad receiving The Kerry Packer Most Outstanding High Goal Pony. rashid Albwardy added further recognition for the Dubai team by picking up The royal Salute Most Outstanding High Goal Patron.

For the English contingent, success came in the form of James Beim, who was awarded The Audi Most Outstanding British Professional, and Nina Clarkin, who received The Pommery Most Outstanding Lady Player award. The Life Time Achievement Awards were introduced in order to honour individuals who have made a lifelong dedication to the sport of polo. This year the Life Time Achievement Awards went to Buff Crisp, Secretary of the HPA from 1989 to 2000, and Alan Budgett, Chairman of the HPA from 1967 to 1974.

philly youth victorious Kareem rosser, 18, captain of the winning Cowtown/Work to ride team at the USPA National Interscholastic Championship in March, stumbled upon polo by mistake. He and his brothers were out cycling when they first discovered the Work to ride barn, a non-profit programme founded by Lezlie Hiner in 1994, aiming to give Philadelphia’s underprivileged children riding lessons in exchange for help with looking after the horses. From there, rosser’s polo career took off.

Named ‘Number 1 All-Star’ of the tournament, the humble rosser insists that it is his teammates (brother Daymar rosser, 16, and Brandon rease, 15) who are the secret to his success: ‘Without them, there would be no team.’

The National final – a rematch of the regional final – was played against Baltimore Polo Club. The match was tough, as rosser describes: ‘Baltimore came out scorching, cutting the lead to five with three minutes to go.’ However, the WTr team stepped up in the final moments, finishing victorious 24-17.

Not only a historic moment for the Work to ride team, the win has also given rosser and his teammates idol status as they aim to ‘lead the way in opening doors into this great sport’. isabella hislop www.hurlinghampolo.com

HOLLY HOLLErAN

12

The season is now well under way and as always the weather is once again a regular topic of conversation, but this year it is because a large swathe of the country is desperate for rain. As I write this, things are looking pretty desperate for polo players and farmers.

In spite of this, the first test match was played on near-perfect conditions on Lawns 2 at Cowdray, and there is no doubt that there has been a drift of players to Cowdray, where the priority has been the grounds since David Jamison’s time as Chairman.

On 21 April, prior to the season here, and at the tail end of the short season in Argentina, England fielded a team of Luke Tomlinson and Mark Tomlinson, James Beim and Malcolm Borwick to play against Argentina on the Number 1 Field at Palermo, Argentina. With the home side based around Gonzalito and Facundo Pieres, and with two very competitively handicapped players up the front, there were no illusions as to the challenge faced by England. Our team was not out-horsed generally, but Argentina had four or five ponies whose superior speed and agility enabled them to escape our clutches and score vital goals. Yes, we lost, but the Argentine players watching were genuinely impressed by England’s performance and congratulations are due to the team for a good game. Our thanks go to Harald Link for supporting the team and making it financially possible, and of course to the AAP who laid on what everyone considered to be a very successful day.

Turning back to this season, the extension of the crossing rule to exclude turning left as well as right if slowing down appears to be making a difference, although I have heard that ponies are being hit more. The HPA is also trying to reduce the ‘working’ of the umpires, something that is usually done by the higher handicapped players on the team. Again, so far this has been well received.

There has been much discussion on the proposal to introduce a home-grown player rule, and as always, not everyone will be pleased. But the HPA Stewards will do their best to introduce a rule that is fair to those who pay for the teams and to our own players, as well as being good for polo here.

With three international matches in May, June and July, the 14-goal FIP qualifiers in Italy in September and hopefully the World Championships in Argentina in October, plus the various Young England games, there will be plenty of players wearing the new Joules England shirts. In the first outing, we saw a good game but a loss against a South American team at Cowdray. The next test match will be against New Zealand and they will be very keen to avenge their defeat last season. Then Brazil, who have no players or horses here for the high-goal season, have very sportingly accepted the challenge to play for the Coronation Cup, for which they will be flying over ponies and players. It will be a special day; not only the last for Cartier after a long innings but also the Centenary match for the Coronation Cup.

Piaget Manufacture movement 880P Mechanical self-winding chronograph Flyback, dual time 100 meter water resistant Titanium, sapphire case-back Rubber strap

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hurlingham [ ponylines] chukkaS

Book releaSe

Eduardo and Pepe Heguy of Chapa II will play with Julio Arellano and Alejandro Novillo Astrada in the Triple Crown, making their team 33 goals. Other teams will include La Dolfina (39 goals), Ellerstina (37), La Aguada (36), Estancia Grande (36) and Pilará Piaget (33).

There are two more further slots which São José (32), Alegria (32), La Quinta (30), Miramar (29) and Engima (28) will play for.

Polo in the United States is the latest book by Horace A Laffaye. His writing charts the development of polo in America from its beginnings in New York City in 1876 to the 2010 US Open Championship in Florida.

The book’s 26 chapters cover a myriad of subjects: arena polo, university games, women’s polo, the game in the US army, the Olympic Games, as well as seldom-mentioned topics, such as the literature of polo and artists’ depictions of the sport (the book contains more than one hundred illustrations).

Although polo history is usually confined to the deeds of prominent personalities and the big clubs, Laffaye also covers regional polo and lesser-known clubs and players. In his foreword, historian Dennis J Amato considers this work, ‘one of the most important books ever published on the sport. It is destined to become a major reference work for decades to come.’

In the Gold Cup there are 18 teams: two less than last year. There are six English patrons, three French, two Italian, two Australians and one each from Brunei, Chile, Columbia, Dubai, Germany and Thailand. Five teams are new this year, and there are also several new sponsors: Richard Mille, Stella Artois and Thai Polo.

Cartier has announced a three-year deal to sponsor the Queen’s Cup at the Guards Polo Club starting in 2012. After 27 years of sponsorship of the Coronation Cup, Mr Arnaud Bamberger, Cartier UK Executive Chairman said, ‘We felt it was time to change the formula to one which is more tournament focused.’ The opportunity is now open for a sponsor to take over the Coronation Cup which is celebrating its 100th anniversary and is the world’s number one spectator polo event.

The Brazilians are making a huge effort to play in the Coronation Cup. The team will consist of José Eduardo Kalil (6 goals), Luiz Paolo Bastos (7), Rodrigo Andrade (8) and João Paulo Ganon (8). They are flying in 12 horses for the game. Brazil have only played once before, in 2001. They lost 8–7 at Cowdray as Guards was closed for the foot and mouth outbreak.

Zone PlayoffS The United States and Mexico have advanced out of the North and Central American zone to the 2011 FIP World Championships this October in San Luis, Argentina. The qualifying tournament was hosted by Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic from 6 to 15 May with Canada, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic also participating.

The first weekend saw both the USA and Canada defeat Guatemala to set up the much anticipated showdown between the bordering countries with a spot in the World Championship on the line. Canada jumped out to a 4-1 lead after two periods but the US got on track in the second half, led 10-6 heading into the final period and won 10-8. USA Captain John Gobin was awarded MVP. The following weekend Mexico defeated the Dominican Republic 2-0 in a best-of-three series to earn their ticket to Argentina. Mexico won 9-7 in their first match and 13-10 in the second meeting to qualify for the World Championships later this year. The beautiful setting of Casa de Campo was a great location for the event and a good group of horses was gathered by manager Cali Garcia-Velez for the teams to play at a high level. nicholaS SnoW

In 1539 the first races took place at Chester race course. This year, the Duke of Cambridge played in the middle of the course on 1 June.

It was the Duke’s first polo game since his marriage to Catherine Middleton in April. He and his brother Prince Harry were due to play the Sentebale Polo Cup on 12 June at Coworth.

POLOLINE

During the winter Nick Evans and his wife Kinny rode in a number of hunt races across natural hunting country. The highlight was the Melton – the hunting man’s Grand National – in Leicestershire on 5 February, which takes place over three miles and several jumps. Sadly Nick fell at the fifth fence but Kinny finished a very impressive ninth. They both rode to raise money for the Nepalese Tibetan Children’s Charity.

In a new book, Polo – 40 Years Behind the Lens, polo photographer Mike Roberts charts four decades of the sport at Guards Polo Club. The foreword is written by HRH The Prince of Wales. This unique collection of rare photographs is limited to 250 signed and numbered copies. blacklockspoloart.com www.hurlinghampolo.com

the love of my life Pony’s name Sex origin

La Fortuna Gelding Argentina

Polo was just one of La Fortuna’s jobs. My father found him at Dickie Santamarina’s ranch in Argentina. They had gelded him because of his parrot mouth, in those days considered a genetic defect. My dad loved him, but Dickie wouldn’t let him buy him because of his mouth so he gave him to Dad with the promise that he wouldn’t say

where he came from. When I was six I asked Dad if I could buy him for a penny. He told me he’d cost a penny and a kiss. La Fortuna and I then went everywhere together; from the start of a 26-goal game until the barbecues at night. A polo sponsor wanted to buy him for a big sum in the Eighties, but Dad refused because he was my horse. La Fortuna took me to rodeos, polo games and eventually retired as a babysitter for the weanlings. He not only raised me, but he raised my father as well, helping him achieve his 10-goal handicap. He was, and still is, a legend in the sport of polo. tori Wayman

15

hurlingham [ ponylines] obITUARy: THE MAHARAJAH of JAIPUR (1931 – 2011)

Lord Rothermere’s media career began at the International Herald Tribune in Paris. In 1997 he became managing director of the Evening Standard in London, and one year later was later appointed executive chairman of Daily Mail & General Trust.

Polo is one of his many sporting passions, which also include tennis, riding and skiing.

16 17

I started playing polo four years ago at Druids Lodge Polo Club, based just outside salisbury in wiltshire. My son, Vere, was very keen on the game, having started with the RA Pony Club, and he then continued the sport at school. I would take him along to weekly lessons and eventually Giles Ormerod, who owns and runs Druids Lodge, persuaded me to play. This is how I, like so many others, got the bug.

There are three factors that make polo particularly special for me. Firstly, I love my string of ponies – the majority are from Argentina, with the odd one from south Africa and new Zealand. secondly, there’s the joy of being able to play on the same team as my children – my eldest daughter, Eleanor, has also started to play in a few low-goal tournaments. Finally, the friendship and camaraderie of my talented teammates is something I cherish. I currently play 12 and 15-goal tournaments, and I’d say my perfect match involves a great pitch, a harmonious team and fluid play.

My most memorable game was the final of the Palermo Tour, Ferne Park versus Amadeus, which I played in Buenos Aires in February 2011. And we won 11-9! The team featured myself, Eden Ormerod, Joaquín Pittaluga and Michel del Carril.

I have a huge respect for my teammates as players – they demonstrate an incredible level of dedication to the game, which, coupled with great horsemanship, is a privilege to be part of. The more I play, the more I appreciate that this is a game of subtlety, skill and above all hard work. The amount of effort and dedication that goes into a team, from the grooms upwards, forms the basis of its success. It is that esprit de corps which I enjoy the most.

PILARÁ PIAGET LAUNCHES NEW TEAM During a dinner at the International Polo Club Palm Beach on March 19, Marcos Heguy, international brand ambassador, presented the new Pilará Piaget team that he captains.

The next Triple Crown, which will take place in Buenos Aires in the autumn of 2011, is already showing signs of being highly competitive. Pilará Piaget will certainly be able to count on their new team to take on the new polo season. Led by managing director, Marcos Heguy, with his 10-goal handicap, the team will draw as much on their experience, embodied by Bautista Heguy, as on the determination of the 2010 discoveries in the form of Hilario Ulloa, Cristian Laprida and Tomás Garcia del Río. The team collectively makes up a handicap of 33.

Philippe Léopold-Metzger, CEO of Piaget, commented: ‘For a brand as committed to the transfer of knowledge and competencies as Piaget, the new Pilará Piaget team has a particular meaning. On the one hand, there’s the experience of Marcos Heguy… and the family tradition represented by Bautista Heguy on the same team; and on the other, the audacity and ambition of new talent in Argentinian polo. Piaget is proud not only to have been associated with promoting this most noble of sports since the Eighties, but equally to support a team that is perfectly in harmony with the values that are so dear to us.’ www.hurlinghampolo.com

LEs@LEswILsOn.COM; JOHn GALE

HookEd oN PoLo

Brigadier sawai Bhawani singh, who died on 17 April aged 79, was the last titular Maharajah of Jaipur. Given the nickname ‘Bubbles’ by his British nanny because of the gallons of champagne consumed at his birth, Bhawani singh was the first male heir born to a reigning Maharajah of Jaipur for generations. Educated at Harrow, he later opted to serve in the Indian Army and was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India’s second-highest gallantry award, for his contribution in the 1971 India-Pakistan war.

In 1966, he married Princess Padmini Devi of sirmour and was later blessed with his only child, Princess Diya Kumari. with no male child, he later chose to adopt his grandson as his heir to the throne in 2002.

A keen polo player, the Maharajah was instrumental in the formation of the Federation of International Polo (FIP) as well as the FIP world Championships.

His polo legacy shall be continued by his adopted son, Maharajah Padmanabh singh, and son-in-law, Maharaj narendra singh, who is a FIP Ambassador for India.

His funeral at Jaipur was attended by scions of the erstwhile royal families and top politicians as well as thousands of locals among whom he was immensely popular because of his humility and concern for the common man. vIkRAM RATHoRE

GoLdEN GoALS CHARITy

SAddLE UP WITH…

Polo is at a continual crossroads where we, as a sporting community, can choose to either rest on the laurels of the game established over generations or collectively choose to adopt modern initiatives that will bring the sport to the forefront in the future. This is where Golden Goals comes in. while one-off charity games happen from time to time, generating sizeable crowds, I feel that there needs to be a system of continuous giving back to those who may not be as fortunate as us to experience the thrills of the Game of Kings. with Golden Goals chairty I can fuse my polo playing abilities with helping people. I do this firstly by finding sponsors to donate money to charities for every goal I score this season. I then take time out at polo events to interact with kids and families affected by cancer. I invite them to games and on pony rides, getting to know them as individuals. Personal interaction brightens their day and I want be the voice of these kids through my ambassadorship at the Texas Children’s Cancer Center. Although only in its first year, the Golden Goals project has generated a lot of interest and already I have 22 sponsors and counting! AMEER JUMAbHoy

GUILLERMo CASET, JR. Nationality Argentine Age 25 Handicap 8 (Argentina), 9 (UK), 10 (UsA) sapo Caset showed heroic resilience, bouncing back from the loss of top horses in the tragedy of 2009 to receive the honor of owning the Best string of Ponies in the Us Open in 2011. Averaging nearly seven goals a game in high-goal play during the Florida winter season, sapo saw his handicap elevated to 10-goals after the UsPA spring meetings To what do you attribute your success this past season?

My horses. The Lechuza Caracas team suffered heavily two years ago, and it took time and effort to rebuild. I put every penny I earned back into my horses, and it paid off.

My father has been a great help to me as well, and having friends like Tommy Lee Jones [the actor and keen polo player] helps to make up for not having a great family organisation like the Pieres and Heguy families.

How did you achive the ultimate aim in polo: a 10-goal handicap?

Again I have to give much credit to my horses, Victor Vargas and the entire Lechuza Caracas family and my teammate for the last two years, Juan Martin nero. I learn from him every day.

He has helped me elevate my game to another level and is such a pleasure to play with.

LILA PHOTO / www.LILAPHOTOs.COM

yoUNG INITIATIvE AT GUARdS Having previously had a reputation for frowning upon children cluttering up their pitches, Guards Polo Club have now embraced youth polo with a passion! On 10 May, a mixture of the most talented and promising players from wellington, Eton and Harrow (soon to be joined by other local schools) lined up on pitch nine to be welcomed by Guards member, wellington parent and the driving force behind this initiative, Alex Brodie. watching the quality of these young players as they trained, I could see this type of academy – the first in the UK – is an inspired idea. The pooling of such talent helps these future stars push each other to the highest level, and keeps the cost down! It is overseen by HPA-qualified coaches, and some Guards members, perhaps trying to recapture their youth, joined in with the youngsters. This is the first incarnation of the Academy. In future, places will appointed after a selection procedure, and run through the summer term into the holidays.

The HPA and sUPA are both keen to get and see this as a blueprint for what can be achieved at other clubs around the country. watch this space! JoHN GALE www.hurlinghampolo.com

How did winning the 2011 US open feel?

It was very important to everyone on the team. we won the CV whitney to open the 26-goal season and then lost the UsPA Piaget Gold Cup in overtime. The Us Open was the only cup that Victor hadn’t won. we needed to vindicate ourselves and nothing short of an Open win would do it.

What is your team for the Triple Crown for 2011 in Argentina?

I will play on the Audi são José team with Rodrigo Andrade, Polito Pieres and Jaime Huidobro.

hurlingham [ talk ]

18 19

1

getting them up and running When a move to the country failed to cure his children’s slovenliness, Martin Armstrong’s family took up polo – and found their relationships blossomed found that the cows, which we were initially excited about, were a bit boring. They didn’t seem to do much, and with the endless forms to fill in every time a calf was born, it felt more like trying to adopt a baby! It was a lot of work keeping these animals and we weren’t getting much in return.

As I surveyed our farm on a Saturday lunchtime in January, with the boys in bed, I spoke to Rose, or ‘Headquarters’ as I like to call her, and we decided to start a polo team. We all liked horses, hunting only took place in the winter, it’s a four-man sport, and we have four boys, eureka! The paperwork around horses was pretty simple, or so we thought, before we realised that hiring the grooms and going through all the paperwork to get polo permits took just as must time as calving.

Oh God, why hadn’t I taken up crack cocaine? It was far cheaper and better for my blood pressure!

We stuck to our guns, though, called up some friends, bought four ponies from Argentina and had them shipped over.

Our fine steeds duly arrived in April and

immediately grew their winter coats thinking they were still in Argentina. We knocked around on a makeshift pitch all summer and even played a tournament at Knepp Castle. We were still renting horses and relying on others to help us when a kindly five-goal professional came to live with us and helped us buy some more.

It wouldn’t be a stab in the dark to say he retired to Patagonia on the proceeds of those transactions. On the bright side, my wife turned out to be an excellent truck driver. ‘A saving!’ I thought. But every time

The paperwork for polo permits took as much time as calving. oh god, why hadn’t i taken up crack cocaine? it was far cheaper and better for my blood pressure! www.hurlinghampolo.com

WWW.iMAgesofpolo.coM/Neil

One sunny day two years ago I was sitting on our farm in Lewes staring at the cows and giving thanks that we lived in such a lovely corner – the South Downs – of such a beautiful country, when a niggling thought crept int0 the back of my mind and disturbed my blissful contentment. It was a brooding uneasiness that perhaps the rural idyll my wife Rose and I had tried so hard to create for our children was actually not all it was cracked up to be.

Having moved down from London a few years before, we’d found that the sedentary habits of our children, and indeed myself (although certainly not my wife!) were still in evidence and slowly getting worse. And yet we’d moved to the countryside so our children could have wide open spaces to frolic and while away the sunny afternoons enjoying the perfect childhood. To my dismay, our four boys, now approaching their teenage years, were actually spending more time in bed, punctuated with surfing the internet, gaming, watching football on television and ‘grazing’ huge amounts of biscuits and cheese from the fridge. We also

2 1 The Armstrong family at cowdray, May 2011 2 Ned Armstrong 3 The family team in action

she had to drive to Knepp Castle, she would spend a day on Bond Street to make up for it.

There were however some terrific benefits. The obvious ones were that our kids were up and at it every morning. Our Argentinian pro was fantastic at teaching them the subtlety of the game. He taught our children about horsemanship and respect for the animal, and that it wasn’t a motorbike. It needed looking after. This all happened just after breakfast at about 9.30am, which amazed me. My wife and I were no longer the oldies screaming at our children to get out of bed, as they left their slumber voluntarily, excited even, at the prospect of tacking up and tearing around the field. Our children became fit and focused. And they wanted to improve, not something we had ever seen in evidence hitherto, but it made us immensely proud.

There were also more subtle benefits which we were just as grateful for. My communication with my two eldest sons improved immeasurably. In the past, when I’d enquired about their lives, they had seemed to regard me as some kind of www.hurlinghampolo.com

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hurlingham [ talk ]

Left Paddy Armstrong playing for Broncos Above Rose Armstrong

weirdo, and if I’d tried to say something which I thought to be cool, it had only resulted in derisory comments from them.

Most of my time was spent telling our teenage sons what to do and what not to do: ‘don’t play that so loud’, ‘get your hair cut’, ‘delete that file marked “xxx” on your computer before your mother sees it.’ By giving us this common ground, polo also gave us some serious quality time together.

We started discussing how to manage the horses and prepare strategies for our matches. To top it all, we could have a laugh with a beer at the end of a game.

I also discovered that my wife knew a good deal more about horses than many of the professionals that we employed to look after them. I should not have been surprised, though, as one of her brothers is a player, the other a racing trainer and her father a huntsman. It also struck me that the name Rose comes from the old German word for ‘horse’. I did find however, that I had to promise many more shopping trips to compensate for the ensuing domestic chaos that this activity resulted.

Polo is funny though in how it creeps up on you – and your wallet. Casual people who should know better whisper, ‘if you had a sand arena or a proper track, you

might be more competitive’, ‘you should stick and ball at home and build a proper polo pitch’, ‘your field is too hard – it needs irrigation’ and the old line, ‘you want better horses’ while the balance in your current account is shedding noughts. We were having a great time, though. It was a lot of fun, more horses arrived, our children’s play improved and by the end of our second season we were becoming competitive and even won some stuff.

Our sons then discovered the asado.

The wonderful thing about this was that girls turned up and that it was dark. This was a new and exciting development, but it was tough for them to compete with the swarthy ruggedness of their South American counterparts. That one challenge aside, we would enter various competitions and do things as a family and sometimes, after winning, my wife and I would gaze proudly as our four sons held on to a fluffy cushion they had taken all weekend riding in the 2-goal to win. We often wondered, perhaps churlishly, how much that fluffy cushion had actually cost us.

Over the past two years, we have discovered a lot, such as the importance of preparation, of making sure that nothing is forgotten, from the bandages to the

referee’s horse. In our first season, we probably looked like the Keystone Cops.

We showed up at a game and ran about crazily in all directions shouting at each other, but gradually and slowly we got our stuff together and started showing up on time, with the referee’s horse, ready to play.

We now have 30 horses in training, four trucks, six grooms, two pros and I am gently persuading my wife to get an HGV license. In the meantime I’ve learnt a great deal about tricky business dealings. Polo is the least transparent marketplace I’ve ever encountered. Consequently, I still have no idea how much (or little) it takes to get a pro on the field or what a horse is really worth.

As for our polo ambitions, we have no idea where they will take us, except to say we hope the boys remain safe and well and that I will continue to be able to fund this money furnace and my wife’s shopping trips. What keeps us loving polo is that we can do it together, the beautiful horses who give everything, and the competition of the game. Above all, it’s our sense of togetherness as a family that we really enjoy. In the process of all of the little emergencies we’ve encountered – and come through – over the past two years, we have discovered a lot more about each other. www.hurlinghampolo.com

TONY RAMIREZ / WWW.IMAGESOFPOLO.COM

In our first season, we looked like the Keystone Cops, but we gradually got our stuff together

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America’s most mounted As host of America’s Most Wanted, John walsh goes after bad guys; but he’d far rather be chasing a ball on horseback among family and friends I come from a horse family. My wife, Revé, is a master of the hunt and belongs to four different hunt clubs. With her Irish sport horses, she will jump just about anything. My two sons, Callahan, 25, and Hayden, 16, were polo players already, playing in our local club in Vero Beach, Florida. I was 58 and had never ridden in an English saddle. At the time I owned a quarter horse and I had only ridden western. I had no idea what I had been missing. My boys had said, ‘Dad, you’ve got to try it, it’s everything you like… high adrenaline, fast, dangerous, exhilarating, very competitive and a serious team sport.’

Then, on a trip to Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic, the Colley family, father Gene and son Bruce, talked me into taking a polo lesson. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. I had no idea how addictive polo was or that family was such a huge component. We’re Floridians and live and ride in South Florida most of the year. Our summers are spent in the beautiful Finger

Lakes in upstate New York and we play at the Skaneateles and Saratoga clubs.

I dove headfirst into polo. The next thing I knew I had horses, a team named Shamrock, in honour of my father, a war hero who flew a B-24 bomber with shamrocks painted on it.

And I had a wonderful young English pro named Max Secunda, who was raised by the legendary Julian Hipwood. Max’s challenge was to teach me and my sons. The boys were pretty good and I was awful: what a challenge. Riding bareback or practising with no stirrups on the saddle didn’t sound like fun to a 58-year-old… but it was.

Since that day we have been welcomed at clubs all over the world, many of them owned and run by families. We’ve played in India with Raj Kalaan and his two pro sons. We’ve played in Ireland and also had a wonderful invitation to Morocco from the former President of FIP, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, and his late son Mathias, both avid polo enthusiasts. Last October we had huge fun

playing in the first ever polo game at Beijing’s brand new Tang Polo Club, built by Shilai Liu and his family. My boys and I have played in Argentina many times and are in awe of the many polo dynasties, such as the Pieres, the Novillo Astradas and many more.

In America I’ve been fortunate to play at so many clubs with so many wonderful families. In my little club in Vero Beach we have multiple family teams, the Kahles, the Replogles and the Busches to name a few. In Palm Beach there are the Johnstons, the Ganzis, the Goodmans, the Hipwoods and the Orthweins. They’ve all done so much to further the sport of polo and encourage young people to play. I think many people have a misconception of what polo really is… it’s high adrenaline and sort of dangerous, sometimes frustrating, but very satisfying and what other sport do you get to play with champions? I’ve played with Adolfo Cambiaso, in many charity tournaments with my friend, Nacho Figueras, and serious professionals

DAVID LOMINSKA / www.pOLOgrAphIcS.cOM; the MuSeuM Of pOLO

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I hunt down the worst of the worst but also meet the best of the best: the international polo family from all over the world. Many of them have children that they hope will someday embrace their profession. What other sport could a senior citizen like me play with his 16-year-old son on a competitive level, with the best in the world?

The horses are the biggest part of the sport: they teach you patience and respect.

They can literally bring you ‘down to earth’ and teach you humility. I constantly admire their athleticism, grace and courage. Working on America’s Most Wanted, I travel the world hunting down the worst of the worst, some of the most dangerous fugitives out there… but I also get to meet the best of the best: the people of polo – they welcome you with open arms and make you feel like you are a member of their family… the polo family!

Over these many years, I’ve learned that it is the players themselves who try to spread the word about this great sport. As an amateur polo player I consider it a privilege to be involved with the Museum of Polo and Hall

of Fame in Palm Beach, Florida. When I MC the annual Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame dinner, it’s always an honour to spend time with some of the most passionate members of the worldwide polo community. This year’s dinner was not only lots of fun, it set a record for attendance. Last year it was a great honour to induct an English polo legend and my friend, Julian Hipwood. The induction of international players is a timely fit.

Previously the introduction of Gonzalo Pieres, an Argentine great, acknowledges the huge contribution that Argentina has made to the sport of polo. To my knowledge this museum remains the only one in the world solely dedicated to polo. Thanks to the generosity of many people and the hands-on design and display contributions by people such as Martin Cregg, chairman of the board and owner of world-renowned Chase Design, the museum has become a destination for polo lovers. The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame is a non-profit organisation that relies solely on gifts and donations from its supporters. Brenda Lynn and George DuPont are true professionals and run the museum with great passion and dedication. Not only is Palm Beach a great destination and the epicentre of American polo in the spring, the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame is a mustsee if you love the sport of polo.

Opposite John in action with son, hayden Above the Museum of polo and hall of fame in palm Beach, florida

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breeding perfection Owner Alan Meeker reveals the potential and ethos behind his game-changing new cloning laboratory The breeding of polo ponies has entered a new phase after the construction of the most advanced cloning laboratory in the world in Canuelas, near Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Crestview Genetics is the business entity behind the project and I’m pleased to have Adolfo Cambiaso and Ernesto Gutiérrez as partners in this program. The laboratory is ready to start cloning procedures and we have already isolated cells from horses belonging to clients. In addition, we have cells stored from horses to which we have cloning rights and which we plan to enter into our genetic program.

There’s a distinction between flooding the sport with cloned competition horses and the concept behind our endeavours.

Our intention is to improve the genetic base for polo breeding programs worldwide.

For example, if a breeder can have access to the genes from Adolfo Cambiaso’s horse, Cuartetera, to introduce to their existing

bloodlines, it will instantly improve the breeder’s program. Now, since only one ‘Cuartetera’ clone has been – and ever will be – sold (it fetched $800,000), there will never be such an opportunity. But through embryo transfer programs from the clones we have from Cuartetera, this DNA will become accessible to breeders.

A portion of the clones that we have produced will be trained for polo. Owen Rinehart is involved in training some of the clones from his exceptional horse, Raptor.

The intention is always to replicate the conditioning of the original horse. The ‘Raptors’ are the eldest of our clones at nine to ten months old and to see the look on Owen’s face while he’s watching them is priceless. It’s as though he’s been given his favourite horse back again.

Cornell University will monitor the clones as they are conditioned for polo both in the US and in Argentina. So far, after all

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Opposite The cloned foal of Mariano Aguerre’s Califa 1 Adolfo Cambiaso, Ernesto Trotz and Juan Carlos Di Caro 2 Owen Rinehart with a Raptor foal

the experience we’ve gained with cloned animals in the athletic field, I believe the responsibility for the horse turning out well or better than the original lies with the trainer. The clones have an inherent ability and provided this talent is not interfered with, it should emerge. Bucking bulls are a tried and tested example of this. There are many cloned bulls on the rodeo circuit today and they perform better than the originals. They have the same ability and have been trained by the same people – the difference between them and non-cloned bulls is that they begin their career being trained correctly for that discipline, rather than having to wait until they are five years old to be ‘discovered’. That’s why it’s vital that polo pony clones are placed with their original trainers. The ‘Cuarteteras’ and ‘Lapas’ ponies are going into Adolfo’s training programme in Argentina, where the originals were bred and trained.

We do not plan to sell clones from any of the superior genetic polo ponies we have.

All the clones belong to Crestview Genetics.

In Argentina, we now have two ‘Cuarteteras’ and three ‘Lapas’ – and in South Carolina we have four ‘Cuarteteras’, six ‘Small Persons’, four ‘Raptors’ and four more ‘Lapas’. All of these will be going to Argentina soon. There is a small chance that if a player has the means and desire to purchase a clone to play we would consider a sale, but at this point there are no plans to sell clones, only embryos. On the other hand, clients can clone their own horses to play and one is cloning two of his horses 10 times each.

The reason I pursued cloning was so that I could have a lot of really good polo ponies www.hurlinghampolo.com

for myself. But I realised that polo, and the horse world in general, can benefit from genetic improvement programs. We have a solutions company called Sweetwater that bridges the gap between where a country is and where it could be in terms of agricultural abilities, farming practices, animal husbandry and genetics, thus addressing food security and other issues for sovereign governments. The genetic improvement programme mantra is central to Sweetwater and it became apparent to

It’s vital that polo pony clones are placed with the original trainers. The ‘Cuarteteras’ and ‘Lapas’ ponies will go back into Adolfo’s programme me that these same principles could be applied to breeding horses for polo.

The first polo clone was born three years ago in Texas – derived from Charlie Armstrong’s mare, Sage. Following that, Mariano Aguerre cloned his stallion, Califa, last year, to much polo media attention.

Today it is not legally possible to clone a polo pony anywhere in the world without going through Crestview Genetics. The process of cloning is ‘intellectual property’ and we have licensed the patents from owners worldwide, including Viagen, for

polo ponies. In Argentina we’ve gone further and also licensed the rights to the technology for all horses and cattle.

The cloning facility is just 2,000 square feet and houses four geneticists and three or four technicians. We use a sample of the horse’s DNA – a skin sample from behind the ear – to grow the cells. We then freeze most of them except those to be used for immediate cloning. We build the embryos and then take them to the recipient mares.

The foals are weaned from the surrogate mares as soon as possible, to eradicate any imprint of the mother’s personality. So far we’ve found that when we put them in a pasture with others, the clones tend to congregate and reflect similar personalities.

Adolfo took Aiken Cura’s cells to a lab for placement in cryogenic stasis at the time the famous stallion had to be euthanised after an irreparable injury during the finals of the Argentine Open. When I met him, he told me: ‘If you can do what you say, I’ve been waiting for you to come along for five years!’ The cloned foals from Aiken Cura are currently in utero and will be on the ground by the end of the year. I’ve never seen anyone in my life as pleased as when Adolfo saw our first clones from his other horses.

I should point out that Crestview Genetics exists to assist all breeders and players realise the most from their breeding programme. We are agnostic as regards for whom we clone or use our Advanced Reproductive Technology (ART). We want all breeders and players to benefit from our host of technologies and in particular seeing Argentina as the world’s leader in ART. Interviewed by Sarah Eakin

hurlingham [ profile ]

Taki Theodoracopulos Journalist and writer Taki Theodoracopulos was at the centre of the swinging golden era of Parisian polo. He recalls some of the colourful characters who made it happen illustration PHIL DISLEY

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Back in the glory days of the City of Light, the best-known secret among the so-called Parisian upper crust was the Bagatelle Polo Club in the Bois de Boulogne. Situated on the western side of the Bois, near Le Pont de Saint-Cloud, the club was run by an elite twosome consisting of the president, Baron Jacques de Nervo, and the vice-president, Baron Élie de Rothschild. Both gents have now left us, but during the heyday of the club they managed to run a tight ship; namely by allowing their friends in and keeping the nouveaux and vulgar out.

I joined the club in the early Sixties, and Élie took a shine to me because of the girl I was going out with. He told me to ‘stop this silly game you’re playing – it’s for girls – and try a real man’s sport: polo.’ I was a ranked tennis player at the time, and represented my country in the Davis Cup, as well as being somewhat of a fixture at the French Championships, having competed every year since I was a teenager.

Although I declined to quit tennis, I took up polo immediately after visiting the club.

The place was teaming with young and beautiful girls, and the married women – I was told – had an eye for hot-blooded South American players over for the season. I paid my dues, bought four horses, and signed up for winter lessons with Jacques Macaire, the head groom of the club and father of Lionel Macaire, who later became highly rated as a player. Lionel was an accomplished rider and taught me the basics well. This would have been the mid-Sixties. Just about that time, I found a beautiful farmhouse for rent just 15km west of Paris with the somewhat grand name of Flambertins des Crepieres. I took out a lease and began to live the life of a country gent. I would wake up, do some exercises around the garden – which involved

punching and kicking a bag hanging from a tree – then drive to the polo club a convenient fifteen-minute drive away. Once there I would stick and ball, and work the ponies, shower and then go to lunch with friends.

Oh, I almost forgot. My best friend and mentor at the time was one Porfirio Rubirosa, the Dominican diplomat who was on his fourth wife, Barbara Hutton, by the time I met him in 1953. They divorced after 53 days of marriage, but not before after she’d gifted him with a string of ponies and, I believe, a cool million – quite a handy amount to be walking around with back in the Fifties. Rubi had previously been married to Flor Trujillo

Count du Bourg de Bozas could only canter like a 90-year-old, but chased young women around the club as if he were 20 (daughter of Dominican strongman Rafael Trujillo), Doris Duke, and the enchanting French actress Danielle Darrieux. After his divorce from Babs, he bought a house in Saint Cloud near my humble abode, married Odile Rodin – a young French actress whose looks and figure were far superior to those of Brigitte Bardot – and put together a polo team consisting mostly of his buddies.

Rubi was the most popular of the club’s members: he had legendary charm, was a good racing driver and boxed well. He was even a keen dueller, and a ladykiller par excellence. He was a born entertainer and knew everyone there was to know. Obviously

I fell under his spell. We’d box together in the ring he had in his house, then work the ponies and follow that with a spot of lunch with our wives. After lunch the girls would head off shopping and we’d make our way to Paris’s finest gentleman’s clubs, often joined by Élie de Rothschild. For someone in his twenties, it was a dream life.

We even managed to play some polo.

Wednesday afternoons were reserved for practice matches, while on Saturdays and Sundays we played for the various cups. Many a French fat cat mounted teams with two professionals, which the rules allowed for.

Count du Bourg de Bozas was one of the most colourful. He looked around 70, and although he could only canter like a 90-yearold, he chased young women around the club as if he were 20. He always had two good Argentinians playing for him, plus a so-so Frenchman, so his teams were hard to beat, despite the handicap of a cantering count.

Jean Louis Hachette, of the publishing firm, was another team captain, as was Robert de Balkany, born Bobby Zellinger, who attended Yale after leaving Hungary.

Balka changed his name, became a big real estate entrepreneur, bought a 13th-century chateau west of Paris and an enormous yacht.

He and I didn’t get along – Élie de Rothschild wasn’t keen either. Balka liked to push his weight around, but that didn’t work for some.

Although he rose to be a three-goal handicap, one of the pleasures of my life was taking him on while I was still a one-goaler, and driving him nuts by sticking some very hard and illegal elbows into his side. He would howl ‘foul’ like no other, but Balka knew his bullying didn’t work with me, and after an argument with Élie he took his team back to his chateau and started another polo circuit in his private field. Some chaps followed him www.hurlinghampolo.com

because of the favourable terms; Balka picked up everyone’s bills and stable costs. But Rubi and I remained faithful to the club.

Yet another character straight out of fiction was one Mairesse-Lebrun, a French cavalry officer who’d married a rich woman and who had to be tied on his mount, as he had lost the use of his legs during the war.

He was very brave, and only stopped playing after a terrible fall that disabled him further.

Polo back then was much more of an amateur sport. Sure, there were professionals, and well-paid ones too, but the handicaps of a typical match were 14 to 18 at most, and team captains tried to keep it fair by only inviting pros with medium handicaps. Still, during my 10 years of playing, I rode with such names as Merlos, Gracida, Brown, Miguens, Harriott, and my big buddy Charlie Menditegui, a 10-handicap and his brother Julio, a nine.

Another souvenir was playing with the Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai, who sold me a steed I never managed to control in two damned years of trying – but he was a pleasure to play against. He was an exceedingly elegant rider www.hurlinghampolo.com

and his horses were superb, as were his yarns about the polo played in his native country.

Needless to say, the best part of the summer season in Paris was the parties that always followed the matches. The city’s chic would show up on the weekends, and after play the club would serve dinner on the terrace while a band played the latest dance tunes. It was to die for, especially as the night would go on until the dawn at Jimmy’s, the best club in Boulevard Montparnasse, run by the fabled Regine. Regine was fat but loved men, especially polo players, so we were always welcome and were always given the best tables in the joint.

In 1968, while the student revolt was in full cry, the two barons decided it would be a provocation to continue the season, so only practice matches were played. During one of them, Élie de Rothschild was hit by a ball and damaged an eye, an injury that led to the end of an era. The club built a swimming pool, which became a magnet for yuppies – a word unheard of back then. The club’s membership grew and as its vast real estate belonged to

One officer had lost the use of his legs in the war and had to be tied to his horse, only stopping after a fall further disabled him the Paris municipality, the bureaucrats got involved. The sweet deal we’d enjoyed began to change, and I for one moved my operations over to England, with Cirencester as my home base. It was not the same. This was the real polo deal, but suddenly living away from the bright lights of Paris did not do it for me.

When I was sent to Vietnam in 1971 by National Review I sold my ponies to Ronnie Driver and never played another match. But I still follow polo, marvel at the speed with which the game is now played and look back with nostalgia at those Paris years, when I was young and had friends like Rubi, Jai, and those wonderful Argentinians.

hurlingham [ feature ]

the royal tournament

one hundred years ago, george V became King of england and a new polo trophy established its place in sporting history, writes herbert spencer

Polo in india by Jaisal singh and Priya KaPoor (Published by roli booKs)

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The British royal family is the world’s oldest polo dynasty, dating back to the reign of Queen Victoria. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the most famous trophy of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), the sport’s governing body in the UK, has royal origins.

The King’s Coronation Cup, celebrating its centenary this year, was first presented in 1911 on the occasion of the coronation of King George V. Now referred to simply as the Coronation Cup, the trophy is the top prize at the HPA’s International Day, the world’s biggest one-day polo event.

There is no evidence that Queen Victoria herself took any interest in polo, but her son the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, certainly did, although he was never a player. It was his royal patronage of the sport at London’s Hurlingham Club in the 1870s, after polo first reached the West from India, that helped establish the game in the pantheon of English horseback pursuits.

A famous painting by the English equestrian artist George Earl shows Edward, when he was Prince of Wales, watching a polo match with his wife Alexandra, the Princess of Wales, at Hurlingham in 1877. A contemporary etching depicts the couple with their two young sons, www.hurlinghampolo.com

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2 1 Members of the 1911 Indian Polo Association team 2 HM The Queen and Howard Hipwood, 1992 3 King Alfonso and the Maharajah of Jaipur 4 Newspaper clipping from the Thirties Opposite The USA team with Prince Charles, 1972

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Albert and George, as spectators watching two teams battle it out on horseback at a later match at the London club.

Edward, who also attended polo matches during his travels abroad – from Dublin to Deauville to Delhi – instilled in his two sons a keen interest in the sport. Subsequently, they became the first members of the royal family to take up the game. The brothers played together at Aldershot in 1885, but little is known of Albert’s polo after that. George’s diaries, however, are peppered with references to the sport at various stages of his life.

While serving with the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet aboard the battleships Dreadnought and Thunderer, George played at Gibraltar and Malta. In 1886 his Royal Navy team won the first ever Army-versus-Navy game on Malta. In 1890, after he had taken command of the first-class gunboat HMS Thrush, he again played in the Mediterranean.

Then, when Thrush crossed the Atlantic for duty in the RN’s North America and West Indies Station, he competed in matches at Halifax, Nova Scotia, at Kingston, Jamaica, and Bridgetown, Barbados.

Having given up playing polo after he left active service in the navy in 1892, George nonetheless continued to take a keen interest in the sport, before and after he was crowned King of England. Either he or the Princess of Wales (who later became Queen Mary), presented trophies in England and also travelled to polo events abroad.

George became Prince of Wales after Queen Victoria died in 1901, and was made King upon the death of his father Edward VII www.hurlinghampolo.com

in May 1910. The coronation of King George V and Queen Mary took place in June 1911.

Ranelagh, which was then London’s largest polo club, marked the royal occasion by inaugurating a new trophy, the King’s Coronation Cup, to be played for by the winners of the Hurlingham Champions Cup, the Ranelagh Open Championship and the Inter-Regimental Tournament, and ‘approved’ teams from elsewhere in the Empire. At the time, the huge and impressive trophy cost

the maharajah of Jaipur was a 9-goaler and his team won every major event of 1933, including the Coronation Cup £250 – which equated to around £14,265 in spending value at that time (today it is insured for around £75,000).

Only two teams competed for the new royal trophy that first year, two other intended contenders having run out of pony power early in the season. On 15 July 1911, the Indian Polo Association (IPA) and the 4th Dragoon Guards met on Ranelagh’s main ground beside the River Thames in Barnes.

Although the IPA team included several Indians, only one, the highly rated Shah Mirza Baig, played in the match. His teammates were all English military players of the British Raj:

Captains Leslie St Clair Cheape, Vivian N Lockett and Ralph G Ritson. Keen to improve, within two years, they were all 10-goal players.

The Dragoons were seriously out-manned and out-horsed and, as clear underdogs, had the sympathy and support of the home crowd. Little good it did them, however. The sport’s leading periodical of the time, The Polo Monthly, reported that the IPA’s Baig and Cheape ‘were especially brilliant’ against the ‘plucky’ Dragoons. The IPA soundly defeated the Dragoons by 10-4 and were awarded the trophy by George V’s uncle, the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.

After its inauguration in 1911 the King’s Coronation Cup was played for annually until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, except during the years of the Great War and one year of the Great Depression. The competition was high-goal, with teams handicapped at 30 goals or more including many of the most famous international players of that era.

The most successful team was El Gordo, a side made up of two Spanish aristocrats and the Argentine 10-goalers Lewis Lacey and Juan Traill. El Gordo won the trophy three years running. Philip Magor’s Panthers and the Freebooters, originally a John Watson team, both won the cup twice.

In 1933, a polo team from Rajasthan travelled to England and spent a triumphant season here. The Maharajah of Jaipur, ‘Jai’, was a 9-goaler and came with the legendary Rao Raja Hanut Singh of Jodhpur. They won every major tournament of the year, including the coveted Coronation Cup. The tournament continued each year until 1938, when it was

hurlingham [ feature ]

Above Cartier’s Arnaud Bamberger and Prince Charles present the cup to Adolfo Cambiaso, 2009 Right Luke

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awarded to Colonel Sir Harold Wernher’s Someries House.

The famous old Ranelagh club closed shortly before World War II and its King’s Coronation Cup passed to the HPA. After the war, competition for the Cup was revived first in 1951 in a three-game series between a Hurlingham team and an Argentine side, La Espadaña. Hurlingham won the first match at Cowdray Park Polo Club, then the decider at London’s Roehampton Club. George V’s granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, presented the trophy at Roehampton.

In 1953, a month after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, five nations played for the Coronation Cup at Cowdray Park: England (two teams), Spain, the USA, Argentina and Chile. The final drew record crowds to Midhurst, West Sussex, as the Queen watched Argentina down England 7-6, after which she presented the cup.

The Coronation Cup again became a permanent fixture of the English polo season from 1971 when the HPA held its first International Day at Cowdray Park, an event originally conceived as an annual encounter between England and the USA in lieu of the Westchester Cup series between the two countries that had remained dormant since before the war. The USA defeated England to take the Coronation Cup that first year.

In 1972 the HPA moved its International Day to Guards Polo Club. It soon became traditional for Queen Elizabeth II to preside over the day, presenting the Coronation Cup and other prizes as she did in her own coronation year. On the rare occasions when she was not available, other members of the royal family took her place, including Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince Michael of Kent and, more recently, Prince Harry and Prince Charles.

It has been the presence of royalty as well as

world-class international competitions that have drawn upwards of 20,000 spectators, the largest crowds to watch polo anywhere in the world, to witness the exciting Coronation Cup matches.

From 1972 the USA defeated England three years running. In 1975, with America no longer being able to take up the Coronation Cup challenge, Hurlingham opened the event up to any national or multinational team who had a handicap comparable to that of the English team’s.

Composite South American teams beat England four years running, 1975-1978, and it was not until 1979 that the home team finally recorded their first victory to take the

It has been the presence of royalty that has drawn the largest polo crowds anywhere in the world Coronation Cup, defeating Mexico by 9-7.

In subsequent years England’s challengers for the Coronation Cup included national teams from Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Composite multinational teams challenging England included Rest of the World, Rest of the Commonwealth, South America, North America, and Australasia.

For years the stalwarts of the England side were the 9-goal brothers Julian and Howard Hipwood, both of whom served as captain.

Their opponents have included many of the sport’s top international competitors, among them 10-goalers such as the Mexican brothers

Memo and Carlos Gracida; Owen Rinehart and Mike Azzaro of the USA; Argentines Gonzalo Pieres, his son Facundo, Eduardo Heguy, and Adolfo Cambiaso.

The Coronation Cup was not played for in 1992 and 1997, when the revived Westchester Cup was the main trophy on International Day. Over the past 40 years, England has won 15 of their 38 Coronation Cup encounters. Last year the home team defeated New Zealand by 9-7.

After a succession of early corporate supporters, the international jewellers Cartier took over title sponsorship of the HPA’s big day, which for the past 28 years has been known as Cartier International Polo. It is one of the longest-running sponsorships in polo.

Regardless of whether it is England or the visitors who are the victors, year on year, the Coronation Cup encounters have become of major importance to the HPA and to polo in the UK and Ireland beyond their significance as international sporting competitions. With lucrative corporate sponsorships and massive ticket sales, the association’s profits from its International Day are substantial and contribute to funding development of polo throughout the British Isles.

The King’s Coronation Cup now occupies a place of honour on the first-floor landing of the Cavalry and Guards Club on Piccadilly, London, where the HPA holds its most important meetings. The 100-year-old trophy will be brought out again to be presented to the winners of the main high-goal match at the HPA’s Cartier International Day this year, at Guards Polo Club on 24 July.

England will again be facing Brazil in the two countries’ third encounter on International Day. Having defeated Brazil in 1996 and 2001, the home team will be looking to keep the Coronation Cup again in the venerable trophy’s centenary year. www.hurlinghampolo.com

© CENTAUR PHOTOGRAPHIC, TONy RAmIREz/ www.ImAGEsOfPOlO.COm

Tomlinson lifts the trophy in 2010

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The TrusTees of The Broadlands archives

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Opposite Lord Mountbatten This page Mountbatten playing polo in Malta, 1954

Mountbatten: a polo legend on the turf, as in his public service, lord louis Mountbatten’s outstanding contribution to the polo game led to a remarkable legacy, says clare Milford haven When I won the Mountbatten Cup at Guards in June 2010, one of my many polo ambitions was finally realised. Some players might feel disappointed at not winning the main prize, the coveted 15-goal Royal Windsor Cup, but for me, The Mountbatten Cup, despite being the subsidiary trophy, is one that I have always wanted to win. And, it was the second time the cup had come ‘home’ – my husband, George, having won it a few years earlier.

My reasons were purely sentimental.

The trophy was presented to Guards in 1980, in memory of George’s beloved Uncle ‘Dickie’ (Lord Louis Mountbatten), who had lost his life to IRA assassins the previous summer.

It replaced the existing Smith’s Lawn Cup and was commissioned from gold and silversmith Gerald Benney, bearing the inscription: ‘Presented by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in memory of The Earl Mountbatten of Burma’. The cup is a fitting tribute to a man whose legacy to the game is immense.

He was born Prince Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George of Battenberg at Frogmore House, Windsor, in 1900, son of Prince Louis of Battenberg – later to become the 1st Marquess of Milford Haven – and his wife, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine.

In 1917, King George V – himself a keen polo player as a young naval officer – had www.hurlinghampolo.com

changed the name of the Royal family from Saxe-Coburg to Windsor; and at the same time asked those relatives who were British subjects but known by German surnames, to relinquish them. Thus, the Tecks (also involved in polo) became Cambridge, and Louis of Battenberg adopted the anglicised version of Mountbatten, receiving a peerage in addition. Now being the son of a Marquess, the 17-year-old Louis Francis became known as Lord Louis Mountbatten, although to family and friends he was always ‘Dickie’.

Although not a natural horseman as a young man, the future Lord Mountbatten fell in love with polo in 1921 whilst accompanying his cousin the Prince of Wales on a tour of India. In December of that year, he recounted enthusiastically in his diary ‘one of the best mornings I have ever spent anywhere’: ‘This day is a red letter one for me, as besides getting my first pig, I played my first game of polo. I played in two chukkas, the eighth and the 11th. The average handicap of the other players must have worked out at something over five, and there was certainly some of the best polo in India being played here this afternoon, which considerably added to my bewilderment. I spent the whole of the first chukka trying to learn my place in the field and never really go near the ball. I was

playing on the Maharaja’s side against David [the Prince of Wales], and, of course, it was due to the latter that I was playing at all.

In the last chukka, to my own intense surprise, I actually hit the ball three or four times.

Anyway I loved it and hope to get lots more.’

During this trip that it was suggested to the very earnest beginner, somewhat mischievously, that the correct way to mount a pony was to approach from the rear, take a flying leap and vault over its tail into the saddle. The technique met with predictable disaster but nonetheless, Mountbatten’s initial encounter with polo sowed the seeds of a lifelong passion. He wrote to his mother a couple of months later: ‘I have for the first time in my life become keen about a game.

I’d sooner be playing polo than anything.’

His cousin the Prince of Wales, also recorded, many years later, Lord

it was suggested to the keen Mountbatten that the correct way to mount a pony was to vault over its tail into the saddle

hurlingham [ feature ]

Mountbatten’s new-found passion for the sport of polo: ‘It was my impression at the time that Dickie’s interest in the manifold problems of India was confined to that part of the country bounded by white boards of polo fields.’

Mountbatten’s name was to be linked indelibly with the game and, by encouraging his nephew, Prince Philip and then later, his great-nephew, the Prince of Wales, to take it up, he helped to foster a lasting public interest in the game.

In 1922 he married the Hon Edwina Ashley, in the wedding of the year at St Margaret’s, Westminster. Following their marriage, they lived at Adsdean, a country home near Chichester, and not far from Cowdray Park.

Mountbatten’s Adsdean team became regular competitors there, and in 1939 he ran the club while Lord Cowdray was in the USA for the Westchester Cup tour of that year. Photographs of Mountbatten’s Sealyham terrier, Topsail, guarding his master’s sticks, appeared in many national newspapers.

Mountbatten’s Royal Navy squad, Bluejackets, also achieved some prominence before the Second World War, notably in highgoal tournaments at Hurlingham, Ranelagh and Roehampton: the London clubs at which

all major tournaments took place in those days. Victories included the Ranelagh Invitation Cup in 1930 and 1931, after which Mountbatten and his teammates donated the Bluejackets Cup, to be presented to the winning team. It was recorded by his fellow teammate Robert Neville that their success

He brought as many Maltese players into the game as he could, and in his spare time he gave lessons to anyone who showed promise was the fruit of many hours of discussion, practice and leadership: ‘He was the perfect captain both on and off the field… He inspired his teammates…

He never got rattled or bad tempered, and was always forgiving and encouraging.’

He was also a prime mover in advocating a set of international rules for polo, an idea

sidelined with the outbreak of World War II and in which he strongly recommended having a standard international rating for all polo players.

In his early days, Mountbatten had partaken of a few chukkas in Malta, as well as Gibraltar and China, and it is amusing to compare his comments on grooms in the three stations, as recorded in the pages of An Introduction to Polo, which he wrote under the nom de plume of ‘Marco’ in 1931: ‘In Malta, the groom can be very good, as he is fond of horses and enthusiastic.

But he is inclined to be lazy and unreliable, and is often noisy in the stable. In Gibraltar, generally speaking, grooms are not very good, even the best requiring a great deal of supervision; while in China, the mafoo or groom needed constant supervision to prevent him from being definitely cruel to the ponies in his charge.’

The book was long regarded as the definitive work on the mechanics of polo, and it was typical of Mountbatten’s generosity that he vested the copyright in the Royal Naval Polo Association. Between 1931 and 1982, it went into seven editions.

Malta had particularly close associations for Lord Mountbatten. Not only had he served www.hurlinghampolo.com

MIKE ROBERTS, TONY RAMIREZ / www.IMAGESOfpOlO.cOM

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Opposite With Prince Charles This page George Milford Haven fishing in Ireland with his great uncle ‘Dickie’ Mountbatten, 1979 Below The Jaeger-LeCoultre team winning the Mountbatten Cup, and captain Clare Milford Haven reciving the trophy from HM The Queen, Guards, June 2010

there as a midshipman but it was where his beloved father had taken up polo while stationed with the Royal Navy in the 1870s.

Years later, the link was revived again when Mountbatten presented Malta Polo Club with the Prince Louis Cup. It is still a coveted trophy every season on the Marsa, Malta’s principal polo ground.

He also presented Malta with what is now its most prized polo trophy, the elegant Cawnpore Cup, first played at Cawnpore Polo Club in India in 1901. He had persuaded the club, which had been dormant since 1939, to pass all its historic silverware to Malta after the last world war.

To this day, Mountbatten is remembered with affection in Malta. He did everything possible to bring as many Maltese players as he could into the game and, in his spare time, gave lessons to anyone he noticed who showed signs of promise. The grooms adored him and one of his favourite ponies was named ‘Maltese Cat’ in deference to Kipling’s famous story and the country of which he had grown so fond.

Lord Mountbatten reached a 5-goal handicap rating at the height of his polo playing career – an achievement, incidentally, shared by his nephew, Prince Philip – and www.hurlinghampolo.com

even after his active playing days were over, he maintained a close interest in the game.

He was always a familiar figure in the Royal Box at Guards, especially on the Queen’s Cup and International days, and was an active patron of the New Forest Polo Club, not far from his home at Broadlands. It was to the New Forest club that he presented the Bluejackets Cup, played today as their premier tournament.

In July 1979, Mountbatten made what were to be his last appearances on the polo scene. He presented the Gold Cup to Amadu Yakubu’s Songhai, at Cowdray Park and, a few days later, the Rundle Cup to the Prince of Wales and his Royal Navy team at Tidworth.

Soon afterwards, on 27 August, he was murdered while holidaying at his Irish home.

He was buried at Romsey Abbey, not far from the gates of Broadlands, following a televised state funeral in Westminster Abbey: a service that he had planned in every detail.

The polo tradition is continued, too, by Lord Mountbatten’s great-grandnephews, Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as by George, and his legacy can be seen, too, in the distinctive oval-shaped head he designed, and in 1935 received a patent for, which gives ‘loft and length’ to polo sticks.

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one hundred years of polo a fascinating new book edited by clare milford haven celebrates the centenary of cowdray park, home of british polo Who was the Argentine player of the Fifties known as the ‘father’ of Midhurst? Where could polo spectators enjoy free cream teas?

Where were mysterious naked footprints found on a bedroom ceiling? When were a polo team sent packing because their patron had insulted a polo manager? Which were the greatest polo ponies played at Cowdray during the 20th century?

The answer to these, and very many more questions can be found in a book celebrating a hundred years of the galloping game in

Cowdray Park Polo Club: The Centenary, which is to be launched in time for this year’s Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup. Put together by writer and polo player Clare Milford Haven, polo photographer Vanessa Taylor and former PQ editor, Roger Chatterton Newman, it is a story of as much interest to lovers of this corner of West Sussex as to the player or polo enthusiast. The book traces the progress of the club through a variety of chapters and a timeline shows historic highlights of the last century.

The Cowdray family chapter charts the formative years of the club from 1910 when it was founded by the Hon Harold Pearson, and then between the wars, when the ponies went up by train from Midhurst to Barnes for what was in those days, the equivalent of the high-goal season – playing at Hurlingham, Ranelagh and Roehampton – and then back down again by train for Goodwood week at Cowdray Park.

With World War II looming and the inevitable demise of the big London clubs in 1939, the future of the post-war game in Great Britain was in doubt. However, due to the unending enthusiasm and single-mindedness of Harold’s son, John Cowdray, the revival of polo and establishment of Cowdray Park as the premier European club was secured.

Extra grounds were laid out at Ambersham – originally a landing strip and used during the war by the Fleet Air Arm. The club rapidly progressed and the public was encouraged to watch matches. So quick was the revival, that Lord Cowdray was invited to make up a team to compete in Buenos Aires in 1949, and the visit was a tremendous success. England made an auspicious debut and beat Chile 12-9 in the inaugural match of the Argentine Open. www.hurlinghampolo.com

marie merritt private album; michael chevis

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3 1 Girl grooms riding out, Marie Merritt in lead 2 Gold Cup winners Stowell Park, in 1976 3 The 1990 winning Gold Cup team, Hildon, in action

Polo was placed well and truly back on the sporting and social map in 1953, when the Coronation Cup was held at Cowdray in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The England team lost 6-7 to a visiting Argentine squad, the latter already showing their prowess as leaders in the Game of Kings.

In fact three years later, the Argentines were to be victorious again in the inaugural Gold Cup match of 1956. Unlike Great Britain, Argentina had managed to keep polo going during the war, so they had something of an advantage over the English. But when Antonio Heguy and his friends, Jorge ‘Cacho’ www.hurlinghampolo.com

Marin Moreno, Jose Nagore and Juan Harriott arrived under the team name Los Indios, they could hardly have predicted that not only would they win, but that the Gold Cup would grow to exert such an influence on the game and that eight of Heguy’s descendants, mostly 10-goalers, would play in the tournament over the next half century.

Argentina had not been the only overseas entry. From New Zealand, at John Cowdray’s invitation, came Aotea – named after a legendary Maori war canoe – the first time that a Kiwi squad had toured Great Britain.

Comprising Derrick Glazebrook, Sandy Mackenzie, Hamish Wilson and Tony Kay, they arrived with a 22-goal aggregate, considered absurdly high by Lord Cowdray, who reduced them to 16-goals. The New Zealand handicapping was understandable, however, as until this tour Kiwi players had seen no overseas competition and had not used any minus rating in their system. Every

With World War ii looming and the inevitable demise of the big london clubs in 1939, the future of the post-war game in Great britain was in doubt

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player was actually rated 3-goals higher than the world standard.

In those days, visitors’ expenses would be normally covered by the sale of their ponies at the end of the tour. Luckily John Cowdray bought all 17 of them for £275 each.

Every team who has ever won the Gold Cup is pictured in the chapter with the same heading, including Tramontana and Stowell Park who each won the cup five times.

Tramontana patron, Anthony Embiricos, recalls the unique experience of playing in this coveted tournament and the excitement and exhilaration on finals day. He sums it up perfectly in his introduction to the chapter and also when describing winning in 1991 with a shy 16-year-old, Adolfo Cambiaso, now the world’s number one player.

Cambiaso went on to win the Gold Cup no less than five times, and celebrated his sixteenth birthday with a party at the infamous Picasso’s in Midhurst.

The strong, and lasting, royal connection begins with Lord Mountbatten, who joined Cowdray in the Thirties, and ran the club during John Cowdray’s absence in the USA in 1939. It recalls the hat-trick of Gold Cup victories for the Duke of Edinburgh and his Windsor Park team – both Prince Philip and the Prince of Wales have generously contributed introductions to the book – and culminates with the Prince of Wales’s many appearances on the field, lastly in a charity tournament alongside Prince Harry in 2003.

Two other royal houses whose members have been very much part of the Cowdray tapestry are those of Jaipur and Jodhpur. In his heyday, the Maharajah of Jaipur led the ‘Fearsome Foursome’, a 34-goal phenomenon, to victory during the 1933 British season, winning every high-goal tournament they entered, a clean sweep of trophies that is still unparalleled. Post-war, at Cowdray, the Indians were noted for their swiftness on the

members of the british royal family, along with those of Jaipur and Jodhpur have very much been part of the cowdray tapestry field, as the late Bryan Bethell, Master of Horse to Lord Cowdray, recalled: ‘They were magnificent; we had very fast polo then. The Indians never tended to slow up, as the South Americans often do nowadays in the middle of a game. I can remember all their equipment would be laid out on the side of the ground on blankets, with their Indian stick makers in attendance.’

Hanut Singh was the mainstay behind the www.hurlinghampolo.com

cowdray archives; harper family album; michael chevis

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Jaipur team, and was a ‘hard task master’, as Julian Hipwood recalls: ‘Hanut’s horses were beautifully turned out, their red bandages matching the red material used for the martingales; tails were always left untied. He told wonderful and amusing stories, and would hold court in the evenings at the Park House, but would have me out of bed at 5am and on the horse trotting around the House Ground an hour later at 6 o’clock.’

Also, not to be forgotten is the arrival on the scene of formidable lady players, pioneered by John Cowdray’s sister, Daphne Lakin, but unimaginable to an earlier generation. Claire Tomlinson remembers having to fight her corner when she wanted to play in the Gold Cup one year: ‘John Cowdray had a rule that he didn’t want women to play under the premise that it was embarrassing for foreign players and that it was dangerous. In fact I think it was because his sisters, in particular Daphne Lakin, played really rather well!’

Claire, who was 3 goals at the time, called his bluff with the threat, ‘Either put me down to 0 goals or let me play!’

Indeed, the appointment of a female polo manager, Cheryl Bicket, in recent years was regarded, in many quarters, with undisguised horror. Still more unthinkable to many a macho male player, both South American and British, was the victory of a woman in the Gold Cup – Nina Vestey with Hildon Sport in 2003.

But it was not only on the field that women were starting to hold their own. It was also in the stables. The reminiscences of Cowdray grooms, Marie Merritt and Brenda Freeling, give a clear flavour of how tough things were back in the days when all grooms were girls; a vivid contrast with today, when most are Argentine males: ‘Colonel Tatham was polo manager and he seldom cancelled for rain. He used to look skyward and declare that it was only a passing cloud. We duly got wet through on Ambersham in Force 6 gales and did not have the thermal waterproof clothing then. There is nothing worse than getting on a wet saddle in wet trousers and vest, leading two bedraggled miserable ponies for half an hour, back to the stables. Getting off was even more painful and, after untacking, there were twenty boxes and stalls to straw, hay and water before the next batch arrived, equally drowned.’

There are the countless fond memories of players from such giants of the past as Lord Patrick Beresford, Mark Vestey, Julian Hipwood, former Cowdray captain Paul Withers and Midhurst’s very own Alan Kent down to the present-day rising stars, Jamie Peel, Henry Brett and Max Charlton.

Chapters also include ‘Trophies and Tournaments’ which, at every level, are www.hurlinghampolo.com

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3 1 Queen Elizabeth II and Lord Cowdray at the Coronation Cup, 1953 2 Daphne Pearson (the future Daphne Lakin) with her father Harold Pearson, the 2nd Viscount Cowdray 3 Alec Harper in Gold Cup play, circa 1966 4 John Cowdray and his mother Beryl

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1 Pony Club line-up of all the teams, 2009 2 1995 Gold Cup winners Gonzalo Pieres and Kerry Packer of Ellerston 3 Hildon Sport win the 2003 Gold Cup 4 Victors Tramontana raise the Gold Cup in 1991 5 Carlos Gracida and Chesney

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competed for at Cowdray, with a potted history of each cup. For example, who knew that the Cicero Cup was named after a Derby winner, or that the Midhurst Town Cup was presented by the local chamber of trade in gratitude for the money that polo brings, annually, into the little town? The winners of every tournament ever played at Cowdray are listed – not just the winning team names but also their players, as well as one presentation shot for each team at Cowdray in more recent years.

Grounds and yards are obviously an essential part of the Cowdray tapestry, and they too have their own chapter. A beautifully illustrated map shows where the main yards and grounds are as well as some stunning aerial shots of Lawns and Ambersham. It is also an eye-opener to learn how many manhours are spent treading-in every season, or just how many gallons of water are pumped from the neighbouring River Rother.

Activities ‘off the field’ are certainly not forgotten either: not only the legendary

martini-fuelled swimming-pool parties hosted by Lord Cowdray but also those that took place in the town by the equally celebrated Fina at Picasso’s and Gaudi’s.

There is also one unforgettable tale of a well-known Indian prince absent-mindedly relieving himself over the satin shoes of his hostess after a particularly long and entertaining evening. In those days, Goodwood week was a constant whirl of racing, polo, and parties every single day. It was a very different scene from nowadays when players play their games and go home to bed with nothing stronger than a drink of mate as a nightcap.

The ponies also have their own place in the book, remembering such fabulous four-legged friends as Chesney and Fabiola.

In his introduction to this chapter, Alan Kent, tells how Cowdray Park programmes used to include a list of all ponies playing on a particular day with a brief pedigree.

Unimaginable today with the huge strings of ponies brought to every game by the highgoal teams in particular.

And lastly we look forward to the future with the Pony Club and the rising stars of today, plus a nostalgic introduction by Colin Baillieu who took over running the Pony Club polo at Cowdray from John Lakin: ‘The policy in those pre-Health & Safety days was that any boy or girl who wanted to play was taken to Ambersham, put on a reliable pony with or without a helmet, and told to gallop the length of three polo fields, turn round and gallop back.’

The authors have tried, painstakingly, to include mentions and photos not only of all playing members but also of their families, as well as those involved behind the scenes, without whose contribution the club could not exist.

‘Cowdray Park Polo Club: The Centenary’ will be available in a limited edition at £100 per copy.

Full details of how to order the book will be outlined on the Cowdray Park website, cowdraypolo.co.uk

michael chevis; snoopy productions; vanessa taylor

the winners of every tournament ever played at cowdray are listed – not just the winning team names but also their players

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the action [drama] Catch up with all the latest action from around the world AMG Miami Beach Polo World Cup VII, South Beach, on the final day of matches

48 Florida season

Alex Webbe reports on an action round-up from the Sunshine State, including the US Open, Piaget Gold Cup and CV Whitney

53 Copenhagen Cup THE POLO LIFE

Up-and-coming junior polo players are on top form as the UK’s polo playing schools battle it out on the fields of Coworth Park

54 Townsend Cup

Played for the first time on the West Coast, a home team advantage helps America retain the cup against England

55 American Intercollegiates 60 Indian Empire Shield Cornell are tested by UVA in both the women’s and the men’s tournaments

56 Copa de las Naciones

England put up a spirited defence against Argentina, writes Sandy Harper

58 Gaucho International

London’s O2 Arena hosts indoor polo for the first time, reports Herbert Spencer

59 Royal Salute Tang Cup Liu Shilai’s team takes the title in Beijing

Despite a last-minute line-up change, Black Bears defeat Emlor to win the impressive trophy for the third occasion in a row

62 Thai Polo

Malaysia meet England and a fundraising event for a breast cancer centre takes place at the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club

64 St Regis International

Cowdray Park Polo Club is the venue for a test match between Jaeger-LeCoultre’s South America and Audi England

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The season in Florida A fine string of horses combined with the sparkling mallet skills of Sapo Caset put the ghosts of 2009 to rest, writes Alex Webbe US Open Finals

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In a season dominated by surprises, the Crab Orchard team that had dominated play in highgoal competition at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida, found themselves as just one of a dozen courting the USPA’s most coveted trophy, but injuries also became an unwelcome part of the drama of the final 26-goal mounted tournament of the year.

While Lechuza and Audi had emerged as favourites during the season, there were other possibilities in the field of teams.

There were seven 10-goal players in the mix, but the early standouts on the field were Lechuza 9-goaler Sapo Caset; Audi’s Brazilian 8-goaler, Rodrigo Andrade; teammate Nico Pieres (7); and Valiente 8-goaler Polito Pieres.

Pony Express had shown no threat in the earlier tournaments, and without Daniels on the field showed little heart. Piaget was not much of a factor either. The Hawks showed early promise before falling to Valiente, and Faraway, banged up between player injuries and a shortage of top horses, did everything they could to stay on the field. Bendabout showed glimpses of potential, but couldn’t deliver the knockout punch when it counted and Orchard Hill was having no luck with their offence at all. Crab Orchard continued to struggle, but managed to string together three wins (although two of them failed to impress the critics). Their lack of net goals, combined with a loss to bracket-winner Las Monjitas, kept them out of semi-final competition.

The shortcomings in the horses also began to appear as the tournament wore on, and teams that showed promise early on were now struggling to stay in contention. But the cream rose easily to the top, and four teams finally emerged to do battle in the semi-finals of this year’s US Open.

Valiente had picked up a little steam going into the competition. They had initially dropped in an early match to Las Monjitas (11-12), but then racked up victories over Pony Express (14-7), Orchard Hill (12-11) and the Hawks (10-9) to earn themselves a semi-final berth.

Las Monjitas had a roller-coaster ride on their way into the semi-finals. Their opening win over Valiente was followed by losses to Bendabout (8-9) and Audi (12-14) before rebounding to present Crab Orchard with their first painful loss of the tournament.

Looking like a team that was getting better with each game, Audi totted up wins

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1 Gonzalito Pieres (left) and Martin Espain on the boards 2 Sapo Caset in 10-goal form 3 Nico Pieres (left) and Victor Vargas cross midfield 4 5 6 Match entertainment in full swing 7 Eye on the prize

over Pony Express (13-8), Orchard Hill (15-9), Las Monjitas (14-12) and Zacara before derailing Valiente 9-8 in the semi-finals.

Lechuza had the look of a one-man team early in the season with a flashy and effective Sapo Caset scoring in double digits with regularity. They downed Faraway (11-7) and Piaget (11-7) before getting tripped up by Zacara (6-7). But that wasn’t enough to prevent them reaching the final to face the Audi team in the last stages.

A clearing miscue by Audi’s highly touted Brazilian 8-goaler led to Lechuza’s first goal of the game, scored by Vargas, in front of a standing-room-only crowd. Sapo Caset made it 2-0 just a minute later. Audi finally got on the scoreboard with a penalty conversion from 10-goaler Gonzalito Pieres, but Lechuza closed out the first chukka scoring with a 110-yard shot through the goal posts from Lechuza’s 10-goaler, Juan Martin Nero. Lechuza left the field with a 3-1 lead with Audi struggling to find their offensive punch.

Audi pressed forward their attack in the second chukka, but just couldn’t quite pull the trigger. They missed at least four goals in the second period alone with every member of the line-up misfiring on what appeared to be surefire goals. Gonzalito Pieres then scored on another penalty shot. Despite a defensive effort that kept Lechuza from scoring, Audi continued to trail 3-2.

The first goal of the third period came off a penalty shot from Caset. After tapping the ball into play, Caset rocketed the ball through the Audi goalposts from 130 yards out for a 4-2 lead. Lechuza went to 5-2 with Caset’s www.hurlinghampolo.com

third goal of the match and a bewildered Audi team rode off the field at the end of the first half, now trailing Lechuza by three goals.

Audi tried to regain control of the game in the fourth chukka, but Lechuza would have none of it. Attack after attack was pushed aside, defensive shots thwarting every effort, while brilliant teamwork between Caset and Nero frustrated the Audi team.

Caset drove the ball across the front of the Audi goal and dropped it for Nero who necked it through the goalposts to make it 6-2 after four chukkas of play.

A penalty conversion by Caset and a goal during open play from Nero ran the Lechuza lead to six goals, with Audi looking like a shell of the team that beat Lechuza to capture the 2011 USPA Piaget Gold Cup in March.

Gonzalito Pieres scored on his third penalty shot of the match, but at the end of five chukkas of play the Audi team, which had averaged almost 13 goals per game, lagged behind Lechuza 8-2 without a single goal having been scored from the field.

However, it was a different, more collected Audi team that returned to the field for the final chukka, with Nico Pieres scoring the first goal of the period within the opening minute of play. Two minutes later Andrade split the goal posts to make it 8-5, and at the 2:22 mark, Nico Pieres scored again to make it 8-6 score. But that was where it would end for his team. With Audi trying to make up too much ground, the final horn sounded and Victor Vargas and his Lechuza team captured their first US Open Championship in a victory that may help to soothe the memories of the

unpleasant horse-poisoning affair that occurred just two years ago.

Juan Martin Nero was named MVP while Rodrigo Andrade’s 12-year-old chestnut gelding, Zoltan, garnered Best Playing Pony honours. Sapo Caset’s horses were named ‘Best String in the Open’.

The 2011 US Open was Lechuza’s third consecutive major tournament final and the victory gave Lechuza its second title of the season. Earlier in the year, they’d won the CV Whitney, before losing to Audi in overtime in the Piaget Gold Cup finals.

‘I thought Nico [Pieres] looked a little tight in the first half,’ said polo veteran Julian Hipwood. ‘And it didn’t look like Gonzalito [Pieres] had gotten into the rhythm of the game yet,’ added the former 9-goal captain of the English polo team.

One cannot overlook the equine aspect of this year’s finals, with the Audi horses just looking a little flat.

‘I thought their horses were a bit off,’ said Caset. ‘They might have peaked a bit early.’

The regenerated Lechuza string, however, gave a splendid account of themselves in a fitting tribute to the 21 horses lost in 2009.

Attack after attack was pushed aside as brilliant teamwork between Nero and Caset thwarted the Audi team’s efforts

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USPA Piaget Gold Cup There was no initial mystery surrounding the 2011 high-goal season at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida. Adolfo Cambiaso was returning with George Rawlings and his Crab Orchard team, and the big question in the air was whether or not Crab Orchard would sweep the high-goal season again as they did in 2010.

Cambiaso returned with Hilario Ulloa, a very talented 9-goaler who had been his teammate in the 2010 campaign that had netted Crab Orchard the Triple Crown (comprising the CV Whitney Cup, USPA Piaget Gold Cup and the US Open), and US newcomer Nachi du Plessis, a hotly tipped South African 7-goaler.

Make no mistake, the field of 11 teams boasted some of the top players in the game and every 10-goaler in the world, but the crown belonged to Cambiaso and Crab Orchard, and it was expected to be an uphill climb to oust him.

Audi scored an opening 6-5 win over Las Monjitas in a contest that had fans wondering if they would be able to develop a cohesive offence to move forward while Mariano Aguerre and the Hawks eliminated Pablo MacDonough and Steve Van Andel’s Orchard Hill foursome, 13-9.

The biggest surprise of the 2011 season, however, came the following day. In a game that looked and felt more like a practice than a tournament match, Lechuza downed Crab Orchard 9-7, and a frustrated Cambiaso was forced to watch the final minute of play from the sidelines after being ejected from the

game for making three technical penalties.

Bendabout knocked Piaget off with a 12-7 score, and the Hawks won out in an 11-10 nail-biter over a Zacara team which featured Facundo Pieres and Sebastian Merlos.

Valiente sent an anaemic Audi attack (two goals in the opening four chukkas) home in a 12-8 game while Lechuza Caracas snuck past Pony Express, 10-9 joining.

Semi-final action saw Valiente ride past Bendabout 14-9. Lechuza dispatched the Hawks in an 11-7 win setting up the first 26-goal final of the season.

With seven of the tournament’s eight 10-goalers watching, Lechuza illustrated the cohesive teamwork that got them to the finals.

Victor Vargas, Sapo Caset and Juan Martin Nero scored two goals apiece in the first half, and Valiente found themselves behind 6-3 after the first three chukkas.

Lechuza kept the three-goal lead through the fifth chukka, and despite a sixth chukka Valiente rally, held on for the10-9 victory.

It was a balanced Lechuza attack that had Vargas and Nero tally three goals each while Caset and Espain each scored a pair in the win. Espain was named MVP, with Polito Pieres’s Argentine gelding ‘Sugar’ picking up Best Playing Pony honours.

With the single-elimination CV Whitney now in the rear-view mirror, all attention was focused on the USPA Piaget Gold Cup and the re-emergence of Adolfo Cambiaso and Crab Orchard. The addition of Hutton Goodman’s Faraway gave the Gold Cup a dozen teams to organise. Subsequently, three four-team brackets were created with the highest-rated troupes in each bracket and

the top second-best all moving up into the semi-final round.

The Hawks opened the competition with a 13-11 win over Orchard Hill, while Audi seemed to have found their attack as they scored a 12-10 win over Goodman’s Faraway team in their 26-goal debut.

Crab Orchard managed a 13-10 win over Bendabout, but still showed little resemblance to the team that had dominated in the tournament the previous season.

Zacara showed promise in a 10-7 victory over Valiente. Lechuza trampled Piaget 14-8.

Agustin Merlos exploded onto the field for 11 goals as Las Monjitas defeated Pony Express, 20-8, and the Hawks continued to win, taking down Faraway by 10-6.

Crab Orchard managed a 10-9 win at the expense of Valiente, with du Plessis picking up five goals, but there was no sense of Crab Orchard dominance in the victory. Looking anything but extraordinary, they just held Cambiaso to two goals.

Zacara handled Bendabout then knocked off Crab Orchard 14-11, entering semi-final competition with a perfect 3-0 record.

Audi hammered Orchard Hill by 18-12 with an offence that was finally blossoming, then

Semi-final action saw Lechuza dispatching the Hawks 11-7, setting up the first 26-goal final of the season www.hurlinghampolo.com

LILA PHOTO / WWW.LILAPHOTOS.COM

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3 1 The winning Audi team 2 Nico Pieres on the ball, shadowed by Juan Martin Nero 3 Nico Pieres celebrates victory 4 Piaget CEO, Philippe LĂŠopold-Metzger, and Jimmy Newman, IPC polo manager, toss the coin

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clipped the Hawks13-8 for a 3-0 record and another berth in semi-final play.

Las Monjitas (3-0) finished first in its bracket with wins over Pony Express, Piaget (16-10) and Lechuza (11-10) with both teams moving on to semi-final action. Despite their loss, Lechuza held the top record among the second-place teams.

Audi displayed a maturing offence as they rebounded from a 6-5 half-time deficit to tie the game at 11-11 in regulation time. It would be Nico Pieres who would convert a 40-yard penalty shot in overtime for the win.

Lechuza earned the second final berth in a 14-12 win over Zacara, with Sapo Caset scoring ten times for the win and the chance to meet Audi in the Piaget Gold Cup finals.

Audi and Lechuza battled evenly through the first two chukkas, matching each goal for www.hurlinghampolo.com

goal: 2-2 after the first chukka, remaining even at 4-4 after the second.

Nico Pieres continued to dazzle onlookers, scoring his third and fourth goals of the game in the third. Gonzalito Pieres scored his third and Audi led 7-3 at the end of the first half.

Lechuza kept the pressure on, picking up an unanswered goal in the fourth and adding two more goals in the fifth to lead 8-7. Nico Pieres scored on a 60-yard penalty shot to end the chukka in an 8-8 deadlock.

Caset’s fourth goal of the game gave the lead to Lechuza in the sixth chukka, and the win seemed just within reach, with less than a minute to go when the unthinkable happened.

In an effort to hit the ball over the sideboards and eat up the precious remaining time, Nero was called for dangerous play (hitting the ball into spectators) and Audi was awarded a

60-yard penalty shot that Nico Pieres converted to force the overtime chukka.

Thirty-two seconds into overtime, Pieres took control of the ball, wove his way through a number of Lechuza defenders and delivered a 40-yard winning shot through the goal posts.

Nico Pieres led all scoring with seven goals and was named MVP for his efforts. Sapo Caset’s Septiva was named Best Playing Pony.

In the final minute, the win was just within reach when the unthinkable happened: Nero was called for dangerous play

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The Florida Polo Scene The International Polo Club is certainly the hub of all major polo activity in Florida in the winter. Besides offering 20-goal and 26-goal polo, IPC remains the home of the 40-goal exhibition match to benefit the Players Support Group as well as the Women’s Championship Tournament (WCT). Twenty-one teams competed in the 2011 Avendano Memorial with competition at the Advanced, Intermediate, Walk/Trot and Lead Line level in North America’s largest junior polo tournament, and the club ended the season on a high note with an international match between a USA team and South Africa. But there were also a good number of area clubs generating a large amount of activity this winter season.

South Florida’s longest operating polo facility, the Gulfstream Polo Club, in Lake Worth, struggled this winter but managed to ride through another season without too much difficulty. Scheduled to be sold a few years back, horses and players scrambled for other clubs, but the real estate crash returned the land to the current owners and forced a realignment of the club’s direction.

Gulfstream offered play at the 4-goal and 8-goal level and recently hosted the USPS Delegates Cup (8-goal) and the USPA Bronze Trophy (12-goal).

The Outback Polo League relocated to the Hobe Sound Polo Club and continues to do a bang-up job under the direction of Phil Heatley. Playing under the sobriquet of the Kangaroo League, competition at the 4-goal,

8-goal and 12-goal level continues to operate on some of Florida’s finest fields at the club located just 50 minutes north of Wellington.

To the west of the Hobe Sound Polo Club is Steve Orthwein’s Port Mayaca Polo Club.

Port Mayaca continues to offer medium-goal polo and is the area’s answer to wet field conditions. When area fields are shut down due to rain, Port Mayaca remains high and dry.

Under the management of Laura Linfoot and supported by a family that contains several Orthweins and Busches, Port Mayaca continues to be a staple of the Florida winter season. Starting with the Annual Holiday Family Tournament in December and running through the 10-goal Sanchez Memorial Cup, Port Mayaca continues to provide lively competition for seasonal players.

The Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington continues to sponsor medium-goal polo even with owners Marc and Melissa Ganzi competing at the 26-goal level next door (IPC).

Grand Champions also hosted the second annual Gay Polo League tournament, an affair that attracted some 2,000 spectators.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season to come out of Wellington was the emergence of Glen Straub’s Palm Beach Polo and Hunt Club. Benefiting from the joint leadership of Tara Lordi, Juan Olivera and Mauricio Devrient, the medium-goal programme attracted 14-16 teams at the 4-goal, 8-goal and 12-goal level throughout the season. Reclaimed fields of past years and newly created fields give the club nine playing surfaces. Among its top facilities, the creation of a grass amphitheatre

The World Cup fields six teams, to the rapt attention of 10,000 enthusiastic spectators who always create an exhilarating atmosphere at the end of the season is expected to attract more enthusiasts and newcomers into the game.

Under the direction of Joey Casey, the Palm City Polo Club (operating in the old Royal Palm Polo Club) has resurfaced as a full service teaching facility that also offers lowto medium-goal competition. Spreading its wins this season with the debut of their own polo arena and with Mike Harris running the polo school, the club has attracted more than 50 new students and players.

The season ender remains the popular Miami Beach Polo World Cup and the accompanying South Beach Women’s Polo Cup. Featuring four days of three-a-side polo on the sands of Miami Beach, MB Polo Club draws eight teams in the women’s tournament while the highly competitive World Cup fields six 12-goal teams featuring the top players in the game, to the rapt attention of 10,000 enthusiastic spectators who always create an exhilarating atmosphere. www.hurlinghampolo.com

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Wellington’s Tommy Beresford (blue) riding Cheltenham’s Thady Duff off the ball in the final

Copenhagen Cup School teams showed great promise at Coworth Park, says Isabella Hislop, while Sam George reports on the Exhibition Match The 15th of May 2011 saw the Copenhagen Cup played at Coworth Park, hosted by Wellington College. Named after the Duke of Wellington’s horse at the Battle of Waterloo, ‘Copenhagen’, the tournament saw the best of England’s prep and secondary schools battle it to take the title for their school.

Polo is flourishing at secondary schools across England, and has now become one of the highlights of the academic sporting calendar. In its second year, the Copenhagen Cup aims to bring together the top school teams in a professional and competitive environment. For the boys at Beaudesert Prep and Woodcote House, this tournament’s crowd would have been the largest they’d ever played to. With three umpires and a commentator, the Copenhagen Cup provides a unique chance for younger players to experience full match play.

The Copenhagen Cup was a triumph for junior polo as up-and-coming stars were able to showcase their talent. The semi-finals saw Harrow take on rivals Eton. Their first derby of the season, Harrow were the victors of this tight match. However, neither team dominated, and the score was close throughout. Their next showdown will be at the Jack Wills Varsity Polo match in June, no doubt these two schools will return home to prepare for battle once again in a few weeks.

The final between Wellington and Cheltenham was similarly tense. By half time, although Cheltenham had the lead, neither team had taken control of possession. However, www.hurlinghampolo.com

with Tommy Beresford’s long shots, Wellington were able to edge ahead in the final chukka.

The final score of 7½-6 reflects how evenly matched the teams were.

The Exhibition Match at the Copenhagen Cup was a brilliant opportunity for both Oxford and Harvard to get some valuable game time before they face off against their respective arch-rivals Cambridge and Yale at the Jack Wills Varsity Day on 11 June.

Harvard had flown over especially for the event and were looking forward to playing their first game on grass since January. They began with a 2½-goal advantage due to handicap differences, but an agile and dynamic Oxford soon overtook them. The first two chukkas saw the Dark Blues dominate, with excellent control

by Meacher and Mayou and open passages of play, facilitated by the immaculate Coworth field.

The game changed pace somewhat in the second half as Harvard rallied to curb the

mounting Oxford tally. Marion Dierickx rode hard in defence and Albany Mulholland began hitting some strong drives upfield, resulting in Harvard’s first goal and several other near misses. However, the late Crimson offensive wasn’t enough to put the game in doubt and the final bell saw the scoreline at 13–3½ in favour of Oxford.

In all, the game was a high-quality display of university polo, with some fast-moving chukkas due to the relative lack of fouls.

Special mention must go to MVP Tom and to Harvard for making the trip over and putting on a very good show, particularly in light of playing with a handicap disadvantage on unknown horses.

Both teams enjoyed the day and look forward to seeing each other again for their traditional fixtures at Guards in June. Oxford University extended their thanks to John Gale and Charles Betz for making the event possible.

Harrow’s Nikolai Bahlsen (dark blue) outpaces George Pearson (Eton) in the sub-final

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Townsend Cup

An America win against England under US rules evens up the score, reports Herbert Spencer

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single goal from Hyde, leaving the Americans 11-6 up in the third period. In the fourth and final chukka, the USA’s Biddle scored twice and Gobin and Rice once each, against two goals from England’s Dawnay and one from Hyde, giving the Americans a 15-9 victory.

On local television before and after the encounter, England skipper Hyde referred to the USPA’s ‘completely different rules’, but was magnanimous in defeat. ‘The best team won,’ he said, ‘but when the Americans come over to England again to play under our rules, they’d better watch their backs.’

It is clear that, until the USPA and HPA get together on their arena rules to bring them more in line with one another, the country that hosts internationals like the Townsend and the Bryan Morrison will hold the advantage.

1 Shane Rice stretches for the ball 2 Chris Hyde (left) and Shane Rice eye the ball

‘When the Americans come over to play under HPA rules, they’d better watch their backs’ www.hurlinghampolo.com

LYNN BREMNER

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A hard-riding USA team retained the John R Townsend Arena Challenge Cup in March, defeating England 15-9 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio near Palm Springs, California.

The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) and US Polo Association (USPA) fielded their strongest 22-goal teams to contest the cup, last won by the USA in 2008 at Great Meadow Polo Club in Virginia.

The last time the two countries met in an arena polo international, for the 2009 Bryan Morrison Trophy in the UK, England downed the USA by, coincidentally, the same 15-9 score as this year’s Townsend encounter.

This mirroring of scorelines, winners and losers seems to reflect the significant differences in arena rules in the two countries.

Under USPA rules in the US, USA wins. Under HPA rules in the UK, England wins.

The USPA and Empire Polo Club went allout to make the 2011 Townsend Cup a major event. It was the first time it had been staged on the West Coast, having originated in New York in 1923 in the old Squadron A Armory, and then been revived 85 years later in Virginia.

Empire had rebuilt its palm-fringed arena just this year. It has concrete walls, rather than the usual, more forgiving wooden ones used in other arenas on both sides of the Atlantic.

A pool of 30 ponies was provided by Russ Sheldon of Poway Polo Club near San Diego; George Dill, polo manager at Eldorado Polo Club adjacent to Empire; and Eric Wright at Empire. Rather than the teams drawing lots for horses, however, the Americans chose which ponies they and the English would ride.

Before the match, the England players got a chance to play chukkas on their ponies and to try and focus on the unfamiliar American rules of the game. A major difference in USPA and HPA rules is that in the US, players ride back to midfield to line up for a throw-in after a goal is scored. In England, the ball is hit in from goal immediately after one is scored, making for more continuous action.

The USA took an early lead with two goals

by John Gobin and a third by Tommy Biddle before England responded with points from Ryan Pemble and Sebastian Dawnay, leaving the Americans leading 3-2 at the end of the first chukka. In the second period, USA got a point on penalty, three goals by Gobin and one from Biddle. Captain Chris Hyde, Pemble and Dawnay each scored once for England, leaving the visitors 8-5 down at chukkas-end.

The USA’s Shane Rice scored twice and Gobin once before England responded with a

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The team line-up

US National Intercollegiate Championships

AMY WISEHART

Instinctive teamwork bred from living and competing together gave this year’s victors flexibility and fluidity, writes Isabella Hislop The Intercollegiate Championships women’s final on 23 April was particularly important for Cornell captain Lizzie Wisner. As a senior, she was well aware that she would not get another shot at the title. Undefeated this season, the Cornell women’s team expected success; Wisner explained that, ‘Coming into the match, we knew that we had the skills to succeed.’

However, the game was a lot closer than they had anticipated. Despite gaining an early 4-0 lead in the first chukka, UVa caught up and evened the score at 6-6 by the end of the first half. The experienced and physical UVa team never let the Cornell team pull clear. As Wisner said, ‘They were hitting us hard the entire game… they were always with us.’ With neither team allowing the other to take a big lead, Wisner’s teammate, Jess Cross saw that her team needed to play a more attacking style in order to withstand the strong UVa challenge. ‘We had to pick up our energy because we were playing too soft… those girls were outplaying us – physically and mentally,’ Cross explained. At 8-8 in the third, the game was still clearly there for the taking.

However, the Cornell women were determined to step it up, ‘We started playing our game, and took over,’ she added.

Wisner’s two-pointer late in the third chukka kicked off a scoring streak and gave www.hurlinghampolo.com

Cornell their victory. As she commented, ‘It helped us to jump-start our momentum for the rest of the game. We settled down enough to allow us to begin really playing as a team.’

Wisner cited this as the reason they were able to overcome UVa in the final chukka: ‘We were reading each other’s passes well and coordinating our strategy,’ she said. As the Cornell women knew this would be their last time playing together before Wisner and Cross graduated, they understood the significance of coming together one last time to win 18-10.

Teamwork was the prominent theme for the victorious team in the men’s tournament, too. UVa’s Todd Thurston cites it as a decisive factor in their win: ‘Living together, eating together, doing barn chores together, all in such close quarters, brought out the bond between us – we became a family.’

The UVa men’s victory was unsurprising.

After a long year of polo, they were well equipped for the intercollegiates. UVa probably boasts the best polo facilities in the United States. The club now has 70 horses; with a string of 20 top-quality ones, and with the facilities close to campus, getting time in the saddle is relatively easy for its students.

Furthermore, the UVa team attracts a lot of international talent; the starting team hailing from Florida, Colombia and Uruguay. On

Wisner’s two-pointer in the third chukka kicked off a scoring streak that gave Cornell their victory top of the two formal practices and match a week, they also held two informal ones.

As the final approached, to say the UVa men’s team was prepared for the tournament would be an understatement. As Thurston explains, ‘Cornell put up a good fight, but it was no match for the three machines from UVa.’ Virginia dominated throughout; with an early five-goal scoring streak, Cornell found it impossible to catch this fast-paced team. Their strength lay in their versatility; the Cornell No. 3 was forced to adjust to an offensive position, taking their No. 1 player. UVa’s flexibility gave the Cornell team problems matching their positions and earned them the title 28-14.

Fortunately for UVa, their three starters and their alternate are all returning next season. Thurston predicts big things for his position on the team, ‘I look forward to playing at the highest level and learning what I can so that I can continue the UVa winning tradition.’

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Copa de las Naciones The sky darkened over Buenos Aires as, gnawed by dyspepsia, I hurtled down Ruta 8 that afternoon. Having just been beaten 13-9 by possibly the worst 8-goal team in Argentina (although obviously not worse than ours), my mood matched the weather, but duty called and so I staggered, crestfallen, into my car to cover 100kms in 40 minutes to watch England play Argentina in the Copa de las Naciones.

As the strains of ‘God Save The Queen’ wafted through the air, I ‘sprinted’, with the stiff-hipped, crab-like gait that singles out battered polo players, and took my seat at the top of Tribuna C, which was packed. I had barely let out a sigh of slightly pained relief when the first chukka bell rang. Then, I have to say, my day started to change for the better.

You’ll all know by now that England did not win this encounter, but they played extremely well against a very, very underhandicapped Argentine team. Although I am sure they were disappointed, they certainly have no reason to be ashamed of the result.

The first two goals, a penalty in the goalmouth and a 30-yarder, strongly hit by Luke Tomlinson, went to England but the third, and the first of the eight he was to score that afternoon, was a lovely individual goal by Facundo Pieres, with dazzling stick work that England could do nothing about. The next was well taken by Islas, who picked Beim’s pocket in the middle of the ground and went on to score. Beim did not make many mistakes after this though, and went on to play an excellent game, especially given that his opposing back was Facundo. He was mounted on a string that he’s clearly worked on over the past five years.

As the game developed I don’t think the result was ever in too much doubt, but England never stopped trying and in the fourth chukka came to within a goal, at 6-7, of the home team. The Pieres boys were playing their new strings, and I have to say that as new strings go, theirs look pretty good. Whenever England looked like putting Argentina under any pressure Gonzalito or Facundo would

change ponies and return to the field on some flying machine to score a quick couple in succession. Argentina’s eighth goal was one such example. Facundo took control of the ball near the middle on the Libertador side and passed it to his brother towards the left of England’s goal on the Dorrego side. Beim was chasing, but Gonzalito was leaving him behind and so when he crossed the line to score an excellent sliced goal, Beim’s appeal for a foul was not accepted. Towards the end of the last chukka, however, the umpires missed a blatant foul by Islas on Luke Tomlinson, who was about to score what would then have been England’s eighth goal. This was the third such

Borwick’s bay mare shoved Gonzalito Pieres and his pony a good ten feet to the left www.hurlinghampolo.com

WWW.IMAGESoFPoLo.CoM/EDuARDo

A lively match saw England present a spirited defence but ultimately Argentina triumphed, reports Sandy Harper

1 Valerio Zubiaurre chased by the Tomlinson brothers 2 Tomas Garbarini (left) and Valerio Zubiaurre played well above their handicaps

run but Islas rode Luke off very hard into his stick as he was about to tap the ball through the goal 10 yards out and somehow scooped the ball out from under their ponies to give away a corner, which was not converted.

In the fifth chukka, Borwick came out on an enormous bay mare, which caught my attention and Gonzalito Pieres’s too I should think, after a resolute ride off, which shoved him and his pony a good 10 feet to the left, but on the whole, Argentina didn’t have to worry unduly. Luke Tomlinson, who scored four of England’s eight goals, including their last after a good run, was also deprived of a final 60-yarder which was met brilliantly in mid-air

by Facundo Pieres and soon after this the sixth chukka ended 13-8 in Argentina’s favour.

England can be happy that they have an excellent 28-goal team, which any other team in the world would have trouble beating. The problem was they were up against a team, which although 27 goals on paper is closer to 31. Now, one can’t blame Argentina for wanting to ensure that they win an international, particularly when played before the Catedral crowd, but everyone, including the patriotic local press, had to concede that they fielded an under-handicapped team on this occasion.

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The man of the match was obviously Facundo Pieres for Argentina. It would be invidious to single out any English player for particular praise, as they all did well. Luke Tomlinson and James Beim, who was up against Facundo, impressed me. Mark Tomlinson’s work rate is phenomenal; at 2 he is normally charged with cancelling out the best of the opposition and certainly Gonzalito Pieres is no slouch!

Malcolm Borwick at six goals does not look

expensive. He is a big man, on big ponies and has a great eye for a ball. He might be more of a natural back than a three, but Luke’s position at back for England looks secure, as he is the best we have for that job.

All in all it was a very good afternoon, subsequently further enhanced for me by my publisher agreeing to pay for the six speeding fines and one parking ticket I’d picked up in the course of duty.

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1 Tim Bown (white) and Nacho Figueras race for the ball 2 Jamie Le Hardy (Scotland), Chris Hyde (England), Selby Williams (South Africa) and Nacho Figueras (Argentina)

Indoor polo comes to the O2 Arena for the first time, and it’s no mean feat to organise, says Herbert Spencer The former Millennium Dome in Greenwich, now the O2 entertainment complex, made history in February when 5,200 spectators showed up to watch the high-goal teams of four nations battle it out in the Gaucho International Polo in the big arena.

The event had the largest crowd ever recorded at an indoor polo international. Of course, there have been bigger attendances – up to 10,000 or more, at venues such as the old Chicago Armory – but these were for domestic competitions, not internationals.

The Gaucho International at one of London’s most iconic landmarks was a triumph for the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) in its efforts to introduce polo to a wider public.

A large part of the audience were new to polo.

‘We hoped to attract not just arena players and fans,’ HPA chairman Nicholas Colquhoun Denvers explained, ‘but to encourage more people to become involved in polo either as players, spectators or supporters. By raising our sport’s profile in the wider context, it is hoped we can grow the polo industry, attract greater sponsorship, support our professionals and invest more in grass roots polo.’

It was Colquhoun Denvers and Martin Williams, operating director of the Gaucho chain of Argentine-themed upscale restaurants, who came up with the idea of staging an arena international at the O2, one of the world’s biggest indoor venues. The HPA and the

overseas polo associations co-operated by approving national teams representing England, Argentina, Scotland and South Africa.

In the evening’s first international match, City AM Scotland defeated Mantis Group South Africa 14-11. For most polo aficionados this was the best match, an exciting duel between the two 17-goal teams.

The final match was between 20-goal EFG England and 19-goal Camino Real Argentina.

The home team, skippered by 9-goaler Chris Hyde, has far greater experience in arena polo than the visitors – led by Nacho Figueras, ‘the face of Ralph Lauren’. Despite this, EFG trailed in two of the four chukkas, snatching a 17-16 win in the last 30 seconds with a goal by Hyde.

The show also included a match between young players from Oxford and Cambridge,

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won by Cambridge 13-10. With a celebrity match and lots of showbiz razzmatazz between events, the evening lasted almost five hours.

The Gaucho International, 18 months in the planning, was the HPA’s most ambitious – and most complex – event after its annual summer International Day. To organise it, the association brought in Johnny Wheeler, whose big beach polo event (‘Sandpolo’) at Sandbanks, near Poole, has been running successfully for three years, and Mark Cann, executive director of the Combined Services Polo Association.

One of the biggest challenges for the organisers was the installation of a polo arena in the O2 Arena. The layout allowed a playing area of only 84 by 32 yards rather than the HPA-recommended 100 by 50 yards.

Equestrian specialists Martin Collins Enterprises dumped 580 tonnes of their Ecotrack artificial surface onto the O2 Arena’s concrete base and compacted it, and used glass ice hockey panels for the walls. The whole installation took 10 hours, and it was removed in just four hours after the event ended at 9.30pm.

Louisa Dawnay, polo manager at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club, dealt with the players and ponies. Having installed temporary pony lines backstage, she used six artics to shuttle 84 ponies into and out of London.

Following the event’s success, the HPA and Gaucho have provisionally booked a March 2012 date at the O2 for a second edition. www.hurlinghampolo.com

CAPTIvE MINDS

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Gaucho International

Jubilation as the Royal salute team celebrate their victory

The Royal Salute Tang Cup

www.photofans.cn

A tightly fought final saw Shilai Liu lead the Royal Salute team to win this inaugural event in Beijing on 21 and 22 May, Royal salute teamed up with the tang polo club in tongzhou District, Beijing for the Royal salute tang cup. the weekend began with a reception and dinner inside the forbidden city, and finished with the tournament finale on the sunday afternoon. this was the first tournament to be held since the official opening of the tang polo club in october 2010. the club, founded by the highest ranked polo player in china, shilai Liu, covers an area of 350 acres and offers some impressive polo facilities, including two standard international competition lawns, 100 stables, practice and training area and a 5,600sq m equestrian centre. all-inclusive lifetime membership to the club costs a total of Us$2.3m, with polo membership alone costing $105,000. for the Royal salute tang cup, Liu invited several international polo stars including alejo www.hurlinghampolo.com

taranco, Gonzalo azumendi and Juan cruz Guevara (all 6-goal) as well as other players from argentina, Usa, UK, australia and china to take part in this first tournament of the season, which for many signalled the renaissance of polo in Beijing. the four teams contesting were Royal salute, aMG Mercedes-Benz, cIcc Investments and aZIMUt super Yachts.

Both Royal salute and aMG played commendable polo on the saturday, fighting their way through the semifinals to gain a place in the sunday finals. the score kicked off with a tap-in goal by Iriarte of aMG in the last seconds of the first chukka, closely followed in the second chukka by a 60-yard penalty goal by taranco of Royal salute. aMG then extended their lead 3-1, before taranco scored again for Royal salute with a 45-yard pile driver. In the fourth chukka the home

crowd went wild as Royal salute’s shilai Liu scored two goals in succession – the latter an end-to-end goal in four strikes – before another goal took the Royal salute team to a 5-3 lead. the victory was short-lived as aMG fought back and cut the deficit 5-5 in the blink of an eye, but in the final seconds shilai Liu positioned himself 15 yards from goal and hit a successful backhander across the aMG goal line, taking his team to victory with a 6-5 win. prize-giving followed with a scottish bagpiper, followed by his Grace the Duke of argyll, con constandis (MD of pernod Ricard china) as well as other dignitaries of Beijing and the polo community, all paying tribute to the Royal salute team and their captain. after the inaugural Royal salute tang cup was presented by his Grace to shilai Liu and the rest of the Royal salute team, celebrations started at the Royal salute Marquee.

hurlingham [ action ]

The Indian Empire Shield Black Bears overcame Emlor to a chorus of referees’ whistles at Coworth Park. Herbert Spencer braved the cold to watch the match

1 1 (Left) Manuel Fernandez Llorente and Jean Du Plessis 2 Guy Schwarzenbach with his mother Francesca

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breeze before Schwarzenbach took a fine lofted pass from Clarkin to find the posts and effectively close out the game. In a late rally, Emlor scored twice with field goals, but ran out of time to leave Black Bears 6-4 winners.

‘I’d thought that having to change our lineup at the last minute would put us at a disadvantage,’ Guy Schwarzenbach said after the game, ‘but the new boys [Archibald and du Plessis] did a fantastic job.’

This low-scoring final was accompanied by a symphony of umpires’ whistles. ‘The players haven’t got the hang of the new no-turning

Schwarzenbach took a fine lofted pass from Clarkin to find the posts and effectively close out the game rule yet,’ explained referee Paul Withers. ‘At least there was only one technical foul [talking back to the umpires], by Nacho [Gonzalez] and that cost Emlor a point.’

‘There were too many whistles,’ Schwarzenbach admitted, ‘but the fouls were pretty much divided between the two teams.’

John-Paul Clarkin, mainstay of the Black Bears team for several years, was named Most Valuable Player. ‘This is the first year I rode only Black Bears ponies’, the New Zealander said. ‘It makes it easier for me on this team.

I’m keeping my own string for the 22-goal.’ www.hurlinghampolo.com

TONY RAMIREZ / WWW.IMAGESOFPOLO.COM

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Since The Indian Empire Shield became one of England’s high-goal prizes back in the Twenties, few teams have won it twice. Now however, Black Bears’ name is inscribed on one of the huge trophy’s gilded plaques not twice but three times.

Guy Schwarzenbach’s side captured the shield for the third year running in May by defeating Clinton McCarthy’s Emlor team 6-4 on a chilly day made less cosy for spectators by an icy wind at Coworth Park Polo Club, just across the road from Windsor Great Park.

The Indian Empire trophy is one of the most unusual and impressive prizes in the sport. Presented to English polo by rulers of India’s princely states in 1927, it is designed like a warrior’s ceremonial shield and is made of heavy wood covered with gold and silver plaques. Before the war, it was one of the country’s most important high-goal prizes.

Black Bears had already beaten Emlor in their earlier league game, so looked to be favourites. But on finals day, with their 7-goal England player James Beim sidelined with stomach problems, Black Bears had to make two changes to their line-up to make up their 18-goal team handicap. Jack Archibald, 3, replaced Beim in the No. 2 position and Jean du Plessis, 5, came in at back. Patron Schwarzenbach, 2, remained at No. 1 and eight-goaler John-Paul Clarkin played his usual No. 3 position.

The game got off to a slow start before Clarkin converted a 30-yard penalty three minutes into the first chukka. Emlor’s Nacho Gonzalez then found the goalposts from a scrum to equalise, before Clarkin took a pass from du Plessis and scored to regain the lead for Black Bears at 2-1.

The second chukka started with a 60-yard penalty carried over from the previous period, expertly converted by Clarkin. Neither side scored after that, with both Clarkin and Gonzalez missing penalty shots.

Half of the third period had passed before Gonzalez pulled one back for Emlor with a 30-yard penalty conversion. But after a long run by du Plessis, Archibald picked up the ball to score, leaving Black Bears ahead 4-2.

With both teams missing tries, the only score in the fourth period came from a 30-yard penalty conversion by Clarkin to extend the Black Bears’ lead.

In the fifth chukka, Clarkin and Gonzalez again missed their penalty shots in the stiff

hurlingham [ action ]

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Thai Polo

the end of the polo season is always busy at the thai Polo & equestrian club, with lots of interesting events and matches taking place. on Saturday 12 February, malaysia met england in an international match. malaysia’s line-up consisted of tengku Shazril, Shaik reismann, Huzaini yunus, and Saladin mazlan, while england’s team consisted of James carr, oliver cudmore, max routledge, and oliver Hipwood, both 13-goal teams. while James carr joined the team from india, the rest of the team were en route to china for asia’s first ‘Snow Polo’ tournament the following week. the malaysians had been practising and playing as a team for the past few months in argentina and thailand, in preparation for the Zone D FiP world cup Qualifiers this June in malaysia. a well-prepared malaysian team, mounted on their own horses, would be prove a stern test for the english team. malaysia led early but were unable to put any real distance between them and the english squad, who played very intelligently on horses provided by Harald Link, co-owner of

the thai club. england controlled the ball through oliver Hipwood and the tireless work of the other three players and refused to be drawn into a open-running game which would have better served the malaysian team. england managed to keep the score close and went into the last chukka even. in the last chukka, england was better able to capitalise on the opportunities they were presented and went on to win the game by two goals.

Later in the month, on 19 February, the thai Polo & equestrian club was the scene for the Queen’s cup Pink Polo 2011, sponsored

by St. regis and in aid of the Queen Sirikit

in the miss Pink Polo contest, finalists were chosen from Bangkok’s finest, dressed in every shade of pink imaginable

centre for Breast cancer. Dr Kris chatamra, a consultant surgeon and oncologist at King chulalongkorn memorial Hospital, is founder and instigator of the centre. Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women in thailand and the centre provides them with thailand’s best equipment and an innovative ‘Philosophy of care’. every week, each patient’s case is reviewed at a meeting of specialists, for a multidisciplinary team approach. Dr. Kris (as he is affectionately known) and his colleagues work without pay to treat primarily underprivileged women, taking in 100 patients every three months for treatment. Pink Polo hopes to raise over half a million baht (just over £10,000) for the centre this year alone. this fundraiser and polo match, now in its third year, hosted over 400. the festivities began at midday with an elegant lunch under marquees, catered by St. regis. Pony rides for the children were a popular activity, as budding polo players were eager to get on a thai Polo pony. early afternoon, guests were treated to a fashion show on horseback. models sporting www.hurlinghampolo.com

www.Laceywinterton.com

The action continues with three tournaments at the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club, bringing wins for England, Thai Polo and Macau, writes Lacey Winterton

Burberry were led up and down the boards, with a grand finale of a model in a wedding dress, riding side-saddle. it was then time for the miss Pink Polo contest and the Best Hat contest. Finalists were chosen from an endless crowd of Bangkok’s finest, dressed in every shade of pink imaginable. creative and eye-catching outfits were the norm, no doubt having taken hours of shopping and preparation to assemble. a little while before the Pink Polo match, a kid’s polo game was played in centre field, between a group of thai Polo’s own students. although mounted on their stout little ponies, the kids raced up and down the shortened field and had the rapt attention of the crowd. at 4pm in the afternoon, as the true Sport asia broadcast began, the two ladies’ teams were led onto the field by Khunying Finola chatamra, Honorary advisor of the Queen Sirikit centre for Breast cancer, and nunthinee tanner, co-owner of thai Polo, flanked by a pink Bentley and a pink audi. thai Polo’s line-up consisted of isabel Von morgenstern (1), caroline Link (2), claudia Zeisberger (2), and catalina Bunge (6), who took on the St. regis-sponsored team of anna Princess zu oettingen-wallerstein (1), melissa tiernan (1), Fazila Filippi (0)/alison chadwick Kelly (0), and ina Lalor (6). St. regis started the game with two goals on handicap which thai Polo managed to equal by halfway through the second chukka. with one minute on the clock, thai Polo scored their third goal of the game, then matched by St. regis only 16 seconds before half-time. the score going into the third chukka was tied at 3-3. tenacious defence and missed opportunities by both teams saw it remain 3-3 over the next two chukkas. in the last minute of the fourth chukka, catalina Bunge (St. regis) missed a 60-yard penalty for her team. Following suit, ina Lalor (thai Polo) then missed the very same penalty, and the two teams remained tied. in the dying seconds of the fourth chukka, catalina Bunge (St. regis) broke away with the ball and headed towards goal. She wasn’t able to put it through, but claudia Zeisberger was bringing up the rear and tapped the ball in, making thai Polo the winners of Pink Polo 2011, and garnering for herself the award of mVP. the final tournament of the season was the thai Polo cup, where four spirited teams with -1 handicaps vied for the title. the first day of the thai Polo cup on 5 march saw maple Leaf, wife-and-husband team of claudia Zeisberger and David munro, take on macau, where andy Harrison played for an injured Pedro Bettencourt. the game got off to a slow start and going into the third chukka the score was tied at 2-2. Back and forth the score climbed, goal by goal for each team, until the final minute of the fourth chukka, when Julian Sagarna was able to score and leave the www.hurlinghampolo.com

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4 1 Fergus Gould chased by claudia Zeisberger 2 Pink Polo fashion show 3 annabel Von morgenstern on a thai Polo Pony ride 4 Finola chatamra and nunthinee tanner lead the teams 5 Pretty in pink

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game at 6-5 to maple Leaf. the other match played between Gtm and 22Br finished with a score of 5-2 to 22Br, effectively deciding that the 3rd-place-play-off would be played between macau and Gtm, and the final match between 22Br and maple Leaf. the second and final day of the thai Polo cup, 6 march, saw maple Leaf take on 22Br in the final. the score had been pretty even

up until the end of the second chukka, when maple Leaf scored two goals and pulled ahead 4–2. one more goal scored put them at 5-2, going into the fourth chukka. 22Br had a few chances with penalty shots, but failed to use them and maple Leaf stayed just ahead to take the win. the final score was 6-4 to maple Leaf. meanwhile, in the semi-final, macau beat Gtm to victory with a score of 7-3.

hurlingham [ action ]

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St Regis International South America’s accuracy and discipline gave them an edge over England at Cowdray Park, reports Herbert Spencer

‘It was a fast, clean game but our boys looked a little rusty’

More often than not in high-goal polo, the team that properly positions their players on the field and is more accurate with their passing shots, wins the game. This fact was elegantly illustrated in the results of the St Regis International Test Match at Cowdray Park Polo Club last month.

In this, their first home test of the year, Audi England were faced with a composite Jaeger-LeCoultre South America side for the St Regis Trophy. The Latin American visitors played a strong game with both accurate and effective passing, while the home team only managed to hit and hope, with too many passes going astray.

No surprise, then, that South America dominated England for most of the match and won the test 9-6½. They were certainly more disciplined and deserved to win. It is unlikely that the last-minute scramble to make up the

Thus England became a 27-goal side while South America remained at 28, giving the home team half a point on the scoreboard to start. This lead rapidly disappeared in the first chukka as South America kept the ball in England territory and scored with field goals

by Sola and Nacho Figueras. England’s Borwick converted a 60-yard penalty, leaving the visitors 2-1½ up at the end of the chukka.

England recovered the lead in the second period when James Beim scored from the field, but lost it again when Sola converted a safety 60. Beim again put England ahead in the third period, followed by a fine run by Dhillon from the throw-in. South America responded with a 60-yard conversion from Sola who then scored a field goal to put the visitors ahead 5-4½.

Astrada found the posts early in the fourth chukka to increase South America’s advantage.

two teams made any difference to the results.

Ten-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso had agreed to lead the South America side, joined by fivegoaler Martin Valent, manager of the Dubai team for which Cambiaso plays. But as the test approached, Cambiaso had to withdraw because of his commitment to the pro-am Queen’s Cup. Valent also backed out.

To replace Cambiaso, team sponsor Jaeger-LeCoultre brought in nine-goaler Eduardo Novillo Astrada, a Jaeger-LeCoultre ‘ambassador’, and replaced Valent with young six-goaler Facundo Sola.

England had booked all four of the squad’s seven-goalers including, for the first time, Satnam Dhillon whose handicap went up just this year. Unfortunately skipper Luke Tomlinson was sidelined due to a badly bruised leg, so he was substituted with sixgoaler, Malcolm Borwick.

www.hurlinghampolo.com

CHARLIE SAINSBURy-PLACE

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2 1 Nacho Figueras pursued by Satnam Dhillon 2 Malcolm Borwick controls Nacho Figueras 3 James Beim evades the hook of Eduardo Novillo Astrada

3 www.hurlinghampolo.com

Mark Tomlinson responded for England with a breakaway run to score from midfield, before Sola converted a 60-yard penalty to put South America ahead 7-5½.

In the final chukka, Borwick pulled one back for England by converting a 60-yarder.

Chilean José Donoso then scored for South America and Sola tapped in a spot penalty just moments before the final bell to give the visitors their 9-6½ victory.

‘It was a fast, clean game, but our boys looked a little rusty,’ David Woodd, chief executive of the Hurlingham Polo Association, said afterwards. ‘South America played better as a team and they were more accurate with their passing. Sola was particularly impressive.’

The Argentinian was South America’s top scorer, accounting for six of the visitors’ nine goals. However, it was the pivotal Astrada who was named Most Valuable Player.

hurlingham [ archive ]

made in Miami

at the mid-point of the last century, the University of Miami fielded a formidable polo team who achieved a remarkable run of victories, reports alex Webbe

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The University of Miami may not have carried the blueblood credentials of the Ivy League colleges that had dominated the intercollegiate polo ranks over the course of the first 20 years of competition, but when it took the field for the first time in 1948, it took it with authority.

Hijacking the trio of JR ‘Speed’ Evans, J Mather and R Knight from the New Mexico Military Institute, the University of Miami ‘Hurricanes’ blew through its competition, defeating Cornell in the finals of the 1948 National Championship.

Eighty-year-old Paul Heise was a member of the team in 1949, 1950 and 1951, and has taken time to reflect on his collegiate polo days. The Milwaukee native is still active in the game, keeping three horses in tow and playing at the Barrington Hills Polo Club in Barrington, Illinois.

‘Speed [Heise’s teammate, John ‘Speed’ Evans from Denver, Colorado] was playing polo that summer [1948] in our area, and I had just finished my freshman year at the University of Wisconsin,’ recalls Heise. ‘After playing against one another one afternoon in a game, we sat down and had a couple of beers together. Speed told me his two teammates [Mather and Knight] were leaving and that I should transfer to the University of Miami. I don’t think anyone

ever filled out application papers faster than I did! And that was that.’

Mather and Knight left school the year after, Paul Heise swiftly transferred there and Chicagoan Chuck Bernard filled out the squad. The chemistry was immediate: the team operated as though they had been playing together for years.

With the addition of Bernard and Heise, they notched up three more championships in 1949, 1950 and 1951. The University of Miami Hurricanes did more than dominate the national scene – they obliterated it. After an undefeated season, Evans, Bernard and Heise stretched out this winning streak to four further years of being unbeaten, picking up the national crown each year.

‘We usually played the early match in the Orange Bowl and were followed by a professional league consisting of Michael Phipps, Stewart Iglehart, George Oliver and others. It was some of the best polo I would ever see. You could learn so much just by watching them play,’ he adds.

The Orange Bowl professional polo league was success, but nothing compared to the kind of success that the three young Hurricane stars would achieve.

In the 1949 finals of the intercollegiate championships, Miami manhandled Yale in a 15-7 victory and registered their 20th

straight win in a row in the historic polo venue Squadron A Armory in New York.

The University of Miami polo team was no longer an unknown on the American polo scene. They entered the 1951 season with a winning streak that dated back to the team’s first contest four years earlier, and were a target for everyone they played.

Once again, however, the trio of Bernard, Evans and Heise manoeuvred their way through the season without a loss, capping the year’s long efforts with a sound, 12-5 win over Princeton in the finals.

Due to budgetary concerns and a lack of support, the four-year-long polo experiment at the University of Miami ended in a most spectacular fashion. Miami remained unbeaten after four years of competition and had captured four consecutive national collegiate polo championships.

There would never again be a team that had achieved a level of success as that of the University of Miami polo team of that era.

after an undefeated season, the hurricanes remained unbeaten for the next four years www.hurlinghampolo.com

University of MiaMi archives

chuck Bernard and Jr ‘speed’ evans from the University of Miami polo team, 1950

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