Polo around the Globe

United Kingdom Polo season hangs in the balance

By Sarah Eakin

Some are suggesting playing under restrictions, such as banning ride-offs to avoid close contact.

As uncertainty looms over the U.K. polo season because of the coronavirus and the sport’s community finds itself in lockdown, Eddie Kennedy a wellknown polo artist and head coach at the Royal Berkshire Polo Club has retreated to his studio in Windsor, England. His polo helmet is hung up for now, but his current work is painting two other helmets that suggest there is faith that the English polo season 2020 is not over. He is decorating them with the Argentine flag, the signature look for Adolfo Cambiaso and his son, Poroto Cambiaso.

“They are still planning to come to the U.K. this summer to play for Next Generation [formerly known

as La Bamba de Areco],” Kennedy said. “But nobody knows when that will be, if at all.”

At the time of this writing the Hurlingham Polo Association was planning to review the viability of a summer polo season based on the government’s course of action whenever it is announced. At the earliest, tournament polo would start in mid-May, and the HPA have set up a steering group to make decisions during the coronavirus crisis. It is even being suggested that if polo can be played but under some restrictions, ride-offs for starters could be banned in the short term to avoid close contact and risk of injury. The criteria, which the association will

Whether or not polo gets played, there are always plenty of mouths to feed.

use for its decision making, will be dependent on the government’s recommendations as well as the following considerations: • The medical cover required and the risk of injuries that require A&E/hospital treatment. • What other sports are doing, e.g., cricket, golf, tennis, racing, cycling football, eventing. • The risk of reputational damage if polo is perceived to be in breach of the condition.

In the U.K., polo still bears the stigma of being a sport solely for the wealthy. The impact of the lockdown of the sport and the inevitable knock-on effect may show a different perspective. As professional players, grooms, instructors, umpires and suppliers hunker down in a bid to survive in the sport in suspension, it highlights the reality that while not always for the wealthy, being involved in polo does not always come cheap.

When lockdown hit the U.K. on March 24, Kennedy lost coaching work instantly. “The phone just stopped ringing,” he said. In the past, he has managed high-goal teams—Galen Weston’s Maple Leafs for one—and been responsible for hundreds of horses, but nowadays with no such overheads and painting to fall back on, he knows that he is one of the fortunate ones.

Sebastian Dawnay, a home-grown polo professional who is also based in the Windsor area could be facing a difficult decision in the coming weeks. He was

born into polo—the son of polo guru Major Hugh Dawnay—and has built a career as a professional player. But he is freelance, self-financed and currently renting stalls for five of his horses at $55 per week per horse and has been unable to negotiate a rent reduction with the owner of the barn. He is paying turnout for four more horses at $44 a pop and his feed bill is some $600 a month. There are none of

Phil Meadows (above) and his wife Suzie’s polo academy was growing but, because of coronavirus, has suddenly just stopped.

They still have 60 horses to feed.

Many grooms are desperate for work. Harriet Twine-Roberts is waiting to hear if she is needed this season.

Sebastian Dawnay has his family, groom and horses to support during this difficult time.

ALICE GIPPS

the usual pre-season deposits from patrons coming in and with basic food and accommodation for his horses in the region of a two-and-a-half grand a month the situation may become untenable.

He has a temporary lifeline with income from looking after three ponies for a Dutch client. If the travel ban is lifted it is possible she may move the horses abroad. He has a young family to support and unless polo is back on in the near future, he is considering cutting his losses for the season.

“I will make a decision at the end of May, I think,” he said. “I did have quite a few tournaments lined up, but my patron pulled out. Some patrons will be loyal to their pros ... and some won’t.”

Dawnay, meanwhile, is staying loyal to his groom of 10 years. “I want to support him,” he said simply. “The HPA sent out a statement asking people to pay their subscriptions. I wrote back to them in a polite email explaining that my priorities have to be the welfare of my family, my horses and my groom. I also asked if the association were able to offer financial support for professional players in this situation. I was told the only funds available were for things such as emergency dental work.”

Tales of grooms not being kept on pervade the polo world. Dawnay cites an employer he knows as inundated with calls from grooms desperate for work. Lana Negrete, who has heard similar stories, is grateful she still has a job as a groom working for pro player Royston Prisk.

“We communicate over the phone,” she said, fol

lowing the social distancing advice of the British government to keep at least two meters apart. “And if he does come to the barn, we shout at each other across the yard.” While all the summer season horses have been turned back out, shortly after being brought in, she’s keeping a few horses ‘ticking over’ so that if and when the announcement comes that the season is to get underway—and the HPA have said in the event of this development they will give 30-day’s notice—the horses in her care will be somewhat fit.

She said, “I am old school and I believe for every month they are out, it’s a week in work. I am very concerned because in four weeks I might get them ‘wind’ fit, but their legs won’t hold out.”

Suzie Meadows is the owner of a polo academy that partners to provide polo lessons at the Royal Berkshire Polo Club and nearby Guards Polo Club, operating out of Coworth Park, a neighboring luxury hotel venue. In addition, she offers corporate hospitality to businesses as well as team building, incentive and off-site “Learn to Play Polo” activity days. She relies extensively on wealthy clients from London, many of whom start out with one polo lesson and move on to become full playing members of the club—an important ‘grass roots’ component of the sport.

“Our trajectory for this year was on an absolute up,” she said. “Brexit was done. People were able to plan their lives. And then it just stopped. We can’t just close up shop like a restaurant could. We can’t just not feed and tend to the horses.”

With 60 polo ponies to look after while not one is able to earn its keep, she is weighing up her options.

“We do have rainy day amounts,” she said, “but it’s not enough to feed 60 horses and employ two grooms.”

She has cut some costs by furloughing some of the grooms, but she still has to pay 80% of their wages and wait for government reimbursement. She is determined to do so, to avoid losing them.

“I have lots of grooms that I don’t want to go anywhere,” she said, pointing out that the implementation of Brexit has longterm effects on the availability of help. “We have a stay of execution with European grooms allowed to work on a points-based system,” she said. “But that is going to change.”

Bona fide businesses such as hers can turn to the banks, which she says have been surprisingly sympathetic. But she also adds that their hands are tied by regulations, and whatever money you do borrow, even on favorable terms, has to be paid back and that, if luck changes, would be done through revenue from a shortened summer polo season.

“When we had the crash in 2008,” she says, “aside

from the fact that businesses couldn’t be seen to be paying for corporate days and such, my business really didn’t suffer at all. This is a whole different ball game.”

The shockwaves from a continued polo shutdown are substantial, and even if normal activity resumes, there are no guarantees that decisions won’t reverse. The government is helping with wages for the selfemployed and those without income can apply for welfare. But anyone with horses to look after still has substantial bills to pay. When polo does resume, there are further considerations.

“Until the NHS (National Health Service) isn’t under pressure, it would be totally irresponsible to play,” Dawnay pointed out.

Whether the father-and-son Cambiaso helmets will grace the English polo fields this summer is undetermined. In the meantime, Kennedy, echoing the thoughts of many in the polo world reflected, “Who would have ever thought that we’d be in a situation like this?” •

Adolfo Cambiaso and his son Poroto are scheduled to play with

Next Generation in England this season.