December 2017 Polo Players' Edition by United States Polo Association

D E C E M B E R 2 01 7

Argentina captures FIP Championships

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CONTENTS D E C E M B E R 201 7

VO L . 21 ,

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

26 Most Wanted by Cristina Fernandez

Polo pony wins 2017 Thoroughbred Makeover

28 Aces High

Association News

USPA Bulletin Club Spotlight

14 Instructors Forum

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s polo gets boost with inaugural Arena Open

by Tom Goodspeed

30 World Leader by Gwen Rizzo

16 Equine Athlete

36 Winging it by Gwen Rizzo

18 22 24 40

Argentina dominates FIP Championship Father and son take small steps toward big dreams D E C E M B E R 2 01 7

Argentina captures FIP Championships

NO. 4

OUR COVER Argentina edged Chile in the final of the XI FIP World Polo Championships in Australia Photo by: Joe McInally/www.polopics.com

by Alice Gipps

Polo Scene News, notes, trends & quotes Team USPA Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Polo in the Pampas by Ernesto Rodriguez

42 Polo around the Globe 57 Calendar/Marketplace 60 Yesteryears 46 Polo Report CTPA Triumphs in Governors Cup

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OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN SIGNED COLUMNS ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE PUBLISHERS OF THIS MAGAZINE.

2 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

THE OFFICIAL MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE UNITED STATES POLO ASSOCIATION

Editor & Publisher

GWEN D. RIZZO

Contributing Editors

HEATHER SMITH THOMAS, ERNESTO RODRIGUEZ, ALICE GIPPS, CHRIS ASHTON, TOM GOODSPEED

Editorial Board BOB PUETZ, TONY COPPOLA, TOM BIDDLE, DAWN WEBER, AMI SHINITZKY Art Director DAVID BEVERAGE Prepress PUBLISHERS PRESS Advertising & Editorial Offices USPA Member Subscription Inquiries (800) 232-8772 OR FAX (888) 341-7410 ldolan@uspolo.org

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©Copyright 2017 by USPA Global LLC. No part of this issue may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process without written permission of the publisher. Paul Brown illustrations are ©2016 and are reprinted by permission of Paul Brown Studios, Inc., P.O. Box 925, Hedgesville, WV 25427. Subscription rates: $48/one year, $82/two years. Other countries (air mail), $81 drawn on U.S. bank/one year, $148 drawn on U.S. bank/two years. (GST:134989508). Subscription problems call (561) 968-5208. VOL. 21, No.4 POLO Players’ Edition (ISSN #1096-2255) is published monthly by Rizzo Management Corp. 6008 Reynolds RD, Lake Worth, FL 33449 for U.S. Polo Association, 9011 Lake Worth RD, Lake Worth, FL 33467. Periodicals postage paid at West Palm Beach, FL and additional mailing offices. (USPS: 079-770). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Polo Players’ Edition, 6008 Reynolds RD, Lake Worth, FL 33449. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement No. 40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Imex Global, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.

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The USPA offers four awards for excellence in the following fields to be awarded annually at each USPA Club. All club delegates are encouraged to send in their choices for each award. Clubs will be sent certificate awards for each recipient and they will be recognized in the 2018 USPA Blue Book. Please see the descriptions below: Clint Nangle Equine Welfare Award Awarded to an individual who exemplifies excellence in the field of equine welfare. Owen O’Hanlon Best Groom Award Awarded to the best groom, based on dedication, ability and knowledge. Dr. Billy Linfoot Most Improved Player Award Awarded to the most improved player at your club for the year. Club Best Pony of the Year Awarded to an exceptional pony at your club (playing, lessons, etc.) Please submit the names of awardees to clubs@uspolo.org by Dec. 31, 2017. Polo Giving Support the sport we all love by donating to a polo organization this holiday season. Museum of Polo (561) 969-3210 or polomuseum.com The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit educational organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the sport, its history, development and traditions by acquiring, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting collections, as well as honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to the sport. Polo Players Support Group (516) 528-3821 or polosupport.com The Polo Players Support Group, Inc. is firmly established and actively engaged in providing financial assistance to seriously injured or ill polo players and grooms. 6 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

ANNA PURDY

USPA Club Awards

Know an exceptional polo pony at your club? Nominate it for the Club Best Pony of the Year.

Polo Training Foundation (315) 696-5070 or polotraining.org The Polo Training Foundation’s purpose is to establish and administer a series of funds, including memorial, advisory, international, endowment, intercollegiate/interscholastic and others. These funds are dedicated to support polo in collegiate or scholastic sports curriculums, promote international goodwill through polo competition, and above all, encourage development and sportsmanship through teaching young people the principles of the game of polo. American International Polo Foundation (800) 232-8772 The American International Polo Foundation was organized to foster national and international amateur competition in the sport of polo, related charitable and educational activities and conduct any and all other activities as shall from time to time be determined appropriate in connection with the foregoing as are lawful for a not-for-profit corporation organized under the Illinois General

Not for Profit Corporation Act of 1986, as amended from time to time. The USPA processes donations on behalf of third party organizations that are recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3), and whose missions are consistent with the USPA’s goal of supporting the sport of polo. The USPA does not evaluate or monitor these organizations nor obtain any accounting as to the use of donated funds. Any questions regarding these organizations should be directed to them via the contact information provided, or on their respective websites. These organizations, not the USPA, are responsible for providing any acknowledgements of any donations. The USPA receives no fees or other compensation for processing these donations. PDI Applications Due All clubs wishing to apply for PDI grant funds for 2018 must submit their applications by Dec. 31, 2017. This USPA program is designed to facilitate the

Membership Renewal It is that time of year again! Renew your USPA membership for 2018. The fastest and most efficient way to renew your membership is through the USPA website (uspolo.org). To ensure your membership benefits continue uninterrupted, please renew no later than Dec. 31, 2017. When renewing, please ensure your contact information, including your email and mailing address, is current. If you require a paper renewal, please send a request to membership@uspolo.org. Frequently asked member questions: Why can’t I pay my membership by phone? The USPA requires every member to accept the “Terms and Conditions.” This can be done quickly by logging onto the member portal on uspolo.org or by mailing in the completed membership renewal forms. Why can’t two members use the same email? Our membership database uses e-mail addresses as a unique identifier. All information, such as handicap, member status and club affiliation is tied to an email address and cannot be used for another member. How do I obtain a handicap? To obtain a USPA handicap, the club

ANNA PURDY

growth of polo by empowering USPA polo clubs and approved USPA polo schools with financial awards (up to $10,000) dedicated to building business momentum at the club level. The success of the sport depends on success at the club level, thus it is the intent of the PDI program to offer financial assistance to ignite growth initiative imperative for eventual sustainability. The USPA’s 2018 PDI application is available online at uspolo.org and poloskilz.com.

Dodge, tournament coordinator at jdodge@uspolo.org All tournament results are due by Dec. 15, 2017.

Clubs are encouraged to send in their picks for the Owen O’Hanlon Best Groom Award, and the Clint Nangle Equine Welfare Award.

delegate at the club with which you are affiliated must send a recommendation via email to handicaps@uspolo.org. This recommendation is then sent to the circuit handicap chairman and national handicap chairman for approval. How long does it take to obtain a handicap? A handicap takes up to two weeks to be obtained. If you plan on playing in a USPA tournament, please make sure to allow sufficient time to receive a confirmed handicap. Tournament Results Assemble and send in your 2017 tournament results from all USPA events for inclusion in the 2018 Blue Book. Please include the name of the host club, name of tournament and dates played. Information must also include names of players on all teams that have competed in the event, list of games played with scores of each game and a high resolution trophy photo from each event. Tournament results may be submitted two ways: 1. The 2017 Tournament Results forms may be emailed to tournaments @uspolo.org. Tournament Results forms can be found at uspolo.org by going to the “Association” tab. then clicking on “Programs” and scrolling down to the “Forms and Documents” section. 2. An easy to fill out JotForm can also be requested by clubs. For a link to the form, please contact James

USPA Tournaments Now is the time to plan for 2018 USPA tournaments at your club. Clubs should submit applications as soon as possible, and no less than one month prior to the event for processing, approval and to ensure timely delivery of awards. Download tournament applications at uspolo.org by going to the “Association” tab, then clicking on “Programs” and scrolling down to the “Forms and Documents” section. Applications may be emailed to tournaments@uspolo.org or faxed to (888) 391-7410. The USPA offers several benefits for hosting a USPA tournament: • Awards provided for circuit and national tournaments • Promotional assistance provided through electronic mail, web and social media • Umpire reimbursement through USPA Umpires, LLC. For more information, contact Maggie Mitchell, umpire manager at mmitchell@uspolo.org. • Published results in USPA Bluebook • Arena Incentive Program for select USPA arena events Any questions regarding the tournament process may be directed to James Dodge, tournament coordinator at jdodge@uspolo.org.

Published by the United States Polo Association Offices at 9011 Lake Worth Rd. Lake Worth, Florida 33467 (800) 232-USPA

Chairman: Chip Campbell President: Tony Coppola Secretary: Stuart Armstrong Treasurer: Sam Ramirez Chief Executive Officer: Robert Puetz

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 7

Jess Downey, Amy Fraser, Erik Wright, Tiger Kneece, Katie Johnson, Jack Rupp, Laura Goddard and Paul Kuhn at the Instructors Skilz Clinic

IMF The annual Instructors and Managers Forum, presented by Polo Development, took place in Houston, Texas, in November. A wide range of polo instructors, coaches and polo managers attended the forum. Dynamic speakers urged the group to expand their polo business through non-traditional avenues and incorporate technology into teaching to make concepts, like swing mechanics, more understandable for all levels. An afternoon of interactive teaching gave participants a glimpse of the process into becoming a Certified Polo Instructor. Contact Amanda Snow (asnow@uspolo.org) for information on IMF 2018.

Team USPA Team USPA competed in the 2017 FIP World Polo Championship held at the Sydney Polo Club in Sydney, Australia. Team members, including Felipe Viana, Jesse Bray, Jim Wright, Matias Gonzalez and Daniel ‘Cacho’ Galindo, trained together for two weeks prior to the event at Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida. The squad traveled with coach Joel Baker and assistant coach

8 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Carlucho Arellano to compete against seven other countries in three rounds of competitive play. After a disappointing loss to Argentina in the first round, the U.S. team rebounded, defeating the home team, Australia, and the Spanish team in the next rounds. England prevailed over the U.S. in overtime after a tightly-fought match for third place and the bronze medal. The FIP tournament provides professional players with the opportunity to compete against their peers in other countries in four-man polo.

CPI Polo Development, LLC hosted an Instructors Skilz Clinic in Aiken, South Carolina, Oct. 30-31. This is the second step for instructors working toward their polo instructor certification. Participants included Tiger Kneece, Jolie Liston, Jack Rupp, Katie Johnson, Amy Fraser and Laura Goddard. The group was led by certifiers Erik Wright and Paul Kuhn. For more information about becoming a certified instructor, contact Jess Downey at jdowney@uspolo.org.

Middle School Polo PDI Ready to apply for PDI? The 2018 Polo Development Initiative application is now available online at uspolo.org and poloskilz.com. Completed applications are due Dec. 31, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. The USPA’s Polo Development Initiative program is a reimbursable program offering financial awards to USPA clubs and polo schools wishing to develop new sustainable initiatives. Contact PDI Coordinator Elizabeth Hedley (ehedley@uspolo.org) with questions.

Big thanks to the 2017 USPA I/I Middle School Tournament hosts! We appreciate you opening your arenas to the future of polo. We couldn’t have made this season possible without you. Hosts included Garrison Forest School, Powers Polo School, Marlan Farm and Bloomfield, NWA, Aiken, Lakeside, Barrington Hills, Bluewater Creek, Maui, Prestonwood, Gardnertown, Central Coast and Houston Polo Clubs. Contact Emily Dewey (edewey@uspolo.org) to host a 2018 Middle School Tournament at your facility.

Without officials Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just recess. USPA Umpires, LLC To date, our professional umpires have officiated over 1,800 ames, at over 80 clubs includ 9 international clubs. For more information r rdin professional umpir either Charles Muldoon: cmuldoon@uspolo.or or For information r

at your club. Please contact Mitchell: mmitchell@uspolo.or

ardin umpire clinics, please contact Steve Lane: slane@uspolo.or

Sarasota Polo Club Sarasota, Florida

ERIC NALPAS PHOTOGRAPHY

As cold weather settles into the northeast, the timing could not be more appropriate to introduce the stunning Sarasota Polo Club. Located on the gorgeous and often overlooked Gulf Coast of Florida in the community of Lakewood Ranch, SPC offers a club built on a foundation of comradery and sportsmanship where both you and your horses can escape the colder climate. The club provides an alternative to the highgoal, high-pressure and high-stakes polo that Florida is famous for. In fact, it takes pride in its 4- to 12-goal competitive polo, with great fields and even better people. Sarasota Polo Club is synonymous with the Uihlein family. The Uihleins procured a 28,000-acre property in 1922, which developed over the years from a timber farm to a conglomerate of agricultural businesses known as the Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Inc. While the Belinda Brody, on her horse Feather, approached the ball at full speed during the Sarasota Women’s Challenge final.

10 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

club was not developed until 1991, a ranch-style “cowboy polo” played in a former cow pasture near the SMR Headquarters, involving both ranchers and SMR executives, set the precedent for the sport. When plans were approved to develop a portion of the land into the Lakewood Ranch community, the polo club served as the centerpiece. Many would agree that the casual, family-friendly atmosphere of today’s club is a reflection of polo’s

humble beginnings in the area. Evoking polo establishments of the past, Sarasota Polo Club delivers a true polo community experience. The club boasts nine world-class polo fields surrounded by 35 private ranches, ranging from five to 40 acres. A lovely clubhouse, complete with a wraparound front porch, and field-side pavilion function as the focal point of the club. Both offer casual seating with great views of the playing fields, as well as a gathering place for the myriad club festivities. “Every homeowner is a member of the Sarasota Polo Club, no matter their equine discipline of choice, if any,” said Kristen Galvan, SPC polo operations manager. “If you own a ranch in the club, you are invited to participate in our member events, parties and any other activities. “We have such a great group of people

ERIC NALPAS PHOTOGRAPHY

This group of Sunday tailgaters embraced a Hawaiian Luau theme.

Meanwhile, the SMR Cup, competed for since the club’s inception, offers friendly competition off the polo field. Fun for all ages, albeit primarily adults, the SMR Cup features an entire weekend of events. ERIC NALPAS PHOTOGRAPHY

here at this club. People cheer and encourage each other. It’s somewhere where you can get better, you can feel like you’re in a safe, comfortable environment, yet still play competitive polo.” Season highlights include an annual kid’s tournament, monthly junior gymkhana and the highly-coveted SMR Cup. A staple for equine-minded youth, gymkhanas consist of speed pattern racing and timed games for riders on horses. Orchestrated by Amy Redman, this SPC tradition has endured for six years and counting. “The kids accrue points. They can compete at all different levels—there ends up being an advanced division, beginner, even lead-line classes,” said SPC member Kelly Beck. “There are teams that are a mix of the advanced and lead-line kids. Everyone gets a shot at glory and getting an award. The little kids look up to the big kids, they see these kids who are only a little bigger than they are and they think, ‘Wow, we can do that too,’” Beck said.

Kids and adults are invited to try hitting a ball off the wooden horse at halftime.

“Friday night we have a kick-off party and we put teams together consisting of polo players, homeowners and our local cowboys,” said Galvan. “Saturday they start with fishing and then go to shooting. In the afternoon they do team penning and roping. Sunday morning is cowboy polo and at halftime of the Sunday game there is a horse race, which is the final event.” All these activities serve to bring not only the club but the entire community together with an exemplary focus on inclusion and diversity. “We have a family that lives here that doesn’t play polo and never has,” said Beck. “They are integral, they are always out there keeping score, drawing the names, helping out in any way. It’s a real cross-community feel with the gymkhana and all our events. They pull people together.” The main event however, is its remarkably well-attended Sunday match, boasting upwards of 4,000 spectators. Contrary to popular belief, Lakewood Ranch is not a retirement community, POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 11

12 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

ERIC NALPAS PHOTOGRAPHY

but home to a large group of young working families. Emerging from this demographic is an incredibly loyal fan base. “We do themed tailgate contests and novelty charity events such as ‘Ponies for Pups.’ Sunday polo is so popular we have a five-year waitlist for a tailgate spot. We just cleared somebody this season for a tailgate spot from 2012. It’s like getting a New York apartment!” Galvan joked. Spectators are invited to stomp divots at halftime with the option to take a ride in a wagon pulled by a team of Clydesdales or try out hitting a polo ball off the wooden horse. After the final horn, players take a victory lap highfiving spectators, who are then encouraged to approach players after the award ceremony for conversation and autographs. All that, not to mention its ever-expanding gift shop with SPC branded apparel, water bottles, chairs, totes, cozies, even baby bibs. This emphasis on spectator engagement ensures repeat visits but also a chance to draw in new players. A one-stop shop, it is no surprise that Sarasota Polo Club is home to a notable polo school under the direction of Certified Polo Instructor Stuart Campbell and aspiring CPI Juan Martinez Baez. Both successful polo professionals in their own right, the polo school is the gateway for an ever-expanding membership. Kelly Beck from Tallahassee, Florida, has been an SPC member for over 14 years, along with her husband and children. Winner of the 2017 Sarasota Women’s Challenge, competing against a team captained by her daughter Anneke, a passerby might presume she hails from an established polo lineage, when in fact Beck got her start in the SPC Polo School. “Family is sort of the reason that we ended up getting into polo,” Beck recounted. “We had a serious three-day eventing barn and my son, who at that point was 14, said, ‘Mom, I don’t like this crowd of people, it’s all girls.’ So I took him to a polo match here. I thought maybe that would be something that would appeal to him.” Her plan worked, and it was not long before he was taking lessons and competing on the grass. “I have six children, so it was nice,” Beck continued. “I don’t want to have to do one

Josh Shelton engages spectators during an arena game.

activity here, one activity there. This was something everyone could do and it worked. One by one, everyone got hooked.” Other SPC members, such as Mark Mulligan, journey south every winter. A club owner himself, he leaves his beloved

“It ’s like a big family reunion that goes on for four months, with polo at all levels and something for everyone. My kids have always said it ’s the best part of the year!” —Kelly Beck, Sarasota Polo Club member Barefield Polo Club (Frenchtown, New Jersey) behind along with the cold temperatures to enjoy quality polo in a positive atmosphere. Drawn by the cosmopolitan culture of Sarasota and an

excellent school system for his two daughters, Mulligan insists that his primary reason for traveling to SPC is the people. “I’m back and forth, I commute from New Jersey where I work three days a week and then I am down there for four. It’s just nice, you show up, and it’s like you never left, even though you’ve been gone for three days. Everyone is in a good mood, there are parties, entertainment— it’s well run.” The SPC tournament season officially kicks off every January and continues through April. Practices and polo school begin as early as November. The apex of its season, the USPA National InterCircuit Championship 12-goal, takes place in March, featuring its highest-rated competition of the season. For all the naysayers who insist that Sarasota is too far off the beaten path, Galvan has this to say: “We are in a great location. We are 10 minutes from a major airport, we’re 20 minutes from the best beach in the United States. There is so much to do in this area, yet we have our own little, quiet, peaceful corner.” It is well worth the visit. For more information on Sarasota Polo Club, visit sarasotapoloclub.com and like SarasotaPoloClubatLakewoodRanch on Facebook for up-to-date schedules of tournaments and events.

On a cool, rainy afternoon in England, Texas Polo’s Vinnie Meyer and 10-goaler Facundo Pieres celebrate Facundo’s third British Gold Cup victory, all while riding in Texas Polo Luxe Edition saddles

www.Texaspolo.com 214 - 720 - 0233 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 13

BY TOM GOODSPEED

TURN TAIL There are four parts to help you master backshots

14 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

UNITED STATES POLO ASSOCIATION

ne of the most difficult shots to learn in polo is also one of the most important—the tailshot, or more importantly, any angled backshot. Angled backshots allow you to pass the ball to a turning teammate rather than an opponent following you. If you are someone with short arms and long-backed horses, a nearside angled backshot towards your horse’s hindquarters may not even exist in your inventory. There is no question gorilla arms and short-backed horses are two assets in executing angled back shots effectively. But for those of you with ancestors that took to two feet several millennium ago, there is a technique to still accomplish the near impossible. Some players say a tailshot is one that goes from right to left regardless of the side you are swinging on. Others say a tailshot is always towards the horse, and an open or away shot is always away from the horse from either side. The argument for tail always being one direction from either side has gained popularity in that sometimes you may not be certain if the teammate backing the ball is going to have an offside or nearside play. So, many feel that deciding tail is one direction and open is the other is easier. However, there are definitely two schools of thought. Before you go out on the field, talk to your teammates about what they consider a tail shot to be. It really doesn’t matter which way you decide, but it certainly matters that you are all on the same page. Now, back to the ability to actually execute a backshot that is in the direction of your horse’s hindquarters from either side: An offside tail (which everyone agrees on as far as terminology) and a nearside backshot that is towards your horse’s hindquarters, are possibly two of the most difficult shots

Start your swing early and keep your horse moving straight as you swing.

in polo, and may possibly even be unrealistic shots for many. The main trick of an angled backshot toward the hindquarters from either side of the horse has four parts: 1.) Start your swing early so you make contact just ahead of your stirrup. Too many people teach novices to hit the ball behind their stirrup, which causes you to lose the power supplied by the rotation of your own torso in the swing. It is true you can hit the ball further back if you are only focused on a short shot with good angle. Often, that is the most effective shot when first trying to develop the ability to put an angle on your back shot. This does not work nearly as easy when hitting the ball away from your horse from either shot. On those shots, it is better to hit the ball early, ahead of your stirrup. 2.) When backing the ball toward your horse from either side, turn your mallet head across the ball as you are making contact with the ball, opening the face of your mallet for backshots angled away from your

horse on either side. If you roll the mallet head towards your horse’s hindquarters at the very instant of contact from either side (or away from the hindquarters for shots angled away from your horse), that will help produce the desired angle. Turning your mallet head as you are striking the ball on your nearside toward your horse’s hindquarters will place a counter-clockwise spin on it and clockwise spin when making an offside tail. The spin will turn clockwise on your nearside back away from your horse and counter clockwise on your backshot away from your horse on the offside. 3.) It is very important that you keep your horse moving through the ball, so there will be a space for your ball to pass clear of the hind legs of the horse as you execute the shot when hitting towards the horse’s hindquarters. The stride of the horse will also give you more power in your swing. If you really give this some thought, you will have an easier go if your horse is

actually in the part of its stride when it is drawing its legs underneath it. It is unrealistic to try to gauge that, but it is a factor in why some of your back shots towards your horse will clear easier at times. 4.) Focus on finishing your follow through. You will discover that you will be able to follow through with your upper body a little better if you actually bend forward toward the neck of your horse as you rotate your shoulders. But, this is also the moment most players allow their horse to turn over the line of the ball as they finish their attempt on a angled backshot so keep your horse straight as you are looking for that angle. I like to call it ride and drive. Ride while you are swinging sounds simple, but not so much. When you are backing the ball away from your horse from either side it is important to also stay with your follow through and fully finish the shot. Finish your swing with your body lower down to create more power. Hitting backshots at an angle away from your horse from either side are a little bit easier. The same four points are important with one additional factor. Learn to move your horseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head a little away from the side you are swinging. This allows you to arc the beginning of your backshot from the center of your horseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s neck, which allows you to get a better angle started to move the ball at an angle away from your horse. Turn your horseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head a bit away from the shot without actually turning your horse. This requires the use of your outside leg to keep its body straight. These difficult angle shots beg for a longer mallet. If there is no one riding alongside of you, you can stick your mallet back to the rear on the desired side and take a half swing in the direction you are hitting. Some players find this angle a little easier to accomplish. You will not get as much power, but if your teammate is relatively close, a short angled shot is all you need. However, if an opponent is alongside of you on the side you are attempting a swing, your swing must

remain parallel to your horse. Angled backshots are tricky so practice conservatively until you achieve enough competence to start swinging with more force. Take care not to hit your horse while swinging nor get your mallet stuck underneath its tail.

Tom Goodspeed is a renowned polo instructor, coach and horse trainer. He achieved a 5goal handicap outdoors and 9 in the arena. He can be reached at polotom@usapolo.com.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 15

BY ALICE GIPPS

BE A BETTER HORSEMAN

f you are looking to improve your horse training knowledge, whether it is to produce your own homebred’s, re-train a new purchase from the racetrack or simply just widen your personal understanding, then following the horse trainer, Warwick Schiller, is well worth your time. The initial training can make a huge difference as to whether a young horse will ever reach its full potential. The talented ones will always rise to the top but it is the horses that people class as crazy, hot, lazy, don’t want to travel, etc., that should make it with a trainer who takes the time to overcome problems and teach the horse in a way it understands. Most problems come from anxiety and Warwick specializes in ways to teach the horse to overcome this and avoid future problems along the way. Warwick has the ability to explain training principles and techniques in such a simple way that people thoroughly understand and can easily convey everything to their own horse. His solutions to problems do not involve gadgets and gismos, just patience and an understanding of the principles behind the techniques he shows people to use. One of Warwick’s favorite quotes is from the classical Portuguese rider, Oliveira: Your horse needs to be relaxed, but remain powerful. Warwick explains, “Say your polo pony is really quiet, but has no go, or you have one that gets wound up and then cannot relax, those horses are not going to make much of a polo pony. They have to be a balanced individual and you can teach them this.” Although modest, Warwick has huge background knowledge as a reining train16 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

ALICE GIPPS

Warwick Schiller offers helpful training techniques for you and your horse

Warwick Schiller travels the world giving horse training clinics and has created an extensive online video library to help others.

er. Representing Australia in the 2010 Equestrian Games, he has an in-depth understanding of exactly how to teach any horse to be responsive, light and super handy. Reining horses also need to be able to go from full speed to a stop and turn on a dime in an instant, while all the time staying level headed. All these maneuvers are very relevant to what is required in a top polo pony. A horse in the paddock performs these moves effort-

“As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring the principles, is sure to have problems.” —Harrington Emerson, early 20th century efficiency engineer

lessly, however, anyone who has trained young horses will know that having the skill to recreate this perfectly with a rider is much harder than you could imagine without vast amounts of experience and knowledge. By teaching people to focus on the principles behind horse training, Warwick sets up his students with the essential background knowledge needed to make any method or technique work to their advantage. Understanding the principles is one of the biggest breakthroughs anyone can make to become an accomplished trainer and achieve great things with every horse they start. The vital elements enable people to come up with solutions when a horse may not understand what is desired from it through current techniques. Warwick’s story began growing up in Australia on a 1,200-acre sheep and wheat farm just inland from Sydney. He grew up with horses and went to pony

ALICE GIPPS

club when he was younger, however, his professional career started on a very different path to what you may think. He worked in a bank until the end of 1990. At that time, the bank would give their employees a year’s leave without pay for 12 months to travel. As horses were still his passion, Warwick set off to America to work for a reining horse trainer called Don Murphy to further his knowledge. The day he finished and was due to go back to Australia, Don shook his hand and told Warwick he had what it takes to train horses for a living if he wanted. “That was an epiphany right there,’’ says Warwick. Not being a huge planner in life he says it hadn’t even occurred to him, however, a great receiver of what the universe sends his way it all seemed to fit into place. Besides, once back in Australia he not only had the job calling but also his future wife-to-be, Robyn. These were both more than good enough reasons to uproot and return to the U.S. He worked with Don for another two years, got married and started out training reining horses on his own. Warwick explains, “To be successful at competing in reining competitions you also need to be a showman.” Realizing he was much better at the training and explaining how to achieve good results, his career path veered towards these strengths, which have taken him traveling the world giving horse training clinics and creating an extensive online video library to help others. “I’m not reinventing the wheel. The things I’m telling people, they’ve been said before. I’m just explaining it in a way they fully understand. This is a strength of mine because I’m not actually very natural at training horses. I know talented people who can’t tell you what they do, they have no clue, they just do it. I had to be able to quantify everything to understand and do it well. So, now I just tell people how I came to understand it. I think not being talented is my biggest asset as it makes me such a good explainer,” says Warwick. When asked what is the most impor-

Schiller says the greatest asset good horse trainers can have is empathy. He says you need to consider everything from a horse’s point of view: what does he want to do and why?

tant quality to possess to be a good horse trainer the reply is empathy. The definition of empathy is being able to put yourself into someone else’s shoes. “You need to look at everything from a horse’s point of view—that there is actually empathy,” explains Warwick. “What does he want to do, why does he want to do it and what does he think if he goes over there to feel more comfortable. Horses like to avoid pressure. If you understand where they are coming from you can get to the final goal much faster. I would say also mindfulness, the ability to be in the moment, work with the horse you have now. Not the one you had yesterday or the one you want tomorrow. Many people have trouble with the horse because of what it was doing yesterday or they have trouble as they expect it to do something in the future, but its not there right now.” Even something as simple as leading your horse impacts many other major issues such as separation anxiety. Rather than leading the horse beside him, holding the rope close to the horse’s chin,

Warwick asks it to follow behind on a loose rope with respect for his personal space. What may seem to be a trivial exercise can incredibly solve many seemingly impossible problems with an almost unbelievably simple solution. Warwick started learning more about horse training just as a personal goal to improve his own ability with the young reining horses. “Once you start, you realize how limited your previous knowledge was, and you can never stop learning. It will teach you a lot about your own journey in life,” says Warwick. This attribute is voiced by many of the top horsemen. “You can never know enough and there is always more to learn.” Frequently, Warwick shares with his followers interesting books he’s reading. They may not even be about horse training but are always related in some way or another. Horses pick up on what we’re lacking. If we’re too timid, they tell you; if we’re (continued on page 58) POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 17

POLO SCENE N E W S

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NO T E S

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T R E N D S

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Q U O T E S

SEASON FOR GIVING

Club hosts three successful fundraisers

VEN WITHOUT A public field for the first half of the season, the Cincinnati Polo Club in Cincinnati, Ohio, was able to pull off three very successful fundraisers. The first event, a ‘foodraiser’ netted over 700 non-perishable items for the St. John United Church of Christ Food Pantry. Held at the club’s practice field at a private residence, club members were encouraged to invite friends and family to come watch the interclub game and bring a food item or two. Cars filled the sidelines and the day was a rousing success both for exposure to polo and in collecting food pantry items. Rev. Torie Front, minister at St. John United Church of Christ and member of the Cincinnati Polo Club, was thrilled with the outcome. “Our church operates the food pantry solely on the donations of members, and with an average of 75 people in worship each week, it’s sometimes hard to fill our shelves. This event will take care of feeding the 40-plus families who come to the church for our food pantry twice a month for quite a while.” The second fundraiser wasn’t a planned event, and yet was the most successful in raising funds. The club had just started playing on its new Chatsworth Polo Field, in midAugust, when the hurricanes hit. Club member Ben Au, riding Capone, helped Field owners raise $200 by offering to cook a home-cooked Dianne and Tom Malaysian meal for four couples. Wygle asked the club to do a fundraiser for hurricane relief, and the club responded. Utilizing connections with Church World Services, plans were made to collect items for “emergency clean-up buckets” and then ship them through CWS to areas in need. Each bucket was filled with cleaning supplies, rubber gloves, band-aids, clothesline, and many other items—totaling an average of $75 a bucket. On September 23, the club again put on an inter-club scrimmage for the crowd, and collected four completed

18 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

The Clermont County Humane Society held its first polo fundraiser and was able to raise $450.

emergency clean-up buckets. Then, with cash donations, raffle baskets donated by several of the club members and a 50-50 raffle, enough money was raised to make an additional 24 emergency clean-up buckets. The most original and successful raffle basket donated by a club member was a home-cooked Malaysian meal by CPC member Ben Au. Ben offered this meal to the club for $50 per couple, and four club members jumped at the chance. While exercise riding polo ponies, Ben asked what sort of basket he should donate and the home-cooked meal idea was born. The club members who took advantage of his generous offer are looking forward to the meal and some bonding time off the field in November! Finally, our last fundraiser was at our last home game of the season. The Columbus Polo Club came to play its first game on our new field and were pleased to be part of the entertainment for the Clermont County Humane Society. This is the first time this non-profit had ever been to a polo match, and they weren’t sure what to expect. With beautiful weather and a game that ended up with a score of 7-6 (the teams were mixed up so both clubs won), CCHS was able to raise $450. For their first outing, president Sue Radabaugh said, “We are delighted with the results for our first time. Everyone wants to know about your plans for next year and if you would be interested in having us.” In 2018, the Cincinnati Polo Club plans on doing more fundraisers and making more connections with local nonprofits. With our beautiful new field and growing membership (both playing and social) we are looking forward to a great season!

TRICKS & TREATS

Polo members get creative on All Hallows’ Eve No skeletons in this closet! Bart Frye, owner of the Virginia Beach Polo Club in Virginia Beach, Virginia, had some unique polo-inspired Halloween decorations greeting guest at his farm this year.

What could be scarier than falling off your horse? Peggy Maher of Monkton, Maryland got creative carving her pumpkins this year, with a scary polo motif.

GETTING THE BOOT

Umpires work to improve their skills

UMPIRE BOOT CAMP is a new concept the USPA Umpires, LLC

designed to continue the development of certified amateur polo umpires. To attend, umpires must have a “C” or higher umpire certification. The recent Umpire Boot Camp, its second, was conducted in Aiken, South Carolina, from Oct. 26-29. A significant advantage of the new program is that Umpires, LLC pays all expenses except for travel to and from the Boot Camp. The USPA’s head umpire instructor, Steve Lane, taught the four umpires who attended: John Bianco (CCT), Steve Conroy USPA head umpire instructor Steve Lane, center, with Gustavo (CC), Gustavo Guano (B) and Karl Hilberg (CCT). Joining Lane, Guano, John Bianco, Karl Hilberg and Steve Conroy the on-the-field umpires involved in the training were Robert LynKee-Chow (P1), Ka’aina DeCoite (P2) and George Olivas (P4). The format for the training was familiar to those that have attended USPA umpire clinics in the past: classroom discussion of rules, review of umpire videos on Dartfish (Dartfish is an app available for your smart phone, I-Pad or computer that is available to all USPA members, with a video rules library), umpiring, feedback and review of how the umpires did on the field. The major difference in Boot Camp is the level of the lead instructor and the fact that you are umpiring with professional umpires on the field. Flying or driving into Aiken, participants met Steve Lane for breakfast at 8 a.m. on Thursday and immediately started with general questions they had and reviewed the new rule changes for 2017, including the change to allow clubs to play under international rules for 8-goal and above. Following the short general session, it was off to umpire the first matches. All three days had similar formats—Dartfish video rules review, umpiring two tournaments a day (except for Sunday) with the professional umpires, breaking down how the umpires did on the field with Steve and the professional umpires, more Dartfish video and observing and discussing the 12-goal tournament games. A big Thank You to Billy Raab, the Aiken and Wagoner Polo Clubs, and of course Umpires, LLC. If you are interested in attending a future Boot Camp, please contact Steve Lane by email slane@uspolo.org.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 19

EASY ON THE EYES

Horse-related books available just in time for the holidays

SAM MORTON’S “The Winged Spur,” includes a family IN A SERIES of true ranch stories, Idaho rancher and author

history of polo icon Summerfield Johnston. This rousing tale begins in 54 BC, as the Roman army began its conquest of the Celtic tribes, then inhabiting the northern territory of the island now called England. Though the Romans were able to conquer most of the island, there were parts far north that were left unclaimed because they were said to be haunted by demons. Hadrian’s Wall was painstakingly erected to divide those independent from and unconquered by Roman rule. According to Morton, Hadrian’s Wall was the virtual and passionate line in the sand as the defining moment for the Johnston clan, their history and their special bond with their horses and excitement. Morton is a one-man, treasure-trove of horse and polo lore and a treasurer of equestrian history. More importantly, Morton continues to provide a unique wisdomperspective as to the mystical connection between horses, people and world history. The concluding chapter of The Winged Spur is set in 1768 in Dublin, Ireland aboard the deck of an American-bound sailing ship. It was the tail end of the Scots-Irish migration to the distant shores of frontier America, near the time of the build-up to the American revolt against the ever-tightening grip of the English crown upon its subjects. This story is about real people who lived in a time of transition and revolution and in this case, a birth of a new nation. This story reveals what the title of the book means to those with the courage to take chances and to make changes when walls are built—such as Hadrian’s Wall—to hold back people and horses from achieving a legacy of prosperity. “The Winged Spur” is the first in a trilogy. Other books by Morton include “Where the Rivers Run North,” and “Land of the Horse.” Books can be purchased through Amazon. Where the Rivers Run North ($19.95); “Land of the Horse” ($31); The Winged Spur (302 pages, $24.95). Signed copies are available from Sam Morton, fullmoon3@msn.com.

20 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Heather Smith Thomas recounts day-to-day events with her passionate and smooth style that thoroughly sucks us into the stories as effectively as if we had been there. “Ranch Tales: Stories of Dogs, Cats & Other Crazy Critters,” the most recent book in the series, again takes us on a journey from Thomas’ formative years to the present. The subjects include memorable experiences ranging from barnyard cats, pigs, good cow dogs, ranch kids, cattle and range fires, heroic rescues, and many more heart-warming stories and a bit of history. Throughout Thomas’ stories the reader will feel the importance of the human relationship to the land and animals, but also the value of family. This book encompasses a broader range of subjects than the first two, but Thomas tells the stories with the same degree of passion and description that so thoroughly brings the reader into the story. You will find yourself laughing with her at the crazy antics of the people and animals and gripping the edge of your seat as you follow the progress of Fearless Fred, the cow dog, who bravely struggled through five surgeries to restore a shattered hind leg. Most of us in farming or ranching can immediately appreciate these stories, but many urban families and friends will find these stories uplifting because they are symbolic of many aspects of our lives: hardship overcome by perseverance, humor, joy, and love—regardless of where we call home. Horse Tales: True Stories from an Idaho Ranch (282 pages, $24.95), Cow Tales: More True Stories from an Idaho Ranch (325 pages, $24.95), and Ranch Tales: Stories of Dogs, Cats & Other Crazy Critters (273 pages, $24.95) are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the publisher: The Frontier Project Inc. thefrontierproject@gmail.com. Signed copies are available from Heather Smith Thomas, Box 215, Salmon, Idaho 83467 (208) 756-2841 or hsmiththomas@centurytel.net (price: $24.95 plus $3.00 shipping—Idaho residents add 6 percent sales tax. For all three books: $70.00 plus $7.00 shipping)

Down under Members compete in World Championships in Australia

UNITED STATES POLO ASSOCIATION

The United States Polo Association established Team USPA in 2009 to grow and sustain the sport of polo by identifying talented young American players and providing opportunities to grow their abilities. By Hayley Heatley

Cacho Galindo, Carlucho Arellano, Matthew Gonzalez, USPA CEO Bob Puetz, coach Joel Baker, Jesse Bray, Jim Wright and Felipe Viana

The Federation of International Polo XI World Polo Championship challenges countries across the globe to select, train and compete with a top-notch 14-goal team every two to three years. The first round of qualifying play takes place within designated zones with the winner of each zone advancing to the championship. After qualifying rounds, the original pool of over 80 teams was whittled down to eight, including zone champions, the defending champion and the team of the host country. Zone A champion USA secured a fourth place finish behind Argentina,

22 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Chile and England. Despite a narrow and disappointing overtime loss to England in the bronze medal match, the team expressed its gratitude to the United States Polo Association and its brand, FIP and the Sydney Polo Club for hosting a world-class event. The USA team, led by coach Joel Baker, featured a mix of strength, finesse, youth and experience with Team USPA members Matias Gonzalez (2), captain Jesse Bray (5), Felipe Viana (5), Jim Wright (2), Cacho Galindo (2) and assistant Carlucho Arellano (5). As with the previous FIP cycle, Baker focused heavily on training the players beforehand, teaching a playing system

that he feels confidant can be adaptable to a wide range of players. Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida hosted the team for an intense two weeks of training prior to the tournament kick-off. The USA team was purposely matched against teams that would challenge the players individually and as a team. Gonzalez and Wright began to learn the playing system well known by both Bray and Viana who had competed in the previous FIP tournament coached by Baker. Thirty-two hours of travel time door-todoor is enough to knock even the most experienced traveler off his feet, but the players were eager to mount up

immediately upon arrival into Sydney, Australia. Thanks to a friendship formed during spring training with local polo player, Wall Ashton, the group of players headed straight from the Sydney International Airport onto the backs of a string of horses awaiting its arrival. Ashton provided the team with several opportunities to ride and practice on his personal horses throughout the tournament, giving the American team a chance to work on its game and strategy on the off days. One of Baker’s traditions is finding a good breakfast place to meet at in the morning so everyone can start the day on the same page. The Ugly Mug, a breakfast spot down the street from the polo grounds in Richmond, became the team’s local haunt. There, the team reviewed video, discussed position expectations and worked on the horse list each day. The USA team faced a difficult road, drawing a talented Argentine team as its first opponent. The game was fast-paced, but favored the quick movements of the Argentine team. After a tough 12-9½ loss, the team felt it needed to pick up the pace on the field. A lively three-on-three game at Wall’s Muddy Flats field sharpened the players’ reaction time and helped quicken the transition plays before the next match. After evaluating the video from the first game against Argentina, Arellano suggested switching several of the horses within the team to better match the strengths of the individual players. Making this slight adjustment paid off. The American team defeated the Australian home team 7-5 in front of a grand audience. USA faced Spain, the final opponent in its bracket on ‘Super Saturday,’ a day filled to the brim with four consecutive world-class matches. The American squad seemed to have found its groove, playing its best game of the tournament. USA dominated the competition, scoring 15 goals to Spain’s 9½. “We got our confidence going into the second game,” Wright said, “and then today we just tried to ride that wave.” Earlier in the day, Argentina beat Australia, New Zealand beat India and

England emerged victorious over Chile. The results advanced Argentina and Chile into the final with England and the United States competing for the bronze medal. The match between England and the United States for third place may best be described as an adrenaline-filled chess match. Each move made by a team, though powerful, was met by strategic defense from the opponent. With time winding down, USA held a slight 5-4 lead in the final chukker. A last-minute attack on goal by England tied the score and sent the match into an overtime period. With the golden-goal rule looming in the minds of all eight players, it was anyone’s game. After winning the lineup, an attempt on goal by the U.S. went wide of the posts. The ball turned over to the English squad, who quickly attacked. Before long, the U.S. drew a whistle from the umpire, giving the English team an open goal shot for the tough win. “As you can imagine, it is not the outcome we hoped for. We felt prepared after training so hard for the past month, but that’s the way polo goes sometimes,” said Bray. “The whole experience down here has been incredible and the horses in this country are amazing. I applaud Australia, the horse masters and horse donors for being able to put together eight fun, competitive strings. I am already booking my ticket to come back next year to try to buy some of these horses!” Bray was awarded the Sportsmanship Award for the tournament. Team USPA members have represented the United States in the FIP tournament for the 2015 and 2017 cycles. “I feel honored to have represented my country and I want to thank the association and brand for all of the support,” said Viana. “We want to thank the Higgins family, Australia and the horse lenders who made this all happen. We know, to an extent, how difficult it is to set this tournament up, and it requires the full support of the community to push forward and to be on the same page.”

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Off campus Collegians learn tips to improve their polo programs BY AMY FRASER

he 8th Annual College Polo 101 mentoring event took place in Aiken, South Carolina, Oct. 6-8, with 11 student athletes participating. Student representatives from Stanford University, Washington State University, Montana State University, University of Idaho, University of Connecticut, University of Kentucky, University of Massachusetts, University of California Santa Barbara, University of Wisconsin, Virginia Tech and Michigan State University, partook in a weekend of club development with a focus on fundraising, equine welfare,

player development, member retention and club structure. The docket for the weekend included Swing Analytics, Rules Review and “Good Impressions,” Equine Health & Nutrition, Drills & Skills with Team USPA members Connor Deal and Costi Caset, and breakfast with Adam Snow (and his well-known mare Hale Bopp). Students were introduced to the Player Performance Analysis program through swing analysis with Certified Polo Instructor Tiger Kneece. Participants not only worked on their individual Participants attended a fundraiser, which featured a middle school tournament game, to get pointers on holding their own fundraisers. swings, but learned

24 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Participants in the College Polo 101 included 11 student athletes from universities around the U.S.

how to use the technology to capture the video images of their teammates’ swings and upload them for further analysis through Polo Skilz and the swing foundations program. USPA Certified Umpire Robert LynKee-Chow gave a presentation to the students on good impressions, focusing on the importance of having your horses and facilities well cared for, tidy and in good shape as potential donors and advocates for their team could show up at any time to their program. Robert also was on hand to go over the new arena tournament condition changes in effect for the 2017-2018 I/I Season. Team USPA vet, Dr. Brown, gave a very energetic workshop on equine health care and nutrition, focusing in on common ailments, lameness and an overall encouragement speech to our student athletes. Deal and Caset led the players through a session of skills and drills in the arena, giving the students new and fun drills to take back to their club to execute.

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Team USPA member Costi Caset helped lead players through a session of skills and drills in the arena.

A large overarching focus to the weekend was fundraising. After an introduction presentation from I/I staff on fundraising, students were then taken to a local “Polo Under the Stars” fundraiser. The event was hosted by the Fire Star Arena in Wagener, South Carolina, and featured the final of the Southeastern Circuit Arena Delegates Cup. The local animal shelter was the beneficiary of the event, and it also featured the first game of the Southeastern Middle School Tournament. Following the fundraiser, students were asked to break it down, offering pros and cons, and share at least one new idea they learned from attending the event to use on their next fundraiser. Once back home, the students were tasked with holding a meeting with their club to go over the take aways and new ideas learned from the event. Madison Perlmutter from UMASS wrote, “Thank you so much for this past weekend. I’m telling everyone I know about everything we did and learned. I have a meeting with my team this weekend to talk about everything and see what new strategies we can implement.” Sarah Rebello a student at Washington State remarked on the weekend, “My team, as well as me personally, are very appreciative for the wealth of knowledge you gave us! Thank you all so much for everything.”

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POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 25

Most Wanted

Polo pony wins 2017 Thoroughbred Makeover By Cristina Fernandez

olo took center stage at the Retired Racehorse Project’s 2017 Thoroughbred Makeover, October 5-7 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.

This year’s event brought back some familiar faces, as well as some newcomers to the polo division, one of 10 equestrian disciplines to be featured. Despite the large number of racehorses polo trainers train to play polo, the polo division has always had the smallest representation of the nearly 300 horses entered in the competition. This year 19 polo horses were originally entered, but only 11 made it to Kentucky. Last year’s polo division winner, Buck Schott rode not only his two entries, but also two for his father, Trey Schott, who was injured in a recent fall. The 2015 division winner, Juliette Powers, competed with her horse in both polo and the competitive trail division. Mike Groubert enjoyed last year’s competition so much, he and his wife Andrea both competed this year. Neil Agate also returned this year. New trainers this year included Amber Longreen from Pennsylvania and brothers Harry and Charlie Caldwell from Tennessee. Harry Caldwell and Old Tavern not only conquered the polo division—the first junior trainer to do so—but Caldwell’s 3-year-old bay mare garnered the title of “America’s Most Wanted 26 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Charlie Caldwell on Old Tavern and Harry Caldwell riding Red’s Heart Beat at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Thoroughbred.” Established in 2013, the event has slowly gained momentum over its fouryear run. Agate, United States Polo Association member and president of the American Horse Council, was the driving force behind the inclusion of polo as one of the disciplines included in

the competition. “Neil called me in February of 2013,” USPA director of Club Development, Justin Powers recalled, “and said ‘I’ve convinced the Retired Racehorse Project to include polo as a discipline, can you get participants?” The answer was yes, and with an estimated 40 percent of polo ponies represented by off-the-track Thoroughbreds, the competition has a large demographic from which to draw. Combined with the USPA’s official sponsorship of the division, the event has grown each year, yet the competition is not widely known among the polo community. To up the ante, this year, Powers recruited International Polo Club Palm Beach director of polo operations, Jimmy Newman, and newly-minted USPA President Tony Coppola as judges. Staples of the polo community, these well-known polo greats offered a wealth of knowledge of Thoroughbreds and polo. “We would love to have more polo participation,” Powers said. “I would like to see some higher-level green horse trainers.” Each horse entered must meet three basic prerequisites and each trainer pays

a small entry fee, making the Thoroughbred Makeover a feasible goal for any polo enthusiast, not necessarily just professional players and experienced polo pony trainers. In fact, there are three levels: junior, professional and amateur. The polo competition started on Thursday and consisted of five- to sevenminute performances showcasing the agility and movements of the polo pony, as well as its progression with the mallet and ball by executing different polo shots. The top five performances from each division advance into a finale on Saturday. Charlie Caldwell, Buck Schott (with three entries) and Amber Longreen made it to the finale, after which the division winner is named. The competition provides a stage for individuals to showcase their horse training skills and gain notoriety, along with the chance to sell their horses and network among a diverse group of horse disciplines. In addition to the competition, the symposium includes seminars, a sponsor fair and horse sales. While the competition as a whole garnered the largest field of OTTBs yet,

Amber Longreen on Whiskey Rebel makes her way to the arena for the polo division finale.

the polo division fielded 11 makeover entries and eight riders, including three juniors, two amateurs and three

Michael Groubert on Lo Tide and Andrea Groubert on Maxina. Michael competed last year and had so much fun, he and his wife decided to enter horses this year.

professionals. Similar to the Kentucky Derby pre-show vignettes, each horse and rider has a unique story and there is no limit to the heartwarming anecdotes of competitor’s roundabout journeys leading up to the competition. When Powers initially reached out for polo participants in 2013, his obvious first stop was his racehorse obsessed polo-playing family. “My father is a third generation Thoroughbred trainer and track farrier based at Mountaineer Racetrack in Chester, West Virginia,” Powers said. Truly a family affair, a member of the Powers family has entered a horse in the competition almost every year. “We have been involved with the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover since its inception,” said Justin Power’s younger sister, Juliette Powers, who showed 5year-old Meander Goosecreek, finishing sixth overall. “‘Goose’ actually has a pretty interesting story; she was a homebred from a local girl who passed away from cancer. The girl’s friend, before she passed away, started the horse three times as a 4-year-old. Unfortunately, Goose has absolutely no talent as a racehorse. She made a total of $263 dollars. I bought her for $300 dollars.” Seventeen-year-old identical twins, Charlie and Harry Caldwell, members of Bluewater Creek Polo Club in Killen, Alabama, had an adventurous approach to their first appearance in the Thoroughbred Makeover. “Our friend Clare [Pinney] asked us to do it. She had a good friend that had competed and so she asked us if we would join her,” Charlie Caldwell said. Renaissance men when it comes to equine disciplines, the pair have a background in fox hunting, team roping and polocrosse, and added polo a little over three years ago. This summer, the two brothers spent time in Sheridan, Wyoming, mentoring with former 10-goaler and Hall of Famer Tommy Wayman. “It was the best experience of our lives,” said Charlie Caldwell. “Working with Wayman was the most beneficial thing that has ever (continued on page 56) POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 27

Aces high Women’s polo gets boost with inaugural Arena Open

ulia Smith powered teams to victories in the national Women’s Arena Open and Women’s Arena Handicap at the Virginia Polo Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, this fall.

Interscholastic Championship in the early 1990s. Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, hosted the first USPAsanctioned Women’s Arena Open in 1991. After a three-year stint however, the tournament fell into abeyance. With the exponential growth of women’s polo in recent years, the association recognized the need for a national tournament celebrating the best of women’s arena competition.

The addition of women’s outdoor handicaps sparked the concept of women’s arena handicaps, which allowed multiple teams to meet the required handicap level for an open tournament.

Arena Open In the open division, four teams played off to determine the two finalists. Bad Ass Polo squeaked past Hawaii Polo Life 1211. Hawaii Polo Life led 4-2 in the first ANNE PURDY

A total of eight teams competed in two levels of play—open (18-20) and handicap (12-16)—the weekend of Oct. 20-22, celebrating the reemergence of the Women’s Arena Open, this time as a national USPA title. Women’s arena competition has a recent history in the sport beginning with the creation of the Women’s Intercollegiate Championship in the late 1970s, followed by the Girls’

Drumcliffe’s Julia Smith, Maddie Grant and Sophie Grant took the Arena Handicap title. The team amassed 42 goals in two games.

28 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Women’s Arena Open Ace Sportswear:

Demitra Hajimihalis Anna Winslow Julia Smith

4 8 8

Hawaii Polo Life:

Megan Judge Kirsten Ludwig Danielle Travis

6 6 8

Bad Ass Polo:

Maddie Grant Posey Obrecht Olivia Berube

4 8 6

Goose Creek:

Josie Vidic Katie Mitcham Maureen Brennan

6 6 6

CHRIS WEBER STUDIOS

chukker, but Bad Ass Polo kept pace in the second with both teams scoring three goals, ending the half 7-5. Bad Ass entered the third with a renewed energy, scoring four times while holding Hawaii to two, and knotting the score at 9-all. Hawaii jumped ahead by two early in the final chukker, but before long the score was even once again. With just seconds left in the game, Olivia Berube backed the ball off an opposing player’s mallet and into the goal for the win. In the second match, Ace Sportswear took on Goose Creek. Julia Smith got Ace rolling with three quick goals in the first and another three goals in the second, added to a goal from Winslow. Meanwhile, Goose Creek was limited to a Penalty 3 conversion to end the first half with Ace ahead 7-1. The second half was much the same with Ace slamming in eight goals, including five more from Smith, while Goose Creek was held to two for a 15-3 final. In the final, rested and ready to win, Ace Sportswear came out hard in the first chukker against Bad Ass, all three players landing on the scoreboard. Winslow started off the five-goal streak followed up by a two-point nearside goal from Smith. Taking advantage of an opportunity, Winslow successfully converted a Penalty 2 and Hajimihalis delivered the final goal of the chukker, resulting in a 5-0 lead. Determined to come back in the second, Grant rose to the challenge, answering with a Penalty 2 conversion and two additional goals for Bad Ass Polo. In a textbook defensive move, Smith bumped Berube wide, leaving the goal mouth open for Winslow to score. “We tried to use our teammates effectively and communicate the whole way through,” Winslow said. “We tried to open it up, keep the ball moving and keep a good flow going. That’s what made the difference for us today.” Ace Sportswear was leading 7-3 at halftime. Increasing its lead still further in the third, Ace Sportswear’s Winslow tallied three consecutive goals for the team. “Effective communication is key,” Hajimihalis said. “The second that we were a little bit quiet in the second chukker, they caught up to us. We came out better in the second half and

Women’s Arena Handicap Drumcliffe Sophie Grant Maddie Grant Julia Smith

16 4 4 8

University of Virginia Connell Erb Meghan Milligan Kate Mitcham Jessica Schmitt

16 6 6 6 4

Guardian Horse Bedding Posey Obrect Sheila Everett Leslie Brooks

14 8 4 4

Berube Polo Lauren Conners Olivia Berube Molly Muedeking

15 4 6 5

a high level of women’s arena polo. It has been 10 years since I have played polo at the college level. It feels great and I had a fantastic time,” said Olivia Berube. Julia Smith was MVP and Best Playing Pony went to Maddie Grant’s 6-year-old chestnut gelding, aptly named Ace, purchased from Lucas Criado. Grant carried Bad Ass Polo with all five goals.

Arena Handicap

Julia Smith was on the winning teams and took MVP in both the Open and Handicap.

communicated well.” Smith and Winslow combined for an impressive team play that resulted in another goal for Ace Sportswear. Despite valiant efforts, Bad Ass Polo’s attempts to score were denied at every turn. With only one period remaining, Ace led 11-3. Grant was able to secure a Penalty 2 conversion and a pony goal in the fourth. Smith’s final goal ended play with a 13-5 score, as Ace Sportswear celebrated its well-deserved win. “For me, it was so exciting to return to

In the handicap division, another four teams filled the rosters. Play got underway with Drumcliffe taking on Guardian Horse Bedding under the lights for the first of two evening matches. Drumcliffe quickly took control of the first period, scoring a goal a minute. Guardian finally got on the board with a Penalty 2 conversion. Drumcliffe continued its deluge with seven more goals in the second to end the half 14-1. Guardian sunk a Penalty 4 in the third, but was unable to stop the drubbing. Drumcliffe stacked on another 13 goals to advance with a 27-2 victory. The second match wasn’t much better as the University of Virginia team defeated Berube Polo 20-4. Berube began with a one-goal handicap and added another in the first period, while UVA stacked up five goals. UVA scored four (continued on page 54) POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 29

The experience of former 8-goaler Héctor Guerrero was invaluable to the Argentine team.

World leader Argentina dominates FIP Championship By Gwen Rizzo • Photos by Marcos Cerdeira for Pololine, courtesy of USPAGL

strong Argentine team edged defending champion Chile in the final of the XI FIP World Polo Championship in Sydney Australia, Oct. 29 to earn its fifth such title, while USA settled for fourth place.

The championship pitted the winners of five zone playoffs, along with the second place team in Zone C—the largest zone, the host country’s team and the defending champion, all hoping to take home the title. The eight teams were divided into two groups, with each team playing the others it its group. The team 30 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

with the best record in each group advanced to the final, while the second place team in each group advanced to the third place match. Like the Olympics, gold, silver or bronze medals are awarded to the top three placings. The 10- to 14-goal championship, which began in 1987, is generally held

every three years in a different location around the world. The event is limited to 14 goals in order to get the most teams throughout the world. Horses are provided by the host and equally pooled among the teams. An appointed horse master grades each horse as either A, B or C, based on its

playing ability. The horses are divided into eight groups—one for each team—with each group having the same number of A, B and C horses. The teams then draw which group of horses they will play. Each group has about 30 horses, enough for each player and spares in case of injuries. The quality of the horses this year was arguably the best the tournament has ever seen. The players lending the horses really got behind the tournament, bringing their best horses and allowing them to be used at no cost. Prior to winning its zone, a hopeful U.S. team accepted an invitation from Wallace Ashton to train in Australia for a month this past spring. The training seemed to pay off as the U.S. team downed Mexico and Guatemala to advance to the championships. Coach Joel Baker got to work determining which players he would take to represent the U.S. in Australia. Tournament conditions require players be rated between 2 and 5 goals so there are only a few combinations that work, including 5-, 4-, 3- and 2-goal players; three 4-goal players and a 2; and two 5s and two 2-goal players. “It became obvious to me, looking at how the other teams were forming, that we needed it stronger in the middle, that’s why we went with two fives in the middle, to counterbalance these other teams who were really strong,” explained Baker. That meant he’d have to find a pair of two goalers. Baker said, “The dilemma in the United States is our 2-goal players, unfortunately, haven’t had a lot of highgoal experience. If they have, they haven’t been asked to hit the ball, they’ve been asked to block people. In our process, everyone is equal. If a 2-goaler has the ball, a 5-goaler is running for the pass, he’s not coming behind him and telling him to leave it.” Baker worked with the 2-goalers to be active particpants instead of blockers. Of the eight players on the roster for the zone playoff—all members of Team USPA—three went to Australia (Jesse Bray, Felipe Viana, Daniel Galindo). Team USPA members Jimmy Wright and Matias Gonzalez, both 2-goals, were added to the roster, along with 5-goal

Group A Argentina (3-0): Lucio Fernández Ocampo Ignacio Javier Bello Héctor Guerrero Valentín Novillo Astrada Iván Maldonado Tomas María Panelo Federico Rooney Federico Panzillo

Group B Chile (2-1) José Ignacio Martínez José Miguel Pereira Andrés Vial Pieres José Raffael Zegers Ignacio Vial Mazieres Antonio Eguiguren Romano Vercellino Martín Arrau Agustin Von Unger

2 4 3 5 4 4 4 2 2

2 5 5 2 5 2

England (2-1) Henry Porter Josh Cork Satnam Dhillon Peter Webb Ed Banner-Eve

2 2 5 5 2

3 2 5 4 5 3 3 2 2

New Zealand (1-2) Glen Sherriff Guy Higginson Kit Brooks Nick Keyte Cody Forsyth Henry Jones Sam Martín Mark Duncan Jonny Jones Adam Haworth

5 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 2

India (0-3) Col. Ravi Rathore Dhruv Pal Godara Angad Kalaan Siddhant Sharma HH Sawai Padmanabh Singh Pranav Kapur Uday Kalaan

5 5 4 3 2 2 3

2 2 5 5 4 3

United States (2-1): Daniel ‘Cacho’ Galindo Jesse Bray Felipe Viana Jimmy Wright Carlos Arellano Matías González

Australia (1-2) James Lester George Hill Jack Archibald Jake Daniels Alec White Daniel O’Leary Jack Kiely Alex Barnet **Lachlan Gilmore

Spain (0-3) Mario Gómez Antonio Ayesa Guix Pelayo Berazadi Rozpide Jóse María Trénor Lowenstein Jaime Serra Diez Luis Benjumea Llorente

4 3 5 2 2 ?

FIP President Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers and CEO Alex Taylor present USA’s Jesse Bray with the Sportsmanship Award.

Carlucho Arellano as alternate and assistant coach. With the players in place, the team trained at Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida for two weeks prior to boarding the plane for Australia.

Baker said the experience was very beneficial, especially for the 2-goal players who needed the extra playing time. “Melissa [Ganzi] and the staff there gave us everything we asked for. They were fantastic. All six guys played, no one sat around. They mixed the teams around, they gave the guys great competition,” said Baker. “It really helped us a lot and it really helped our 2goalers because they needed that kind of work, they needed the extra polo.” The team boarded a plane on Sunday, Oct. 15, and arrived in Australia Tuesday morning. Once the plane touched down in Australia, the team headed directly to Ashton’s farm to play a practice. Ashton generously provided his personal horses for the team to ride and practice on the off days throughout the tournament. The event kicked off with a draw for the pony strings and a team presentation POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 31

USA’s first game, against Argentina, was its most difficult in the tournament. Though the team matched Argentina in the second half, they were unable to make up for the first-half deficit. Coach Joel Baker said 5-goal Jesse Bray, above with Argentina’s Tomas Panelo, played 7 or 8 goals.

on Wednesday, Oct. 18. The following day the teams got to practice the horses in their strings, which Baker said were pretty equal overall. Baker said USA went well in its practice against New Zealand, winning by something like 7-1. Friday was an off day so the U.S. team practiced Ashton’s horses to stay sharp and worked on penalty shots. With over 300 horses in the competition, some shipped in from thousands of miles away, some strings were kept outside, while others were kept in stalls. Unfortunately, the U.S. team’s string was kept outside without shelter and had to endure a storm that blew through, packing 50-70 mph winds and heavy rain the day before the first match. To make matters worse, three of the teams ‘A’ horses were out due to injury before the first game. Opening day included jousting and vaulting demonstrations, an art exhibit, opening ceremonies and finished off with live music. One player from each participating country rode in a parade during the opening ceremonies and later presented its country’s flag. Daniel 32 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Galindo did the honors for the U.S. Meanwhile, the U.S. team took to the field to play its most difficult game of the tournament, against Argentina. The South American team jumped out front early in a fast, open game, taking a 7-4½ lead at the half. Baker said USA’s horses seemed flat, and he wondered if riding out the previous day’s storm outside (the Argentine team’s horses were stabled), was taking its toll. But the bigger problem was the Argentines, led by veteran player and former 8-goaler Héctor Guerrero, who were commanding the field and outplaying the Americans. The Argentines were quicker and sharper. USA improved in the second half, and managed to match Argentina 5-5, including a pair of goals in the closing minutes, but was unable to make up for the first-half deficit. It was a disappointing loss for a team that just two years before narrowly lost to Chile in overtime of the 10th FIP championship after going undefeated in preliminary play, including an overtime defeat of Argentina.

Baker said, “[Our style] worked well for us in Chile, and so a lot of the other teams went to school on us. The Argentine team was built around that process. They didn’t come with a lot of young hotshots, they had a guy in his mid-40s who was 8 goals at one time ... They were a running, anticipating team.” Now, the only chance for USA to get to this year’s final was if Argentina lost a game, while the U.S. won its remaining games, meaning three teams would be tied with 2-1 records. Still, the U.S. would need to have the highest net goals to advance. All the U.S. team could do was focus on winning its next two games. The local crowd was out in full force to cheer on the home team as it took on Spain in the second match of the day. In a spirited game, Australia led 5-2 after 14 minutes. Spain fought back, tying the match at 5-5 at the half and edged ahead 9-7 in the last period. But with the crowd behind it, Australia managed to knot the score and force overtime. It scored the golden goal to take its first win, 10-9.

Alternate and assistant coach 5-goal Carlucho Arellano, right, was extremely helpful to the team, offering advice and making suggestions with the horse line-ups, according to Baker.

The next day, England took on India for Group B. It was not much of a game as India found the goal just once while England pounded the goal 16 times. The second game of the day pitted Chile against New Zealand. New Zealand missed numerous shots at goal and couldn’t break through the Chilean defense. It was a closer match than the first, but still ended in a wide spread with defending champion Chile ahead by seven, 9-2. The horses earned a few days rest before Argentina faced Spain and Australia took on USA. In the first match, Spain began with a 1½-goal handicap and managed to put the first goal on the board. The five-chukker match last two hours and saw three players fall. After closing the first chukker 2½-2, Spain couldn’t keep up as Argentina outscored it 10-1 in the last four chukkers. With Spain having lost its second match, USA would need to beat Australia by at least three in the event Australia beat Argentina, forcing the three-way tie. USA took an early 3-1 lead, but Australia knotted the score at 3-3 by the end of the third. The teams traded goals in the fourth but Bray broke the tie. On another play, Bray had a fantastic 80yard neck shot to goal. The flagger called it in but the umpires weren’t sure. When asked, Bray admitted it was out. “No one

in the stands could believe somebody would call their own goal out, but we still beat them by two goals. And Jesse got the Sportsmanship Award for the tournament,” said Baker. Australia hustled to level the score again early in the sixth, but a penalty conversion by Viana gave USA the 6-5 advantage. Wright found the mark with a nearside neckshot to go up 7-5. With just a minute on the clock, USA took a penalty from mid-field but was unable to reach the goal before time ran out. Ahead by just two, USA was out of chances, even if Australia beat Argentina. Back to Group B, Chile met India. After its big loss to England, India shuffled the player positions and were better organized. It marked the Chileans closely, holding them to three goals in the first half, but were only able to capitalize on one out of five scoring opportunities. The Chileans got back to basics, outscoring India 8-1 in the second half. Later in the day, a confident England, fresh off its 16-1 drubbing of India, met a New Zealand team ready to prove itself after its first loss. Five-goaler Glen Sherriff replaced Cody Forsyth, and the team managed to keep the game even, 44, after the first 14 minutes. New Zealand was winning the lion’s share of the throw-ins and penalty shots, while its

2-goalers were keeping the pressure on England’s 2-goalers. Its strategy was working as England fell 11-8. “They came out, they turned quicker, they hit harder and they beat us,” said team captain Satnam Dhillon. England would have to beat Chile by five goals in order to go to the final. For New Zealand, its only hope was playing for bronze, and only if it beat India, and England lost by a lot to Chile. The last of the playoff matches were played on ‘Super Saturday’ in scorching heat. First up, New Zealand came from behind to edge India 9-8. Then, USA played Spain in the last playoff match. USA got off to a good start, leading 3-1½ after the first chukker. Spain rallied before halftime, but USA powered ahead for a 15-9½ finish. Bray said, “We started well but started losing throw-ins in the middle chukkers. We weren’t really finding any open players. [Spain] did a really good job on defense. ... In the second half we were in control again.” England played its last preliminary against Chile. It trailed 4-1 before mounting a comeback and winning 8-5. The last match pitted Argentina against Australia. Argentina played another fast, open game, winning 9-5½. The final would be between the undefeated Argentine squad and Chile, after England played USA for the bronze the next day. “It’s 95 degrees. Again, our horses [were] out in the field with no shelter. (England’s horses were apparently stabled). The first chukker, we’re on flat horses. They get three goals. And our guys just dug in ... they caught them and got by them. We are a goal ahead with less than a minute left. The English made a long, desperate shot that went into goal and so now we’ve got overtime. “We had three opportunities to win it. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it in. We played the overtime chukker on our end of the field. They got one shot [that] went into goal, they scored and won it,” said Baker. England took the Bronze. The grand finale had Argentina against Chile and it was a game to remember. Chile received a one-goal handicap to start and Argentina scored the only goal of the first. The teams POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 33

by Ernesto Rodriguez Argentina’s coach Diego Braun guided teams to two world titles in less than a year. In January, he was in charge of Argentina’s threesome that was crowned in the FIP Snow Polo World Cup in Beijing. More recently, in October, he coached the team that lifted the cup in the XI FIP World Polo Championship in Sydney. “It was two long trips that paid off,” Braun acknowledged in an interview with Polo Players’ Edition. PPE: How did you manage to take over both national teams? Diego Braun: For the China tournament, the Argentine Polo Association thought about me because I have experience in the snow, because I played many tournaments in Europe. We chose players who knew what it was like to play winter polo. We got a title Argentine polo had never achieved. The achievement in Australia was different because Daniel González was the coach for the Zone B Playoff in January in Uruguay. He couldn’t go to Australia so he asked me to go, which was an honor. PPE: When did you start working with the players? DB: The four starters were already chosen (Lucio Fernández Ocampo, Héctor Guerrero, Valentín Novillo Astrada and Tomás Panelo). They had won the qualification in Punta del Este. And between Daniel and me, we decided on the four substitutes (Federico Rooney, Ignacio Bello, Iván Maldonado and Federico Panzillo). I have to thank Daniel

traded goals in the second, ending 2-2. Chile was covering Argentina closely, keeping it from playing its fast, open style. Argentina was doing everything it could to shake the Chilean defense and finally got the narrow edge with a 3-2 halftime lead. Chile bounced back in the fourth, outscoring Argentina 2-1 to knot the score at 4-4. Chile was keeping pace, and halfway through the fifth, managed to get the 5-4 advantage. Chile kept getting ahead only to have Argentina even the score. Argentina leveled the score, 5-5, but Chile’s Andres Vidal passed a long ball to teammate José Pereira who outmanuevered Argentina’s No. 4 Tomas Panelo and shot the ball through the goal. A minute later, Argentina’s 17-yearold Panelo made up for the misstep when he cooly sunk a safey to knot the score to end the fifth 6-6. 34 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

SERGIO LLAMERA

World Coach

The Argentine team, with coach Diego Braun (top left), was paraded around the Palermo field when they returned home.

because much of the triumph was his. He is a person with a lot of experience who did a great job searching out the talent. He also gave me a lot of help with the practices we played in the association’s fields in Pilar, outside Buenos Aires. PPE: What style of game did you want to impose? DB: The style of play that we wanted to impose was very dynamic, with quick movements, long hits and without breaks. We wanted to overcome the rest by mental speed and gallop. We wanted to take advantage of the fact that we know how to play a four-man game against teams that practice a more stationary polo. PPE: How were each of the matches? DB: The first game against the USA was the most complicated of the three preliminaries because it was our

Baker said the U.S. team had some bad luck with horses. Three A-rated horses were unable to be used and the string was kept outside. Still, by all accounts, the quality of the horses was better than ever.

debut and they came very well prepared, with serious previous work. The American team had traveled to Australia with time to acclimate and has good players. Defeating them grew our confidence to face Spain and Australia in the next games and defeat them without problems. The final was a match in three phases. The first three chukkers we dominated but had many chances to score that we could not achieve, which is why we could not take off in the score. There, Chile grew and the game was wide open, being available for either of the two teams. In the extra chukker we added heart and guts to our good play to end up winning with a golden goal. PPE: Which player was the most prominent? DB: In each match shone a different man. Novillo Astrada played a great match against USA. Panelo stood out in the game against Spain. With Australia, Guerrero shone with his vitality. And in the final, what Fernández Ocampo did was decisive. That shows that it was a true team, more than one main figure. PPE:What did you think about the organization? DB: The organization of the tournament was perfect. The club is nice, has excellent facilities and there were many activities for the attendees even when there was no matches. The playing fields were very good and we had a high level of horses, distributed equally among all the teams. There has never been a group of horses as good as there were for all the teams. PPE: What is your balance of this unforgettable year? DB: It was a nice coincidence to be in charge of two national teams that ended in victory. Our pride is that the best polo in the world is played in Argentina. Palermo is the most important tournament and we have many 10-goalers. So, Argentina must also participate in these lower-handicap tournaments to support polo worldwide and promote its dissemination. Argentina should support everything that serves to make our sport more known, taking risks and competing because that’s how the polo will grow.

The teams continued to wrestle for control throughout the chukker. With time running out and under pressure from Panelo, Vidal shot a hail mary from 120 yards, splitting the posts with 30 seconds left to take the lead. Just when it looked like Chile had the game, Argentina won the throw-in and headed directly to goal. Lucio Fernandez Ocampo found the mark to tie the score with just seconds on the clock, forcing overtime. The Chileans thought Ocampo had fouled, but there was no whistle. In the extra time, Chile’s Pereira got possession of the ball at midfield and shot a long pass to his teammates but it was intercepted by Ocampo who ran the ball through the posts for the win. After scoring Argentina’s last two crucial goals, Ocampo was named MVP. Overall, it was a great competition with plenty of talented players.

“I was very proud of our guys. ... If you talk to the umpires, they are all highly complimentary of what great sportsmen our guys were,” said Baker. “The guys did fantastic without getting any luck. Jesse Bray played 7-, 8-goal polo the whole time. Felipe did a phenominal job of running the team and keeping everyone encouraged. I was very proud of being part of the effort they made. And on the sidelines, Cacho Galindo and Carlucho were giving 110 percent in encouragement, helping out between chukkers, helping with horses. Our regret is we didn’t have the results to show how well they did.” By all accounts, World Polo Championship CEO Peter Higgins did an outstanding job organizing the event, having great facilities, and with Jose Lartirigoyen, putting together an excellent group of quality horses.

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POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 35

Winging it Father and son take small steps toward big dreams By Gwen Rizzo

im and Timmy Dutta share the love of horses and polo, but Timmy is taking it even further—he hopes to turn pro with a dream of reaching 10 goals, and his family is firmly behind him.

Tim Dutta got his start in polo as a 9year-old kid in India. He recalls it as polo as it is suppose to be: fun, four-chukker gentlemen polo. It was there that he got hooked on the game, playing until the age of 17 when he came to the U.S. for a summer vacation. “I was going to go back and join the army, and I’m still here!” he explained. Dutta always loved horses and after working as a groom and then a truck driver driving horses, he took a job with an eventual competitor before starting his own company transporting horses by air in 1988 when he was about 22 years old. “When I started in the business, horse transportation was done by freight ... Whether they were moving bags of rice or horses it didn’t make a difference. I revolutionized the marketplace of creating a niche transport company that only does high-performance horses,” explained Tim. Now, The Dutta Corp. also transports hobby horses, children’s ponies, minis, even donkeys internationally. The company operates all over the world. It has FAA charter agreements, guaranteeing space on certain sectors, and leases planes for large events, like the Olympics and World Equestrian Games. It employees a staff of 16 grooms, all former horse show grooms, that fly with the horses. The grooms care for the horses throughout the flight. Tim says they get as much information about the horses 36 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Timmy Dutta spends a few months in Argentina each year, living and playing with former 10-goaler Piki Alberdi.

from the owners, grooms, managers and veterinarians prior to the flight. Any instructions are followed to a T, but once the horses is in the care, custody and control of the company, it will do what is necessary to keep the horse safe, and with as little stress as possible. “They are just like you and I. Some people need five vodka and tonics and some people take a glass of water and go to sleep,” Tim explained. “Each horse is an individual. Some need to be tranquilized for their health and wellbeing. ... We don’t want them stressed, so sometimes the best, easiest management is a very light tranquilizer through the whole term of the flight so A) they have a good experience and B) they don’t have muscle fatigue. And they drink an

appropriate amount of water so they don’t get shipping fever. Some horses we don’t touch. The horses tell us what they need. We try to read them. “Ninety percent of the time, if a horse loads safely and quietly—goes through the elevator racks inside the plane, they should be fine. They usually tell within about a minute and a half to five minutes that they don’t like the space they are in. They will scramble. Some simply want more room to spread their legs. If you don’t give it to them, they will destroy the place and it doesn’t matter how much you tranquilize them.” If extra space isn’t available, the horse is removed from the plane. “We have taken horses off the plane before we close the doors if we think they don’t look right, they are gassy, or are so nuts it would be best to stay home, prepare them, give them more space and start again,” said Tim. “The only time we don’t take them off is once the airplane is airborne. We don’t come back. We deal with it.” There are other companies that fly horses, but The Dutta Corp. prides itself on offering high-end service, and its reputation has allowed it to continue to grow. Most of its business is with eventing, dressage and jumping but it is now working with several polo players and expects that area to grow. “We have a very good product, so in the spectrum of horse transport, we are the market leaders. Once you use us,

ARI DELIN/CHUKKERTV

usually you stay with us,” said Tim. “We are basically a business class seat because we have the staff and quality and we don’t cut corners whatsoever, from simple things like quality shavings and hay nets to all aluminum containers with soft mat rubber flooring with walls we can move. All of it is state-of-the-art.” For 25 years, Tim stayed away from polo until he became friends with Carlos Gracida, though he says the relationship was of a personal nature, rather than polo. In Nov. 2011, Gracida brought Dutta back into the sport and a month later, the pair took a trip to India to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Calcutta Polo Club. Within a month, Dutta says he owned five polo ponies. But, sadly, just a few weeks later, Gracida was killed in a polo accident. The family now has a close

PHILLIPPA DAVIN

Tim Dutta enjoys riding and playing with his son.

Timmy Dutta’s 6-year-old Diamante won Best Playing Pony in The Memorial. The mare came from Carlitos Gracida.

relationship with Carlos’ brother, Memo Gracida, as well as Carlos’ son, Carlitos. They also play with former 10-goaler Piki Alberdi, who serves as the team captain. “It’s really amazing to have Memo and Piki’s influence in our stable. They are very kind to let us do our thing. They influence us in the polo fields and let me manage the horses to [get to] the polo field,” explained Tim. Horses have been a lifelong passion for the entire family. Tim’s wife Susie is a member of the United States Dressage Team. As an experienced horsewoman Susie is involved in the polo ponies’ feed

and overall care, offering an outside perspective. She might offer advice on which horses should use a magnetic blanket, which ones are getting laser therapy or which are getting shock-wave therapy. “We are cutting edge in veterinary medicine; we are cutting edge in management of the horses. We feed differently than a polo stable. We don’t believe in oats. We feed a high-fat, lowsugar diet,” explains Tim. Sergio Sylvestre, who came to them from Memo and Carlos, is their polo manager and has pulled together the team of grooms that

work for the Duttas. Tim said, “He’s as good a polo man as there is so he brings polo aspects to [the horses’ care].” Still, Tim says he runs the barn more like a show barn and the horses are trained more like event horses. “We are singling a lot, we work on their fitness by giving them a lot of trotting work and we also don’t [do extended] turn-out. “[In the off-season], we are big into walking fitness. They are singled. All the hardware comes out of their mouth and they go in gag snaffles. They walk for 45 minutes and they spend 20 minutes in the afternoon on a treadmill. That’s why they look like they can play today, drug-free. “We turn out an hour in paddocks and give them a short break of 21 days to freshen them up and bring them up. Our horses played the best in April and May [after] seven months of polo,” he said. “We started with 21 horses and we ended with 21 horses.” Before Timmy was introduced to polo, he participated in show jumping. When he was 11, he had some free time so he went with his father to stick and ball with Memo. “When I got on that horse and held the mallet for the first time, I knew I wanted to do this. I knew I loved it,” explained Timmy. Since then, Timmy has been enjoying the sport and set some big goals for himself. “I just want to try to be the best I can possibly be. I believe being the best player I can be will be 10-goals. I have a lot of work to come ahead of me and I need a lot of horses and a lot of people behind me, but I believe, if enough work comes and [with] enough sweat and tears, I will make it.” Tim is doing his part for his son by providing him with a solid string of horses. “What I have done is very simply mounted Timmy the best I possibly can. Maybe when he first started out he was over-mounted. Now he uses every bit of it and we are looking for better horses. We are looking for horses all the time and mainly treasuring the horses we have so we can keep them going.” As most players will tell you, finding good horses is always difficult and the Duttas are no different. Timmy currently has 13 horses, at least 9 that he says he feels comfortable playing anywhere in the POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 37

ARI DELIN/CHUKKERTV

Timmy Dutta races along the boards despite pressure from Mariano Uranga in the Spring Challenge Cup at Grand Champions Polo Club.

world, against anybody. “We have been lucky enough to set our own bar very high, and now we need to find better horses than what we have and that is the struggle. But ... there is a horse born every day!” says Tim. “We look worldwide. We are not married to one country. Wherever they are we find them.” They don’t do any breeding, but instead buy 4- or 5-year-old green horses and finish them. “It’s a chapter in Timmy’s education. He needs to be not only a player, he needs to be a horseman. There will always be better players, but if he mounts himself better than anybody else and he’s a horseman, he’s going to make a living and he’ll find himself on the polo field.” That education includes being involved in all aspects of his horses’ care. When they play a tournament, they keep track of how many minutes each horse plays throughout the week. Tim says Timmy is involved in what his horses eat, if any of them are getting medicated and how they are feeling from day to day. “I have a couple of horses that I will not play in the rain. If it starts raining, I play 30 seconds or a minute and try to find a way to [get off them] because it is 38 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

not worth it. I love my horses and if I hurt a horse, it hurts me,” said Timmy. Timmy plays up to 20-goal polo at Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida during the winter and spring and travels to Argentina each year to train with Alberdi. There he competes in up to 24-goal polo and plays 30-plus goal practices. “Speed is one thing I don’t have to worry about. In Argentina I played 32 goal practices with some of the best players in the world. It’s a pleasure to play with them and I learn. When you play at that level you learn from every player you play against, ” said Timmy. “The higher you go, the more focus is on the field, the more you have to anticipate the play, the more you have to do everything. I am capable of doing that and I’m going to play at that level very comfortably.” Alberdi spends eight or nine months of the year with the Duttas–a few months in Argentina and the rest back in the U.S. They often have dinner together and spend most of their time together. “At times we don’t talk about polo itself, but what I can do in life. He is like another father to me,” said Timmy.

When in Argentina, Tim commutes back and forth to the U.S., but Timmy stays with Piki and his family, including Piki’s wife Annie and their two sons who are close in age to Timmy. Tim enjoys watching Timmy play whenever he can. “We ride everyday together. I just love playing with my son and watching him play at the high-goal end,” said Tim. “I really look forward to Argentina. It makes a big difference in both of our polo. Playing eight to 10 chukkers everyday at that speed gets us ready for the season.” In Florida, Tim and Timmy play with Piki and Carlitos Gracida. The team has played together for three years. “We know each other so well. ... We have a system and if we get beat by the system it is OK, but we don’t change strategy. We usually force our opponents to play our polo, to come to us,” explains Tim. “Piki ... is 53 years old and his wisdom on the field, his knowledge and calm demeanor is just amazing. We could be down three or four goals and he looks at you and says, ‘Plan B,’ and we understand. Before you know it, we have three goals on the board.” According to Tim, the team has a no

ARI DELIN/CHUKKERTV

Dutta Corps’ Tim Dutta, Piki Alberdi, Timmy Dutta and Carlitos Gracida won the Sun Cup last spring. The team has played together for three years.

teaching him how to deal with customers, which are patrons,” Tim continued. “How to behave on the field is as important as off the field—how to be a gracious loser, and more important a gracious winner. And [to have] respect for everyone, whether it is the grooms, our farrier or whether it is billionaires. “So, there is much [more than learning] polo. [You have to] manage finances, manage business, manage the barn and be a horseman. He has to be a complete unit and whether he becomes a hobby polo player, a semi-patron or a pro, wherever his dream takes him, that is destiny. The education level, the whole KEN BRADDICK

yelling policy. The only one who speaks on the team is Piki. “We always accept the referees verdict and the only person to talk to the referees is Piki,” explains Tim. “You are polite. [The umpires] are doing their job, good, bad or indifferent. And of course, we are a competitive bunch.” They are also not permitted to place blame on their teammates. “We have a five-minute rule that we can be mad at ourselves; never against each other. We are a team. We win, we lose as a team. It is not one person. ... [there is] no discussion,” explained Tim. “The night before we play, we have dinner together. And we have dinner together whether we win or lose the night after the game,” Tim continued. “That is who we are. We are a family. We only talk positives.” The team also spends a lot of time preparing for games. “You need to win the field in your mind and you will win on the field,” said Timmy. Before games, the team watches its opponents play, making note of the opponents’ horses, how well they played and what chukkers they are played. “Timmy understands, it is details. We took that from Memo,” said Tim. “We win before we go [to the field]. Where is your [gear] bag? How do your horses look? How do you look? How does your tent look? Your horse list is made before you leave. There is much more than a mallet and a horse. It is a business, it’s a service. Polo is not a need; it’s a want and I am

Horses (in aluminum containers) are off-loaded from a plane. Tim Dutta started his horse transport business nearly 30 years ago.

thing has to be together.” The hard work is paying off. Timmy started off with an A.5 handicap this year and will go to 1.5 in January. He is scheduled to go to 2 in June. He is currently rated 2 in Argentina. “I am very proud. I wouldn’t put this much effort if I didn’t believe in him. I think I’ve done the best I can, what I know best—educating him, putting him with the right people. He’s extremely lucky to have two former 10-goal players that love him, care for him and believe he can be there. We have to see. It’s an opportunity, [but he’s got] a long way to go. It’s not about chasing handicaps. If you play well, the handicap will come. It is always better to be underrated than overrated,” said Tim. Timmy is also learning about his father’s business and plans to work for the company in the future. He’d like to run the South American sector since he plans on continuing to play polo there. He is already making a good company spokesman. “Once you are high enough in handicap, you understand your horses are everything. Without your horses, you are not a polo player, you are nothing in polo, at least. In the horse world it’s the same. So, if you spend a couple more dollars, your horses are going to get there sound, safe and better than they left,” Timmy explained. At 16, Timmy still has time. For now, he continues school and plans on taking some online college courses. “Our business is unique because we are all over the world, and Argentina is now a target market for us. On the field, [Timmy] is doing business. His peers need to fly horses. Most importantly, we are in business 30 years. We have an amazing management team. Most have been with me for 20 years. So, the operational side of the business he needs to learn and he will. I’d like him to start with sales—that’s everyday, meeting and greeting. And he needs to spend time in the show horse business because that is our bread and butter,” said Tim. The Dutta Corp. motto is “We give horses wings.” Tim and his wife are also giving their son wings and are watching him soar. “We are loving the journey,” Tim said. POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 39

BY ERNESTO RODRIGUEZ

THE MISSING CUP Adolfo Cambiaso adds San Jorge Open to his list of wins PHOTOS BY SERGIO LLAMERA

he San Jorge Open is one tournament that Adolfo Cambiaso has not previously won. It is played at the Military Equestrian Club and is the opening high-goal tournament of the season. This year was also the first time Bob Jornayvaz played in part of Argentina’s high handicap. In the showcase full of trophies in Adolfo Cambiaso’s house in Cañuelas there was an empty place, a cup that had been denied him in his extensive and successful career: the Duke of Edinburgh Trophy, the prize that rewards the champion of the Military Equestrian Club San Jorge’s Open, which this season celebrated its 50th edition. Cambiaso is a man who likes challenges but who, in the previous seasons, had not been able to be in Argentina at the time of the first throw in of this contest that inaugurates the Southern hemisphere’s high-handicap season. Adolfito decided to change his routine this year and did it with a perfect partner: the American patron Bob Jornayvaz, who decided to start rubbing shoulders in Argentina’s high handicap. Thus was born Valiente La Dolfina, a 28-goal quartet with another multiple champion of Palermo in Uruguayan David Stirling and with the up-and-coming Diego Cavanagh. To add more novelties, Cambiaso left his usual No. 1 position in Argentina and decided to stay at Back. “I talked with Bob during the year and it seemed like a great opportunity for him to start playing in Argentina. For me it’s a good test because we’re going to see how we feel and because it’s a tournament that I never won,” Adolfito explained. 40 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Bob Jornayvaz, Diego Cavanagh, Adolfo Cambiaso and David Stirling won the San Jorge Open. It was the first time Cambiaso, who was named MVP, has won this event.

The premiere of Valiente La Dolfina took place on Saturday, Sept. 2, in the fields of Cañuelas (40 miles south of the Capital) against La Esquina. The locals attacked fast and in the first two sixminute chukkers—one of the new measures that the Argentine Polo Association tested to speed up the game—they took a quick 4-0 lead. La Esquina reacted in the next (5-2), but could not sustain the best game and the superior quality of the horses of the blueshirted team that finished signing a comfortable triumph by 10-4. “I am excited to know that we won in our first game and that the final will be in Palermo. I never played there and hope I can sleep well the night before,” Jornayvaz explained after the match. In parallel, in the fields that the AAP has in Pilar (35 miles northwest of Buenos Aires), the other semifinal was

played with two clubs with ample history in this tournament: Indios, champion of the 2016 edition, was facing La Natividad, which came with the encouragement of having been the winner in 2013 and finalist in the next three editions. Last year, in the definition, the Heguy’s Indios team defeated the Castagnola’s La Natividad 18-8. This time, Indios threatened to maintain the dominance thanks to the effectiveness of Pepe Heguy closing the first three chapters with a 7-5 advantage. In the fourth, Ignacio Toccalino (eventual replacement of Eduardo Novillo Astrada) began to manage the threads and make the two Castagnolas (Bartolomé and his son Bartolito) find their best rhythm to level the match 7-7. In the next two periods, La Natividad managed to convert in key moments to finish with the 11-8 win.

San Jorge Open Valiente La Dolfina:

Indios:

Bob Jornayvaz Diego Cavanagh David Stirling Adolfo Cambiaso

1 7 10 10

Alberto Heguy Ezequiel Martínez Ferrario Julián de Lusarreta Jorge Monsegou

La Natividad:

La Esquina:

Santiago Cernadas Bartolito Castagnola Eduardo Novillo Astrada Bartolomé Castagnola

6 6 8 8

The final was played in Palermo on Wednesday, Sept. 6. The day opened on Field 2, with the comfortable 14-9 victory of Indios over La Esquina for third place in the tournament, after managing the score from start to finish. Then the glances passed to the Cathedral, which saw more than 2,000 spectators, an unusual amount of public for being a weekday in a tournament that is not part of the Triple Crown. The attraction was to see a final that was a family business in which the brothers-in-law Cambiaso and Castagnola (Lolo is married to Camilla, Adolfito’s sister) along with Castagnola’s son and Cambiaso’s nephew, Bartolito, as a reinforcement in La Natividad. “Do not forget ‘Uncle Bob’’ joked one of La Dolfina’s grooms to illustrate the good relationship that exists with the American patron. Both teams started measuring each other and closed the initial six minutes 2-2, but from the second chukker the pair of Cambiaso and Stirling, with the contribution of the tireless Cavanagh and the ubiquity of Jornayvaz, began to make a difference. La Natividad was not able to break the game circulation despite the fact that Alejandro Novillo Astrada—who took over the vacancy of his brother Eduardo—was effective around the goal with six tallies, matching that of Adolfito on the other side. It was clear that the young Castagnola was not feeling well (he had to leave his place to Juan Carlos Harriet near the end) and Valiente La Dolfina knew how to take advantage of the defection of the young crack. The difference generated in the second segment (5-2) grew unthinkingly in the next 12 minutes (14-5). With such a distance in the score, both teams seemed to be saving their horses and the last two

Segundo Miguens Matías Benoit Juan Gris Zavaleta Martín Tassara

27 7 8 7 5

24 4 6 8 6

chukkers were balanced so the game ended with a victory for Valiente La Dolfina by 16-8. “It is a great joy to have been able to step onto Palermo with this team, to have played in this Field No. 1 and to have contributed to Adolfito winning a tournament that he had never been able to achieve. It’s an unforgettable afternoon and it makes me dream about more things,” explained Jornayvaz at the time of the awards. Cambiaso completed the personal harvest by taking the MVP, while his mare Dolfina Polémica was distinguished as Best Playing Pony. The small solace for the Castagnolas came by way of the Coronel Francisco Reyes Carrere Cup, the tournament of

medium handicap that is organized at the same time by San Jorge. In it, each of the six teams between 9-16 goals had to line up with a military player. On Thursday, Sept. 14, Palmero’s Field 2 received the clash between San Jorge La Natividad Miraflores (Martín Scortichini, Ignacio Velasco Gallo, Bartolomé Castagnola Jr. and Lucas Torales) and San Jorge Los Pingüinos (Martín Vilaró, Horacio Henry, Salvador Ulloa and Juan Ignacio Taverna). The match was balanced in the two initial chukkers (4-4) but from the third grew the figure of Bartolito Castagnola, recovered from the discomforts he suffered eight days before. Castagnola, with the defensive contribution of Lucas Torales, built a solid performance for the San Jorge La Natividad Miraflores to finish on top 1310 after six periods. “This triumph takes away a bit of the bitter taste from the other final, in which I had to leave because I did not feel good at all. At least we go home with a cup to open the season,” said the teenager.

American patron Bob Jornayvaz, right, with Bartolito Castagnola, competes in the San Jorge Open final, played on Palermo’s Field No. 1. The weekday game attracted a large crowd of 2,000.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 41

After the U.S. spring polo season, many of the world’s top professional players head to England to compete in the British season during the summer months. There are three main in the tournaments season. First, the Cartier Queen’s Cup, dating back to 1960, and played at Cambiaso, Pieres brothers lead British season Guards Polo Club, kicked PHOTOS BY ALICE GIPPS off May 23 to June 18. This year, 10 teams from 20- to 22-goals were divided into two leagues. Included in League One was Michael Bickford’s La Indiana, with 7-goal American Nic

DESTINATION: UNITED KINGDOM

Roldan. La Indiana won three out of four games, only succumbing to Sommelier in a 10-3 blowout match in the last preliminary game after it had already qualified for the semi-final. It advanced to the final after beating Murus Sanctus 14-11 in the semifinal. On the other side, RH Polo, led by Adolfo cambiaso, topped its bracket undefeated at 4-0 to advance to the semifinal. It defeated El Remanso 14-12 to advance to the final. In the final, RH lead 6-3 at the half. A strong fourth chukker, with five goals between Agustin Merlos and Nic Roldan, got La Indiana back in the game. RH

HM Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Laurent Feniou, managing director of Cartier UK, presents MVP Adolfo Cambiaso with a Cartier watch.

42 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

S P O T L I G H T

RH Polo’s Rodrigo Andrade, Adolfo Cambiaso, Ben Soleimani and Tommy Beresford won the Cartier Queen’s Cup over La Indiana.

Polo narrowly defeated La Indiana 10-9, thanks to a final goal by Cambiaso in the sixth chukker. This match is historically attended by HM The Queen, who presented trophies to the winners again this year. The win was the 10th Queens Cup victory for Cambiaso. MVP honors were reserved for 21-year-old Tommy Beresford, while Cambiaso’s 12-year-old chestnut mare, Caraquenia, was Best Playing Pony. In the subsidiary, King Power Foxes defeated Sommelier 10-6. King Power Foxes’ James Fewster was named MVP. The focus then switched to the Jaeger-Le Coultre Gold Cup, which included virtually the same teams as the Queens Cup. The only difference was the addition of a Habtoor team in place of Sifani. Again, the teams were divided

RH Polo’s Tommy Beresford handles the ball in the Queen’s Cup final.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 43

Sunset Polo There could not have been a more perfect setting than the beautiful historic Cowdray House for the inaugural Sunset Polo event in West Sussex. This superb event was held by one of America’s toprated polo players, Nic Roldan, to raise awareness and funds for both The Brooke and the Chestnut Tree House charities. The Chestnut Tree House charity is the children’s hospice for East and West Sussex, Brighton and Hoave and South East Hampshire that Nic has visited a number of times. It cares for 300

UK’s top reining horse trainer, Tammy Greaves demonstrated her skills.

children and young adults, up to 19 years old, with progressive life-shortening conditions. The Brook is the world’s largest international equine welfare organization dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules, and those who look after and rely on them. Funds raised provide veterinary treatment and community programs in the world’s poorest communities. Nic is well known for his commitment as an

ambassador for the Brooke USA. Held in June at the height of the British polo season on a sunny summer’s afternoon, the event hosted a selection of big equestrian stars including the Californian-based world renowned ‘Horse Whisper’ Monty Roberts and Tammy Greaves, a top UK reining horse trainer who showed off her western riding skills before the polo games took place. The first game featured well-known local Cowdray players such as Clare Milford Haven and Lulu Hutley, alongside high-goal stars Agustin Merlos and Roldan before the much-awaited charity polo game started. Famous faces such as the Olympic Gold Medallist show jumper Scott Brash took to the field, making his polo debut alongside former Olympic champion track cyclist and now jockey, Victoria Pendleton; the UK Number One 3-day eventer William Fox Pitt; two-time Grand National winner Leighton Aspell; and internet star Wocket Woy, all joining Nic to raise funds for the two deserving charities. Alongside watching the celebrities try their hand at a new equine discipline, the Monty Roberts display was one of the highlights of the afternoon. He has become famous for his non-violent JoinUP method, which has changed the lives of many horses all over the world for the better. Monty demonstrated the work he does with his Horse Sense and Healing program, a non-profit charity, which

runs free, resilience-building workshops for veterans, police, fire and first responders and their families who have been through trauma in their lives. The demonstration showed how the individuals and horses develop a special bond built upon mutual trust and respect, and Monty explained how JoinUp works as an effective tool for the veterans to rediscover themselves through the eyes of a horse, which in turn raises self awareness that can help them deal with the emotional trauma, anti-social behavior, stress, anger and

The Brook is dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules.

Post Traumatic Stress Injury. The trusting relationship that is established assists veterans to confront painful memories, control anger and cope better with difficult life situations so they can move on with their lives. The whole event was a great success with the help of the sponsors Jeep, Engel & Voelkers, GSA and The Lickfold Inn, and is set to be repeated next year, once again at Cowdray House. —Alice Gipps

Monty Roberts demonstrated the work he does with his Horse Sense and Healing program.

44 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Flannels’ Luke Tomlinson, James Harper, Max Charlton and MVP James Beim won the Coronation Cup over GT Bank Commonwealth.

into two leagues. La Indiana again finished with a 3-1 record, matching Queen’s Cup victors RH Polo. Both teams advanced to the quarterfinal rounds, but unfortunately, went no further. La Indiana was eliminated after falling to Sommelier 15-12; El Remanso advanced over Monterosso 12-9; Habtoor ousted RH Polo 12-10; and King Power eliminated Talandracas 10-6. In the semifinals, King Power Foxes defeated Habtoor 10-7, while El Remanso shutdown Sommelier 12-5. King Power Foxes’ Gonzalo Pieres, Facundo Pieres, Hugo Taylor (taking the place of patron Alyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha) and Jimbo Fewster would take on El Remanso’s team of four British professionals including Charlie Hanbury, Ollie Cudmore, James Beim and James Harper. Heavy rain blanketed the field prior to the match but the game went on as planned. The British squad shot out of the gate in the first chukker, but the Pieres brothers leveled the score 3-3 by

King Power Foxes’ Facundo Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres, Hugo Taylor and Jimbo Fewster won the Jaeger Le-Coultre Gold Cup.

the end of the second chukker. King Power outfoxed El Remanso in the third chukker to double its score 6-3 at the halftime break. A motivated King Power blasted in three more goals in the fourth chukker while holding El Remanso to one, closing 9-4. The Brits rallied in the fifth with three goals, but Facundo Pieres scored two to maintain a comfortable lead. King Power kept up the pressure in the final chukker, outscoring El Remanso 21 to end on top 13-8. Facundo Pieres led the scoring with five goals. His teammate Jimbo Fewster was named MVP and Gonzalo Pieres’ New Jersey was honored as Best Playing Pony. The final high-goal event of the season is the Coronation Cup, played at Guards Polo Club, on July 29. The match, dating back to 1911, pitted a Flannels England team of James Beim, Max Charlton, James Harper and Luke Tomlinson against GT Bank Commonwealth’s Hissam Ali Hyder, Dirk Gould, John Paul Clarkin and

Fred Mannix. With heavy rain throughout the match, England jumped out to an early lead and never relinquished it, finishing ahead 7-1. James Beim was named MVP, while John Paul Clarkin’s Magpie, a 9year-old new Zealand bred mare, received the Retraining of Racehorses Best Playing Pony award. At the event, 18-year-old James Fewster was named the Hurlingham Polo Association’s Best Young Player of the Year award. Earlier in the day, the Thai Polo Club Ladies’ International for the Diamond Jubilee Trophy debuted. The Swarovski England Ladies (Izzy McGregor, Sarah Hughes, Hazel Jackson, Nina Clarkin) took on Llangollen USA Ladies (Julia Smith, Maureen Brennan, KC Krueger, Kristy Outhier). Like the men’s match, the British side dominated the play, eventually winning 8-3. Hazel Jackson was named MVP and McGregor’s Jess, a grey mare played by Nina Clarkin, was named Best Playing Pony. POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 45

POLO REPORT DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF POLO SOUTHWESTERN

MARTHA BAGLEY

CTPA TRIUMPHS IN GOVERNORS CUP

Dallas’ Katelyn Anderson reaches out to hook CTPA’s Gustavo Galvan in the semi-final match.

n Sunday, Oct. 15, CTPA won a Governors Cup qualifier hosted by the Central Texas Polo Association at its fields in Lockhart, Texas. The tournament, played over two days, included two local CTPA teams, a team from Dallas and another from South Padre Island. On the first day, Austin (Kyle Brown, Karsten Idsal, Glen Vorhees, Cuatro Tolsen) faced South Padre Island (Gal Shweiki, Pud Nieto, Jack Crea, Karl

46 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Hilberg) in the early game. Austin, which began with a one-goal handicap, came out on fire, scoring four goals in the first chukker while holding SPI to one. Austin struck again in the second, while keeping SPI from reaching the goal to end the half with Austin ahead 61. SPI found the uprights in the third, but Austin doubled it to increase its lead. Austin struck again in the final chukker, while SPI was silenced, giving Austin the 9-2 win.

After a short break, the second match between CTPA (Marlon Pimienta, Gustavo Galvan, Javier Insua, Ariel Rodriguez) and Dallas (Katelyn Anderson, Carter Heltzen, Ravel Estrada, Eduardo Costabile) kicked off with a bowl in from umpire Daniel Gallegos. He was joined by Doug Brunet on the field. Dallas was on the board to start with two goals by handicap. In a closely fought first chukker, CTPA’s Insua

R E P O R T

MARTHA BAGLEY

ARI DELIN/CHUKKERTV

P O L O

CTPA’s Marlon Pimienta, Gustavo Galvan, Javier Insua and Ariel Rodriguez won the Governors Cup qualifier.

scored the first goal of the match. In the second chukker, Galvan added the next two with another goal by Rodriguez. However, a Penalty 2 toward the end of the chukker by Pimienta allowed Dallas’ Costabile to convert the shot. Going into the half the score was 4-3 for CTPA. The third chukker was close with each team scoring one from the field. Entering the fourth and final chukker Insua decided the game was too close for comfort and scored three in a row and Rodriguez scored his second of the match, all while playing great defense and holding Dallas scoreless. The final score was CTPA 9, Dallas 4. The championship match was between Austin and CTPA after both played well on Saturday, putting nine goals up on their opponents. Austin started the match with two handicap goals and quickly converted a Penalty 4 to increase its score to 3. However, CTPA responded with three goals, two by Insua, to end the chukker tied at 3-all. In a defensive chukker, CTPA’s Insua was only able to score one more goal. At the half CTPA led 4-3. The halftime rest must have worked some magic for the CTPA team as it came out smoking. Rodriguez scored the first of the chukker with Insua scoring the next two and Galvan the fourth. While not scoring, Pimienta was playing terrific defense, breaking up numerous Austin offensive plays. The fourth chukker was much closer with

Michelle Devrient presents trophies to Sebucan’s Pablo Pulido, Guille Aguero, Luis Escobar and Carlitos Gracida.

Rodriguez and Tolson each scoring a goal. CTPA defeated Austin 9-4. The consolation match between Dallas and South Padre Island was next. Dallas had a half-goal handicap advantage so there would be no tie or overtime. SPI started the scoring with the first and only goal of the chukker. In a defensive chukker, no player was able to score, however, a SPI horse was able to score a pony goal helping SPI end the first half with a two-goal lead. The third chukker was the highest scoring of the match with Costabile converting a Penalty 3 and Nieto and Hilberg each scoring one from the field. ‘Nacho’ Estrada started the final chukker with a goal from the field and as time expired Costabile almost added a second. SPI won a closely fought match 4-2. Pimienta, Galvan, Insua and Rodriguez advanced to the USPA Southwest Circuit Governor’s Cup in Houston, Texas, Oct. 28-29, facing two Houston teams and a team from Midland. CTPA’s Javier Insua was MVP, and Cascarita, ridden by Insua and owned by John Greening, was Best Playing Pony. Austin’s Glen Vorhees was Best Sportsman. As always, events like this require a strong support team to allow the players to enjoy the game. Thanks to the umpires, CTPA leadership and Heart of Texas Polo Club that ensured the games and fields were ready and executed well.

Finally thanks to Pud Nieto for sponsoring the event and arranging for the Saturday afternoon post-game barbecue and MVP and BPP awards. -—Karl Hilberg FLORIDA

SEBUCAN WINS FALL PLATES TITLE Playing near-perfect polo in the first half, Sebucan went on to defeat Casablanca and win its first fall tournament of the season at Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida, Oct. 22. The talented foursome of Pablo Pulido, Guille Aguero, Luis Escobar and Carlitos Gracida knocked off Casablanca, 11-7, to capture the USPA Fall Plates title. Casablanca, coming off back-to-back tournament victories, was making its fourth consecutive finals appearance. With winds gusting 18 to 20 miles per hour, Sebucan gave the foursome of Benjamin Avendano, Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini and Mike Azzaro all it could handle from the opening chukker. Sebucan shut down Casablanca, 5-0, after the first two chukkers and led 6-2 at the half. Casablanca, a 13-goal team, regained its composure in the second half but could never reel in the upset-

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Casablanca’s Cacho Galindo, Juancito Bollini, MVP Mike Azzaro and Grant Ganzi won the USPA Fall Classic.

minded 16-goal Sebucan team. Pablo Pulido was MVP and 8-yearold Poker Face, owned by Santa Rita Polo Farm and ridden by Azzaro, was Best Playing Pony. Sebucan led Casablanca, 6-1 with 1:31 left in the third chukker and 7-2 to open the fourth chukker after scoring on a broken play. Trailing 8-2 with 5:15 left in the fourth chukker, Casablanca started digging itself out of a hole, scoring three unanswered goals in the fourth and early in the fifth chukkers. Casablanca squandered away four scoring opportunities late in the fifth and early in the sixth chukkers while Sebucan kept its composure and worked the clock to end the game. “It was a great game,” Pulido said. “There were a lot of good breakaways and good plays.” In the opening game of the doubleheader, Flexjet (Melissa Ganzi, Gene Goldstein, Juan Bollini, Jason Crowder) won the Just For Fun Cup. Ganzi scored back-to-back goals including the game-winner for a 10-9 victory over Santa Clara (Nico Escobar, JJ Celis, Marc Ganzi, Kris Kampsen). Ganzi scored a game-high six goals for Flexjet. Nico Escobar, oldest son of Luis Escobar, led Santa Clara with three. A week earlier, Casablanca won its second tournament in a row after edging Team USPA, 9-8, to win the USPA Fall Classic. Casablanca (Cacho

48 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

City Fire’s Charly Cendoya, Nick Johnson, Joe Watkins and Miguel LisPlanells took The Villages Health 6 goal.

Galindo, Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Mike Azzaro) held on for the win after leading Team USPA (Matias Gonzalez, Jesse Bray, Felipe Viana, Jimmy Wright) from start to finish. It was Team USPA’s final appearance after a successful training camp at Grand Champions Polo Club before leaving for Sydney, Australia to compete in the XI FIP World Polo Championship. For the second consecutive week, legendary Hall of Famer and former 10goaler Mike Azzaro of Casablanca was selected MVP. Azzaro, rated at 6 goals, scored two goals and provided leadership and playmaking on the field for his three young teammates. Girl Power was chosen Best Playing Pony. The 6-year-old mare was ridden by Ganzi, and owned by Santa Rita Polo Farm. Casablanca started off strong, jumping out to a 4-1 lead early in the second chukker behind two goals by Ganzi. Team USPA started whittling away the lead by the end of the chukker by closing down Casablanca’s open field and playing the man. In the second half, Team USPA cut Casablanca’s lead to one twice (6-5, 7-6) but was unable to overtake them. Casablanca led every chukker, 2-1, 4-3, 6-4, 7-5 and 8-6. In the opening Grand Champions Cup subsidiary, Sebucan (Guille Aguero, Pablo Pulido, Marc Ganzi, Jason Crowder) edged Flexjet (Melissa

Ganzi, Andres “Lala” LaPlacette, Brandon Phillips, Juan Bollini), 9-8. Sebucan jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second chukker and led 9-6, going into the sixth chukker when Flexjet started reeling them in with goals from Phillips and LaPlacette before running out of time. In the second Aspen Valley Cup subsidiary, Newport (Sergio Silvestre, Gene Goldstein, Pablo Dorignac, Carlitos Gracida) won after the game was called in the third chukker because of heavy rains. Newport was leading Santa Clara (Lucas Escobar, Benjamin Avendano, Kris Kampsen, Luis Escobar), 5-0, with two goals from Dorignac. —Sharon Robb

CITY FIRE LEADS

VILLAGES’ 6-GOAL City Fire downed Fross & Fross 10-7 in the final of the The Villages Health 6goal at The Villages Polo Club in The Villages, Florida, Oct. 15. City Fire (Miguel LisPlanells, Joe Watkins, Nick Johnson, Charly Cendoya) sizzled in the second half as it outscored Fross & Fross (Marcelo Torres, Paige McCabe, Chavelo Briones, Francisco Bilbao) 6-2 for the win. City Fire had a good start with a pair of goals by Cendoya in the first chukker while Fross & Fross came up empty. Johnson scored on a 65-yard neckshot

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PAT MICHAELS

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McLin Burnsed’s Jamie Mirikitani, Nick Johnson, Paige McCabe and Sue Doyle won The Villages Insurance 6 goal.

for City early in the second before Bilbao put Fross & Fross on the board. Briones added another for Fross to come within one, 3-2. Torres tore up the field in the third with a pair of goals to give Fross a first-time lead. Johnson answered to knot the score but Briones finished out the half with a goal to give Fross & Fross the 5-4 advantage at the half. McCabe traded goals with Cendoya in the fourth, maintaining the one-goal difference but City Fire took over in the fifth with Cendoya adding two more and Johnson one to jump out front 8-6. Fross & Fross struggled to reach the goal until the sixth period when McCabe found the mark. But LisPlanells split the uprights and Johnson added his fourth goal to secure the victory. Earlier in the day, McLin Burnsed defeated Arden’s Jewelers 9-4 for the consolation match. Tragically, a horse suffered a fatal heart attack in the sixth chukker of the consolation. The game was called at that point. The following week, McLin Burnsed (Sue Doyle, Paige McCabe, Nick Johnson, Jamie Mirikitani) powered to an 10-7 victory over Citizen’s First (Laura Willson, Beiden Hoskins, Lord Lyall, Charly Cendoya, Casey Hoskins) to win The Villages Insurance 6-goal. Lyall got the game going after about two minutes with back-to-back goals. Johnson, who scored six of his team’s eight goals in the semi-final win, scored

City Fire’s Wilf Fine, Paige McCabe, Nick Johnson and Frankie Bilbao won the McLin Burnsed 8-goal.

two of his own to end the chukker level at 2-2. Mirikitani gave McLin Burnsed the lead in the second and McCabe extended it a minute later. Cendoya struck for Citizens but Johnston matched it for a 5-3 McLin Burnsed advantage. Doyle and Cendoya traded goals in the third ending the half 6-4. McCabe scored in the fourth, but Casey Hoskins, filling in for Beiden Hoskins in the second half, responded. Mirikitani tallied in the fifth, but Cendoya had the answer. McCabe struck again giving McLin Burnsed the 9-6 lead. Mirikitani added another before Cendoya split the posts at the 1:45 mark. Citizens was unable to get any closer and McLin Burnsed had the 10-7 win. Mirikitani announced he is retiring from polo so the win was especially sweet. “On Friday, I was worried about just making it here and so badly hoping to end my career in a final,” he said. “But to make it and then win it, it just feels great. To play as long as I have with all therese players who have become my friends, and then to have a great game and a lot of chemistry today—couldn’t ask for a better way to go out than on top like that.” Mirikitani’s day ended with a slow ride in front of the grandstands at the match’s conclusion where the fan favorite was met with a hearty ovation from fans. While Mirikitani hung up his mallet for the final time after the

match, polo enthusiasts in The Villages will still be able to interact with him as a full-time match official at the club. “If I was doing this anywhere else, the last match in my playing career wouldn’t mean anything to me,” Mirikitani said. “The support here has been the difference. The fan base that I’ve known for 15 or 16 years, I couldn’t ask for anything more than a final match with the people I know here in the stands cheering for me. It’s just been awesome and I’ll never forget it.” The action continued on Oct. 29 when City Fire (Frankie Bilbao, Nick Johnson, Paige McCabe, Wilf Fine) downed McLin Burnsed (Roni Duke, Jake Stimmel, Chip Campbell, Gonzalo Teves) 12-9 in the McLin Burnsed 8goal. City Fire began with a handicap goal and Fine added it to it in to open the scoring. Teves and Stimmel struck for McLin Burnsed to even the score at 2-2 after the first chukker. A pair of penalty conversions in the second by Campbell countered field goals by Johnson and Bilbao to keep the score tied. Bilbao converted a penalty early in the third to push City Fire ahead. Teves traded goals with Johnson, leaving City Fire narrowly ahead 6-5 at the half. Campbell knotted the score in the fourth, but Bilbao and Johnson combined for three goals to take a 9-6 lead. Johnson and Bilbao tallied again in the fifth, but a penalty conversion by

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Club managers unite: Hugo Pasten (instructor/owner Mountain View), Laura Goddard (instructor/owner Mountain View), Neil Agate (game announcer, Congressional Polo Club member, and president of the Maryland Horse Council), Nico Eurnekian (Manager/instructor Congressional Polo), Wayne Briere (instructor/owner Seneca Polo), and Kate Briere (manager Seneca Polo).

The youngest player in the tournament, Cate Godey, keeps her eye on the ball as opponent Robyn Nietert challenges her. Teammate Kerry Roche follows closely behind.

Campbell kept McLin Burnsed in the game, 11-7. Teves and Campbell found the mark in the sixth chukker to come within two, but with time waning, Bilbao struck again to ensure City Fireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victory. EASTERN

LOCAL CLUBS JOIN FORCES

Twenty players from three polo schools united on Oct. 15 to participate in the

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first Inter-Academy Polo Tournament held at the arena of Seneca Polo Club in Poolesville, Maryland. This event was an opportunity for students from polo schools at Mountain View in Charles Town, West Virginia, and Seneca and Congressional Polo in Poolesville, Maryland, to put their new polo skills into practice and get a taste of what it might be like to play in a lowgoal USPA tournament. Players, aged from 11 to 50-plus years old, were ranked on a modified scale of 1-5, stratifying beginner skill levels from the USPA B to A handicaps,

and placed onto mixed teams derived from different clubs, allowing players to meet, socialize and strategize with new friends. The novice and most timid players competed first in a two-chukker game, each team captained by experienced players, who helped move the ball, motivate and direct the occasionally misguided players. The action in the arena picked up in the second, sixchukker round-robin game of three teams of seasoned polo school students. The players, who lacked nothing in determination and competitive spirit, were coached on the sidelines by polo school instructors Nico Eurnekian (Congressional Polo), Wayne Briere (Seneca Polo) and Hugo Pasten (Mountain View), as well as in the arena by umpire Laura Goddard (Mountain View). The newly-minted polo players took away from their first tournament a competitive confidence and team comradery, already looking forward to their next tournament. The event was spearheaded and trophies were sponsored by Equine and Polo Network of the Atlantic (EPoNA), a new organization whose mission is to provide polo players of all ages, levels and background in the Maryland, D.C. and Virginia areas a network through which to organize events, exchange ideas and share resources. Players can learn more about EPoNA by going to its Facebook page: Equine and Polo Network of the Atlantic. GREAT PLAINS

SIANNA PREVAILS

IN GOVERNORS CUP Fairfield Polo Club in Haysville, Kansas, held two USPA events during its summer season. In the first, Sianna (Will Darrah, Michael Wolfe, Francisco Llosa, Teresa Mull, Jessica Keneally) defeated Freddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (Elliot Merck, Jason

P O L O

Sianna’s Will Darrah, Michael Wolfe, Jessica Keneally, Teresa Mull and Francisco Llosa were Governors Cup winners.

Kiser, Mike Carney, Jack Shelton) 10-5 in the USPA Governors Cup. Freddy’s started with a one-goal head start. Sianna got on the board with a goal by Llosa in the first. Shelton scored Freddy’s first field goal moments later, but Llosa struck again to keep the score level at 2-2. Kiser and Llosa traded goals in the second. Darrah put Sianna ahead but Carney soon had the score level once again. A Penalty 3 conversion by Merck gave Sianna the 5-4 lead. Sianna owned the third chukker when Darrah, Wolfe and Mull each scored while Freddy’s was silent, ending the third with Sianna doubling Freddy’s score 8-4. Freddy’s attempted a comeback led by a goal from Carney but it wasn’t enough to rally his troops. Llosa stopped their momentum with a Penalty 4 conversion and a field goal for the 10-5 lead. Time elapsed and Sianna had the win. The teams met again for the USPA Players Cup final a month later, but this time the tables were turned. Freddy’s (Tim Downs, Jack Shelton, Greg Summers, Josh Shelton, Karen Summers, Ken Williams) tapped Sianna (Michael Wolfe, Teresa Mull, Jason Kiser, Mike Carney, Will Darrah) 11-6. Freddy’s got a leg up with a handicap goal to start the game. Neither team was able to score in the first chukker, leaving Freddy’s ahead 10. Josh Shelton sunk a Penalty 3 early in

R E P O R T

Freddy’s Josh Shelton, Jack Shelton, Ken Williams, Karen Summers, Greg Summers and Tim Downs took the Players Cup.

the second. Kiser responded so Shelton scored again. This time Carney scored but Summers responded, keeping Freddy’s ahead 4-2. Josh Shelton and Carney traded the only goals of the third, leaving Freddy’s ahead 5-3. Carney scored early in the fourth to bring Sianna within one, but a penalty conversion by Josh Shelton and a field goal by his grandfather Jack Shelton gave Freddy’s a three-goal advantage, 74. Josh turned up the charm in the fifth, scoring a hat trick while Sianna was held to a single goal from Wolfe. Josh Shelton sunk a penalty to make the spread six goals. Kiser cut it back to five, but that was as close as Sianna would come as Freddy’s took the trophies. Freddy’s Tim Downs, who played the last three chukkers, was named MVP, while Josh Shelton’s Dancer, a pretty bay mare who carried him to three goals in the fifth, was named Best Playing Pony. SOUTHEASTERN

SKANEATELES ACES

TWO 12-GOAL FINALS Good Thunder was no match for Skaneateles in the final of the 12-goal USPA Northrup Knox Cup at New Bridge Polo Club in Aiken, South Carolina, on September 24.

Skaneateles (Marty Cregg, Cesar Jimenez, Mariano Obregon, Costi Caset) led nearly the entire game, ending with a 15-5 victory over Good Thunder (Bill Patterson, Matt Sekera, Pelon Escapite, Eddy Martinez). Escapite was the first to get on the board in the first chukker, but a Penalty 4 conversion by Caset and a field goal by Obregon put Skaneateles ahead. Obregon and Caset combined for five goals in the second to take a 7-1 lead. Obregon kept up the pressure, scoring a hat trick in the third, added to a goal by Jimenez for an 11-1 halftime score. Good Thunder shut down Skaneateles in the fourth, but was unable to reach the goal. Jimenez scored early in the fifth before Martinez sunk a Penalty 3 for Good Thunder. Caset struck again but Escapite responded. Two more goals by Obregon and Caset gave Skaneateles a 15-3 lead. Martinez and Sekera found the uprights in the sixth, but it wasn’t enough. Cesar Jimenez was named MVP and Obregon’s third chukker horse, Fancy was Best Playing Pony. A few weeks later, on Oct. 15, six teams divided into two brackets faced off in a cross-bracket format for the 12goal National Copper Cup. Bracket 1 teams SD Farms (Sayyu Dantata, Juan Martin Obregon, Peco Polledo, Tristan Hurley) and Skaneateles (Marty Cregg, Cesar Jimenez, Mariano Obregon, Costi

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Caset) advanced to the final with the best records. The final match had Skaneateles getting on the board first with a Penalty 2 conversion by Cregg. Caset followed with a field goal to go up 2-0 after the first seven minutes. Dantata sunk SD Farms’ first goal in the second, but Caset retaliated with one of his own. Dantata and Caset traded goals again in the third, ending the first half with Skaneateles on top 4-2. Another Penalty 2 conversion, this time by Caset increased Skaneateles’ lead, but Juan Martin Obregon and Polledo had the answer to bring SD Farms within one, 5-4. Mariano Obregon sunk a Penalty 3 and Caset tallied again to put Skaneateles ahead 7-4 before Juan Martin Obregon converted a Penalty 2 to cut the deficit to two, 7-5. SD Farms rallied in the final chukker, with Polledo and Hurley finding the mark to tie the score at 7all, but a costly mistake by SD Farms ended its chances when Caset easily found the mark on the resulting Penalty 3 for the win. Caset, high scorer with six goals, was MVP Pro, while Hurley, who scored the tying goal in the last chukker, was MVP Amateur. Peco’s fifth period horse Torcasa was Best Playing Pony. In between the two 12-goals, on Oct. 8, Crestview Genetics edged Sig/Foxdale 7-5 in the 8-goal Copa de Plata tournament. Eight teams were divided

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Crestview Genetics’ Cecilia Cochran (filling in for an injured Alan Meeker), MVP Aiden Meeker, Pedro Manion and Hugo Lloret

KATIE ROTH

Skaneateles’ Marty Cregg, Costi Caset, Cesar Jimenez and Mariano Obregon won the USPA Northrup Knox and National Copper Cups.

SD Farm’s Pico Polledo gets off a neckshot while being chased by Mariano Obregon in the final of the 12-goal National Copper Cup at New Bridge Polo Club.

into two brackets, competing for a spot in the final. Crestview (Aiden Meeker, Alan Meeker, Hugo Lloret, Pedro Manion) and Sig/Foxdale (Deep Singh, Hugo Worsham, Alan Martinez, Willie Hartnett) topped their brackets and met in the final. Lloret started off the scoring with a Penalty 2 conversion and teammate Manion followed with a field goal to give Crestview a 2-0 lead. Lloret added back-to-back goals in the second, which went unanswered, increasing the lead to 4-0. Martinez put Sig on the board in the third, but Lloret sunk a Penalty 4 to keep

Crestview ahead 5-2 at the half. Lloret traded goals with Hartnett in the fourth. Martinez gained some ground with a pair of goals in the fifth, including a Penalty 2, to bring Sig within one, 6-5. Sig was so close and still had seven minutes left to add to its score, but it wasn’t meant to be. Lloret scored the lone goal of the sixth to keep Crestview ahead and put it on the trophy stand. During the match, Alan Meeker was injured and was replaced by Cecelia Cochran. Aiden Meeker was named MVP and Martinez’ Beezy was Best Playing Pony.

P O L O

Hutchinson Farm’s Charlie Hutchinson, Marcos Onetto, Martin Eddy and Cecilia Cochran won the USPA Governor’s Cup.

HUTCHINSON FARM TOPS USPA GOVERNORS CUP

Hutchinson Farms came from behind to force overtime, then win 11-10 over Wildcat in the final of the USPA Governors Cup at Aiken Polo Club in Aiken, South Carolina, Oct. 15. Five teams competed over two weeks before the winner was determined. Hutchinson Farms (Cecelia Cochran, Martin Eddy, Marcos Onetto, Charlie Hutchinson) and Wildcat (Casey Hoskins, Ryan Gilbertson, Wesley Bryan, Del Walton), both 5-goal teams, advanced after winning semifinal matches two days earlier. Hutchinson Farms jumped out front with goals from Onetto and Hutchinson in the opening minutes. Walton answered back with a pair of goals before the chukker ended. Walton scored a hat trick in the second, but goals by Onetto and Hutchinson kept Hutchinson Farm in the game. Gilbertson sunk a Penalty 3 to put Wildcat up by two, but Eddy scored to cut the difference back to one at the half, 6-5. Hutchinson struggled to reach the goal in the fourth, while Bryan and Walton increased Wildcat’s lead, 8-5. Onetto sandwiched goals around one from Hoskins in the fifth to keep it close. Bryan’s goal early in the sixth put Wildcat out front by three but Hutchinson Farm rose to the occasion

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Cooper Home & Stable’s JD Cooper, Johnny Alvarez, Justin Pimsner and Eddy Martinez won the USPA Officers Cup.

with Onetto converting a pair of opengoal penalties added to a goal by Eddy to knot the score at 10-10 and force overtime. Onetto, who led Hutchinson Farm with a game-high seven goals, landed

Johnny Alvarez, who led Cooper Home & Stable to victory over Gold Dragoons with nine goals, was named MVP of the USPA Officer’s Cup final in Aiken.

his last tally between the posts to win the game. His efforts earned him MVP and one of his horses was honored as Best Playing Pony. Play continued with the USPA Officers Cup final Oct. 29. Cooper

Home & Stable (JD Cooper, Johnny Alvarez, Justin Pimsner, Eddy Martinez) and Gold Dragoons (Richard Terbrusch, Luis Galvan, Marcos Onetto, Randy Rizor/ Bill Patterson) topped a three-team roster to advance to the final match. Cooper Home & Stable led from start to finish, downing Gold Dragoons 14-9. Martinez struck first, followed by teammate Cooper. Onetto connected with the goal for Gold Dragoons but Alvarez responded, ending the first 3-1. Alvarez caught fire in the second, scoring three goals, while Dragoons was held to a single goal. Pimsner, Alvarez and Cooper each added goals in the third. Galvan sunk a Penalty 3 for Dragoons, ending the half with Cooper ahead 9-3. A pair of goals by Alvarez and another by Martinez pushed Cooper ahead by nine. Galvan and Onetto found the mark before the chukker ended with Cooper ahead 12-5. Alvarez continued to push hard, scoring backto-back goals. Terbrusch tallied the only goal for Dragoons. Cooper stopped its onslaught in the sixth while Dragoons notched three goals, including a Penalty 2 conversion, to end the game with Cooper the 14-9 winner. Alvarez, who led Cooper with a game-high nine goals, was MVP, while one of Pimsner’s horses was named Best Playing Pony.

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Drumcliffe’s Maddie Grant (right) pushes UVA’s Jessica Schmitt over the ball in the final of the Arena Handicap.

break to talk strategy. “I think coaches are influential to the game, it helps me so much,” said Maddie Grant “At home, Kelly [Wells] is always CHRIS WEBER STUDIOS

unanswered goals in the second to end the half ahead 9-2. Berube fought to stay in the game in the third, with Olivia Berube adding a goal but UVA sunk three ending the chukker ahead 13-3. UVA continued its onslaught, scoring six times including a two-pointer, while holding Berube Polo to one, to advance to the final. In the final, from the moment of the first throw-in to the very last horn, the teams played open, classic polo. Smith was first to get her team on the scoreboard with a perfectly-timed nearside neckshot into goal. Schmitt quickly answered with an almost identical shot. Even play in the first with coast-tocoast runs and only one foul, ended with Drumcliffe ahead by one, 3-2. The second chukker belonged to Drumcliffe as Sophie Grant and Smith combined for five consecutive goals. UVA put on the pressure and Mitcham capitalized on a field-goal opportunity but was quickly answered by the Grant sisters. Sophie displayed amazing ball control as she hammered in a long twopointer from centerfield. Drumcliffe held an imposing 11-3 halftime lead. Coaches Lou Lopez for UVA and Maureen Brennan for Drumcliffe met the players in their tents during the halftime

ANNE PURDY

(continued from page 29)

Maddie and Sophie Grant with 6-year-old Ace, whom they purchased from Lucas Criado. Ace, played by Maddie Grant, was named Best Playing Pony in the Arena Open final.

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coaching me, even when I am just riding, and tells me what I need to hear. Today I was having a bit of a tough time in the beginning and Maureen [Brennan] turned my mind around. It’s really nice to have outside perspective by someone you trust.” Determined to chip away at the deficit, UVA players relentlessly stuck with their men and kept Drumcliffe from making the breakaways and passes it had executed in the first half. UVA’s defensive attempts paid off, as Drumcliffe’s Smith was only able to capitalize on one shot at goal. Despite its defensive attack, UVA was unable to convert any plays into goals on the scoreboard in the third. The final chukker played quick and open once again as Drumcliffe continued to make effective team plays. The crowd went wild as Sophie Grant made back-toback goals including a two-point attempt that bounced back and was hit out of the air into goal. A final goal by Smith, her ninth of the day, sealed the win for Drumcliffe with a final score of 15-3.

CHRIS WEBER STUDIOS

Ace’s Julia Smith, Anna Winslow and Demitra Hajimihalis took the inaugural Arena Open title.

come off as well as it did. The competition was great, the attitudes of all the players—win or lose—was fantastic. I am looking forward to next year.” As this weekend’s events came to a close, the demand, which sparked the tournament’s resurfacing, was recognized as a monumental step forward for the sport in its entirety. Over the weekend tournament, six current USPA CHRIS WEBER STUDIOS

MVP honors went to Julia Smith, her second such recognition of the weekend, while Best Playing Pony went to UVA’s Galeta, played by Katie Mitcham. The dark bay mare was donated to the school by Mark VanLith. Lou Lopez, general manager and coach of Virginia Polo Center said, “I never envisioned three years ago when I proposed [the tournament] that it would

Ace Sportswear’s Julia Smith and Bad Ass Polo’s Posey Obrecht keep pace in the final of the Arena Open. Ace went on to win 13-5.

Intercollegiate/Interscholastic players competed. “This tournament prepared me in ways that I could not have even imagined for my upcoming college season,” said Hajimihalis. “Here at UVA, we are fortunate to have really strong women players, but playing with and against different players at different levels is just spectacular.” The significance of the event was not lost on spectators. “I think women’s polo, but not really to separate it, it’s still polo, is the next step in the sport,” Rege Ludwig, renowned polo instructor and father of Kirsten Ludwig, said. “What these ladies produced today is so much better than what it was 10 years ago. It’s encouraging for the future, not just for ladies’ polo but for the entire sport because this represents polo. “People tend to think of high-goal polo as the only type of polo and that’s not true, it is just one form of polo, as is stick and ball. It’s all the same between a horse and rider. That’s what polo really is, the satisfaction that each individual gets out of being associated with it in the manner that works for them. I think this is a tremendous form of polo that seems to be getting so much better.” The USPA is also working to secure the transition of students into lifelong members. “The Women’s Arena Open is yet another defined path that female players can follow to either continue their polo careers as amateurs or professionals,” said Maureen Brennan, USPA High-Goal Committee chairman. “There are so many young women in the United States intercollegiate and interscholastic programs that can now aspire to participate in such an important tournament beyond their years as students. “My motivation to play in this inaugural Women’s Arena Open is to support women’s polo in general, to play with and against the best female arena players in the country and to be a part of history, which I find very inspiring. The healthy number of teams in the U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship and Women’s Arena Open is very symbolic of the role of women in polo in the United States and globally.” POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 55

happened to us,” Harry Caldwell echoed. In fact, both horses they entered in the makeover were training the past few months under Wayman’s watchful eye. And while they have grown up showing, they were not familiar with this caliber of competition. “It’s very competitive,” Charlie Caldwell said, “but it’s not about winning, it’s about bringing the horse along. Plus, it’s fun to meet a different group of polo people.” While winning might not be everything, Charlie Caldwell, in fact, won it all—including an impressive total of $15,500 in prize money. High-scorer in the polo division on both days, he edged past last year’s champion Buck Schott. After securing his division win, Charlie Caldwell and Old Tavern, fondly referred to as “Taberna,” moved on to capture the America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred title. Up against the division champions from each discipline (Barrel Racing, Competitive Trails, Dressage, Eventing, Field Hunter, Freestyle, Show Hunter, Show Jumper and Working Ranch), viewers at home watching the livestream, as well as those in the arena, were encouraged to choose their favorite and vote by text message. The polo community rallied behind the teenager whose campaign quickly spread via Facebook. He had also made plenty of fans after his nearly flawless routine. Receiving a decisive 27 percent of the total votes, Old Tavern was awarded the celebrated accolade—the first time a polo pony has taken top honors in the event. Purchased from Larry Curtis of Middleburg, Virginia, in November 2016, the mare by Peak Dancer out of Modest Madame by King Cugat was trained but never raced. While other horses were prancing in place, Taberna stood calm, characteristically unfazed by her newfound celebrity, as photographers jostled for prime positioning. Judge Coppola was so impressed by the young mare he bought her immediately following the award ceremony. In terms of the polo community at large, the significance of this historical 56 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

ANNE LITZ PHOTOGRAPHY

(continued from page 27)

Charlie Caldwell, with his parents and brother, celebrate Old Tavern winning the title of America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred out of hundreds of horses that competed in one of 10 disciplines.

achievement cannot be undervalued. While polo pony training is highlighted and rewarded in other polo dominant countries such as Argentina, it is something that is not as readily

Buck Schott on second place polo division winner Greeley and Marina.

acknowledged in the United States. Establishing polo’s legitimacy among the country’s major equine disciplines is a momentous step forward for the sport, not only showcasing the versatility of the polo pony, but also drawing attention to the adaptability of an OTTB’s penchant for the game.

“Most of us in polo don’t experience this whole horse show community,” Agate said. “I think about half of the competitors this year are professionals. We need to encourage that. We’ve had some interest from some of the high-goal teams sending people, so hopefully we will be able to really push that.” For those considering signing up in next year’s competition, Schott (who garnered second, third and fourth place) has this to say: “For sure sign up, you have nothing to lose. You are going to become more experienced and the horse is going to become more experienced— and you might sell a horse out of it! If you are a trainer who purchases a green horse yearly, it might as well be one that meets the qualifications to do this.” The Caldwell brothers plan to be back. The precedent has been set. Now, it is up to the polo community to demonstrate its renowned solidarity. Benefitting both polo trainers and repurposed OTTBs, the Thoroughbred Makeover will continue to serve as a transformative platform, highlighting polo potential not often showcased, one year at a time. To learn more about the Retired Racehorse project, please visit the website at retiredracehorseproject.org. —Neil Agate contributed to this article

LYNN BREMNER

DECEMBER

Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, opens its season with the 4-Goal Desert Challenge.

D E C E M B E R 16 - 17 USPA Congressional Cup Being the Change, Phoenix, AZ Jackalope Cup Empire, Indio, CA DECEMBER 23-24 Holiday Cup (4) Empire, Indio, CA USPA Arena Amateur Cup Azteca, Phoenix, AZ

NOV E M B E R 2 3 - D E C E M B E R 3 Cowdray Park Polo Cup (16) Copa Julio Novillo Astrada (20) La Aguada, Open Door, Argentina DECEMBER 2-3 Desert Challenge (4) Empire, Indio, CA Club Tournament Two Wishes Ranch, Lockhart, TX DECEMBER 3 Interscholastic Polo Marlan Farm, Freeland, Maryland DECEMBER 3-4 USPA Gen. George S. Patton Tourney Two Wishes Ranch, Lockhart, TX D E C E M B E R 7 - 11 Guards Polo Cup (16) Copa Primavera (12) La Aguada, Open Door, Argentina DECEMBER 9 Christmas Polo Cup Dallas, Red Oak, TX D E C E M B E R 9 - 10 USPA Constitution Cup Being the Change, Phoenix, AZ Coyote Cup (4) Empire, Indio, CA D E C E M B E R 10 4th Annual Winter Classic County Line, Kyle, TX D E C E M B E R 14 - 1 8 Ladies Cup (16) La Aguada, Open Door, Argentina

DECEMBER 28 Major Collins Jr. Tourney PTF Tackeria Cup IPC, Wellington, FL D E C E M B E R 16 USPA Interscholastic Qualifier Poway, Poway, CA

D E C E M B E R 3 0 - JA N UA RY 27 USPA George S. Patton Jr. Cup Empire, Indio, CA

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ALICE GIPPS

(continued from page 17) too aggressive, they tell you; if you’re too impatient, they tell you. Lazy and dull horses come from the owner not wanting to upset the horse. In life they also often want to avoid confrontation. Or people who are angry in life, they ask too hard and the horse then has an issue with being able to relax and come back down. Horses are a very good reflection of their owners. As well as traveling for clinics and demonstrations, Warwick and Robyn run the online video library where they posts real-time horse training clips on how to produce a well-balanced horse. It’s refreshing to see Warwick work on young horses that have not been practiced on, or horses with real problems, so people can see, not only the process, but also the perseverance they need to achieve results and correct unwanted behavior. The website makes it easy for anyone, whenever they have spare time, to tune in from around the world to learn. It is rare to find such informative and clear training tips available online and an invaluable reference for research to broaden your knowledge. Compared to the likes of Buck Brannaman and Martin Black, who have started thousands of young horses and learned from each one of them, Warwick says he does not have the same amount of experience in that quantity, but using the main principles of training, he can solve a lot of problems and they are the foundation to succeeding. Many people do produce good horses by just applying methods, and the super talented horses will virtually make themselves, but to be consistent and get every horse to reach its full potential there needs to be a crystal clear understanding of the principles. One of the main principles Warwick focuses on is to make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy. There’s an old Ray Hunt saying: First you go with them, then they go with you, then you go together. “You have to allow them to do the 58 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Schiller says he isn’t very natural at training horses so he had to be able to quantify everything to understand and do it well. Not being that talented taught him to explain things well.

wrong thing. Most people cannot let go of control, but if you give them the opportunity to make mistakes while all the time making it much easier for them to do the right thing, it becomes their decision to learn the right thing,” explains Warwick. “Horses seek the release of pressure so this can be used as a reward and training tool. The big thing is letting the horse have a say.” An example of Warwick’s technique to train a horse that is difficult to shower is keeping the hose on the horse but as soon as it lowers its head, you quit what you were doing. If it puts the head up high, keep the hose on the horse. As soon as it lowers its head just a fraction, take the hose off the top. With correct timing, the horse thinks it has made the annoyance go away and soon learns the easiest solution is to keep its head down. The same technique applies with worming. Another important principle is not to go to bed angry. This one means any time your horse starts to get ‘up’ and hot, you have to get him back ‘down’ and calm so you teach it to self regulate. Warwick always teaches his horses to have a really good on/off switch. This is essential if you suddenly need a quiet calm horse to take a penalty off of after going full speed at a gallop.

This is achieved early on in the training by teaching it to pay attention to you, listen and think so it is always mentally with you when you ask it to relax. Further into the training you can then start to expose the horse to whatever gets it very concerned and then teach it to bring itself down. Most dangerous situations arise from horses not knowing how to mentally cope with something that worries them. Warwick explains, “They are emotional creatures and that is the biggest problem, but we can teach them to overcome anxiety. Most people get into a situation where they let the horse build up its fears, which may only start with a simple thought, which then, eventually repeated, it explodes with worry and has no idea how to cope.” Choose where you work and choose where you rest. This principle is key to avoiding the horse getting sour or starting to nap. Warwick explains, “Your horse takes extensive notes on where he works and where he rests. If there is any common denominator a horse will avoid the places where he works and stick by the places he rests. If he goes out and plays a chukker and comes back to rest in the pony lines, that’s why he doesn’t’ want to go back to the playing field. He’s not being cunning, he’s

ALICE GIPPS

He teaches people to work with the horse you have now. Don’t dwell on what it did yesterday or what you expect it to do in the future.

not being bad, he’s being a horse.” The solution is to make the time to work the pony with that problem by the pony lines and then take him to rest and relax out on the polo field until he has overcome the issue. If a horse wants to duck out of a corner in the arena, the famous dressage rider Charlotte Dujin trots to the corners, stands and rests. So instead of trying to duck out of the corner the horse starts to ride into the corners. Every horse mentally makes notes. A horse gets arena sour because it was made to work hard in the arena. The solution is to change the routine, practice all the moves out hacking and then last thing just let the horse relax and chill walking around the arena. If you’re aware of how much of an impact simple things like this can achieve then you can really change a horse’s mind towards its work. With a willing partner it is possible to achieve far greater things than one fighting against you. A principle that is often overlooked is the concept of a horse needing to know the answer before you ask the question. “Here’s a big one,” says Warwick. “It is important to understand that if you ask your horse something that is not likely to end in success, then you are setting them up for failure.”

Breaking things down into increments helps. Like a small child, if it cannot understand ABC you need to go back to learning A, then B, and then learn C before adding them all together. Breaking lessons down into small incremental steps and then repeating them until they are perfectly understood is the fastest way to teach horses. Patience and time to properly explain to the horse what you want is ultimately faster in the long run and essential if the horse is to end up performing maneuvers correctly, straight and balanced. Warwick stresses that it also makes a difference if you start connecting ‘you’ to all the things your horse enjoys/likes. You need to ‘feel’ happy with genuine enthusiastic heartfelt appreciation for the thing your horse just did. It picks up on this and will repeat it again and again for the praise if you have your horse’s attention. Just like us, horses cannot respond appropriately if their mind is occupied elsewhere. Lastly, do the opposite. This is so horses don’t start to anticipate. An example of a specific method Warwick has devised for horses that want to rush to the front of a galloping group on a trail ride is as soon as the horse has passed everyone, the solution is for everyone to turn and go in the opposite direction, so once again

the horse is at the back of the ride. With this exercise repeated the horse will soon stop rushing as it learns that it never gets to the front. Anticipation can also work in your favor. For example, the stop is very important in polo. “Actually I start teaching the stop at the standstill. The back-up is the stop. Back up from 0 mph. Then I want them to stop and back up from a walk, then stop and back up from a trot, then stop and back up from a canter. For me the back up is the important part. The thing that makes them stop faster is the anticipation. The reining horse doing the sliding stop is anticipating the back-up,” explains Warwick. “Anticipation can be your best friend or your worst enemy. The difference is you’re teaching them to want to do it. It’s all about finesse. There is so much psychology going into training horses. You’re not making them do it, you’re teaching them to want to do it and they are eventually offering those moves on their own.” Realizing any behavior that is reinforced and rewarded with the release of pressure is likely to happen again, and any horse overwhelmed by anxiety will not register the good things as easily. The whole process starts to go far more smoothly when horses focus on you and know how to self regulate. Then, all the other stuff goes away and that’s what gets them to relax. There should be no difference in the time it takes to train mares compared with geldings under a trainer who understands how to teach them in a way they can understand easily. What makes the difference is good vs. bad training and having the knowledge and skills to produce a champion. Horse training is an art, you can learn it or you can be a natural. The key is understanding that everything you do is based around those basic principles and that they are the core to being consistently successful. Opening your mind and doing a little research can vastly improve anyone’s horsemanship skills to a whole u new level. POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 59

DENNIS AMATO

PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORIES A variety of illustrations have enhanced polo’s documented history

picture is worth a thousand entries in “The Encyclopedia of Polo”). In words is an old expression addition, in collaboration with the that certainly rings true for National Sporting Library, Laffaye helped the sport of polo. Since the orchestrate a very successful Polo Sympointroduction of the modern sium in September 2012, which included form of the game in the West in the as one of its topics “Polo in American 1800s, written accounts in newspapers, Art” led by Michael H.S. Finney. The colmagazines and books have often been loquium was held in conjunction with a complemented and greatly enhanced by a magnificent exhibit entitled “Chukkers: wide variety of illustrations, including The Sport of Polo in Art” in the library’s drawings, paintings, photographs and two galleries. As such, the show may have even cartoons. very well have been the first ever staged The list of individuals who have conthat was solely devoted to polo art. tributed so much to polo art is indeed As much as polo art has drawn signifilong and contains many illustrious names. cant attention throughout the years, its A selective sampling of these artists would include Cecil Aldin, George Armour, George Bellows, Cuthbert This well-known print of Bradley, Lionel Edwards, Joseph Cecil Smith has garnered near-iconic stature. Golinkin, Ludwig Koch, Alejandro Moy, Sir. Alfred Munnings, Diana Thorne and Franklin Voss. Fortunately, polo art has been a subject that over the years has been well surveyed. In particular, Polo Players’ Edition and its legacy publications have continuously provided readers with fascinating articles on both contemporary practitioners as well as past masters. Furthermore, for many years the magazine had an annual polo art issue showcasing some of the newer artists and their works. Moreover, Dr. Horace Laffaye, the world’s preeminent historian of the sport, has not only made a concerted effort to study polo art but also has written quite knowledgeably on the subject in his books (e.g. a chapter in “Polo in the United States, A History” and multiple 60 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

counterpart, polo photography, has typically attracted scant interest. The reasons behind this sharp divergence may be several. For one, despite substantial strides, photography still tends to be viewed as a stepchild within many circles of the art world, struggling for both resources and recognition. Secondly, there has never emerged an individual who principally or significantly focused on polo photography and thus gained fame in the space the way that, for example, Paul Brown did for his pencil, pen and ink and watercolor drawings. Thirdly, in general, most polo photographs have tended to be snapshots of the moment rather than carefully arranged ones. Unlike someone like Ansel Adams who would devote countless hours, if not days, seeking the perfect light and the optimal position for his extraordinary images, the sports photographer often has had to react to his or her subject virtually instantaneously. Notwithstanding all these obstacles, polo photography nevertheless is a topic that merits serious analysis. Already, there are several photographs that have garnered neariconic stature. One example, is the well known print of Cecil Smith wearing a Greentree jersey thundering down Meadow Brook’s International Field with mallet raised for an offside forward shot. Another equally memorable photo is the one of Averell Harriman riding off Manuel Andrada, which was also taken at Meadow Brook some time in the early 1930s. This fabulous photo was even used for the Aug. 7 cover of the daily program for the

This oft-reproduced shot of two unknown polo players is somewhat whimsical.

gold medal match in polo at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Finally, there is the oft-reproduced and somewhat whimsical shot of two unknown players with mallets crossed attempting to hit a polo ball in mid-air above their heads! Interestingly, polo is a sport that seems to have consistently generated almost as many photographs off the field of play as on the pitch itself. While “action” photos of games clearly dominate, one routinely sees published—in the parlance of the 1920s and 1930s—the “brilliant throng” of spectators at games or the smaller groupings of the “smart set” attendees. In the interwar years, it was quite common to see aerial or panorama shots of the vast crowds at Meadow Brook’s International Field. The tradition has certainly continued into the present day with similar visages from such venues as Palm Beach, Palermo and Windsor Great Park The range of the more intimate sidelines’ photos of one or more individuals has encompassed members of various royal families, the aristocracy and high society as well as leading political figures, senior military officers, movie stars and studio moguls not to mention innumerable celebrities. Ironically, Queen Elizabeth II, during her 64-year reign, has probably been photographed at more polo games than any single player. Similarly in America, the paparazzi at times seemed as much fixated on snapping candid shots of such glamorous polo wives as Mary Sanford and C.Z. Guest as they did in catching the play of their husbands, Laddie Sanford and Winston Guest, respectively. In the pioneering days of polo before World War I, publications generally obtained their photographs from their own staff or from independent shutterbugs. While there were some earlier methods for relaying photos long distances electronically as with Ernest Hummel’s Telediagraph (1895) and Édouard Belin’s Belinongraph (1913) devices, the dawn of

the modern-day wire photo era was started by Western Union in 1921 followed by RCA in 1924 and by the Associated Press in 1935. This technological revolution fortuitously coincided with the First Golden Age of Polo, thereby giving newspapers immediate access to an unlimited number of polo photographs to accompany their written accounts of important matches, both near and far. As an aside, these wire service photos, mostly from the 1920s through the 1950s and perhaps somewhat beyond, have now become highly collectible and regularly surface on such websites as eBay. Often on the back of the pictures can be found a pasted strip of paper with teletype descriptions. The Museum of Polo in Lake Worth, Florida, it should be noted, has a large collection of polo photographs from many sources, including the wire services. Also my longtime friend and fellow collector, Kirk Struggles from the North Shore of Chicago, was known for his fondness for finding these wire service and other images. Over a 30-year period, he accumulated over 300 wire-service photos as well as hundreds of miscellaneous pictures, which he meticulously catalogued in seven albums and three specialty boxes. According to his wife, Leslie: “Kirk had

a great passion for acquiring a wide variety of polo photographs of famous players, teams and places. In particular, he had a large assortment of photos of Cecil Smith, probably because of his unmatched maintenance of a 10-goal rating and his long association with the Oak Brook Polo Club. Kirk had a keen eye for the sport and he even became an accomplished amateur polo photographer in his own right.” The majority of the photographs that were published before the Second World War were done so anonymously. However, there were several individuals who did gain some recognition for their polo pieces. In America, one of the first was Edwin Levick. Levick emigrated from England in 1899 to New York to take a job as an Arabic translator with The Guaranty Trust Company but soon after his arrival in the New World, he started to dabble in photography. So smitten was he with his new hobby that in time he decided to make it his full-time career. Levick’s business flourished to the point that he ultimately had a staff of seven assisting him. Initially, Levick photographed a very wide variety of subjects and furnished many of his prints to such prestigious newspapers as The New York Times, The New York Herald Tribune and The Chicago Tribune. In terms of sports, Levick is known to have followed several high-brow pastimes such as tennis, golf and polo for Country Life magazine. Among the polo photos that I have come across over the years were team photos of the 1909 “the Big Four” and the 1927 American Westchester Cup teams. There was also a single photo of Devereux Milburn that appeared in Country Life in 1918 as well as a sequence of 10 shots of Milburn demonstrating various polo strokes that was published in a 1927 issue of the same magazine. Undoubtedly, many other Levick polo photos exist, if my memory serves me right. POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 61

This shot of Devereux Milburn was one of a sequence of 10 by Edwin Levick.

Despite his ability to canvass many topics, Levick eventually developed a specialty in maritime photography where he would achieve tremendous acclaim so much so that the at time of his death in 1929 at age 61, his local newspaper, The New Rochelle Standard, eulogized him as the best known maritime photographer in the nation. Many of his landmark seafaring photographs have been collected and preserved at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, where they can be enjoyed by the public (and where they can also be viewed online). Among the most consistent and prolific sources of polo photographs during the 1920s and the 1930s was the Freudy (rhymes with “fruity’) studio. Originally, Harry Freudy was a society cameraman for The New York Journal American. In the 1920s, Harry started his own business with offices in New York and in Aiken, South Carolina, and in 1937, his son, Ted, joined the firm right after college. As the company’s website proudly proclaims: “For over sixty years, Freudy Photos captured the beauty and split-action of equestrian sports, and photographed America’s aristocratic, dynastic families from New York to Palm Beach.” The production of Freudy polo photos must have been prodigious judging from the volume of them that I have seen over 62 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

some 35 years of collecting polo memorabilia. Most of the photos were taken on Long Island and notably at the renowned Meadow Brook Club in Westbury as well as at the nearby Piping Rock Club in

Many Freudy polo photos were taken at Long Island’s Meadow Brook and Piping Rock clubs. All of them carry the distinctive handwritten ink marking in the corner.

Locust Valley. Presumably, other polo photos were also shot in such winter resorts as Aiken and Palm Beach given the social set the Freudys followed. Almost all of the prints carried the distinctive handwritten ink marking in the lower right hand corner, “Freudy/NY.” In my personal opinion, the Freudy photos best encapsulate the spirit and the essence of American polo during the interwar years. Special mention should be made of three other men in the United States who were to become accomplished photographers and who during their long careers managed to shoot some memorable polo images. The first was Edward Steichen, who was born in Luxembourg in 1879 but was brought to America in 1881. While apprenticing in lithography at age 15, Steichen on his own expanded his horizons by learning to sketch, draw and paint. In 1895, he veered still further when he bought his first camera, primarily out of curiosity.

During the First World War, Steichen served with the photography division of the American Army’s Signal Corps in France and following the war, he decided to devote himself exclusively to this visual field. From 1923 to 1938, Steichen worked for two Condé Nast magazines: Vogue and Vanity Fair. It was during his long association with Vanity Fair that Steichen completed as least two polo prints. One was a very dashing portrait of Tommy Hitchcock, apparently getting ready to play, and standing in front of a string of polo ponies. I would rank this photograph as one of the finest formal images ever shot of America’s most celebrated player (perhaps second only to the striking photogravure of him in the oversized book, “International Sport: Polo” [c.1931]). The other Steichen polo photo I have seen but do not own is that of Eric Pedley but it comes across in sharp contrast to the Hitchcock one. On a very sunny day, a smiling Pedley is mounted on a horse in a most relaxed manner wearing a V-neck, cut-off shirt and holding his mallet and his helmet in his lap—perhaps an early version of “California Dreamin’!” This photo was taken around 1931 and was likely executed for Vanity Fair as well (although thus far I have not found the specific issue that it may have been published in). The second famous photographer was Alfred Eisenstaedt. Born in Germany in 1898, Eisenstaedt developed an interest in photography at the age of 14. After an early stint as a freelance photographer, he became a professional when he joined the Berlin offices of the Associated Press in 1929. With the growing persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany, Eisenstaedt and his family immigrated to the United States in 1935. The next year, after Henry Luce acquired Life magazine, Eisenstaedt was brought on board as one of the periodical’s original photojournalists. During his long tenure with Life from 1936 to 1972, Eisenstaedt was credited with over

This photo of a polo pony was one of several of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s to be on the cover of Life.

90 cover photos and more than 2500 pictures in feature articles! Not surprisingly, there were a number of polo photographs in this huge portfolio. Among them were the following: “Polo Player Checking the Mallets;” “Polo Players Preparing for a Match;” “Polo Players Taking a Break;” a wonderful close-up head shot of Tommy Hitchcock; and a collage of casual photos of Margaret and Tommy Hitchcock in Sands Point. The third person was Carl Mydans. Although not as well known as either Steichen or Eisenstaedt, Mydans nevertheless distinguished himself in the realm of photojournalism. Born in Medford, Massachusetts in 1904, Mydans became enamored with photography while in college. After employment with two newspapers in Boston and a magazine in New York, Mydans headed to Washington in 1935 to work as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration to record the plight of the rural poor during the Great Depression. In 1936, he was hired by Life magazine and remained with the TimeLife organization for the rest of his professional career. Mydans was noted mostly for his very gritty and compelling images such as those showing indigent Southern

famers decimated by the Depression, the bombing of Chongqing by the Japanese and the postwar shaving of the heads of French women accused of being Nazi collaborators. Consequently, Mydans polo photographs were quite different than his typical verismo-style ones, reflecting a softer and a more lyrical side of this great photojournalist. Among his images were a series of “Men Playing Polo,” “Polo Players Preparing for a Game at the Canlubang Country Club,” “Cecil Smith Sitting Atop a Polo Pony” and a “College Coed Preparing to Play Polo.” Moving to the other side of the pond, there were at least two notable photographers in England who generated a large number of polo photographs. The first and foremost was William Albert Rouch. By way of background, William White Rouch, a chemist, opened a store in London in the mid1850s that in due course manufactured and sold photographic equipment including cameras, plates and chemicals. Upon his death in 1871, a relative, Samuel White Rouch, assumed the business and upon his death in 1898, the torch was passed to his son, William A. Rouch. However, as W.A. Rouch was solely interested in photography, he slowly phased out the manufacturing and merchandising side of the enterprise. Amazingly, almost from the outset of his camera career, Rouch managed to achieve enormous success. By 1910, he was even awarded a warrant by the king on which occasion the magazine, The British Journal of Photography, wrote: “Mr. Rouch may fairly be described as the pioneer of sporting photography of the highest class.” Rouch’s expertise was particularly strong in the equestrian sector where he covered for the English establishment horse racing, horse shows, steeplechasing, jumping, trotting and polo. He also gained the further distinction of being appointed as the official photographer of POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 63

Several of William A. Rouch’s images are found in Newell Bent’s “American Polo.”

the Roehampton Club. In all likelihood, there was no other individual in the world, with the possible exception of Harry Freudy and his son Ted, who generated as many polo photographs as Rouch did. Although he took numerous action shots, he also gained a well deserved reputation for his carefully posed settings of teams and individual players. In Newell Bent’s classic, “American Polo,” there are about a dozen of these formal prints along with ones of ponies and match play. The firm, W.A. Rouch & Co., enjoyed a long life and only ceased operations in the 1980s but its glory years were from the early 1900s until the late 1930s. The second photographer was Alfred Vowles, who in many respects, was the polar opposite of Rouch in terms of the social stratum that interested him. Born in the hamlet of Stone Allerton in Somerset County, Vowles took a somewhat circuitous route into the world of photography. Through the efforts of a family friend, Vowles secured an administrative position with the Eastman Kodak Company in London in the early 1900s. His corporate role entailed a fair number of trips abroad with the accounting department and it was during these jaunts that Vowles borrowed a camera and started to photograph some of the places he had seen. He soon left Kodak in order to travel around 64 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

England giving lectures on the cities and towns he had visited while at Kodak, using the photos he had taken as props. Eventually, “AV,” as he fancied himself, settled in the Exmoor area, which was a hilly moorland region in the southwest part of England and for the next 40 or so years (c.1910s to c.1940s), he memorialized rural life in this part of the country. Vowles continuously tooled around the moors, first on a vintage bicycle and later on a motorbike with his camera, tripod, plates and other equipment in tote. As one Exmoor National Park official explained: “Alfred’s talent was not to get ‘action shots’ but [to] speedily produce postcards of an event.” The sale of these postcards and other photographs, from what I surmise, represented a meaningful source of AV’s income. Unfortunately, Vowles largely slipped into relative obscurity after the war but his reputation was revived when Julia Bradbury produced an excellent documentary on him for the BBC in 2013. I was introduced to Vowles many years ago quite by accident, when I began to collect polo postcards. Some time in the 1980s a London dealer answered one of my ads in a collectibles magazine and sent me a couple of Vowles polo postcards. Mostly from this same dealer over the next 10-15 years I was able to amass more

than three dozen of these cards, almost all of which were of the so-called “real photo” variety. Among the captions on the cards were the following: “View of the Polo Field, Dunster,” “Big Crowd See the Polo, Dunster,” “Watching the Polo at Dunster,” “Capt. Rao Rajah Hanut Singh,” “The Jaipur Polo Team,” “Badminton Farm Polo Team,” and “West Somerset Team.” All of these sepia-toned cards are both beautiful and evocative and recall a much simpler life from a bygone era. Besides the individual polo photographs, reference should be made to the specially designed books, which pictorially have documented various aspects of the sport. Such publications have largely been a postwar phenomenon, although before the war, the aforementioned “International Sport: Polo” was a prime illustration of this genre. This elaborate and limited edition (250 copies) volume was mainly made up of professionally shot photogravures of prominent polo players with accompanying biographies in both English and French. There were also at least three other variations of “International Sport” covering participants in not only polo but also in other equestrian pursuits with texts in English and French; in English and German; and in English, French and German, respectively. In more recent years we have witnessed a veritable explosion of these large, coffeetable style polo books filled with dazzling color and striking black and white photographs. Representative of this category are Penina Meisels’ “Polo” (1992), Susan Barrantes’ “Polo” (1997), Tony Rees’ “Polo, The Galloping Game,” (2000), Aldo Sessa’s “Polo Argentino,” “Recuerdos del Abierto” (2001) and Guillermo Cowley and Alexandra de Wankowicz’s “A Season of Polo” (2002) to mention just a few of the titles in print. In summary, photographs have played an integral part in preserving polo’s past and are likely to continue in a similar role in chronicling the future of the sport.

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SUPPORT GROUP

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Graciously hosted by: INTERNATIONAL POLO CLUB, PALM BEACH To benefit the POLO PLAYERS SUPPORT GROUP INC., a charitable organization that provides financial assistance to seriously injured or ill players and grooms.

To date the PPSG has awarded over $2.2 million in assistance grants to 69 and counting seriously injured or ill players and grooms. On their behalf, thank you to all the sponsors,VIP package holders, auction item donors and buyers, spectators and volunteers who contribute to a great event, especially the 10-goal players and their patrons who make the event possible.

DAVID LOMINSKA

Please visit our new website to donate, for a complete list of recipients and much more. www.polosupport.com