June 2017 Polo Players' Edition

J U N E 2 01 7

Triple Crown For Valiente

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CONTENTS J U N E 201 7

VOL. 20,

FEATURES

N O. 10

DEPARTMENTS

30 Sealing the deal by Gwen Rizzo

USPA BULLETIN

Valiente completes U.S. Triple Crown victory

6 Association news 10 Instructors Forum

36 We were polo players by Steve Kraus

Low-goal club polo thrives in upstate New York

by Tom Goodspeed

12 Usefuls 14 18 22 24 40

J U N E 2 01 7

Triple Crown For Valiente

OUR COVER Matias Torres Zavaleta charges downfield in the final of the U.S. Open.

Photo by: Shelley Heatley

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42 58 59 60

by Gwen Rizzo

Equine Athlete by Heather Smith Thomas Polo Scene News, notes, trends & quotes Team USPA Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Polo in the Pampas

by Ernesto Rodriguez

Polo around the Globe Calendar Marketplace Yesteryears POLO REPORT

46 Tournament results

California Polo Club plays at Empire Polo

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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VOL. 20, No.10 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.

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

From CEO Duncan Huyler For the sixth time the USPA conducted its annual survey of membership earlier this year. A record number of respondents— over 1,100 of a possible 5,500—participated and gave valuable feedback to the leadership of the association. The profile of respondents closely matched the association’s membership demographics: 44 percent female, 90 percent 8-goal or lower grass players, 63 percent 6-goal or lower arena players, 45 percent have played polo less than five years and 42 percent have played for more than 11 years.

Most importantly, the vast majority of respondents indicated they had a positive experience playing polo last year. In a question that was added this year on how a member would distribute $10,000, the top three choices were youth development, low-goal polo and umpiring. Coinciding with this question, members were asked to rate the value of USPA programs with umpires, the Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Program, new player recruitment and skill development, equine welfare support and the Polo Development Initiative Program.

All of these rated at or near the 90 percent mark. It is encouraging that these programs make up the bulk of the USPA’s operating budget.

The positives as determined by the Matrix Group, the independent organization that executed the survey, include: •There is an overall very positive impression of the USPA organization by members.

•USPA is successfully attracting a younger demographic group and an increasing female member base, helping to sustain the organization.

•A majority of members are very optimistic about their past year polo experience. Over two-thirds rate their last year polo experience as an 8 or higher on the 10-point rating scale.

•Members under 35 are most positive about their past year experience with 77 percent rating it 8 or higher.

•Members value the benefits associated with their membership. Polo Players’ Edition magazine and the Rulebook are the most highly valued benefits of USPA membership.

Polo Party and Awards Ceremony The USPA and the Polo Training Foundation teamed up for a captivating evening at the International Polo Club Palm Beach pavilion in Wellington, Florida on Friday, April 21. Youth and adult polo players were recognized for their outstanding performance.

Award recipients include: USPA Awards 6 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

•USPA plays a very important role in supporting members’ polo interests, skill enhancement and education, oversight of rules and safety as well as connection to other players.

Matrix also identified several areas that have been classified as challenges: •As has been the trend in previous surveys, new player recruitment and skill development is the focus area members indicate should have a higher priority.

•Keeping the sport of polo in the public eye follows as the second focus area that should be a higher priority.

•Umpiring is ranked second among the overall priorities and the need for USPA certified umpires continues to grow along with the popularity of the program.

•Clubs continue to have a need for greater support from USPA. •More open communication and keeping members informed about decision making are cited as areas of needed improvement.

And in areas that are seen as trending upward: •Greater importance placed on adult clinics.

•Increased desire for partnerships between clubs and I/I teams.

•Greater importance of youth clinics.

•Greater importance of introducing polo to beginners in the arena.

•Greater importance of national promotion of high-goal polo.

•Greater attendance of USPA I/I games in past year.

•Increased likelihood of attending circuit-level education forums.

The information provided by this survey is invaluable to the association and helps guide the leadership in its decisions throughout the year. I encourage all members to participate next year.

Tom Hughes Umpire Award: Steve Lane Clint Nangle Equine Welfare Award: Sunset “Sunny” Hale The Russ Sheldon Award: Rodney Fragodt Hugo Dalmar Trophy: Peter Rizzo Gen. George S. Patton Jr. Award: Mark Gillespie

PTF Awards Junior Sportsmanship Awards: Valentina Ezcurra and Clark Mayer Youth Sportsmanship Award: Kelsey Burhans Junior Most Improved Players: Giuliana Bautista and Juanse Olivera Youth Most Improved Player: Benjamin Eckbo Daniels

ELIZABETH HEDLEY

Woman of the Year The 2017 USPA Woman of the Year Award was posthumously awarded to Sunset “Sunny” Hale at the U.S. Open Polo Championship final on April 25.

The award was presented by USPA Women’s Committee member Cecelia Cochran and was accepted on Sunny’s behalf by longtime friend Joanne Smicklas.

Annual Spring Meetings The USPA board of governors gathered for the Annual Spring Meetings from April 20–22 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

USPA club delegates, board members and several new faces from around the country were in attendance for a variety of informational presentations and committee meetings.

In addition to the committee and board of governors’ meetings, the team representing the United States in the FIP World Polo Championship Zone A Playoffs discussed its recent training in Australia.

The meetings culminated in a board of governors polo game hosted by Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida.

Arena Committee The Arena Committee made a proposal to investigate the history of arena polo and develop a structure to implement the possible creation of a professional arena polo league. An intern has been hired by the committee to work on this project, tasked with gathering input from industry professionals who have had recent success, such as Mark Bellissimo, and

continuing to develop the findings.

Participants in the board of governors match at Grand Champions Polo Club.

New Committee The newly formed Club and Membership Committee created an official mission statement, and reviewed and approved the 2017 club list that was presented to the board.

Equine Welfare Committee The Equine Welfare Committee voted to reaffirm its support of the anabolic steroids ban. The committee also discussed possible opportunities to educate USPA members on equine welfare-related topics.

Nominating Committee The USPA chairman has approved 12 governor-at-large seats. The governor-atlarge election will begin in June and run through mid-August. The USPA Nominating Committee will select a list for each governor-at-large position. Delegates of active member clubs will receive a Nominating Committee slate, nominating forms and procedures on how to nominate independent candidates. Ballots with all eligible candidates will be sent to each registered player member in good standing. Members are encouraged to participate in the election process.

Information on candidates, ballots and forms will be forthcoming in the mail.

Rules Committee The Rules Committee revised the 2017 optional tournament conditions for Arena Rules 6, 9 and 10. Revisions will be published June 1 on uspolo.org.

Safety Committee The Safety Committee put forward and approved a motion to change the current helmet grant to include any helmet that passes the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment standard. The original language of the helmet grant required a facemask in addition to passing the NOCSAE standard in order for grant funds to be used.

The committee also moved to create two additional grants, which will be presented to the Executive Committee for approval, for helmet manufacturers that successfully create a NOCSAEcertified helmet.

Tournament Committee The Tournament Committee discussed matters related to awarding national tournaments. It was decided that the USPA Butler Handicap would remain at the International Polo Club Palm Beach for the 2018 winter season at the 26-goal level. The committee successfully awarded the majority of national tournaments for 2018.

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

Chairman: Joe Meyer President: Chip Campbell Secretary: Tom Gose Treasurer: Sam Ramirez Chief Executive Officer: Duncan Huyler

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

ELIZABETH HEDLEY

TEAM USPA Team USA narrowly defeated Mexico to win the Zone A FIP Qualifier tournament on April 30 with a final score of 9-7. Captain Felipe Viana, Geronimo Obregon, Remy Muller and Herndon Radcliff returned to their typical classic style of play in the final chukker to rally a victory over the competitive Team Mexico. As winner of FIP Zone A, Team USA now advances to the 2017 FIP World Championships held in Sydney, Australia this October.

NYTS Aiken Polo Club in Aiken, South Carolina recently hosted a fantastic youth tournament featuring 28 youth players who participated in two NYTS qualifier games and a C-flight for younger players.

The A-flight NYTS qualifier match AllStars included Malia Bryan, Harry and Charlie Caldwell, Will Green and Lila Bennet. The B-Flight All-Stars selected were Josh Escapite, Jacob Wallace, Summer Kneece and Aiden Meeker.

Congratulations to all participants!

For more info on NYTS, contact Amanda Snow, asnow@uspolo.org.

CPI There are currently 53 certified instructors with the USPA Certified Polo Instructor Program. For more information about how to become an instructor, or to find one near you contact Jess Downey at jdowney@uspolo.org or visit PoloSkilz.com.

Spring USPA Meetings Instead of showing the one-dimensional power point at the USPA’s spring meetings, Polo Development held an interactive Q/A session inviting nine panelists to share how PD’s programs have impacted their clubs and careers as polo professionals. It was rewarding to hear success stories from club owners, 8 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

polo instructors and polo professionals.

Thank you to Certified Polo Instructor Heather Perkins of Orange County Polo Club, David Ragland of Oklahoma City Polo Club, Certified Polo Instructor Emmalyn and Paul Wheaton from Detroit Polo Club, Certified Polo Instructor Nadir Khan from Chicago, Brett Brown from Blue Water Creek Polo Club, I/I Chairman David Wenning, Team USPA player Patrick Uretz and Myopia Polo Club manager and Certified Polo Instructor Kim McGuire for participating as panelists.

Polo Development is here to help with years of ‘boots on the ground’ experience from a qualified team and 32 programs. For more information contact Justin Powers, jpowers@uspolo.org.

I/I Championships Congratulations to our 2017 USPA National I/I Champions!

Intercollegiate Men: Roger Williams University Intercollegiate Women: University of Virginia Interscholastic Girls’: Garrison Forest School

Carson Freeland hooks Anna Hale during the National Youth Tournament Series in Aiken.

Interscholastic Open: Maryland Polo Club

Garrison Forest Coach Cindy Halle

Thank you to all the supporters who made this season so spectacular, a special thank you to our host sites, horse providers, tournament managers, umpires, coaches, players and parents.

Congratulations to Coach Cindy Halle of Garrison Forest on her retirement!

Without officials It’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

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BACK IN THE SADDLE Get your horses and yourself in condition before the season starts

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ome of us are fortunate enough to play this wonderful game throughout the year. Many, however, like the chipmunks of the north, will hibernate for the winter and only play in the summer months. Those little furry critters spend their summer gathering the necessary resources for winter, where many of us scurry around all winter producing the necessary funds to pay the polo bills of summer. But even those more fortunate souls who play throughout the year will usually have multiple strings of ponies, with some brought back up to play after three to six months of rest.

Getting your horses fit for play is one of the most important subjects because it is often a time when amateurs are most at risk to the calamities associated with a fresh horse with maybe a bit more energy than what they will display after weeks of play. So, it is so important to get this right on so many levels. I will start with the horse and finish with the player.

For a horse that has been off for multiple months, the rule of thumb is one week of conditioning for every month the horse has been turned out or off regular work. A more conservative approach is one and a half to two weeks for every month off.

Consideration should be given to what your horses did in the off-season. Have they been in light work, work with no polo or just turnout? Were they kept in big expansive pastures or a mix of time in the stall and turnout in small paddocks? Other considerations are ages of the horses and any chronic conditions they may have.

Older horses with chronic conditions are often better off being kept in light work without polo, as opposed to no work.

Climate is also a very big factor when starting horses back. If you are starting a 10 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

horse under a hot sun with zero wind, Mother Nature is on your side. Take that same horse on a cloudy, cool, windy day and even a normally quiet school horse may be acting like a rodeo bronc.

Many players use polo wraps on at least the front legs of the horse they are riding and any horses with old injuries or chronic lameness issues. The added support can’t hurt.

It is advisable to either turn out, longe or free longe your horses before getting on them the first few times. A young horse may need some extra work before mounting every single time, but this depends on the personality of the horse.

Simple turnout may not work, as some horses will do nothing but stand around.

Longing helps encourage them to get any extra play out of their system. Longing can be a bit tedious, as it is done one horse at a time. If you do not know how to longe, read up on it or get a lesson or two from a trainer. If your horses have not been longed before, they may stand there looking at you and wondering what you are doing so they too may need some instruction.

Free longing is when you turn a horse out in a ring or similar size area and encourage it to walk, trot and canter to get some energy out. You should have experience, be comfortable with the concept and have a feel for the personality of your horse. Stay out of kicking range and take care not to get run over. Horses generally do not run you down unless they are fearful and running scared, feel trapped in a tight space or are trying to get out the gate.

If you have multiple horses, they get along and have not got hind shoes on yet, you can free longe a few at a time. It is helpful to have assistance to keep them

together and moving in the same direction. Do not attempt this unless you have experience and know your horses well.

Do not do anything to scare them, just encourage them to move forward without having them galloping around at full speed.

Start by having them walk together in the same direction, then encourage them to trot or even canter slowly. After a few times around in one direction have them stop, turn and walk in the opposite direction, then encourage them to trot or slow canter again. It only takes a few minutes in each direction to allow them to play and get any bucks out, helping them settle before they are ridden or led. One horse that gets playful can set off the rest.

Once it is safe to mount up, start by just walking and trotting sets. Don’t let the reins get too long as it is easier for the horse to put its head down if it decides to buck. Once you have the horses working for a few days, you can usually let up on longing them if they don’t seem to be overly fresh.

In the first two weeks, mostly walk, with just five minutes of trotting, then double that every two to three days. Some players do not believe in ever trotting, since polo is a cantering game, but it has its benefits. However boring trotting may be, it is great for toning muscles on you and your horses. You can begin easy canters in the third week, slowly adding more time in every few days. Cantering is good for building up cardio.

Once you are up to about 15 minutes of trotting in both directions and a few minutes of canter, you can start backing off the trotting and add more cantering time.

In general, if your horses have been off for four to six months, they need four to six weeks of exercise before practicing.

Horses should be stick and balled for a week or 10 days before beginning practice.

Stick and balling can be very enjoyable, so much so that you loose track of time. Set your watch or phone for no more than 15 minutes per horse so you don’t over do it.

If you have a pro or polo-playing groom, it is a good idea to have them first stick and ball and then practice the horse for you the first few times. Some horses are wonderful playing horses once they settle, but can get rambunctious the first few times out on the field. Even an old trusted equine friend might be a handful the first few times out. The older you get, the less you bounce, so why not enlist someone with better bounce in the early weeks.

When your horses are easily able to canter in both directions for 15 minutes, they are ready for slow chukkers played at a hand canter. Never run the horses in the early chukkers, no matter how tempting it might be. Before the chukker starts, warm the horses up by circling them in each direction. The first few minutes of the chukker is all about getting the horse to relax. Treat the pre-season just like ball players—a time to prepare, not a time to win every play.

Make your main focus keeping the horse settled, and staying on. If your horses are not bothered by it, keep a slightly shorter rein so you do not make it easy for the horse to put its head down and buck.

Sit a bit deeper in the saddle and use a tad longer mallet. Do not worry about hitting every ball or making every play, no matter what your teams encourage you to do. Be wary of neckshots and nearside shots until your horses have played in several chukkers and are not acting up. After a few practices, add in a run or two during the chukkers. After about three weeks of practicing, they will likely be ready for tournament play.

PLAYER CONDITIONING Now, if you have also been grazing all winter on potato chips and hanging out at the local watering holes, it would be advisable to start getting to the gym several times per week at least a month or so prior to playing. There is no need for heavy lifting, so start stretching, toning, and

improving cardio. If you have health issues, do not start any new exercises without consulting a doctor. For the healthy, focus on reps as opposed to heavy weights.

Non-impact machines are usually best for the older players and some type of yoga or pilates is the perfect conditioning to have the agility necessary in polo.

Jogging a couple of miles a few times a week at an easy pace is a great place to start unless you have joint issues, then stick with the non-impact machines. To build up cardio, start picking up the pace and even adding in sprints or suicides.

But again, this is only if you are at the appropriate age and conditioning. Do not overdo it, but at the same time, trading your couch for a saddle is not the advisable method of preparing for the physical demands of polo.

Many amateurs use personal trainers to help them get in better shape, which is a wonderful way of insuring better health.

What exercises best mimic polo requirements? Build up your legs, which unfortu-

nately usually comes down to those dreaded leg squats. Painful stuff, but if there was one factor that is most important in a good rider, it is a strong lower leg, period.

As to upper body, all the standard exercises are good. I always tell my players to carry around a 5- to 10-pound weight and mimic the swings of the mallet with the right arm. If you can be comfortable with five to 10 pounds, you will have little issue with a mallet. More weight will help you bulk up if that is what you are going for, but remember, polo is much more about flexibility and agility than bulk.

Grip is important and you can buy all kinds of gadgets, but carrying around a tennis or racquet ball and squeezing it for extended periods of time will suffice.

Riding a horse uses muscles we never knew we had, so start off easy and gradually build up to when you start to ride. Ride several or more horses your first day out and you will be amongst the walking wounded for days to follow. You may feel like a hero on day one, but you will be humbled on day two.

I can personally testify to that.

Polo is super fun but is a very physical activity. There are numerous benefits to players and horses that are properly conditioned. Many players are anxious to get back playing as quickly as possible, but getting back into the game without the proper conditioning for themselves or their horses increases the chances of injuries, which could end the season before it even gets started.

Tom Goodspeed is a renowned polo instructor, coach and horse trainer.

He achieved a 5-goal 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 11

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MIND YOUR MANNERS Be a good guest while visiting polo club facilities

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ost polo clubs don’t have much stabling so many players will be shipping their horses to the club for practice and tournaments. Regardless if you are a regular member of the club or are a temporary guest, it is important to remember to be respectful of the club by following its rules.

Be sure to park in designated areas. If you are unsure where to park, ask someone before unloading your horses.

Introduce yourself to the owner and/or polo manager upon arrival.

Always clean up after yourself around the trailer. Do not leave empty drink bottles or even tail tape on the ground.

Never clean out your trailer at the field unless specifically instructed to do so. If you are told it is OK, ask where to discard the manure.

Other than your groom or a teammate you may be loaning horses to, do not allow other people to ride your horses at the field. In other words, don’t allow a friend who barely knows how to ride or one of your kids to take your horses for a spin.

You are responsible for your guests. Be sure they are aware of club rules, where to park, etc.

Always be sure you and your groom have signed a waiver before climbing up on a horse. If you haven’t signed one, ask the manager for a copy to sign.

If you are expected to pay entry or grounds fees, be sure that is taken care of as soon as you arrive.

Be sure your USPA dues are paid up to date and that you have a current handicap.

It is best to leave your dogs at home, but if you must bring them, be sure they are on a leash at all times. Do not let them 12 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

run loose no matter how well trained you think they are.

If you bring your children with you, be sure they are supervised at all times. Don’t leave young children to fend for themselves while you are playing.

Ask where you are permitted to warm up your horses. Don’t use the polo field to school your horses. When the game is over, don’t come back out on the field to stick and ball extra horses unless you have been invited to do so.

Always offer to help put divots back on the field after the match.

Always have a red, a white and a blue shirt available for practice. Always have white pants available too as some clubs

require them for both practice and games.

Be courteous before, during and after the game. Never argue with the umpire.

Always shake hands with both your teammates and opponents after the match. If there is a trophy presentation, don’t make everyone wait; get to the presentation promptly. If the trophy presentation is for both the winners and losers, get to the presentation even if you were on the losing side, and do so with a smile on your face.

If your horses are staying overnight at the club facilities or at a member’s barn, ask where to unload your horses and where to park your trailer.

If your horses are staying in stalls, clean stalls out regularly during your stay and clean them out before leaving.

Only use the stalls or paddocks that have been assigned to you.

Always bring your own feed and hay unless you have made prior arrangements to purchase it from the club or have it delivered there for you.

Never help yourself to someone else’s hay or feed.

Keep water buckets clean and full.

Be sure to leave a number where you can be reached in case of an emergency.

If you exercise your horses during your visit, ask where you are permitted to ride them. Don’t ride on the polo field unless you are invited to do so.

Always clean up after yourself, winding up hoses after each use, picking up manure if your horse relieves itself in the aisleway and putting wheel barrows and forks back where you found them.

Only tie horses in designated areas and don’t leave them unattended.

If you or your horses break anything, fix it, replace it or offer to pay for it. u

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THE ARTHRITIC HORSE Tips for keeping a horse with joint inflammation going longer

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lder horses often develop arthritis (joint inflammation) in various joints after hard use or repetitive wear and tear. Cold weather tends to aggravate arthritis pain in horses as well as humans. Some of these horses need extra care to keep them performing, or keep them comfortable during winter.

Broodmares retired from an athletic career may have joint issues, and horses that are still performing may have soreness that needs to be managed.

Painful, stiff joints can often be managed, to keep most of these horses comfortable enough to continue working. The farrier can usually help, with proper shoeing.

Some cases may need to be managed medically.

Paul Goodness, Chief of Farrier Services at Virginia Tech’s Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Virginia, says horsemen need to be aware of some of the things that can make a difference for these horses, other than just medication.

“A combination of a lot of little things that we can do may really help in the management of an arthritic horse—and prolong the horse’s comfort (whether out in Paul Goodness the pasture or during athletic work), to keep these individuals going longer. Exercise is very beneficial,” he says. Any horse (or human) with arthritis tends to become more stiff/sore when inactive. The old saying, “Use it or lose it” is very true for arthritis.

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

“Here in Virginia, one of the challenges is that certain times of year the ground becomes rock-hard. It rarely freezes for very long, but sometimes it quits raining for a month or so and with the clay base, the ground becomes dry and hard. Keep an eye on the footing if the horse is out at pasture. Sometimes the horse is better off in a stall, on soft shavings or some kind of soft footing in a run-in shed—where he can get away from that rock-hard ground during those weeks. But in general, the more these horses are out, moving around, the better off they are,” says Goodness.

“The same goes for when we are asking them to work. The rider needs to be conscious of the surface and footing. If there’s a choice, choose the softer footing,” he advises. Pounding at speed on hard surfaces will aggravate joint soreness.

“It’s important to have a good dialogue with your veterinarian or even several veterinarians if the horse is becoming

It is not the years, it is the miles. Arthritis, or joint inflammation, is caused by concussion or wear on joints. It isn’t just older horses that suffer, it can be seen in middle-age horses with strenuous careers.

sore. Find out what the various treatment options might be—both conventional and unconventional (like acupuncture and laser therapy), or some of the nutraceuticals. There are some things that your regular vet may not think of or have a thorough understanding about, but which can still be useful,” he explains.

“There are many treatment options available now that are not mainstream.

Every horse is different, and different treatments may help some horses more than others. Sometimes a person has to be willing to experiment,” he says.

“There are also many different therapeutic options that your farrier can employ, and different types of shoes that might help—if conformation of the hoof is a problem. We may use bar shoes or pads

to rein in a hoof abnormality and put the foot in a more mechanically advantageous situation,” he says.

“Today we also have choices for softer materials to use as shoes.

There are several good synthetic shoes and pads available that can be tried. There are many things we can do now that we couldn’t do 30 years ago, and it may pay to try several methods because we don’t always know how the foot is going to respond. It may take trial and error to find what works best for that particular horse. Sometimes it might just be using an asymmetrical shoe with one side of the shoe wider than the other side,” says Goodness.

If the horse is stiff and stumbling, the shoe may need an easier break-over to minimize tripping. “This can be adjusted in many different ways. One thing the farrier can help with is changing the mechanics of how the lower leg works.

This can be one of the most dramatic differences,” he says.

“Farriers play a significant role in keeping the horse moving comfortably, secondary to the steroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications that we now have available. It all helps, and it takes a team—everyone working together: the owner or trainer, the rider, the farrier, the veterinarian and whoever is responsible for the management of that horse (the person who decides the turnout time, work schedule and so on). We all need to be talking about options,” he says.

“Today a lot of these problems are caught early and we can make adjustments. I see a lot of older athletes going on for years. For instance, we now talk in terms of a ‘little bit of ringbone’ instead of thinking that all ringbone is career-ending ringbone,” says Goodness.

Many new technologies have become available in therapeutic shoeing and medications. “There is new knowledge every day. We need to keep our eyes open and be willing to try some different

Farrier Todd Allen points out a hoof issue to a vet and a trainer. Results are better when everyone works together.

things—and accept that not all of them are going to work. Maybe plan B or even plan C or D might be the key for this particular horse,” he says.

Todd Allen, a farrier in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, says arthritis may affect different joints in different horses— everything from ringbone to sore hocks.

“Ringbone occurs most often in the front limbs, and it can be very painful if it is articular (in the joint). The horse is lame and we have to do what we can to relieve that discomfort. The best thing we can do as farriers is work with the vet and get a proper diagnosis—whether it’s high ringbone, low ringbone, etc. (the exact location of the ringbone) and see what we can do to make the horse more comfortable in movement,” says Allen.

“There is always one given, and that’s breakover. We always move it back, making it as easy as possible for that foot to break over. Another important thing on those horses is to have plenty of support

on the back of the hoof, so the hoof doesn’t sink into the ground quite as far. We use a pour pad on a lot of horses, and that keeps them on top of the ground. I pour all of my ringbone horses. I believe that the bones descend as that foot loads, and I think there’s sometimes a little pinching as those bones/joints descend. They press together in the load phase in the stride,” he says.

“So I use a lot of pour pads to prevent or minimize some of that downward movement of the joint and the bony column. I’ve had very good luck with that, to provide more support in the heel area. We can use a bar shoe or an open heel shoe with pour pads, and I use pour pads regardless, though a lot of it depends on what the vet recommends,” says Allen.

“Sometimes joint supplements can be helpful for horses with arthritis, or use of Adequan, Legend, etc.

Surpass is a topical cream that can be applied to the painful area (such as knees) to help reduce inflammation. I generally toss out several ideas to the owner, but also tell them to contact their veterinarian,” he says.

There are a number of joint supplements that have been used for many years that seem to help some horses.

“There are many products and drugs being utilized to help arthritic horses, so I recommend asking their vet for guidance in a choice of treatment.” He also recommends asking the vet about drug choices, because there are some new products out there, and information gleaned from the internet may be misleading.

In the hind legs, Allen sees the most problems in the hocks. There’s always the question of which comes first—front end or hind end problems. “I think sore hocks cause a lot of other problems. Some owners ignore the hocks and then wonder why their horse starts having front end problems. I think many front end problems can be attributed to sore hocks, POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 15

and vice versa,” says Allen. Any time there is a problem in one area, another part of the body suffers because of the way the horse tries to compensate.

In some instances a person doesn’t know the horse has multiple limb problems until one gets really bad and they block it, and the opposite front shows lameness. “That horse has been sore in both front feet/legs for a long time but just happened to get worse on one of them,” he says.

“To help a horse with sore hocks I shoe with a lot of length and a lot of lateral support. The trim is very important so the horse is unilaterally balanced in the hocks, from side to side. It all goes back to basic shoeing, but there are still a lot of farriers who short shoe them all the way around. Keep the heels back with the trim, supported, and compliment it with the shoe fit, and give the foot a little length and support back there. Some people recommend a bar shoe for a hocksore horse, but most do fine with a good, sound shoeing job with sufficient shoeing length and support,” Allen says.

“A lot of times these feet grow out of control. I’ve had feet that I sometimes wonder what I am doing wrong. Then I find out later that this horse has pain somewhere and is compensating for that.”

The horse is using its feet differently, putting weight on them differently because of it.

Allen also recommends joint injections for some of his client’s horses. “This can decrease discomfort and facilitate ease of motion. I am a big believer in hock injections. I have been doing this a long time and I think it’s criminal to not inject hocks, to help relieve that horse’s discomfort and increase his ease of motion. Many of these horses can keep going for a long time. With older horses, if their joints are too far gone before you do something for them, that first injection will only last about three months, but the second one will give relief a bit longer. It’s tough on the horses when people have waited too long before using the joint injections,” he says.

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

Farrier Troy Price uses a mini hoof stand to keep the horse’s foot lower and more comfortable during shoeing.

“I tell my riding clients that once they get the hocks done, the horse will perform better. The rider will feel more push from behind because the horse will use his hind end a lot better. Farriers can tell if a horse needs its hocks done, just by working on that horse—how comfortable or resisting the horse is. When you flex the hind leg a little and they say ouch, and you drop them back down a little, they are ok with it,” explains Allen.

Injections with medications such as Adequan or Legend can provide relief in some horses.

“The hock-sore horse will start wringing the hocks a little if you watch him walk on concrete or loose footing.

You can see the feet wrenching a bit on the ground. When they get the hocks injected it is pretty amazing how these signs go away. They were just trying to avoid the pain,” says Allen.

He recommends talking to a veterinarian for advice on hock injections, and discussing whether some other treatments/medications might help extend the time between hock injections.

“The owner should be working with their veterinarian on what might work best for that particular horse,” he says.

Troy Price, a farrier in Uniondale, Indiana works with a number of arthritic horses. “They are not always old horses.

Some are middle-age and are still very active, and some are still running races, roping, reining, or barrel racing or playing polo--but they’ve had a lot of wear and tear on joints because of a strenuous career,” he says. Some arthritic horses can be difficult to shoe because their leg joints are stiff and it’s painful for them to have the leg flexed and held in shoeing positions.

Some horses will benefit from being warmed up before galloping on to the polo field. Mild exercise aids blood flow and joint lubrication to help the horse feel better if he is a little stiff.

“I tell these clients that if they can exercise the horse a little before I get there—lunge them around, put them on a walker, or let the horse out in an arena awhile—this can limber them up before I shoe them. This seems to make a big difference,” says Price.

“I have some clients who use bute or some other form of pain relief for the horse before I come to work on the feet.

And when I work on these horses I keep their arthritis in mind, trying to help them find a comfortable position as I hold that leg.”

The owner or trainer may need to work with a veterinarian regarding pain management for the arthritic horse.

Some horses do better when kept on a constant low level of bute, especially older horses with very painful joints. A little pain management may make it to where the horse is more comfortable and can move around more without stiffness and pain, and the movement and exercise increases blood circulation and lubrication, and helps keep the joints more supple. A little anti-inflammatory medication may help the horse a lot, just like it does for a person with arthritis.

Some of these horses are not old and retired. They may just be a little stiff and gimpy when they first start working, then “warm out of it” and then they can perform as well as they did earlier. The exercise aids blood flow and joint lubrication. “Horses are a lot like us.

When you first get up in the morning you are a little stiff, and then after you get going and move around and have breakfast you start feeling better. The older we get, the more aches and pains,” Allen says. If you can give the horse some mild exercise and get him adequately warmed up before he has to give you his best efforts on the polo field, he’ll be more able to do it.

The seriousness of arthritis may depend on the individual horse and what he’s been doing all his life. As the old saying goes, “it’s not the years; it’s the mileage.” If there’s been a lot of concussion and wear on those joints from strenuous use, the horse may become sore and stiff at a younger age than an old horse that’s led a less strenuous life. Care and maintenance considerations, however, can help the arthritic horse whether he’s u 15 or 25.

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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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POLO ON THE PRAIRIE

Polo event raises funds for Texas cancer center

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ESPITE THE BEST LAID PLANS things don’t always work out they way you expect. For the past 31 years, the Musselman Brothers’ Lazy 3 Ranch in Albany, Texas has been the scene of Polo on the Prairie, a fundraiser for The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, helping to raise millions of dollars. But this year, cool temperatures and slick fields prevented polo from being played on this prairie.

Thankfully, the poor weather didn’t stop more than 800 guest from across West Texas from gathering at the ranch for the festivities. Instead of polo, guests enjoyed Joe Allen’s Pit Bar-B-Que, served chuck-wagon style, and peach cobbler before dancing the night away to the twang of Jerry Jeff Walker’s guitar. The Texas country music legend made his iconic return to the polo stage, where he last played 20 years ago in 1997.

Bob Brigham, senior vice president for hospitals and clinics at MD Anderson, offered welcoming remarks, and cancer survivor Daron Gribble shared a personal testimonial about his fight with the disease. A fabulous fireworks show capped off the evening. Henry Musselman, a longtime member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors, and his wife Melinda chaired the event that broke fundraising records this year, raising more than $436,000 for lifesaving patient programs and innovative research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

To date, Polo on the Prairie has contributed more than $5.7 million for patient care, research and education Bob Brigham, senior vice president for hospitals and clinics at MD initiatives at MD Anderson. These efforts touch cancer Anderson, with country music legend Jerry Jeff Walker patients worldwide.

Joe Allen’s Pit Bar-B-Que’s Josh Allen and his son man the grills at the Polo on the Prairie event.

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

An impressive fireworks display capped off the evening at the Musselman Brothers’ Lazy 3 Ranch in Albany, Texas.

PATTON AWARD

THE U.S. POLO ASSOCIATION presented the

POLOFOTOGRAPHER.COM

Member recognized for his devotion to soldiers initiatives are the Mahalo polo program where HPC waives players’ fees for active duty 2017 George S. Patton Jr. award to Allen Hoe in members and the Polo Pai'na program, which appreciation of his efforts to create opportunities returned polo to its historic home at Palm for military members and their families to become Circle on Fort Shafter, headquarters to the U.S. involved in the sport of polo.

Pacific Command. For the past three years, His actions reflect distinct credit upon himself, Allen helped organized Tropic Lightning the Army polo team, and the USPA. A combat Week’s Warrior Polo for the 25th Infantry medic in the Vietnam War, he is a recipient of the Division, training Tropic Lightning soldiers for Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and the Combat six weeks in the rudiments of horsemanship Medics Badge having served with the 196th Light Allen Hoe and polo prior to organizing matches for them Infantry Brigade, the Recon Platoon, 2nd to play at Schofield Barracks.

Battalion 1st Infantry Regiment and Americal Division.

The Department of the Army recognized Allen for his singular In addition to being a lawyer and a judge, Allen is one of the devotion, traversing the globe in support of soldiers, veterans and founders of the Honolulu Polo Club, and currently acts as its the wounded, by designating him a Civilian Aide to the Secretary president. Over its 31-year existence, Allen consistently and of the Army which carries a three-star rank. He also served as a repeatedly worked to rekindle the martial roots of the world’s member of the Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory oldest game and to introduce active military to the sport. Under Committee on the readjustment of veterans; he is the president Allen’s direction, HPC admits all military members and their of the 25th Infantry Division Memorial Foundation, and is on families to its matches free of charge. the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation Board of Directors.

Additionally, HPC hosts annual military matches with active, He is also a member of the USPA’s Armed Forces Committee. reserve and former military invited to play. Allen’s other

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INDIA TOUR

Oak Brook team visits Delhi and Anandpur Sahib

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TEAM FROM OAK BROOK POLO CLUB in Oak Brook, second round. Gillcrest Homes defeated Anandpur Sahib 4-3 in Illinois traveled to India for polo and sightseeing in early the final round to take the win. Spectators packed the arena March. Captained by 4-goal Horacio Onetto, the team included walls, while some watched from rooftops and nearby houses.

4-goal Toto Obregon and 1-goal Derek Berg.

The players had a wonderful time and look foward to hosting The team first arrived in Delhi on March 7 where they were the Delhi Polo Team at Oak Brook in August. met by Amit Sangwan who drove them to the Anandpur Polo Estate on the west side of the city. Their hosts Vikram Sodhi Singh and his wife Sumathy welcomed them, giving them a tour of the facility and helping them get settled into their quarters. That night they were treated to an authentic Indian dinner at the historic Delhi Golf Club.

The next day the team did some sightseeing and shopping before returning to the estate for some stick and ball and an afternoon match against the Jindal Panthers. Vikram Sodhi Singh rounded out the Oak Brook team that took on Mahesh Sharma, Sanjay Kapur, Naveen Singh and Simran Shergill.

The four-chukker match had the Panthers jump out to a 3-0 lead, and extend it to a 7-1 lead at the half. Oak Brook outscored the Panters 4-3 in the second half, eventually falling to the Panthers 10-5. Six-goal Simran Shergill led the Panthers with seven goals, while Onetto scored all of Oak Brook’s goals.

That evening, the players enjoyed an Indian barbecue at the estate. The following day, the players enjoyed a tour of the Taj Mahal and Jami Masjid, one of India’s largest mosques.

On March 10, the team trekked eight hours north to Vikram Sodhi Singh, Marcos Onetto, Toto Obregon and Derek Berg Anandpur Sahib, the gateway to the Himalayan Mountains. played an outdoor match against the Jindal Panthers in Delhi.

Once again, they were hosted by Vikram Sodhi Singh and his wife, this time at their beautiful enclave resort, the Anand at the Satluj, just outside Anandpur.

The first polo day was cancelled due to heavy rains during the night. Instead the players ventured into the Hola Mohalla Festival where they shopped, dined and visited many temples.

The players were back on the playing field the next day for the Sodhi Kishan Singh Memorial tournament, a mixed three-team round robin arena tournament. Each of the Oak Brook players were matched with other players to form the teams. Onetto played with Rehat Virk and Harry Singh for Oak Brook; Obregon played with Akshay Malik and Vikram Sodhi Singh for Anandpur Sahib and Berg played with Deepak Udar and Col. Tarsem Singh for Gillcrest Homes.

In the first round, Oak Brook fell to Gillcrest by the half-goal handicap it had given it, 2½-2. Oak Spectators watched the arena matches from rooftops and nearby homes.

Brook won 5-3½ against Anandpur Sahib in the 20 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! California players celebrate

KIP HERING, honorary president of

JIM BREMNER/POLOZONE.COM

the Lakeside Polo Club in Lakeside, California celebrated his 80th birthday

at the club following the Margarita Invitational in May. He was presented with an inscribed, framed photo of his hard riding play aboard Machito, a homebred, in last year’s Hering Cup. The photo was taken by Jim Bremner and is prominently displayed in Hering’s family room.

MELISSA RATH

The California Polo Club helped club president Rodney Fragodt celebrate his birthday on April 2 at a barbecue at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

Club members played at Empire once a month during the season.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 21

Polo doc Team USPA equipped Stephanie Massey for her career 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 Kylie Sheehan

When many veterinary students reach their third and fourth years of vet school, they often have to make a difficult decision to choose a particular focus for their veterinary career path. Some decide to become small animal vets or large animal vets after trial and error in externships or through their experiences in their studies. For Team USPA member Stephanie Massey, her personal interest in horses and her desire to become an equine veterinarian started long before vet school. “For as long as I can remember, I have always had a passion for horses and pursued a career of being an equine veterinarian,” said Massey.

Stephanie’s resume includes experience working alongside some of the top equine veterinarians in the country.

Where was she able to make many of these connections? Through her years of being a part of the polo community. Stephanie Massey grew up playing polo, starting in Texas through the Brushy Creek Polo Camp with Cissie Snow. Her impressive polo resume includes National Interscholastic and Intercollegiate Championship final appearances, several Intercollegiate and Interscholastic All-Star accolades, experience working for some of the top players in the country, umpiring, instructing and training green horses.

The year that Stephanie graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M, she also made Team USPA. She was accepted in 2012 based on her polo merits and expressed an interest in pursuing veterinary medicine while staying involved in polo. Team USPA’s mission is 22 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

to develop not only professional players, but also industry professionals as well as non-professional players who will be contributing to the sport for the rest of their lives, so Massey was a perfect candidate for the program. Whether it is club/team managers, green horse trainers, veterinarians, umpires or instructors, Team USPA recognizes the importance of industry professionals in growing and developing the sport.

Team USPA strives to maximize the resources available to these members to enable them to become leaders in these essential areas. For Stephanie, her involvement with Team USPA has been significant in more ways than one. “It has improved my knowledge, polo skills and horsemanship, provided mentors, and given me numerous travel opportunities and networking experiences that have given me lifelong friends,” said Massey.

This past year, Massey traveled to India to participate in the 2017 Women’s Polo Tour with Carly and Audry Persano and Anna Winslow. Massey and her teammates taught clinics at local clubs and played in several exhibition and tournament matches. While in Manipur, she fell in love with the traditional Manipur polo pony and is eager to raise awareness for the preservation of the breed.

While Stephanie has grown as a player since joining Team USPA, she also has been able to pursue her goal of becoming a veterinarian. This spring, Stephanie successfully completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Team USPA has been instrumental in helping equip me for a career in equine veterinary medicine,” said Massey. Stephanie was introduced to Dr. Shelley Onderdonk and Adam Snow at the Team USPA Training Center in Aiken, South Carolina. Massey had the opportunity to work with Snow, a former 10-goal player to improve her polo, while gaining valuable veterinary experience with Dr. Onderdonk.

Massey also made it a priority to give back to the polo community, even during her busiest times in vet school. Stephanie worked for Dr. John Snyder as an equine veterinary technician in the Santa Fe area, working mainly on race horses and polo ponies. During this time, she was able to work with the New Mexico Polo Club giving polo lessons, umpiring and playing at the club. She has also served on the USPA Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Equine Welfare Committee. Kris

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Stephanie Massey enjoyed her participation on the Team USPA Women’s team in Manipur.

Bowman, head of the USPA Polo Development, LLC has been thrilled that Stephanie has been able to stay so involved in polo even during vet school.

“The polo community is lucky to have young talent like Stephanie who have chosen a career path that will enable them to continue to give back to the sport in more way than one,” said Bowman.

When Stephanie participated in the Team USPA training in Sheridan, she was able to meet legendary polo veterinarian Dr. Paul Wollenman. Like Stephanie, Dr. Wollenman is not only passionate about equine medicine, but he also loves polo.

He is extremely well respected in the polo community for his phenomenal veterinary accomplishments and for his understanding of the physical and mental requirements of an equine polo athlete.

He is known for being able to assess a polo pony’s particular situation and pursue treatment to elongate its career. His personal experiences as a polo player have undoubtedly contributed to his intuition in treating polo ponies.

For Stephanie, this opportunity to work with Dr. Wollenman not only gave her invaluable veterinary experience with equine radiographs, ultrasounds, endoscopy, lameness exams, pre-purchase exams and various treatments, but it also opened many doors for her in her future

career. This connection with Palm Beach Equine and Dr. Wollenman has ultimately led to her first job post vet school. In July, Massey will begin working with Palm Beach Equine Clinic as an equine veterinary intern where she will be working with polo ponies on a regular basis.

“I am excited to start a new profession, one in which I can still remain involved with polo on a daily basis,”said Massey.

Team USPA has been able to help Massey pursue her passion for equine medicine and polo at the same time. Kris Bowman pointed out that it is a great opportunity for the polo community.

“Having a representative for polo in the veterinary industry is huge for our sport’s future growth.”

The mission of Team USPA is to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players who are passionate about every aspect of the sport.

In this way, Massey truly is the embodiment of a Team USPA member—a talented player whose passion for veterinary medicine is sure to contribute to the sport for years to come.

Congratulations to Dr. Massey on her accomplishments in the polo and equine veterinary world thus far. We look forward to seeing what is to come in her career.

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Young guns Maryland teams win National Interscholastic titles

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ornell University in Ithaca, New York hosted the USPA Open Interscholastic National Championship the last week in April.

Western regional winners Central Coast Polo Club/Santa Barbara; Northeastern regional winners Houston Polo Club; Southeastern regional winners Maryland Polo Club; and defending champion and wildcard selection Prestonwood Polo Club converged at the university to fight for the 2017 title.

Gardnertown Polo Club and Prestonwood Polo Club kicked off the week in a tight quarterfinal match-up.

Prestonwood’s Vaughn Miller Jr. had the hot stick to begin the game, and with his teammates David Werntz and Vance Miller III playing solid defense, Miller Jr. scored four unanswered goals.

Gardnertown’s Joe Post and Pierre Chaux combined for three goals before the horn ended the first chukker with Prestonwood ahead by one.

The tables turned in the second chukker as Post scored four straight (including a two-point shot) to take the lead, before Miller Jr. and Vance Miller III each added a tally to close the gap to one. Post added two more scores to increase his team’s lead to three and end the half with Gardnertown up 9-6.

The Cornell ponies kicked off the scoring in the second half, adding to Prestonwood’s total twice in the chukker. Miller Jr. and Javier Cortez combined for four goals on top of the pony scores to squeak out a one-goal lead over Post’s and John Dencker’s single scores at the end of the third. The fourth chukker was a back-and-forth battle. Post and Miller Jr. exchanged goals to keep the one-score difference.

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

MO PETKOV

BY EMILY DEWEY

Maryland’s Aidan Tydings, Parker Pearce, Brennan Wells and Jack McLean with coach Kelly Wells won the Open Interscholastic National Championship at Cornell.

Chaux’s penalty score and another from the field gave Gardnertown the slight edge halfway through the chukker, and Post added another score to cushion the lead. Prestonwood was not about to give up, and with a score from the penalty line and another in the last few seconds of the chukker, Miller Jr. sent the game into a shootout. Chaux and Dencker sank their penalty shots to secure the win for Gardnertown, and send it into the semi-final game against the Maryland Polo Club.

The semifinal round exhibited the shooting skills of the four teams vying for a place in the championship game.

Maryland’s Parker Pearce kicked off the scoring with a two-point backshot right out of the first lineup. Gardnertown’s

Post added his own two pointer from the field to tie the game. A great end-to-end passing play ended with Post scoring his team’s third goal of the chukker.

Maryland’s Brennan Wells tied the game at three and teammate Jack McLean got the go-ahead goal for Maryland. Wells added two more tallies with a rocket backshot from beyond the half line to pad his team’s lead. Wells and McLean finished up the first chukker’s scoring, giving Maryland an 8-3 lead.

Dencker and Post each scored from the field to cut the Maryland lead in the second chukker, but Pearce, McLean, and the ponies combined for five goals to keep the lead. Dencker found his mark again before the horn to make the half time score 13-6. The third chukker

MO PETKOV

The Sportsman Award went to Maryland’s Parker Pearce, shown here making a nearside shot to goal in the final while being challenged by Houston’s Anson Moore.

the ponies, CCPC/SB took the lead.

Price tied the game again, but the Klentners kept the tie just out of reach with two more CCPC/SB scores.

Houston’s Anson Moore closed the gap MO PETKOV

opened with five unanswered goals from the Maryland team. Gardnertown’s Chaux and Dencker each scored from the field before Wells knocked in two scores and closed out the chukker with yet another two-point shot to continue his team’s lead in the fourth chukker, 20-8. Dencker and Wells traded goals to begin the fourth chukker. Pearce and Wells each scored from the field again before Dencker tallied his team’s last goal. Pearce scored the last goal of the chukker, sealing the Maryland win and giving it a place in Sunday’s final game.

The second semifinal pitted CCPC/SB against the Houston Polo Club. CCPC/SB’s Luke Klentner opened the scoring for both teams. Houston’s Sloan Stefanakis quickly countered and teammate Grayson Price added a score from the field and another from the penalty line to give his team the lead.

CCPC/SB’s Jake Klentner brought his team back within one with a penalty conversion of his own to cut the Houston lead to one at the end of the chukker. Jake Klentner evened the score to start the second and with the help of

to one before the horn with a backshot that banked off of the sideboards to bring the score to 6-5 in favor of CCPC/SB. Jake Klentner and teammate Charlie Walker combined for four unanswered goals to open the third chukker.

Stefanakis and Price added the final tallies of the chukker, to cut the CCPC/SB lead to three heading into the fourth and final chukker. Stefanakis and Jake Klentner traded goals to begin the scoring in the fourth. Stefanakis scored once more to cut the CCPC/SB lead to two and Houston put up a defensive stand, keeping its opponents scoreless for the rest of the chukker.

In the waning moments of the game, Houston’s Price nailed a two-point shot over all five of the other players to tie the game and send it into a shootout.

The shootout had Houston up first with Stefanakis knocking the first one in.

CCPC/SB’s Luke Klentner answered with one of his own. With their other teammates missing the goal, the shootout went into a second round.

Stefanakis once again made his shot with CCPC/SB’s Jake Klenter answering. While the other player’s missed the goal by a slim margin the last shot of the evening was sent in by

Best Playing Pony went to Yale’s Circe, who is part of the tournament’s Best Playing String.

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

MO PETKOV

Open National Interscholastic Champion All-Stars were Maryland’s Brennan Wells, Houston’s Sloan Stefanakis and Grayson Price and CCPC/SB’s Jack Klentner.

Houston’s Anson Moore to seal his team’s spot in the final.

In the consolation game, Prestonwood’s Miller Jr. and CCPC/SB’s Luke Klentner opened the scoring by trading goals. Back-and-forth play between the two sets of brothers resulted in a one-goal difference after the first chukker, with Prestonwood holding the lead. Prestonwood found its stride in the second chukker, outscoring CCPC/SB 51 to extend its lead. An even third chukker had the entire Prestonwood team contributing to its five tallies, while Jake Klentner added four goals for CCPC. Jake Klentner added two more scores to his team’s tally in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Prestonwood, that took the game 16-11.

In the final, Houston and Maryland both came out firing in the first chukker. Maryland scored the first two with Brennan Wells going straight to goal followed quickly by teammate Parker Pearce executing a classic “walk the dog” team play. Houston’s Stefanakis sunk a beautiful backshot and Price tallied another from the field to keep it close before Wells finished an end-to-end run to put Maryland up by one at the end of the first.

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

The second chukker had Maryland coming out swinging with Pearce placing a well-executed back shot to goal.

Maryland’s Jack McLean’s quick stick work allowed Maryland to go up by three before Houston’s Price retaliated with a big neckshot to goal. Maryland’s teamwork had Wells scoring and McLean hitting a perfect cut shot to increase its lead. In the last minute of the chukker, Stefanakis was fouled going to goal and the team was awarded a Penalty 1, ending the chukker with Maryland up 7-4.

The third chukker had some great penalty shots by both Maryland and Houston. While Houston worked on playing a strong defensive game, it was hard to contain Maryland’s Wells and Pearce who combined for five goals in the chukker. Houston was trailing by six entering the last chukker, but wasn’t ready to concede.

Stefanakis opened the chukker with a huge two-point shot off of a bowl-in.

Stefanakis quickly added another before Maryland’s McLean stopped the Houston run with a goal of his own.

Houston closed the gap to two, but with less than two minutes left, McLean made a huge defensive play stopping what the crowd thought would be a sure goal.

Wells and Pearce turned on their offensive game once again and scored two goals, pulling ahead to win the Open National Interscholastic Championship with a score of 16-12.

“Houston played a fantastic game today,” remarked Maryland coach Kelly Wells. “I feel lucky to have won. This is a huge step forward for my young team and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

While this is the first USPA I/I Open National Championship for the Maryland Polo Club, coach Wells led the Garrison Forest Girls’ team to an Open Interscholastic Championship in 1998.

All-Stars for the USPA Open National Interscholastic Championship were Brennan Wells (Maryland), Grayson Price (Houston), Sloan Stefanakis (Houston) and Jake Klentner (Central Coast Polo Club/Santa Barbara). Parker Pearce (Maryland) was awarded the Sportsmanship Award. Best Playing String went to Yale and Circe (Yale) was Best Playing Pony.

Thank you to Cornell University for hosting the Open National Interscholastic Championship. Ponies were provided by Cornell University, Gardnertown Polo Club, Maryland Polo team and the Yale Polo Club.

JULIE BENNETT

Garrison Forest wins 14th title The competitors of the USPA I/I Girls’ Interscholastic National Championship were welcomed to Charlottesville, Virginia with warm weather and sunny skies the week of April 19-23. Teams from Central Coast Polo Club/Santa Barbara Polo Club (CCPC/SB), Garrison Forest School, Maryland Polo Club, Midland Polo Club, and Toronto Polo Club squared off in a week-long competition to determine the 2017 Girls’ Interscholastic National Champion.

The CCPC/SB and Midland Polo Club squared off in the first match-up of the week. CCPC/SB’s Cory Williams was first to find the goal, but was answered from the penalty line by Midland’s April Galindo. Galindo and CCPC/SB’s Mia Sweeney traded goals to keep the game tied, but Midland’s Avery Evans gave her team a one-goal lead to end the first chukker.

CCPC/SB came out swinging in the second half, garnering three goals from Williams and Petra Teixeira, to take the lead. Galindo tallied from the penalty line and the field to tie the game at 5-5, but Sweeney had the final goal of the chukker to give CCPC/SB the slim onegoal lead at the half. A combined five goals from Williams and Teixeira and stellar team defense gave CCPC/SB the 11-5 lead with one chukker remaining.

The CCPC/SB defensive stand continued in the fourth chukker, holding Midland scoreless. Andie Rupprecht and the ponies combined for three more tallies for the CCPC/SB team, sealing its win and sending it into the semi-final match up against the Maryland Polo Club.

CCPC/SB and Maryland Polo Club met in the first semi-final game of the week on a hot spring day. Maryland started strong, scoring seven unanswered goals between Maddie Grant, Catie Stueck and the ponies in the first chukker. Maddie Grant and CCPC/SB’s Williams traded goals to begin the second. Sophie Grant added another goal from the field before Williams, Teixeira and the ponies could

Girls’ National Interscholastic winners Garrison Forest’s Emily Wiley, Olivia Reynolds, Lila Bennett and Hannah Reynolds, flanked by assistant coach Kaycie Campbell and head coach Cindy Halle.

close the gap to three before half time.

Maddie Grant and Stueck combined for six goals to Williams three to maintain a comfortable lead through the third chukker. A defense-minded Maryland team held CCPC/SB scoreless in the fourth and continued its barrage, ending the game 21-7 to secure its spot in the championship game.

The second semi-final of the week pitted Garrison Forest School against the Toronto Polo Club. Garrison Forest pulled ahead quickly in the first chukker with scores from Hannah Reynolds and the ponies. Jenna Tarshis put Toronto on the scoreboard to cut the Garrison Forest lead, but Garrison Forest’s Lila Bennett and Emily Wiley added to another pony score to take a five-goal lead after the first chukker.

Toronto’s Clare Hearn found the mark from the field and teammate Molly

Houlton aced a penalty shot to bring their team within three. Lila Bennett and the ponies scored three goals for Garrison Forest to jump ahead 9-3.

Jenna Tarshis ended the half with a goal with Garrison ahead 9-4. The Garrison Forest team added five more goals to its total in the third and held Houlton to one to extend its lead. A full team effort between Bennett, Hanna Reynolds, and Olivia Reynolds added five goals to the scoreboard in the fourth. Hearn and Tarshis scored the final two points of the game, but Garrison Forest maintained the 19-7 score to send it to the championship game for the second year in a row.

The Midland and Toronto Polo Clubs faced off in the Saturday consolation game. Midland’s Madison Lange kicked off the scoring between the teams and Toronto’s Hearn evened the score with a POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 27

MIKE RYAN

Garrison Forest’s Hannah Reynolds backs the ball toward goal while members of the Toronto team come in to defend.

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

one-goal lead, 4-3, after scores from Bennett and Hannah Reynolds. The speed picked up in the second chukker MIKE RYAN

goal of her own. Lange rounded out the first chukker’s scoring with a tally to give her team a slim one-goal lead at the horn. Toronto didn’t let the lead phase it and quickly took control of the game, combining for four unanswered goals between Tarshis, Houlton and Clare Littlechild. Lange added a single tally to her team’s score at the end of the chukker to keep her team within two scores at the half.

Toronto’s defense stayed in gear for the second half, holding Midland scoreless for the rest of the game, while its offense continued to excel. Hearn, Houlton, and Tarshis combined for 10 goals in the second half to lead the Toronto team to victory.

On Sunday, April 23, GFS rode into the Virginia Polo Center arena determined to reclaim the title from the three-time reigning champion. Stueck was quick to put the first goal on the board for Maryland in under 30 seconds of play. Hannah Reynolds retaliated and Wiley put an additional goal on the board with a Penalty 3 conversion to pull ahead by one. The chukker remained close but GFS was able to maintain a

with both teams playing a strong defensive game. Hannah Reynolds scored from the field and Wiley aced a shot from the penalty line, while Maryland’s Stueck scored her team’s lone goal, leaving Garrison ahead 6-4 going into halftime.

Hannah Reynolds struck first for Garrison Forest and Wiley added another tally, but Maddie Grant scored on a beautiful neckshot to keep her team within three. Bennett countered with another score from the field and Grant converted a Penalty 2. Wiley ended the scoring in the third and the teams headed into the fourth chukker with Garrison Forest leading 10-6.

An unwaivering Maryland came out hard in the fourth chukker, determined to close the gap. Maryland put two goals up to begin the chukker, and Sophie Grant, age 13, demonstrated incredible ball-handling skills, turning the ball and passing to sister, Maddie to score the third unanswered goal.

Lila Bennett carried the ball down the arena at speed and knocked it in to pull Garrison Forest ahead by two.

Girls’ National Interscholastic Championship All-Stars were Maryland’s Maddie Grant and Sophie Grant, Garrison Forest’s Hannah Reynolds and CCPC/SB’s Cory Williams.

MIKE RYAN

Sophie Grant retaliated and Maryland was back within a single score. The pressure was on for both teams with less than a minute left. Garrison Forest, eager to win by one goal, fouled directly in front of Maryland’s goal and Maryland was awarded a Penalty 1 with less than five seconds on the clock to tie the score 11-11. Desperate to score the goal, Maryland game-winning committed a foul out of the line-up on the 15-yard line, resulting in a hit from the spot for Garrison Forest with two seconds on the clock. Garrison Forest took its free hit, but time ran out, sending the game into a shoot-out.

Garrison Forest School junior Hannah Reynolds made the only goal in the shoot-out, winning the game and Garrison Forest School’s 14th USPA I/I Girls’ National Interscholastic Championship.

“After a tough loss at regionals my girls doubled their efforts and focused in the finals. They put everything they had into this game. They played this season’s best polo today. I am so glad we were given the opportunity to get the wildcard pick from NHTC. It is a great rivalry between the two teams and it could have gone either way. Hats off to the Maryland team,” said Garrison Forest coach Cindy Halle.

The 2016-2017 season will be Cindy’s last as head coach at Garrison Forest School. Cindy’s coaching career at GFS started in 1986 where she coached for 11 years. She took a brief hiatus but returned in 2007. “This game was a gift from my team to me. It has been a few years since Garrison has brought a title home and I am so proud to bring one home in my last year.”

Cindy has coached Garrison Forest teams to eight of its Girls’ National Interscholastic Championship titles. She said, “There are so many I/I alumni who have helped the girls along the way and it is fun to see a lot of the former intercollegiate players come back to help I/I.” Cindy has introduced so many players to polo and coached countless champions. Although she will not be coaching at Garrison, she will continue

I/I Chairman David Wenning presents Garrison Forest’s Emily Wiley with the Girls’ National Interscholastic Championship Sportsmanship Award.

to work in polo and contribute to the sport.

All-Stars for the USPA Girls’ National Interscholastic Championship were Maddie Grant (Maryland), Sophie Grant (Maryland), Hannah Reynolds (Garrison Forest School) and Cory Williams (Central Coast Polo Club/Santa Barbara). Emily Wiley (Garrison Forest School) was awarded the Sportsmanship

Award. Best Playing String went to Maryland Polo Club and its Infinity and Juliet tied for Best Playing Pony.

Thank you to the Virginia Polo Center and the University of Virginia Polo Club for hosting the Girls’ National Interscholastic Championship. Ponies were provided by Garrison Forest School, Maryland Polo team, Toronto Polo team, and Virginia Polo.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 29

Sealing the deal Valiente completes U.S. Triple Crown victory

By Gwen Rizzo • Photos by Shelley Heatley

A

dolfo Cambiaso led Bob Jornayvaz’s Valiente team to victory in the final of the U.S. Open to take the title and the Triple Crown at International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida on April 25.

Valiente carried its momentum from the first two 26-goal tournaments, the Gold Cup and the C.V. Whitney, into the U.S. Open Polo Championship to defeat defending champion Crab Orchard and complete the Triple Crown.

Valiente, one of the largest polo organizations in the United States, seemed to be on top of its game in terms of players and horses. The team is rumored to have more than 200 horses at the ready. Add to that, 10-goal Adolfo Cambiaso, arguably the best player in the world, leads the team and has an uncanny ability to identify talented players to compliment him and team owner Bob Jornayvaz on the polo field.

This year, 6-goal Matias Torres Zavaleta and 8-goal Diego Cavanagh joined the team, which seemed to work

like a well-oiled machine.

Valiente got off to a great start in the 26-goal season with a 14-11 victory over Orchard Hill in the C.V. Whitney Cup on February 26. With three teams vying for the title, Valiente received a bye to the final while Orchard Hill earned its way with a 14-13 overtime defeat of Coca Cola.

A month later, Valiente celebrated a 96 victory over Coca-Cola in the final of the USPA Gold Cup. With four teams competing over two weeks, Valiente entered the final undefeated. Coca-Cola’s only other defeat came at the hands of Valiente in the opening match.

The Open matches began on April 5, with six teams divided into two brackets, playing a cross-bracket format. The top team in each bracket secured a spot in the semi-final, while the remaining two teams

in each bracket played off for the other semi-final spots.

The first match pitted the favored Valiente team against the defending champion Orchard Hill. Spectators anticipated an exciting match, and they weren’t disappointed. Orchard Hill held a one-goal advantage after the first two periods and the teams tied to end the first half 6-6. Orchard Hill held a narrow edge in the fourth and fifth periods before Valiente knotted the score at 11 and forced overtime. A Penalty 3 conversion

by Diego Cavanagh in the seventh tipped the scales in Valiente’s favor.

The following day, Flexjet edged Audi 10-9, while Coca Cola got the best of Travieso, making its 26-goal debut, 11-9.

A few days later, Orchard Hill handed Audi its second loss, 12-8, while Valiente

Facundo Pieres keeps the ball just out of the reach of Diego Cavanagh.

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

International Polo Club’s Mark Bellissimo with Valiente’s Adolfo Cambiaso, Diego Cavanagh, Matias Torres Zavaleta and Bob Jornayvaz after the team won the U.S. Open.

Polito Pieres on a breakaway aboard 2016 Willis L. Hartman Best Playing Pony Diva Dos. The pony, played by Juan Martin Nero last year, put in a great performance for Pieres this year.

dominated Coca-Cola 17-12. Flexjet picked up its second victory, edging Travieso 11-9.

Valiente took its first loss of the 26goal season, falling 10-9 to Flexjet in a match that, win or lose, still kept Valiente in first place, advancing it to the semifinal. The victory assured Flexjet the same trajectory.

The same day, Audi picked up its first win, defeating Coca Cola 14-8, while Travieso surprised everyone with a 9-8 defeat of Orchard Hill.

The mini-quarters pitted the second and third place teams against each other with the winners moving on to the semis.

Orchard Hill edged Audi 11-10. Orchard Hill led 4-1 after the first 14 minutes and held a 6-3 advantage at the half. Audi chipped away at the deficit in the fourth and fifth to come within one goal going into the final period. Audi managed to score three more goals, but Orchard Hill matched them to maintain the one-goal advantage and take the win.

In the other match, Coca Cola, which had been having a successful season, couldn’t shake Travieso until the end of the first half when it took a 6-5 advantage in one of the better games this season.

Costly mistakes by Coca Cola in the fourth found Travieso shooting open-goal penalties from the 30-yard line three times. Mariano Gonzalez had no trouble converting them, putting Travieso ahead 8-7. Travieso maintained the one-goal advantage into the sixth and managed to increase it to two goals for the 12-10 win.

The subsidiary Hall of Fame Cup had Audi and Coca Cola playing off the same day as the Open semi-finals were played.

The teams were knotted at 5-5 at the end of the third and 7-7 at the end of the fourth. Audi got the 10-9 advantage in the fifth and increased it to 13-11 for the win, ending the season for both teams.

Audi’s Alejandro Novillo Astrada was MVP and Julian de Lusarreta’s Bossanova was Best Playing Pony.

The first semi-final pitted brothers against brother as Flexjet’s Nico Pieres and Gonzalito Pieres battled Facundo Pieres and their cousin Polito Pieres.

Flexjet started strong, leading 2-0 after the first and 3-1 after the second.

Orchard Hill couldn’t seem to get any POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 31

Orchard Hill’s Polito Pieres gets the hook on Valiente’s Adolfo Cambiaso. Orchard Hill controlled the game through the first half before Cambiaso took control.

traction as Flexjet took a 4-2 lead at the half and led 5-3 after the fourth.

Facundo Pieres finally got the team back in contention with three goals in the fifth to come within one, 7-6. Facundo was on a roll and before you knew it had Orchard Hill leading 9-7 in the sixth.

Flexjet fought back with a goal by Rodrigo Andrade and a Penalty 2 conversion from Gonzalito Pieres to force overtime. Just 2:31 in the overtime period, Facundo split the uprights to win the game and advance to the final for the third time in as many years.

The other semi-final between Valiente and Travieso was no contest as Valiente muscled its way from chukker to chukker.

It lead 3-0 after the first and 6-2 after the second. It didn’t get any better as the game went on, with Valiente holding a 93 advantage at the half and 11-4 after four periods. The writing was on the wall when Valiente went ahead 12-5 after the fifth. The final tally was 16-6 as Valiente coasted to victory.

Travieso’s Teo Calle was happy with his team’s first attempt in the 26-goal. “We put a good team together with friends and a lot of heart, and wanted to see how far we went. We had a lot of fun. I think we got as far was we could get. Our horses were a little tired at the end, but we 32 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

enjoyed it and we had fun. It is an experience that I wish for everybody. I hope there will be more people joining and more teams forming. We are a team with passion and heart, and that’s what we want to be known for.”

USPA officials wrapped up their spring meetings and looked forward to a great final between two strong teams.

Meanwhile, the teams got their horses

prepped and ready for some fast action, while the polo club made all the preparations for a big final celebration and welcomed the CBS news trucks for its filming of the event. But, as everyone was rising on Sunday morning, the skies were opening up. It was bitter sweet as the area has been in a drought for some time and could really use the rain ... but not when the U.S. Open final was scheduled!

Valiente .............................. 26 Bob Jornayvaz ........................... 2 Matias Torres Zavaleta ............... 6 Diego Cavanagh ........................ 8 Adolfo Cambiaso ..................... 10

Flexjet ................................ 26 Melissa Ganzi ..............................A Rodrigo Andrade ....................... 9 Gonzalo Pieres .......................... 9 Nico Pieres ................................ 8

Orchard Hill ...................... 26 Polito Pieres ............................. 10 Juan Chavanne .......................... 5 Facundo Pieres ........................ 10 Steve Van Andel ......................... 1

Audi .................................... 26 Marc Ganzi ................................ 2 Nic Roldan ................................ 8 Alejandro Novillo Astrada .......... 8 Magoo Laprida .......................... 8

Coca Cola .......................... 26 Gillian Johnston ........................ 2 Julian de Lusarreta ................... 7 Julio Arellano ............................ 8 Miguel Astrada .......................... 9

Travieso ............................. 26 Teo Calle ................................... 1 Mariano Gonzalez ...................... 7 Sebastian Merlos ....................... 9 Alfredo Cappella Barabucci ....... 9

Polito Pieres carries the ball to goal with Adolfo Cambiaso hot on his heels. Polito led Orchard Hill with six goals on the day.

The rains were unrelenting and by mid-morning the game was postponed. It was reschedule for two days later, on Tuesday, April 25. Unfortunately, many of the USPA officials and even many of the high-goal players had already left and the weekday game limited the spectators to the local polo crowd.

It was a hot South Florida day and even the 5 p.m. game time didn’t provide much relief from the heat.

A motivate Orchard Hill team got right to work, winning the opening throw-in and sending the ball through the goal for the first score. Moments later, it caught the umpire’s whistle and Valiente was awarded a Penalty 2, which Diego Cavanagh popped through the goal. The teams traded Penalty 4s to keep the game level at 2-2.

Polito Pieres, playing his best game of

the season, finessed the ball through the posts in the second, but it was offset by another Penalty 2 for Valiente. Cavanagh scored another from the field but Facundo Pieres matched it to knot the score at 4-4. Orchard Hill turned up the heat in the third with five tallies including three from Polito Pieres.

Cavanagh scored a pair to end the half with Orchard Hill on top 9-6.

Bob Jornayvaz explained, “They just did a great job on the throw-ins. They beat us to the punch. Polito had some incredible breakaways, as did Facundo.

“You never hear Adolfo say, ‘I don’t know what to do,’ it was a first. We said jokingly, ‘You can’t say that! You are the guy!’ We regrouped and everybody focused and took a man. We tried to play very disciplined and simple polo, and we started to click. You just had to go back to basics.”

Cambiaso appeared more motivated in the fourth, taking matters into his own hands and moving the ball to goal three times. Polito and Facundo each scored a goal to keep Orchard Hill on top 11-9.

Cambiaso had effectively changed the momentum of the game and suddenly Orchard Hill was unable to complete plays it had made earlier in the game.

Goals by Matias Torres Zavaleta and Diego Cavanagh tied the match at 11 at the end of the fifth. Early in the sixth, Cambiaso put Valiente on top for the first time since the second period.

Valiente missed a Penalty 3 and an opportunity to increase its lead. Instead, Orchard Hill kept fighting and a goal by Polito Pieres tied the match with time winding down.

With just over 30 seconds remaining in regulation time, Valiente was whistled on a play. The umpires then decided on no foul. Orchard Hill challenged and was eventually awarded a Penalty 4. Facundo Pieres took the potential game-winning shot, but as the ball dropped just wide of the goal, so did everyone’s jaws. The miss sent the game into sudden death.

In the overtime period, after missed opportunities on both sides, Diego Cavanagh stole the ball and ran downfield sinking the golden goal for the 13-12 victory.

“I was thinking I missed the forty to win the game in the last chukker and I knew this was a second chance. The ball bounced and I had a second chance. I knew I had to put it in,” explained Cavanagh.

Looking back over the game Adolfo Cambiaso said, “I think Orchard Hill played really well in the first half. They won a lot of throw-ins. I think we were kind of asleep. In the second half we came out strong and we did it. I think we missed a Penalty 3 with three minutes to go, which put them back into the game.

Luckily, Diego scored the winning goal, which he deserved.

Diego Cavanagh was high-scorer with eight goals. Polito Pieres led Orchard Hill with six goals. Matias Torres Zavaleta was MVP and Cambiaso’s B09, a clone of Cambiaso’s top mare Cuartetera, won the Willis Hartmann trophy for Best Playing Pony in the final at just 5 years old.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 33

Valiente’s Adolfo Cambiaso was in top form this season, as were his seemingly endless supply of talented horses.

Other awards presented included Horse of the Year to Facundo Pieres’ Los Mochitos Jazzita and Best Argentine Bred Pony of the U.S. Open final to Adolfo

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

Cambiaso’s Mentolada.

To add insult to injury, Polito Pieres was thrown from his horse walking back to the pony lines after the game. He

swung his mallet in frustration, startling the horse.

Orchard Hill’s Steve van Andel was gracious in defeat. “We still made it to the finals and I tell you, making it to the finals, that’s worth it.”

Van Andel indicated he may be ready to hang up his high-goal mallets. He told the USPA’s Matt Baran, “I am not getting out of polo, but I may have ended my high-goal run. I have not made a final call on it. ... If you look at the last three years and what we have done, we have been right here all three years and we won one of them. We have won a couple of C.V. Whitney’s and have had a great push over the last three years. I don’t have a complaint. Obviously everyone would like to win everything, but I have had a great time with great people, with a great team. I love spending time on and off the field with them. For me it has been a great part of life.”

The final was rebroadcast on CBS on April 30 featuring game action, interviews and a recap of the entire tournament.

We were polo players Low-goal club polo thrives in upstate New York

By Steve Kraus

C

ornell’s polo program has been a springboard for developing players that went on to spread their polo knowledge throughout the country

Danny Scheraga, Tex Fragnoli and Doc Roberts enjoy a trail ride in Woodstock, Vermont.

We were polo players. Not the kind that arrive to the field in an Audi or Mercedes convertible sports car and leap onto ready saddled and warmed up horses. No, we drove our own trailers, saddled our own horses, and with the help of family or students, played the game, cooled them down and took them home. Yes, we were polo players. This is a polo story that started a long time ago, 36 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

about how polo has thrived in upstate New York, played at the low-goal club level. As you will see, the people in this tiny group have had profound effects on the rest of the polo world.

In the 1930s, polo was quite popular in the Northeast and was certainly an Ivy League sport. At Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, outdoor and arena polo was being played. The first horses used

there were ROTC artillery horses. The outdoor field (Alumni Field) now is the location for athletic department buildings and a lacrosse field. Polo Hall of Famer Stephen Roberts was on the varsity team as an undergraduate along with 10-goaler and Hall of Famer Buddy Coombs.

After “Doc” Roberts graduated from Cornell’s Veterinary College, he continued to play and promote polo. He became a professor in the veterinary college and coached Cornell’s polo team until 1971. During that time, Doc led the team to many national championships.

Several small polo clubs also popped up around Ithaca, New York. Area players either were Cornell graduates or people that learned from a Cornell polo player.

After his retirement, Doc went on to found the Quechee Polo Club near Woodstock, Vermont. Again, he continued to bring new players into the game and hosted his old Cornell friends regularly.

By the 1950s, polo was regularly played between the Ivy League colleges and Cornell players were playing in New York City at Squadron A. College polo was generally played indoors as arena polo from September through April. A large, heated indoor arena known as the Riding Hall was available at Cornell. This arena was run by Cornell Athletics and polo

After 40 years, Steve Kraus is still coaching and teaching new players at Cornell University.

became a varsity sport. Eventually, a generous donation from John T. Oxley refurbished that arena and years later built a new one that still bears his name.

The area around Ithaca, New York eventually produced some local outdoor clubs that usually had players with some connection to Cornell Polo. The Ithaca

Polo Club was one.

As students learned the sport at Cornell, they were attracted to outdoor polo during the summer months. Doc

Danny Scheraga, far right, leads a group of students during a polo clinic in upstate New York. He has been a driving force for local polo.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 37

The 2015 Seniors Tournament in upstate New York included Cesar Jimenez, Marty Cregg, Dario Santana, Janet Scheraga, Rich Albee, Peter Strumpf, Jan Suwinski, David Belleville, Steve Kraus, Danny Scheraga and David Eldredge.

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

Smith-Corona Corporation was not being developed. This became a perfect place to play polo.

During that same time, D.W. Winkelman put in a polo field outside of Skaneateles, New York and polo became more popular. There was also some influence from higher-goal polo with Knox Field to the west near Buffalo; in East Aurora; and Meadowbrook Polo to the south on Long Island. As an under

graduate, Jan Suwinski played with the Knox family with 9-goaler Lewis Smith.

Village Farms, owned by G.H. Bostwick, also had some influence on local polo due to its proximity, less than two hours away.

Also during the 1960s, Danny Scheraga was growing up near the Cornell Riding Hall. Little did anyone know that he would have a profound influence on local, as well as national, polo in the future. Starting off by helping

MO PETKOV

Roberts’ infectious enthusiasm attracted non-Cornell players into polo either as fans, helpers or players. Back then, new non-Cornell players were local fans that owned a horse or two. One of them was Ralph Carpenter.

Ralph owned an excavating business so he built his own outdoor field for local player use. Before the local club called itself “Ithaca,” Ralph’s team was known as Carpenter’s Bulldozers. Other early, local players developed around Cornell’s program were Harry Watkins, Bill Tutton, Jan Suwinski, Bob Stuerzebecher and Dierk Terlouw. Frank Page was also an integral part of Cornell Polo taking care of the horses, umpiring and keeping student players in line.

Often Doc recruited these people during the school year to help with Cornell Polo as assistant coaches, umpires or announcers.

In the early years of outdoor polo here, players would arrive to the outdoor fields pulling a two-horse trailer with their riding mowers in the back of their trucks.

Fields were mowed that way before games.

They were polo players!

By the 1960s, the popularity of outdoor polo grew around Central New York. Thirty miles away from Ithaca to the east, the Cortland Apple Knockers was established. At that time, a 40-acre flat, well-drained field owned by the

Interscholastic coach Kelly Wells, right, learned to play from her father, Dale Chambers, who played for Cornell. Kelly’s two children, including son Brennan, center, are now polo stars.

Brandon Van Loon was mucking stalls as a boy in New York. He is now a member of Team USPA and coach at Yale University.

skills with the mallet and coaching were responsible for many tournament wins.

David turned his talents into building winning collegiate polo teams. Cornell polo has more national championships than any other varsity team at Cornell. In

MIKE RYAN

Frank Page muck stalls, Danny eventually attended Cornell, played on the polo team, took over the head polo coach position and became the driving force for local polo.

Danny Scheraga developed and organized Cornell polo’s infrastructure and finances while winning three women’s national collegiate tournaments.

Danny was responsible for bringing me into the game in 1975 as well as many others. He is a polo player!

By the late 70s the Cortland Apple Knockers had faded down to two players.

However, the Cortland field was one of the best in the area. The Ithaca Polo Club was still playing at the Carpenter field when Danny proposed joining the two clubs to improve their numbers and preserve the Cortland field. The Central New York Polo Club was born. We were polo players!

David Eldredge succeeded Danny Scheraga in 1985 as head coach at Cornell. David also had a profound effect on Cornell’s program, as well as both indoor and regional outdoor polo.

Eventually rated at 7 indoors, David’s

Cornell coach David Eldredge, center, succeeded Danny Scheraga in 1985. Eldredge has had a profound effect on Cornell’s program as well as regional polo. His daughters now play.

October 2015, David accumulated an unprecedented 900 collegiate wins for his teams.

David came from a polo family. His father, Halsey, attended the College of Agriculture at Cornell and played polo under Doc Roberts. His older brother Chuck, attended Cornell and played under Danny.

When David was only 16, he, Chuck, Danny and Jimmy Rintoul, another Cornell player, formed a team known as the Cayuga Lake Clowns. In their second year together (rated at 6 goals), to everyone’s surprise, they reached the final in a 10-team, 8-goal tournament over at Village Farms after defeating teams with pros. They lost by one goal in the final against the Bostwick family.

They were polo players!

After leaving Cornell, Danny ran the Intercollegiate/Interscholastic program for the USPA. He developed the regional playoff system, the best playing pony and all-star scoring systems, and random assignment of collegiate strings at tournaments, still used today. He then turned his talents toward helping grow the Polo Training Foundation. During his tenure he actively worked on the Umpire Training Manual, Rules Interpretation Manual, and certification program.

He also is responsible for organizing the junior polo activities that bring many future players into the sport. The effects of the little boy who mucked stalls at Cornell have been far reaching for the sport of polo. Even today, Danny continues to teach new players and promote the sport. He organizes all the tournaments held at Central New York Polo Club.

A popular feature of Cornell Polo is the Wednesday night polo. This was originally developed so that non students who played polo could get some scrimmaging. Originally known as “old men’s polo,” then “businessmen’s polo,” eventually it became community polo.

Players like Bob Stuerzebecher, Bill Tutton and many others would come in for some fun. Bob Stuerzebecher started his polo career as a student player at Cornell. He played polo with CNY and (continued on page 56) POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 39

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ome say man is the only animal that stumbles twice with the same stone. It does not always happen ... On Saturday December 10, 2005, the Argentine Open was defined in Palermo. Ellerstina and La Dolfina equaled 19-19. With 36 seconds on the clock, Ellerstina was given a 60-yard penalty, which if converted would give the team the Triple Crown. But Matías Mac Donough’s shot didn’t have enough power and was blocked by La Dolfina’s defense, which took the victory in the overtime chukker.

Twelve years have passed and the circumstances were repeated: the same scenario took place while another traditional trophy was at stake—the República Argentina Cup, the contest that brings together quartets rated between 0 and 40 goals, something rarely seen on the planet.

On Saturday, March 25, Trenque Lauquen was beating San Francisco de Asís/La Irenita by 12-11 with just three seconds on the clock when the judges awarded a safety to Mac Donough’s team.

“You learn from mistakes. Of course, at that moment I remembered that penalty during the Open. And I said to myself, ‘I can not fail.’ When I was preparing the shot, I asked for help from Negrito, a groom friend of mine who died just a year ago. I said ‘Negrito, the mallet is yours.’

And Negrito gave me his hand and his strength; it was he who nailed it,” explained the leader of San Francisco de Asís/La Irenita.

In the overtime, appealing to all his experience, Mac Donough anticipated a short shot coming from Juan Manuel García Grossi and attacked at the right time. “I saw the ball came to my position 40 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

CLICKPOLO.COM

Mac Donough looks to heaven for help winning Republic Cup

Tomás Leguizamón, left, holds steady against Juan Agustín García Grossi in the Republic final.

and I went on it. I was running toward the goal, contemplating the joy of our people in our [organization] and could not contain myself. It was one of the biggest joys that polo gave me,” he said when recalling the goal that allowed his team to win the tournament, which had 16 quartets from 10 to 26 goals.

The competition began on Thursday, March 16, with the first of three qualifying dates celebrated in Palermo and the complex that the APA has in Pilar, 35 miles away from Buenos Aires. League A was one of the most disputed, as three teams had the same performance with two wins and one defeat. Finally the winner was Venado Tuerto, with 10-goaler Hilario Ulloa and Bartolomé Castagnola, another who had the highest handicap, that

managed to pass to the semifinals.

League B was in the hands of Trenque Lauquen, another traditional name in Argentinean polo, after prevailing in its three presentations. League C was for La Natividad, a combo of teenagers (Juan Martín Zubía, Lucas Díaz Alberdi and the brothers Bartolomé and Camilo Castagnola), after getting three successes, while San Francisco de Asís/La Irenita was undefeated in League D. The semi-finals were played on Thursday, March 23, in Palermo. San Francisco de Asís/La Irenita received an initial advantage of six goals because of the handicap difference against Venado Tuerto and managed it efficiently until completing the six chukkers with a favorable score of 18-15. In the second

CLICKPOLO.COM

San Francisco de Asís/La Irenita’s Matías Mac Donough, Facundo Fernández Llorente, Martín Podestá and Tomás Leguizamón captured the Republic Cup over Trenque Lauquen.

22-19 victory against a rival that had an inspired Zavaleta with 13 goals.

Then, more than 2,000 spectators moved to the Cathedral to witness the main event. Trenque Lauquen (Juan Manuel García Grossi, Roberto Bilbao, Juan Jauretche and Juan Agustín García Grossi) started with a three-goal lead in front of San Francisco de Asís/Irenita (Tomás Leguizamón, Martín Podestá, Facundo Fernández Llorente and Matías Mac Donough).

In a very hard-fought match, San CLICKPOLO.COM

round, Trenque Lauquen took the three goal advantage given by La Natividad (defending champion) and won 16-14 after a very disputed clash.

Only 48 hours later, Palermo put on a party for the closing day. The action began in Court No. 2 with the definition of the two subsidiary trophies. In the first match, for the Diario La Nación Cup (reserved for runner-ups in each league), El Desafío Power Infrastructure (Miguel Mendoza, Valerio Zubiaurre, Alejandro Muzzio and Chilean Jaime García Huidobro) needed five chukkers to recover from the initial eight goals given to El Chañar (Gonzalo Santamarina, Bautista Funes, Ignacio Acuña and Lucas James) and in the last chukker managed to go ahead to celebrate by a close 14-13 thanks to an excellent performance by Muzzio, best scorer of the game with nine goals.

Later, on the same field, Coronel Suárez (Juan Eduardo Harriott, José Ramón Araya, Ignacio Garrós and Tomás Alberdi) and Las Rosas (Robert Ström, Franco Gai, Clemente Zavaleta and Rodrigo Rueda) played for the Canada Cup (reserved for the third place teams in each league). Paradoxically, Coronel Suárez—the most traditional name of Argentine polo—presented the lowesthandicap team (10 goals) so it started the match with a 13-0 lead. The heirs of the Harriot dynasty managed the remarkable advantage to the finish, celebrating the

Francisco de Asís/Irenita managed to equal the score 10-10 when closing the fifth chukker. In the sixth, Trenque Lauquen again took an advantage of two goals, thanks to Juan Agustín García Grossi’s penalty conversion and a great field goal coming from Jauretche. Tomás Leguizamón was fouled and only three seconds from the last bell came the equalizing penalty from Mac Donough.

In the extra time, Mac Donough (also best scorer of the match with eight) allowed his team to raise, for the first time, the traditional trophy that has been disputed since 1929.

In order to complete personal celebrations, Mac Donough (who provided his opponents with almost all the horses they played in the match) was awarded with two prizes honoring the horses: the Jaime Amorín trophy, dedicated to the best horse in the final, went to Irenita Tapón, played by Jauretche, while the Polo Argentino Breeders Association award went to Irenita Negra Sosa, used by the Back himself, who had already raised the República Argentina Cup in the 2011 season as member of La Estrella/Enigma squad playing together with Jauretche, his opponent for this afternoon.

Matías Mac Donough, who provided horses to his opponents, won two horse awards including the Polo Argentino Breeders Association award for Irenita Negra Sosa, whom he played in the final.

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

The Dubia Polo Gold Cup Series was founded in 2009 by Mohammed Al Habtoor. It is held annually at the Al Habtoor Polo Resort and Club in Dubia, United Arab Emirates.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Al Habtoor Polo Resort hosts polo series Dubai, the event attracts a PHOTOS BY GONZALO ETCHEVERRY/DPGC 2017 large number of VIPs, society figures, celebrities and senior corporate executives.

The event has become the largest and one of the most prestigious international polo tournaments in the Middle East,

DESTINATION: DUBAI

attracting top international players from around the world.

Mohammed Al Habtoor said, “This year we are more excited than ever about the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series as it is being played at its new, permanent home ground—the Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club. This world-class equestrian resort provides enviable facilities for competitors and spectators.”

The series gets underway the latter part of January and runs through the middle of April. Three of the events are played at the 18-goal level while one is played at 14 goals and one at 8 to 10 goals.

The 18-goal McLaren Cup was held first, with seven teams divided into two brackets. After two weeks of preliminary

Zedan’s Amr Zedan handles the ball in traffic while being pursued by Julius Baer’s Mohammed Al Habtoor in the Julius Baer Gold Cup.

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

Zedan’s Martín Gándara, Octavio Olmedo, Pablo Mac Donough and Amr Zedan won the Julius Baer Gold Cup, the most important trophy of the Middle East polo season.

matches, quarter- and semi-final matches, UAE and Desert Palm met in the final on February 4. The half-goal handicap granted to UAE proved vital as it claimed its third trophy in a row. UAE’s HH Sheika Maitha’s team won the Gold Cup in 2016, the Presidents Cup this year at Ghantoot and now the McLaren Cup. UAE was made up of Ali Al Merri, Jack

Hyde, Matías Benoit and Guillermo Terrera, all of whom fought hard until the very end against Desert Palm to achieve the victory. Desert Palm’s Tarek Albwardy, Martín Valent, Alejo Taranco and Santiago Laborde didn’t make it easy for UAE as the match could have gone either way.

The teams traded goals in the first chukker to keep it close, but Desert Palm

Bin Drai’s Saeed Bin Drai avoids the hook of Habtoor’s Mohammed Al Habtoor in the final of the 18-goal Dubai Challenge Cup. Bin Drai went on to win for the second year in a row.

S P O T L I G H T

outscored UAE 3-1 in the second. It added two more goals in the third, while holding UAE to one, ending the chukker ahead 63½. UAE stole the show in the fourth with four unanswered goals to take a 7½-6 lead.

Desert Palm rallied in the fifth and final chukker, outscoring UAE 2-1 but it wasn’t enough and UAE took the victory.

UAE was lead by three goals each from Benoit and Terrera while Valent and Laborde led Palm Desert with three goals each. Terrera was named MVP of the match and Jessica, owned by Ghantoot Polo and played by Terrera, was named Best Playing Pony.

Top scorer of the tournament was Palm Desert’s Alejo Taranco with 23 goals while UAE’s Ali Al Merri led the patrons with four goals.

In the subsidiary Hildon Cup, Mahra Polo (Rashid Al Habtoor, Isidro Strada, Juan Ruíz Guiñazú, Jerónimo del Carril) defeated Zedan Polo (Amr Zedan, Octavio Olmedo, Martín Gándara, Pablo Mac Donough) 10-7.

The 14-goal Polo Masters Cup was next up with five teams playing off over a week.

In the end, defending champion Mahra Polo (Rashid Al Habtoor, Daniel Gariador, Juan Ruíz Guiñazú, Jerónimo del Carril) downed Habtoor (Mohammed Al Habtoor, Gregorio Gelosi, Tomas Beresford, Guillermo Cuitiño) 8-4 to take the title.

Mahra played a great game from the very beginning, amassing a six-goal difference in the third chukker, and held on despite a last-chukker rally by Habtoor.

Mahra took a 3-1 lead after the first chukker and extended the advantage to 72 at the end of the second. Habtoor held it to one tally in the third, but was unable to reach the goal. Habtoor sunk two goals in the fourth and final chukker but it wasn’t enough.

Del Carril was MVP and Quini, owned

by Mahra and played by Ruíz Guiñazú, was Best Playing Pony. Del Carril and Ruíz Guiñazú were tops scorers with four goals each.

In the consolation, Bin Drai (Rashid Bin Drai, Stuart Wrigley, Francisco Elizalde, POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 43

Raul Laplacette) edged Wolves (Habtoor Al Habtoor, Tareq Al Habtoor, Isidro Strada, E. Martinez Ferrario) 9-6.

The 18 goal was back in action on February 18 with nine tough teams in two divisions playing for the Julius Baer Dubai Gold Cup, the most important trophy of the season. After two weeks of qualification matches, Julius Baer earned its way into the final after narrowly edging Abu Dhabi Polo 9-8, while Zedan Polo slipped Bin Drai Polo 7-6 for the other final spot.

The final game was played on March 10.

Teamwork and patience proved the difference for the victors with the teams so evenly matched. The teams traded goals through the first two periods, ending the second knotted 4-4. Zedan (Amr Zedan, Martín Gándara, Octavio Olmedo and Pablo Mac Donough) took the advantage in the third after outscoring Julius Baer 3-1.

The teams matched each other in the next two periods leaving Zedan on top with a two-goal advantage for the win.

Octavio Olmedo was MVP and Gete

UAE’s Jack Hyde is defended closely by Desert Palm’s Martín Valent in the final of the 18-goal McLaren Cup. UAE went on to win the title.

Pintura, played by Pablo Mac Donough, was Best Playing Pony. Wolves’ Habtoor Al

Habtoor Polo’s Guillermo Cuitiño tries to stop Mahra’s Jeronimo del Carril in the final of the 14-goal Dubai Masters Cup. Mahra went on to win thanks to the MVP efforts of del Carril.

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

Habtoor was the amateur top scorer of the tournament while Abu Dhabi’s Alfredo Capella was pro top scorer.

This is the second time Zudan has won the trophy, the first time was in 2015. In 2016, the team counted a win in the McLaren Silver Cup. In the subsidiary Bentley Cup, Mahra Polo (Rashid Al Habtoor, Isidro Strada, Juan Ruíz Guiñazú, Jerónimo del Carril) defeated Wolves 11-8. In that match, Wolves leveled the match at 3-3 in the second after being down by two. Mahra controlled the third with four unanswered goals. Wolves rallied in the fourth with four goals but Mahra stayed ahead with two goals of its own. Mahra kept the advantage in the fifth and final period to take the win.

The last 18 goal of the season was the Dubai Challenge Cup, played between March 17 and April 1. This time, seven teams were divided into three zones. After a week of playoff matches, Mahra and Bin Drai met in the first semifinal with defending champion Bin Drai advancing

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

Habtoor Polo’s Habtoor Al Habtoor, Justo Cuitiño, Mohammed Al Habtoor and Santi Gomez Romero won the Dubai Polo Gold Cup series-ending Dubai Cup.

to the final. Habtoor took the other final spot after downing Wolves 8-4 in the

second semifinal.

Bin Drai’s Saeed Bin Drai, Gregorio

Series founder Mohammed Al Habtoor carries the ball in the Dubai Cup final against Mahra.

Habtoor Polo managed to maintain the half-goal handicap it received to win the trophy.

S P O T L I G H T

Gelosi, Francisco Elizalde and Raúl Laplacette took command of the game early, shutting out Habtoor 5-0 in the first two periods. Despite the big gap, Habtoor Polo, led by Nicolás Pieres, mounted a comeback. Habtoor scored three unanswered goals in the third and another trio in the fourth, while holding Bin Drai to two and coming within just a goal. It made for an exciting match and left spectators on the edge of their seats for the fifth and final chukker.

Habtoor Polo kept up the pressure, scoring two more times, but Bin Drai Polo, thanks to the great play of Elizalde, matched those goals to maintain the onegoal lead to the end, taking the win for the second year in a row. Elizalde was MVP of the final and Pieres’ Capacidad was Best Playing Pony. Abu Dhabi’s Faris Al Yabhouni was amateur top scorer of the tournament with an impressive nine goals.

In the subsidiary Cup, Zedan Polo defeated Abu Dhabi 11-9½. Zedan’s Pablo Mac Donough was top scorer with seven goals.

The series ended with the 6- to 8-goal Dubai Cup. Four teams vied for the trophy but in the end Habtoor (Mohammed Al Habtoor, Habtoor Al Habtoor, Justo Cuitiño, Santi Gómez Romero) edged Mahra (Rashid Al Habtoor, Tariq Al Habtoor, Daniel Gariador, Jero del Carril) by the half-goal handicap it started with, 8½-8, in an exciting match.

Mahra overcame the handicap goal early, taking a 2-1½ lead at the end of the first period. Habtoor fought back to regain the half-goal lead in the second, 4½-4, and maintained that advantage through the third (6½-6) and finally, to the game-ending horn.

Habtoor Al Habtoor was MVP of the final and Nicolás Pieres’ Bochinche, played

by Santiago Gómez Romero, was Best Playing Pony. In the subsidiary, Dr. ABangash (Dr. A, Haider Bangash, Justo Mourino, Maxi Malacalza) defeated Wolves (Raja Abuljebain, Ahmed Al Habtoor, Alejandro Gowland, Hugo Lewis) 10-5.

It was a great end to a successful season, with five different winners claiming the series’ five trophies.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 45

POLO REPORT DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF POLO PAC I F I C C OA S T

MELISSA RATH

CALIFORNIA POLO CLUB PLAYS AT EMPIRE POLO

CPC’s Jemma Contreras heads to goal on the way to victory in the final 1-goal of the season at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

C

alifornia Polo Club celebrated the end of another successful grass season at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California the weekend of April 1-2.

The weekend celebration included a barbecue for all CPC players and their guests as well as many fellow players from Empire Polo Club. Attendees enjoyed a wide variety of food and drinks that included Domingo Questel’s famous meat with his special marinade. The evening culminated in

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

a birthday celebration for Rodney Fragodt as well wishers reminisced over the season.

The CPC, while based in Los Angeles, ran the polo school at Empire Polo Club for the grass season from January to the beginning of April.

Domingo Questel and Jessica Bailey were again the lead instructors for the school. CPC had lessons and pro-pool chukkers all season and invited its members and students to the desert for

one weekend each month for four months. For these weekends, CPC began a new tradition of making the pro-pool chukkers weekend tournaments. The teams’ two-day scores were added together for a final weekend total, and prizes were awarded for each weekends’ winners.

CPC has a program for instructing polo players with four levels of riders: developing riders, coaching chukker players, intermediate players and club-

R E P O R T

MELISSA RATH

P O L O

MELISSA RATH

MELISSA RATH

California Polo Club members and their families enjoy weekend tournament closing ceremonies at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

CPC’s Kailey Eldridge, Jeff Lin, Fernando Rivera and Sonia Couling participated in Empire’s 1-goal tournaments.

level players. All of the top three levels are invited to participate in the pro-pool chukkers on the grass, while the developing riders are invited to take lessons and improve their skills.

All teams played with a pro to help direct the teams and keep the play moving. The coaching level played in one tournament and the intermediate and club players played in a second tournament each weekend.

The final weekend coaching chukker winners were Ricardo Cavalerra, Kristin Barron, Andre Ali Aghili and pro Alejandro Nordheimer. For the club and intermediate pro-pool tournament the final weekend winners were Carlos Figueroa, Melissa Rath, Chuck Stanislowski and Katty Wong. The teams took their game to new heights with the increased tournament play this season.

There were many milestones for CPC players over the course of the season.

Father and daughter Bob and Sarah Bellack ride each other off during the tournament weekends at Empire Polo Club.

Many players had their first grass experience, including but not limited to, Maritza Johnson, Simone Pastacaldi, Melanie Wray, Kristin Barron and Charlize Bisogni.

Bob Bellack and Sarah Bellack, father and daughter, had a chance to play against each other on the grass.

They had a wonderful time riding each other off while at the same time supporting each other on and off the field. Elizabeth Humphreys celebrated her reunion with her horse Dalayla, who she had to leave in England for a time after she moved to California. Dalayla played her first chukkers in California on the closing weekend while Elizabeth beamed from the sheer joy of being back on her pony.

In addition to the pro-pool chukkers, CPC had teams in Empire Polo Club’s 1goal tournaments. Jemma Contreras teamed up with Paul Sethi, and pros

Jessica Bailey and Domingo Questel.

The team played hard and improved over the course of the season to win the closing weekend tournament.

They fought hard to beat out California Polo Club’s other team that included Sonia Couling, Fernando Rivera, Kailey Eldridge and Jeff Lin. As a result of showing his skills in playing in the 1-goal tournament, Paul Sethi was granted a battle-field promotion thereby graduating him from intermediate to club-level chukkers.

Additionally, CPC had another team win the 1-goal tournament on March 12 that included CPC’s Matias Doorn, Ricardo Cavalerra and Alejandro Nordheimer. CPC is incredibly proud of all of its players that participated in the 1-goal and so happy for all the support the rest of our players showed by cheering on the teams.

—Melissa Rath

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 47

R E P O R T

JIM BREMNER/POLOZONE.COM

P O L O

JIM BREMNER/POLOZONE.COM

JIM BREMNER/POLOZONE.COM

Participants in this year’s Margarita Invitational at Lakeside Polo Club included players from Lakeside, Poway and San Diego.

The Blue Bandits prevailed after a game lasting 16 chukkers played over four hours with 32 players participating.

BLUE BANDITS STEAL

MARGARITA INVITATIONAL It was not one of our typical bright sunny mornings for the first throw-in of the day at Lakeside Polo Club’s Margarita Invitational, but the May gray drizzle could not dampen the spirits of the 32 polo friends who showed up to play. The players were divided into two teams, playing 16 chukkers—alternating between fast and some less fast periods—based on the players’ experience levels. The match lasted over four hours.

The final score was something like Blue Bandits 22 and Red Raiders 17, but who cares? Each chukker was a match in itself. Intense competition was

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

Chukkers were organized based on players’ skill levels, keeping the match close throughout the day.

not the purpose of the day, but when you have six guys and girls with sticks in their hands, mounted on horses, and one ball, it gets competitive in a hurry.

Many thanks go to umpire Frankie Questel Sr. who kept the play moving fair, fast and safe, and to announcer Kimberly Hobscheid who encouraged the players and kept the spectators entertained and engaged in the action.

The tradition of the Margarita Invitational started several years ago (nobody remembers exactly when) as a friendly rivalry between our club and the Poway Polo Club from over the mountains in the next valley, and has spread to other clubs in the nearby area. This year, the newly formed San Diego Surf Polo Club joined in the

action. They brought a lot of skill and enthusiasm to the field. A good time was had by all!

Following the play and care for the horses, camaraderie prevailed as we all retired to the Pepper Tree Cantina for celebratory beverages and a barbecue.

This year featured the 80th birthday celebration of Kip Hering, honorary president of the Lakeside Polo Club.

He was presented with a photo, taken by polo photographer Jim Bremner, of his hard riding play in last year’s Hering Cup. It was a beautiful and meaningful gift. Many thanks go to the Bankhead family and the River Valley Equestrian Center for keeping this friendly Lakeside Polo tradition alive and flourishing.

R E P O R T

LACEY WINTERTON

LACEY WINTERTON

P O L O

USPA Governor Danny Walker, far right, presents Bush League’s Virgil Kyle, Ulysses Escapite, Jose Rodriguez and Ryan Robertson the Governor’s Cup.

GOVERNORS CUP GOES TO BUSH LEAGUE TEAM

On what seemed a perfect day in sunny Southern California, the 2017 Pacific Coast Governor’s Cup final was played at the Eldorado Polo Club in Indio.

The ultimate push on Sunday, March 26, featured Virgil Kyle and Ryan Robertson and their Bush League foursome with Ulysses Escapite and Jose Rodriguez going up against Leigh Brecheen and Danny Walker’s Farmers and Merchants Bank organization with Matthew Walker and Antonio Juarez.

From the start it was obvious that Bush League had come prepared as Rodriguez took a pass from the initial bowl-in and simply ran free to score the first goal of the game. The ensuing bowl-in at center turned into more of the same as Escapite grabbed the ball and found Robertson free near the Farmer and Merchants’ goal and the lead was now two.

The initial push continued as Robertson picked up the ball and ran from midfield to score and it was now three to nothing and the large crowd was buzzing. However, Farmers and Merchants came back in a hurry as huge pressure allowed Matt Walker a Penalty 3 opportunity that he converted, Juarez scored from the field, as did Danny Walker, and the game was tied to end the first.

The second featured nowhere near

Cotterel Farms’ Matthew Fonseca, Jenny Luttrell Benardoni, Juan Curbelo and Ruben Coscia won the USPA Rossmore Cup.

the scoring that was seen in the first.

In fact, there wasn’t any as chances were missed and opportunities to advance were not taken. The result was a 3-3 tie at halftime.

The bankers came to work in the third frame as Danny Walker scored from the field and converted a Penalty 2 offering. Farmers and Merchants led by a pair going to the final frame at 53 as many thought it might be over.

Coming out for the fourth, Bush League most certainly didn’t think it was over as they pressed and pressed hard. The result was a free-throw opportunity that Robertson converted.

Escapite then took control and counted his first of the day and the momentum had changed. The continued pressure from Bush League allowed another open-goal opportunity that Escapite capitalized on and it was over as Bush League had won its first Governor’s Cup by a score of 6-5.

Not only had Bush League defeated Farmers and Merchants Bank to take the USPA hardware, it was presented by the man it had just overcome as Danny Walker is the Governor of the Pacific Coast Circuit.

Because he was able to control play when needed and instill confidence in his teammates, Escapite was given MVP honors. Garabinada, played by Danny Walker in the third chukker, was chosen as the Best Playing Pony.

The same day, the 23rd annual Polo

Skins game, also played as the Rossmore Cup, created much anticipation along with a huge fieldside party. This year’s event was livestreamed by the USPA. The polo skins format is exactly like a golf skins competition where each chukker is played as a ‘skin’. Each chukker was worth $3,500. If a chukker is won, the winner receives the money. If the teams are tied for a specific chukker, the amount is added to the amount to be played for in the next chukker. This year, the team that scored the most goals overall would put its name on the Rossmore Cup. The 12-goal game was played in front of huge clubhouse and west berm crowd and an immense gathering of partying faithful lining the entire east side. The match featured Idaho’s Jenny LuttrellBenardoni and her Cotterell Farms polo team of Ruben Coscia, Juan Curbelo and Matthew Fonseca riding out against Canadian John Rooney’s Northern Blizzard line-up of Joe Henderson, Patrick Uretz and Peter Blake.

At the start, Cotterell took immediate control and was rewarded with a Penalty 3 opportunity that Curbelo easily converted. The first period wasn’t half over as Luttrell-Benardoni grabbed a long pass and impressively ran 145 yards to increase the lead to two goals. It appeared the farmers were going to run away with the initial $3500 and take a rather nice lead in the Rossmore. Not so

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 49

R E P O R T LACEY WINTERTON

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fast however, as Northern Qualifier A Flight final Blizzard came back with a big between Springbok (Kate offensive thrust resulting in a Weber, Catlin Dix, Uretz Penalty 4 strike and a Jennifer Alexy, Caroline free throw conversion from 40 Anier) and Prima Polo yards. As a result the score was (Jenny Alter, Dayelle tied at two so the initial $3500 Fargey, Abby Riggs, was added to the second Tiffany Busch) in what chukker bounty making it turned out to be a very worth $7000. physical and entertaining The momentum the contest.

Canadian invaders grabbed in Having to give up a Scott Walker, center, presents Springbok’s Catlin Dix, Jennifer Alexy, Caroline Anier and Kate Weber the Women’s Challenge at Eldorado. the first carried to the second handicap award of oneas Uretz converted a Penalty 2 half, Prima Polo struck from the spot to lead by one. Ruben another field goal and the chukker first as Busch counted the first of her Coscia got that back with a field goal ended with Northern Blizzard cashing three on the afternoon. Springbok’s and the count was tied at 3 apiece. the $3500 royalty and closing to within Anier countered soon after and the However, Northern Blizzard jumped one on the scoreboard, 8-7. first chukker ended with the two-time right back and were once again The sixth was played even with defending champions leading by the rewarded with another Penalty 2 Northern Blizzard’s Blake scoring on a handicap difference (1½-1). opportunity that Uretz converted. superb effort from 90 yards and Jennifer Alexy, riding the eventual With just over 30 seconds remaining Cotterell’s Curbelo replying with his Best Playing Pony Izzy, scored the only in the period and the $7000 third from the field. The chukker ended goal of the second and the count was comfortably in Canadian hands, Blake with Cotterell winning the Rossmore 2½-1 in favor of Springbok going to grabbed the ball and ran 260 yards to Cup by maintaining a one-goal lead at 9the break. score. The point didn’t matter for the 8. However, as great as the farmhands As the enthusiastic crowd stomped money, but with the Rossmore Cup in felt with the victory, there was still divots and conversed with Ruffino play, it would count in the overall score, $3500 on the table as the teams Prosecco in hand, Prima Polo which now stood at 5-3 in favor of matched each other for that chukker. As teammates were speaking amongst Rooney and his oilmen. a result, a sudden-death overtime themselves as well, and whatever was The third frame featured many chukker was necessary. said seemed to work in the third as a scoring chances but not much scoring The extra frame didn’t last very long strong team effort allowed Busch to as Curbelo grabbed the only goal of as Luttrell-Benardoni, with a long, score a pair of goals to take a lead of the period, which was enough to put strong, and perfectly placed neckshot one-half. However, Dix notched a goal the chukker’s money into the Cotterell from well right of the Northern Blizzard and Springbok again led by the account. Still, Northern Blizzard held goal set up Fonseca 30 yards out and he handicap grant (3½-3). the 5-4 lead. made no mistake to score. That The fourth was very physical and The small advantage Cotterell had combined effort gave Cotterell the very close with neither team able to in the third became bigger in the $3500 carryover. In the end, the teams gain any type of an advantage. But fourth as Fonseca counted twice and both won three chukkers, earning with just over 90 seconds to go, Dix was Coscia grabbed his second goal. The $10,500 each. able to grab the ball and run 150 yards three unanswered goals easily gave the Because of her strong and aggressive to score her second of the game.

Idahoans the chukker’s $3500 and the effort in playing the front end and her Springbok had successfully defended 7-5 lead. ability to get to and move the play, its 2016 title by a final tally of 4½-3.

The Canadians, quiet on the Luttrell-Benardoni was selected as the Dix, because of her aggressive and scoreboard for two chukkers, started to MVP. Negra, played by Coscia in the opportunistic play, was selected as the recover in the fifth as Uretz scored from sixth period, went back to the barn MVP and as mentioned earlier, Izzy, the field. Curbelo got that back for the wearing the Best Playing Pony blanket. owned by Diego Larregli and played by farmhands to lead again by a pair in the The season came to an end with the Alexy, was honored as the Best Playing overall count but Uretz was able to grab Pacific Coast Women’s Challenge WCT Pony. It was the second horse played by

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Seabreeze’s Will Fine, Henry Frisby, Max Secunda and Tommy Beresford (orange jerseys) won the IRS Challenge at Port Mayaca. Sunset Farm’s Frank Evans, Tenzin Tognini, Alfredo Guerrena and Adrian Wade (in white) took second place, while Shamrock’s Will Johnson, John Walsh, Hayden Walsh and Leo Mandelbaum (in blue) took third place.

Alexy on this day to be recognized as such.

The Women’s Challenge Upper B Flight saw Deer Creek (Lynni Hutton, Julie Fernandez, Caroline Anier, Audrey Persano) play Ohana (Erin Brittin, Stephanie Davidson, Abby Riggs, Catlin Dix). A very strong first chukker allowed Deer Creek to move on to an 8-5½ victory.

Anier was awarded the title of MVP and Pientha, played by Persano and owned by Fernandez, was chosen as the Best Playing Pony.

The Lower B Flight was won by DG’S Girls (Shelley Geiler, Keli Newton, Jennifer Alexy, Heather Perkins) over Sunset Warriors (Susan Guggenheim, Julie Empey, Tanya Paneno, Carla Gallichotte).

Keli Newton was named MVP and Marley, played by Alexy in the second chukker, was tabbed as the Best Playing Pony.

—Tony Gregg FLORIDA

SEABREEZE ACES IRS CHALLENGE The SeaBreeze team pulled out a win in the aptly-named IRS Challenge played on the traditional tax day, April 15, at Port Mayaca Polo Club in

Okeechobee, Florida. Three teams played off in a round-robin match for the bragging rights.

In the first round, Seabreeze (Will Fine, Max Secunda, Tommy Beresford, Henry Frisby) tied Shamrock (John Walsh, Hayden Walsh, Will Johnston, Leo Mandelbaum) 3-3. Shamrock sat out of the next match, while SeaBreeze took on Sunset Farm (Frank Evans, Alfredo Guerrena, Tenzin Tognini, Adrian Wade).

SeaBreeze gave Sunset a half-goal handicap to begin, but managed to outscore it 2-1 to take the win.

In the last round, Shamrock would have to win by more than a half goal if it was to take the title, but that was easier said then done. It fell to Sunset Farm 4½-2 giving SeaBreeze the narrow victory with a tie and a win.

Sunset Farm took second place and Shamrock was third.

SeaBreeze’s Max Secunda was named MVP and Hayden Walsh’s Charmosa was Best Playing Pony.

DUTTA CORP WINS SEASON OPENER

Defending champion Dutta Corp won the season-opening Santa Rita Abierto at Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida on April 26. Dutta Corp (Tim Dutta, Timmy Dutta, Piki Diaz Alberdi, Carlitos Gracida)

defeated Whitehall Ranch (Bill Lane, Guille Aguero, Nic Roldan, Alex Webb) by a large margin, 12-5.

Starting with a three-goal handicap, Dutta Corp jumped out to an impressive 7-0 lead early in the game.

It led 9-2 at the half and never allowed Whitehall Ranch back in the game.

Timmy Dutta, at 15, one of the sport’s rising young stars, was named Most Valuable Player. Dutta scored a game-high six goals and was outstanding on defense against more experienced players.

“I’m ecstatic to be playing again, I’m excited to be back,” said Dutta, who last played in February in the 20goal and made it to two semifinals.

“I am growing as a player. I am climbing now and I would like to climb to the top. I just have to keep my blinders on and not get distracted. I just want to keep going.”

Mustasa, a 9-year-old mare owned

by Dutta Corp, was selected Best Playing Pony.

The team camaraderie and chemistry have played a key role in Dutta Corp’s progress in the last two years.

“We started with this team two years ago in the first 12-goal and we came together with Piki, Carlitos and my Dad,” Dutta said. “And now in today’s game we almost didn’t have to talk. We just played simultaneously, it

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Dutta Corp’s Piki Diaz Alberdi, Timmy Dutta, Tim Dutta and Carlitos Gracida won the Santa Rita Abierto at Grand Champions.

was like symbiosis.”

In last year’s tournament, Dutta Corp defeated Postage Stamp Farm, 85. It was the first major tournament victory for Dutta, then 14, who started playing polo in 2015, following in his father’s footsteps.

Dutta credited his father and mother, Susie, a world-class athlete in dressage for more than 20 years, for the support and encouragement to play polo, which has now become a passion for the teenager.

“I like playing with my father, that’s a big thing, it’s a pleasure to be with him,” Dutta said. “He is the one that brought me to this sport and provides all these horses, my teachers and everything.”

Alberdi, a former 10-goal player in Great Britain, has taken Dutta under his wing as mentor and coach. Alberdi has played for top teams Larchmont, Dubai and Habtoor and won several tournaments including the 1996 Argentine Open. Dutta has spent time in Argentina honing his skills with Alberdi.

“This year we went to Argentina except for Carlitos, who was playing at Grand Champions,” Dutta said. “I got to learn more and more while getting ready with Piki.

“I feel coming back to it now like I have grown in the sense I learned new tricks and how to ride better. I have learned from the horsemanship of my

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

Dutta Corp’s Piki Diaz Alberdi takes the ball along the boards as Whitehall Ranch’s Guille Aguero closes in for the hook.

father, mother and Piki. Even when Piki is not around, I keep saying to myself what he tells me: relax and keep playing with my head.

“My mother has taught me a lot about the basics of horses. I think that’s the key for most polo players, your riding is your base. If you can’t ride, you can’t play. Playing is the second feature.

You have to ride anything you have. My horses now are not as fit as they were in 20-goal because we gave them time off, but I am still going to ride them and try to get better.”

Gracida added three goals for Dutta Corp. Webb, a top young player from Great Britain, and Roldan each had two goals. Aguero added one goal.

The Santa Rita Abierto spring opener, named after Melissa Ganzi’s grandmother who passed away on Dec. 29, 2012, is the first of six medium-goal tournaments offered in April and May as the GCPC Spring Invitational League.

In the handicap division of the Santa Rita tournament, Valiente (Poroto Cambiaso, Mia Cambiaso, Robertito Zedda, Pablo Spinacci) was the top finisher in the two-day round robin tournament.

Graff Capital (Tommy Graff, Pablo Dorignac, Juan Bollini, Markus Graff) was second and Altair (Ashley Van Metre Busch, Will Jacobs, Jesse Bray, Brandon Phillips) finished third.

Mia Cambiaso, 14, the oldest daughter of polo great Adolfo Cambiaso,

was named Most Valuable Player.

It was Valiente’s first spring tournament with Grand Champions Polo Club history and the first time Mia Cambiaso and her 11-year-old brother Poroto Cambiaso won a U.S. tournament as teammates.

I am not playing well but happy Valiente won, it was nice,” Cambiaso said. “I am happy for my brother, he is playing well. I like playing against the older players.

“I do enjoy polo. I have been playing a long time since I was a baby. I like horses. I am proud to be Adolfo Cambiaso’s daughter. He taught me how to play. For me this is fun. It’s a hobby. I am not going to be a pro.”

Bollini was impressed with the playing ability of both Mia Cambiaso and her younger brother.

“Mia surprised me the way she controlled the horses,” Bollini said.

“She is an incredible rider. Of course, she has really good horses but the way she makes the horses play is unbelievable.

Someone her age controlling huge horses she is playing to stop and turn is just amazing. It’s a pleasure to see someone that young get so much out of the horse.”

During the round robin, Poroto Cambiaso hooked Bollini and broke up the play while he was headed to goal.

“I didn’t expect that,” Bollini said with a smile. “He may be young and

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Navy’s Karl Hilberg, Melissa Ganzi, Paul Knapp and Alejandro Novillo Astrada won the USPA Military Polo Experience.

small, but you have to go hard with him.

He goes hard and takes you out. You have to challenge these kids. I think that’s the way kids should play polo.”

In Saturday’s round robin, Busch scored three goals and Jacobs added one goal. Tommy Graff scored three goals.

Poroto Cambiaso scored four goals and Mia Cambiaso scored two goals.

Also on April 26, the Navy knocked off the Army and Grand Champions to win the Power Horse Invitational during the USPA Military Polo Experience.

Navy (Karl Hilberg, Melissa Ganzi, Paul Knapp, Alejandro Novillo Astrada) defeated Grand Champions (Lolly Stanhope-White, Tommy Graff, Markus Graff, Pablo Dorignac), 2-1, and Army (Mark Gillespie, Terrence Donahue, Jesse Bray, Juan Bollini), 3-1. In the other two-chukker game, Army defeated Grand Champions, 3-2.

Ganzi, Bray and Stanhope-White, making her final U.S. appearance for the season before returning to Great Britain, each scored three goals.

Knapp, a U.S. Army veteran and coach of the Michigan State University polo team along with his wife Sarah, was named Most Valuable Player.

Knapp has been playing polo for more than 30 years.

“I don’t think there is anything that compares in the equestrian world to polo,” said Knapp, who served in the 82nd Airborne Division, was part of the 1983 Grenada Invasion and

Army’s Terrence Donahue moves in to hook Navy’s Paul Knapp in the USPA Military Polo Experiences.

had 32 jumps.

“This was great fun and great hospitality from Melissa Ganzi and she scored goals to help us win,” Knapp said.

“Today’s game was very competitive but friendly and a lot of fun. We had a lot of laughs out there.”

Knapp grew up riding and showing horses. He went to Oregon State University where he went out for the polo team and has been playing ever since.

Knapp was joined by other military veterans Karl Hilberg, Terrence Donahue and Mark Gillespie.

Hilberg is chairman of the Armed Forces Committee for the USPA. The mission of the committee is to recognize the great history and connection between polo and the Armed Forces. It hopes to create opportunities to support and bridge the Armed Forces and polo communities through the promotion of events such as Grand Champions’ USPA Military Polo Experience and to increase military participation in polo.

Hilberg retired from the Navy 18 months ago after serving for 28 years.

He first started playing arena polo in Newport, Rhode Island with the Navy War College Polo Club. He started playing field polo in Egypt, where he was stationed for three years. Now living in Texas, he plays arena and field polo.

“I had an awesome time today,” Hilberg said. “This was all due to the generosity of Melissa. This is the

highest goal polo I have played outside of arena polo.”

Donahue grew up riding horses and started playing polo at age 11 in California. He played Interscholastic polo and 20-goal practice games in Santa Barbara. When he was young he groomed for Adam Snow, Kris Kampsen and Jason Crowder.

“My mom played polo so I have been playing almost my whole life,” Donahue said. “I love it. I never stopped playing. It’s great.”

Donahue finished six years of active duty in the Army where he also served in the 82nd Airborne Division. He returned from Iraq last year and now owns his own security firm in Hollywood, California.

“Today was fantastic,” Donahue said. “Sunny day in Florida on a horse playing polo is great. Anything on a horse and I am happy. Getting to play with these guys and against an 8-goaler is even better.

“Do I mind losing to the Navy? A little bit, yeah, a little bit. This was better than I normally play. I could go up for passes. It was different from lowgoal polo, which I normally play and is always fun.

“We changed our strategy halfway through the game and it ended up working but it was too late. It was still a lot of fun. I will come back any time.”

Gillespie, who learned to play polo in graduate school at Yale, appreciates the

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Altair’s Ashley Busch, Grant Ganzi, Brandon Phillips and Juancito Bollini won the Grand Champions Cup.

connection between the military and polo. He was a professor at West Point where he learned how to ride.

“I was hooked on polo the first time I tried it,” said Gillespie, who retired from the Army in 1997. He now owns a drone company in the Orlando area and lives in Virginia.

Gillespie, who has been involved in polo since 1983, enjoyed the mix of pros, amateurs and military players in Wednesday’s game.

“It was very competitive,” Gillespie said. “Any time you get military guys going against each other it’s ‘Katy, bar the door.’ Of course, we had to loan the Navy our big gun (Paul Knapp).

“Today’s game was lots of fun.

Everyone was good sports and gentlemanly in their conduct. It’s just a joy to play down here. All the horses were fantastic.”

A few days later, Brandon Phillips scored back-to-back goals in the fourth chukker to lead Virginia-based Altair Polo to a 7-6½ victory over The Polo School to capture the Grand Champions Cup Saturday at Santa Rita Polo Farm.

It was the Middleburg, Virginia-based Altair Polo’s (Ashley Busch, Grant Ganzi, Brandon Phillips, Juancito Bollini) second spring tournament victory in three years.

With 3:30 remaining, Altair Polo led 7-4½ before The Polo School (Rick Desich, Santos Bollini, JJ Celis, Jesse

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

Comedian Pauly Shore presents the Eastern Challenge trophy to Clearwater’s Jeff Hall, Ezequiel Fernandez, Michael Bickford and Chip Campbell.

Bray) rallied behind goals by Desich and Celis but ran out of time.

Phillips, a 5-goal player, was named MVP. Miss America, an 8-year-old American Thoroughbred mare owned

by Halo Polo, was Best Playing Pony.

For Busch, formerly Ashley Van Metre, it was her first win as a newlywed.

The 26-year-old married race car driver Kurt Busch, a 27-time race winner in the NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series and Daytona 500 champion. The pair wed on January 7 in St. Barts.

It was Busch’s final appearance in Wellington for the season. She was scheduled to leave on Saturday for Richmond to watch her husband race.

They are each other’s biggest fans. Kurt Busch follows her on ChukkerTV and tweets videos of her games on Twitter.

Altair Polo is named after her family’s farm in Virginia and great grandfather’s Navy battleship.

“It was fun playing with this team,” Busch said of her 10-goal team. “I always play with Brandon and then we pick the rest of the team and go with it.

In Saturday’s final, Phillips and Juancito Bollini each had three goals and Ganzi added one.

Celis scored a game-high four goals and Desich had two goals for The Polo School. The 9-goal team also received a half-goal handicap.

The following week, Clearwater rallied in the second half to defeat Dutta

Corp, 12-10, in the final of the USPA Eastern Challenge. Dutta Corp (Timmy Dutta, Kris Kampsen, Piki Diaz Alberdi, Tim Dutta), a 13-goal team, started off with a four-goal lead against 17-goal Clearwater (Chip Campbell, Michael Bickford, Ezequiel Fernandez, Jeff Hall).

Dutta Corp, coming off its spring season-opening victory in the Santa Rita Abierto, led 5-1 after the opening chukker. Clearwater took advantage of Dutta Corp penalties in the second chukker to score four goals, including two on penalties, to cut its deficit to one (6-5). Kampsen scored from the field and Bickford converted a penalty shot in the third chukker with Dutta Corp still holding a one-goal lead for a 7-6 halftime advantage.

In the second half, Clearwater found its offensive attack behind Fernandez, who was unstoppable in the final three chukkers. Clearwater outscored Dutta Corp 5-0 in the fourth and fifth chukkers for an 11-8 lead. Tim Dutta closed the gap with two goals in the final chukker but Dutta Corp was unable to get any closer.

“We trusted each other as a team and I knew we would overcome their fourgoal handicap lead,” Fernandez said.

“We knew Dutta Corp was a good team and we had to play our best to beat them.”

Fernandez, the catalyst for

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Power Horse’s Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Marc Ganzi, Walter Scherb and Jesse Bray won the Aspen Valley Cup. With them is Joel Baker.

Clearwater’s second-half comeback, was named MVP. Fernandez scored a gamehigh six goals including five in the second half.

Fernandez’s horse, Rosaura, a 9-yearold Argentine mare, was selected Best Playing Pony.

Comedian and actor Pauly Shore was the awards presenter and kept the players and fans in stitches the minute he stepped on the awards’ podium.

Bickford had five goals and Campbell had one. For Dutta Corp, Timmy Dutta, 15, the youngest player in the final, led scoring with four goals.

Kampsen and Alberdi each had one.

In the first final of the morning, Power Horse (Walter Scherb, Marc Ganzi, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Jesse Bray) rallied in the final two chukkers to defeat Whitehall Ranch (Bill Lane, Pablo Pulido, Guille Aguero, Nic Roldan), 10-9, to win the Aspen Valley Cup. Power Horse scored four unanswered goals in the fifth and sixth chukkers including Scherb’s two goals to start off the sixth chukker. Ganzi scored a 90yard neck shot right before the horn to end the fifth chukker and game-winner with 30 seconds remaining.

Whitehall Ranch had dominated most of the game, pulling ahead 5-1 after the first chukker and leading 8-4 at the half. Power Horse turned it around in the second half cutting down on its

Aeromexico’s David Buller, Alberico Ardissone, Chris Falk and Will Falk won the Arte Careyes Cup in Careyes, Mexico.

unforced errors while finding its offensive attack.

Pablo Pulido, who scored three goals and kept Power Horse off-balance for much of the game, was selected MVP. For Power Horse, Scherb had a game-high four goals, Ganzi had three, Novillo Astrada had two and Bray added one. Roldan scored three goals and Whitehall Ranch teammates Lane and Aguero each had one.

INTERNATIONAL

AEROMEXICO FLIES AWAY WITH FILM FESTIVAL CUP Aeromexico came away the winner over GNP in the Arte Careyes Cup, played in conjunction with the 7th Annual Film Festival at Costa Careyes resort in Careyes, Mexico.

The Film Festival hosts a special event for the polo community featuring players from USA, Canada, Italy, Portugal, England and Mexico.

The tournament featured four sponsors for each team: Makken (Giorgio Brignone, Milo Ardissone, Jesus Solorzano, George Sandhu), Aeromexico (Will Falk, Chris Falk, David Buller, Alberico Ardissone), Hackett (Gary Magness, Sarah Magness, Nico Millan, Benito Hernandez) and GNP (Manuel Matos,

Diego Gonzalez, Luis Perez, Hans Giebeler).

The first day of play featured a beautiful fieldside party for all the film festival guests including Lee Daniels, producer of Fox network’s Empire drama series, and John Cooper, director of the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The play was fast and furious with Aeromexico and GNP winning the first go around. The guests were very appreciative of the play and many had pictures taken with a team or player.

Each game started with a sponsor throw-in. Hackett Clothing Company provided team jerseys for all teams.

The consolation round of Makken and Hackett played each other on Sunday with Hackett being the winner.

Husband and wife team of Gary (playing his first tournament) and Sarah Magness, joined by Nico Millan and Benito Hernandez, won the game with a score of 7-4.

The final—always an event and pressure for both teams—pitted The Falk brothers and their cousin Buller with Ardissone playing as Aeromexico, against GNP with usual teammates Matos, Perez and Gonzalez along with Giebeler. Play was tied through the first three chukkers and then the team of Aeromexico rallied with three quick goals to end the game with a score of 85. The day ended with the usual tequila toasting and trophies for all.

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(continued from page 39) developed into an outstanding umpire, going on to conduct many umpire clinics around the country. Bob’s contributions to polo are recognized with a brick in the walkway at the polo museum.

Eventually, Wednesday night polo became the main way to start interscholastic polo students. During Cornell’s winter break, Danny started a “polo for beginners” program using the somewhat idle Cornell polo horses. Many local players were taught here, including Marty Cregg.

Marty has been instrumental in keeping the Skaneateles Polo Club going after the untimely death of Dave Chase.

Marty also became the chairman of the National Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame. He is just another spark from Cornell polo that caught fire. Every summer, the Skaneateles Polo Club hosts the annual museum Hall of Fame tournament, one of the largest fundraisers for the museum.

When Danny took the reins as Cornell’s head coach in 1975, he increased the capacity of the club.

Women’s polo was going well and there was a large freshman team to develop

future players. Dierk Terlouw took charge of that with the help of Joe Sirico, and eventually me. After 40 years, I’m still coaching and teaching the new players there.

By the late 70s local polo began to flourish throughout the Northeast. In the 80s, New York State had enough small clubs to have an upstate New York polo league. Low-goal polo took hold in New Jersey, Vermont, and Connecticut with 0to 4-goal tournaments to play in. The Central New York Polo Club began hosting a mid-summer tournament that at times attracted 14 teams from all over the Northeast. The chicken barbecue that Phil Wilde established became a major reason for teams to return year after year.

Most of the members of the Central New York Polo Club were affiliated in some way with Cornell University.

Student players would spend their summers working as grooms for members and were able to get a lot of playing time.

One player who did not come from Cornell is Robert ‘Tex’ Fragnoli. He was the only remnant left of the Cortland Polo Club and was instrumental in managing the Cortland fields used regularly for practices and games. He was still playing at age 82 when a mild stroke

slowed him down enough to end his polo career. Now there is a brick in the sidewalk at the polo museum honoring his contributions. He was a polo player!

In the early 80s, there was a freshman that showed up to Cornell polo tryouts that rode with long stirrups and his knees turned outward. He was a very outgoing, confident individual so Dierk and I figured we could teach him. He went on to eventually start on the varsity team and continued to play polo after graduation.

He came back to Ithaca regularly to play in tournaments—sometimes with me, sometimes against me—always staying at my house with his horses. He became thoroughly involved with the intercollegiate/interscholastic programs.

His enthusiasm for polo continued and now Duncan Huyler is the CEO of the USPA. He is a polo player!

Ithaca, New York can be a transient place for some, as their careers take them away from Cornell University. So it is for many players that started their polo at Cornell and played summer polo with the Central New York Polo Club. Over the years, these players have scattered all over the world and continue to play polo and contribute to the sport.

One notable player was another little

The Central New York Polo Club began hosting a mid-summer tournament that at times attracted 14 teams from all over the Northeast. The chicken barbecue dinner that Phil Wilde established became a major reason for teams to return year after year.

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

Certified Equine Appraisals Professionally certified equine valuations for: Donations • Purchases • Sales Injury or death • Bankruptcys Disputes & litigation • Liquidations • Audits • Insurance • Fraud

Steve Kraus is a polo player who drives his own trailer and saddles his own horses.

boy that started mucking stalls here, played interscholastic and intercollegiate polo, and worked his way on to Team USPA. Currently, Brandon Van Loon is the new coach for Yale’s polo team. Other players that started their careers at Cornell, played summer polo with Central New York and then continued to spread polo all over include Ernie Darquea, Laura Goddard, David Zeliger, Marissa Bianchi, Hillary Mroz and Kelly Wells, and all are instructors and manage polo horses.

Janet Scheraga started on one of the earlier women’s teams that won a national championship. She is a polo player! One of my favorite teammates, she not only continues to play with Central New York, but her and her husband Danny raised a son, Jeffery, who now plays, teaches new players, trains horses and manages a club.

Dale Chambers learned to play polo at Cornell and brought polo back home to Unadilla, New York, to his brothers John and Mike. The Chambers family bought and sold horses, had a sale barn and were responsible for procuring many good polo horses for amateur and high-goal players over the years. Dale and his wife Linda, their son Corey and daughter Kelly were a polo playing family. Now, Kelly’s children are interscholastic/ intercollegiate polo stars. They are polo players!

My career as a farrier even got an early boost from Cornell and Central New York polo. In 1968, when I was a Cornell undergraduate, I started shoeing the equitation horses in the same barn as the Cornell polo horses. Soon I was helping coach Dierk Terlouw shoe the polo horses. Several years later, I assumed all responsibilities for shoeing all Cornell athletic department horses.

Over the last 45 years, I have used those wonderful horses to experiment with new shoeing techniques and teach apprentice farriers. In 2010, when I became the resident farrier for the veterinary college, I brought those horses into the farrier program for student practice.

In February 2016, I was inducted into the International Farriers Hall of Fame.

Having the access to these horses has played a leading role for my success as a farrier.

Presently, there are only six of the original members of Central New York left. We are a still enjoying the sport and have become “aging warriors.” During the summer of 2015, with the help of a polo development grant from the USPA and a partnership with the Skaneateles Polo Club, efforts began to create new members. Time will tell if this can sustain low-goal polo in Central New York. No matter what happens, we know that we were polo players!

Peter Rizzo, ASEA Certified Equine Appraiser 561.777.6448 or email: rizzo.poloworks@gmail.com

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MAY 4-JUNE 25 Pro-Pool League Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA M A Y 19 - J U N E 4 Tommy Hitchcock Memorial (12) New Bridge, Aiken, SC M AY 2 3 - J U N E 10 USPA Officers Cup (8) Houston, Houston, TX MAY 24-JUNE 3 USPA Congressional Cup (6) Wagener, Aiken, SC MAY 27-JUNE 3 Russ Sheldon Memorial Poway, Poway, CA M AY 2 9 - J U N E 18 Cartier Queen’s Cup Guards, Surrey, U.K. M A Y 3 0 - J U N E 11 Hall of Fame Challenge Cup Aiken, Aiken, SC M A Y 31 - J U N E 11 HPC Summer Sizzler (4) Houston, Houston, TX JUNE 2-4 USPA Constitution Cup (4-6) Willow Bend, Little Elm, TX Amateur Cup (0-2) Foxlease, Upperville, VA 9th DFW Women’s Polo Tournament Stonebriar, Oak Point, TX J U N E 2 - 11 Luchesse Vic Graber Cup (12) Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA

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Stirrups for Students Kraftig, Defiance, MO Tom Goodspeed Polo Clinic Mashomack, Pine Plains, N.Y.

Floyd Roth Memorial Menlo Circus, Atherton, CA

BritFest Maryland, Jarrettsville, MD

JUNE 4 Joseph Poor/Stan Bradford Cup Myopia, South Hamilton, MA Tom Goodspeed Clinic Mashomack, Pine Plains, N.Y. Morgan Stanley Cup Play Polo, Granville, OH J U N E 4 - 18 Monty Waterbury (20) Greenwich, Greenwich, CT JUNE 5 Royal Salute Polo Cup Singapore, Singapore JUNE 5-25 Royal Windsor Cup Guards, Surrey, U.K. J U N E 5 - J U LY 2 Archie David Cup Guards, Surrey, U.K. J U N E 7 - 11 USPA Players Cup Honolulu, Waimanalo, HI USPA Arena Women’s Challenge Maui, Makawao, HI

JUNE 3 10th Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic Liberty State Park, Manhattan, NY

J U N E 9 - 11 National Youth Tournament Series Junior Tournament Houston, Houston, TX

USA vs. Peru Newport, Portsmouth, R.I.

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Polo for the Planet Prestonwood, Oak Point, TX Newport Cup Newport, Portsmouth, R.I.

J U N E 8 - J U LY 2 2 Independence Cup (8) Southampton, Watermill, N.Y.

Prestonwood Scholarship Cup Prestonwood, Oak Point, TX

J U N E 10 Arena Rules & Strategy Clinic Mountain View, Charles Town, W.V.

JUNE 3-4 USPA Sportsmanship Cup (2) New Orleans, Folsom, LA

J U N E 2 - J U L Y 14 Summer League (4) Southampton, Watermill, N.Y.

Kids Intro to Polo Clinic Moutain View, Charles Town, W.V.

JUNE

20th International Polo Challange Mashomack, Pine Plains, N.Y. J U N E 9 - 18 Willow Bend League (4-6) Willow Bend, Little Elm, TX

Intro 2 Polo Day Black Diamond, Calgary, Canada Chamber of Commerce Polo Classic Detroit, Howell, MI The Bair Foundation Polo Cup Play Polo, Westerville, OH J U N E 1 0 - 11 USPA Mardi Gras Cup (2) New Orleans, Folso, LA Mack & Madelyn Jason Memorial Menlo Circus, Atherton, CA Pacific Coast Arena League California, Los Angeles, CA National Youth Tournament Series Myopia, South Hamilton, MA J U N E 11 Season Opener Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL Neil Ayer Cup Myopia, South Hamilton, MA Rancho Sante Fe Cup San Diego Surf, Del Mar, CA J U N E 15 - 18 USPA Centennial Cup (4) Acoaxet, Tiverton, RI J U N E 16 P. Manning Children’s Hospital benefit Hickory Hall, Whitestown, IN J U N E 16 - 1 8 National Youth Tournament Series Willow Bend, Little Elm, TX J U N E 16 - 2 5 USPA Intra-Circuit Cup (12) Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA

Summer Cup (2-4) Foxlease, Upperville, VA J U N E 16 - J U L Y 2 USPA Officers Cup (8) Mashomack, Pine Plains, N.Y. J U N E 17 Polo under the Stars Arena Tourney Poway, Poway, CA Patriot Cup Prestonwood, Oak Point, TX USA vs. France Newport, Portsmouth, R.I. Father’s Day Tournament Menlo Circus, Atherton, CA 9th Eagle Foundation Polo Match West Shore, Mechanicsburg, PA J U N E 17 - 1 8 USPA Arena Challenge (0) Mountain View, Charles Town, W.V. Father’s Day Match New Orleans, Folsom, LA Women’s Arena Challenge Maryland, Jarrettsville, MD National Youth Tournament Series Atlanta Regional, Atlanta, GA J U N E 18 2- to 4-goal League Will Rogers, Pacific Palisades, CA Windrush Cup Myopia, South Hamilton, MA Just for Fun Tournament South Bay, Gilroy, CA Dennis Lalor Polo Tournament Kingston, Caymanas Estates, Jamaica J U N E 19 - 2 5 Players Championship Kingston, Caymanas Estates, Jamaica JUNE 20 Nik Roldan’s UK Sunset Polo Cowdray House, West Sussex, U.K.

JUNE 22-25 38th Annual Polo for Heart Toronto, Ontario, Canada JUNE 23-24 Arena Tournament (0-3) Brandywine, Toughkenomen, PA Center Polo Classic 2017 Mohawk Park, Tulsa, OK JUNE 23-25 Centennial Cup (4) Maryland, Jarrettsville, MD Agassiz Club Cup Myopia, South Hamilton, MA J U N E 2 3 - J U LY 2 Independence Day League (4-6) Willow Bend, Little Elm, TX JUNE 24 National Youth Tournament Series Lakeside, Carlsbad, CA Beginner Polo Clinic Mountain View, Charles Town, W.V. USA vs. Boston Newport, Portsmouth, R.I.

JUNE 25 The Commander’s Cup Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL Daniel Samaniego Memorial Cup San Diego Surf, Del Mar, CA J U N E 2 5 - J U L Y 16 Silver Cup (20) Greenwich, Greenwich, CT JUNE 26 National Youth Tournament Series Maryland, Jarrettsville, MD J U N E 2 8 - J U LY 9 Harrison Cup (4-8) Myopia, South Hamilton, MA JUNE 30 Habitat for Humanity benefit Hickory Hall, Whitestown, IN J U N E 3 0 - J U LY 2 McHugh Tournament (4) Brandywine, Toughkenamon, PA

MARKETPLACE

IntraClub Tournament Tinicum Park, Erwinna, PA Texas Polo Cup Dallas, Red Oak, TX JUNE 24-25 Final Spring Season match New Orleans, Folsom, LA C.D. LeBlanc Memorial Will Rogers, Pacific Palisades, CA Arena Clinic Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA June Tournament (4-6) Atlanta Regional, Atlanta, GA Millarville Bucket Tournament (0) Black Diamond, Calgary, Canada Jennifer Powers Memorial Darlington, Butler, PA

Note: All dates are subject to change. “USPA” refers to tournaments sponsored or sanctioned by the United States Polo Association.

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POLO THROUGH THE AGES Islamic conquerors brought polo from Persia and Central Asia

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he war drums would roll, the Mughal forts and palaces resound with the echo of instruments mightily blown, and out from an encircling host would appear a dozen riders mounted on the finest ponies that the East could produce.

It was Babur the Lion who sat in state beneath the golden canopy, while about him, upon priceless carpets, were grouped the richly arrayed grandees of his entourage.

He was the first of the Great Mughals, builder of a 16th century empire stretching from Central Asia to the Bay of Bengal. There was nothing in the whole world to compare with his resplendent court, the cavalcades of mounted men, the elephants, the hosts of warriors and of nobles. Such pomp as encompassed him at Agra and Delhi might be outdone only by the glory of dreams. Yet, being a man of action, he tempered his warlike activities with recreations of the fiercer sort, such as hunting and games of skill and, in the intervals of fusing the petty Indian kingdoms into an empire, he had organized matches on the broad expanse outside his palaces.

Making deep obeisance to the Emperor, the riders on the ponies would divide into sides. At each end of the ground were two small, richly carved pillars, and through these goals the respective sides strove to maneuver with long spoonheaded sticks a wooden ball, which had been thrown into the midst of them. The game was polo; the Islamic conquerors of India had brought it from Persia and Central Asia. As far back as three centuries before Babur’s time, Qutb al-Dīn Aibak, one of the slave kings of Delhi, 60 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Mughal emperor Babur organized polo matches outside his palaces. He was known to travel with an entourage, including men mounted on camels and elephants.

had been killed as the result of a fall from his horse while playing polo.

The Mughal emperors, who had need of quick and bold men, of men of resource, found that polo revealed the character of the players, tried their temper and courage and proved their fitness, or want of it, for the arduous life of those stirring times. Hence it became a passport to imperial favor and advancement at court. Babur’s grandson, Akbar,

a born king, showed himself to be both a daring soldier and a skilled polo player.

He is credited with the invention of a luminous polo ball that could be used after dark, and with choosing the pairs of players by the cast of the die, as a matter of kindness, instead of ordering any one to play.

He had knobs of gold and silver fixed to the sticks because of his love of magnificence. The wondrous Fetehpur Sikri,

with its polo and playing field, its immense Gate of Victory and other outstanding features, was a city of his building. But, after a few years, he moved its court and army, with the entire population of the city, to Agra, 23 miles away.

Thus came polo to India, whence it later spread, independently of its origins, through the modern world.

In Persia, however, the land of its reputed birth, it was the national pastime from the dawn of history down to the 18th century. To get a panoramic view of its course, we must observe it, then, in Persia and travel with it through the Near East and the Far East to Japan, besides following its history in India, over which it spread from the west out of Central Asia and from the east, centuries later, out of Manipur, an Indian State, where it had remained popular after its decadence in its older Indian haunts.

Then from Manipur we must trace it to Europe and America, where kings and millionaires have taken it up with enthusiasm.

The Persian court of 2000 years ago was passionately fond of it. However, it was called not “polo” (a term derived from a Tibetan word pulu, meaning willow root, and used in the borderland as well as in Central Asia and India) but gui-chugan, “ball-and-stick,” or simply chaugan. The Persian people judged the merits of a king largely from the way in which he acquitted himself at gu-ichugan, and poets, weaving romance around their heroes, extolled them because of their record in the game.

These poets delighted in fantastic language. They referred to a comely player as a youth of moon-faced beauty beside whom the stars bow low in adoration of his skill. Of one who mowed down his opponents like the autumn rushes, they said: “His heart containeth the courage of seven lions, and in looks he far exceeds the bright star of the morning.

He rideth on the winds and careens through space like an entrancing meteor.” The language was purely figurative; for, like ordinary mortals, the players

As a child, Qutb al-Dīn Aibak was sold as a slave and raised in Persia. After the death of his master, he was sold again. His new master made him Master of the Slave. He was eventually appointed military command and became a general. He died as a result of a polo accident.

rode up and down the ground as they do nowadays at Meadow Brook and Hurlingham. Only the color of their apparel and the character and demeanor of the spectators were materially different.

It will be seen from photographs of the ancient game that the stick used in gu-i-chugan was shaped like a ladle. It was Iranian custom to lead off by hitting the ball as high as possible and then catching it in the ladle-shaped stick.

Afterward two teams were formed, each of four players, and the real game began.

The Persians of early times were fine horsemen, and none rode so boldly and so well as the light cavalry that made its name on to conjure with all over the Orient. Persian horses were mostly Arabs between 14 and 15 hands in height, as well trained for the game of polo as they were for war. In fact, the Persian historians attribute the ability of their cavalry to do anything from furnishing a picket to breaking an infantry phalanx to the initiative, dash and resource that they had developed from perfecting them-

Mughal emperors, needing quick and bold men, found that polo revealed the character of the players, tried their tempers and courage and proved their fitness.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 61

Across the Persian frontier in Central Asia, rulers and their guests watched polo with musicians playing loud music and spectators yelling when the ball came near the goal.

selves at polo. All ranks played it, from general to trumpeter boy, and no promotion was made or sanctioned that did not take account of the skill in the game.

How the courtier and the soldier owed to it both their good fortune and often their very lives, we see in the story of the Persian prince Siyâvash and Afrasiab, king of the Turkomans of Turan, told with such picturesque effect in the Persian Iliad, the Shahnameh, finished by Firdausi in 1008. Siyâvash was a dashing fellow who, although young in years, knew every artifice of the old campaigner and had already won renown on the warpath besides being the talk of the land for his prowess at polo. The poets had lavished all the skill and subtlety of their language upon him and thus perhaps were partly accountable—there was a woman, too, in the case—for the troubles in which he became involved.

Whatever the reasons, he fell into disgrace at his father’s court and, forced to 62 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

In a story about the legendary prince Siyâvash, he is forced to flee the country but is warmly received in Turan by its emperor Afrasiab. The two play a pick-up game of polo, perhaps the first international match.

flee from the country, took refuge with Afrasiab, the hereditary enemy of Iran.

Afrasiab, who could show a generous and sporting spirit in keeping with his fame as soldier and conquering hero, was a keen polo player; he was also fully aware of the reputation of his unhappy guest and at once saw an opportunity for an international game. We might regard it, indeed, as the first international polo match, fought between Iran and Turan.

The idea arose at a banquet give by Afrasiab in honor of Siyâvash. The king’s welcome had diffused geniality, and one or two stories, related in his happiest manner, had been acknowledged with the customary hum of admiration for royal anecdotes. Then came the favorite topic, the all-absorbing national sport of the Persians. The proposal was made that Siyâvash and Afrasiab should choose and captain their respective sides for a game and that the

Persian prince should have the pick of the king’s men. Siyâvash, however, mindful of the ways and the guile of courts, suggested that he would like to play on the king’s side. Finally, it was agreed they should have a pick-up game and each should choose a team from amongst his own people. This gave the correct international atmosphere.

Firdausi describes this celebrated game, which appears to have taken place at Tashkent, in the ornately picturesque language of the Orient, which I have studied in the Persian text. Says Siyâvash: “’With the king’s permission I will with my Persian riders come to the playing ground that they may be my partners in the game, and we will form two sides.’

To this Afrasiab agreed. So Siyâvash took seven wonderful players, whereupon the roll of drums was heard and the dust in great quantity rose up to the heavens.

Cymbals and trumpets were blown so mightily that the earth shook with the

noise thereof, and, when the ball was thrown on to the royal ground, the shouts of the mighty players reached the moon. Then did Afrasiab hit the ball so wondrously that it traveled up to the clouds. Siyâvash was on hand, rushed forward and, before the ball could touch the earth, hit it so that it vanished from sight. The all-powerful one, Afrasiab, then directed that the ball should be handed to Siyâvash, who kissed it, upon which once more the drums and trumpets crashed forth …

“Siyâvash, taking a fresh horse, dropped the ball on the ground and with a mighty hit sent it to the moon; the heavens were amazed and drew the ball towards them. None could compare with him in play. The great king and his followers were overwhelmed with astonishment, and never, they said, had so marvelous a player been seen. Siyâvash was peerless, and his bearing on horseback was like unto the cypress.”

The old Persian kings could be drastic in their treatment of any one who fell foul of them on the polo field. Bahram Gur, the Sasanian hunter king, immortalized in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, discovered a player wearing a chain mail vest under his polo jacket and promptly slew him of his own hand. The versatile Bahram was one of the most accomplished men of his time, a mighty hunter, a skilled swordsman and as great a man-at-arms as he was a polo player.

Bahram tried to dethrone Khusrau, a king whose amours with a lady named Shirin were celebrated amongst Persians in many popular romances, founded, as far as I can ascertain, on fact. The lovely Shirin was not only a fountain of sweetness and a tower of sugar, the equal of the mighty bowman Rustam in archery, but a fairy-faced one who wrested the polo ball from the spinning world. Compared with her even Siyâvash “was not fit to carry her horse rug.” The great Nizami tells in one of his poems of a game of polo played between her and her beautiful handmaids—“the moon with its attendant stars”—as one team, and the king

The great poet Nizami writes of Shirin, a fountain of sweetness and a tower of sugar, who wrested the polo ball from the spinning world.

and his obsequious courtiers as the other. Who knows but that Bahram wished to get rid of Khusrau in order to have for opponents at polo such a team as the moon and its stars?

After centuries polo fell into disuse in Persia because wars and invasions followed each other so fast that there was little leisure. Only in recent years has there been a revival of the sport, brought about through the activities of legations and European groups, who make it one of their chief forms of exercise. It is by no means common amongst the people.

Eastward across the Persian frontier in Central Asia proper, polo survives in an atmosphere of romance. Bokhara, Samarkand, Kashgar and Yarkand, immortalized in the greatest storybook of all time, have still some of the glam-

our of ancient days, when the accomplished polo player won a definite place in kingly esteem. Go back a few centuries, and there, outside the city, in the open space utilized for the game, you might often have seen a host of men-atarms and horses in gay trappings. The place would have been alive with color, gleaming spears, the murmur of voices and the clatter of hoofs, as the ruler, dressed in jeweled robes and mounted on a prancing steed, appeared with a bodyguard in crimson and tassels of gold and, alighting, took his seat on a golden throne beneath a gorgeous canopy, with his courtiers around him. Kings, courtiers and men-at-arms have gone, but the game is played with much of the old-time ceremony.

Turkoman chief and Mughal khan, POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 63

A doorway of the Jami Masjid Mosque at Fetehpur Sikri, the city built by the ardent Indian polo player the mogul emperor Akbar, contains polo pony shoes hung as votive offerings.

In Hunza, an Indian Northwest Frontier state, owing spiritual allegiance to the famous sportsman the Aga Khan, band figures noisily break into frenzied crash at every goal.

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Kirghiz headman and Central Asia emir, love display. The laying of the carpets and preparation of the shamiana, or awning, have been attended to in the morning; the rich carpets, of Persian and Bokharan design, the shamiana, an embroidered work of art resting on carved poles. Chairs, wondrously carved, are placed for the chief and his guest, and opposite the shamiana is the orchestra, which discourses weird music alternating from a faint pianissimo to the crashing sounds of a barbaric march. A little to one side of the chairs is the dasturkhan, a sort of buffet—trays with fresh and dried fruit, native bread, soup, pilau, finely cut carrots in syrup, a cream made from the blending of egg whites with powdered sugar, roasts of various kinds, meat dumplings, cakes and excellent doughnuts.

The stand for the ruler is spread with priceless carpets, a band of musicians with flutes, dulcimers, tom-toms and guitars is in attendance, and the polo players, chosen from among the best in the land, are mounted on wiry and extremely fast Turkoman ponies. When the ruler is seated, the signal is given for the game to start, the audience waxes enthusiastic and, the instant the ball comes near to a goal, the band breaks into deafening crescendos, supplemented by stentorian yells and whistling from the spectators.

In these remote corners of the earth we still have things as they were 1500 years ago. All over Central Asia a polo game is invariably followed by a banquet, and the defeated side will dance.

This is a time-honored custom, barbaric and picturesque to a degree. The dancers, who are ali men, since women in a Moslem country are barred from such an exhibition, are sometimes grotesquely garbed and, whilst drummers and trumpeters beat and blow hysterically, they go through all sorts of contortions to the tune of a chaotic din.

Adapted from an October 1931 article in Asia. This is the first of three parts.

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