J U LY 2 0 2 0
P L AY E R S’ E D I T I O N
Polo emerging in Indonesia
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CONTENTS
P L AY E R S’ E D I T I O N
JULY 2020
VOL. 23,
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
26 Seeing double by C. Maybe Ortiz
6
Identical twins are hooked on polo
N O . 11
Association News USPA Bulletin Umpire spotlight
32 To the rescue by Gwen Rizzo
Organization dedicated to saving polo ponies
12 Instructors Forum by Kit Collins
38 Polo exotic by Gwen Rizzo
14 Ask an Umpire 16 Equine Athlete
Passion for the sport in a variety of forms
by Heather Smith Thomas
18 Polo Scene News, notes, trends & quotes 22 Intercollegiate/Interscholastic 42 Polo around the Globe
J U LY 2 0 2 0
TION P L AYE R S’ E D I
Indonesia Polo emerging in Indonesia
OUR COVER Ponies play in the ocean at Nihi Sumba, a luxury resort on Indonesia’s Sumba Island. The resort hosts a polo event each year. Photo by Tania Araujo
56 Calendar 60 Yesteryears by Dennis Amato
46 Polo Report Panakeia Squeaks Out President’s Cup Win
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2 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN SIGNED COLUMNS ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE PUBLISHERS OF THIS MAGAZINE.
P L AY E R S’ E D I T I O N THE
OFFICIAL MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE
UNITED STATES POLO ASSOCIATION
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GWEN D. RIZZO
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Editorial Board BOB PUETZ, TONY COPPOLA, TOM BIDDLE, DAWN WEBER, AMI SHINITZKY
DAY
Art Director DAVID BEVERAGE Prepress THE OVID BELL PRESS
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©Copyright 2020 by United States Polo Association.. No part of this issue may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process without written permission of the publisher. Paul Brown illustrations are ©2018 and are reprinted by permission of Paul Brown Studios, Inc., P.O. Box 925, Hedgesville, WV 25427. Subscription rates: $45/one year, $78/two years. Other countries (air mail), $78 drawn on U.S. bank/one year, $144 drawn on U.S. bank/two years. (GST:134989508). Subscription problems call (561) 968-5208. VOL. 23, No.10 POLO Players’ Edition (ISSN #1096-2255) is published monthly by Rizzo Management Corp. for U.S. Polo Association, 9011 Lake Worth RD, Lake Worth, FL 33467. Periodicals postage paid at West Palm Beach, FL and additional mailing offices. (USPS: 079-770). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Polo Players’ Edition, 9011 Lake Worth RD, Lake Worth, FL 33467. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement No. 40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Imex Global, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.
4 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
U S PA B U L L E T I N
DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS
Save the Dates—Women’s High Goal July 28-August 2 East Coast Open Women’s Polo Championship (14to 20-goal) at Westchester Polo Club (Newport Polo) in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The semifinal round will be hosted by Myopia Polo Club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, and the consolation and final will be hosted by Westchester Polo Club. A USPA-sanctioned tournament, the games will be officiated by professional USPA umpires and $2,500 in prize money will be awarded to the winning team. Deadline for registration is Monday, July 20, at 5 p.m. ET. For more information contact Agnes Keating at agnes@nptpolo.com.
Plank Co.’s Dayelle Fargey played in last year’s Women’s Pacific Coast Open at Santa Barbara. It will be held there again in early September.
September 4-6 Women’s Pacific Coast Open (18- to 22-goal) at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in Carpinteria, California. Situated between the Carpinteria Foothills and the Pacific Ocean, the club offers an unparalleled location for adrenaline-filled competition. For more information contact Mia Bray at mia@sbpolo.com. National Arena Amateur Cup Launched in 2019 by the Tournament and Arena Committees, the National Arena Amateur Cup is designed to inject excitement into the sport for present and future members. The innovative NAAC format creates an opportunity to showcase the accessibility of amateur polo and to incentivize amateur players to participate longer and more frequently in USPA tournaments, at their home clubs, home circuits and nationally. All amateur players rated minus-1 to 3-goals are eligible. In accordance with National Arena Amateur Cup rules, no player may have a handicap higher than the upper limit of the event. If there is a question regard6 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
ing whether a player falls into the amateur category, that decision will be made by the NAAC Tournament Committee, in consultation with the player’s home club manager and circuit governor. Eligibility to play in the National Arena Amateur Cup will be based on a point system. Those who have competed in the Pacific Coast Arena League, Texas Arena League, horse shows or other sports—like NASCAR, cycling or triathlons—should be familiar with the concept of a points system based on win-loss or ranking. Points will be awarded to individuals playing in all USPA arena events—circuit, sanctioned and national. Points are based on the number of teams and team standing in each tournament. All points described below will be awarded to each team member, not the team as a whole. Points will be based on team members playing the entire tournament and all chukkers within each game. Point system is as follows: •Event with three teams or less: winning team members receive three points each, all other players receive one point each. •Event with four to six teams: winning team members receive four points each, second place team members receive two points each, all other players receive one point each. •Event with seven to nine teams: winning team members receive five points each, second place team members receive three points each, third and fourth place team members will receive two points each, all other players receive one point each. •Event with 10 teams or more: winning team members receive six points each, second place team members receive four points each, third and fourth place team members receive three points each, all other players receive one point each. Tournament results are submitted to the USPA in a timely fashion and the USPA posts point standings and a regularly-updated list of players that are attempting to qualify for the National Arena Amateur Cup. The more USPA arena tournaments a player competes in, the more points he or she will accrue. The USPA will notify players who have achieved the necessary point accumulation to qualify for the NAAC. The National Arena Amateur Cup will be held at Orange County Polo Club in Silverado, California, in November 2020. “Orange County Polo Club has the most amazing new facilities, complete with a fantastic clubhouse, LED-lighted arenas and a jumbotron,” said Gover-
JIM BREMNER
U S PA B U L L E T I N
The National Arena Amateur Cup will be held at Orange County Polo Club in Silverado, California, in November.
President’s Cup This year’s Regional President’s Cup tournaments will once again serve as qualifying tournaments for the National President’s Cup. Regional President’s Cup qualifying rounds will be played throughout the year nationwide and winning teams in any regional event will be given priority to enter the prestigious National President’s Cup. Encouraging participation at the 4- to 8goal level, the return of this tournament format will bring together teams representing USPA member clubs around the country and restore the relationship between the two trophies. The National President’s Cup will once again be held at New Bridge Polo & Country Club at the height of the competitive fall 8-goal season. There are many opportunities for teams to qualify as several clubs throughout the country are slated to host a Regional President’s Cup, including Tinicum Park Polo Club (Erwinna, Pennsylvania), Toronto Polo Club (Markham, Ontario, Canada), Willow Bend Polo Club (Little Elm, Texas) and Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (Carpinteria, California).
Any USPA member club may apply to host a Regional President’s Cup, however a minimum of four teams are required. Regional President’s Cup events will be played with six chukkers at the 4- to 8goal handicap level. The National President’s Cup shall give priority entry to first- and second-place Regional President’s Cup teams of the same year. If you are interested in hosting a Regional President’s Cup this year, please reach out to tournaments@uspolo.org to complete and submit the national tournament application.
Derry Heir’s Eddy Martinez, Alan Martinez, Will Donahey and Summer Kneece won the 2019 National President’s Cup at New Bridge Polo Club. It will be held there again this fall. KATIE ROTH
nor-at-Large Robin Sanchez, who umpired a PCAL event at Orange County Polo Club in 2019. Once players have committed to participate, the National Arena Amateur Cup Host Tournament Committee will make teams to compete at the 0- to 3-goal level.
POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 7
U S PA B U L L E T I N
Collegiate Polo Clubs Receiving $200: Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, Oklahoma) University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, California) Roger Williams University (Bristol, Rhode Island) California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo, California) Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Virginia) University of South Carolina Aiken (Aiken, South Carolina) University of Connecticut (Storrs, Connecticut) Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia) University of North Texas (Denton, Texas) Michigan State University (East Lansing, Michigan) Texas Tech University (Lubbock, Texas) Point Loma Nazarene University (San Diego, California) Westmont College (Santa Barbara, California) University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia) University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, Wisconsin) University of Texas (Austin, Texas)
Intercollegiate Partners U.S. Polo Assn. challenged intercollegiate partners at universities and colleges across the country to Collegiate Polo Clubs Receiving $100: a social media contest. Sporting U.S. Polo Assn. Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas) attire, student athletes were encouraged to develop Stanford University (Stanford, California) creative content from college polo life and post on Colorado State University (Fort Collins, Colorado) social media at least twice a month, tag U.S. Polo Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas) Assn. and use the brand’s hashtags. Despite a shortMontana State University (Bozeman, Montana) ened school year, an overwhelming 28 schools particSt. Edwards University (Austin, Texas) ipated in the collegiate program and were awarded cash for their variety of high-quality content and The College Partnership Program will continue originality. for the 2020-2021 academic school year. U.S. Polo U.S. Polo Assn. is proud to announce this year’s Assn., the official brand of the United States Polo contest winners: Association, will again be outfitting competitive colFirst Place ($1,000): University of Louisville lege polo players. Through this partnership, com(Louisville, Kentucky) plete game attire, including performance jerseys, Second Place ($750): University of Guelph equipment gear bags, white pants and polo shirts are (Guelph, Ontario, Canada) given to the participating USPA intercollegiate polo Third Place ($500)—four-way tie: Oregon State teams along with a financial donation. In turn, the University (Corvallis, Oregon), Skidmore College players wear official U.S. Polo Assn. clothing while (Saratoga Springs, New York), University of Michigan competing in games, running around campus, as well (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and Yale University (New as during guest appearances and media interviews Haven, Connecticut) throughout the upcoming collegiate polo season. As an additional thank you to all school participants who were active Published by the United States Polo Association on their social media this year, Offices at 9011 Lake Worth Rd., Lake Worth, Florida 33467 • (800) 232-USPA schools that posted more than 50 Chairman: Stewart Armstrong President: Tony Coppola percent of the time received $200, Secretary: Charles Smith Treasurer: Steven Rudolph and schools that posted less than 50 Chief Executive Officer: Robert Puetz percent of the time received $100. 8 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
U S PA B U L L E T I N
Aiken’s NYTS All-Stars included Chris Veitch, Josh Escapite, Sophie Grant, Hope Arellano, Aiden Meeker, Summer Kneece, Nick DiValentino and Reagan Leitner. Jack Whitman is not pictured.
National I/I Championships The USPA National Intercollegiate Championships, originally scheduled for April, will now be hosted October 20-25 at the Virginia Polo Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. Qualified teams include: University of Virginia Men & Women, Cornell University Men & Women, Texas A&M University Women, University of North Texas Men, Southern Methodist University Men, University of Kentucky Women, Point Loma Women, and Oregon State University Men. The USPA National Interscholastic Championships, originally scheduled for March, will now be held November 18-22 at the Houston Polo Club/Brookshire Polo Club in Houston, Texas. Open Teams: Gardnertown, Houston, Rancho Naranjo, Central Coast and Maryland Polo Clubs. Girls’ Teams: Aiken, Maryland, Houston, Maui and Boston Polo Clubs.
Middle School Does your club have an abundance of young players in grades 5th -8th? Are you looking for a venue for your middle school polo player to gain tournament experience? The Middle School League might be for you! Middle school tournaments have a fun and relaxed atmosphere where young players get a taste of arena tournament polo while making new friends and
playing their own ponies. If your club is interested in hosting a Middle School League tournament this fall, contact Emily Dewey at edewey@uspolo.org for more information.
NYTS Host Sites Clubs interested in hosting a NYTS tournament this summer must schedule a call with the NYTS team to discuss any additional guidelines that may be applicable due to the current situation surrounding social distancing restrictions. Please contact NYTS@uspolo.org. Results Aiken Polo Club hosted a successful NYTS tournament with six competitive teams. Creative Financial Strategies (Hope Arellano, Madison Jordan, Chris Veitch, Briana Jordan) secured the victory over two days of tournament play, defeating Aiken Saddlery (Summer Kneece, Reagan Leitner, Robyn Leitner, Virginia Gwinn) in the final. All-Stars were Chris Veitch, Josh Escapite, Sophie Grant, Hope Arellano, Aiden Meeker, Summer Kneece, Nick DiValentino, Reagan Leitner and Jack Whitman. Sagebrush, owned by Reagan and Robyn Leitner, was Best Playing Pony. • POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 9
U S PA B U L L E T I N
Dana Fortugno Representing umpires on the East Coast
E
Dana Fortugno speaks with U.S. Polo Assn. Global Brand Ambassador Juan Bollini Jr. at Aspen Valley Polo Club.
10 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
team at his undergraduate alma mater for five years after graduating from law school and, more recently, created the USPA video rulebook in 2019. Assuming the title of Eastern regional umpire director at the start of the new year, Fortugno is eager to align efforts with Western Regional Umpire Director Fergus Gould, and focus on streamlining the umpire officiating process from coast to coast.
What is your equestrian background and how did you become involved in polo? I started taking riding lessons when I was 5 or 6 years old and then started playing polo around 10. My two older brothers and my father taught me how to ride and play. Polo was a family hobby and our lives revolved around the sport. Growing up, my family spent the summers in West Grove, Pennsylvania, which is near Philadelphia, and the winters in Palm Beach County, Florida. I went to school in Florida, but played polo in the Northeast during the summer and in Florida during the winter season.
Where have you played during your professional career? I was a 5-goal pro from the time I was 19 until I was 35 years old. I didn’t play as a pro the entire ALEX PACHECO
mbracing his family’s love of the sport from a young age, Dana Fortugno caught a glimpse into the transient lifestyle he would come to view as second nature as a 5-goal professional player and umpire. Traveling seasonally between Pennsylvania and Florida, Fortugno quickly developed his skills on the field, raising the USPA Gold Cup (1986) and Bronze Trophy (1984) over the course of his 15-year professional career. Studying psychology at the University of Virginia, Fortugno joined the intercollegiate team in 1988, claiming the Men’s National Intercollegiate Championship during his first year. Although furthering his education with a Juris Doctor degree from the Widener University Delaware Law School and a Master of Laws in trial advocacy from Temple University Beasley School of Law, Fortugno never lost his affinity for the defining game of his childhood. Despite his impressive resume of academic achievements, Fortugno is naturally easy-going, maintaining a sharp sense of humor by not taking himself too seriously. A self-proclaimed animal lover, Fortugno especially loves dogs and riding horses while umpiring at clubs on the East Coast during the summer. Demonstrating his love for teaching, Fortugno returned to coach the I/I polo
U S PA B U L L E T I N
Dana (far right) with, from left, father Fred, sister-in-law Marybeth, brother Paul, Mom Liana, former sister-inlaw Louisa and brother Gene.
time because I also coached at the University of Virginia for five years. I played mostly in the Northeastern United States and also in Florida. Brandywine Polo Club (Toughkenamon, Pennsylvania) was my home club and in the winter I played at Royal Palm Polo Club (Boca Raton, Florida) and the original Palm Beach Polo Club. I also went down to Jamaica every year to play in the Easter tournament when I was a teenager and during college.
order to manage them properly. The most challenging part of teaching other umpires is teaching them what not to call. Calling fouls is easy, it’s good non-calls that are hard to train. Playing the advantage can be particularly difficult to train other umpires. For example, a player can be fouled and its easy to blow the whistle, but sometimes it is better to let the foul go if the team that was fouled has a better advantage. In that situation, the fouled team is in a better position if you do not call a foul, and that’s very hard for new umpires to grasp.
How were you introduced to umpiring? When the professional umpire program first started in the early 1990s, I umpired for a couple seasons, but the Umpires, LLC was not formed back then. My brother Gene Fortugno was umpiring at the time, so I was introduced to it then, but back then we all had to umpire each other’s games. At that time there were no professional umpires so I used to umpire often just because we played a lot of tournaments. I learned how to umpire by necessity. For example, if I played on Tuesday, I would umpire games on Wednesday and vice versa. Each team had to provide at least one or two umpires for other games in the tournament that they were not playing and that’s where I first got the experience.
What is the most difficult aspect of umpiring? Player management is the most challenging because everyone is different and you have to understand the players that you are umpiring in
What do your new responsibilities as Eastern regional umpire director entail? This new position is about managing the umpires for the Florida season and making sure that they have access to the information they need. I make sure they have all the tools they need to do their jobs effectively, whether it is providing rule updates (we have our own internal web page where I put information for them); evaluating them when they are umpiring so we can track call percentages and call rates to rank our umpires; and conducting player meetings where the players can come in and discuss plays, bringing calls that we missed back to the umpires or things we don’t need to be calling. My responsibility is to keep my thumb on the pulse of the high-goal polo season in regards to umpiring. In the winter season, my role is a (continued on page 59) POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 11
INSTRUCTORS FORUM
Caged value Wooden horses can be beneficial for any player by Kit Collins
A wooden horse is great for teaching beginners. Even experienced players can benefit from a wooden horse, especially with the help of a coach.
In 1967, I learned to swing a polo mallet on a wooden horse in a dilapidated hitting cage under the instruction of Polo Hall of Famer Joe Barry. After cleaning stalls and riding exercise sets, I had to work in the hitting cage every day for four weeks before Mr. Barry would let me sneak out on one of the boss’ ponies to hit on horseback. He taught me the importance of swing mechanics and most importantly, “never hit the boss’ pony!” Starting my polo career in this manner made it clear to me that the hitting cage is the best way to introduce new players to the sport of polo, although it has been under-utilized to a great extent. Even seasoned players often overlook the value of the hitting cage and what it has to offer them to improve their game in a variety of different ways. If you are thinking about building a cage for yourself or for your club there are two things to
12 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
consider: design and function vs. budget and who will use it and how it will be used to develop or improve skills. A hitting cage is made up of two key parts—the horse and the cage. Designing a wooden horse can be as simple as a stick horse or as sophisticated as the “Mechanical Horse/Polo Simulater” produced by Racewood, Ltd. from England. I have been using the mechanical horse from Racewood for nearly 20 years with great success. Using the most basic wooden horse with or without a cage is a good way to teach the basic swing mechanics. Even standing on a bale of hay or on a chair, without a cage, can be used to establish a straight swing prior to getting on horseback. This could also be done with a foot mallet but using a full-length mallet demonstrates the importance of good technique. Designing a horse with appropriate dimensions,
INSTRUCTORS FORUM
and using a real polo saddle, allows the player to start to develop a good riding position and hitting platform, combined with swing mechanics. Advancing to the sophisticated mechanical horse that responds to the rider’s hands, legs and balance, allows players to focus on combined issues that may be preventing them from achieving the desired results. When you build a cage around a wooden horse, it allows you to work on multiple skills without having to take a break between every swing. This allows you to accomplish more in a very short period of time. The design can be as simple or as complicated as your budget allows. When I built my first cage, I wanted it to have it all. I wanted it for my personal use, to improve skills, quicken my reflexes and keep me fit year-round. I also wanted it to be the perfect teaching tool. I spent nearly $45,000 on the cage in addition to purchasing the mechanical horse from England. Most players won’t need it to be portable or require the ability to set it up or take it down in 45 minutes. I also added ball feeders for both offside and nearside delivery. By using ball feeders or a rapid ball return system, it increased the functionality to work on quickness. There are a variety of plans for hitting cages and wooden horses available on the internet. Keeping in mind your personal goals and budget, you might want to create your own design by combining ideas from different designs, as I did. You might be able to set up a wooden horse and just hit into a net as a short-term solution or build a more permanent structure with all the features that you can dream of. I designed a more affordable cage by modifying an inflatable tent. The inflatable cage was a great concept, but I went a little overboard on the size. Once you have designed your apparatus, there are a couple of things to remember. Most importantly, don’t over-do it. In as little as five minutes, you can hit more balls and experience more of a workout than you could get from a one-hour stick-and-ball session on horseback, so always pace yourself. If you don’t, you will end up with muscle fatigue and a swing that has new problems, and the problems will start showing up in your muscle memory, and not in a good way! Try not to increase your power, but rather focus on technique to achieve the best possible hit. This will help you develop a swing that is natural and automatic, and allow you to focus your attention on the game. When you are in the right place at the right time, power and distance will happen with less effort and hitting the ball will be the easiest thing you need to do. The wooden horse and the hitting cage not only help you improve your polo skills, they also protect your most important polo investment, your horses. It is
true that your horses need exercise and schooling, but overdoing it while you practice your swing and your riding skills can sour a good horse in as little as one session. If you have a weak hitting platform or a poor swing, every time you go to the ball the horse will start looking for an escape route. From there, your swing and riding may begin to break down and the problem just gets worse. If you blame the horse, you will never improve. The good news is the wooden horse is very forgiving and will never duck out. The last piece of advice I would suggest is, whenever possible, have somebody—a coach, instructor, another player or a friend—with you when you use the cage, just to keep you honest. Let them know what you are trying to accomplish and give you feedback. You will be surprised how helpful an extra set of eyes can be. Remember, if it was easy, you wouldn’t need to practice. Good luck, and I hope to see you on the field someday. •
Top: Ball feeders for both offside and nearside delivery allow you to work on quickness. Above: A modified inflatable tent works well as an affordable cage.
If you have questions for Kit Collins, please contact him by email at crcpolo@virtualpolo.com, call 513225-4262 or go to his website, virtualpolo.com. POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 13
ASK AN UMPIRE
Rule 25 Delays of game are penalized to keep play moving
Rhea Vendt plays at Boston Polo Club in Georgetown, Massachusetts.
Rhea Vendt
14 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
This month Rhea Vendt has a question. Rhea is from Malmsheim, Germany, and now plays at the Boston Polo Club. Rhea is rated at 2 goals in the arena and outdoors in Women’s polo and 1 goal in arena polo and minus a half in outdoor polo. She started riding when she was 6 years old and after coming to the states, she fulfilled her dream of having her own riding school in New Hampshire. She started playing polo in 2005 and arena is her favorite version of the sport. She enjoys training young horses for polo and other disciplines, and always has at least one mini Aussie with her (that’s a dog). Boston Polo Club has been at the Georgetown, Massachusetts, location for four years and is constantly growing and expanding. It has an indoor polo arena, an outdoor polo arena and a grass polo field, which was just expanded. In addition to a polo school, coaching league and club polo, the club hosts a number of tournaments, travel and have nationally-recognized intercollegiate and interscholastic teams. To find out more about the Boston Polo Club please visit them at BostonPolo.org.
ASK AN UMPIRE
Rule 25—Stopping on ball c. Delay of Game: A player in possession of the ball, marked by approximately 2 horse lengths or less by an opposing player, must keep moving if he or she is neither being blocked nor ridden off and therefore has the freedom to continue along the Right of Way. Should the player in possession of the ball either stop or reduce his or her speed to a walk, he or she may tap the ball only once and thereafter he or she (or any member of his or her team) must, within 5 seconds, either hit away or run with the ball. An infraction of this rule will result in a penalty against the team in possession of the ball. *Only a portion of Rule 25 is listed. To read the entire rule, go to uspolo.org*
Rhea’s question: If a player uses her one tap to change the direction of the line of the ball and it is now facing a group of players, she needs to hit away but has seven people spread out in front of her. Does she need to leave it? I’m not sure hitting a full shot into everyone else is the best idea. Umpire Sain Joseph is going to answer Rhea’s question. Sain is a native of the Dominican Republic. He has been a professional umpire for the past eight years. He umpires all levels of polo and travels extensively in doing so. He makes his primary home in Sarasota, Florida. Sain had a long and successful polo-playing career as a 3-goal professional polo player. He has played all over the world. He played for 28 years before joining the USPA as an umpire. Sain’s answer: Rhea, that’s an interesting question. I am glad you asked it because there is some misconception surrounding the delay-of-game rule outdoors. Let’s be clear, we are talking about outdoor polo and delay of game. So, the player with the ball slows down to a very slow pace (compared to the pace of the game), then she taps it once, changing the line and is now facing a group of players close by. She has five seconds from the time she slowed down and one tap, which she has already used, to hit away or run with the ball. Here are her options: 1. She can hit it before the five seconds has elapsed (the umpire should say, “use it” at three seconds into the five seconds or after the one tap – so that’s been done already). She must hit it in a direction that would not be dangerous for the group she faces. Taking a full swing into a pack of players could be seen as dangerous use of the mallet. 2. She could take a softer swing and hit it
Sain Joseph
through the players, but not in a dangerous manner. 3. She could speed up while tapping it and run with the ball. 4. She could leave the ball for a teammate behind her and try to clear a path for a pass but that teammate has no more taps and no extra time. The teammate must hit away or run with ball as well. 5. She could just stand there and let the five seconds go by, then get a whistle and a hit for the other team as a delay-of-game foul, obviously the worst option. That is all her options. I hope that answers the question. There are some video examples of the delay-of-game rule on the video rule book under the umpire section of the USPA website: uspolo.org. Please check those videos out, they are good! • POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 15
E Q U I N E AT H L E T E
Leg strain Diagnosing and treating tendon injuries
SERGIO LLAMERA
By Heather Smith Thomas
Tendon injuries are generally the result of fatigue damage.
HORSES in strenuous athletic careers are often injured by stress and strain on leg structures. Soft tissue injuries (tendons and ligaments) often take the longest time to heal. Tendon injuries range from mild inflammation to ruptures, says Duncan Peters DVM, DACVSMR, ISELP Certified Member, East-West Equine Sports Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky. “Most of these occur in the superficial digital flexor tendon. We see this in racehorses and performance horses like jumpers, event horses, polo horses, etc. Usually there has been some degeneration of the tendon and weakening of the tendon over time—and then there’s an incident that suddenly overloads and injures that tendon,” he says. Jillian Mills, DVM, DACVSMR (or Dipl. ACVSMR) Presidio Equine Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation, Encinitas, California, says the primary function for tendons and ligaments is to store and release the energy of locomotion as well as maintain the anatomic relationship between the bones, joints and muscles. “There is little tendon and ligament stress during the swing phase of the stride and a lot of stress during the stance phase. When we look at the biomechanics, injuries occur whenever there is too much strain on the 16 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
tendon. Strain is defined as a change in length of the tendon in relation to its original length,” she explains. “Tendons usually fail somewhere between 12 to 20% of strain. When we look at horses galloping at racing speeds, their SDF (superficial digital flexor) tendon experiences approximately 16% of strain. We can easily see why there might be tendon failure,” she says. “Tendon injuries are generally the result of fatigue damage. With exercise in general there is wear and tear on the soft tissue structures. When there is not repetitive injury, the tendon has the opportunity to heal and adapt. But if there is repetitive trauma the tendon cannot regenerate fast enough, and there is more risk for injury.” It’s the constant wear and tear that leads to tendon injury in any athletic horse. Mills says an easy way to visualize this is to think of the tendon as a rope made of many fibers. “If a strand breaks, there will be hemorrhage and local inflammation.” This does not just affect the tendon portion that ruptures; there is also pressure that builds up, causing adjacent damage to nearby fibers, and not just the ones that were overstretched. Peters says we often see some swelling in the midcannon region or down around the fetlock/pastern
E Q U I N E AT H L E T E
region with associated tendon sheath swelling. “These swellings may be large, hot and painful when palpated. The area will be inflamed and there can be a wide variety of damage—anything from little micro-tears to core lesions or margin lesions where there is significant damage to the tendon, which can be seen on ultrasound. We often use ultrasound to visualize the extent of damage. It may be just small areas of what we call hypoechoic regions within the tendon, or more significant areas in which 50 to 70% of the tendon cross-sectional area is damaged,” he says. “There are a wide variety of things that can be seen with acute injuries. In many cases, however, we just see gradual change in the tendon, especially in some of the horses that don’t show much lameness or discomfort. They may just have poor performance. There may be minimal changes associated with the tendon, but the tendon looks a little bigger than it used to, or perhaps it gets some heat in it now and then,” he says. There’s usually something that makes an astute observer suspect something is not right, but then maybe the problem disappears and the horse seems fine for a while. Then it may happen again and the horse has a poor workout or doesn’t want to train as well—or is a little off after competition--and maybe there’s a little heat in that leg again. “Eventually we realize something isn’t right and do a physical exam and maybe an ultrasound examination. In many cases we can verify the problem with diagnostic imaging like ultrasound but sometimes an MRI may be needed to pick up subtle changes. We try to find and treat these problems before they get too serious,” says Peters. Tendon sheath swellings are common in athletic horses. “Often we’ll find a hint of what may come, before the actual injury, seeing a bit of swelling in the digital sheath—from just above the fetlock and on down into the pastern region. Another area of swelling may occur in the distal carpal sheath with high tendon injuries. We may see some early filling in those areas if there is some inflammation of the tendon or some of the other structures that are within or close to that tendon sheath,” he says. “The digital sheath runs from just above the fetlock and down to the heels of the hoof, and a variety of structures are located there. The main ones are the superficial and the deep flexor tendons that run through that area. If they are injured or inflamed, there will be some filling/swelling in that sheath,” he explains. The other structures in that area that can be injured and cause problems are the distal sesamoidean ligaments, the cruciate, oblique and the straight ligaments. “If any of those are injured or inflamed there will also be swelling of that area. The other structure that
Sometimes before an actual injury occurs, swelling can be seen in the digital sheath, just above the fetlock.
may be involved is the inner sesamoidean ligament that holds the sesamoid bones together at the back of the fetlock. If this is injured or irritated, it can also cause filling of the sheath. If there is swelling in the digital sheath this can be an indication that there is injury or inflammation of other structures associated with this,” says Peters. “It is rare to just see tenosynovitis (inflammation of the tendon sheath), but possible. In some cases we’ll see a horse that has a workout or competition and the next morning there is a little filling in that digital sheath in spite of bandaging. It may be that the horse simply overdid a little. The fluid is a sign that there’s some inflammation. Someone who pays a lot of attention to these things may pick up an indication early on that this horse needs to take it a little easier. There may be something starting to show up and the horse should be watched more closely when he works. The extra filling in that sheath can be an early warning sign,” he explains. If there is actual injury and the tendon sheath blows up extensively, it’s common to see that area always carry some extra swelling afterward. “The tendon sheath is distended and stretched and will never completely tighten up again; this is the situation we call windpuffs. It’s not uncommon for older campaigners to carry a little more fluid in those tendon sheaths, just from wear and tear over the years. They may have a windpuff that goes up or down with work. It may actually shrink a bit and get tighter when the horse is worked, compared to when the horse is just standing around, or you may see one that goes the other direction and has more fluid/swelling after being worked. You have to know the horse, and know whether something like this should be a cause of concern or not. Attention to detail is important,” says Peters. (continued on page 52) POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 17
POLO SCENE
N E W S • NO T E S • T R E N D S • Q U O T E S
HEAD SHINING LIGHT Subhead Young player raises money for horse owners
POLO PLAYER HOLLY HOLLERAN text JENNIFER PUTNAM and her 10-year-old son, Emmett, both members of the USPA, play at Cerro Pampa and Eldorado Polo Clubs and are passionate about polo. During the global pandemic Emmett asked his mom if animals got COVID. “I told him the biggest threat to animals is not contracting the disease, but their owners not being able to afford feeding and caring for them,” Jennifer wrote. “He was distraught. Next day, he started cleaning boots (work boots, cowboy boots, polo boots), and doing odd jobs around the neighborhood to raise money.” After speaking with several veterinarians and Sonoma County animal services, they were able to target the greatest needs. Through Dr. Amber Bowen and the Sonoma Community Animal Response Team, they set up the Emmett Putnam Fund for Animals. Emmett’s hard work raised over $1,500, most of it $25 at a time, cleaning boots. Since then, he received three matching pledges and has had over $900 donated through the Sonomacart.org website. At presstime, he had raised $4,475 out of his goal of $5000. The funds will be distributed to families who can’t afford to pay for their horses’ care, including veterinary care, hay and feed and farrier services. Emmett’s statement of purpose reads, “Hi I am Emmett. I’m a 10year old boy and I love horses. I want to help them. I think that a 10-year old boy can make a difference and that everyone can take part helping their community. If you donate to my fund, it goes directly to large animals in need. Animals around the world are being neglected, abandoned, and Emmett Putnam raised $1,500 by cleaning boots. even good owners sometimes strugThe money will go to help horses in need. gle to care for them properly due to the financial strain of COVID-19. If you donate, you’ll inspire others to do the same. Please join me in helping local horses get the care they need.” Jennifer wrote, “I’m hoping his story can be inspiring to others. We are proud of him, and proud of all the club members who jumped on board to support. This is what the polo community is about! He has sure been a shining light for us throughout these terribly difficult times. If you’d like to donate, go to sonomacart.org/emmettfund.
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POLO SCENE
NANO’S POLO MALLETS
SOCIAL DISTANCING FUN Charities can raise funds at polo event
THE BENTLEY SCOTTSDALE Polo Championships has been temporarily renamed The Stella Artois Polo Classic to help charities and schools hit hard by COVID-19. It is scheduled for early November at WestWorld of Scottsdale. Along with the polo action, “Prom”, an open-air tent and free admission will be provided for high-school students that had their events canceled. Medical professionals, active military and veterans will also receive free admission. Organizers will also offer local charities and schools the chance to raise money through the event. Nonprofits and schools can host fundraisers through the sales of tickets and tables in their own reserved areas. “With so many charity events cancelled in the spring and more possible in the fall, we know our event can be a catalyst for raising funds,” said event cofounder Jason Rose. Social distancing and open-air options will keep guest safe.
COWBOYS AND INDIANS Open team wins 1938 match in Washington state
THE OLD WESTBURY team, with Michael Phipps (6), Stewart Iglehart (10), Cecil Smith (10) and C.V. Whitney (6), fresh off back-to-back National Open Championship wins, took on a team of full-blooded Yakima Indians, the only known Indian team to play the sport, in Toppenish, Washington, in 1938. The Yakima team played in headdresses and bare chests, riding bareback. The Yakima team fell to Old Westbury, 10-7. It’s impressive for a team that hadn’t played the sport before to lose by only three goals to a 35-goal team. An article from the time read, “Polo is no longer the exclusive property of wealthy Long Islanders. Cowboy polo in Texas—where Cecil Smith learned the game—grows more popular than ever. ... in Toppenish, Wash. a tribe of Yakima Indians recently tried the game bareback and lost ...”
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POLO SCENE
N E W S
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FALSE START British polo is on again, off again
JUST WHEN IT LOOKED like high-goal polo might get started in England, things came to a grinding halt. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced on June 1 that it, Public Health England, the Department for Health and Social Care and UK Sport, working with major sports governing bodies agreed that a coordinated resumption of elite sport training and competition will be necessary ahead of any return to competitive sport itself. The 22-goal line-ups began circulating with seven teams reportedly in contention for the first high goal tournament, the Prince of Wales trophy, scheduled from June 12-20. The Cowdray Park Polo Club, host of the next two tournaments, posted on June 2 that it was delighted restrictions had eased to allow a cautious return to tournament polo later this month. Several days later, Adolfo Cambiaso posted a photo on Instagram standing next to his 14-year-old son, Poroto, both in facemasks in an airport. The caption read: UK. The two are scheduled to play with Pelon Stirling and Jean Francois Decaux’s Next Generation team. In late April, Argentina announced it was banning all commercial flights until September 1 due to the pandemic. However, the Cambiasos and other players, some with their families, along with support staff—122 in all—flew out on a chartered flight to England for the high-goal season, arriving just before a British government imposed 14-day quarantine began on June 8 for all international arrivals. An article by Sam Wallace in The Telegraph indicated the flight was arranged between the Argentine Polo Association and the Argentine embassy in London. It went on to say the Hurlingham Polo Association had not been in contact with DCMS, and the department would be contacting the polo association as a matter of urgency. A few days after The Telegraph article came out, on June 10, the polo association announced: “During a meeting this evening the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) gave a clear directive that only those who earn a living from competing in a sport or are aged 16 and over and on an elite pathway programme qualify as elite sports persons, and only those persons are currently eligible to play on a competitive basis. The resumption of sport for amateur players and patrons will be kept under review by DCMS. “For the avoidance of doubt at this time: •Professionals can continue to play at any level as can anyone aged 16 and over on an elite pathway programme; •Everyone, including amateurs can take part in training with up to 6 persons. “We will receive a written directive shortly from DCMS which we will publish but in the meantime all competitive polo is suspended whilst we discuss with our clubs how we can best take the season forward.” A few days later, the polo association announced that after consultation with legal advisors and DCMS, polo could continue on a progressive basis as long as each team includes a minimum of three professionals or aged 16-and-over elite pathway players along with the team player/manager responsible for putting together and entering the team. It further announced new rules will be forthcoming to ensure minimal contact between players. Earlier, the association had announced rule changes, including that bowl-ins would be suspended. To start the matches, a coin flip will determine which team starts with a hit from the center. After a team scores a goal, it will hit from the 60-yard line. At press time, the Prince of Wales tournament had just gotten started.
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Answers on page 51
POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 21
I N T E R C O L L E G I AT E / I N T E R S C H O L A S T I C
UConn Polo University team celebrates 50 years By Sage Saffran
Coach Don Grant, Scott Brown, Bob Church, University President Ferguson, Tom Goodspeed, Duncan Peters, Rick Voss and Kevin Woolan in 1974
On the eastern edge of the University of Connecticut’s campus stands the UConn Polo barn and arena. The program has seen countless talented polo players travel through the university for 50
Dave Green, Jim McElroy, Jim DeAngelis, Cal Herrington and advisor Doc Dinger in 1981
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years. It remains a place where many generations of families come to learn the sport of kings. Members of the community and student body attend weekend games to cheer on one of the university’s most victorious teams. The club started from humble beginnings— members of the club first practiced and played at Shallowbrook Equestrian Center in Somers, Connecticut. They made it to the national tournament in 1971, but lost in the first round. The outcome didn’t matter; they had made their mark on the national stage. This young and tough team caught the attention of teenage players from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Young Tom Goodspeed and Rick Voss traveled to the university to check it out. They quickly fell in love with the school and applied to attend that fall. To start, UConn Polo was a work-to-ride program. Those who wanted to play had to load hay trucks, feed the horses, help out at horse shows and even help build the barns. Coach Hal Vita encouraged the team to become good horsemen by taking young horses from the track and letting the players train them for polo. During these first few establishing years, the UConn men’s team was able to secure its first
I N T E R C O L L E G I AT E / I N T E R S C H O L A S T I C
national championship. Voss, Duncan Peters, and Texas A&M University Bill DeRoyer led the UConn team to victory. The following year, Goodspeed rejoined, and was able to maintain the championship, along with Peters and Voss, for two consecutive years. UConn had revealed itself as the challenger to the established programs in the nation, winning the national title in 1972, 1973, and again in 1974. The three national championships brought a lot of recognition to the university, which was then recognized by the Connecticut governor, the athletic director, the dean of the agriculture and the president of the university. That recognition is when the university took the program under its wings and provided a facility and funding. Before the age of polo on campus—a commodity that many schools do not have—UConn students would have to commute to nearby Shallowbrook Polo Club. Students would drive 45 minutes each way four to five times a week. Students were expected to juggle this along with their academics and any other additional extracurriculars they pursued. InUniversity the coming years, UConn of Virginia Men helped grow the program by allowing students to move on campus to the Ratcliffe Hicks Arena. Luckily, during the summer of 1975, the team was able to secure materials and some volunteers to help build the outdoor arena, which they built next to the pig barns. Tom Wisehart (’98) recalls having to fend off pigs as players ran in to their pens to fetch balls that had been launched out of the arena. Finally, in 2001, the UConn Animal Science Department constructed the current location of the team, the indoor arena. At 120 by 220 feet it is one of the largest arenas in all the collegiate programs. As UConn began to support this growing sport, the team got the green light to accept its first three horse donations. The horses’ names were Caretaker, Spinner and Moose. Caretaker was more stick than sweet, and staying on his back was never a guarantee. While his name was Caretaker, his nickname amongst the team was Undertaker. As with any polo program, the polo ponies are instrumental to the club’s success. The club is thankful to have received numerous horse donations throughout the years. Without the club’s generous donors, the club’s 50-year anniversary would never have come to be. The current herd of 16 horses live in a heated barn with a rotated turnout on scenic Horsebarn Hill. These athletes play multiple times a week and are kept in top shape by the club’s members and barn staff. In 1973, Goodspeed gave back to the polo program by starting a polo practicum to teach
interested students how to ride and play. Run by Doc and Peg Dinger for the past 40 years, this program still exists and thrives today. Well known players like Wisehart began playing polo in this program, and it continues to produce talented players. Coincidentally, Doc Dinger started his polo
career on recommendation from Goodspeed to try polo practicum. The Dingers gave back to the polo team through coaching and teaching those of all levels. Doc’s daughter, Meg Dinger, competed on the women’s team. The women’s team garnered national attention by making it to the national finals in 1995. It returned the following year, even stronger, winning the national championship in 1996. Meg Dinger,
Traditionally painted by Greek life, polo players have been known to paint the rock a time or two.
UConn’s beautiful indoor facility includes a holding area, bleachers and a heated and air conditioned lobby with restrooms and an office.
POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 23
I N T E R C O L L E G I AT E I N T E R S C H O L A S T I C
Alumnus Zach Grob (‘12) was a member of Team USPA and has served multiple deployments as an Army Ranger. He competes in military polo events and serves on the mounted color guard for various USPA events.
1997 National Intercollegiate Champions: Alicia Wells, Jen Freed, Meg Dinger and Kim Syme
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Kim Syme (née Morgan), Alicia Wells and Sue Egan were all members of the national championship team, coached by Dr. Jim Dinger. Meg Dinger, Wells and Syme defended the championship the following year, this time with Jen Freed on the team. It held the momentum in 1998, taking its third national title in as many years. Syme, Wells and Freed were in the lineup along with Megan Schulz. During that 1997-’98 season, the UConn women were undefeated with 16 wins, achieving the best record of all intercollegiate clubs that year. The men’s team also had an impressive 9-2 record that season. In 2004, both UConn teams represented the Northeast region at nationals. This began the UConn women’s second National Championship streak (2005-2008). Under UConn alum coach Matt Syme (‘96), Kelly Wisner, Meghan Scanlon, Amy Fraser (née Wisehart), Jill Curtis, Mary Taylor and Elizabeth Rockwell brought home the win in 2005. Wisner, Scanlon, Fraser and Rockwell came back for a second year in a row, maintaining their national champion standing in 2006. Wisner, Scanlon and Rockwell followed with the win in 2007, joined by Lindsey Burbank and Megan Price. The following year, Wisner and Rockwell teamed up with Elizabeth Wisner and Lindsey Marrotte to once again take the championship trophy home to Storrs, Connecticut. The UConn Polo Club has built a reputation of success, sprouting up from the club’s humble beginnings. Some of the many talented alumni include Zach Grob, Belinda Brody and Carly and Audry Persano. These alumni went on to be members of Team USPA. Additionally, UConn Polo players Kim Syme, Rory Torrey, Megan Scanlon, Amy Fraser and Caitlin Cregg (née Tufts) have all been honored as PTF I/I Player of the Year recipients. Many of these students continued to pursue a path in polo. Syme went on to work for the USPA, managing intercollegiate programs. She has since returned to UConn as the assistant barn manager where she has proven to be an invaluable resource to the team. She cares for and manages the horses and is a voice for equestrian programs at the university. Many alumni have come through UConn and learned how to be strong leaders, developing managerial skills that will serve them well for years to come. The United States Polo Association still has two UConn alumni actively involved. Amy Fraser is director of the I/I program, and Kaila Dowd is tournament coordinator.
I N T E R C O L L E G I AT E I N T E R S C H O L A S T I C
Kelly Wisner, Megan Scanlon, Amy Fraser, Elizabeth Rockwell, Mary Taylor and Jill Curtis won in 2005. With them is Kim Syme, Matt Syme and Bill Matheson.
A few UConn alumni have used their skills to grow and develop other collegiate programs. Goodspeed, who went on to reach a 9-goal handicap in the arena, has been a successful coach at Southern Methodist University since 2011. After many years of coaching polo at Culver Academies, he began the program at SMU and has coached both the men’s and women’s intercollegiate teams to victories in regional tournaments. Alumnus Tom Wisehart left UConn and started the Michigan State University Polo team, coaching it for 13 years. He has since served on the I/I Committee, chaired the I/I Scholarship Committee, and sat on the I/I executive board. Patrick Marinelli, another notable alumnus, pursued a similar career, becoming the assistant manager at Farmington Polo Club, before returning to UConn to coach the varsity team from 2017-2019. He is now manager and head coach of the Yale Polo Club. More recently, the team has been demonstrating the same level of enthusiasm and raising the bar for the level of play and effort in the Northeast region. The women’s team held the No. 3 ranking in the region for the 2019-2020 season, heading into the Northeastern regional tournament. The team won the tournament in 2017 and got the chance to represent at the national tournament. Although it hasn’t secured a victory in the past few years, UConn still walked away with copious awards, such as Brett Bashaw Memorial Northeastern Regional Sportsmanship Awards (2017, Tessa Kell; 2018, Julianna Gallo; 2019, Nicole Kula), All-Star Awards (2016-2017, Carly Persano; 2018-2019 Anders Carlton) and Best Playing Pony Awards. The UConn men’s team also had a recent resurgence in activity and membership. It is preparing to make its way back
into the Northeastern region. In it’s 50 years, the UConn Polo Club has proved to be a place where hard work, passion and talent create some of the best intercollegiate players in U.S. Polo Association history. UConn has provided a home for raw talent to enter, develop and grow into refined skills, setting up players for success both in polo and out. With the continuous help from members of all ages and backgrounds, and a community and alumni network always willing to give back, the UConn Polo Club will remain a triumphant club at the University of Connecticut. Check out our website for more history and stories from alumni about the UConn Polo Club. Special thanks to Amy Fraser, Kim Syme, Tom Goodspeed and Tom Wisehart for sharing their experiences at UConn to make this article possible. Additional thank yous to Dr. Zinn and the Animal Science Department for their continued support and funding of the club. •
Leo Mandelbaum, Luis Galvan, Carlos Rizo-Patron and Tom Wisehart won the 1998 Northeast regional.
POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 25
Seeing double Identical twins are hooked on polo By C. Maybe Ortiz
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The practice goal at the Leitner farm was built half the normal width so Reagan and Robyn can sharpen their shooting skills.
Robyn, on her paint palomino, popped in a quick neck shot in Aiken Polo’s Dogwood Cup.
How many years passed in your polo career between picking up a mallet and lifting a tournament trophy? Could you throw around a bag of feed if it weighed almost half as much as you do? Now in their fourth year of competition, the Leitner twins of Aiken, South Carolina, have lined up for an impressive number of trophy photos and stacked a mountain of bags of feed. They are exceptional in a long list of categories—strength, natural and acquired riding ability, dedication, cooperation, and shall we say, sweetness. When teamed with Hope and Lucas Arellano as the Mid State Roofing team, they make a powerful statement on the ability to win at polo without having to be mean about it. Robyn and Reagan Leitner were born to Jennifer and Larry Leitner on April 9, 2004. Since Reagan is older by three minutes, she usually plays the No. 2 position while Robyn, takes the front slot (her first helmet was a little darker than robin’s egg blue). They are now 16 years old, would be neither bulletproof nor 10-feet tall if stacked vertically, and weigh about 110 pounds each. You have a 50/50 chance of calling them the correct name since they really look alike.
Robyn and American
They had been competing in youth barrel racing Legends won the overall title at the Extreme when the Extreme Mustang Makeover grabbed their Mustang Makeover, attention. Diana and Don Kirkland, their greatwhile Reagan and aunt and uncle, encouraged them and introduced Backstreet Bay took the videos of Clinton Anderson and Buck fourth place overall and Brannaman. In late January of 2016, before the first in Grand Trails. POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 27
Reagan, followed by Robyn, got up and over the ball in a win over the Virginia Tech women for Aiken Youth Polo girls in the New Bridge arena.
Robyn on Le Petit Prince
In 2019, Lucas Arellano was working on 6’4”, while Robyn and Reagan’s mother feels they might not exceed her height of 4’11”.
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twins were even 12 years old, the Leitner family found themselves in north Florida intending to acquire one mustang, but at $25 each, both girls came home with their own project. They had 100 days from January to May to convince these yearlings to accept human direction. Riding was not required but the horses had to lead, load and jump through various hoops. Robyn’s colt was born in the wild but Reagan’s seemed to be somewhat shell-shocked from the chaotic experience of birth and adolescence in the catch pen. Early training was based on earning the mustangs’ trust. The Leitner family had a very successful trip to Jacksonville, Florida, for the Extreme Mustang Makeover, a Mustang Heritage Foundation event. Robyn won the title with her mottled dark bay American Legends while Reagan’s Backstreet Bay placed fourth overall, winning the Grand Trail division. Then Katherine Thomas, a dressage rider who was helping promote Aiken Polo, called with a request to transport a horse. It was all a natural slide from watching polo in the fall as 12-year-olds to making the choice to switch from barrel racing. They started at home with brooms and soccer balls and then the polo community kicked in. Gabriel Crespo loaned them some mallets and by the spring of 2017, just after they turned 13, they were playing in the C Flight of the National Youth Tournament Series with Tiger Kneece’s Aiken Youth Polo program. Their mustangs were not forgotten, however. In November 2017, Frank Mullins staged his first of three successful benefit matches on the historic Daniels Field just down the road from the entrance to the Augusta National golf course. The Leitner twins were discussed in the polo community as the gals who directed their mustangs to lay down on the
JENNIFER LEITNER
Their parental support is paramount. Jennifer teaches and photographs, while Larry drives and helps groom.
field at halftime. By the spring of 2018, Leo Benjamin, their “Polo Grandpa,” invited Robyn and Reagan to Dennis Freeland’s FireStar Arena. Soon Molly and Jesus Ontiveros were participating as coaches. The Leitners played in the Aiken NYTS tournament in May and hit the road for both the Atlanta and Bluewater Creek (Florence, Alabama) versions in June. By October, they made the final of Aiken’s Alan Corey 4-Goal with Jesus Ontiveros and won the top flight of the Aiken Ladies Invitational with Hope Arellano and Kylie Sheehan. Aiken Youth Polo girls kicked off the 2019 winter
Reagan had Backstreet Bay jumping through hoops at the 2016 Extreme Mustang Makeover in Jacksonville, Florida.
Robyn and American Legends demonstrate their trust on the way to an overall title in the Extreme Mustang Makeover.
Kylie Sheehan, Hope Arellano and Robyn and Reagan Leitner wore their Mid State Roofing shirts to the trophy table for the 4- to 8-goal flight of the 2018 Aiken Ladies Tournament.
POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 29
Reagan Leitner showed the flexibility and aggressiveness both twins brought to the game in their first year of competition in the 2017 Middle School Tournament at FireStar Arena. The NYTS Atlanta AllStars included Reagan and Robyn Leitner, Michael Bradford, Brennan Wells, Gracie Brown, Thomas Phelps and Ry Koopman.
The winning combination of teenage sibling pairs: Reagan Leitner, Hope Arellano, Robyn Leitner and Lucas Arellano
arena season with wins over Triangle (North Carolina) and the Virginia Tech women’s team. Then the Leitners really hit the field running with victories in both of Aiken Polo’s April tournaments—the 2-Goal Dogwood Cup with Hope and Lucas Arellano and the 4-Goal Jake Kneece Memorial, splitting a position on Livin’ the Vision with Jake and Scott Brown and Jesus Ontiveros. Robyn and Reagan’s father joined the trophy presentation when his Mid State Roofing squad with Hope and Lucas Arellano won the Polo Museum and Hall of Fame 2-Goal in June. Larry Leitner’s mechanical skills have always been central to the success of his daughters in the complex game of polo. He has provided them with a shiny and sizeable rig-for-two, which has everything short of indoor plumbing. Their
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generator runs some serious industrial fans for the comfort of the horses. He drove them up the East Coast last summer, stopping in Charlottesville and Middleburg (Virginia), then forging on to Skaneateles (New York) where they were able to practice with the Cornell squad and take in the ideas of revered instructors, including Danny Scheraga. The ball was rolling right along this spring as the Leitners teamed with Summer Kneece and Sophie Grant to take the regional interscholastic title in late February. When polo was able to resume in South Carolina on May 17, Robyn and Reagan returned to their winning ways with Hope and Lucas Arellano, earning two victories going into the rain-delayed semi-finals of the 4-Goal USPA Players Cup. The twins’ schedule has been minimally affected by the coronavirus pandemic. They rise at 6:30 to feed, making it down to their home-schooling books with their mother Jennifer by 8 a.m. or so. They usually finish their studies by 3 in the afternoon and head out to their half-mile track to work their dozen polo ponies and three mustangs. Larry Leitner built them a six-board 125 by 275-foot arena and they suggested he add goals that are half of regulation width in order to sharpen their skills. On a recent tour of their farm a little more than a half an hour Northeast of Aiken, Larry said, “If the girls didn’t love it so much I wouldn’t do all this, ‘cause it’s too much work!” The twins continue to make many of the ponies in their mostly quick-and-fast Quarter Horse strings. They have sold a few in the Aiken area and both look at horse training as their future. It’s logical and fun to watch their energetic spirits and compassionate understanding of equine motivation translate into success on the polo field. •
To the rescue Organization dedicated to saving polo ponies
CAPTURED MOMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
By Gwen Rizzo
32 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
Horses don’t ask for much, yet they will give everything. We often hear how horses are at least 75 percent of the sport. Horses mean so much to players that they will often tell you they’d rather receive a Best Playing Pony award then MVP. Afterall, they trust their lives with them. Most polo ponies get the best of care and are treated extremely well. So, it is surprising and upsetting to the polo community when we hear a polo pony is found abused or neglected, abandoned in the desert, or left at a killer auction. The good news is there is someone who has dedicated her life to looking after horses, mostly polo ponies, in need of a caring home. And even better news that a supporter is willing to make a large monetary commitment to help her rescue. Cathy Trope has been involved in the polo community since 1984 when she started grooming in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She started playing a few years later. She moved to California and became a paralegal. She was grooming at Will Rogers Polo Club on the weekends when in 2012, she learned that a polo mare she knew was in the Lancaster, California, animal shelter, having been seized with a group of horses in a neglect investigation. An equine rescue had allegedly gone under after starving horses. “People were talking about it on Facebook, and mentioning specific horses. Somebody wrote, ‘Did that old chestnut polo pony survive, the one with the dent in her head?’ I freaked out. I knew the horse from polo and was shocked that she ended up in this situation,” Trope explained. “Well, she had survived and was in the shelter in very poor condition. The legal case was pending but they were willing to adopt out. I talked to the animal control deputy and picked her up the next day.” The mare was 26 years old and certainly didn’t
An honest and reliable Argentine polo pony, when Leila was 24, her owner looked to find her a new home. She was adopted by Traditional Equitation School and became a barn favorite. In 2015, she was chosen to compete in the Special Olympics World Games under Russian Ekaterina Filatova and New Zealand’s Pratima Patel. Competing in English equitation, dressage and working trail, she earned two Gold Medals, two Silver Medals and a Bronze Medal.
no safety net dedicated for ex-polo horses. “While the racetrack world literally had hundreds of organizations dedicated to ensuring off-the-track Thoroughbreds would be safe after they could no longer race, our research found only one organization dedicated to polo horses—Squirrelwood Equine Sanctuary, over 3,000 miles away on the opposite Trope enjoys fixing behavioral issues. On occasion, she does take in coast,” said Trope. horses that are not polo ponies. Rose was scheduled for euthanasia Trope decided to create a as a 3-year-old after she became aggressive and injured someone at a rescue dedicated to polo previous rescue. Trope’s trainer, Danica Lux, worked with the mare, ponies to serve the West Coast. who, it turns out, had severe stomach ulcers combined with really bad Polo Pony Rescue, Inc. was training. The mare is now owned by a 15-year-old who uses her for founded in December 2012. eventing. Her show name is now Northern Lights. This photo is from She enlisted the help of a 2019 event at Copper Meadows show grounds in Ramona, friends and horsewomen California. Melanie Davis and Lisa Lessa to join the board. Trope serves as president, while Davis is deserve to end up neglected. Trope had her fat and vice president and Lessa is treasurer. shiny after a few months of loving care. No one on the board takes a salary, and all of The incident showcased the fact there was really the money raised goes toward caring for the horses, POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 33
Moscow Mule had played for years but had become chronically lame. She was scheduled for euthanasia when the rescue agreed to take her. She went from shod to barefoot, stalled to all-day turnout, her meds were changed from bute to Previcox and she received monthly massages. Now, she is much more sound and gallops around her turnout. In March 2018, she found a perfect partner in 8-year-old Kali. They do trails and Kali’s parents built an obstacle course for them to have fun with at home. She is now known as Moo Moo!
whether for food, board, veterinary care, farrier services or training. There is no paid staff. Members of the board, along with other volunteers, provide most of the horse care, including cleaning stalls, feeding and grooming. “I am the one who feeds and mucks in the morning. If I have to go to work early, Melanie comes over and does it,” explained Trope. The rescue has an excellent reputation for its horse care, far beyond that of many rescues. Trope says she has never seen a negative review about the rescue anywhere on social media. It is in compliance and up-to-date with all state and federal laws and is in good standing with the IRS and the California Registry of Charitable Trusts. Every year since 2014, the organization has 34 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
been awarded top-rated nonprofit status from GreatNonProfits.org, the leading platform for community-sourced reviews about nonprofits. Being totally transparent, the rescue’s financials for each year can be found on her website. Trope helps support the rescue with her personal income added to donations. The rescue takes in about $80,000 per year. This limits the amount of horses it can care for at any given time to about 20. Sadly, there are many more that need help so Trope has to say no to a lot of horses that are in bad situations. “It is heartbreaking, and while we know we can’t save them all, we’d like to save a few more. We can only do that with some larger, reliable donations,” said Trope. Other rescues have gotten into trouble because they weren’t able to say no and took on more animals than they could care for, both physically and financially. Donations aren’t consistent, which can easily cause financial strain. “I always want to have a number that if all the donations disappeared, I could probably support them myself,” said Trope. “I was on the board of another rescue before starting my own so I had an understanding of how fundraising works and how inconsistent it can be. I’m part of the Humane Society of the United States Disaster Emergency Team. I’ve gone out on some breeding seizures where people have hundreds of starving horses. I’ve seen it go bad and know how to make sure that is never me.” Having to say no is never easy, especially when times are tough. “As an insider to polo, I saw many people playing the sport didn’t have the riches the public thought they had. Low-goal pros live paycheck to paycheck, barely making ends meet,” she said. “Most [horses] do OK as long as they are sound for some kind of use, being passed down from high goal to low, to college programs and lesson programs as they reach their 20s. But when they become unsound for even the lowest levels of play or if they developed pain-related behavioral issues, all bets are off. “The vast majority of polo players want their older horses to be safe, even if they can’t provide that safety themselves,” Trope continued. “In many cases, a horse might not be able to play anymore, but it can do an easier job. I am committed to helping identify safe homes that will provide that job.” Part of the problem, Trope says, is you end up rewarding bad behavior. If there are two horses
that are looking for homes and one owner is willing to make sure the horse is well cared for and the other is going to send the horse to a kill auction, you are going to take the one in the most danger. The recent global pandemic closed polo down for several months, preventing polo professionals from earning a paycheck and leaving even more horses at risk. Many grooms were also layed off, meaning horses may not get the care they normally do. The USPA stepped in to help by providing $5 per horse per day for one month to polo schools, clinics, lesson programs and intercollegiate and interscholastic programs that applied for help. The USPA extended its equine relief program to polo professionals and commercial horse providers and extended the support through June. As of June 9, funding was provided for 557 horses owned by professionals and 875 horses used in training programs. With the unemployment rate over 13 percent, other players may be hurting financially and may
have to reduce the number of horses in their care. This can be easier said then done in a soft market. “You’ve got pros that are really struggling and I feel bad for them,” Trope said. “You are seeing horses whose feet aren’t getting done often enough and whatnot because their clients don’t want to pay very much or aren’t paying on time. ... On the other hand, I can’t stress enough, most of the people I know in polo are taking good care of their horses.” Even selling a horse to a beginner player that may not play it as hard can be problematic. New players are not always experienced horse people and may not know how to properly care for a horse. They may believe its normal for older horses or horses in turn out to be thin. It is never normal to see ribs or protruding bones on a horse of any age. And a skinny horse with a big belly is still a skinny horse. If feeding more food is not helping the horse gain weight it should be examined by a veterinarian.
Types of polo ponies generally needing a rehoming solution: • Aged, with mild to moderate soundness issues. • Super quiet kid friendly. There is always a home for a really quiet kid-friendly horse, even with soundness issues. • Not very sound or not very safe. These tend to live at the rescue forever. • Green horses that flunk out of polo. These are generally sound and easy to place after some retraining in a new discipline. • Aged horses that mentally burn out of polo. These can usually be placed with months of training. • Aged with serious health issues. These horses cannot be adopted out and we will provide sanctuary for those that can still have a good quality of life. • Aged former playing horses used as broodmares that are not longer able to get in foal. • Horses donated to college programs that were somewhat playable but now are not. • Horses donated to therapeutic riding facilities that are not suitable for such a program.
Barriers to rehoming retired polo ponies: • Ground manners. In polo, we really don’t worry about horses that pull back, are head shy or cinchy but these are deal-breakers in typical amateur pleasure rider homes.
Sometimes I can resolve these issues (cinchiness can be ulcers) but not always. • Age. A lot of people do not want to adopt a senior horse, and Trope has seen many incidences where owners thought their polo ponies were about 10 years younger then they were. They might think they are retiring an 18year-old, but the racing tattoo shows they are 28. • Even older polo ponies can be too sensitive for some riders. If a rider is used to lazy, stock horses and kicks even an older pony in the ribs, it’s not going to go well. Trope had a 28-year-old returned after it kept bolting so it remained at the rescue. • The companion horse myth. Finding a quality home for a horse that cannot be ridden at all is nearly impossible. Even if you get lucky, the original horse may die or be sold and the companion horse is no longer needed. Trope does not adopt out companion horses, and horses that cannot be ridden generally stay at the rescue for the remainder of their lives. The bottom line is euthanasia is kinder then giving a horse to just anyone and risking an insecure future that may include slaughter or starvation. The United Horse Coalition is another resource for those that can no longer keep a horse. It also offers information on euthanasia. Its extensive resources are available on its website: unitedhorsecoalition.com
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Yosemite is owned by Jo Slater. He had belonged to a youth player, but he was donated after he was lame for over a year. When he came to the rescue, he had a pretty bad set of feet. The rescue corrected his shoeing and he has been sound ever since. He was adopted by Slater in 2018 and is used for trail riding and dressage. He will start showing this year once the lockdown is lifted.
Violet is the classic example of a really nice horse that fell through the cracks. Trope went to a farm to pick up another horse and was quickly offered three more. She determined the pro she was told the horse belonged to wasn’t the owner, but no one came looking for her. The Argentine mare was perfectly sound but started having chronic nosebleeds. She had an ethmoid hematoma in her sinus cavity. After $1200 in injections didn’t work, the rescue sent her to Lexington, Kentucky for retirement.
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“It is important people are educated about what good care is, what is healthy and what is a good shoeing job,” said Trope. “I got a horse that had been lame for a year. It had two completely different looking front feet. The horse was only 13 years old and the owner just gave up. I fixed the feet and the horse has been fine ever since. He had lots of good years left, but no one educated him about how a horse’s feet should look.” So, what can someone do to rehome a horse, especially one that is older, or has lameness or behavioral issues? One of the worst things to do is offer it for free on Facebook or Craigslist. Unscrupulous people have been known to take advantage of situations like this and may tell you the horse is going to go to a sweet teenage girl when in reality the horse may be picked up and driven directly to a kill buyer who will pay the going price-per-pound. Trope says to avoid that, first ask for a photo ID. Next, run a criminal background check on the person. “It’s going to cost you $10 online, if that. If you know how to use a court website, you may be able to do it yourself for free,” Trope explained. The next step is to have the person sign a legal contract. Trope has the California-based contract she uses for potential adopters on the rescue’s website and she welcomes people to use it as a starting point. It is important to note, laws vary by state so check with an attorney to adapt it to the laws in your particular state. “We have a lot of very specific information in there about the type of care that is required and we have liquidated damages for breach,” explained Trope. “I have a clause that allows me to publicize your actions in all media, including social media, if you starve one of our horses. It is a harsh contract but the good people will sign it without a second thought. The people that argue about it, don’t give them a horse.” Trope also recommends you go see where the horse will be kept. If there are other horses on site, make note of how well they are cared for. Lastly, she said to stay in contact with the adopter. “I tell people, if were are friends on social media and I’m seeing pictures of the horse, I’ll never bother you,” said Trope. “If I don’t see the horse every couple of months, I’m going to ask for photos. If you are resistant in any way or make excuses, I’m probably going to show up to check on the horse.” Trope points out that the benefit to you of having an adopter is you are not paying retirement board. In return, invest in time following up to be sure the horse is being cared for.
There are too many stories of horses being given or even sold to someone who turns around and gives or sells them to someone else and they end up abused, neglected or worse. If you don’t want that to happen, the follow up is necessary. Since there are very few rescues that deal with polo ponies, many of the people running rescues don’t understand them and are hesitant to take them. “Some rescue might think a polo pony is really wild, dangerous or untrained because it pulled back at the cross ties, when it might just be a polo quirk but the horse rides just fine,” Trope said. “They don’t know what to do with those horses. Or they try to ride them on contact and the horse doesn’t know what they are asking because that isn’t how they are ridden in polo. Since I have a polo background, we understand many of the polo quirks.” Another thing to keep in mind when you donate a horse to a therapeutic riding center, university program or rescue, if the horse doesn’t work out for them for any reason, they can usually sell the horse. That can mean even auctioning them off on the internet to the highest bidder. The best way to avoid that is to visit the horse, follow up and add a clause to the contract they ask you to sign that requires them to return the horse to you if it doesn’t work out. “There has been a perception, especially for people who don’t know me personally, that somehow I am anti-polo. I am not. I grew up in polo and I love polo,” said Trope. “What I don’t love is seeing some of the things that happen when people treat horses like pieces of sports equipment instead of an animal that feels pain. I don’t want to see them wind up in the livestock auction headed for a Mexican slaughter house. I am not asking that everyone support their horse for 15 years of retirement, but at least put them down. The cost of euthanasia is the cost of renting a horse for a couple of chukkers. I just don’t want to see them suffer.” Trope has seen too many instances of players trading in a horse when purchasing a new one and the trade-in ends up at a livestock auction, or a player relies on farm staff to rehome a horse and it doesn’t go well. “People in polo tend to be a little too trusting,” Trope admitted. Each horse costs the rescue an average of $350 per month. The rescue rents a property for eight horses and the rest are boarded out. A family that
PopTart was donated by Abby Riggs after she discovered auction rescue was a lot older than the seller had represented. found a home five years ago with Erika Artman. They trail ride do cattle work together. Artman just graduated from college wanted PopTart in her graduation photos.
this She and and
Jessica Bailey placed Cabazon with Polo Pony Rescue in April 2015. Bailey realized that while he played polo, he didn’t really like it. Trope’s trainer discovered he liked trails, obstacles and cattle work. He was adopted by Rheannan Swasso in November 2015 and lives on her ranch in Winchester with her family’s other horses. They do drill team, gymkhana, obstacles and lots of trail riding.
(continued on page 55) POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 37
Polo Exotic Passion for the sport in a variety of forms
DOUG KUZMIAK
By Gwen Rizzo
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Over the years, many different variations of the sport have been tried. A little more than 20 years after the traditional game emerged in Britain in 1869, Richard J. Mecredy, editor of the Irish Cyclist magazine retired from bicycle racing and was looking for something to fill his time. When he couldn’t find anything suitable, he invented bicycle polo. Since then people have played polo on zebras, camels, elephants, donkeys and even yaks, and all have been covered in this magazine. Yak Polo Photographer Doug Kuzmiak happened upon Yak polo while in Pakistan in 2004. His host, Elizabeth Whitney Flew, who has an American mother and Pakistani father, told him that the entire valley of Shimshal, and the higher pastures above, the Pamirs, stretching almost into China, were won 400 years before by a Shimshal ancestor, Sher, mounted on a yak, and riding against six horsemen in a lopsided but decisive polo match. When he learned that yak polo might still be played, he wanted to see for himself so he traversed to Shimshal, 120 often treacherous miles north of Gilgit. The villagers, Wakhi and Hunza people, are all descendants of four of Sher’s sons and their wives, living in the area for more than 15 generations. Kuzmiak learned the yaks provide much of the people’s basic needs for butter, milk, meat, hair, hides for leather, cargo carriers and negotiable assets so most of the villagers own them. The animals can be both docile and dangerous. Castration makes the bulls more manageable. With limited horses, they played running polo, similar to the traditional games, but had not yet played yak polo. After village elders spoke with Kuzmiak, the community-based organization, Shimshal Nature Trust arranged a yak polo exhibition. The following year, yak polo was added to the area’s festival, Jashane-Broghol, to promote tourism. Yak polo was the highlight, but donkey and horse polo were also included, as well as yak racing. Despite the remote area, held at about 12,500 feet, nearly 1,500 people attend the annual event. Yak polo equipment includes a rope bridle, passed through a nose piercing, along with a small blanket in place of a saddle. Mallets are made of suitably shaped branches of the thorn tree and the ball is made of yak hair. Five and sometimes six players play on each team. Apparently, yak polo has been played in Mongolia since 2000, also as a way to draw tourists. The area’s Yak Festival is held annually in July in Bat Ulzii in Orkhon Valley.
An illustration of Winston Churchill playing a zebra by British cartoonist Edward Tennyson Reed was published in the January 1908 Punch magazine.
Elephant Polo Elephant polo dates back to 1982 at Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge in Royal Chitwan Park in Nepal. The sport eventually caught on India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. In 2001, the King’s Cup elephant polo was created at Hau Hin by the Anantara Resort. It was moved to the Golden Triangle, the point at which Burma, Laos and Thailand meet, in 2006. The tournament grew in popularity over the years and had up to 12 three-man teams competing. A Thai elephant handler, a mahout, drove the elephant, allowing the player to focus on swinging the extra long mallet, while villagers cleared away the dung to keep the ball rolling smoothly. With a team entry fee of roughly $18,000, the tournament was billed as a fundraiser for elephant conservation groups, and to bring awareness to the plight of elephants. The opening ceremony for the tournament included a fresh fruit buffet for the elephants. In an article by Oliver Benjamin in the July 2008 issue of this magazine, he wrote, “The utmost respect is given to the elephants used in the tournament. Each elephant is limited to one chukker per game and two games per day with at least 90 minutes in the forest, the river or eating between each game. Micro-chipping guarantees that all playing elephants were domestically bred and not caught in the wild or smuggled in from other countries. Playing elephants are preferably less than 20 years old, but old POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 39
Elephant Polo was played at Thailand’s Anantara Resort until 2018.
Camel polo is played in both Dubai and India.
enough and big enough to carry a player with ease. Strict rules ensure they are well cared for at all times. Judging by baby elephants playing with a soccer ball in the elephant camp at Anantara, the elephants sure seem to enjoy a little sport.” The tournament was associated with the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre and the National Elephant Institute, two governing bodies charged with conserv-
40 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
ing Thailand’s elephants and their heritage. Nearly $200,000 was raised through the tournament from 2001-2008. Benjamin wrote, “Polo teams sponsor fund-raising events to help various elephant projects, including the protection of Thailand’s wild-elephant population. Money is also raised through donations from players at a lively auction during the King’s Cup, as well as
throughout the event.” In addition, three pick-up trucks were donated for transportation of elephant fodder and staff. and a custom-built elephant ambulance was purchased for the National Elephant Institute’s hospital. “All proceeds have been used to improve the welfare of more than 60 elephants and their handlers, called mahouts, at the center in Lampang,” wrote Benjamin. Despite the benefits of the tournament, in 2018, after pressure from PetaAsia and following allegations of abuse, elephant polo organizer Tiger Tops reportedly announced it would stop hosting the event. We reached out to the World Elephant Polo Association through its website to ask if elephant polo was still being played in other places, but did not get a response. The last tournaments covered on the website date back to 2013.
Camel Polo Camel polo was apparently inspired by Thailand’s elephant polo in 2007. The Dubai Polo Academy’s head coach, Steve Thompson, invented camel polo with the first match played at Jumeirah Babl Al Shams Desert Resort in 2010. Camels proved more difficult to train then polo ponies, but a staff of riders worked with them. Thompson told The National the learning process was gruelling. “It’s relatively easy to train a horse. If you pull on the reins to try to get a camel to turn, it’s head just turns around to face you. There had to be endless repetition. If the camel went two degrees to the right, you would give it a date,” he said. Native to the Middle East, one-hump rather than two-hump, camels are used. Like elephant polo, a driver, sitting in front of the hump, controls the camel while the player sits behind the hump and swings the mallet. Gulf Ventures in Dubai offers camel polo from October to April. It’s website reads, “An Arabian twist on the traditional sport of kings, Camel Polo is a unique, memorable and often hilarious experience. It’s perfect for a fun-packed day out with friends, family or for taking on colleagues in an exhilarating team building activity.” Camel polo has also been played in Rajasthan, Jaipur, India since 2014, to help promote the animals, increase their numbers and draw tourism. Two-hump camels are used without a driver. Donkey Polo As we wrote last month, researchers found evidence that women played donkey polo, also called Luju, dating back to the Tang Dynasty, after a tomb was uncovered in 2012 with donkeys interred with
the body of Chinese noblewoman Cui Shi. During the May 2011 FIP Zone A playoffs at Casa de Campo resort in La Ramona, on the Southeastern Coast of the Dominican Republic, then-club manager Cali Garcia Velez organized an impromptu donkey polo match for anyone brave enough to climb aboard the club’s own herd of Dominican burrows. It was all in fun, and foot mallets in hand, umpires, coaches, spectators and some players chased the inflated ball in a tight cluster at mid-field. Though most had plenty of riding experience, trying to stay on a stubborn, bareback donkey proved difficult. More than one person hit the grass, but at least they didn’t have far to fall. Donkey polo is still offered at Casa de Campo, according to its website, for “families of all ages, corporate sales executives and CEOs, and everyone in between.” The resort doesn’t require riding experience, just a cowboy spirit. For those unable to ride confidently, someone will help lead the donkey. According to Garcia Velez, the donkeys are bred, raised and trained at the resort and continue to be a great source of entertainment for resort guests. •
Gwen Rizzo and Dave Offen try out donkey polo during the 2011 FIP Zone Playoffs at Casa de Campo.
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POLO AROUND THE GLOBE
Indonesia
KATERINA MORGAN
The Indonesian team played in Bangkok in 2016. With them, center, is coach Argentine Nico Curto, who also manages the Nusantara club.
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world, consisting of over 17,000 islands. Located in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, it also boasts the most volcanoes of any other country in the world. With it’s volcanoes, tropical rainforests, jungles, beaches and swamps, Indonesia doesn’t seem like a place where polo would be played. In fact, it is associated more with polo mallets than with the sport itself. After all, its tropical rainforests are where manau, the type of rattan used to make polo mallet canes, is grown. But that may soon change. Not long ago, the Idonesian Polo Association was established to facilitate and foster the growth of the sport in the country. It is a corresponding member of the Federation of International Polo (it doesn’tpartic-
42 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
KATERINA MORGAN
Polo grows in the land where mallets grow
An Indonesian player competes in the All Asia Cup final in Bangkok.
TANIA ARAUJO
POLO AROUND THE GLOBE
Guest can swim the ponies in the ocean or take a sunset ride along the beach.
Nihi Sumba, a luxurious island retreat on Nihiwatu beach owned by American businessman Chris Burch, TANIA ARAUJO
ipate in FIP events) as well as the South East Asian Polo Confederation (SEAPC). According to the association’s website, it has over 40 members, with the average player rated minus-2. The Indonesian Polo Team includes four players: Novel Alfa Momongan (0), Harrifar Syafar (0), Billy Barsel Lumintang (1) and Acep Krisnander (1). A team consisting of Lumintang and Krisnander, along with 0-goalers Glendy Martinus Bujung, Dwira Harlie Roring, Fahmi Akmal and Rico Llanto participated in the B Division (0- to 2-goals) of the 30th SEA Games played in the Phillipines last November. Competing against teams from Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia, the team took the Bronze medal. The Nusantara Polo Club opened in 2010 in Jagorawi Golf & Country Club located in Cibinong, Indonesia, just 30 mintes from the capital city, Jakarta’s Central business district. The club has its own outdoor field, track, stabling and polo school with a ‘string’ of wooden horses in addition to a dozen or so club polo ponies imported from Argentina. Its club manager, 3-goal Argentine Gabriel Nicolas “Nico” Curto, coaches and teaches riding and polo lessons. Taking advantage of the access to Indonesian-grown manue, a few years ago Curto started his own polo mallet making business there. The club hosts several tournaments throughout the year, including the Challenge Cup, James Riady Cup and the All Asia Cup. Beach polo emerged at another facility a few years ago. In 2015, British Polo Day held its first event at
During the British Polo Day event, a cultural celebration was held.
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POLO AROUND THE GLOBE
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A resort pony cools off in the Indian Ocean.
The ponies enjoy frolicking along the beach in front of the resort.
44 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
British Polo Day holds an annual match on the resort’s beach.
on Indonesia’s Sumba Island. Burch’s partner and CEO is South African-born hotelier James McBride, who had played in British Polo Day Australia in 2014. It was a natural fit to hold an event at Burch and McBride’s stunning resort. Though its not a polo facility per se, the resort’s state-of-the-art equestrian facility made it possible to host the event. Rather than your typical polo pony, the island is known for its hardy Sandalwood Ponies, introduced in the 8th century, and normally used for trail rides, swimming and equine meditation. The ponies are also used for a colorful traditonal ritual known as Pasola, held to bring a good harvest. Villagers, mounted on horseback, engage one another armed with spears. The Pasola is successful when blood is shed to make the spirits happy. Today, it is more of a display so spears are blunt, without the sharp metal points typically used. The polo match was held on the resort’s one-and-ahalf-mile private beach. In addition to the polo action, guests enjoyed the many breath-taking experiences the resort offers: everything from yoga and meditation to kite surfing, paddle boarding, scubadiving, fishing and hiking to the majestic Blue Waterfall, cascading from over 700-feet high. A cultural celebration was also held, featuring the
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TANIA ARAUJO
POLO AROUND THE GLOBE
Pasola, horseracing, buffalo washing, music and dance, along with delicious culinary delights. After a fireworks display, festivities lasted late into the night. Indonesia is an amazing place to get away from the hustle and bustle to enjoy the island’s magnificent beauty and natural surroundings. Playing with the island’s horses is just the icing on the cake! For more information, go to NIHI.com. •
An island pony takes part in an equine meditation session with a guest.
POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 45
POLO REPORT DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF POLO SOUTHEAST
Hardscrabble’s Hope Arellano slaps a hook on Panakeia’s Del Walton in the President’s Cup final.
A
FTER the global pandemic stopped competitive polo around the world, players finally were able to get back on the field at the New Bridge Polo & Country Club in Aiken, South Carolina, for the 8-goal Southeast regional President’s Cup. With five teams lined up, play began on Tuesday, May 26. Teams included Upatoi Green (Josh Escapite, Jake Flournoy, Dennys Santana, Eddy Martinez); Brookland Plantation (Thomas Ravenel, Justin Pimsner,
46 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
Luis Galvan, Willie Hartnett); Hardscrabble (Mason Lampton, Hope Arellano, Alan Martinez, Polo Baez); Manderleigh (Phillip Higgins, Trevor Niznik, Marcos Onetto, Juan Semper); and Panakeia (Jewell Gregonzca, Jack Whitman, Del Walton, Pelon Escapite). Playoffs were held over a week, with semifinals held on June 5. In the end, Panakeia and the undefeated Hardscrabble met in the final for an exciting, close match that needed
KATIE ROTH
PANAKEIA SQUEAKS OUT PRESIDENT’S CUP WIN
extra time to determine a winner. Panakeia’s only loss came at the hands of a tough Hardscrabble during preliminary play. The final saw Gregonzca strike first, putting Panakeia on the board early in the first chukker. Escapite followed with a goal of his own while Hardscrabble was unable to connect with the goal. Arellano’s Penalty 2 conversion put Hardscrabble on the board in the second, but Walton and Escapite answered with goals to
increase Panakeia’s lead to 4-1. Baez traded goals with Whitman in the opening minutes of the third chukker, before Martinez shot through back-to-back goals, bringing Hardscrabble within one, 5-4, at the half. Panakeia was silenced in the fourth while Martinez tied it up in with a lone goal. Lampton put Hardscrabble ahead for the first time early in the fifth. Whitman fought back to level the score at 6-all, but in Panakeia’s efforts to get back in the lead, it made mistakes that caught the umpires’ whistles. Hardscrabble was awarded a pair of Penalty 4s, both of which Martinez sent straight through to give the team an 8-6 advantage. The sixth chukker saw Escapite find the mark to bring Panakeia within one. Hardscrabble scrambled to maintain the lead, but the umpires’ whistles stopped the play and Panakeia was awarded a Penalty 4. Escapite seized the opportunity, sending the ball between the posts for an 8-8 tie. Time ran out with the teams still even, forcing sudden death overtime. The overtime chukker was an allout battle with neither team willing to concede. Hardscrabble, fighting hard to keep Panakeia from scoring, knocked the ball over its own backline twice in the first 30 seconds, but
Hope Arellano’s 8-year-old Cinco de Mayo was Best Playing Pony in the President’s Cup final.
Panakeia was not able to capitalize on the resulting penalties. Soon after, Martinez tried to run by Walton on a knock-in but fumbled the ball. Walton, on his homebred Quiana, acted quickly, getting to the ball before Martinez could recover and shooting it through the posts for the win. Walton was named MVP and Arellano’s fifth chukker horse Cinco de Mayo was Best Playing Pony. Panakeia received $2,500 in prize money, part of the COVID-19 USPA Polo Tournament Stimulus Package. “Pelon and I decided that if we
won, we would give the prize money to our grooms,” Whitman told the USPA. “They are amazing to have on our team and have been working really hard. Like many people, it was hard on them when polo stopped in the middle of the Florida season and it was great to be able to gift them the prize money.” Panakeia moves on to the National President’s Cup scheduled for this fall at New Bridge. Whitman and Escapite lost to Derry Heir in the President’s Cup final last year. Play continues with the 8-goal Pete Bostwick Memorial.
Panakeia’s Pelon Escapite tries in vain to get the ball between the posts.
KATIE ROTH
Panakeia’s Jewel Gregonzca, Jack Whitman, MVP Del Walton and Pelon Escapite won the regional President’s Cup at New Bridge.
KATIE ROTH
R E P O R T
KATIE ROTH
P O L O
POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 47
R E P O R T
SOUTHWEST
BTA PREVAILS IN PRESIDENT’S CUP After several months’ delay due to COVID-19, the Houston Polo Club in Houston, Texas, got started with the 6-goal regional President’s Cup. Six teams, anxious to get back in action, lined up for the preliminary matches. Round One began on May 22 with Pegasus/Propaganda (David Andras, Paul Hobby, Chino Payan, Mason Wroe) beating Brown Bears/Whitehall Ranch (Will Brown, Bill Lane, Martin Munoz, Miguel Torres), 7-4; Horsegate (Nick Stefanakis, Lance Stefanakis, Alejandro Gonzalez, Shane Rice) edging ML Bar Ranch (Abby Benton, Fox Benton, Drew Luplow, Cody Ellis); and BTA (Chrys Beal, KC Krueger, TJ Elordi, Steve Krueger) slipping T Square Energy/ SpecOil (Nick Dunbar, Emma Tooth, Tommy Costello, Bryan Middleton) by a tight 6-5½. In Round Two, played two days later, BTA picked up its second win, this time over Pegasus/Propaganda, 7½-6; ML Bar Ranch doubled up Brown Bears/ BTA’s Steve Krueger scored all of his team’s five goals in the regional President’s Cup final over Horsegate.
48 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
Groom Teruel Garcia and Lance Stefanakis with Stefanakis’ President’s Cup Best Playing Pony, Turbito
Whitehall Ranch, 8-4; and Horsegate got the best of T Square Energy/SpecOil, 6-5. The third round was rained out on May 29 and rescheduled for two days later. T Square Energy/SpecOil and Brown Bears/Whitehall Ranch played to a 4-4 tie in the first match but the other two games were again rained out. They were played on June 2 when Horsegate edged Pegasus/Propaganda, 7-6, while BTA crushed ML Bar Ranch by a wide 7-2½. The final came down to Horsegate (3-1) and the undefeated BTA, which began with a half-goal handicap. In the first of four chukkers, Steve Krueger
put BTA on the board in the opening minutes. Rice answered back with a goal of his own. Krueger added another goal in the second, but this time Gonzalez matched it, leaving BTA ahead by its half-goal handicap at the half. Horsegate came back in the second half with renewed energy, scoring three in a row to double up BTA. Krueger answered with back-to-back goals to come within a half goal, 5-4½, going into the final seven minutes. Horsegate was unable to maintain its momentum while Krueger added his fifth goal to give BTA the narrow win, 5½-5. Steve Krueger, who scored all his team’s goals, was MVP and his mare, 13KAYLEE WROE
BTA’s Chrys Beal, KC Krueger, Steve Krueger and TJ Elordi with Dr. Gustavo De Cillo from De Cillo Equine Clinic
KAYLEE WROE
KAYLEE WROE
P O L O
R E P O R T
KAYLEE WROE
KAYLEE WROE
P O L O
BTA’s TJ Elordi, Steve Krueger, MVP KC Krueger and Joe Fitzsimons (who filled in for Chrys Beal) won the Cowboy Cup.
to a round-robin final, while the losers played a round-robin consolation. BTA met Vintage Polo in the first round of the final. Joe Bob Lequerica
struck first, putting Vintage on the board with a field goal, added to a half-goal handicap, which Steve Krueger matched. Ellis split the KAYLEE WROE
year-old Sapphire was Best Playing Pony Pro. She was trained by Archie Salinas and has earned multiple Best Playing Pony awards. Lance Stefanakis’ third period pony, Turbito was also honored as Best Playing Pony Amateur. BTA received $2,500 in prize money through the COVID-19 USPA Polo Tournament Stimulus Package. “We decided to give a portion of the earnings to the professional players as bonuses and another portion we donated to the Manna House, which is a nonprofit men’s addiction recovery home in Brookshire, Texas,” explained KC Krueger. With some lineup changes, six teams played off in three brackets for the 6goal Cowboy Cup. BTA (Chyrs Beal, KC Krueger, TJ Elordi, Steve Krueger) carried its momentum into the tournament, edging Horsegate (Nick Stefanakis, Lance Stefanakis, Alejandro Gonzalez, Shane Rice), 5½-5, in the first playoff match on June 4. The next day, Vintage Polo (Lily Lequerica, Joe Bob Lequerica, Jimmy Seward, Cody Ellis) slipped Brown Bears/Whitehall Ranch (Will Brown, Bill Lane, Martin Munoz, Miguel Torres), 5½-4. Later in the day, T Squared Energy/SpecOil (Nick Dunbar, Emma Tooth, Tommy Costello, Bryan Middleton) got the best of Kanthaka/Propaganda (Philipp Kampshoff, Paul Hobby, Chino Payan, Mason Wroe), 5½-5. The three winning teams moved on
BTA’s MVP KC Krueger scored three goals in the final, including a pair of penalty conversions.
Vintage Polo’s Cody Ellis on Best Playing Pony Coke. He is backed up by teammate Lily Lequerica.
POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 49
R E P O R T
Dundas II’s Cable Magness, Jason Crowder, Geronimo Obregon and Jake Klentner won The Kopu Cup. With them is Sarah Magness.
uprights, but Krueger sunk a Penalty 4 in response. KC Krueger and Joe Fitzsimons, filling in for Beal, each scored to give BTA a 4-2½ lead after the first chukker. Fitzsimons added another early in the second but Joe Bob Lequerica converted a Penalty 2 and Seward scored from the field to bring Vintage within a half goal, 5-4½. But the team ran out of time and BTA had the win. Vintage then took on T Squared Energy/SpecOil. Costello wasted no time, putting T Squared on the board with a pair of goals added to a halfgoal handicap. Ellis and Joe Bob Lequerica matched those goals to keep it close. Ellis scored a lone goal in the second chukker, while his teammates turned back all of T Squared’s drives to narrowly win, 3-2½. T Squared stayed up to face BTA for the last round. Early in the chukker, Tooth sent a Penalty 3 through the posts added to a half-goal handicap. KC Krueger matched that with her own Penalty 3, then added a Penalty 2 conversion to edge ahead, 2-1½. Steve Krueger took over in the second chukker with a field goal. Elordi hit the target and Steve Krueger followed with a Penalty 4 conversion. Middleton tallied for T Squared before time ran out with BTA ahead, 5-2½. BTA took the title with 10 points
50 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS
DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS
P O L O
Geronimo Obregon’s 12-year-old gelding, Samurai, was Best Playing Pony in The Kopu Cup.
overall, while Vintage Polo settled for runner-up with 7½ points. KC Krueger was named MVP and Cody Ellis’ Coke was Best Playing Pony. In the consolation final, Horsegate defeated Brown Bears/Whitehall Ranch, 2-1, and Kanthaka/Propaganda by its half-goal handicap after a scoreless round. Kanthaka/Propaganda topped Brown Bears/Whitehall Ranch, 2½-1. PAC I F I C C OA S T
DUNDAS II WINS THE KOPU CUP The Kopu Cup marked the start of the Santa Barbara Polo Club (Carpinteria, California) season. Six 12-goal teams competed in the event, played in a single-elimination over a week. Teams included Klentner Ranch (Jesse Bray, Justin Klentner, Luke Klentner, Patrick Uretz), Antelope (Geoff Palmer, Santiago Trotz, Jimmy Wright, Maco Llambias), bensoleimani.com (Ben Soleimani, Tommy Alberdi, Iñaki Laprida, Leon Schwencke), Dundas II (Cable Magness, Jason Crowder, Geronimo Obregon, Jake Klentner), Dundas (Sarah Magness, Mariano Fassetta, Santi Torres, Juan Cruz Marcos), Antelope Jr. (Grant
Palmer, Juan Monteverde, Felipe Vercellino, Bauti Von Wernich). The final came down to Dundas II and Klentner Ranch. Dundas II began with a handicap goal and Jason Crowder added to it with a pair of goals, one scored in the first 30 seconds. Geronimo Obregon added one as well to give Dundas II an early 4-0 lead after the first seven minutes. Luke Klentner put Klentner Ranch on the board in the second but Dundas answered back with goals by Magness, Jake Klentner and Obregon. Jesse Bray and Patrick Uretz chipped away at the deficit, but Dundas negated their efforts, ending the first half with Dundas comfortably ahead, 9-3. After the half, Dundas made errors that caught the umpires’ attention, allowing Uretz to capitalize on three penalties, cutting the deficit in half. Dundas took back the momentum and erased Klentner’s gains in the fifth when Obregon and Crowder combined for four goals to lead 13-8. The last chukker was a battle with Klentner Ranch refusing to give up. It went on to tally three goals but Dundas was unrelenting, matching the goals to end with the 16-11 win. Fifteen-year-old Cable Magness was MVP while Best Playing Pony honors went to Geronimo Obregon’s grey gelding, Samurai. •
POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 51
E Q U I N E AT H L E T E
(continued from page 17) Diagnosis In a serious tendon or ligament injury there is usually heat, pain and swelling soon after the injury. With a bowed tendon, there may be severe lameness, and the leg is held in a flexed position; the horse is reluctant to put weight on it. If the tendon is severely torn or stretched, the fetlock joint drops. If the injury is not fresh and has become chronic (fibrous tissue already formed) there will be a hard swelling at the back of the leg. In a horse with a mild, fresh injury, not showing classic signs of heat and swelling, ultrasound can diagnose early inflammation and define the degree of damage. Flexion tests can be helpful in detecting soreness-sometimes before a horse actually tears a ligament. Flexing the fetlock joint is a test you can do if the horse’s gait is off. If you put a certain amount of pressure on the fetlock joint in a flexion test for 30 to 60 seconds, and he goes off lame afterward (and the other leg not lame) this is a clue. Or you can flex the knee to detect high suspensory injury. If you hold the knee up tightly for 60 seconds, with the fetlock joint out to the side of the forearm or even up above the forearm, you then jog the horse to see if he favors the leg.
Flexing the fetlock joint is a test you can do if the horse’s gait is off. If, after flexing the joint for 30 to 60 seconds, you jog the horse and it goes off lame, this is a clue.
A horse will tend to have a similar flexion test month after month and it should stay the same. Get to where you can recognize what is normal for that particular horse (for instance, a horse might not flex so well in the right knee, but is not lame). If a person flexes all the legs periodically, it gives a clue about any changes. You can often catch a small problem before it gets to be a big problem. Dr. Olivia Rudolphi (Rudolphi Veterinary Services, in Noble, Illinois, serving South Central Illinois and St. Louis region) says some horses have classic “windpuffs” on both limbs (bilateral) such as on both front 52 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
legs or both hinds. There might not be any lameness but there is extra effusion (swelling). “When the tendon sheath becomes inflamed and enlarged, it can be difficult to return it to normal size if a long period of time has passed since the initial incident. We use imaging such as radiographs and ultrasound, diagnostic local nerve blocking and a complete lameness exam to determine the extent of the injury. Multiple structures within the region could be involved, such as the superficial or deep digital flexor tendon or the suspensory ligament,” she says. “Effusion in the fetlock joint may be present as well as involvement with the annular ligament at the level of the fetlock or the sesamoid bones. Ultrasound is usually best to find the soft tissue injury, but if needed, there are more advanced diagnostic modalities available, such as MRI. What may look like localized swelling could potentially involve multiple structures, which is why your vet will look at the whole leg as needed,” says Rudolphi. Even though a swelling might look like just a windpuff, it may be more than just a windpuff and there may be differences in the swellings that occur in the fetlock area of the hind limb versus the front limb. “We also look at conformation. If a horse has a long pastern and low fetlock it may be more prone to having some tendon sheath injury or adhesions,” she says. Mills explains that tendon injuries go through several phases. “First there is the inflammatory phase, then a regenerative phase and a remodeling phase. At the time of initial injury there is associated hemorrhage. In a core lesion, a blood clot will form within the tendon, and with a laceration, the initial injury will often involve the adjacent soft tissues,” says Mills. If it’s a laceration, the injury will involve the peripheral tissue and you have this “one wound, one scar” situation where you need to keep the scar from becoming restrictive. “Scarring also occurs with primary tendon injuries. We want to reduce the amount of scarring and restriction, and promote proper fiber alignment as it heals; these are a few of our goals during rehabilitation,” she says. The body responds differently during each phase of the healing process, and these phases overlap to some degree. “When we’re getting past the inflammatory phase, which is usually around one to two weeks, the regenerative phase begins. The collagen fibers that are put down by the fibroblasts usually peak around three to four weeks. The way they are originally laid down is very disorganized, but we can only get proper organization with a certain degree of stress,” says Mills. The horse thus needs a little bit of exercise to have that little bit of stress for proper healing.
E Q U I N E AT H L E T E
Treatment There are many things that can be used in treating tendon and tendon sheath injuries, depending on the type of damage. “If it’s strictly an inflammatory process, and micro-damage, it may be just a matter of managing the horse to get rid of the inflammation with icing, bandaging, use of emollients, laser therapy, ultrasound therapy, etc. and backing off on exercise and stress on the limb,” says Peters. Sometimes changing the shoeing will help, especially if a lot of the stress is due to conformation that puts extra strain on one part of the leg. A good farrier may be able to do something mechanically to help remove some of that stress. “If we have a deep flexor injury, we would do some different shoeing (raise heels slightly) than if it’s a superficial flexor injury (lower the heels slightly), to try to support those specific tissues. Similarly, mechanical farriery support can be used to support sesamoidean ligament injuries down around the pastern and fetlock,” he says. “The seriousness of the injury will determine how aggressive we get with treatment. We can use physiotherapy (cryotherapy, lasers, ultrasound, poultices, etc.) or injections into the tendon sheath. Injections may use steroids, hyaluronic acid or a variety of regenerative therapies—everything from stem cells to PRP or IRAP to conditioned serum to amniotic fluid concentrate, etc.” says Peters. “Shockwave therapy is another good treatment for tendon sheath injuries,” says Rudolphi. “There are many options for treatment today, and the veterinarian will probably create an individualized plan for each case. You definitely need to work with your vet and your farrier on these conditions. What works well for one horse may not work so well for another,” she says. Some of these injuries respond to a steroid treatment to reduce the inflammation. “Some of the tendon sheath injuries become chronic if they are not addressed early enough and get a lot of fibrous scar tissue and adhesions,” says Rudolphi.1“The annular ligament can also cause almost an impingement situation. The annular ligament goes around the fetlock and does not stretch, so if there is swelling in that area there will be some swelling above and below it, with too much pressure on the tendon sheath. We sometimes have to do a desmotomy (cutting the ligament a little bit) to release that pressure, especially if it’s a chronic condition,” she says. “Some horses do OK if we do a desmotomy and also treat the tendon sheath. In other cases, arthroscopy of that region may be warranted (to scope the area and clean it up a little). This all depends on preference of the surgeon, the situation, and the structures involved.” If it does become chronic and is not addressed, adhe-
Shockwave therapy is a good treatment for tendon sheath injuries. It is also effective in stimulating blood flow in scar tissue or old lesions.
sions form. “It’s the tearing of those adhesions that becomes really painful. I like to prevent this, if possible, and be aggressive in therapy and do a desmotomy before that happens,” explains Rudolphi. Dr. Mark Cassells (Homestead Veterinary Hospital, Villa Ridge, Missouri) says treatment for a tendon injury is based on the lesion—whether it is a large core lesion or just a strain with mild thickening or if there is a lot of thickening. “For a large lesion, I generally prefer to use regenerative therapy such as stem cells or PRP, says Cassells. “If there’s scar tissue and the lesion is old, I am a big fan of shockwave therapy to help break up the scar tissue and stimulate blood flow. Shockwave therapy can be nice to use because it’s non-invasive, very safe and relatively inexpensive compared to some other treatments. It can also be done multiple times throughout a horse’s career,”2he says. Laser therapy has also been shown to be effective, but Cassells feels that the best thing to use in a horse with a fresh injury is ice. “Treating a fresh injury with cold will slow down the inflammation and swelling. Using cold therapy (ice or ice boots) for 48 to 72 hours after an injury and then applying bandages with a poultice to try to reduce inflammation can be very effective. The more you can reduce the inflammation in a fresh injury, the better and faster it will heal,” he explains. During the initial inflammatory phase (first 10 days) it’s important to try to reduce the inflammation as much as possible. Most people use cold therapy and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and reduced exercise. The horse will be given gradually POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 53
E Q U I N E AT H L E T E
Treat a fresh injury with ice to reduce the inflammation and swelling as much as possible.
increasing exercise later during the healing process. Supportive care with cold therapy, bandaging, liniments, etc. can be helpful. “Many people have their own special formula for keeping tendon sheaths tight,” says Peters. “All of these probably have some benefit, to some degree, and may be variable in how well they work. Sometimes a person tries a variety of things to see what may work best with a certain horse. Giving the horse enough time to heal is probably the biggest factor in its ability to come back to work. It may take as long as 10 months to fully heal.
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You have to know your horse,” he says. The time it takes for a horse to come back from a tendon injury will depend on the injury. “Racehorses have only a small window of career performance, compared with a jumper, dressage horse or polo horse that will have a longer career, so some owners or trainers may push the envelope a bit. We may try injections into core lesions with regenerative therapies. A synthetic compound called genipin helps bind collagen that is broken down and can help the tendon regain strength. This doesn’t mean the horse can go back to work quicker but it may help improve the healing by not having further breakdown. There are also some surgical options available for tendon injuries such as tendon splitting or check ligament desmotomies,” he explains. Giving the horse enough time to heal is probably the biggest factor in terms of whether the horse is able to come back to work. “This can vary from 4 months to 10 months, and some racehorses don’t make it back in time to continue racing. Performance horses and sport horses can be given more time to allow an injury to fully heal, so a lot of those horses can get back to their previous level of activity or close to it. Most owners and trainers of those horses tend to be a little more conservative and give them more time to heal. The horse may take a year off and come back strong,” says Peters. Sometimes the horse will need some sort of support boot during therapy or treatment. “This can provide some protection,” says Rudolphi. “We want to strengthen that area but sometimes we have to use a boot while we are treating it,” she says. •
(continued from page 37) lives down the road from the rescue and has adopted from it before is fostering a horse; two are boarded with a friend in Shelbyville, Kentucky; and another two are boarded with a friend in Lexington, Kentucky. Trope does her best to keep costs down by doing vaccinations and basic first aid herself. A masseuse donates her time, providing free massages to the horses and the vet gives the rescue a discount. Monetary donations are an important part of the rescue’s budget and the more money it raises, the more horses it can help. Longtime supporter, Maynard “Mickey” Brittan, and his son have long admired the work Trope and the rescue do and recently committed to donate $100,000 in matching funds. “You can imagine what is going on within the polo community, that is suffering the same financial woes at the rest of the world. It’s chaotic. Everybody was out of business for three months,” Brittan explained. “Thank God there is someone around who cares. Cathy [Trope] gets things done in almost a miraculous fashion for about a third of the price of anybody else because of her volunteer help and her sweat equity, since she does so much herself.” Brittan, who owns Fair Hills Polo and Hunt Club and hosts the USC polo team several nights per week, has been making contributions over the years and counts on Trope to help rehome some of his old school horses. When she takes in one of his horses, he supports it until it is rehomed. He plans to start making quarterly checks to her beginning June 1, and hopes others in the polo community will join him in donating so she can take advantage of his promise of matching funds. For those that don’t have money to donate there are other ways to help. Volunteers are always welcome for those in the immediate area. Additionally, businesses like Amazon and Ralph’s and Kroger’s food stores allow you to choose a charity when you shop. If you choose Polo Pony Rescue, the rescue gets a small percentage. The rescue also has a wishlist on Amazon of items it is in need of, such as wormers, fecal egg tests, hanging hay bags and safety halters. It also always welcomes donations of hay, feed and supplements. Information about all of these options is located on its website under the tab “How to Help.” The rescue will also need to upgrade its truck and trailer in the near future to ensure it can continue to pick up and deliver horses to new homes. Trope joked, “The truck is old enough to vote this year!”
Mimosa was acquired in July 2014 and diagnosed with a broken pelvis. Barbara Benson was watching the game when the mare was injured and kindly offered to foster her. She fostered her for five years. Now sound, she was transferred to Libbie Fogel who plays arena polo on her and uses her for pee wee polo for 4-year-old Sarah. Giving the mare the time to heal was only possible due to Benson’s generosity.
Though Trope might not be able to help them all, she is thankful to be able to help the ones she can. “I say all the time, there are few things so gratifying in life as they day your old Argentine horse nickers at you,” she said. “And for the ones that are quiet enough, I love when I can hook them up with a little kid ... who just fusses over them, loves them and doesn’t ask a lot of them. They just get to have a nice cushy life.” To donate or to learn more, go to poloponyrescue.org. • POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 55
CALENDAR
July J U LY 7 - 18 Queen Mother Trophy (12) Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire, UK
M A Y 3 0 - S E P T 19 Saturday 2 Goal Mashomack, Pine Plains, NY J U N E 21 - J U L Y 5 Monty Waterbury Cupe(16-20) lled c n CT Greenwich, Greenwich, Ca J U N E 2 3 - J U LY 4 Dollar Cup (12) Cowdray Park, Midhurst, Sussex, UK J U N E 2 3 - J U L Y 11 Eduardo Moore Cup (15) RCB, Windsor, Berkshire, UK J U N E 2 3 - J U L Y 19 British Gold Cup (22) Cowdray Park, Midhurst, Sussex, UK J U N E 2 7 - J U LY 5 Congressional Cup (4-8) Chicago International, Oswego, IL J U N E 2 8 - J U L Y 31 Tuckerman Cup (4) Myopia, South Hamilton, MA J U N E 3 0 - J U LY 2 NYTS Black Diamond, Alberta, Canada J U N E 3 0 - J U LY 18 Indian Empire Shield (18) Guards, Windsor, Surrey, UK J U LY 1 - 5 Knepp Castle Ladies (8-12, 15-18) Knepp Castle, Shipley, W. Sussex, UK J U LY 1 - 12 USPA Cyril Harrison Cup (4-8) Myopia, South Hamilton, MA Sportsmanship Cup Denver, Littleton, CO J U L Y 1 - 19 USPA Officers Cup (8) Mashomack, Pine Plains, NY J U LY 1 - 2 6 Mashomack Cup (8) Mashomack, Pine Plains, NY J U LY 1 - 3 0 Masters Cup (0-4) Great Meadow, The Plains, VA
56 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
SCHEDULES ARE VERY LIKELY TO BE IMPACTED DUE TO COVID-19. PLEASE CHECK VENUES FOR UPDATED INFORMATION.
British Ladies Open Championship Cowdray Park, Midhurst, Sussex, UK J U L Y 8 - 19 General S. Brown (4-8) Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL J U LY 9 - 12 Hall of Fame Challenge Cup (0-4) Skaneateles, Skaneateles, NY Women’s Challenge Maryland, Jarrettsville, MD USPA/PTF Seniors (0-4) Blackberry, Batavia, IL
J U LY 1 - AU G U S T 1 National Arena Chairmans Cup (9-12) National Arena Challenge Cup (3-6) Great Meadow, The Plains, VA J U LY 2 - 4 Arena Constitution Cup (0-3) Triangle, Hurdle Mills, NC J U LY 2 - AU G U S T 2 2 Rincon League (6-8) Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA J U LY 3 - 5 Independence Cup (0-4) Willow Bend, Little Elm, TX Constitution Cup (2-4) Twin City, Long Lake, MN Players Cup (0-4) Fairfield, Haysville, KS J U L Y 3 - 17 Constitution Cup (0-6) NYC, Patterson, NY J U LY 5 Low Goal Classic Seneca, Poolesville, MD Independence Cup Aspen Valley, Carbondale, CO J U LY 5 - 12 Masters Cup (0-8) Bliss, Levering, MI
J U L Y 9 - 19 Players Cup (0-4) Giant Valley, Hamden, CT J U LY 10 - 12 Summer Sizzler (0-4) Willow Bend, Little Elm, TX Sportsmanship Cup (0-4) Seattle, Enumclaw, WA J U L Y 1 0 - 19 Robert Skene Trophy (16) Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA J U LY 10 - 2 4 Governors Cup (0-6) Beverly, The Plains, VA J U L Y 11 Max Berger (0-4) Tinicum, Erwinna, PA J U L Y 11 - 1 2 Arena Amateur Cup (0-3) NWA, Gravette, AR NYTS Heritage Farm, Canaan, NH J U L Y 11 - 19 Sportsmanship Cup (4-6) Denver, Littleton, CO J U LY 12 Butler Challenge Cup Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL
CALENDAR
July / August J U L Y 1 2 - 19 American Cup lled Greenwich, Greenwich, nceCT
J U L Y 2 2 - A U G U S T 16 USPA Eduardo Moore Invitational (8) Mashomack, Pine Plains, NY
J U L Y 1 5 - 16 NYTS Southampton, Watermill, NY
J U LY 2 3 - 2 6 Constitution Cup (2-4) Acoaxet, Tiverton, RI
J U LY 15 - 2 6 USPA Nat’l Chairman’s Cup (8-12) Myopia, South Hamilton, MA
J U LY 2 4 - 2 6 Sportsmanship Cup (0-4) Fairfield, Haysville, KS
Ca
J U L Y 17 - 19 NYTS Blackberry, Batavia, IL J U L Y 17 - 2 6 Sportsmanship Cup Calgary, Okotoks, Alberta, Canada J U LY 18 Miguel Torres/World Gym Youth Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA International Cup vs South Africa Franklin, Nashville, TN J U L Y 1 8 - 19 HYT Polo Challenge (1) Will Rogers, Los Angeles, CA Women’s Challenge Southampton, Water Mill, NY J U LY 18 - 2 6 Warwickshire Cup (22) Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire, UK J U L Y 21 - A U G U S T 1 The Ladies 18-Goal (8-12, 12-18) Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire, UK J U L Y 21 - A U G U S T 2 Apsley Cup (18) Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire, UK J U L Y 21 - A U G U S T 8 Harrison Cup (15) Cowdray Park, Midhurst, Sussex, UK Duke of Wellington (12) Guards, Windsor, Surrey, UK J U LY 2 2 - AU G U S T 2 Constitution Cup (2-4) Roseland, Crozet, VA
Players Cup (0-4) Congressional, Poolesville, MD J U LY 2 4 - AU G U S T 7 Masters Cup (0-6) NYC, Patterson, NY J U LY 2 4 - AU G U S T 9 USPA Silver Cup (16) Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA J U LY 2 5 Arby Dobb (0-4) Tinicum, Erwinna, PA J U LY 2 5 - 2 6 WRPC Women’s Tournament Will Rogers, Los Angeles, CA Low-goal Mixer Mountain View, Charles Town, WV Constitution Cup (0-4) Cerro Pampa, Petaluma, CA Congressional Cup (0-4) New Mexico, Sante Fe, NM Sherman Memorial Barrington Hills, Wacounda, IL Congressional Cup (2-4) El Caso, Quemado, NM NYTS South Bay, Gilroy, CA J U LY 2 5 - AU G U S T 2 David L. King Memorial (2-4) Roseland, Crozet, VA J U LY 2 6 Oak Brook Polo Open Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL
J U LY 2 6 - AU G U S T 2 Amateur Cup (-4-0) Congressional Cup (0-2) Central New York, Cortland, NY J U LY 2 8 - AU G U S T 2 Women’s East Coast Open (14-20) Westchester, Portsmouth, RI J U LY 2 8 - AU G U S T 2 3 Cartier Queen’s Cup (22) Guards, Windsor, Surrey, UK J U LY 2 9 - AU G U S T 9 Briarcliff Cup (4-6) Mashomack, Pine Plains, NY J U L Y 31 - A U G U S T 2 Sunny Hale Legacy WCT (12-14) Brandywine, Toughkenamon, PA J U L Y 31 - A U G U S T 9 Sportsmanship Cup (4-8) Morgan Creek, Yorkville, IL AU G U S T 1 Mashomack Family Day (40) Mashomack, Pine Plains, NY AU G U S T 1 - 2 NYTS Myopia, South Hamilton, MA AU G U S T 1 - 9 Governor’s Cup (4-6) Denver, Littleton, CO Sportsmanship Cup (0-4) Skaneateles, Skaneateles, NY AU G U S T 1 - 15 Regional President’s Cup (4-8) Toronto, Markham, Ontario AU G U S T 2 Cecil Smith Cup Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL A U G U S T 2 - 16 National Eight Goal (4-8) Beverly, The Plains, VA AU G U S T 4 - 18 Crossman Cup (2) Myopia, South Hamilton, MA
Note: All dates are subject to change. “USPA” refers to tournaments sponsored or sanctioned by the United States Polo Association.
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CALENDAR
August AU G U S T 4 - 2 2 Duke of Sutherland Cup (18) Cowdray Park, Midhurst, Essex UK
A U G U S T 14 - 2 3 Players Cup (0-4) Calgary, Okotoks, Alberta, Canada
AU G U S T 5 - 10 Presidents Cup (4-8) Tinicum, Erwinna, PA
A U G U S T 14 - 3 0 USPA Pacific Coast Open (16) Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA
A U G U S T 5 - 16 USPA Forbes Cup (4-8) Myopia, South Hamilton, MA
AU G U S T 15 President’s Cup (4-8) Tinicum, Erwinna, PA
AU G U S T 7 - 9 Landhope Challenge Cup Brandywine, Toughkenamon, PA AU G U S T 8 Linfoot Memorial Youth Tourney Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA AU G U S T 8 - 15 Congressional Cup (0-8) Bliss, Levering, MI A U G U S T 1 0 - 16 Ladies Polo Festival (12-18) RCB, Windsor, Berkshire, UK A U G U S T 11 - 2 3 Cheltenham Cup (12) Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire, UK A U G U S T 11 - 3 0 Royal Windsor Cup (15) Guards, Windsor, Surrey, UK AU G U S T 12 - 2 3 Governors Cup (0-6) Lexington, Versailles, KY AU G U S T 12 - 3 0 USPA Mactaggart Challenge Cup (8) Mashomack, Pine Plains, NY A U G U S T 1 3 - 16 Masters Cup (4-8) Morgan Creek, Yorkville, IL A U G U S T 14 - 16 Governors Cup (0-6) Seattle, Enumclaw, WA Players Cup Twin City, Long Lake, MN
EPoNA Inter-Academy Cup Congressional, Poolesville, MD A U G U S T 1 5 - 16 10th Dog Iron Cup (1) Will Rogers, Los Angeles, CA
A U G U S T 21 - 2 3 Polo Ponies Memorial (6-8) Brandywine, Toughkenamon, PA Women’s Challenge (0-6) Arranmore, Oswego, IL A U G U S T 21 - S E P T E M B E R 14 Intra-Circuit Cup (8-12) Beverly, The Plains, VA AU G U S T 2 2 - 2 3 Sportsmanship Cup (1-3) Seneca, Poolesville, MD Players Cup (0-4) New Mexico, Sante Fe, NM
USPA/PTF Seniors NWA, Gravette, AR
AU G U S T 2 4 - S E P T E M B E R 6 Challenge Cup (18) Cowdray Park, Midhurst, Essex, UK
Arena Adm. Chester Nimitz (0-3) Arena Constitution Cup (3-6) Poway, Poway, CA
AU G U S T 2 5 - S E P T E M B E R 6 John Prestwich Cup (12) RCB, Windsor, Berkshire, UK
Players Cup El Caso, Quemado, NM
AU G U S T 2 6 - 3 0 Constitution Cup (4-8) Las Brisas Farm, Elgin, IL
AU G U S T 15 - 3 0 U.S. Arena Handicap (12-20) Aspen Valley, Carbondale, CO A U G U S T 16 Chicago Polo Open Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL AU G U S T 18 - 2 9 Guards Ladies Charity Polo (12-18) Guards, Windsor, Surrey, UK A U G U S T 19 - 3 0 USPA Governor’s Cup (6) Myopia, South Hamilton, MA A U G U S T 19 - 31 USPA Amateur Cup (2) USPA Governors Cup (6) Myopia, South Hamilton, MA AU G U S T 2 0 - 2 3 Women’s Challenge (8-12) Roseland, Crozet, VA A U G U S T 21 - 2 2 Masters Cup (0-4) Cerro Pampa, Petaluma, CA
AU G U S T 2 8 - 3 0 Gerald Balding (6-8) Brandywine, Toughkenamon, PA Congressional Cup Congressional, Poolesville, MD AU G U S T 2 9 Women’s Challenge Cup (8-12) Tinicum, Erwinna, PA International Cup Franklin, Nashville, TN AU G U S T 3 0 Illinois Players Cup Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL AU G U S T 3 0 - S E P T E M B E R 13 East Coast Open Greenwich, Greenwich, CT AU G U S T 3 0 - S E P T E M B E R 2 0 Sportsmanship Cup (2-4) Roseland, Crozet, VA
Note: All dates are subject to change. “USPA” refers to tournaments sponsored or sanctioned by the United States Polo Association.
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U S PA B U L L E T I N
(continued from page 11) supportive one for the umpires, making sure they have equipment such as radios; ensuring they understand what the rule changes are and how we are calling the games; and making any adjustments. Sometimes what we are doing is not working well and games become too rough. In the off season, I fly around to different clubs and give rule reviews, provide umpiring for the PUMP/8 program and umpire with club umpires to evaluate their skills.
What is your favorite hobby outside of polo? I love playing with my dogs, I have three Pomeranians and a Chihuahua. Also, my wife is a bodybuilder and we enjoy working out together. We’ve been married for over 20 years and we run at daybreak three to five miles every morning. Every afternoon, we hit the gym for an hour or so to work on one muscle group. This regiment has helped in umpiring, as I can umpire more games in a day than I could before and not get tired.
What is your advice for someone who is interested in learning to umpire? To become a club umpire, my advice would be to get on the USPA video rulebook I created and learn the basics. After that, umpire with one of us, attend a USPA boot camp and learn the procedures and then umpire as much as you can for your club while continuing to take advantage of any of the professional umpires when they come to visit. You have to have played polo to understand the concepts of the game before you can pursue professional
Justine and Dana Fortugno with dogs Cuey, Taz and Millie. Mr Pickles is not shown.
umpiring. For a professional umpire, we are looking for players who have been at least 4 or 5 goals and played professionally so we know you have a deep understanding of the fundamental concepts of the game, and then we can train you from there.
A young Dana Fortugno with his mom, Liana at Palm Beach Polo.
What do you hope to improve in the Umpires, LLC through this role? I want to improve the professionalism of the Umpires, LLC. Fergus Gould and I met before either one of us became director and we talked about how we want to manage the umpires. We both agreed that we want to steer away from being concerned about missing a singular play or call. We want to move towards imparting to our professional umpires the proper judgment and thought process for calling fouls. Once that is in place, we feel over the long term the calls and the consistency will take care of themselves. We want the experience with a professional umpire in California to be the same as it is in Florida, and in order to do that we have to train them the same way.
What motivates you to succeed in this role? I do this job because I feel more personal success than when I was working as an attorney. The most rewarding part of umpiring for me is getting on the horses because I love them. I grew up around polo and I love it so I want to leave a positive impact on the sport. If you would like to contact Dana Fortugno, he can be reached at dfortugno@uspolo.org. • POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 59
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Collector’s corner Early polo programs help revive the past By Dennis J. Amato
U.S. Open programs from Meadow Brook, 1935-1939 and 1940.
For some 38 years, I have been on the constant hunt for memorabilia on the sport of polo. Over that extended timeframe, I have amassed a collection exceeding well over 4000 pieces. The assortment of items that I have managed to assemble is quite varied and includes several hundred books; scores of magazines—both bound volumes and single issues; dozens of photographs; many autographs; innumerable postcards; a bevy of trophies; a wide
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variety of posters; a mini-army of toy soldiers; a cabinet chockfull of cocktail shakers, glasses and barware; an assortment of international stamps; and an enviable amount of art (e.g. paintings, prints and sculptures), particularly in the art deco genre. However, among my favorite collectibles are programs and tickets. As I already have written at length about my interest in the latter (see “Tickets, Badges and Passes, Admissions Ephemera Offers
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Window into Polo’s Past,” Polo Players’ Edition, January 2013), this article focuses solely on the world of polo programs. My passion for programs probably stems from the fact that they allow me to relive—at least vicariously—games of yesteryear as if they were being contested today and magically morph poloists of the past into current-day competitors thundering across the field of play. Thumbing through these venerable programs in my view places the readers into the shoes—or more aptly the seats—of spectators of yore as they anticipated and then savored all the thrills and excitement of “game day.” Not surprisingly, the earliest programs I have been able to source thus far have come from England. More specifically, they have originated from the renowned Hurlingham Club in London and date back to the 1880s and 1890s. Made of cardboard, these simple but charming programs measured a mere 3½ inches by 4½ inches and typically ran only four pages. In elegant period script, they listed the two polo matches of the day (e.g. the Inter-Regimental Cup between the Ninth Lancers and the Tenth Hussars followed by a game between the Derbyshire Polo Club and the Hurlingham Club) along with a summary of the day’s extensive musical offerings. The format for these programs pretty much remained the same throughout most of the early 1900s but the size expanded from four to as many as 10 pages. Often the number of matches listed also increased from just two to three (with the latter two games being played simultaneously at 5:15 p.m. on the first and second grounds, respectively). The remainder of these programs would then be
dedicated to announcing other activities that day, including vocal and orchestral concerts, balloon contests and fireworks displays as well as such future events as rose shows, exhibitions of “fancy flying including looping the loop,” ladies’ driving bending competitions, gymkhanas and croquet tournaments. Musical entertainment was such an integral component of these late afternoon and early evening get-togethers that Hurlingham often engaged its own club orchestra to perform in addition to inviting the participation of various military bands. Turning to this side of the Atlantic, early American polo programs have proven to be extremely scarce so much so that oddly I have actually had greater success in locating more old tickets than vintage programs. Like their English counterparts, these American programs from the pre-World War I era were relatively small and very simple affairs. The oldest stateside program that I have been able to procure to date is a 1903 one from the famed Rockaway Hunting Club in Cedarhurst, Long Island. This 5-by-8, four-page program showcased 12 games fought over 17 days (July 4-20) for three of the club’s
Left: 1930 Westchester Cup at Meadow Brook; Above: East-West matches at Onwentsia Club, Lake Forest, Illinois, 1933; and Meadowbrook, Westbury, New York, 1934.
Early programs from the so-called London clubs: Hurlingham (1890), Ranelagh (1905) and Roehampton (1927).
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to this template, I would note, were some of the Australian programs, which were very substantive (e.g. those for the 1928 Countess of Dudley and J.J. Garvan Cups and the 1933 Australian Polo Cup and Hendron Cup). [In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit I have not come across any Argentine programs from this era to pass judgment on.] In many respects, the interwar years also represented an important inflection point in the history of polo programs through developments that largely occurred in the United States. During these critical years of the so-called “First Golden Age of Polo,” there was a tremendous expansion of the game throughout the country, which in turn led to an enormous surge in all things polo-related from the number of clubs and players, to the number of equipment, clothing and horseflesh purveyors and to These 1923 and 1926 programs from Meadow Brook were somewhat revolutionary for their time given their size as well as their full-color covers printed on glossy paper. Right: Some programs from Squadron A in New York from the 1930s.
most prestigious annual tournaments: the Blizzard Cups, the Ladies Challenge Cup and the Rockaway Hunting Club Cups. This little gem featured such legendary teams as Rumson, the Country Club of Westchester, Great Neck, Bryn Mawr and of course, Rockaway itself. Among the well-known participants were James C. Cooley, J. Peter Grace, Robert Strawbridge Sr., René LaMontagne, John E. Cowdin, Harry Payne Whitney, Larry Waterbury and Monty Waterbury. Among my other prized possessions from the preWorld War I period that I have had the good fortune to find are Westchester Cup programs from the Meadow Brook Club in Westbury, Long Island, for the 1913 and 1914 competitions. For the former, I have the programs for both the first and second games. In 14 pages, these two small (5 inch by 7 inch) programs display the photos and the names of the respective American and British squads as well as a listing of past winners of the tournament. These booklets also spelled out the conditions of play. The 1914 Westchester Cup program was quite similar in size and structure to the prior year’s ones but with the trophy prominently displayed on the cover versus the 1913 design taken from the Polo Association’s yearbooks of the time. While pre-World War I programs have proven to be quite illusive, finding ones for the interwar years has been relatively easy, particularly for those issued in the United States. In general, most of the foreign programs—from England and elsewhere (e.g. India, Kenya, Egypt, Singapore, etc.)—continued to be relatively modest publications. Typically, these programs from abroad remained small, were printed on cardboard or light-weight paper, evidenced little color and few, if any, had photographs. An exception
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the number of programs distributed. To be sure, while the sheer volume of programs expanded exponentially, these publications came in a myriad of shapes, sizes, designs and materials: truly, the good, the bad and the ugly. While difficult to generalize, it is probably correct to state that the quality of the programs tended to correlate to some degree with the scale and the resources of the club overseeing the games as well as by the importance of the tournaments themselves. While the names of the “usual suspects” among the sponsors for the higher-quality programs readily come to mind, there were a number of surprises along the way. A good example was the affluent Broadmoor Polo Association in Colorado Springs that turned out a series of very elaborate and impressive programs from at least the mid-1920s until the early
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1930s that rivaled anything found at many of its better known peers. Another unexpected source for outstanding programs originated in the mid-1920s from Fort Snelling, Minnesota, in conjunction with this military installation’s annual Northwest Polo Tournament. In terms of the “usual suspects,” the aforementioned Meadow Brook Club needs to be singled out as one of the organizations that played a pivotal role in the creation of the modern-day polo program. Illustrative of a breakout program was the one for the 1924 Westchester Cup, which was large (7¾ inches by 11¼ inches), which contained a staggering 130 pages and was replete with game specifics (e.g. team line-ups, player biographies, a list of boxholder occupants, abbreviated rules of the game, etc.), photographs, feature articles and advertisements. Other early pioneering programs included those for the 1923 and 1926 Open Championships that sported full-color covers. Then there was the over-the-top and oversized (9 by 12) 1927 Westchester Cup program, which somehow in turn managed to be surpassed by the stunning and even bigger 9½-inch-by-12½-inch, 162-page 1930 Westchester Cup program with its marvelous portraits in charcoal of the American and English players. So distinctive was this program that one devotee even went so far as to have his copy bound in fancy leather by the same bindery that apparently provided such services to Peter Vischer’s classic Polo magazine. Even the USPA was totally unprepared for the reception this program would receive as it hastily had to rush into print a four-page complimentary flyer for the second game with the comment, “Due to the unprecedented demand for official programs for the
first game, the entire edition thereof was sold out.” Given that the program was priced at a hefty 50 cents (around $7.50 in today’s dollar), this outcome was quite astounding. And the beat went on with the very large (9 inch by 12 inch) 1934 East-West program, the 1936 Cup of the Americas program and finally the 1939 Westchester Cup program with its delightful art deco cover. Moreover, there was a steady stream of large and colorful Open programs from the late 1920s all the way until the last one before the war in 1941. Meadow Brook’s ability to consistently put forth such innovative as well as expensive programs not only during the Roaring Twenties but also throughout The Great Depression could be attributed in large part to the popularity of its events. For the more important tournaments, as many as 45,000 spectators would attend a single game and up to 100,000 a three-game series. Furthermore, the club had the competitive advantage of being able to command premium pricing for its matches. For example, many of the preferred general admissions tickets for the 1927 Westchester Cup were set at $10 for the East Stand and $15 for the West Stand—with box seats selling for considerably more. For the 1930 challenge, which attracted some 40,000-45,000 enthusiasts to International Field for the first game, the gate totaled an estimated $1 million (equivalent to around $15 million today), leading Polo magazine to quip, “And in These Times Supposed to be Hard!” Incidentally, the second match, held on a Wednesday no less, yielded a similar fan turnout and presumably a like amount of income. Of course, all this took place in an age when players were not compensated for their
Left: Programs from Australia for 1928 and 1933 were notable exceptions of most programs from abroad that were simple, small and typically printed on light-weight paper; Middle: The 1924 Westchester Cup program was a breakout in terms of its size and format; Above: More Meadow Brook covers from International events, including the 1928 Cup of Americas.
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Westchester Cup matches at Meadow Brook, 1939
Top: Early American programs from Rockaway Club (1903) and Meadow Brook (1913-14); Above: The Broadmoor Polo Association in Colorado Springs, Colorado, mid-20s and early 30s
efforts and no prize money was awarded. Interestingly, programs for other sports like baseball, college and professional football and heavyweight boxing also improved significantly during the 1920s and 1930s, yet even their finest examples (e.g. World Series and Bowl programs), in my personal opinion, paled in comparison to those seen at Meadow Brook.
Governors Island (1927), Blind Brook Turf and Polo Club (1941) and Golden Gate Park (1937)
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Beyond Meadow Brook, contemporary-style programs started to emerge elsewhere throughout the United States during the interwar years. A selective sampling includes the following: Governors Island matches, New York, 1927; National Indoor Polo Championship games in 1931 and 1937 at Squadron A in New York and in 1934 and 1936 at the 124th Field Artillery Armory in Chicago (see PPE, November and December 2018); the Ninth Annual Southwest Circuit Polo Tournament, San Antonio, Texas, 1932; the landmark East-West games, Onwentsia Club, Lake Forest, Illinois, 1933; the Intercollegiate Polo Tournament, Westchester Country Club, New York, 1933; International Polo: Mexico vs. California, Golden Gate Park Stadium, San Francisco, California, 1937; Will Rogers’ Ranch American Red Cross Benefit match, Pacific Palisades, California, 1940; Blind Brook Turf and Polo Club matches, Port Chester, New York, 1941; and the Second Annual Invitational Tournament, Rolling Rock Polo Association, Ligonier, Pennsylvania, 1941. In the post-war years, we have witnessed a virtual convergence in the form and substance of polo programs worldwide. Today’s standard is likely to be a magazine-sized program printed on high-quality glossy paper filled with game-related particulars, dazzling color photographs, lengthy articles and endless advertisements for a wide variety of luxury goods and services. But we must not forget that today’s programs, which we take so much for granted, owe their very existence to their humbler antecedents. •