September 2021 Polo Players' Edition- Polo Scene

WE RIDE TOGETHER

Campaign Counters Sexual Misconduct and Abuse

Young athletes, particularly those in elite sports, are more frequently sexually abused by coaches when they are competing at a higher level. There are several reasons for this, none of which are “she knew what she was doing.” #weridetogether.

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT and abuse have long been an issue in equestrian sport, and is often ignored, minimized or wrongly blamed on the victim. The equestrian community is no longer sitting idly by. Today, leading digital media platform Horse Network, in collaboration with Wrigley Media Group and the Kehring family, has launched #WeRideTogether, a powerful new series of educational and eyeopening digital PSAs and an in-depth microsite designed to empower, inform, and unite the equestrian community.

#WeRideTogether gives a voice to survivor stories, provides resources to report abuse and get help, and offers educational information for athletes, coaches, and families. The microsite will be updated on an ongoing basis to provide a safe place for survivors to share their experiences.

“#WeRideTogether was developed as a multifaceted campaign to promote transparent and safe dialogue within the industry, help shift the imbalance of power between coach and athlete, and raise awareness for the many forms grooming and abuse can take,” said Lauren Kay, #WeRideTogether spokesperson. “Sadly, sexual abuse of minors is common in all sports. We are proud that the equestrian community has taken a bold step forward to be the leader in true change that all coaches and competitors can understand and embrace.”

Central to the campaign is the four-part #WeRideTogether PSA series, produced by Wrigley Media Group and distributed through Horse Network’s diverse digital platform and social media channels. The series features expert commentary from youth protection advocate and expert, Les Nichols, powerful first-person interviews from sexual abuse survivors, and more.

“Our mission at Horse Network is to grow horse sport. When we protect young athletes, we protect the future of the sport—it’s as simple as that,” said Carley Sparks, editor-in-chief, Horse Network. “We’re incredibly proud to be part of the amazing team working to shed light on this important topic and grateful to the brave survivors who have entrusted us with their stories.”

“I have devoted the better part of my life to equestrian sport—it’s part of my DNA” says Misdee Wrigley Miller, CEO, Wrigley Media Group. “Wrigley Media Group is committed to do doing our part in giving victims a voice and helping to raise awareness to an issue that has been avoided far too long. In order for this sport to continue to thrive, it is up to us, who are immersed in its community, to facilitate change. We intend to do just that.”

#WeRideTogether is a true movement and cultural shift that demands increased accountability from trainers and coaches, gives survivors a safe platform for their voice and helps diminish the stigma and fear of coming forward.

Visit weridetogether.today to learn more.

DAMSEL IN DISTRESSED

Player Writes Book Based on Her Career

Dominique Mielle

POLO PLAYER Dominique Mielle recently published a book “Damsel in Distressed” about her time working in the hedge fund business. Mielle was a partner and senior portfolio manager at Canyon Capital, a $25 billion fund, for 20 years. In 2017, she was named one of the “Top 50 Women in Hedge Funds” by Ernst & Young.

After retiring in 2018, Mielle decided to write the book. “I read a quote from a female finance student that stuck with me: ‘Women lack examples of successful women in investing. That makes it harder for women to visualize how a career in investing could work for them, which leads women to opt out of the career path.’ I set out to write a book for women to opt-in; women and outsiders, that is because I am also a foreigner. It’ll be the first hedge fund memoir written by a woman,” Mielle explained.

Mielle says the book took about 18 months to write and another year or so to find an agent and a publisher. She said the industry changed tremendously in the decades she worked in it. “Everything has changed; competition, technology, data, volatility and regulations radically transformed the investing landscape. The hedge fund business was a rather secretive cottage industry, managing less than $200 billion when I started in 1998. Over 15,000 hedge funds now control more than $3 trillion in assets. It has become a mature, institutionalized business,” she explained.

As a woman in a male-dominated industry, Mielle explained what it was like to work in it. “Kind of like polo; hard work, intensely competitive, fraught with adversaries, unfair at times, lucky some others, with a lot of money at stake,” she said. “There are quite a few women at the entry and middle levels, but it’s male-dominated at the top.”

She said there are similarities between the hedge fund industry and polo. “The job of trading teaches you to accept failures. As a portfolio manager, you regularly lose money—tens or even hundreds of millions sometimes,” she said. “You are repeatedly proven wrong, publicly and unambiguously. You have to accept it as just the flip side of profitable trades, a motivation to move on, make the money back and more, find the next big win. It’s a powerful way to build resilience. I find the same requisite and reward in polo.”

Mielle played her first chukker of polo in the fall of 2011. She had taken her first riding lesson before a trip to Mongolia, which included a horseback riding trek. After the vacation she continued to take lessons at Will Rogers and would watch polo after her class. “[I] airily thought, ‘Why don’t I try this? How hard can it be? I was absolutely clueless,” she admits.

Ten years later, she is the proud owner of eight horses. She participates in the pro-pool and the 8-goal league at Santa Barbara Polo Club and occasionally plays in Indio. She says her proudest achievement so far is being named Most Improved Player in Santa Barbara in 2019.

MOROCCAN MAGIC

Polo Event Commemorates 200 Years of Friendship

Aside from polo (above) the American teams toured an exhibition with Cultural Attaché Stephen Weeks (below). They also rode camels (below, right) shopped and enjoyed local food

A GROUP OF EIGHT AMERICAN WOMEN traveled to Morocco in late June to play in an exhibition of women’s polo in Rabat and Marrakesh. The trip was organized by Michael Farah and Rabbi Benadada to coincide with a celebration of 200 years of American-Moroccan relations.

The women formed two teams, playing off against each other. Hollywood included Rosy Keyfauver, Kendra Lauren Gros, Julie Empey and Kelly Coldiron, while Beverly Hills was made up of Megan Judge, Susan Harris, Mary Linares and Kerstie Allen.

The American Embassy in Rabat, Morocco, celebrated the visitors with a dinner with Cultural Attaché Stephen Weeks. Later, Weeks gave a tour of the U.S. Embassy exhibition “Of Voice and Stone—200 years of History in the American Legation Building and Morocco” at the National Library in Rabat. The exhibition features a range of historic items representing strategic, economic and cultural ties between Morocco and the United States. Exhibition items include a lego model of the Mars Rover, a pair of Jimi Hendrix’s boots, Nawal El Moutawakel’s Olympic Gold medal and track shoes and a dress worn by pop star Lady Gaga.

“This exhibit tells the story of people-to-people relationships, of how ordinary Moroccans and Americans have accomplished extraordinary achievements together over the past years, decades and centuries,” Chargé d’Affaires David Greene said. “These achievements have left a permanent mark on our shared culture—in music, science, art, sports and so many other areas.”

The exhibition will remain at the National Library until late September, when it moves to Casablanca. It will be shown at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. in early 2022.

In addition to polo, the women went on camel rides, shopping excursions at the local markets and enjoyed traditional Moroccan food and culture.

The event has inspired the organization of the first Moroccan women’s polo team.

POLO RIDER CUP

International Medium-Goal Tournament Played in France

Polo Park Zürich went undefeated throughout the event, eventually taking the title.

THE FIRST EDITION of the Polo Rider Cup was held at the Polo Club of Chantilly, north of Paris, France, June 10- 20. Teams, rated between 10 to 12 goals, represented 12 clubs around the world. Teams were divided into four zones, with Zones A and B playing across bracket in Group 1 and Zones D and C playing across bracket for Group 2. Games were played as five chukkers.

Two American teams competed in the tournament: Las Brisas (Larry Aschebrook, Lukas Sdrenka, Matias Obregon, Juan Martin Obregon) from Elgin, Illinois, and Empire Polo (Clément Smith, Guillermo Li, Tito Ruiz Guiñazu, Derek Smith) from Indio, California.

Three games a day were played for the first five days. The top two teams in each group moved on to the semifinals, while the remaining eight teams moved into a subsidiary. Las Brisas finished 1-2, while Empire finished 2-1, ranking second only to undefeated Deauville in Group 2 and earning a spot in the semi-finals.

The semifinals of the main event pitted Zürich (Richard Harris, Elena Venot, Min Podesta, Carlos Solari) against Empire and Hong Kong (Cyrille Costes, Adrien Le Gallo, Thierry Vetois, Brieuc Rigaux) against Deauville (Ulysse Eisenchteter, Patrick Eisenchteter, Pierre-Henri N’Goumou, Juan José Storni). In the first match, Zürich took a three-goal lead in the opening chukker. Empire cut the difference to two at the end of the third and came within one, 6-5, before time ran out.

Empire fell to Deauville in its first match, above, but rallied and went all the way to the semis.

In the next semi, Deauville shut out Hong Kong, 5-0, in the first two chukkers. Hong Kong rallied in the third to come within two, 5-3. The teams traded goals in the last 14 minutes, allowing Deauville to maintain the two goal advantage, 7-5, and advance to the final.

The final day saw Empire fall to Hong Kong, 6-5, in the main subsidiary to determine third place. The teams were tied, 5-5, going into the last chukker when Thierry Vetois scored the game-winner for Hong Kong.

In the final, both teams were undefeated. Zürich outscored Deauville, 2-1, in the first chukker. The teams traded goals in the second, maintaining the one-goal difference. Zürich shut out Deauville in the next two chukkers while slamming in seven goals for a comfortable 10-3 lead going into the last seven minutes. Zürich got in one more goal to end the match 10-4. Min Podesta led Zürich with six goals, ably assisted with four goals from Carlos Solari.