Spring 2013

HURLINGHAM p ol o m ag a z i n e

f e brua ry 2013

the argentine season

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contents

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Ponylines news from around the polo world, including the Chief Executive’s column

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The Wright stuff The hPa’s new chair is a steady hand to steer it through the recession’s rough seas

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Prize discovery The extraordinary treasure in the attic of the Buenos aires hurlingham Club

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From fantasia to FIP With a tradition of proud equestrianism, morocco is a prime new polo location

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Beach boys The British beach-polo championships bringing the sport to a brand-new crowd

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Lord Patrick Beresford an expert insight into the growth of argentina’s polo industry

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Good fortune Thanks to an enthusiatic patron, polo’s popularity in China knows no bounds

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Empire games What impact has its imperial heritage had on the development of polo?

Spirit of the law The lawyers Polo team, created to celebrate fair play in the game of kings

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Show Media Editorial Managing Director Peter Howarth 1-2 Ravey Street, London EC2A 4QP + 44 (0) 20 3222 0101 info@showmedia.net; www.showmedia.net Hurlingham Media 47-49 Chelsea Manor Street, London SW3 5RZ +44 (0) 771 483 6102 hurlingham@hpa-polo.co.uk www.hurlinghampolo.com Colour Reproduction fmg www.groupfmg.com Printing Gemini Press www.gemini-press.co.uk

The stars of tomorrow Pony Club Polo will foster today’s talent and ensure future success worldwide

hurlinghaM Magazine Publisher Roderick Vere Nicoll Executive Editor Peter Howarth Editor Arabella Dickie Deputy Editor Herbert Spencer Contributing Photographer Tony Ramirez Editor-At-Large Alex Webbe Senior Designer Julia Allen Chief Copy Editor Chris Madigan Copy Editors Sarah Evans, Gill Wing

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A tribute to the underdog Working-class hero Jimmy Bachman rose to the very top of his game – and only ever played it on his own terms

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Action reports and pictures from across the globe, including the Triple Crown, Fortune heights Super nations Cup, St moritz Polo World Cup on Snow, international Series, Townsend Cup, Thai Open, Coutts Polo at the Palace, and Clare milford haven’s mexican diary

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The good player So, what differentiates the mere also-ran Polo Player from the good Polo Player? Juan Carlos alberdi, writing in the Fifties, thought he knew

Cover: Mariano Aguerre, photographed by Ricardo Motran

Reproductioninwholeorinpartwithoutwrittenpermissionisstrictlyprohibited.Whileeveryefortismadetoensuretheaccuracyoftheinformationcontainedinthispublication,noresponsibilitycanbeacceptedforanyerrorsor omissions. All the information contained in this publication is correct at the time of going to press.The HURLINGHAM Polo Association magazine (ISSN 1750-0486) is published by Hurlingham Media.The magazine is designed and produced on behalf of Hurlingham Media by Show Media Ltd. It is published on behalf of the Hurlingham Polo Association by Hurlingham Media. The products and services advertised are not necessarily endorsed by or connectedwiththepublisherortheHurlinghamPoloAssociation.TheeditorialopinionsexpressedinthispublicationarethoseofindividualauthorsandnotnecessarilythoseofthepublisherortheHurlinghamPoloAssociation.

Hurlingham magazine welcome feedback from readers: hurlinghammedia@hpa-polo.co.uk

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foreword roderick vere nicoll – publisher

I was sitting next to Neil Hobday, CEO of Guards Polo Club, before the Argentine Open final. He turned to me and said that Ellerstina would win by 2! I had watched the semi-final between La Aguada and Ellerstina and found the latter’s play erratic. La Dolfina, on the other hand, was the dream team of 40 goals and had been steadily improving with each game.

What unfolded was one of the best polo games I have seen. The youngest player, Nico Pieres, was the man of the match for the first five chukkas. For a full account of the final and of the Triple Crown read Héctor Martelli’s report on page 48. Our cover star, Mariano Aguerre, won his ninth title and was raised back to 10 goals for the third time in his career!

We also focus on China and Argentina.

On page 16, Pepe Santamarina tells us about the first trophy of the Open, which he found in the attic of the Hurlingham Club. Lord Patrick Beresford explores the Argentine Polo industry on page 26.

Mark Tomlinson gives his view of the Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjin on page 18, and James Beim reports on the 24-goal Nations Cup in the Action section.

Diego Nuñez wrote his senior thesis at Harvard on the origins of polo, and on page 28, he describes how polo relates to its imperial heritage. On page 40, Marcus Rinehart talks about Jimmy Bachman and his huge impact on the game.

Finally, if you want to know the difference between a polo player and a good polo player, read Juan Carlos Alberdi’s account in the Archive section.

contributors

Diego Nuñez is a graduate of Harvard University, where he played on the intercollegiate team and devoted his senior year to a study of the history of polo. Research and competitive activities have taken him to Cowdray Park, Guards, Chantilly, Geneva and Rome. Now a writer based New York, Diego is working on a book about polo.

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Marcus Rinehart split his childhood between his family’s farm in South Carolina and a variety of international locations. His father, former 10-goaler Owen Rinehart, and his mother, Georgina, breed and raise thoroughbreds for polo.

Having pursued filmmaking, Marcus is currently completing his undergraduate degree at King’s College London.

Theresa Hodges joined the Linlithgow and Stirlingshire Branch of the Pony Club in 1963. She was a Pony Club parent from 1991 to 2012, polo branch manager of the Royal Artillery Pony Club from 1997 to 2004, section manager of Jorrocks between 2005 and 2007, and has been the chair of Pony Club Polo since 2008.

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Ricardo Motran is an Argentinian photographer. He was born in the city of Córdoba, which lies 700km northwest of Buenos Aires. It was here that he opened his first photographic studio, named Snoopy. ‘Snoopy’ soon became Ricardo’s own nickname, and one that has followed him during his 30 years photographing the sport of polo.

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tianjin goldin metropolitan polo club

one to watch Wealthy Hong Kong businessman Pan Su Tong, above far right, does not play polo, but his life-long love of horses and passion for the sport has made him a key figure in its development in the Peoples’ Republic of China. Mr Pan, who heads a large international group of diversified companies, built the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club as the centrepiece of Goldin’s mega-scale business and residential development south of Beijing. The club is now partnered with the Federation of International Polo (FIP), which been co-hosting and organising major international events at the Metropolitan, including the FIP Snow Polo World Cup and the Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup tournaments. Mr Pan’s Goldin group has invested millions of dollars in polo, helping to fund the FIP and providing welcome income for national associations that send teams to compete in China. In recognition of his ‘exceptional service’ to polo, the FIP has appointed Mr Pan as the federation’s first honorary vice-president. Herbert Spencer

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ponylines POLO NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

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{ CarmignaC gESTiOn’S SECrET rOlling STOnES gig On 29 October 2012, Paris-based investment company Carmignac Gestion took to the stage at the intimate Theatre Mogador in Paris to welcome the world’s greatest rock’n’roll band, the Rolling Stones. The (badly-kept) secret gig, performed in front of around 600 of Carmignac’s clients, journalists and exclusive guests, lasted for 90 minutes, during which Mick Jagger, above left, and his band played some of their best-known hits, including ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’, ‘Honky Tonk Women’, and ‘Start Me Up’. The musician joked to the audience that he had not met polo patron and winner of the 2011 Queen’s Cup, Édouard Carmignac, above right, ‘but the Queen has said some very nice things about him to me’.

Earlier in the year, Carmignac Gestion had invited another famous rocker, Rod Stewart, to perform at a similarly high-octane private concert for clients.

{ HPa gauCHO inTErnaTiOnal POlO aT THE O 2 The HPA Gaucho International Polo returns to London in 2013 and, once again, the O2 Arena will no doubt prove to be a fantastic venue. The event kicks off at 5.30pm with a festival of music and complimentary wine tastings – representatives of 40 of Argentina’s top wineries will fly over especially for the occasion, presenting over 200 wines. The evening will climax with the headline match, IG/England vs Cheval des Andes/Argentina, at 8pm, when England will be looking to repeat their 2012 victory over Argentina.

After the match, guests can enjoy music – both live and provided by DJs – as well as a VIP after-party at neighbouring IndigO2. Veuve Clicquot will be creating a champagne garden for the evening and Tanqueray gin will host ringside entertainment. What’s more, team sponsor IG will be bringing IGnatius, its mechanical polo-pony horse to IndigO2, offering the opportunity for curious visitors to have a go at playing polo. One of the UK’s biggest supporters of polo, IG is a world-leading provider of Contracts for Difference (CFDs), financial spread-betting and forex.

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Dave J Hogan/getty Images

Throughout the British winter, there has been plenty to focus on overseas, but perhaps the highlight was the final of the Argentine Open, when Ellerstina defeated La Dolfina, who were generally considered to be the favourites. So many games are won on penalties, but, on this occasion, it was perhaps one that was lost due to missed penalties.

England’s own great achievement was its victory over America in extra time in California – the first time in its 90-year history that it has taken the Townsend Trophy. An away match always presents an extra challenge and it was all the more challenging because Sebastian Dawnay had to replace Chris Hyde, who was unable to obtain the necessary visa, and Oli Hipwood was struck down with a bout of flu.

Just before Christmas, a party of eight young players went to Buster MacKenzie in South Africa for training and another slightly older group is about to head off there for February half-term. At the same time, two younger groups are going to Argentina – one to Coronel Suarez and one to Pilar.

On the international front, a three-man England team will be taking part once again in the FIP Snow Polo World Cup and we hope they do well, having been drawn into probably the toughest league, with USA and New Zealand. In addition, England teams – both captained by James Beim – will be playing Australian teams at Melbourne in February and Windsor near Sydney in April, an event to which a 21-and-under team has also been invited. Also during April, it is planned that England will field a 22-goal team to play in the Copa de las Naciones in Buenos Aires.

At home, the decision to run four HPA Club Tournaments at different levels (two before Christmas and two after) appears to have worked well and provided competitive arena polo here over the winter months.

Looking forward to the 2013 season, there are no significant changes in the programme or the rules, but the highlight of the season will be the Audi International at Guards Polo Club on 28 July, when England will defend the Westchester Cup against the USA.

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x GiNGER bAkER dOcUmENTARY Beware of Mr Baker is a new, no-holds-barred documentary about one of the world’s most controversial musicians – and die-hard polo enthusiast - Ginger Baker. The film looks back on his musical career with Cream and Blind Faith, his introduction to Fela Kuti, his self-destructive patterns and finally his life inside a South African compound with no fewer than 39 polo ponies.

Though best known for his work in the Sixties with Eric Clapton, Baker did not really hit his stride until 1972, when he drove the very first Range Rover ever produced from London to Nigeria in pursuit of African rhythms and his musical hero Fela Kuti. There he found a veritable hotbed of drumming and, as a result, was in the vanguard in introducing so-called world music to the West.

The documentary includes polo footage – a passion Baker once insisted was his only weakness – as well as stories from his ex-wives, children and some of the many iconic musicians who worked with Ginger, including Clapton, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts, Mickey Hart and Carlos Santana.

Beware of Mr Baker was released by SnagFilms in late 2012 y YOUNG PLAYER TOmmY bEREsfORd ON POLO iN chiNA Playing for the Under-16 England polo team in China was not only exciting, but gave me the opportunity to compete for my country in a highly prestigious international tournament. The event was extremely well organised by the FIP and the Metropolitan Polo Club Hotel. As the Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup was taking place at the same time, understandably, the better horses were given to the 24-goal tournament and the lower-end horses were given to the junior tournament. The pitch was challenging and had large divots in places, which meant we needed to be more careful than usual. The first game against South Africa was difficult, but we were able to overcome them in three chukkas as we were more balanced and played well both individually and as a team. As predicted, the final against Argentina was very tough as we were playing the best nation in the world. This match was increased to four chukkas and we started with 1.5 goals due to differences in handicap. That was the difference between the score in the end, but at least we gave them a good game. Playing against people my age from elsewhere in the world gave me a much better idea of the differing standards of polo in other countries. Tommy Beresford y AUdi POLO sERiEs 2013 The Westchester Cup, polo’s oldest and most prestigious international trophy, will be the prize this summer when England takes on the USA at Guards Polo Club, Windsor, on 28 July - the first UK staging of the match in 16 years. The USA currently holds the record for the most wins since the trophy’s inception in 1886, with 10 victories to England’s six. The England team will also face internationals against South Africa (15 June: Beaufort Polo Club) and Australasia (7 September: Chester Racecourse Polo Club) as part of a three-match UK series.

Former patron Nigel à Brassard, explained why the Westchester Cup is held in such high esteem: ‘The Westchester Cup is the “blue riband” event of international polo. It is to polo what the Ashes are to cricket, the Ryder Cup is to golf and the America’s Cup is to yachting.’

For tickets, contact office@audipolosport.com.

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hooked on polo harold Awuah-darko is captain of the Accra polo Club in Ghana and the patron of African polistas, a pan-African polo club. he is the only patron to have won the Accra open three times. harold owns 35 polo ponies in Ghana and South Africa, where he holds a 0-goal handicap (the highest he has attained is 2-goals).

I started riding at the age of five and first played polo in 1981 at the age of 14 at the Accra Polo Club – the youngest person at that time to ever play there.

Horses have long been a strong part of my family culture, commencing with my father. He got into polo at the age of 48 and retired from active play at 70, passing on this passion to his four sons. We are all avid horsemen and keen polo players.

I love my horses and always have a favourite mare that my wife describes as her rival. I enjoy the planning and organisation that goes into polo and winning tournaments – it gives me an avenue to replace work-related stress. I have fond memories of playing in my father’s team, Vanguards, when we consistently won the local league.

A good game for me features classic old-style open play on a good field with great horses. My most memorable game was back in 2008, at the Inanda Polo Club in Johannesburg, when I led the first all-black polo team to win the Africa Cup. We entered as the ‘dark horse’, but won all our qualifying matches. The final was strongly contested, ending 9-8, with our winning goal scored in the dying seconds of the last chukka.

In Ghana, we play 0-4-goal practice chukkas, with 4-8-goal international tournaments where we invite professionals to enhance play. In South Africa, we play 6-12-goal chukkas and I participate in 4-12-goal tournaments, depending on whom I am playing with. One of my aims is to establish a pan-African polo league with different handicap levels involving all polo-playing countries in Africa.

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chukkas Hurlingham is proud to announce the launch of the debut novel by Ming Liu, one of our copy editors. Our Man in China, which was shortlisted for the Impress Prize for New Writers, follows the journey of Eric Chen, a Chinese-American banker who heads to China in search of success and riches.

Set between Shanghai and Beijing, Hong Kong and New York, it is fast-paced and topical, and – without giving too much away – has a denouement set at a Shanghai polo tournament. Ming is a journalist whose work has appeared in the Asia Literary Review and the Financial Times, among other publications.

Sapo Caset is leaving La Aguada to play with La Natividad. Facundo Sola will play with La Aguada, but Sebastián Merlos, who was asked to play with them next year in the Triple Crown as their number 2 turned them down as he wants only to play number 3. Alegria will comprise Fred Mannix, Lucas Monteverde, Polito Pieres and Hilario Ulloa. Pilará is yet to be decided – it could be Sebastián and Tincho Merlos, but they will need two eights as there are no other nines available, making them only 33-goals and needing to qualify. Brother Pite will play Camara, the Brazilian Pinheiro. It looks as if the Triple Crown will be a lower handicap in 2013!

Over the years, many of you will have bought handmade knee guards from Geof Oram of Logo Saddlery in Midhurst, near Cowdray Park. Sadly, his son Matthew had a serious fall last August and is now paralysed from the waist down. While rehabilitating in Salisbury District Hospital Spinal Unit, he is raising funds to buy a wheelchair and other equipment. Donations gratefully received via lyn@logosaddlery-midhurst.wanadoo.co.uk.

There are several new teams for the 22-goal in England this summer – Black Bears are back with Guy Schwarzenbach, Jack Richardson, John Paul Clarkin and Ignatius Du Plessis. Spencer McCarthy’s Emlor is returning with English captain Luke Tomlinson, Joaquin Pittaluga and Nacho Gonzalez.

The two French brothers Ludovic and Sebastien Pailloncy are stepping up from the 18-goal to play with Pite Merlos and Cubi Toccalino. There will be a second team from Dubai under the racing stable name of Godolphin. Maitha Al Maktoum will be the only lady patron, playing with Lucas Monteverde, Pablo McDonough and a 4-goaler.

Rumours abound in Argentina that the administration of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner would like to change the ownership of Palermo, La Catedral del Polo since 1928, from the army to the City of Buenos Aires. The polo grounds would then be turned into housing.

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{ THe FIP’s new PresIdenT The worldwide governing body of polo, the Federation of international Polo (FIP) has a new president.

The annual FIP general-assembly meeting in Buenos Aires, attended by representatives and players from 48 countries, has unanimously elected Dr Richard Caleel, above right, to take over the reins from Eduardo Huergo, above left. As a player, long-time United States Polo Association member and International Committee chairman, the sport has taken Dr Caleel to events worldwide. The patriarch of a polo-playing family, he relocated to the United States’ west coast with his family part-time some years ago and recently opened an FIP office in Santa Barbara. The FIP believes his considerable expertise as a businessman, and most notably his superior organisational skills, makes him the ideal person for the role.

Staging international tournaments between players of varying levels of skill is no easy feat, but the FIP’s mission is clear: to bring the joy of polo to children and adults across the globe. The World Equestrian, Pan American and Olympic Games are certainly in the sights of many. The sport is sure, too, to achieve a still greater presence in new territories – in China, for example, its popularity has grown dramatically in the past 10 years and now clubs and players are clamouring to be part of this elegant and beautiful sport. Under Dr Caleel’s leadership, the organisation can only continue to flourish. y THe POLO HALL OF FAme 2013 In October 2012, the board of directors of the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame announced its selection of exceptional individuals to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for 2013.

Michael V Azzaro, a former 10-goal player (a rating he held for 14 years) with six US Open Championships, three Silver Cups, Butler Handicap, Iglehart and World Cup to his credit, will be honoured for his outstanding record as a player. A 9-goaler who played for Myopia teams in the late-19th century and early 1900s, Robert Gould Shaw II (1872-1930), who won all the major tournaments of the era while an active player, was the choice for the posthumous award. For the Hall of Fame Iglehart Award, meanwhile, Tim Gannon, pictured right, a three-time winner of the US Open, will be honoured for his outstanding lifetime contribution. To be recognised as the posthumous Hall of Fame inductee for the Iglehart Award is Bill Gilmore, who is remembered as a powerful force in the revival of the game in California after World War II.

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love of my life... pony’s name: open Guillermina sex: mare oriGin: arGentina In 2012, the Argentine Polo Pony Breeders’ Association presented an award for the best Argentine-bred polo pony to the beautiful chestnut mare, Open Guillermina, ridden by Nicolás Pieres and owned by Ellerstina SA. It’s no coincidence that a horse bred by Ellerstina SA should be such a success – not least because it is breeding a number of ponies via embryo transfer.

Nico says: ‘Open Guillermina is my best horse and I’ve been playing her for three years, since she was five. She is a big mare with amazing power and never tires. She can play two chukkas easily and, in the Open final, I played her for 12 minutes. What makes her unique to me is that I am the only one of the three Pieres brothers who plays her – she was always in my string of horses. She is the daughter of Optimum, a thoroughbred, and Open Geisha, the daughter of Sun Gluf and La Luna, who is very special to both my father and Ellerstina. It’s wonderful to know she was one of the two best in the Open final.’

Nico Pieres in conversation with Hector Martelli

saddle up with... name: francisco elizalde nationality: arGentinian polo handicap: 7 Goals when and how did you start to play polo?

My family is from La Pampa province in Argentina, where I started playing polo from the age of four. I got the hang of riding first and then gradually learnt to play the sport. Eduardo Heguy is my godfather and my father’s best friend, and the Heguy family farm was situated near Intendente Alvear [a town in La Pampa] so I played with them and learnt a lot. One of the first tournaments I ever took part in was the Copa Potrillos. when did you first play abroad?

In 2008, when I travelled to the UK. In 2009 and 2010, I returned to play in the Les Lions team, with Eduardo and Nachi Heguy. Shortly after that, I played for Las Monjitas, both at Sotogrande and in the UK. what tournaments did you play last year?

In 2012, I played in Dubai, where I won all the tournaments with Habtoor Polo, and I also won the British Gold Cup with Jaime García Huidobro, Polito Pieres and Adrian Kirby.

After that, I travelled to Sotogrande, before returning to Argentina, where I won the Copa de Honor Presidente and Copa Cámara de Diputados. I tried to play the Argentine Open, too, but lost by one goal against La Aguada/Las Monjitas in the qualification round. what are your plans for this year?

This year, I am looking forward to playing the US Open with Juan Martin Nero and Polito Pieres for Victor Vargas’ Lechuza Caracas team. After that, I will play with Adrian Kirby, Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Chris Mackenzie.

y THe PAssIng OF A POLO Legend Brigadier VP Singh, who strode the Indian polo scene like a colossus in the Seventies and Eighties and last year, as the national coach, took India to the World Cup Finals in Argentina, passed away peacefully on 23 December 2012 at the age of 72.

A recipient of the Arjuna Award in 1975, he is the only polo player who has been handicapped at +7 in post-independence India. He led his country to many triumphs on the international stage and single-handedly kept alive its glorious polo tradition at a time when its next-highest-achieving polo player was only +4.

Among the many accolades VP Singh received was national Three-Day Event Champion, Most Valuable Player in high-goal polo at Santa Barbara, USA, and Best Rider at the National Horse Show on many occasions. He was also presented with the Indian Polo Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the only Indian to have successfully completed the equitation course at Saumur, France, which is considered the most difficult in the world, and stood first against the Olympic riders who participated. His contribution to polo will remain etched forever in the annals of Indian sport. His army career included command of the President’s Bodyguard and the 61st Cavalry. roops from both regiments were among those who attended his cremation in Brar Square. He is survived by his wife and three children.

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prize discovery Searching the attic of the Hurlingham Club in Buenos Aires prior to a champions’ lunch led to a significant find, writes Pepe Santamarina, the club’s head of polo In 2011, the Hurlingham Club in west Buenos Aires organised a lunch in honour of the winners of the Hurlingham Open tournament during the Sixties and Seventies. This year, a few weeks before the final between La Dolfina and Ellerstina, the club began to plan the same celebration for polo champions of the Eighties and Nineties, who included gifted players such as Juan Carlos Harriott Jr. Before the event, I told the multiple champion of the Coronel Suárez team, Alberto Pedro Heguy, ‘This year I’m going to surprise you.

That’s a promise.’ My plan was to organise the tennis and golf trophies that had ended up in the chaos of the club’s attic. I really wasn’t hoping for anything special – perhaps, at most, to find some old photos that would surprise Colonel Suárez and his contemporaries at the celebratory lunch. But the surprise was bigger. Much bigger.

The attic was in a state of total chaos.

As I began to arrange its contents bit by bit, I stumbled across a trophy displaying a picture of an old polo game. Examining it more closely, I came upon something unexpected: the words ‘River Plate Polo Association’ – the sport’s first governing body, founded in 1892. On its side

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were engraved the names of the four winners of the tournament of October 1893: Francisco J Balfour, Frank Furber, CJ Tetley and Hugo Scott-Robson – the founding members of the Hurlingham Club.

The 1-0 victory was against North Santa Fe, in Cañada de Gómez. As Francisco J Balfour wrote in his memoirs, that sole goal allowed the

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Hurlingham Club to label itself ‘the first Copa del Campeonato’. The goal was scored by Juan Ravenscroft – who’d replaced an injured Hugo Scott-Robson – during an additional chukka.

I realised then that it was the original cup – the one from the very first Open! Something that we expected to throw away during our search turned out to be the most valuable thing we came across.

The cup is small, not reaching even half the size of the current orejona, which, just last year, was lifted by Adolfo Cambiaso, David Stirling, Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martín Nero, the victors with La Dolfina. Its fortunes were mixed, however, as, from 1965, humble and silent, it was used as the trophy for an internal tournament within the Hurlingham and changed its name to Lady Nomination.

Rescued from the dark attic, it was the guest of honour at the lunch attended by the grand masters of polo seen smiling in the photo on this page. It’s hard to believe that four gringos winning a tiny cup turned out to be such a monumental event in the history of polo.

While the 119th Argentine Open is played, polo has discovered a charming story from its past. And, as a prize, it has gained a new trophy.

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beach bOYS The Asahi British Beach Polo Championships have proved a huge hit with both polo novices and keen enthusiasts since 2008

A highlight of the south coast’s summer season, the Asahi British Beach Polo Championships will return for its sixth year on 12 and 13 July.

Supported by some of the sport’s top arena polo players, the popular annual festival offers a unique and accessible introduction for polo novices as well as plenty of entertainment and skilled play for keen enthusiasts.

Over two action-packed days, the British seaside location of Sandbanks, Poole, will see England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales competing three on three at 14-goal arena polo. For those unfamiliar with arena polo, it is a spectacular, adrenaline-fuelled spectator sport – particularly when played on a picturesque Blue Flag beach.

Whether guests pay for hospitality, VIP or general-admission tickets, or just choose to sit outside the fence on the purpose-built sand viewing banks, the event is a chance for polo to show off its attributes to around 5,000 seasoned and new supporters each year. To complement

the polo, the championships offer a host of other activities, including have-a-go polo, beach volleyball, a charity Audi vs polo pony race and a vibrant retail village.

Founded by Johnny Wheeler and David Heaton-Ellis, the inaugural championships in 2008 were kick-started by publicity from Piers Morgan. Despite the onset of the recession, some big-name sponsors such as Asahi, Audi and Sunseeker spotted the potential and, with a supportive local council, willing polo professionals and patrons, the event was up and running.

While sponsorship income has since been recalibrated, new ideas such as camel polo, flood-lit night beach polo and equine displays have kept the event in the media spotlight.

One of the biggest challenges for a non-tidal beach polo event – where elaborate temporary infrastructure surrounds a boarded area – is the depth of the playing surface. The game is too slow and tiring on the ponies if the sand is deeper than

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Activities include have-a-go polo, an Audi vs polo pony race and a vibrant retail village

the fetlock, so to ensure this doesn’t happen, the sand is levelled, excavated by up to two foot and continuously watered to provide firm footing.

Polo is ‘transportable’ and taking it to a truly unique public location and making an effort to show off the game in the best possible way has proved extremely successful. The future for the event looks promising – it is recession-proof and, as last year demonstrated, waterproof! With a steady rise in the popularity of the championships it is extremely satisfying to see beach polo being enjoyed by so many people.

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good fortune Polo is enjoying a huge increase in popularity in China, as Mark Tomlinson discovered when competing in the Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup in Tianjin As soon as you drive through the main entrance to the Fortune Heights development you are struck by the enormity of the apartment towers of the same name. Several huge structures containing luxury homes create an impressive skyline on the outskirts of the city of Tianjin, only very recently completed and primed for market. At the centre of this huge development is the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club Hotel, with the polo field right on its front doorstep.

The hotel is five-star in every way and the wall of marquee-style corporate boxes, which run along one side of the main field, creates a chic scene.

Then there is the equestrian centre, consisting of four or five purpose-built barns to stable almost 250 horses, providing both a luxurious and practical facility. It also boasts

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a Martin Collins arena and an all-weather track, not to mention the perfect summer temperatures for polo. The man behind it all, Pan Su Tong, really has created a first-class polo set-up which compares with the world’s finest clubs and offers extensive facilities, all created in only two years.

The Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup tournament itself is highly competitive. Four 24-goal teams playing for their country is a recipe for good polo in any environment – add in decent prize money and you get some pretty fierce sport. Unfortunately, the ground was not quite up to the standard of everything else and the playing surface itself was treacherous.

However, this didn’t deter the players from playing hard and merely added to the entertainment as the crowd was treated to a total of eight falls in

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four matches, with graphic replays shown over and over on the large screens.

The factor that probably most concerned the players and organisers in the run-up to the tournament was the horses, but to give credit where credit is due, the level was not bad at all.

The club organisers have clearly been under strict instructions to source suitable stock and a lot of effort was put into this. While they could have perhaps been given a better preparation, the fact that some 120 horses were made available for 24-goal polo is a huge achievement in itself.

As the Chinese are new to polo, at least in the modern era, they have brought in international polo expertise. Not only have horses been acquired from all corners of the globe, whether it be NZ or the UK, but they have also enlisted

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There is a passion in China for competitive polo at the top level in a non-patron format

Tianjin meTropoliTan polo club, alice gipps

Opposite Juanchi Ambroggio swings at the ball This page, from top Mark Tomlinson; prize-giving ceremony

the assistance of the likes of Derek Reid and John Fisher, who have been key to the very successful development of the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club. There was a strong representation of FIP delegates and several other officials from leading polo associations, too, confirming China’s intention to run its polo in the proper way.

None of this would be possible without the vision of Mr Pan, who appears to have a taste for perfection and quality. His choice of the game in its purest form – four pros against four pros – is no accident. There is a passion in China for competitive, exciting sport at the top level and the non-patron format definitely fits the bill.

Many say that this is true polo, and as with the Argentine Open, one is guaranteed a fast,

unforgiving spectacle. The Chinese clearly love it. There does not seem to be much development in the way of home-grown players, although I am sure that this will happen. It is clear that their nation is committed to excelling in as many sports as possible – as can be seen from its success in the Olympic medal table. However, my impression is that, for now at least, they are not primarily interested in participating.

This stance, I feel, underlines their passion for polo – currently, they seem to be thrilled to simply watch and learn from the best, seeing exactly how it is done.

At Metropolitan, one can’t help but be gripped by this vision for perfection and enthusiasm for polo. One feels privileged to be part of a sport which has been chosen to play the starring role

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in a billion-pound property venture. Seeing and dealing with Mr Pan and any of his staff makes one fully aware that there is a common aim to appeal to the polo world and make China a leading polo destination – an aim that is fast being achieved. The word is spreading as the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club renews its sponsorship of the Charity Cup at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo, featuring the Audi International at Beaufort. The phenomenon shows no sign of slowing down, either, with the Snow Polo World Cup in February and the 2013 Super Nations Cup later this year promising to take the sport from strength to strength.

Finally, on a personal note, I am looking forward to England being able to make amends after our disappointing run in this year’s event.

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spirit of the law Created to celebrate and reflect the values of fair play and team spirit in the game of kings, Lawyers Polo attracts participants from around the world

Polo, law, chivalry and friendship are the four pillars of Lawyers Polo. The group, founded in 2008, provides an opportunity for an international group of lawyers dedicated to the sport and art of polo to convene, dine, swap stories, compete and, most importantly, to bond. ‘The idea was to create a networking event for lawyers around polo. It has worked out so well that, today, the sporting spirit and friendships have eclipsed its original networking objective,’ explains Eduardo Bérèterbide, co-founder of Lawyers Polo and attorney at Shearman & Sterling in Paris.

The idea was conceived during a dinner between Argentinian Bérèterbide and Canadian

Our players hail from many different cultures, but, thanks to polo, we understand each other perfectly

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Justin Fogarty in New York City as they planned their attendance at the International Bar Association (IBA) annual conference in Buenos Aires. ‘We thought how interesting and fun would be to play with other lawyers. Colleagues liked the idea from the onset, and what had been thought of as one single match ended up being an eight-team tournament – that’s 32 lawyers!’ says Bérèterbide. Since that first successful experience, the demand has risen, Lawyers Polo has kept growing and began organising tournaments worldwide: Madrid (2009), Toronto (2010), Dubai (2011) and Paris (2012).

The main objective of Lawyers Polo is to create the right environment of trust and affinity between players and followers, thus forging personal links with international colleagues.

Polo, with its natural demands of fair play and team spirit, has been the inspiration for creating the genuine loyalty that exists between members.

Participants come from all around the globe and play polo in more than 30 countries. ‘Our players hail from many different cultures and speak many different languages but, thanks to polo, we understand each other perfectly,’ continues Bérèterbide. Nowadays, Lawyers Polo has a network of around 300.

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The tournaments are 4-goal and yet, despite this low handicap, all players have plenty of experience. For example, Justin Fogarty was the president of Polo Canada, and Attila Tanzi is the president of the Milano Polo Club. Other seasoned players include Carlos Rivas, Martin Magal, Alfredo Vargas, Jean-Yves Garaud and Dato Mohamed Zekri.

Last October, France was the venue for Lawyers Polo’s fifth annual tournament. Six teams participated, numbering lawyers from as far afield as England, Argentina, France, India, Malaysia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Venezuela, Netherlands and Canada. The event kicked off with a black-tie cocktail reception at the George V Hotel in Paris that was attended by luminaries from the French legal and polo worlds as well as many international players.

The matches took place at the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly (Terrain de l’Honneur 1 et 2). Following the first match day, Thomas Rinderknecht, a Swiss lawyer and a very experienced player, invited all the players to dine at his house in Senlis. On the Friday night after the play-off games, the whole group attended a dinner prepared by the celebrated

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Eduardo BErEtErBidE

Opposite Lawyers Polo players in Champ de Mars, Paris This page, above The black-tie welcome cocktail party at the George V Hotel, Paris Left Auberge du Jeu de Paume vs Kilreen

French chef Arnaud Faye at the hotel Auberge du Jeu de Paume.

Saturday 13 October saw the final played between Lechuza Caracas and La Victoire.

After a fast-paced game, Lechuza Caracas won the 2012 Emirates NBD Cup, having defeated La Victoire 8-4. Alfredo Vargas, their captain, was awarded the MVP prize. A lawyer who practises in Caracas and New York but currently works and plays polo in the Dominican Republic, he was delighted with the result.

‘We are very proud to have won the Emirates NBD Cup in Chantilly. In fact, this was the first time a Lechuza Caracas team had played on French soil,’ he said.

Vargas scored four goals for Lechuza Caracas, followed by Carlos Rivas with three and Daniel Hurstel who scored one. Rivas is a lawyer with DLA Piper in Palo Alto, California, and plays at Menlo Polo Club, while Hurstel is a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Paris.

For La Victoire, Ludovic Pailloncy scored two

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goals, and Attila Tanzi and Anil Abraham, one apiece. The second final was between Emirates NBD (third place) and Allen & Overy (fourth).

The last final was played between Auberge du Jeu de Paume (fifth) and Kilreen (sixth).

Justin Fogarty, captain of Kilreen polo team, was elected the most gentlemanly player of the tournament.

Eduardo expressed his thanks to Lawyers Polo’s event manager, Carolina Bérèterbide, for the excellent organisation of the numerous events in Paris and Chantilly during the 2012 tournament, and to Lawyers Polo sponsors, Emirates NBD Private Banking, Allen & Overy, Auberge du Jeu de Paume, Kilreen and La Martina. He added: ‘We also want to specially thank Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, Philippe Perrier and Benoît Perrier for their invaluable assistance.’ The organising team is already working on Lawyers Polo 2013 which, as always, will be held in another very special polo destination somehwere in the world.

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the WRIGht stuff To head up the HPA requires experience, confidence and a clear idea of what lies ahead. Herbert Spencer meets the man for the job

The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), rather unusually, now has a polo professional as its chairperson. Not a professional player, mind you, but a man who has spent 17 years running a polo club as his own business.

Brigadier John Wright’s experience at Tidworth, the UK’s biggest little club (it once had more playing members than Guards) will stand him in good stead as he leads the HPA through what he admits is ‘a difficult time for polo, given the present economic climate.’

Wright was elected for a four-year term as chairman beginning last November, succeeding Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers. ColquhounDenvers and previous HPA chairs were businessmen with day jobs in fields other than polo. For Wright, however, polo was his sole

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business interest from which he earned his living as a hands-on, professional club manager – and a highly successful one at that.

Tidworth Polo Club in Wiltshire had been the home of army polo since 1907. ‘I took on Tidworth in 1995, as a sole trader, when the army decided it could no longer afford to keep the club going,’ Wright explained. ‘Back then, we had only 45 playing members, mainly military. Today, there are some 150, both military and civilian – the second-largest playing membership in the country. Seventeen years ago, we were lucky to get just a few hundred spectators for our main events; recently, we’ve had as many as 4,500.’

Wright, 72, has now ‘retired’ from his Tidworth business in order to concentrate on his new post as HPA chairman. He views the coming years

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of his chairmanship with a mixture of pragmatic pessimism and determined optimism.

‘Because of the recession, and with no end to the economic downturn in sight, polo is likely to see some rather difficult times,’ he says. ‘I don’t think we’ll see much growth, if any, in the sport this year. Some of the smaller clubs may struggle and, sadly, some low-goal and medium-goal players may have to drop out for financial reasons.

‘On the other hand, our high-goal season seems pretty robust, with team patrons from England and abroad bringing in top professional players to make our 22-goal season the most cosmopolitan in the world. It appears likely we’ll again have 16 teams for the Gold Cup this year.

‘Of course, most of our polo is played at lower handicap levels and at small clubs, but, like it or

Tony ramirez/imagesofpolo.com

Brigadier John Wright with Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers, outgoing HPA chairman

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High-goal playing at the big clubs gives the wider world a window on our beautiful game

not, it is the high-goal playing at the big clubs that provides us with the window through which the wider world sees our beautiful game. As long as this remains healthy, polo will have a vibrant and positive public image.’

Wright takes an optimistic view of the HPA’s place in international polo. ‘Our England national teams are improving all the time,’ he

affirms. ‘In addition to our veterans, our younger players have never been more confident and capable. They are winning tests both here and abroad, such as this year’s Townsend Cup against the USA in California. England will meet the USA again in July, playing for the Westchester Cup on our Audi International day.

‘We’ve also just sent a team to play the FIP Snow Polo World Cup in China and have very hope they’ll return with big prize money.’

The HPA’s audited accounts for 2012 are due in February, and things look hopeful. ‘Despite the recession, it appears HPA’s finances managed to remain in the black last year – just,’ Wright says. ‘We’ve now taken on a commercial partner, Polofix, to maximise income from HPA assets. With Polofix handling sponsorship of

HPA events and managing them, our CEO, David Woodd, and his staff can concentrate more on the core activities of the polo association: rules, umpiring, fixtures, training and the like.’

Wright hopes that HPA’s finances this year will enable it to ring-fence spending on youth programmes, providing training and bursaries for young players in Pony Club Polo and Junior HPA – ‘the sport’s future generations’.

‘Most importantly of all,’ the association’s new chairman concludes, ‘we must do absolutely everything we can to help our smaller clubs weather the economic storm in the coming years. We can do this by doing all in our power to avoid making life more difficult for them.’

With Wright at the helm, there are certain to be bright skies ahead for the sport.

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from fantasia to fip

When Moroccans hear the word ‘polo’ many of them probably think of a favourite Ralph Lauren shirt. Those slightly more familiar with the sport are often under the impression that this is a hobby for the wealthy, although, in reality, this is far from the truth: you are unlikely to see any Ferraris parked beside the polo field. In fact, the country’s long equestrian heritage means that polo is just one of the horse sports to enjoy a particular resonance with its population.

Polo itself is a relative newcomer to this North African kingdom, having begun here only in the early 20th century, in Tangier. In 1923, the city was established as an international zone by foreign colonial powers (Great Britain, France and Spain, joined by Italy, Portugal and Belgium in 1928, and Netherlands a year later) and became a destination for many European and American diplomats, sportsmen, writers, and businessmen. It was this foreign influence that introduced polo traditions into the country.

The sport suited Morocco, already famous for its pleasant climate, horses, riders, and tradition of ‘fantasia’, which made the sport accessible to Moroccans. Fantasia equestrian

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performances, pictured above, still popular today in the tourist trade, are inspired by the historical wartime attacks of Berber and desert knights in Morocco. Today, they are considered both a cultural art and a form of martial arts.

In recent years, Morocco’s polo community has sought to revive the equestrian tradition that has long been enjoyed in the kingdom.

One of its most prominent events, the King Mohammed VI International Polo Trophy, was established by the Moroccan Royal Guard in 2006 and hosted again in 2009.

The tournament, which pits four international teams, including that of the host country, in competition against each other, is now among the major polo tournaments worldwide. Over the

King Mohammed VI has given a boost to polo by encouraging equestrian sports

years, Morocco has entered several teams that have participated in this and many other events with a good deal of success.

King Mohammed VI has given a great boost to this sport by encouraging and promoting equestrian sports. In the process, His Majesty has upgraded polo clubs and ensured a high level of competition, even internationally.

In 2006, Morocco became the first Arab and African member of FIP. Thanks to Morocco’s equestrian traditions and existing support from the palace, polo is being democratised for the non-elite and made accessible to youngsters and adults alike.

Morocco is looking to develop a polo community like England’s, in a sociable, relaxing atmosphere, allowing everyone to practise a sport that is not a symbol of social climbing but the realisation of a passion practised among ordinary people.

Polo can only enhance Morocco as a tourist destination for the international polo fraternity, and put the country on the world tournament map.

The author is a researcher in sports management at the ISCAE Business School in Casablanca

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Rabii benadada

With its long-standing equestrian traditions, Morocco is a prime location for the democratisation of polo, writes Rabii Benadada

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Lord Patrick Beresford In late November, Lord Patrick Beresford watched some early games of the Argentine Open.

His prediction that La Dolfina would again triumph proved incorrect. They lost in the final, 10-12, to Ellerstina. Here, he explores the development of Argentina’s polo industry ILLusTrATION PHIL DIsLEy

The small town of Pilar lies some 35 miles north-west of Buenos Aires, the bustling capital of Argentina, home of the world’s greatest polo ground Palermo. In keeping with much of the countryside, the environs of Pilar are as flat as a board, and thanks to the vision of some polo luminaries such as Héctor Barrantes, Gonzalo Tanoira and Gonzalo Pieres, have developed into a centre of excellence that surely must now exceed even their founders’ wildest dreams.

Within an area of only a few square miles, some alongside each other separated by single or double lines of trees, some end to end with no marked division, lie more polo grounds than probably exist in the whole of the British Isles: full-sized and boarded, they are serviced by enormous American barn-type stables and all-weather exercise tracks and schooling grounds, clubhouses and mainly metalled thoroughfares, while dotted about are houses of varying elegance designed by the more affluent players. The fields, which to the eye appear as level as a billiard table, are slightly cambered to assist drainage and maintained to the highest possible standards.

Throughout the daylight hours, petiseros or grooms in the traditional gaucho garb of beret and bombachas (baggy trousers) lead strings of gleaming ponies on exercise or on the way

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to and from play. Gone are the heavy-headed criollos of yesteryear and in their place is the sleek thoroughbred or near-thoroughbred, many now priced beyond a prince’s ransom.

In former times, the gauchos’ methods of breaking in and training horses were often considered at best rudimentary and, at worst, downright cruel. However, nowadays, the value of polo ponies is so high that far greater care is taken, not only initially – where the Monty roberts method has been adopted by many leading player-breeders, including, for instance, Adolfo Cambiaso and Memo Gracida – but also in early chukkas and games, where retired high-goal horsemen are employed to take over from the groom or domador (horse-breaker).

Furthermore, it now seems that the former Argentinian belief that, on a fit pony, every rib should show has been replaced by a degree of

Gone are the heavy-headed criollos of yesteryear and in their place is the sleek thoroughbred

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condition more in keeping with European ideals.

Where we still seem to differ is on the need to preserve equilibrium behind by removing the single outside stud from a pony’s back shoe after it has played, but perhaps this is because, in Argentina, there is far less hard-road exercise or standing in an unbedded stable. Apart from this, it would appear in general that farriery in Argentina, although hot-shoeing scarcely exists, is every bit as good if not better than our own.

A fairly recent development in the sale of polo ponies has been an annual public auction at the private stables of some of the leading breeders.

At one such, that of Ellerstina on 21 November, 21 yearling fillies were offered, 20 of which were sold at an average price of $95,000 (around £58,000). Of course, they were all of near-perfect conformation and breeding, and immaculately presented, but if, nevertheless, that seems a lot of money, consider the sale that then followed of 16 embryos. These were listed with details of the dam and sire and expected date of birth, and were guaranteed to be female, a fact established, unbelievably, by a minute biopsy of the embryo at the time of its removal from the maternal womb. Prior to and during the bidding, both the natural and the recipient mothers were paraded in the ring – the former all classic mares who had distinguished themselves

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Argentina is the cathedral of polo, Palermo with its towering stands the high altar, and Cambiaso now the high priest!

in earlier or current Open tournaments, the latter stocky types with obviously equable temperaments and plenty of foal room, though –intentionally – not too much height.

Bidding for the embryos was just about as lively as for the yearlings and the prices achieved sometimes almost as high – the first three lots making $100,000, $90,000 and $55,000 respectively, for instance. Payment is due immediately, and purchase includes, of course, the surrogate mare, but no refund is made – or so I gathered – in the event of the foal being born with some deformity such as a crooked leg. Let us hope, on behalf of their new owners, that fortune will favour the brave, and that in eight to ten years’ time these embryos will have become stars at Palermo!

At the higher level, embryo transfer has now almost completely replaced natural reproduction.

It is not cheap, at $3,000 to $4,000 a go – and more in the uK, I believe – but is carried out in specialised clinics that boast awe-inspiring

technology. What remains to be seen is whether or not it will gradually be replaced by the more recently discovered and somehow alarming possibility of cloning.

On the evening following the Ellerstina auction, a similar sale took place at neighbouring Los Machitos, the stables of Mariano Aguerre. Here, prices were only marginally lower, 17 yearling fillies averaging $86,700 and 12 embryos $38,250. Proceedings were again conducted by the same auctioneer in his rapid-fire rat-a-tat style, while a variety of young ladies wandered around plying customers with glasses of champagne and other refreshments.

Around Pilar, the proliferation of players of a handicap that would be well respected in England, ie, four, five or six goals, is so great that it is as easy to organise 20-goal chukkas as it is to organise those of six or eight. Meanwhile, at the top level, no fewer than 14 teams entered the Open Championships (handicap range 40 to 28) of whom eight qualified for the quarter-finals

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in Palermo, led by last year’s winners, Cambiaso’s La Dolfina, now on 40 goals, and the Pieres’ Ellerstina (38). It is interesting to note that the youngest player involved is Nicolás Pieres, aged 21, and the oldest, Pite Merlos, aged 44, but that, even among this galaxy of stars, Cambiaso, aged 37 and his 20th year as a 10-goaler, still shines supreme. It will be really surprising if he does not continue to do so for several seasons to come.

The face of polo has been changed infinitely for the better, both in Argentina and in England, by the publishing of Javier Tanoira’s 2009 treatise (translated into English by sandy Harper), which put forward an effective means of reintroducing the backhander in preference to the stiflingly boring tapping round, of which Cambiaso was the main offender Now he has got to hit and run, and wow, what a spectacle that is!

Without question, Argentina is the cathedral of polo, Palermo with its towering stands the high altar, and Cambiaso now the high priest!

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EmpirE gamEs

Henry Guttmann Hulton arcHive/Getty imaGes

Polo owes its development – and even its values – to its imperial heritage, writes Diego Nuñez

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pic credit line in here

Though it is certainly easy to get caught up in the most recent jaw-dropping feats of Adolfo Cambiaso and ‘Juanma’ Nero or to be totally absorbed in one’s personal practice and tournament schedule, taking time to reflect on polo’s past provides a meaningful way to foster our appreciation for the game. Readers of Hurlingham can reasonably be expected to have a basic grasp on the early development of polo: in the 1850s, natives of Manipur – a remote region on the Indian/Burmese border – were observed by officers of the British army playing a ragged version of hockey on horseback. They were so intrigued by the practice, they took it up themselves and persuaded some of their countrymen to join them.

The game grew so popular in the second half of the 19th century within the army in India that nearly every one of the 25 cavalry regiments on the subcontinent had its own club. Before long, a description of what was to become known as polo had been written up and submitted to a popular sporting magazine published in Britain. When that description was circulated in March 1869, an idle group of cavalry officers stationed in Aldershot took to their mounts and, in doing so, ushered in the birth of the game in Britain.

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Previous page A group portrait of six Manipuris preparing for polo at Manipur, India, in the 1870s. This page, clockwise from left An illustration depiciting a polo game in the late-19th century; student ofcers riding mules at a military academy, 1915; a polo match at Venado Tuerto, Argentina, 1919. Opposite Team Hurlingham in 1893: Francisco Balfour, Frank Furber, CJ Tetley and Hugo Scott Robson

This sequence gives an idea of how transmission of the game began, but understanding precisely how that game – which the Manipuris called sagol kanjai – transformed into what we today know as ‘polo’ reveals a surprising mix of cultural forces at work: a Victorian obsession with rules and codes, a deep connection with the other sports of the empire, and, above all, an emphasis on social interaction that is not typical of the other sports Britain popularised throughout the world. The process had as much to do with the widely investigated connection of public schools with imperial service as it did with the interactions that ideological agents of the empire such as military officers, merchants and planters had with princes in the subcontinent and London society back on home soil.

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Polo’s popularity – and, indeed, very existence – today is in large part a result of the cultural phenomenon of sport within the British Empire that began more than a century and a half ago. On the one hand, many Victorians and Edwardians saw sport as ‘an imperial umbilical cord’ that they found more meaningful than literature, music, art or religion in connecting them back home. On the other, sport served as a vehicle for cultural diffusion that taught subjects – Briton and foreigner alike – values such as sportsmanship and equality. All too frequently, however, the sports that attracted the most attention were limited to what can be termed the so-called ‘imperial games’ of football, cricket and rugby, and not the ‘sport of kings’.

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Sport served as a vehicle for cultural diffusion and taught sportsmanship and equality

The development of polo represents a unique element of the culture of imperial sport because – as opposed to the more widely discussed sports of cricket, football, and rugby – the game is in an especially sensitive area of conceptual negotiation. Some narratives suggest that the creation and codification of the imperial sports led to their export to

images reproduced courtesy of Luisa miguens, from the book Passion & Glory, pubLished by Letemendia, 2008

dominions and colonies as well as areas not part of the British empire – Argentina, for example – thus making them effective yet unofficial instruments of imperialism.

The rhetoric surrounding the world-bettering ideology of Britain’s empire in the 19th century found many of its strongest voices in the writings and sermons of the headmasters of schools such as Eton, Harrow and Rugby.

In laying out the imperial purpose of education, the Reverend JEC Welldon, headmaster of Harrow from 1885-1898, offered the following: ‘Englishmen are not superior to Frenchmen or Germans in brains or industry or the science and apparatus of war, but they are superior in the health and temper that games impart…

The pluck, the energy, the perseverance, the

good temper, the self-control, the discipline, the co-operation, the esprit de corps that merit success in cricket or football, are the very qualities that win the day in peace or war.

The men who possessed these qualities – not sedate and faultless citizens, but men of will, spirit and chivalry – are the men who conquered at Plassey and Quebec. In the history of the British Empire, it is written that England has owed her sovereignty to her sports.’

That Welldon would liken sports to warfare is not surprising, given the physical action and co-ordination required of all of the three major games of the empire. But the hierarchies and levels of interaction involved in co-ordinated team sports also model the organisation of the armed forces or the civil service and illustrate

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the adaptability expected of each individual at any given time. By exerting self-control and co-operation for the greater good of his team, the schoolboy sportsman who followed the lead of men such as Welldon learnt to adapt his behaviour to allow for the best communal outcome. In choosing to highlight values such as good temper and esprit de corps, sentiments like his make the case that the triumph of Britain’s empire over other nations did not result from any unnatural strength of body or of intellect, but from the individual Briton being attuned to his role within the game of life, which would soon turn toward the enterprises of government and of war.

While polo was recognised from the time of its discovery in Manipur as an important

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This page, top, and opposite Open Polo Tournament, Bombay, 1925. HE The Governor’s Staf beat Bhopal in the final. This page, below British Military personnel at a polo match in Sindh Province, India, 1920

tool for training the cavalry in India, it was still too unrefined a game to have held a central role in the schoolboy athleticism on which the sport came to be based. Perhaps the supreme example of this ethos is found in Henry Newbolt’s celebrated poem ‘Vitaï Lampada’.

Many readers will be familiar with its refrain of ‘Play up! Play up! And play the game!’ – the imagery of a boy at bat in the deciding moments of a cricket match giving way to a soldier fighting for his country during a desperate last stand against an attacking enemy all display how the schoolboy sportsman was expected to conceive of adaptation as a virtue directly transferable from sport in one’s youth to the business of adult life. By the time sagol kanjai had first been observed by officers in Manipur, this relationship between sport and imperial service was well established. The manner in which the game was later used to keep soldiers combat-ready typifies the stress on adaptability facing the Victorian agent of empire.

While the connection between Victorian education and imperial service certainly helps to explain polo’s transformation into a British game, what sets the game apart from the three other imperial sports is its origin as a practice of a completely different culture. The fact that Indian society was subject to Britain is highly significant because it marks the special case where an imperial sport was developed in a foreign context, cultivated to suit the purposes of various agents of empire and, finally, distributed across the world just like the other three major global games. While this may seem little more than a slight variation in the tried formula for the development of a sport, it flies in the face of the accepted wisdom in interpreting how sporting culture operated and who could lay claim to it.

All sports have a socialising aspect, but polo’s is particularly pronounced because the game is itself one continuing experiment in cultural interaction. Just as polo would not exist today if the Manipuris who knew the game in the

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g whitmore, mike gerrish

Top military brass championed polo not only as a method of preparing for equestrian combat but also as a social outlet

1850s had refused to show the British how the game worked, so today’s game would be unrecognisable had the officers of the cavalry not standardised the size of the field, established a fixed number of players per side and authorised the first referees. The game was able to grow as quickly and as pervasively as it did within the army in India and among the Indian princely states because it came to enjoy official administrative support from military leadership.

For a time, the top military brass in London enthusiastically championed the game not only as a technically rigorous method of preparing for equestrian combat, but also a healthy social outlet to the excesses in the lifestyle that many young men chose to lead in the east.

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In a separate vein, the role of spectators – who have flocked to modern polo without fail both to watch the game and to interact with one another – has in its own right been of tremendous importance throughout the game’s history.

Without the civilian fan base that early polo drew in the 1870s, the game would have missed the transformation from military practice to civilian pastime and would certainly no longer exist today. The crowds, players, grooms and horses all contribute together to the living ritual of polo – a practice that has survived not only in the face of the transformation from a rural world to an urban one, but also from a time of mounted combatants to mechanised infantry and military drones.

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The sTars of Tomorrow Pony Club Polo will play a key part in nurturing today’s young British talent and ensuring international success in the future, writes its chair, Theresa Hodges

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With 110,000 members, the Pony Club is the largest association of young riders riders in the world a pony who would like to ride. The structure of the Club was originally based around hunt areas. There are now 345 branches across the country and the organisation is represented in no fewer than 27 countries, with a membership of more than 110,000, making it the largest

association of young riders in the world. There are more than 31,000 members in the UK alone, of whom around 15,000 have their own ponies, the balance coming from centre membership of linked riding schools.

Of those 345 aforementioned branches, polo is played at only 30 or so – but why?

The reason is mainly a lack of nearby facilities.

Admittedly, players lucky to live near centres of excellence such as Cowdray, Cirencester and Guards have a great advantage, but polo happens everywhere where parental interest is keen – the most northerly grounds in the UK (perhaps the world?) have just opened in Inverness, and a game can even take place on a beach.

Kit houghton/the pony club

In 2009, the Pony Club celebrated its 80th birthday and Pony Club Polo its 50th. The Club is testament to the power of long-term volunteering in the UK and it is the passion of its many helpers that has helped Pony Club Polo grow into what it is today: a training organisation for young players that is the envy of many other polo-playing nations (except, perhaps, Argentina).

The contribution the Pony Club makes to UK polo and, indeed, what the great game brings to the Pony Club is worth exploring.

Its aim was simple: to offer dedicated equestrian training for every child with their own pony.

Today, that extends to any youngster without

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Previous pages, from left The opening parade of the 2011 Polo Championships at Cowdray Park; the first Pony Club Polo Championships at Aldershot, in 1959. This page, from top Old Berkeley (East) Branch at Aldershot Polo Club, 1959; Charlie Scott playing for Cowdray Hunt at 2012 Polo Championships, Cowdray Park. Opposite, from top Cayman Riding School, Cayman Islands; Sam Boreham, playing for the Vine Hunt, at the 2010 Pony Club Polo Championships

It is significant that most of the England players in the past 40 years began playing polo in the Pony Club, as did many of the 3,000 registered players in the UK. It currently has around 400 aspiring players and offers a social and professional network of fun and friendship akin to that on which adult clubs are based, while contributing to raising standards of play and pony welfare through comprehensive training, coaching and testing.

Most of the England players in the past 40 years began playing polo in the Pony Club

There are two schools of thought on whether it is better for a child to begin playing polo on a ‘fluffy’ at around six years of age or to start instead at 10, when tall enough to ride a polo pony. A fluffy is a regular pony, under 14.2hh, with a mane (ie, not hogged, like a traditional polo pony) that does everything from Pony Club rallies to hunting, jumping, dressage, games, endurance and pony racing.

However, fluffies have a mind of their own and can be troublesome to ride. There are no right or wrong answers and many roads lead to playing in the Gold Cup – although more of them if you live in Argentina! The pros for starting early on a fluffy are that they teach you to ride and you learn the set moves at a safe speed and how to fight for the ball in the melée. The cons are that it is easier to learn on a polo pony and very young players may not

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(-2 to +1) and the line tapers, with very few players obtaining handicaps above 5. The aim is to keep more people coming into polo and for more players to reach higher handicaps, thus lessening the steepness of the curve.

You can play polo in the Pony Club from the age of six to 21 on one pony, which improves the accessibility of polo in the UK, as well as providing good interfaces with clubs and the Schools and Universities Polo Association (SUPA). The more people who love polo the better – whatever age you develop your passion for polo, it is never too late – and everyone contributes to our success. Through the passion generated by the Pony Club and SUPA, players and their connections go on to produce professionals, amateurs, umpires, patrons, sponsors, managers, timekeepers and goal judges. In short, the breadth of polo in this country has never been more impressive – but what of the depth?

It was no accident that the average age of the South Africans playing on International Day 2012 was about 10 years younger than that

kit houghton/the pony club

have enough strength to hold the polo stick.

Whenever young players go to Argentina, the feedback is often that they cannot ride due to not having an independent seat and that, instead, they use the reins and horse’s mouth for balance. It is all too common to see players at every level bumping around on the horse’s kidneys, making it more difficult for the horse to accelerate and turn. As a team sport, polo keeps boys riding, and helps everyone to ride naturally because they want to get to the ball before their opponents do. My personal vote therefore goes to learning to play as young as you can, as slowly as you can and then making the progression to a polo pony when the rudiments of the game are instilled.

There are some concerns as to whether up-and-coming British polo players can achieve both the depth and the breadth of experience needed in order to succeed at the highest levels internationally. Depth is about the standard of play, while breadth is the total number of players. Think of a graph whereby the majority have a low handicap

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The UK has not served a generation of young players as well as it might have done

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kit houghton/the pony club

of the England players. In the past decade, that country’s development agenda in Plettenberg Bay, based on good grounds, a supply of excellent ponies off the track, four-man polo, and time spent in Argentina, plus excellent leadership and training, has led the way outside of Argentina. In the same time period, the UK has not served a generation of young players as well as it might have done, however, because there was no continuity in the development and handicap process between the Pony Club and the upper echelons. To remedy this situation, in 2008, the HPA and the Club worked together to enhance the ability of players as young as 11 to play four-chukka four-man polo on the best grounds and to enhance and track their development, training and coaching both within the UK and overseas. This integrated

Opposite, from top Theresa Hodges, far left, presenting the Jambo Trophy, 2012; the 2010 Pony Club Polo Championships. This page Will Hawthorne (left, playing for the Berkeley Hunt) and Henry Frisby (Newmarket & Thurlow Hunt) at the 2012 Pony Club Polo Championships, Cowdray Park

programme is led by the HPA’s development committee, which now encourages and helps young players to be the best they can be, as early as possible. Great care has to be taken, however, so that they and their parents are not taken on a journey that is not aligned with their game plan for life or their financial means – there is more to life than polo, after all!

Working with the HPA, we are just about getting the depth and breadth of polo in the UK balanced, but it is constantly evolving.

Young players, like young ponies, show what they can do quite quickly. A natural horsemaster is evident as soon as they are off the leading rein, and a player with a natural swing and an eye for the ball is evident by age six. What only becomes evident later is a brain for strategy and a sense of playing in a team. Great players are made, not born, but that process is one of multiple variables. Where Argentina scores is in encouraging riding without saddles very young, in high-goal family members to emulate,

and a proven, relatively economical process to make high-goal ponies. If UK, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa work together, one day we can perhaps take on Argentina at an Olympian level. Our junior development programme is world-class. But it would not be possible without the generosity of our tack sponsors, SATS, Polo Splice and Roxtons, and, in particular, Audi’s generous sponsorship of Pony Club Polo, the England Team and International Day.

A tribute to the underdog James Augustus Bachman: 1947-1991 Despite his humble beginnings, Jimmy Bachman came to excel at polo – the sport he loved with a passion and played entirely by his own rules, writes Marcus Rinehart

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recognise Bachman as a paragon of natural ability and work ethic in polo. If Braddock had an iron jaw and Aaron had home-run batting, then Bachman had innate horsemanship. Born in Hackettstown, New Jersey in 1947 and raised in Charlottesville, Virginia – where his father, Augustus, worked for the family of Hurlingham’s own Roderick Vere Nicoll – Bachman spent his childhood around horse farms and accordingly began riding at an early age.

In his late teens, he pursued his growing interest in polo by way of a grooming job at the Farmington Hunt Club, where members would play chukkas in the newly renovated outdoor arena every Friday night. Bachman and his fellow grooms – among them, rising players Clarence Mundy and Danny Shifflett – sought compensation beyond the monetary, of course; their seemingly insatiable eagerness to play eventually gave rise to a tradition of clandestine ‘midnight polo’. On any given Friday, when the game and its after-party had ended,

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Young Jimmy’s eagerness to play gave rise to a tradition of clandestine ‘midnight polo’

Jimmy and co would patiently wait for the players and their guests to depart and that last set of headlights to vanish from the end of the driveway. The grooms would then re-tack the very horses they had just untacked, remove the mallets they had pre-emptively hidden in the stalls, and take to the arena.

Such enthusiasm, determination and willingness to bend the ‘rules’ foreshadowed the professional careers some of these young men, especially Bachman, would go on to lead.

After a year of service with the US 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam – for which he

DaviD lominska

Though popularly regarded as ‘the sport of kings’, polo also has a strong tradition of success among underdogs. As in the case of boxing champion James J Braddock or baseball legend Hank Aaron, many professional polo players hail from working-class backgrounds and build their careers seemingly against all socio-economic odds. Most famously, Cecil Smith – perhaps the greatest American player in history – transformed himself from Texas cowboy into 10-goal international pro without any of the resources that benefited his contemporaries, such as Tommy Hitchcock.

Nonetheless, Smith’s widespread reputation is something of a novelty among the majority of polo’s outliers, and not every story fits the fairy-tale stereotype – had Jimmy Bachman achieved a level of fame proportional to his achievements in the sport, then an article such this might have appeared in Sports Illustrated or The New York Times long ago. Regardless, any player worth his or her salt should

Jimmy at the old Palm Beach Polo & Country Club, Florida, in the early Nineties

earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart – Bachman began to pursue polo full-time, both as a player and as a buyer and seller of horses.

His professional career gathered considerable momentum at the start of the Eighties, when he found success on both low- and high-goal American circuits. Though his victory in the 1983 Monty Waterbury Cup (a 20-goal tournament) is certainly a career highlight, he also became known as the ‘King of Low-Goal Polo’ during that time – a fact which deserves equal attention. Even while handicapped at 5 and 6 goals, respectively, he continued to play in 8-goal, 6-goal, and 4-goal tournaments – often within a single season – by filling out his team with -1 ringers.

As Rodger Rinehart III, one of Bachman’s many protégés, fondly recalls, ‘We snuck his brother Georgie in one year at Potomac.

Georgie was a racehorse trainer and could ride anything with hair on it. Sticking a mallet in his hand meant nothing and going fast was

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slow compared to breezing thoroughbreds.

Needless to say, we won every game.’

This remarkably unorthodox, ‘come-hellor-high-water’ strategy may have helped the ‘King’ earn his reputation, but it also provoked his frustrated opponents to take bureaucratic action. In 1989, the USPA amended the Blue Book to include the following section: ‘In any USPA event with an upper-handicap limit of 4 goals or above, the handicap of any player may not exceed ¾ of the upper-handicap limit.’ This stipulation was and will forever be known as the ‘Bachman Rule’.

Bachman’s legacy extends beyond mere protocol, however – many career professionals, such as former 8-goaler Alan Kent, still recognise him for his highly progressive style. ‘He was, in fact, a Cambiaso-style player, controlling the game, working on possession, with the vision to know when to keep the ball, turn it, get a foul or release it. He was also very canny about when to change ponies, which is, of course,

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a key part of the modern game,’ says Kent.

Despite earning salaries from his sponsors in those tournaments, Bachman would often sell parts of his string mid-season, somehow balancing his concerns as a player and a businessman. And, likewise, the term ‘by-the-book’ applied neither on the field nor in business affairs. A client from Virginia once commissioned Bachman to sell a shaggy, overweight gelding in Florida; according to legend, he just clipped the horse and sold him back to the original owner in Virginia.

Such stories – some more embellished than others – have proliferated throughout the polo world in recognition of Bachman’s cunning sales methods. Most often, however, he would trade one of his horses for three of ‘lesser value’ – at least in someone else’s hands. He could not only ‘ride anything with hair on it’, to borrow my uncle’s phrase, but could also transform the most unlikely candidates into best-playing pony material. ‘Jimmy spent more hours in the

ricardo motran, J.F. BroWn

Opposite Jimmy riding Shoemaker without knee guards This page The 1988 Bronze Trophy at Polo Farm.

From left, Bobby Lindgren, Jimmy, Rodger Rinehart III, Skey Johnston and Rodger Rinehart Jr

saddle a day than anyone I know. And, while he had the ability to play a difficult horse, he could also recognise a good horse and play it as well,’ says former 6-goaler Eugene ‘Tiger’ Kneece, who worked for him from 1985 to 1991.

Of all the horses Bachman played in his career, however, none could match the legendary Shoemaker, who came from Billy Wayman by way of Alan Kent. ‘Jimmy could turn the ball on the nearside while Shoemaker was leaping,’ says Rodger Rinehart, identifying the technique Bachman favoured over backing the ball. The opposing players would therefore ride straight into fouls as they attempted to follow him on his beloved leaper.

Nancy Schlichting, a friend of Bachman, recalls, ‘When the grooms pulled Shoemaker out onto the sideline in the last chukka – naturally, he’d have already played at least one chukka before – the anticipation was almost palpable from those who knew what Jimmy and that horse could do together. They were

Jimmy seemed to have been born on horses. Not only was he a master of the game, but a tremendous rider a pair.’ After Bachman’s death, Schlichting inherited Shoemaker and another horse from his string named Does She. ‘Those were the only two horses I knew of that Jimmy wouldn’t sell. Of course, no one else would’ve been able to play them,’ she says.

Bachman maintained a staggering work rate throughout the Eighties, reaching the finals of both the Sunshine League in 1985 and the East Coast Open in 1989. In that time frame, his handicap deservingly rose to a career peak of 7 goals. He matched these high-goal

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outings, as always, with an even greater quantity of low- to medium-goal polo. Though the ‘Bachman Rule’ would eventually force him out of the 8-goal leagues, he easily transferred his skills into 12-, 14-, and 16-goal tournaments.

The Palm Beach National team – helmed

by Bachman and sponsor Bob Rich – achieved an impressive 27-1 record in 1988 alone.

Rich says of him, ‘Jimmy seemed to have been born on horses. Not only was he a master of the game, but a tremendous rider. And he knew how to put great teams together.’

Bachman would continue to play for Rich’s teams and others during his winters in Gulf Stream, Florida, whereas the summers offered similar opportunities in Gilbertsville, New York and South Hamilton, Massachusetts.

In fact, his only respite from competitive polo came during the spring and autumn seasons, which he would spend at his farm in Kents Store, Virginia – although, even then, he would still dedicate considerable time and energy to

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From top Bob Rich, Jimmy Bachman, Dave Ofen and Roger, with young Jackie Bibbo in the middle; Jimmy and his daughter Patti with Best Playing Pony Does She, 1988

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The quality that truly defined Jimmy as a player was his mentality

died during a 12-goal game in Greenwich, Connecticut, on 17 September, 1991. Despite feeling ill at half-time, which prompted medics to advise he sit out the rest of the game, he continued to play, at which point he suffered a fatal heart attack. In a way, his death represented a tragic testament to his life. ‘I didn’t always appreciate it when my dad was alive, but he was one of the hardest-working men I’ve known,’ says Bachman’s eldest daughter, Candace Gaines.

‘He was born to play polo and it’s only fitting he died doing what he loved. Playing his sport. Playing polo.”

nancy bachman

both the training and trading of horses.

The true nature and source of Bachman’s success lies beyond any historical record, however. Mere cataloguing of a professional career will not yield any insight into a great athlete; the quality that truly defined him as a player – more so than his riding ability and unorthodox strategies – was his mentality.

In a 1990 interview with The Sun Sentinel, he said, ‘I ride from morning until night, 7:30 to 7:30. People always ask me if I don`t get tired of it. My response is that not too many of us get to do what we want and I just happen to very much enjoy being on a horse`s back.’

Such simple wisdom speaks volumes about the ‘winner’s mentality’. What others perceived as an unflinching determination to win was, for Bachman, just a natural manifestation of his love for the sport. As Michael Jordan once put it, ‘Love is playing every game as if it’s your last.’

Never has a figurative sentiment applied so literally as it does to Jimmy Bachman, who

Joël and Jan Martel (French, 1896 – 1966) ‘Joueur à Polo’: an extremely rare and important Art Deco bronze, created in 1931 and signed MARTEL. Height overall: 24 inches (60 cms).

The Pullman Gallery is pleased to present an important Art Deco bronze related to the dynamic sport of polo.

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home, office or polo club with dynamic and stylish original pieces, ranging from decorative lithographs to museum-quality bronzes and trophies.

For further information and images of our full inventory, please visit our website www.pullmangallery.com or contact us at our gallery next to Christie’s in St. James.

aCtion

tony ramirez/imagesofpolo.com

the latest polo action from around the world

Mariano Aguerre zeroing in on the ball in the final of the Argentine Open

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Triple Crown Ellerstina triumphs in the tortugas, Hurlingham and argentine triptych

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International Series the USa were victorious over England, reversing the fortunes of the ladies’ team

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Coutts Polo at the Palace abu Dhabi played host to its first major matches in an exclusive two-day event

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Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup the 24-goal tournament in China culminated in a victory for argentina

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Townsend Cup it may have taken 90 years, but, last month, England finally beat the USa

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Mexican diary an entertaining account of the inaugural British Polo Day, by Clare Milford Haven

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St Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow Hot favourites Cartier coolly scoop the coveted Deutsche Bank trophy

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Thai Open the final moments were all-important in a tightly fought tournament

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action triple crown, argentina, october-december 2012

The Triple Crown

The Tortugas Open, Hurlingham Open and Argentine Polo Open Championship triptych saw Ellerstina finally claim the glittering prize, writes Héctor Martelli

Ellerstina celebrate their Argentine Open victory with Gonzalo Pieres Snr and coach Alex Agote

As I start to reflect on the 2012 Triple Crown in Argentina, I should remember how I commented in Hurlingham on the 2011 season: ‘Analysing the world’s three highest-rated polo competitions, we can see that the Argentine season 2011 was particularly unusual, when compared with past ones. Unusual, because only two of the eight teams maintained the same line-ups as in 2010.’

If last year’s season was unusual, this year’s was even more so. This is because just only one team remained with the same line-up as in 2011: La Dolfina, winners of the 2011 Argentine Open, who also boasted the extra award of the precious 40-goal status they reached when Uruguay’s David Stirling became a 10-goaler by the end of the year. It was unusual because there were never as many changes in the big Argentine teams as those this season, and also because it was the first time since 1984 that there wasn’t an Indios Chapaleufú team. Ignacio was the only

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Heguy who played the Triple Crown, when normally there would have been at least four.

For many years, few teams facing these 40-goal competitions have maintained the same line-ups as in previous seasons. That means they start from zero every year, when it comes to putting together the team members, organisation and horse strings. That’s why those teams that remain with the same line-up from one season to another enjoy a considerable advantage over the rest. It is completely acceptable that they can change one player, or two, as La Dolfina did last year; but changing 75 per cent of a line-up can lead to a completely negative impact.

There were only two teams that changed one player. Those were Ellerstina and La Aguada: Mariano Aguerre filled in for Ignacio Heguy, and Guillermo Caset Jr took Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr’s place, respectively. The rest were six teams with three players, plus two teams

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With just a few exceptions, a team should be formed and continue over time

that came from the qualifiers with brand-new line-ups, La Aguada-Las Monjitas and Magual.

The 2012 season has just come to an end, and currently there is much talk about new changes in at least three or four teams, which leads to the repetition of past mistakes. In my view, however, with just a few exceptions, a team should be formed and continue over time.

This leads to a better understanding between team members, improved organisation and enhanced horse strings every year.

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Above Gonzalo Pieres blasts the ball in the final of the Tortugas Open final, played at Palermo Below Rising stars, Alejandro Novillo Astrada (orange) and Polito Pieres (green)

High-goal polo in Argentina is very different from the US and UK, where main tournaments have handicap limits. The handicap changes after the end of each season and sometimes forces the break-up of a team, because if they remain the same the next year, they would exceed that handicap limit.

Let’s review the start of the season and, in particular, the first tournament, the Tortugas Open. As usual, this competition features the six highest-rated teams. As seen in recent years, teams usually play this tournament at a slower pace, as most of the players have just arrived from US and Europe. They also play the second string of horses, never the better ones. What’s more, the heavy rains at the start of the season made things even more difficult, and, as a consequence, teams didn’t seem to be in proper shape, so the tournament didn’t have the feel of high-goal action.

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action

Once again, Ellerstina and La Dolfina played the final and, once again, it was Ellerstina who won the first tournament of the Triple Crown after defeating La Dolfina by just one goal, as they did in 2011. That was when signs of some really exciting polo appeared.

The season started to get hotter in the second tournament of the Triple Crown, the Hurlingham Open. There were a couple of unexpected surprises in league matches as well. The first was the defeat of La Aguada, third team by handicap, against a lower-rated La Natividad.

The second was La Aguada’s win over Ellerstina, 12-8, so the league had to be decided in the last match between Ellerstina and La Natividad.

To secure a spot in the final, Ellerstina had to win by more than eight goals – however, they ended up winning 23-13. Once again, they would meet the victors of the other league, La Dolfina, in the final.

The final was unusual, too, due to the heavy goal difference: La Dolfina won 18-11. The winners showcased superb team play. La Dolfina’s key men were Pablo MacDonough, named MVP, and Juan Martín Nero, a great back and, at the same time, a great strategist. Cambiaso and Stirling also did their job. Ellerstina made many

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The moment of truth had arrived: it was time to decide the world’s best team

mistakes, and a two-goal difference was the closest they got to the score by half-time.

Once the two first competitions of the Triple Crown were over, the moment of truth had arrived: it was time to decide the world’s best team, the winners of the 119th Argentine Polo Open Championship. As usual, teams were broken down into two leagues. One featured La Dolfina, Pilará, Alegría and Magual, while the other comprised Ellerstina, La Aguada, La Natividad and La Aguada-Las Monjitas.

Once again, La Dolfina showcased perfect team play and won their league very easily. They never repeated horses, and overwhelmed each of their rivals. Meanwhile, Ellerstina had to work hard to win their league, as a consequence of a very irregular performance that mixed moments of good play with others that were not so good.

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Ellerstina arrived at the final under less pressure, but also with less margin for error.

They had only one chance to be perfect against the perfect team. And even that didn’t guarantee them a victory. Their season had been irregular; their rivals’ was the opposite. Plus, the odds were against them: they knew exactly how the 14,000 people who went to Palermo rated their chances. But of course, who would dare to deny them that chance?

Sometimes, things come together when no one expects it. Nico Pieres played five chukkas with a 10-goal quality, almost like a veteran, and he is just 21 years old. Facundo Pieres has many brilliant games under his belt, but he had never showed that in a final – he had his rematch in this one. The 2012 season was Gonzalito’s; it was when many started to view him as the great player he is. And Aguerre did what he was asked to do at every moment: play, apply pressure, block. He grabbed Cambiaso in throw-ins, he was everywhere. He was back in a final and nobody realised that he had played his last one three years ago. Now, he has an awesome nine titles.

It was not that easy to break up La Dolfina.

But Ellerstina were the only ones who could do it.

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Opposite Juan Martin Nero stops the action This page Juan Martin Nero congratulates ex-teammate Facundo Pieres

My thoughts on each player are as follows:– Cambiaso: The greatest of past seasons, showing his innovative mind in every play, but he didn’t particularly shine in any match he played; he was just one of many.

Stirling: A good and classic Number 2, he is a player who fights each ball and tries to break the rival’s midfield play. In the last two chukkas, he was able only to partially achieve this.

MacDonough: He scored many goals in each game and was the candidate set to become the best player of the Argentine Open. However, he didn’t show up in the final and could only score once, in the first chukka.

Nero: Like MacDonough, he is a great player who didn’t show up that much in the final. But despite this, he was the best of the foursome.

I will turn now to analyse each of the eight participating teams of the Argentine Open, starting with the winners:– Ellerstina: With the exception of the final, they didn’t show that much throughout the season. They experienced excellent chukkas as well as terrible chukkas. They performed in matches of two halves: in the first chukkas, they played like they did in the final. But they didn’t co-ordinate their play in the second half,

because the tactics were all based on Facundo.

La Dolfina: The big candidates, they were the team who played the best throughout the Triple Crown. Brilliant play from MacDonough and Nero, well supported by Cambiaso and Stirling. They failed in the year’s most important match, however, and none of the four team members played well.

La Aguada: The new line-up with Guillermo Caset Jr didn’t work as they expected. In my opinion, they made a mistake in team positions – Caset should have played as 2 and Javier Novillo Astrada as 1, and they did the opposite.

Pilará: The team didn’t work that well, especially Bensadón and Ulloa. As a result, they didn’t have forwarders. Pilará only showcased the efforts of Sebastián Merlos and Francisco de Narváez Jr.

Mannix’s performance showed just how well he is adapting to high-goal polo every season

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La Natividad: A brand-new team comprising experienced players. They didn’t rise to the occasion, but they weren’t out of place either.

In short, an acceptable performance.

Alegría: Fred Mannix’s Alegría also played much more than expected. They had Juan Ignacio Merlos as their star, and captain Mannix developed a performance that showed just how well he is adapting to this high-goal polo every season.

La Aguada-Las Monjitas: A team coming from the qualifiers, they did much better than expected, and it is almost sure that they won’t be playing that tough and competitive a tournament in 2013. If they are raised at least one goal, they will enter the Triple Crown.

Magual: The other team that came from the qualifiers, they showed some decent play.

They will probably be raised a couple of goals, but if they remain with the same line-up, it won’t be enough to play the Triple Crown.

In my view, the Triple Crown teams showed four levels of polo: one superior, with Ellerstina and La Dolfina; one medium, with Pilará, La Aguada and La Natividad; and one a step lower, with Alegría and La Aguada-Las Monjitas.

Magual are currently at an inferior level.

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action super nations cup, tianJin GoLDin MetropoLitan poLo cLuB, cHina, 1-5 octoBer 2012

Super NatioNS Cup Gripping play at the 24-goal Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup in China culminated in a victory for Argentina, reports James Beim Watch Final match online

Last October, north-east China’s Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club hosted the inaugural Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup. Run under FIP guidelines, and headed by Peter Abisheganaden, Benjamin Araya and their team, the tournament was a huge success. Brilliantly organised by Derek Reid, John Fisher and their staff, the competition kicked off in fine style.

After horse draws, pony trials and a practice match, the first day saw Hong Kong pitted against the USA, and this was arguably the best match of the tournament. Hong Kong started stronger, with solid plays from John-Paul Clarkin and incisive breaks forward from Chris Mackenzie, and took an early one-goal advantage that they kept throughout the match.

The second half saw the two number fours

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come into their own, John Fisher scoring a memorable neck shot from 80 yards, and Mike Azzaro getting the scoreboard ticking over for the USA by scoring five out of his team’s eight goals. The last chukka was the best of the match, with Hong Kong finally breaking through to take a three-goal lead with three minutes on the clock, when many believd the match was over.

But the USA were not prepared to lie down, scoring three quick goals through Mason Wroe, Jeff Hall and Azzaro, sending the match to a penalty shootout. With America making their first three shots and Hong Kong missing through Fisher and Mackenzie, the USA ran out the winners (3-1) in the first upset of the tournament.

Day two had the eventual winners Argentina take on England. The latter came out firing,

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racing to a 4-1 lead, with Cudmore playing well above his handicap. However, the English superiority did not last long – Argentina found their rhythm in the third and fourth chukkas, scoring seven unanswered goals that left the scoreboard at a daunting 8-4 in their favour. Santiago Cernadas, Juan Ambroggio and Marcos Araya scored two goals apiece.

Hong Kong was pitted against the USA in arguably the best match of the tournament

tianjin goldin metropolitan polo club, alice gipps

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England won the last two chukkas and came within one goal in the last, but alas it was not enough and Argentina progressed to the final to meet the USA. This result left England having to back up the next day against Hong Kong in the third and fourth play-off. Having lost some of their better ponies through injury overnight, England faced a tough challenge against a Hong Kong team desperate to avenge their semi-final defeat.

Hong Kong gained an early goal advantage, which they would again keep throughout the match. Star of the day was John Fisher, scoring six field goals out of his team’s eight, giving him victory over his compatriots. England played a solid game, with James Harper defending well, but found it hard to break down a Hong Kong team well put together by team manager Rowland Wong. With Fisher continually ticking the scoreboard over, and José Donoso putting his body on the line, their adopted home ran out the winners by a two-goal advantage, taking third place, pushing England into fourth.

The well-anticipated final was upon us, with a re-pooling of the better horses and a further draw, the USA and Argentina entered the final with confidence after their respective wins.

It was the US that took an early lead through two goals from Azzaro. However, this would be their last lead of the match – Argentina clawed these two goals back before the end of the chukka.

It was the next chukka that defined the match, Argentina blitzing the US 4-1 (as they had done against England), leaving the score at 6-3. The Argentinians had really found their form, with all four playing their positions well and benefiting from years of playing fast four-man polo at home. This showed as the Americans struggled to maintain them. After a strong fightback in the second half, being spurred on by eventual MVP Azzaro, they came to within a goal at the start of the last chukka. This was when Raúl Laplacette sprang into action, scoring immediately to extend the lead to two goals. And when Cernadas picked up the ball near the halfway, passing two opponents, riding best playing pony Montana and scoring the goal of the tournament, this was the final nail in the coffin for the US. Kris Kampsen managed one goal just before the bell, but it was not enough – Argentina lifted the Super Nations Cup, and went back home with their pockets full.

Another highlight of the week was watching the U16 tournament, which, after a few teething

The Argentinians had really found their form, with all four playing their positions well

problems involving handicaps and room swapping, was a huge success. Argentina edged England in a very balanced final, and South Africa took a narrow victory over an improving USA in the third/fourth play-off. The future of polo looks to be in safe hands.

A huge thank you must go to Mr Pan for what he has created in China: a beautiful polo club, a friendly atmosphere and a very competitive new tournament for the international polo calendar.

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Opposite MVP Mike Azzaro steals the ball in front of Raúl Laplacette This page, from above James Beim; England’s James Harper chases Santi Cernadas

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action st moritz polo world cup on snow, switzerland, 24-27 January 2013

St Moritz Snow polo Herbert Spencer reports on an exhilarating tournament that saw World Cup favourites Cartier win the coveted Deutsche Bank Trophy

An Australian-patroned Cartier team with English pros beat BMW’s Latin squad by 5 goals to 4 to win January’s St Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow. It was a closely fought tournament, with repeated extra-time chukkas and all single-goal wins by the four competing teams.

The annual St Moritz tournament is the world’s oldest snow polo, started by Cartier in 1985. In 2012, the Alpine event was cancelled for the first time in its 27-year history, when unseasonable mild weather in the Swiss resort meant the ice on Lake St Moritz was deemed too thin to support the polo and the thousands of spectators that regularly gather to watch it.

This year, however, sub-zero weather, heavy snowfalls and the thick ice of the lake offered perfect conditions for players and spectators alike. The conditions for the event’s welcome return were matched by high-quality play by all the 18-goal sides.

The first match of the opening day went to two chukkas of extra time before Spaniard Andreas Knapp Voith’s BMW, with three Argentine pros, finally prevailed over American Michael Bickford’s

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Ralph Lauren, 7-6. Then Cartier took to the snow, with patron John Munro Ford backed by English pros Chris Hyde, Nacho González and Max Charlton – all members of the England national team. Their first opponents were Irishman Richard Davis’s Sal Oppenheim, also with three English pros: Johnny Good, Tarquin Southwell and Eduardo Novillo Astrada who holds a UK passport. Cartier held Sal Oppenheim scoreless to end the first chukka 3-0. Cartier failed to connect in the second period as their opponents scored one to finish the chukka with Cartier 3-1 ahead. Ford’s squad held onto their lead in the third chukka, ending it 4-3 in front.

With scoring equal in the fourth period, Cartier won their first match 6-5.

The second day of play saw Cartier chalk up another victory, this time against Ralph Lauren.

Having won the first chukka 3-1, Cartier went on to match their opponents goal for goal in the next three periods, ending the match 5-4. Meanwhile, Sal Oppenheim, having trailed BMW for three periods, rallied in the fourth to tie the match at 4-4, forcing the game into an extra chukka.

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Sub-zero weather, heavy snowfalls and the lake’s thick ice offered perfect conditions

Southwell scored the winning goal for Sal Oppenheim, the victors at 5-4.

Both games on day three at St Moritz went into extra chukkas. In their match, Ralph Lauren and Sal Oppenheim were tied 1-1 at the end of the first chukka. Ralph Lauren led 3-2 in the second period, but Sal Oppenheim went ahead 4-3 in the third. With the score tied again in the fourth, 5-5, the game went into sudden-death overtime, when Ralph Lauren came out on top 6-5.

Cartier met BMW again in the second match of the day. BMW held their opponents scoreless to end the first chukka 2-0 ahead. Cartier recovered in the second period to tie the game at 3-3. BMW retook the lead 4-3 in the third

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Opposite The dramatic alpine setting of the frozen Lake St. Moritz This page, from top MVP Chris Hyde (in red) keeps his eye on the ball for Cartier; pushing for goal in the dramatic final between Cartier (red) and BMW (blue).

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period, but Cartier levelled again in the fourth, 5-5. BMW scored in the extra chukka to win 6-5.

BMW and Cartier met again in the final.

After their two-league wins, and despite having lost one match to their opponents, Cartier were clear favourites to take the cup and did not disappoint. Having won the first chukka 1-0, they forged ahead in the second to end the period with a commanding 5-1 lead. BMW held Cartier scoreless in the third chukka and reduced their deficit with two goals to end the period trailing 3-5.

In the fourth chukka, BMW again denied Cartier any points, but a strong Cartier defence held their opponents to a single goal. The final ended with a 5-4 win by Cartier, giving them the tournament’s Deutsche Bank Trophy. ‘The final was unbelievable,’ Nacho González said after the game. ‘We got away in the first two chukkas, but I knew they were going to come back, and they did. But we got there in the end. We played a great game.’ The victory was by way of a birthday present for González. The veteran of snow polo in St Moritz turned 37 the day of the final.

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action InternatIonal SerIeS, wellIngton, florIda, 25 november 2012

This page Jack Richardson on the near side turns the ball Opposite, from left Richard Le Poer on flying form; performer Vanilla Ice, left, with Marc Ganzi

grand champions

Poor ground conditions didn’t prevent the USA scoring a decisive victory over England to win the International Cup, reversing the fortunes of their female counterparts, writes Alex Webbe The big news in Wellington, Florida, was the 25 November victory of a United States team over a representative English foursome on the grounds of the Grand Champions Polo Club to capture the International Cup. The win stopped a losing streak that dated back to 1997.

The last time a United States polo team faced England was in May 2012, when Ollie Cudmore (4), Malcolm Borwick (6), James Beim (7) and Luke Tomlinson (7) downed a US foursome of Marc Ganzi (1), Polito Pieres (8), Nic Roldan (7) and Jeff Hall (7) by the score of 11-10½ at Cowdray Park.

It was thought the United States would be sending a team to England in 2013 to compete

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for the Westchester Cup – the revered international prize successfully defended by England in a 10-9 victory at the International Polo Club in Wellington in 2009 – and the US players were looking for some revenge.

The United States and Hurlingham Polo Associations agreed to a match in the US, with many seeing it as a prelude.

Marc Ganzi (1), Carlitos Gracida (3), Nic Roldan (8) and Jeff Hall (7) took the field for the United States, while England sent a relatively inexperienced set of international players into the mix in the form of Jack Richardson (4), Richard Le Poer (5), Tom Morley (6) and Max Routledge (5).

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‘It’s quite a young team,’ said former English international player and coach Andrew Hine, who was sent to train the team. ‘They are either going to perform well or get excited and make mistakes.’

The 19-goal US team received ½ goal by handicap from the 20-goal team in the five-chukka affair, and quickly built on it. Heavy rains had hit Wellington in the previous days, letting the field cut up, and the play was tentative in the opening chukka. A foul by England sent Ganzi to the penalty line, where he converted the shot for a goal and a 1½-0 lead after the opening chukka.

England continued to press the attack, but powerful backhanders from Hall and Roldan turned defence into offence. Hall scored the

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It’s a young team. They’re going to perform well or get excited and make mistakes

For the young English team, it was a learning experience. The only way to get international

experience is by playing, and they left the field at the end of the match with a little more experience and much to work on. Roldan led the scoring with five goals and was named MVP. Hall scored twice and Ganzi added a penalty goal in the win. Richardson and Le Poer each scored a pair of goals for England, while Morley and Routledge added single goals in the loss.

Jeff Hall’s seven-year-old bay thoroughbred, Smooth, was honoured as Best Playing Pony.

alex pacheco

game’s first goal from the field as England was unable to score for the second consecutive chukka. After two periods of play, the United States led 2½-0.

Roldan’s first goal of the game came in the third, and had the United States ahead, 3½-0.

Le Poer finally got England on the scoreboard with a goal from the field. A second Roldan goal ended the scoring for the chukka. The United States left the field after the third period with a 4½-1 lead.

A determined English foursome returned to the field in the fourth with renewed determination. Single goals from Richardson, Routledge and Le Poer got them back into the game, but a pair of penalty conversions from Roldan kept the United States team in front, 6½-4, with one chukka left to play.

‘We just kept pushing,’ said a dejected Morley after the game. ‘We seemed to finally get it going in the second half,’ he added, ‘but it was a bit too late.’

Hall opened the fifth and final chukka with a penalty goal. Roldan added his fifth goal of the game for an 8½-4 edge. A late penalty goal from Morley and a goal from the field from Richardson closed the gap, but time ran out, with the US team besting England, 8½-6.

‘I think that, if the field had been in better shape, we could’ve really run up the score today,’ said Roldan after the game, noting that the women’s team probably shouldn’t have played on the field earlier.

Hall agreed as he looked out across the divot-riddled field. ‘With all those divots, it was hard to carry the ball,’ he added. ‘I know we can play better than we did today.’

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action InternatIonal SerIeS, wellIngton, florIda, 26 november 2012

left Sunny Hale on the ball with Sarah Wiseman to her right. Below Jack Richardson and Max Routledgen and friends at the after-party

The English women’s team – Claire Donnelly, Hazel Jackson, Nina Clarkin and Sarah Wiseman – were firing on all cylinders at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington on 25 November as they rolled to a 7-2 win over a struggling US team comprising Melissa Ganzi, Gillian Johnston, Sunny Hale and Tiffany Busch.

The team’s four-goal captain, Clarkin, showed little wear and tear after a one-day trip to Mexico to participate in an exhibition match for British Polo Day before returning the next day to face the Americans. From the moment she rode onto the field, she took command and led a well-coordinated charge for all four chukkas.

‘The girls played very well today,’ she offered after the match. ‘They did absolutely everything they were asked to do.’

Clarkin scored the first goal of the game on a long run, which was followed by another from Wiseman. The English were ferocious in defence, shutting out the Americans in the opening chukka for a 2-0 start.

‘It felt quite comfortable with them on the field,’ said Nina of her teammates. ‘For years, the English women’s team was the same old line-up, but it was wonderful to play with three young and talented players,’ she added.

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Donnelly opened the second chukka with a goal from the field before Hale finally got the US team on the scoreboard with a penalty conversion, but they trailed 3-1 and there was no let-up by the English. Wiseman struck again with two more goals and the chukka ended with England riding a 5-1 lead.

Penalties seemed to be the only offence the US team could muster, with Hale converting another 30-yard penalty shot. Wiseman scored her fourth goal of the game to end the period with a four-goal English advantage, 6-2.

A disciplined English line-up continued to set the pace, with Donnelly scoring the final goal of the game in the 7-2 win.

Wiseman and Jackson spoke glowingly of Clarkin’s leadership on the field. ‘She makes it so easy to do your job,’ said Wiseman. ‘You know exactly what she wants and you do it.’

‘After all, she’s four-goals,’ Jackson added.

‘So you’d better listen to what she says!’

Wiseman led all scoring with four goals – one on penalty shot – and received MVP honours for her efforts. Donnelly added two goals and Clarkin scored once. Hale accounted for both of the US goals in a losing effort. Rapsodia, a six-year-old bay mare played by Clarkin and owned by Ganzi, was named Best Playing Pony.

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The largesse of Marc and Melissa Ganzi extended far beyond the provision of 45 horses, grooms and accommodation for the visiting English players, with DC-based polo patron Dave Pollin donating the use of a house for the women. A full social schedule was arranged, beginning with Wednesday night’s men’s teams’ trip to Miami for a professional basketball game.

On Thursday evening, Melissa cooked for 43 at her home to celebrate Thanksgiving.

On Friday night, all of the players and a select number of guests were invited to a dinner at the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, hosted by the United States Polo Association. During cocktails, the museum’s director, George DuPont and his wife Brenda conducted a tour. After game day on Saturday, an after-party was held in the fieldside VIP tent, after which the teams dined at The Grille restaurant in Wellington. In all, it was a successful event on all fronts, with visitors and locals alike enjoying both the polo and the festivities.

Here’s hoping it is the start of a tradition that will continue into the future.

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English womEn rulE in 7-2 win

aCtion John r. townsend InternatIonal challenge cup, calIfornIa, 12 January 2013

townsend cup

Nine decades after its inauguration, this prestigious event saw England triumph over the USA for the first time, writes Herbert Spencer

jim bremner/polozone

Left to right: Empire Polo Club owner Al Haagen; Pacific Coast Circuit Lt Governor Scott Walker; England team manager Michael Amoore; Max Charlton; Oliver Hipwood; Sebastian Dawnay; USPA Arena committee chairman, Daniel Coleman

England squeezed past the USA in January to win the John R Townsend International Challenge for the first time in the event’s 90-year history, defeating the home team 11-10 in extra time in the arena at California’s Empire Polo Club near Palm Springs.

The 2013 Townsend – a 23-goal arena contest – turned out to be largely a duel between the USA’s captain Tommy Biddle, the world’s only arena 10-goaler, and England’s 8-goal skipper Sebastian Dawnay. Each scored seven goals for his team. Dawnay was backed by 7-goalers Max Charlton and Oliver Hipwood and Biddle by Billy Sheldon, 7, and Rob Yackley, 6.

After Biddle and Dawnay each scored once in the first chukka, England took control of the match.

Dawnay scored twice again and Charlton chalked up one. England led 4-1 at the end of the period, England held their lead in the second chukka with goals by Dawnay and Charlton. The USA got back into contention with Biddle scoring twice and Sheldon once. England were ahead 6-4 at the bell.

The USA rallied in the third chukka as Biddle chalked up two more points and Yackley scored

once. England’s only goal came from Charlton, leaving the match tied 7-7 at chukka’s end.

In the fourth chukka of regulation time, Dawnay scored for England and Yackley for the USA to tie the game 8-8. England retook the lead 10-8 with goals from Dawnay and Charlton. Then, with less than a minute to play, Biddle scored twice to tie the game again 10-10, pushing it into an overtime chukka that the two captains agreed would run to three minutes 45 seconds.

Two minutes into extra time, Dawnay missed a penalty shot. As Sheldon and Hipwood fought for control, Hipwood prevailed and scored. England held the Yanks for the remainder of the chukka to come away with the trophy.

‘This was the toughest match I’ve ever played,’ Dawnay said later. ‘There are significant differences in the HPA and USPA Arena rules, but, luckily, I had played in the last Townsend and so was able to brief our boys.’

The John R Townsend Arena polo competition between the USA and England dates back from 1923, when it was played in New York’s Squadron A Armory. The USA handily won all three games

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against an inexperienced England side. There was an unofficial revival of the Townsend in 2004, but it did not become a regular fixture until 2008 when the USA beat England 16-14 at Great Meadow Polo Club in Virginia. The USA won the next Townsend encounter in 2011, defeating England 15-9 at Empire Polo Club.

Before the Townsend match at Empire Polo Club this year, England and the USA played their first-ever universities-arena test for the new International Intercollegiate Challenge Cup. The Hurlingham Polo Association’s Schools & Universities Polo Association (SUPA) sent a team comprising young players from the Royal Agricultural College, Cambridge University and University College London. The US Polo Association was represented by players from Cornell University, University of Virginia, Colorado State University and Westmont College.

The American team won 18-8. ‘It was a better game than the score would indicate,’ said Dawnay who coached the English team. ‘The first half was very close, but in the end our boys just couldn’t get the hang of the American rules.’

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action thai polo open, thailand, January 2013

thai polo opeN

Peter Abisheganaden reports back from a grippingly close final, where the tournament’s winners were decided in the very last moments of play

The 10-day Thai Polo Open tournament is one of the best days of polo in Asia. And what a grand final it was! What’s more, for the second year, the game was decided with the very last hit.

Superb polo was played by all four teams.

HRH Prince Amir Ibrahim led a Royal Pahang team that, together with Tan Sri Hamdan’s Ranhill Polo, made the two-day journey from Malaysia. China’s Shanghai-based patron Brian Xu, meanwhile, played the Thai Open for the second time.

Royal Pahang’s Gaston Moore (6), Ignacio Deltour (4) and Edham Shaharuddin (4), with patron HRH Prince Amir (1), beat Thai Polo in their first match, but then went on to be

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defeated by the other teams. Axus, with Horacio Etcheverry (6), Dario Musso (6), Diego Gomez (2) and Brian Xu (0) won their first two games to be the first team to claim a place in the finals.

Thai Polo managed to turn their fortunes around, winning their next two qualifying games to take the other place in the final, Juan Agustin Garcia Grossi (8) enjoying the better roll on field No 1 and the new field No 3. Lucas Labat (6) combined well with Grossi, Dato’ Harald Link (0) and his daughter, Caroline (0).

Thai Polo led from the start of the final, with Grossi and Labat displaying some excellent stick-work and superb inter-passing. The fatherand-daughter Link combo played exceptionally

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well, and the team had the slight edge at half-time, with a 4-2 lead.

The match took a different course in the second half. Playing her usual gutsy game, Caroline took a tumble early in the third chukka.

With a fractured forearm, she had to be replaced

by Juan Martin Gallego (1), and Thai Polo conceded half a goal to Axus.

Then Axus started a comeback. Determined play by Musso and Etcheverry brought them within half a goal and they put Thai Polo under pressure until the end. With one second left in the match, Axus won a safety 60-yarder.

Unfortunately, Etcheverry’s shot went wide, leaving Thai Polo to celebrate their 7-6½ victory.

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This game was memorable – it seemed every team could beat everyone else!

After the game, Harald commented, ‘Caroline made an incredibly courageous contribution throughout the two games against Axus as she was given extremely tough tasks by Flaco Grossi and Lucas Labat – to mark alternatingly a four-goal or six-goal player.’ He added, ‘After she fell, our team were even more determined.

We said, “Let’s win it for Caroline.”’

Speaking about the victory, Harald said, ‘This game was very memorable – it seemed

every team could beat everyone else! It again showed how important and dependable the support of the members of the Royal Malaysian Polo Association under HRH Crown Prince Abdullah is to Thai Polo. I was very happy to have the opportunity to play with my daughter again and even more so that, with only a two-player amateur team, we won against three three-player professional teams.’

Tan Sri Hamdan’s Ranhill defeated Royal Pahang 9-8 in the subsidiary final. It was a very close match, in which the Royal Pahang team fought back from five goals. Two fantastic goals by Prince Amir in the final few minutes of the game saw them claw back the deficit, but it was not enough to catch Ranhill.

Ranhill’s 17-year-old star player, Facundo Llosa, was voted the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

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Opposite Axus’ Dario Muzzo (in red) vs. Agustin Garcia Grossi playing for Thai Polo This page, from top Axus patron Brian Xu (in red) marks Thai Polo’s Harold Link; Horacio Etcheverry with the ball for Axus

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action coutts polo at the palace, abu dhabi, 23-24 November 2012

Inaugural Coutts Polo at the PalaCe A new version of the classic sport has been created in Abu Dhabi, writes Major Peter Hunter

Coutts Bank and Polo in the Park/City Events have created a clever new scheme to bring the thrills of polo to a wider and more discerning sporting and business audience.

In November 2012, Coutts opened a key new office in the Dubai International Financial Centre and was keen to sponsor a landmark yet exclusive event to deliver publicity and reward for its key customers. The initiative in Abu Dhabi started the evening before, with a Stella McCartney fashion show in the Emirates Palace hotel – a co-sponsor – followed by two days of entertaining polo on the custom-built fields located in the gardens outside.

Coutts Chief Executive, Rory Tapner, commented:

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‘Our clients are very special and we were keen to help develop a new, even more exciting version of this great game and to offer our guests the very best in polo and entertainment. I congratulate everyone who worked tirelessly to bring Coutts Polo at the Palace into being.’

Coutts Polo at The Palace is the brainchild of, among others, Rory Heron, CEO of Polo in the Park at the Hurlingham Club, and chairman Daniel Fox-Davies. Polo has been flourishing for some years in neighbouring Dubai, but these were the first major matches in this smaller and wealthier emirate. It was inspired by the popular Polo in the Park event in London, which has

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pioneered the City Polo Series by bringing the sport to a more cosmopolitan audience.

On 23 November, four three-a-side teams, sponsored by Coutts, Maserati, Hublot and How to Spend It/Financial Times, lined up in front of the Emirates Palace. The grass field was two-thirds the size of a standard polo field and certain rule changes were initiated to make the game even more exhilarating for both the expert and the uninitiated among the guests. Sole umpire Tim Bown – one of the HPA High Goal umpires – was brought in at a week’s notice to ensure fair play. With past experience of umpiring at events such as Klosters Snow Polo, he was full of praise

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coutts polo at the palace

Opposite Hublot’s Mohammed Al Habtoor (light blue) marking Maserati’s Amr Zedan (navy) who is expecting the pass from Nicolàs Petracchi.

This page Maserati/ Milan (in dark blue) vs. How to Spend It/ London (in red)

for the smaller field and the special-sized leather arena ball, remarking, ‘I brought my own football pump, so the balls were rock-hard and less straining on the wrists when hit. They also carry further, allowing safe, long hitting.’

The four matches were surprisingly fast and hard fought. Will Emerson’s pony stumbled, throwing him to the ground, but he was unhurt and the specially treated turf played surprisingly well.

The results were anything but predictable, with Hublot Buenos Aires beating How to Spend It London and Coutts Abu Dhabi beating Maserati Milan on the first day. In the final, Hublot BA were the victors over Coutts Abu Dhabi, following

a 5-5 draw, which was succeeded by a nail-biting penalty shoot-out, 3-2. Hublot Buenos Aires team captain Mohammed Al Habtoor was awarded the Coutts Cup by His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, minister of higher education and scientific research. Maserati Milan took bronze against How to Spend It London.

Audiences were restricted to 500 VIPs and 500 guests each day, creating a uniquely intimate atmosphere with fantastic, close-up views of the game. What’s more, there was no shortage of entertainment off-field, with the Emirates Palace showcasing a cultural display by the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, a Maserati

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showroom offering an opportunity to test-drive the new Gran Turismo and an exclusive pop-up La Martina boutique, which saw a brisk trade throughout the two days of the tournament.

‘Polo in the Palace has been a really incredible experience for La Martina,’ commented the president of the brand, Adrian Simonetti. ‘Everyone knows the significance of the Palace in Abu Dhabi and the strong relationship of its people with horses. The prestige of the venue was reflected in every single detail of the superb organisation of this event.’

Anticipation is rising for the next event in China, the date of which is still to be confirmed.

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action british polo day, mexico, 24 november 2012

MEXICAN DIARY

Clare Milford Haven took part in the first British Polo Day to be held in Mexico.

Here, she relives the excitement of the event

Monday 19 November The flight to Mexico City from London is long, but I can’t seem to sleep. I while away the 12 hours watching an eclectic mix of movies, and just before touching down, finish Savages, Oliver Stone’s latest ferocious thriller. It’s about a couple of hip American dudes, living the dream in southern California, who share a love of pot and a beautiful blonde girlfriend. The dream is shattered when they get caught up with a with a Mexican drug cartel. I’d almost forgotten about the dark side of Mexico. When I think of this country, I think of tortillas, tequila and tacos, of mariachi bands and margaritas, spicy salsa and sombreros. Just over a decade ago, I came here to play at a club called Tecamac with Roddy Williams, Sebastian Dawnay and James Glasson.

I don’t think we stopped laughing for the entire seven days we were there.

Unfortunately, Immigration is no laughing matter.

The queue that snakes from the door of the plane to Arrivals resembles a Mexican wave without the movement. A few hours later, the arrival of a uniformed fleet of blacked-out-windowed white Range Rovers improves our mood and gives us

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a taste of what’s in store. We drive at high speed towards the city, flanked by outriders in high-vis jackets. In presidential style, we sweep up to the front of the Hotel Presidente InterContinental.

The disappointment on the doorman’s face is visible when we spill out in jeans, carrying polo bags and rucksacks. He was clearly anticipating a visiting head of state.

the guitar and, in our enthusiasm, break a chair.

Maybe it’s time to go home. Dinner in Sir Winston Churchill’s restaurant in Polanco (the Chelsea of Mexico City) hosted by the president of the Mexican Polo Association, Guillermo Steta Mondragón, is sedate by comparison. When we depart, all the seating is still intact.

I am here as part of a group of players organised

by British Polo Day – the brainchild of Ed Olver and Tom Hudson, and supported more recently

by Ben Vestey. British Polo Day celebrates some of the best our country has to offer by taking it abroad and wooing the pants off everyone with its unadulterated Britishness. This is the inaugural event in Mexico and the anticipation is exhilarating.

Wednesday 21 November

Tuesday 20 November A photo shoot and interview with Caras Sports for Jaeger-LeCoultre Mexico over, I head off through heaving traffic to lunch with Carmen Gracida. A feast of spicy chicken, guacamole and rice is washed down with guava juice and a swig or two of mescal, tequila’s strong, smoky sister. As the sun goes down, we sing along to

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Our 14-car cavalcade transports us to the Teotihuacan Pyramids, 50km north-east of the city. Conflicting reports as to when they were built and for what purpose manages to confuse the entire group; however, we settle on the fact that, in the seventh century, the heart of the city was burnt to the ground and the entire place devoid of inhabitants. Somewhat breathless due to the altitude and steepness of these splendid ancient edifices, we manage nonetheless to pose happily for photos and climb gingerly back down the narrow steps ready for lunch in a nearby grotto, where we unwittingly eat ants’ eggs. We head back to the city – Henry and Chase Emson continuing the debate in the car on the origins of the pyramids – in time for a roof terrace dinner at Downtown, a funky new hotel in the old city

action

Opposite British Polo Day players and guests dancing through the streets of San Miguel de Allende This page, clockwise from left Alejandro Gonzalez drives the ball; Safron Hutchinson, Tabba Wood and Clare Milford Haven at the Teotihuacan Pyramids; the lofty spires of La Parroquia, San Miguel de Allende

centre. Our host Maria Rivero treats us to her vineyard’s finest selection of wines.

Thursday 22 November

british polo day, clare milford haven

We leave the city, the majority of the group feeling the after-effects of having left Love nightclub only a few hours earlier. Luckily, the road is straight and fast and we arrive at San Miguel de Allende without incident. This charming colonial

As the sun goes down, we sing along to the guitar and, in our enthusiasm, break a chair.

Maybe it’s time to go home

town is home to many a boho gringo in the winter.

The mayor has granted us special dispensation to be escorted through the narrow cobbled streets straight to the door of the Hotel Matilda.

The award-winning boutique hotel boasts an excellent spa in the basement and one of the country’s top chefs in the kitchen. We have lunch in the sublime comfort of the Jardines de Matilda and just enough time for a soothing facial, then we’re off out again, to a private tasting of Casa Dragones, the purest tequila money can buy, in the 17th-century stables that used to house the elite Dragones cavalry. We sniff, sip, swill and swallow this fabulous intoxicating liquid before dancing our way unsteadily along the cobbles to the sounds of a mariachi band just in time for the 10-course dinner that awaits us under the stars back at the Matilda.

Friday 23 November It’s time for some bartering and haggling in the market. We buy rugs and throws, wood carvings and battered silver cups. The flower market is so vibrant and colourful, you need to wear your shades. Off to Balvanera Polo & Country Club in Querétaro for a stick and ball before the game tomorrow, reminding us we are actually here to play polo. Then it’s dinner at the hacienda of the De Alba family – the owners of the Balvanera and our wonderful hosts.

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Saturday 24 November At last – the big day has finally arrived. We start by watching the National Show Jumping Championships before settling down to cheer on the Land Rover Eton College team, who are playing against InterContinental Young Mexico.

Unfortunately, age and experience do not conquer youth and enthusiasm this time around and the visiting side is given a sound thrashing at 5-1½. They bear their loss with good humour.

Next, it’s our turn – Roxtons British Ladies captained by Nina Clarkin against Angelissima The Rest of the World, captained by Imelda de Alba. The game is fun, friendly and results in a diplomatic draw at 2-2. The British Ambassador, Judith Macgregor, presents the prizes and narrowly misses getting soaked by jubilantly shaken champagne. As another action-packed day draws to a close, we retreat to the fieldside marquee for further celebrations and some impromptu dancing to music provided by Ebe Sievwright on the decks. The night continues apace in La Laborcilla, where we are in the audience for a fashion show by Hackett. As dawn breaks, the prospect of a 12-hour flight home seems strangely appealing. Maybe I’ll finally get some sleep.

65

ARCHIVE

the good player Juan Carlos Alberdi won both the Argentine and Hurlingham Opens and, in 1953, was part of the team that took the Coronation Cup. Here, we reprise a feature the legend wrote in the Fifties

66

unnecessarily abrupt halt. He throws the reins to his groom, mounts the next horse and returns to the field at the same gallop. At the end of the game, he does the same thing and forgets about his horses until the next tournament. He rushes to the changing room, downs a cold drink and talks to his mates about how many goals he made.

The Good Polo Player returns to the pony lines at a slow pace. He makes sure the groom loosens the girth and walks the horse until its breathing is back to normal. He returns to the field with his new horse at a slow pace and makes sure the groom is looking after the other horses.

When the Polo Player is unable to make the horse do what he wants, the fault is never his.

That is why he punishes the horse severely with the whip, long after the event instead of at the moment the misdemeanour occurs. The Good Polo Player, however, looks for a cause. If he finds it, he tries to solve the problem with training.

If he discovers the fault was with his own riding, he tries to improve it so as not to ruin his horse.

The Polo Player will always be the victim of horse dealers and of his grooms. He will never

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Above The winning Argentine team at the World Cup, Argentina, 1951. From left: Juan Carlos Alberdi, Enrique Alberdi, Roberto Cavanagh and Juan Cavanagh

be well mounted. However, the Good Polo Player will always be well mounted. His horses will stay sound and his groom will be happy. If he needs to borrow horses, there will always be someone happy to lend them to him because they know they will be well schooled and cared for.

The Good Polo Player knows there is always something new to learn. Wherever he goes, he is a keen observer who takes on board everything he sees, reads and hears about horses and the game of polo. The Polo Player, in comparison, is over-confident – he believes he already knows it all and has nothing more to learn.

It is my hope that, having read this short feature, the Good Polo Player will be encouraged to increase his existing interest, while the Polo Player might start to want to learn more and, in this way, begin to achieve a deeper and even more satisfying understanding of this great friend to man: the horse.

Juan José alberdi

The difference, as I see it, between the Polo Player and the Good Polo Player has nothing to do with the handicap. There are Good Polo Players with a low handicap and Polo Players with a high handicap.

The Good Polo Player is not only interested in playing polo, but cares about his horses and knows how to treat them, be it in training, feeding or veterinary care. He is interested in knowing more about their origin, characteristics and habits, while the Polo Player is happy to get the most out of them without thinking of their wellbeing.

The Good Polo Player thinks of his horses first and then of himself. After a tough tournament, he is worried about the care his groom will give them – for example, a thorough shower and a good brushing-down, especially along the back.

He does this before thinking of showering himself or having a cold drink. If a horse is injured, he will call the vet to have it treated and the next morning, he will visit the stables early to discover if anything more is needed to ensure its welfare.

The Polo Player, in contrast, goes back to the pony lines at a full gallop and comes to an

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