Action

AMG Miami Beach Polo World Cup VII, South Beach, on the final day of matches

[drama] Catch up with all the latest action from around the world

Alex Webbe reports on an action round-up from the Sunshine State, including the US Open, Piaget Gold Cup and CV Whitney 53 Copenhagen Cup

Up-and-coming junior polo players are on top form as the UK’s polo playing schools battle it out on the fields of Coworth Park 54 Townsend Cup

Played for the first time on the West Coast, a home team advantage helps America retain the cup against England

Cornell are tested by UVA in both the women’s and the men’s tournaments 56 Copa de las Naciones

England put up a spirited defence against Argentina, writes Sandy Harper 58 Gaucho International

London’s O2 Arena hosts indoor polo for the first time, reports Herbert Spencer 59 Royal Salute Tang Cup

Despite a last-minute line-up change, Black Bears defeat Emlor to win the impressive trophy for the third occasion in a row 62 Thai Polo

Malaysia meet England and a fundraising event for a breast cancer centre takes place at the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club 64 St Regis International

Cowdray Park Polo Club is the venue for a test match between Jaeger-LeCoultre’s South America and Audi England

A fine string of horses combined with the sparkling mallet skills of Sapo Caset put the ghosts of 2009 to rest, writes Alex Webbe

US Open Finals

In a season dominated by surprises, the Crab Orchard team that had dominated play in highgoal competition at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida, found themselves as just one of a dozen courting the USPA’s most coveted trophy, but injuries also became an unwelcome part of the drama of the final 26-goal mounted tournament of the year.

While Lechuza and Audi had emerged as favourites during the season, there were other possibilities in the field of teams.

There were seven 10-goal players in the mix, but the early standouts on the field were Lechuza 9-goaler Sapo Caset; Audi’s Brazilian 8-goaler, Rodrigo Andrade; teammate Nico Pieres (7); and Valiente 8-goaler Polito Pieres.

Pony Express had shown no threat in the earlier tournaments, and without Daniels on the field showed little heart. Piaget was not much of a factor either. The Hawks showed early promise before falling to Valiente, and Faraway, banged up between player injuries and a shortage of top horses, did everything they could to stay on the field. Bendabout showed glimpses of potential, but couldn’t deliver the knockout punch when it counted and Orchard Hill was having no luck with their offence at all. Crab Orchard continued to struggle, but managed to string together three wins (although two of them failed to impress the critics). Their lack of net goals, combined with a loss to bracket-winner Las Monjitas, kept them out of semi-final competition.

The shortcomings in the horses also began to appear as the tournament wore on, and teams that showed promise early on were now struggling to stay in contention. But the cream rose easily to the top, and four teams finally emerged to do battle in the semi-finals of this year’s US Open.

Valiente had picked up a little steam going into the competition. They had initially dropped in an early match to Las Monjitas (11-12), but then racked up victories over Pony Express (14-7), Orchard Hill (12-11) and the Hawks (10-9) to earn themselves a semi-final berth.

Las Monjitas had a roller-coaster ride on their way into the semi-finals. Their opening win over Valiente was followed by losses to Bendabout (8-9) and Audi (12-14) before rebounding to present Crab Orchard with their first painful loss of the tournament.

Looking like a team that was getting better with each game, Audi totted up wins

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1 Gonzalito Pieres (left) and Martin Espain on the boards 2 Sapo Caset in 10-goal form 3 Nico Pieres (left) and Victor Vargas cross midfield 4 5 6 Match entertainment in full swing 7 Eye on the prize 6

over Pony Express (13-8), Orchard Hill (15-9), Las Monjitas (14-12) and Zacara before derailing Valiente 9-8 in the semi-finals.

Lechuza had the look of a one-man team early in the season with a flashy and effective Sapo Caset scoring in double digits with regularity. They downed Faraway (11-7) and Piaget (11-7) before getting tripped up by Zacara (6-7). But that wasn’t enough to prevent them reaching the final to face the Audi team in the last stages.

A clearing miscue by Audi’s highly touted Brazilian 8-goaler led to Lechuza’s first goal of the game, scored by Vargas, in front of a standing-room-only crowd. Sapo Caset made it 2-0 just a minute later. Audi finally got on the scoreboard with a penalty conversion from 10-goaler Gonzalito Pieres, but Lechuza closed out the first chukka scoring with a 110-yard shot through the goal posts from Lechuza’s 10-goaler, Juan Martin Nero. Lechuza left the field with a 3-1 lead with Audi struggling to find their offensive punch.

Audi pressed forward their attack in the second chukka, but just couldn’t quite pull the trigger. They missed at least four goals in the second period alone with every member of the line-up misfiring on what appeared to be surefire goals. Gonzalito Pieres then scored on another penalty shot. Despite a defensive effort that kept Lechuza from scoring, Audi continued to trail 3-2.

The first goal of the third period came off a penalty shot from Caset. After tapping the ball into play, Caset rocketed the ball through the Audi goalposts from 130 yards out for a 4-2 lead. Lechuza went to 5-2 with Caset’s third goal of the match and a bewildered Audi team rode off the field at the end of the first half, now trailing Lechuza by three goals.

Audi tried to regain control of the game in the fourth chukka, but Lechuza would have none of it. Attack after attack was pushed aside, defensive shots thwarting every effort, while brilliant teamwork between Caset and Nero frustrated the Audi team.

Caset drove the ball across the front of the Audi goal and dropped it for Nero who necked it through the goalposts to make it 6-2 after four chukkas of play.

A penalty conversion by Caset and a goal during open play from Nero ran the Lechuza lead to six goals, with Audi looking like a shell of the team that beat Lechuza to capture the 2011 USPA Piaget Gold Cup in March. Gonzalito Pieres scored on his third penalty shot of the match, but at the end of five chukkas of play the Audi team, which had averaged almost 13 goals per game, lagged behind Lechuza 8-2 without a single goal having been scored from the field.

However, it was a different, more collected Audi team that returned to the field for the final chukka, with Nico Pieres scoring the first goal of the period within the opening minute of play. Two minutes later Andrade split the goal posts to make it 8-5, and at the 2:22 mark, Nico Pieres scored again to make it 8-6 score. But that was where it would end for his team. With Audi trying to make up too much ground, the final horn sounded and Victor Vargas and his Lechuza team captured their first US Open Championship in a victory that may help to soothe the memories of the unpleasant horse-poisoning affair that occurred just two years ago.

Juan Martin Nero was named MVP while Rodrigo Andrade’s 12-year-old chestnut gelding, Zoltan, garnered Best Playing Pony honours. Sapo Caset’s horses were named ‘Best String in the Open’.

The 2011 US Open was Lechuza’s third consecutive major tournament final and the victory gave Lechuza its second title of the season. Earlier in the year, they’d won the CV Whitney, before losing to Audi in overtime in the Piaget Gold Cup finals. ‘I thought Nico [Pieres] looked a little tight in the first half,’ said polo veteran Julian Hipwood. ‘And it didn’t look like Gonzalito [Pieres] had gotten into the rhythm of the game yet,’ added the former 9-goal captain of the English polo team.

One cannot overlook the equine aspect of this year’s finals, with the Audi horses just looking a little flat.

‘I thought their horses were a bit off,’ said Caset. ‘They might have peaked a bit early.’

The regenerated Lechuza string, however, gave a splendid account of themselves in a fitting tribute to the 21 horses lost in 2009.

USPA Piaget Gold Cup

There was no initial mystery surrounding the 2011 high-goal season at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida. Adolfo Cambiaso was returning with George Rawlings and his Crab Orchard team, and the big question in the air was whether or not Crab Orchard would sweep the high-goal season again as they did in 2010.

Cambiaso returned with Hilario Ulloa, a very talented 9-goaler who had been his teammate in the 2010 campaign that had netted Crab Orchard the Triple Crown (comprising the CV Whitney Cup, USPA Piaget Gold Cup and the US Open), and US newcomer Nachi du Plessis, a hotly tipped South African 7-goaler.

Make no mistake, the field of 11 teams boasted some of the top players in the game and every 10-goaler in the world, but the crown belonged to Cambiaso and Crab Orchard, and it was expected to be an uphill climb to oust him.

Audi scored an opening 6-5 win over Las Monjitas in a contest that had fans wondering if they would be able to develop a cohesive offence to move forward while Mariano Aguerre and the Hawks eliminated Pablo MacDonough and Steve Van Andel’s Orchard Hill foursome, 13-9.

The biggest surprise of the 2011 season, however, came the following day. In a game that looked and felt more like a practice than a tournament match, Lechuza downed Crab Orchard 9-7, and a frustrated Cambiaso was forced to watch the final minute of play from the sidelines after being ejected from the game for making three technical penalties.

Bendabout knocked Piaget off with a 12-7 score, and the Hawks won out in an 11-10 nail-biter over a Zacara team which featured Facundo Pieres and Sebastian Merlos.

Valiente sent an anaemic Audi attack (two goals in the opening four chukkas) home in a 12-8 game while Lechuza Caracas snuck past Pony Express, 10-9 joining.

Semi-final action saw Valiente ride past Bendabout 14-9. Lechuza dispatched the Hawks in an 11-7 win setting up the first 26-goal final of the season.

With seven of the tournament’s eight 10-goalers watching, Lechuza illustrated the cohesive teamwork that got them to the finals. Victor Vargas, Sapo Caset and Juan Martin Nero scored two goals apiece in the first half, and Valiente found themselves behind 6-3 after the first three chukkas.

Lechuza kept the three-goal lead through the fifth chukka, and despite a sixth chukka Valiente rally, held on for the10-9 victory.

It was a balanced Lechuza attack that had Vargas and Nero tally three goals each while Caset and Espain each scored a pair in the win. Espain was named MVP, with Polito Pieres’s Argentine gelding ‘Sugar’ picking up Best Playing Pony honours.

With the single-elimination CV Whitney now in the rear-view mirror, all attention was focused on the USPA Piaget Gold Cup and the re-emergence of Adolfo Cambiaso and Crab Orchard. The addition of Hutton Goodman’s Faraway gave the Gold Cup a dozen teams to organise. Subsequently, three four-team brackets were created with the highest-rated troupes in each bracket and the top second-best all moving up into the semi-final round.

The Hawks opened the competition with a 13-11 win over Orchard Hill, while Audi seemed to have found their attack as they scored a 12-10 win over Goodman’s Faraway team in their 26-goal debut.

Crab Orchard managed a 13-10 win over Bendabout, but still showed little resemblance to the team that had dominated in the tournament the previous season.

Zacara showed promise in a 10-7 victory over Valiente. Lechuza trampled Piaget 14-8.

Agustin Merlos exploded onto the field for 11 goals as Las Monjitas defeated Pony Express, 20-8, and the Hawks continued to win, taking down Faraway by 10-6.

Crab Orchard managed a 10-9 win at the expense of Valiente, with du Plessis picking up five goals, but there was no sense of Crab Orchard dominance in the victory. Looking anything but extraordinary, they just held Cambiaso to two goals.

Zacara handled Bendabout then knocked off Crab Orchard 14-11, entering semi-final competition with a perfect 3-0 record.

Audi hammered Orchard Hill by 18-12 with an offence that was finally blossoming, then

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1 The winning Audi team 2 Nico Pieres on the ball, shadowed by Juan Martin Nero 3 Nico Pieres celebrates victory 4 Piaget CEO, Philippe Léopold-Metzger, and Jimmy Newman, IPC polo manager, toss the coin 3

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clipped the Hawks13-8 for a 3-0 record and another berth in semi-final play.

Las Monjitas (3-0) finished first in its bracket with wins over Pony Express, Piaget (16-10) and Lechuza (11-10) with both teams moving on to semi-final action. Despite their loss, Lechuza held the top record among the second-place teams.

Audi displayed a maturing offence as they rebounded from a 6-5 half-time deficit to tie the game at 11-11 in regulation time. It would be Nico Pieres who would convert a 40-yard penalty shot in overtime for the win.

Lechuza earned the second final berth in a 14-12 win over Zacara, with Sapo Caset scoring ten times for the win and the chance to meet Audi in the Piaget Gold Cup finals.

Audi and Lechuza battled evenly through the first two chukkas, matching each goal for goal: 2-2 after the first chukka, remaining even at 4-4 after the second.

Nico Pieres continued to dazzle onlookers, scoring his third and fourth goals of the game in the third. Gonzalito Pieres scored his third and Audi led 7-3 at the end of the first half.

Lechuza kept the pressure on, picking up an unanswered goal in the fourth and adding two more goals in the fifth to lead 8-7. Nico Pieres scored on a 60-yard penalty shot to end the chukka in an 8-8 deadlock.

Caset’s fourth goal of the game gave the lead to Lechuza in the sixth chukka, and the win seemed just within reach, with less than a minute to go when the unthinkable happened. In an effort to hit the ball over the sideboards and eat up the precious remaining time, Nero was called for dangerous play (hitting the ball into spectators) and Audi was awarded a 60-yard penalty shot that Nico Pieres converted to force the overtime chukka.

Thirty-two seconds into overtime, Pieres took control of the ball, wove his way through a number of Lechuza defenders and delivered a 40-yard winning shot through the goal posts.

Nico Pieres led all scoring with seven goals and was named MVP for his efforts. Sapo Caset’s Septiva was named Best Playing Pony.

52 53 The Florida Polo Scene

The International Polo Club is certainly the hub of all major polo activity in Florida in the winter. Besides offering 20-goal and 26-goal polo, IPC remains the home of the 40-goal exhibition match to benefit the Players Support Group as well as the Women’s Championship Tournament (WCT). Twenty-one teams competed in the 2011 Avendano Memorial with competition at the Advanced, Intermediate, Walk/Trot and Lead Line level in North America’s largest junior polo tournament, and the club ended the season on a high note with an international match between a USA team and South Africa. But there were also a good number of area clubs generating a large amount of activity this winter season.

South Florida’s longest operating polo facility, the Gulfstream Polo Club, in Lake Worth, struggled this winter but managed to ride through another season without too much difficulty. Scheduled to be sold a few years back, horses and players scrambled for other clubs, but the real estate crash returned the land to the current owners and forced a realignment of the club’s direction.

Gulfstream offered play at the 4-goal and 8-goal level and recently hosted the USPS Delegates Cup (8-goal) and the USPA Bronze Trophy (12-goal).

The Outback Polo League relocated to the Hobe Sound Polo Club and continues to do a bang-up job under the direction of Phil Heatley. Playing under the sobriquet of the Kangaroo League, competition at the 4-goal, 8-goal and 12-goal level continues to operate on some of Florida’s finest fields at the club located just 50 minutes north of Wellington.

To the west of the Hobe Sound Polo Club is Steve Orthwein’s Port Mayaca Polo Club. Port Mayaca continues to offer medium-goal polo and is the area’s answer to wet field conditions. When area fields are shut down due to rain, Port Mayaca remains high and dry. Under the management of Laura Linfoot and supported by a family that contains several Orthweins and Busches, Port Mayaca continues to be a staple of the Florida winter season. Starting with the Annual Holiday Family Tournament in December and running through the 10-goal Sanchez Memorial Cup, Port Mayaca continues to provide lively competition for seasonal players.

The Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington continues to sponsor medium-goal polo even with owners Marc and Melissa Ganzi competing at the 26-goal level next door (IPC). Grand Champions also hosted the second annual Gay Polo League tournament, an affair that attracted some 2,000 spectators.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season to come out of Wellington was the emergence of Glen Straub’s Palm Beach Polo and Hunt Club. Benefiting from the joint leadership of Tara Lordi, Juan Olivera and Mauricio Devrient, the medium-goal programme attracted 14-16 teams at the 4-goal, 8-goal and 12-goal level throughout the season. Reclaimed fields of past years and newly created fields give the club nine playing surfaces. Among its top facilities, the creation of a grass amphitheatre is expected to attract more enthusiasts and newcomers into the game.

Under the direction of Joey Casey, the Palm City Polo Club (operating in the old Royal Palm Polo Club) has resurfaced as a full service teaching facility that also offers low- to medium-goal competition. Spreading its wins this season with the debut of their own polo arena and with Mike Harris running the polo school, the club has attracted more than 50 new students and players.

The season ender remains the popular Miami Beach Polo World Cup and the accompanying South Beach Women’s Polo Cup. Featuring four days of three-a-side polo on the sands of Miami Beach, MB Polo Club draws eight teams in the women’s tournament while the highly competitive World Cup fields six 12-goal teams featuring the top players in the game, to the rapt attention of 10,000 enthusiastic spectators who always create an exhilarating atmosphere.

Wellington’s Tommy Beresford (blue) riding Cheltenham’s Thady Duff off the ball in the final

School teams showed great promise at Coworth Park, says Isabella Hislop, while Sam George reports on the Exhibition Match

The 15th of May 2011 saw the Copenhagen Cup played at Coworth Park, hosted by Wellington College. Named after the Duke of Wellington’s horse at the Battle of Waterloo, ‘Copenhagen’ , the tournament saw the best of England’s prep and secondary schools battle it to take the title for their school.

Polo is flourishing at secondary schools across England, and has now become one of the highlights of the academic sporting calendar. In its second year, the Copenhagen Cup aims to bring together the top school teams in a professional and competitive environment. For the boys at Beaudesert Prep and Woodcote House, this tournament’s crowd would have been the largest they’d ever played to. With three umpires and a commentator, the Copenhagen Cup provides a unique chance for younger players to experience full match play.

The Copenhagen Cup was a triumph for junior polo as up-and-coming stars were able to showcase their talent. The semi-finals saw Harrow take on rivals Eton. Their first derby of the season, Harrow were the victors of this tight match. However, neither team dominated, and the score was close throughout. Their next showdown will be at the Jack Wills Varsity Polo match in June, no doubt these two schools will return home to prepare for battle once again in a few weeks.

The final between Wellington and Cheltenham was similarly tense. By half time, although Cheltenham had the lead, neither team had taken control of possession. However, with Tommy Beresford’s long shots, Wellington were able to edge ahead in the final chukka. The final score of 7½-6 reflects how evenly matched the teams were.

The Exhibition Match at the Copenhagen Cup was a brilliant opportunity for both Oxford and Harvard to get some valuable game time before they face off against their respective arch-rivals Cambridge and Yale at the Jack Wills Varsity Day on 11 June.

Harvard had flown over especially for the event and were looking forward to playing their first game on grass since January. They began with a 2½-goal advantage due to handicap differences, but an agile and dynamic Oxford soon overtook them. The first two chukkas saw the Dark Blues dominate, with excellent control by Meacher and Mayou and open passages of play, facilitated by the immaculate Coworth field.

The game changed pace somewhat in the second half as Harvard rallied to curb the mounting Oxford tally. Marion Dierickx rode hard in defence and Albany Mulholland began hitting some strong drives upfield, resulting in Harvard’s first goal and several other near misses. However, the late Crimson offensive wasn’t enough to put the game in doubt and the final bell saw the scoreline at 13–3½ in favour of Oxford.

In all, the game was a high-quality display of university polo, with some fast-moving chukkas due to the relative lack of fouls. Special mention must go to MVP Tom and to Harvard for making the trip over and putting on a very good show, particularly in light of playing with a handicap disadvantage on unknown horses.

Both teams enjoyed the day and look forward to seeing each other again for their traditional fixtures at Guards in June. Oxford University extended their thanks to John Gale and Charles Betz for making the event possible.

Harrow’s Nikolai Bahlsen (dark blue) outpaces George Pearson (Eton) in the sub-final

A hard-riding USA team retained the John R Townsend Arena Challenge Cup in March, defeating England 15-9 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio near Palm Springs, California.

The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) and US Polo Association (USPA) fielded their strongest 22-goal teams to contest the cup, last won by the USA in 2008 at Great Meadow Polo Club in Virginia.

The last time the two countries met in an arena polo international, for the 2009 Bryan Morrison Trophy in the UK, England downed the USA by, coincidentally, the same 15-9 score as this year’s Townsend encounter.

This mirroring of scorelines, winners and losers seems to reflect the significant differences in arena rules in the two countries. Under USPA rules in the US, USA wins. Under HPA rules in the UK, England wins.

The USPA and Empire Polo Club went allout to make the 2011 Townsend Cup a major event. It was the first time it had been staged on the West Coast, having originated in New York in 1923 in the old Squadron A Armory, and then been revived 85 years later in Virginia.

Empire had rebuilt its palm-fringed arena just this year. It has concrete walls, rather than the usual, more forgiving wooden ones used in other arenas on both sides of the Atlantic.

A pool of 30 ponies was provided by Russ Sheldon of Poway Polo Club near San Diego; George Dill, polo manager at Eldorado Polo Club adjacent to Empire; and Eric Wright at Empire. Rather than the teams drawing lots for horses, however, the Americans chose which ponies they and the English would ride.

Before the match, the England players got a chance to play chukkas on their ponies and to try and focus on the unfamiliar American rules of the game. A major difference in USPA and HPA rules is that in the US, players ride back to midfield to line up for a throw-in after a goal is scored. In England, the ball is hit in from goal immediately after one is scored, making for more continuous action.

The USA took an early lead with two goals by John Gobin and a third by Tommy Biddle before England responded with points from Ryan Pemble and Sebastian Dawnay, leaving the Americans leading 3-2 at the end of the first chukka. In the second period, USA got a point on penalty, three goals by Gobin and one from Biddle. Captain Chris Hyde, Pemble and Dawnay each scored once for England, leaving the visitors 8-5 down at chukkas-end.

The USA’s Shane Rice scored twice and Gobin once before England responded with a single goal from Hyde, leaving the Americans 11-6 up in the third period. In the fourth and final chukka, the USA’s Biddle scored twice and Gobin and Rice once each, against two goals from England’s Dawnay and one from Hyde, giving the Americans a 15-9 victory.

On local television before and after the encounter, England skipper Hyde referred to the USPA’s ‘completely different rules’, but was magnanimous in defeat. ‘The best team won,’ he said, ‘but when the Americans come over to England again to play under our rules, they’d better watch their backs.’

It is clear that, until the USPA and HPA get together on their arena rules to bring them more in line with one another, the country that hosts internationals like the Townsend and the Bryan Morrison will hold the advantage.

1 Shane Rice stretches for the ball 2 Chris Hyde (left) and Shane Rice eye the ball

The team line-up

Instinctive teamwork bred from living and competing together gave this year’s victors flexibility and fluidity, writes Isabella Hislop

The Intercollegiate Championships women’s final on 23 April was particularly important for Cornell captain Lizzie Wisner. As a senior, she was well aware that she would not get another shot at the title. Undefeated this season, the Cornell women’s team expected success; Wisner explained that, ‘Coming into the match, we knew that we had the skills to succeed.’

However, the game was a lot closer than they had anticipated. Despite gaining an early 4-0 lead in the first chukka, UVa caught up and evened the score at 6-6 by the end of the first half. The experienced and physical UVa team never let the Cornell team pull clear. As Wisner said, ‘They were hitting us hard the entire game… they were always with us.’ With neither team allowing the other to take a big lead, Wisner’s teammate, Jess Cross saw that her team needed to play a more attacking style in order to withstand the strong UVa challenge. ‘We had to pick up our energy because we were playing too soft… those girls were outplaying us – physically and mentally,’ Cross explained. At 8-8 in the third, the game was still clearly there for the taking. However, the Cornell women were determined to step it up, ‘We started playing our game, and took over,’ she added.

Wisner’s two-pointer late in the third chukka kicked off a scoring streak and gave Cornell their victory. As she commented, ‘It helped us to jump-start our momentum for the rest of the game. We settled down enough to allow us to begin really playing as a team.’

Wisner cited this as the reason they were able to overcome UVa in the final chukka: ‘We were reading each other’s passes well and coordinating our strategy,’ she said. As the Cornell women knew this would be their last time playing together before Wisner and Cross graduated, they understood the significance of coming together one last time to win 18-10.

Teamwork was the prominent theme for the victorious team in the men’s tournament, too. UVa’s Todd Thurston cites it as a decisive factor in their win: ‘Living together, eating together, doing barn chores together, all in such close quarters, brought out the bond between us – we became a family.’

The UVa men’s victory was unsurprising. After a long year of polo, they were well equipped for the intercollegiates. UVa probably boasts the best polo facilities in the United States. The club now has 70 horses; with a string of 20 top-quality ones, and with the facilities close to campus, getting time in the saddle is relatively easy for its students. Furthermore, the UVa team attracts a lot of international talent; the starting team hailing from Florida, Colombia and Uruguay. On top of the two formal practices and match a week, they also held two informal ones.

As the final approached, to say the UVa men’s team was prepared for the tournament would be an understatement. As Thurston explains, ‘Cornell put up a good fight, but it was no match for the three machines from UVa.’ Virginia dominated throughout; with an early five-goal scoring streak, Cornell found it impossible to catch this fast-paced team. Their strength lay in their versatility; the Cornell No. 3 was forced to adjust to an offensive position, taking their No. 1 player. UVa’s flexibility gave the Cornell team problems matching their positions and earned them the title 28-14.

Fortunately for UVa, their three starters and their alternate are all returning next season. Thurston predicts big things for his position on the team, ‘I look forward to playing at the highest level and learning what I can so that I can continue the UVa winning tradition.’

The sky darkened over Buenos Aires as, gnawed by dyspepsia, I hurtled down Ruta 8 that afternoon. Having just been beaten 13-9 by possibly the worst 8-goal team in Argentina (although obviously not worse than ours), my mood matched the weather, but duty called and so I staggered, crestfallen, into my car to cover 100kms in 40 minutes to watch England play Argentina in the Copa de las Naciones.

As the strains of ‘God Save The Queen’ wafted through the air, I ‘sprinted’, with the stiff-hipped, crab-like gait that singles out battered polo players, and took my seat at the top of Tribuna C, which was packed. I had barely let out a sigh of slightly pained relief when the first chukka bell rang. Then, I have to say, my day started to change for the better.

You’ll all know by now that England did not win this encounter, but they played extremely well against a very, very underhandicapped Argentine team. Although I am sure they were disappointed, they certainly have no reason to be ashamed of the result. The first two goals, a penalty in the goalmouth and a 30-yarder, strongly hit by Luke Tomlinson, went to England but the third, and the first of the eight he was to score that afternoon, was a lovely individual goal by Facundo Pieres, with dazzling stick work that England could do nothing about. The next was well taken by Islas, who picked Beim’s pocket in the middle of the ground and went on to score. Beim did not make many mistakes after this though, and went on to play an excellent game, especially given that his opposing back was Facundo. He was mounted on a string that he’s clearly worked on over the past five years.

As the game developed I don’t think the result was ever in too much doubt, but England never stopped trying and in the fourth chukka came to within a goal, at 6-7, of the home team. The Pieres boys were playing their new strings, and I have to say that as new strings go, theirs look pretty good. Whenever England looked like putting Argentina under any pressure Gonzalito or Facundo would change ponies and return to the field on some flying machine to score a quick couple in succession. Argentina’s eighth goal was one such example. Facundo took control of the ball near the middle on the Libertador side and passed it to his brother towards the left of England’s goal on the Dorrego side. Beim was chasing, but Gonzalito was leaving him behind and so when he crossed the line to score an excellent sliced goal, Beim’s appeal for a foul was not accepted. Towards the end of the last chukka, however, the umpires missed a blatant foul by Islas on Luke Tomlinson, who was about to score what would then have been England’s eighth goal. This was the third such

1 Valerio Zubiaurre chased by the Tomlinson brothers 2 Tomas Garbarini (left) and Valerio Zubiaurre played well above their handicaps 2

run but Islas rode Luke off very hard into his stick as he was about to tap the ball through the goal 10 yards out and somehow scooped the ball out from under their ponies to give away a corner, which was not converted.

In the fifth chukka, Borwick came out on an enormous bay mare, which caught my attention and Gonzalito Pieres’s too I should think, after a resolute ride off, which shoved him and his pony a good 10 feet to the left, but on the whole, Argentina didn’t have to worry unduly. Luke Tomlinson, who scored four of England’s eight goals, including their last after a good run, was also deprived of a final 60-yarder which was met brilliantly in mid-air by Facundo Pieres and soon after this the sixth chukka ended 13-8 in Argentina’s favour.

England can be happy that they have an excellent 28-goal team, which any other team in the world would have trouble beating. The problem was they were up against a team, which although 27 goals on paper is closer to 31. Now, one can’t blame Argentina for wanting to ensure that they win an international, particularly when played before the Catedral crowd, but everyone, including the patriotic local press, had to concede that they fielded an under-handicapped team on this occasion. The man of the match was obviously Facundo Pieres for Argentina. It would be invidious to single out any English player for particular praise, as they all did well. Luke Tomlinson and James Beim, who was up against Facundo, impressed me. Mark Tomlinson’s work rate is phenomenal; at 2 he is normally charged with cancelling out the best of the opposition and certainly Gonzalito Pieres is no slouch! Malcolm Borwick at six goals does not look expensive. He is a big man, on big ponies and has a great eye for a ball. He might be more of a natural back than a three, but Luke’s position at back for England looks secure, as he is the best we have for that job.

All in all it was a very good afternoon, subsequently further enhanced for me by my publisher agreeing to pay for the six speeding fines and one parking ticket I’d picked up in the course of duty.

1 Tim Bown (white) and Nacho Figueras race for the ball 2 Jamie Le Hardy (Scotland), Chris Hyde (England), Selby Williams (South Africa) and Nacho Figueras (Argentina)

The former Millennium Dome in Greenwich, now the O2 entertainment complex, made history in February when 5,200 spectators showed up to watch the high-goal teams of four nations battle it out in the Gaucho International Polo in the big arena.

The event had the largest crowd ever recorded at an indoor polo international. Of course, there have been bigger attendances – up to 10,000 or more, at venues such as the old Chicago Armory – but these were for domestic competitions, not internationals.

The Gaucho International at one of London’s most iconic landmarks was a triumph for the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) in its efforts to introduce polo to a wider public. A large part of the audience were new to polo.

‘We hoped to attract not just arena players and fans,’ HPA chairman Nicholas Colquhoun Denvers explained, ‘but to encourage more people to become involved in polo either as players, spectators or supporters. By raising our sport’s profile in the wider context, it is hoped we can grow the polo industry, attract greater sponsorship, support our professionals and invest more in grass roots polo.’

It was Colquhoun Denvers and Martin Williams, operating director of the Gaucho chain of Argentine-themed upscale restaurants, who came up with the idea of staging an arena international at the O2, one of the world’s biggest indoor venues. The HPA and the overseas polo associations co-operated by approving national teams representing England, Argentina, Scotland and South Africa.

In the evening’s first international match, City AM Scotland defeated Mantis Group South Africa 14-11. For most polo aficionados this was the best match, an exciting duel between the two 17-goal teams.

The final match was between 20-goal EFG England and 19-goal Camino Real Argentina. The home team, skippered by 9-goaler Chris Hyde, has far greater experience in arena polo than the visitors – led by Nacho Figueras, ‘the face of Ralph Lauren’. Despite this, EFG trailed in two of the four chukkas, snatching a 17-16 win in the last 30 seconds with a goal by Hyde.

The show also included a match between young players from Oxford and Cambridge, won by Cambridge 13-10. With a celebrity match and lots of showbiz razzmatazz between events, the evening lasted almost five hours.

The Gaucho International, 18 months in the planning, was the HPA’s most ambitious – and most complex – event after its annual summer International Day. To organise it, the association brought in Johnny Wheeler, whose big beach polo event (‘Sandpolo’) at Sandbanks, near Poole, has been running successfully for three years, and Mark Cann, executive director of the Combined Services Polo Association.

One of the biggest challenges for the organisers was the installation of a polo arena in the O2 Arena. The layout allowed a playing area of only 84 by 32 yards rather than the HPA-recommended 100 by 50 yards. Equestrian specialists Martin Collins Enterprises dumped 580 tonnes of their Ecotrack artificial surface onto the O2 Arena’s concrete base and compacted it, and used glass ice hockey panels for the walls. The whole installation took 10 hours, and it was removed in just four hours after the event ended at 9.30pm.

Louisa Dawnay, polo manager at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club, dealt with the players and ponies. Having installed temporary pony lines backstage, she used six artics to shuttle 84 ponies into and out of London.

Following the event’s success, the HPA and Gaucho have provisionally booked a March 2012 date at the O2 for a second edition.

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Jubilation as the Royal salute team celebrate their victory

on 21 and 22 May, Royal salute teamed up with the tang polo club in tongzhou District, Beijing for the Royal salute tang cup. the weekend began with a reception and dinner inside the forbidden city, and finished with the tournament finale on the sunday afternoon. this was the first tournament to be held since the official opening of the tang polo club in october 2010. the club, founded by the highest ranked polo player in china, shilai Liu, covers an area of 350 acres and offers some impressive polo facilities, including two standard international competition lawns, 100 stables, practice and training area and a 5,600sq m equestrian centre. all-inclusive lifetime membership to the club costs a total of Us$2.3m, with polo membership alone costing $105,000. for the Royal salute tang cup, Liu invited several international polo stars including alejo taranco, Gonzalo azumendi and Juan cruz Guevara (all 6-goal) as well as other players from argentina, Usa, UK, australia and china to take part in this first tournament of the season, which for many signalled the renaissance of polo in Beijing. the four teams contesting were Royal salute, aMG Mercedes-Benz, cIcc Investments and aZIMUt super Yachts.

Both Royal salute and aMG played commendable polo on the saturday, fighting their way through the semifinals to gain a place in the sunday finals. the score kicked off with a tap-in goal by Iriarte of aMG in the last seconds of the first chukka, closely followed in the second chukka by a 60-yard penalty goal by taranco of Royal salute. aMG then extended their lead 3-1, before taranco scored again for Royal salute with a 45-yard pile driver. In the fourth chukka the home crowd went wild as Royal salute’s shilai Liu scored two goals in succession – the latter an end-to-end goal in four strikes – before another goal took the Royal salute team to a 5-3 lead. the victory was short-lived as aMG fought back and cut the deficit 5-5 in the blink of an eye, but in the final seconds shilai Liu positioned himself 15 yards from goal and hit a successful backhander across the aMG goal line, taking his team to victory with a 6-5 win. prize-giving followed with a scottish bagpiper, followed by his Grace the Duke of argyll, con constandis (MD of pernod Ricard china) as well as other dignitaries of Beijing and the polo community, all paying tribute to the Royal salute team and their captain. after the inaugural Royal salute tang cup was presented by his Grace to shilai Liu and the rest of the Royal salute team, celebrations started at the Royal salute Marquee.

Black Bears overcame Emlor to a chorus of referees’ whistles at Coworth Park. Herbert Spencer braved the cold to watch the match

Since The Indian Empire Shield became one of England’s high-goal prizes back in the Twenties, few teams have won it twice. Now however, Black Bears’ name is inscribed on one of the huge trophy’s gilded plaques not twice but three times.

Guy Schwarzenbach’s side captured the shield for the third year running in May by defeating Clinton McCarthy’s Emlor team 6-4 on a chilly day made less cosy for spectators by an icy wind at Coworth Park Polo Club, just across the road from Windsor Great Park.

The Indian Empire trophy is one of the most unusual and impressive prizes in the sport. Presented to English polo by rulers of India’s princely states in 1927, it is designed like a warrior’s ceremonial shield and is made of heavy wood covered with gold and silver plaques. Before the war, it was one of the country’s most important high-goal prizes.

Black Bears had already beaten Emlor in their earlier league game, so looked to be favourites. But on finals day, with their 7-goal England player James Beim sidelined with stomach problems, Black Bears had to make two changes to their line-up to make up their 18-goal team handicap. Jack Archibald, 3, replaced Beim in the No. 2 position and Jean du Plessis, 5, came in at back. Patron Schwarzenbach, 2, remained at No. 1 and eight-goaler John-Paul Clarkin played his usual No. 3 position.

The game got off to a slow start before Clarkin converted a 30-yard penalty three minutes into the first chukka. Emlor’s Nacho Gonzalez then found the goalposts from a scrum to equalise, before Clarkin took a pass from du Plessis and scored to regain the lead for Black Bears at 2-1.

The second chukka started with a 60-yard penalty carried over from the previous period, expertly converted by Clarkin. Neither side scored after that, with both Clarkin and Gonzalez missing penalty shots.

Half of the third period had passed before Gonzalez pulled one back for Emlor with a 30-yard penalty conversion. But after a long run by du Plessis, Archibald picked up the ball to score, leaving Black Bears ahead 4-2.

With both teams missing tries, the only score in the fourth period came from a 30-yard penalty conversion by Clarkin to extend the Black Bears’ lead.

In the fifth chukka, Clarkin and Gonzalez again missed their penalty shots in the stiff

1 (Left) Manuel Fernandez Llorente and Jean Du Plessis 2 Guy Schwarzenbach with his mother Francesca

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breeze before Schwarzenbach took a fine lofted pass from Clarkin to find the posts and effectively close out the game. In a late rally, Emlor scored twice with field goals, but ran out of time to leave Black Bears 6-4 winners.

‘I’d thought that having to change our lineup at the last minute would put us at a disadvantage,’ Guy Schwarzenbach said after the game, ‘but the new boys [Archibald and du Plessis] did a fantastic job.’

This low-scoring final was accompanied by a symphony of umpires’ whistles. ‘The players haven’t got the hang of the new no-turning rule yet,’ explained referee Paul Withers. ‘At least there was only one technical foul [talking back to the umpires], by Nacho [Gonzalez] and that cost Emlor a point.’

‘There were too many whistles,’ Schwarzenbach admitted, ‘but the fouls were pretty much divided between the two teams.’

John-Paul Clarkin, mainstay of the Black Bears team for several years, was named Most Valuable Player. ‘This is the first year I rode only Black Bears ponies’, the New Zealander said. ‘It makes it easier for me on this team. I’m keeping my own string for the 22-goal.’

The action continues with three tournaments at the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club, bringing wins for England, Thai Polo and Macau, writes Lacey Winterton

the end of the polo season is always busy at the thai Polo & equestrian club, with lots of interesting events and matches taking place. on Saturday 12 February, malaysia met england in an international match. malaysia’s line-up consisted of tengku Shazril, Shaik reismann, Huzaini yunus, and Saladin mazlan, while england’s team consisted of James carr, oliver cudmore, max routledge, and oliver Hipwood, both 13-goal teams. while James carr joined the team from india, the rest of the team were en route to china for asia’s first ‘Snow Polo’ tournament the following week. the malaysians had been practising and playing as a team for the past few months in argentina and thailand, in preparation for the Zone D FiP world cup Qualifiers this June in malaysia. a well-prepared malaysian team, mounted on their own horses, would be prove a stern test for the english team. malaysia led early but were unable to put any real distance between them and the english squad, who played very intelligently on horses provided by Harald Link, co-owner of the thai club. england controlled the ball through oliver Hipwood and the tireless work of the other three players and refused to be drawn into a open-running game which would have better served the malaysian team. england managed to keep the score close and went into the last chukka even. in the last chukka, england was better able to capitalise on the opportunities they were presented and went on to win the game by two goals.

Later in the month, on 19 February, the thai Polo & equestrian club was the scene for the Queen’s cup Pink Polo 2011, sponsored by St. regis and in aid of the Queen Sirikit centre for Breast cancer. Dr Kris chatamra, a consultant surgeon and oncologist at King chulalongkorn memorial Hospital, is founder and instigator of the centre. Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women in thailand and the centre provides them with thailand’s best equipment and an innovative ‘Philosophy of care’. every week, each patient’s case is reviewed at a meeting of specialists, for a multidisciplinary team approach. Dr. Kris (as he is affectionately known) and his colleagues work without pay to treat primarily underprivileged women, taking in 100 patients every three months for treatment. Pink Polo hopes to raise over half a million baht (just over £10,000) for the centre this year alone. this fundraiser and polo match, now in its third year, hosted over 400. the festivities began at midday with an elegant lunch under marquees, catered by St. regis. Pony rides for the children were a popular activity, as budding polo players were eager to get on a thai Polo pony. early afternoon, guests were treated to a fashion show on horseback. models sporting

Burberry were led up and down the boards, with a grand finale of a model in a wedding dress, riding side-saddle. it was then time for the miss Pink Polo contest and the Best Hat contest. Finalists were chosen from an endless crowd of Bangkok’s finest, dressed in every shade of pink imaginable. creative and eye-catching outfits were the norm, no doubt having taken hours of shopping and preparation to assemble. a little while before the Pink Polo match, a kid’s polo game was played in centre field, between a group of thai Polo’s own students. although mounted on their stout little ponies, the kids raced up and down the shortened field and had the rapt attention of the crowd. at 4pm in the afternoon, as the true Sport asia broadcast began, the two ladies’ teams were led onto the field by Khunying Finola chatamra, Honorary advisor of the Queen Sirikit centre for Breast cancer, and nunthinee tanner, co-owner of thai Polo, flanked by a pink Bentley and a pink audi. thai Polo’s line-up consisted of isabel Von morgenstern (1), caroline Link (2), claudia Zeisberger (2), and catalina Bunge (6), who took on the St. regis-sponsored team of anna Princess zu oettingen-wallerstein (1), melissa tiernan (1), Fazila Filippi (0)/alison chadwick Kelly (0), and ina Lalor (6). St. regis started the game with two goals on handicap which thai Polo managed to equal by halfway through the second chukka. with one minute on the clock, thai Polo scored their third goal of the game, then matched by St. regis only 16 seconds before half-time. the score going into the third chukka was tied at 3-3. tenacious defence and missed opportunities by both teams saw it remain 3-3 over the next two chukkas. in the last minute of the fourth chukka, catalina Bunge (St. regis) missed a 60-yard penalty for her team. Following suit, ina Lalor (thai Polo) then missed the very same penalty, and the two teams remained tied. in the dying seconds of the fourth chukka, catalina Bunge (St. regis) broke away with the ball and headed towards goal. She wasn’t able to put it through, but claudia Zeisberger was bringing up the rear and tapped the ball in, making thai Polo the winners of Pink Polo 2011, and garnering for herself the award of mVP. the final tournament of the season was the thai Polo cup, where four spirited teams with -1 handicaps vied for the title. the first day of the thai Polo cup on 5 march saw maple Leaf, wife-and-husband team of claudia Zeisberger and David munro, take on macau, where andy Harrison played for an injured Pedro Bettencourt. the game got off to a slow start and going into the third chukka the score was tied at 2-2. Back and forth the score climbed, goal by goal for each team, until the final minute of the fourth chukka, when Julian Sagarna was able to score and leave the game at 6-5 to maple Leaf. the other match played between Gtm and 22Br finished with a score of 5-2 to 22Br, effectively deciding that the 3rd-place-play-off would be played between macau and Gtm, and the final match between 22Br and maple Leaf. the second and final day of the thai Polo cup, 6 march, saw maple Leaf take on 22Br in the final. the score had been pretty even

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1 Fergus Gould chased by claudia Zeisberger 2 Pink Polo fashion show 3 annabel Von morgenstern on a thai Polo Pony ride 4 Finola chatamra and nunthinee tanner lead the teams 5 Pretty in pink

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up until the end of the second chukka, when maple Leaf scored two goals and pulled ahead 4–2. one more goal scored put them at 5-2, going into the fourth chukka. 22Br had a few chances with penalty shots, but failed to use them and maple Leaf stayed just ahead to take the win. the final score was 6-4 to maple Leaf. meanwhile, in the semi-final, macau beat Gtm to victory with a score of 7-3.

More often than not in high-goal polo, the team that properly positions their players on the field and is more accurate with their passing shots, wins the game. This fact was elegantly illustrated in the results of the St Regis International Test Match at Cowdray Park Polo Club last month.

In this, their first home test of the year, Audi England were faced with a composite Jaeger-LeCoultre South America side for the St Regis Trophy. The Latin American visitors played a strong game with both accurate and effective passing, while the home team only managed to hit and hope, with too many passes going astray.

No surprise, then, that South America dominated England for most of the match and won the test 9-6½. They were certainly more disciplined and deserved to win. It is unlikely that the last-minute scramble to make up the two teams made any difference to the results. Ten-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso had agreed to lead the South America side, joined by fivegoaler Martin Valent, manager of the Dubai team for which Cambiaso plays. But as the test approached, Cambiaso had to withdraw because of his commitment to the pro-am Queen’s Cup. Valent also backed out.

To replace Cambiaso, team sponsor Jaeger-LeCoultre brought in nine-goaler Eduardo Novillo Astrada, a Jaeger-LeCoultre ‘ambassador’, and replaced Valent with young six-goaler Facundo Sola.

England had booked all four of the squad’s seven-goalers including, for the first time, Satnam Dhillon whose handicap went up just this year. Unfortunately skipper Luke Tomlinson was sidelined due to a badly bruised leg, so he was substituted with sixgoaler, Malcolm Borwick. Thus England became a 27-goal side while South America remained at 28, giving the home team half a point on the scoreboard to start. This lead rapidly disappeared in the first chukka as South America kept the ball in England territory and scored with field goals by Sola and Nacho Figueras. England’s Borwick converted a 60-yard penalty, leaving the visitors 2-1½ up at the end of the chukka.

England recovered the lead in the second period when James Beim scored from the field, but lost it again when Sola converted a safety 60. Beim again put England ahead in the third period, followed by a fine run by Dhillon from the throw-in. South America responded with a 60-yard conversion from Sola who then scored a field goal to put the visitors ahead 5-4½.

Astrada found the posts early in the fourth chukka to increase South America’s advantage.

1 Nacho Figueras pursued by Satnam Dhillon 2 Malcolm Borwick controls Nacho Figueras 3 James Beim evades the hook of Eduardo Novillo Astrada 2

Mark Tomlinson responded for England with a breakaway run to score from midfield, before Sola converted a 60-yard penalty to put South America ahead 7-5½.

In the final chukka, Borwick pulled one back for England by converting a 60-yarder. Chilean José Donoso then scored for South America and Sola tapped in a spot penalty just moments before the final bell to give the visitors their 9-6½ victory.

‘It was a fast, clean game, but our boys looked a little rusty,’ David Woodd, chief executive of the Hurlingham Polo Association, said afterwards. ‘South America played better as a team and they were more accurate with their passing. Sola was particularly impressive.’

The Argentinian was South America’s top scorer, accounting for six of the visitors’ nine goals. However, it was the pivotal Astrada who was named Most Valuable Player.