A head start

Thanks to the passion and innovative spirit of Dato’ Harald Link and Nunthinee Tanner, Thai Polo & Equestrian Club has grown into a polo club on par with the finest in the world.

It was here, at the age of 11, on the sidelines of Thai Polo vs Royal Pahang, that I was first invited to play in the junior programme. Annual family outings to the B Grimm Thai Polo Open and to the Queen’s Cup Pink Polo Open, which donates money to my parents’ breast-cancer foundation, soon became a weekly obsession.

I began this adventure learning to play on wooden horses and ‘Thelwell’ cartoon-style ponies with attitude. Playing mini chukkas was always the highlight of my day; it is hard to say who had more fun, the juniors who were trying to mimic the professionals or our small furry mounts trying to impersonate bucking broncos. Our games would always precede the main chukkas and we would receive priceless coaching tips from the pros before they went on to dazzle us for the next seven and a half minutes. The plethora of international professionals visiting the club is still really inspiring and encourages us to work towards becoming better players.

As we progressed and improved, we were able to play on the exceptional Argentinian horses that make up the majority of the 320 stabled at Thai Polo. It was at this point the internationally known coach Rege Ludwig arrived and took myself and many others under his coaching wing. Phrases like, ‘Toes out! Heels down!’ and ‘Out over the ball earlier!’ were soon echoing in my dreams. His form of old-school discipline, which is coupled with a very dry sense of humour, make the perfect ingredients for a great coach: Rege can perhaps be best described as John Wayne on a quad bike. A stickler for proper training, his hitting cage and rules’ clinic laid down a strong foundation for my polo that endures to this day.

At 13, I left for boarding school and the Palladian architecture and Capability Brown grounds of Stowe in Buckinghamshire – a very different haven and far removed from the verdant palm-tree oasis that is Thailand. I began playing polo at Stowe and enjoyed a few games against Eton, Wellington and Harrow while training at Kirtlington Park, just a short distance from the school. Sadly, due to a leg injury, I was unable to further build on the progress I’d made at Thai Polo. Over the next five years, however, I did go on to meet other challenges, such as becoming head boy, playing first XV rugby and captaining the swimming and athletics teams.

Nonetheless, I greatly missed being in the saddle. Last summer, I finally agreed to surgery, which has allowed me to play pain-free again during my gap year, and returned to Thai Polo to continue where I left off at the age of 13. It was so heart-warming to see contemporaries such as Nu Sukhampa playing off three goals at the age of 18 after five years’ training at Rege’s academy.

During this last season, I have relished working with and gaining further understanding of the horses by exercising them daily at 6am, shadowing the club’s vet, working with the grooms and playing weekly club chukkas. Yet again, I have been under the tutelage of Rege. I was delighted that, after a few months, I was able to play on the Thai youth team against Pakistan – which was incredibly rewarding.

I am now back for the UK season and look forward to further improving at Thai Polo in Berkshire. I will return to the club in Thailand in December, and am set to begin my university studies reading law at the London School of Economics later this year.

William Chatamra with his coach, Rege Ludwig