Ponylines

[news] Championships, book launches, bright young things and much more

Seventeen-year old Rashid Albwardy is thought to be the youngest amateur player ever to compete in the British Open Championship for the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup. A 0-goaler with no high-goal experience until this year, Rashid played at No. 1 for Dubai, in front of 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso. He scored seven goals in their six matches in the Open, which they finally lost to La Bamba de Areco. After the Open the HPA raised Rashid’s handicap to 1 for 2010. Rashid began playing polo at the age of 10 at the Albwardy farm in the United Arab Emirates, taught by his father Ali. Since then he had only played low goal in Dubai, but has been coached by Martin Valent, the Dubai team manager, in both Dubai and England. Rashid is currently studying for a MBA degree in London with a view to joining his father’s business in the UAE, but is likely to be back in the highgoal Dubai team next season.

As we approach the end of another season, the main issue has been – once again – the weather. The forecasters promised us a ‘barbecue summer’, only to change their minds once it became blindingly obvious they had got it horribly wrong. Once again the polo managers were faced with the re-scheduling of matches and the groundsmen with restoring badly cut-up ground in time for the games the next day.

Generally, with the exception of the high goal, entries in most tournaments have been noticeably down this season. Although the overall membership has not seen a major reduction, the reduced income from entry fees will doubtless have had an effect on most club balance sheets.

On Cartier’s International Day, the England team are to be congratulated for taking on the best country and the two best players in the world and for putting up a great fight. As in any game, there were chances which, if the England players had taken them, could have produced a much closer score. But scoring goals under extreme pressure is never easy. Those who attended were privileged to see two great players on the same team for the first time in a truly competitive game.

There is no doubt that the high goal was as competitive as it has ever been, and Sir Cow Williams’s Apes Hill team was deservedly rewarded with the Queen’s Cup. In the Gold Cup final, Gonzalito and Facundo Pieres rose to the occasion and provided a winning performance for Jean-Francois Decaux, who could not resist a victory roll off the back of his horse as the final bell went, such was his delight at winning.

As we end the season and go into a winter on which, to date, the forecasters have yet to give a view, there does not appear to be a sudden surge of ponies for sale and therefore one hopes that most are planning to play again next year. However, there is no doubt that there has been an earlier-than-usual departure of players, and not everyone seems to share the view of our government that things are getting better.

During the winter England teams will play in Thailand in December, New Zealand in February, and the Copa de las Naciones in Argentina in April. We also look forward to playing Arena Test matches in South Africa in October and against a 24-goal US team for the Bryan Morrison Trophy in February.

The first polo match I ever saw as a teenager was not in England, Argentina or Australia, but in Calcutta, Bengal. It was a nostalgic moment as I watched the game at Calcutta Polo Club’s Pat Williamson Ground with the majestic Victoria Memorial in the background. My parents, who used to travel a lot for the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) of India, would tell me stories of locals playing fabulous polo in Manipur and Assam. Nevertheless, it was watching that first match at Calcutta Polo Club that made me a true polo enthusiast.

The Calcutta Polo Club - the oldest polo club in the world - was established in 1862 by two English soldiers, Captain Robert Stewart and Major General Joe Shearer. They were inspired by the game in Manipur, which they later introduced to their peers in England. The club has the distinction of running the oldest and first ever instituted polo trophy, The Ezra Cup (1880), as well as The Carmichael Cup (1910) and The Stewarts Cup (1932).

Globally, the polo arena is fast gaining popularity and Calcutta Polo Club’s 150th anniversary is a significant milestone in the game’s history. I would like to wish the club a fantastic birthday.

On 12 June, for the third year running, the Swiss watch manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre held a charity polo game attended by nearly 300 guests. Guillain Maspetiol, UK Brand Director, welcomed international and local celebrities at the Ham Polo Club in Richmond. Guests enjoyed a beautiful sunny day in London’s countryside and were treated to cocktails, followed by an Argentinean lunch.

A gentlemen’s polo game followed in the afternoon, featuring the world’s best polo player and Jaeger-LeCoultre brand ambassador, Adolfo Cambiaso. The opposite team was lead by Argentinean professional Lolo Castagnola. The match was a hard fought and fast moving battle which ended in a 2-2 tie.

The event also featured an auction for two charities: ‘Ideas del Sur’ - an Argentinean organisation devoted to underprivileged children - and the British charity, ‘Maggie’s Centres’. Prizes included Jaeger-LeCoultre watches, a polo clinic and helicopter ride with Clare Milford Haven, and one of Adolfo Cambiaso’s personal horses to be chosen at his ranch in Argentina. The day raised £55,000 overall.

Good news for Cowdray Park! James Packer is going to put in two polo fields at Manor Farm in Selham which is adjacent to Ambersham. The land is owned by the Cowdray Estate and the current tenant of 50 years, Roger Comber, is retiring. The Packers are known for building the best polo pitches in the world. Jim Gilmore says that these will be the best yet and better than George Milford Haven’s new field at Trippetts! Bobby Aguirre has been seen in Midhurst, buying new equipment and looking for a groundsman for Stedham.

Cambiaso is returning to Palm Beach after a short-lived hiatus. He will be playing 26 goal at IPC with George Rawlins’ Crab Orchard along with Julio Arellano and Hilario Ulloa. Bob Jornayvaz’s Valiente is playing the 26 goal with Nacho Novillo Astrada. For the first time, IPC will have 8 and 14 goal leagues during the season.

This summer Britney Spears launched her new video, Radar, which you can see on YouTube. The video was filmed at the USPA’s Pacific Coast Circuit, Governor Pat Nesbitt’s ranch in Santa Barbara. In mid-September, Gossip Girl, Season 3, featured an opening episode at the Greenwich Polo Club. The leading girl, Serena, is invited to throw the first ball in by Nacho Figueras of Black Watch. The episode was watched by over 3.5 million viewers.

Nina Vestey Clarkin was raised to four goals by the HPA in the September handicap meeting. Nina is now the highest ranked woman player in the world. America’s Sunny Hale and England’s Claire Tomlinson reached five goals at the height of their careers!

While the high-goal season is still a few months away, The Villages Polo Club of Central Florida and Wellington’s Grand Champions Polo Club will both begin their Fall seasons on the opening weekend of October. Grand Champions will continue to coordinate its efforts with Port Mayaca Polo Club, while things remain quiet at the Hobe Sound Polo Club.

La Bamba de Areco, a boutique hotel owned by Jean-Francois Decaux, will be co-sponsoring Ellerstina in the Triple Crown. Since 2005, Burco America has been the main sponsor of La Aguada. This year they will continue with Tupungato Winelands, their newest real estate development in Mendoza Province, Argentina, which will be the main sponsor, along with BMW and La Martina. Crafty (stable name) has always been one of my top three playing ponies. He raced all over the world – USA, Europe, Japan – before coming to the UK to be trained by Gary Moore who sold him at Ascot Sales in 2004. He was playing polo a mere six weeks later, and in August of that year won the Retraining of Racehorses prize at pony club.

He is one of the most relaxed horses at polo – intelligent with great stamina and a willingness to learn. Most importantly, he loves the game and in 2008 was part of the team that travelled to Germany and won the FIP European Championships. In 2009 he played the latter part of the Gold Cup in England and the Gold Cup in Spain.

Crafty also has four good stud seasons behind him. His first progeny - aged three - now stick and ball gently. They are easy, willing and very sensible; I have very high hopes for their future in polo. Crafty covers during the season while playing and winters with his sons and other geldings.

To leave racing late, aged seven, and to switch roles to become an accomplished high goal polo pony as well as have a successful stud career definitely deserves recognition.

The Pony Polo Club Championships, sponsored by City Capital Corporation, were held 7-9 August at Cowdray Park, West Sussex. The Championships hosted the annual finals for both the Pony Club and Junior HPA Polo sections as well as celebrating the event’s 50th anniversary.

The three strong days of youth polo enjoyed fantastic weather, which aided more than 200 players to battle it out for victory in their sections. On Sunday 9 August the spectacular parade of all Championship players took place at a special 50th anniversary lunch. After, everyone enjoyed the nail-biting section finals culminating with the Gannon, which saw Cowdray Park take victory.

The Championships have been played at six different locations throughout their 50-year history, beginning at Aldershot in 1959, when Brigadier Jack Gannon and Major Claude Davenport organized five Pony Club Branch teams to play at the Mons Officer Cadet School. The Championships have changed venue several times throughout the years before finally settling at Cowdray Park in 1977.

‘The whole weekend has run so well’, commented Cherry Michell, Chairman of The Pony Club. ‘The weather has helped tremendously and everyone has felt so proud to be a part of the 50th anniversary celebrations.’

Pony’s name Crafty Politician Age 12 Sex Stallion Colour Chestnut Height 15’1’’ Origin American Thoroughbred

©TONY RAMIREZ/WWW.IMAGESOFPOLO.COM, THE PONY CLUB/KIT HOUGHTON

TITANIUM CASE, SAPPHIRE CASE BACK, AUTOMATIC FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH, 880P PIAGET MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT, DUAL TIME ZONE, DOUBLE BARREL, BALANCE WITH SCREWS, 100 METERS WATER RESISTANT, RUBBER STRAP.

Following the discussion provoked by Javier Tanoira’s essay (see page 25), the AAP has changed a few rules and issued new guidelines to polo umpires. 1. When going back towards your own goal in defence you have to hit a backhander. This applies anywhere on the field. You cannot change the line of the ball and turn it in front of your opponent if he is coming up behind to try and take it off you; you now have to hit a backhander. Obviously if you are way out on your own and no one else is following the line you can still turn with the ball. If your opponent regains possession then you had better learn to hit a better backhander next time. This has speeded things up enormously. 2. No more ‘walking’ with the ball. You have to gallop with it. Nero (Ellerstina) was the first (and last) player to be blown for walking on Saturday. The others quickly got the message and of course they are skilled enough players to adapt their game at once. 3. The umpires have limited the time taken to hit a penalty. You now only have one shot. If your pony suddenly changes legs or stumbles, it’s tough luck. You have to hit the penalty first time whatever. The results are now being seen in a very positive way at the Tortugas Open. Players and public are unanimous that the first three games were more beautiful than just about anything that was seen last year. Obviously there will be more pressure on the players for Hurlingham and Palermo, and we don’t know how they will cope, but so far the outcome has been extremely promising. There were only 15 fouls in the Ellerstina (10) / La Aguada (5) game on 26 September, which is less than two fouls per chukka. There are now more field goals and fewer penalty goals, which is a very encouraging sign. Well done the AAP. SANDY HARPER

The Evolution of Polo, a new book on the game has been published by McFarland and Co. The book presents a wealth of information crammed within its 354 pages. It is a historical work, as well as offering diverse opinions on the current state of the game. Tracing the development of the game from its origins as a pastime by tribesmen in Central Asia to the current era of professional players sponsored by wealthy patrons, this work is a sociological narrative of how polo grew around the world, invariably attached to English pioneers.

It is a carefully researched work, with copious notes attached to each of the 29 chapters. There are more than 100 illustrations and drawings, seventeen in colour.

The author is Horace A. Laffaye, a polo player who is on the Board of Directors of the Museum of Polo in Florida. Cirencester Park’s member, Nigel a Brassard, contributes a thoughtful Foreword.

‘Although always a great horse-lover, I was forced to give up my equestrian interests due to an allergy to horse hair which made it nearimpossible to ride. Fortunately my degree in medicine came in handy as it allowed me to carry out research into a vaccine that I was then able to test and successfully use on myself. Shortly after taking up riding again, one of my dear friends, François de la Brosse, introduced me to the world of polo. I became so keen on it that I founded my own club in Saint-Tropez in 1998 – a dream come true for me. Although it was started purely for fun, the club gradually turned into a business.

‘I am proud to say that the Saint-Tropez Polo Club is one of the most active in Europe. During the summer season (from March to October) there are about 15 international tournaments in which teams and sponsors from four continents take part. Each tournament has its own theme and there are gala dinners, dances and fashion shows. Polo matches are open to all with no entrance fee.

‘I am also negotiating with the owners of the neighbouring land so that I can enlarge my property and offer even more facilities. I want to make another two polo fields so that we can compete with other European clubs. Essentially the aim of all this is to draw attention to the world of polo. At the moment it is seen as belonging only to an elite few, but it can be open to everyone, including children.

Today I divide my time between Geneva and Milan and am busy bringing up my children - I like to call myself a ‘Mother Hen’ - and organising the Polo Club. From March to June, I train with my team at the club every weekend. As soon as my children break up for the holidays, I move to Saint-Tropez for three months and, as well as training, I take part in all the tournaments.’

The EFG Bank Scandinavian Polo Open took place at Almare Stäket near Stockholm on the 22-23 August. This year the event celebrated its 10th anniversary as well as hosting the inaugural meeting of the Swedish Polo Association.

Over the two days, four teams took part: EFG Bank - Almare Stäket; Stockholm Polo Club; Team Quilvest from Germany and Poland; and Villa Natura from Poland. The polo field had been well prepared and coped admirably with heavy rain prior to the event. In the semi finals, Team Quilvest defeated the Stockholm Polo Club and EFG Bank - Almare Stäket prevailed against Villa Natura. The final turned out to be a strangely lop-sided game, but was entertaining nonetheless. EFG Bank - Almare Stäket led 2-0 at the end of the first chukka. However they failed to score in the next two, while conceding eight goals to Team Quilvest. While the fourth and final chukka was close, Team Quilvest held on to prevail 9-4. Villa Natura finished third. An award for the most improved player went to Anna Olsson of Villa Natura. A great weekend of polo was enjoyed by all. NICOLA GAPP

With teams composed of professional players and England internationals, the 3,000 strong crowd who attended the Veuve Clicquot Polo on the Beach event at Cornwall’s Watergate Bay on 14 September were treated to a highly entertaining match.

The Midas team of Barbara Zingg, Ed Olof and Tim Vaux started the match with a 1½ goal advantage, however all the early pressure in the first chukka came from South West Polo, composed of Andy Burgess and brothers Richard and Andrew Blake Thomas, who dominated the opening period to end 2 –1½ . Pressure continued in the second chukka and South West Polo went into half time leading 5–2½.

Andy Burgess’s team dominated the second half of this very entertaining match and by the end of the third chukka there was little chance of recovery for Midas. The fourth and final chukka produced wonderful play from both sides, but time was not on the Midas side and the result was sealed at 10–4½ in favour of South West Polo.

South West Polo team captain and event organiser Andy Burgess, who was clearly delighted with the response from the spectators, said: ‘It is great to get so many people here to see for themselves how exciting polo is. This event gets better every year and huge thanks go to everyone at Watergate Bay for making it happen.’

Nationality South African Age 20 Handicap 6 in England, South Africa and Argentina

Ignus ‘Nachi’ du Plessis was born in Swartberg in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He still considers Swartberg his ‘home club’ although is now spending much more time abroad as a rising international professional. While playing for the Sumaya Polo Team in England this season, Nachi competed in the semi-finals of the British Open and was named Most Valuable Player of the final of the Queen’s Cup. After the English season he played for Broncos in the Gold Cup at Sotogrande. Last year Nachi won the Warwickshire Cup with Les Lions II and in Argentina played for Los Indios in the 34-goal Jockey Club Open and for Miramar in the 29-goal Cámara de Diputados.

Do you come from a polo family? My father only played a bit, I think as a 0-goaler. I’ve ridden as long as I can remember and took up polo when I was 9 or 10. It was Shelby Williamson who first got me started, then later I learned a lot from Eduardo Heguy. My brother Jean also plays; he is handicap 4.

Have you played for South Africa? Yes, I’ve been on the national team and it would be an honour to be selected again. However, with my other commitments it’s also a question of when I’m available.

How are you fixed for ponies? I’ve got 19 young ones at home, all South African including thoroughbreds; racing is big there. I keep nine in England and consider myself pretty well mounted.

What next? The HPA has put my handicap up to 7 for 2010 and I’m also going up to 7 in South Africa in December. I don’t know how it will go in Argentina at the end of the year. I will be back in England next summer but over the next few months I’ll be playing in Argentina again.