Ponylines

[news]A Swiss patron’s son takes the reins [views]Accidents prompt a safety debate [gossip]England’s polo ‘Oscars’ debut at the Dorchester

Guy Schwarzenbach’s outstanding performance during his first season of highgoal polo impressed everyone in England, not least Hurlingham, which has named him Amateur Player for this issue. But the 24-year-old Swiss businessman’s spectacular introduction to the top end of the sport came about entirely by accident.

Guy, son of Urs Schwarzenbach, patron of the powerhouse Black Bears team in England, learned to play at the Packers’ Ellerston club in Australia. He normally plays low-goal polo in Zurich, and enjoyed some medium-goal experience in Sotogrande, but had yet to join his father in high goal.

This season, after Urs was injured in the Queen’s Cup, Guy flew over from Switzerland to take his place with the Black Bears, playing in Queen’s, the Warwickshire Cup and the British Open for the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup. His debut at the 22-goal level is described in the high-goal roundup in The Action section of this issue (p40) . HERBERT SPENCER

Nationality English Age 18 Handicap 3 George Meyrick played his first season of high-goal polo this year for Ali Albwardy’s Dubai team, winning the Queen’s Cup. He was chosen by the HPA as its Best Young Player for 2006.

Any family background in polo? My grandfather played and was manager of Kirtlington Park Polo Club in Oxfordshire. My father played a bit and my brothers Thomas and James also play. What got you started? I have ridden all my life and started playing polo in the Pony Club for the Hursley. What support did you have? I was lucky to benefit from The HPA programme of Fast Track Scholarships, which enabled me to travel to Sotogrande, Dubai and Argentina. They really helped my polo. You played high goal at Sotogrande this year. How did you do? I played for Camilo Bautista’s Las Monjitas. We won the Silver Cup, beating Loro Piana in the final. Then we lost in the Gold Cup quarter-finals to Taladracas. The best match you’ve ever played in? It has to be the Queen’s Cup Final when we defeated Broncos. It was a really close game and a fantastic opportunity for me. And the best you’ve ever watched? Last year’s Argentine Open final between La Dolfina and Ellerstina, which went to nine chukkas before Adolfo Cambiaso scored the golden goal. Who are you playing for in the high goal next season? Dubai again, but the line-up will change. Lucas Monteverde, who plays with Adolfo Cambiaso for La Dolfina, will be joining the Dubai team. What do you do away from polo? I enjoy running. I have already done a couple of half-marathons and would like to do the London Marathon next year. I am also starting to play golf. HS

If you can’t wait for the 25th World Elephant Polo Championships in Nepal this year, get a preview of this eccentric sport by stopping off in Rajasthan the week before. The championships take place from 26 November to 2 December in Nepal’s Royal Chitwan National Park, where the Chivas Regal team of the 13th Duke of Argyll will defend its 2005 title. Before the championships, Cartier is staging an elephant polo exhibition in India’s Pink City of Jaipur, on 18 November. Watch for an interesting mix of international celebrities trying their luck at this more ponderous version of the equine sport. HS

Polo’s wedding of the year united two of the sport’s prominent families in September. Nina Vestey, 24, one of England’s leading lady players, married New Zealand’s 8-goaler John Paul Clarkin, 28, who captained the Kiwis in this year’s Coronation Cup match. The couple tied the knot at Withington Parish Church near Foxcote, Gloucestershire, the estate of Nina’s parents, Mark and Rosie Vestey; Mark is a former chairman of the Hurlingham Polo Association and now a vicechairman. South African player Steve Evans was Clarkin’s best man. After the wedding and a reception at Foxcote, the couple left in Rosie Vestey’s vintage Mini to spend a few days at the Vesteys’ Scottish estate on the Isle of Jura. Then they flew to New Zealand for a wedding blessing and festivities with the Clarkin family and friends. HS

Safety is under ongoing review in a sport that will always carry some risk, but minds will be even more focused on player protection after accidents that left one polo competitor dead and another in a coma this summer.

This season, unusually, three serious incidents occurred within weeks of one another. In June, Urs Schwarzenbach, patron of Black Bears, fell during a Queen’s Cup league match, his pony rolled on him and he is still recovering.

On July 16, during a friendly match at his club, the Royal County of Berkshire, HPA steward Bryan Morrison’s pony tripped and he came off, breaking ribs and suffering a head injury. At press time the 64-year-old was still in a coma in hospital, with no certain prognosis for his recovery.

On August 3, Catherine Yates, 20, fell during a Pony Club Polo match at Cirencester Park Polo Club and died of her injuries six days later. This was English polo’s second death since the war: New Zealand’s Paul Clarkin was killed at Cirencester Park in 2004.

Catherine Yates had just graduated from Cambridge and had been playing polo in the Pony Clubs for several years, representing Cambridge. Hers was the first fatality in 48 years of Pony Club Polo.

Bryan Morrison is one of English polo’s most colourful characters, well-known in the music world as a promoter and publisher. After his accident, messages of concern and sympathy poured in from fellow players in Europe and the USA, as well as from the Prince of Wales and the Crown Prince of Pahang in Malaysia. HS

England’s first polo ‘Oscars’ drew almost 400 guests to a glamorous black-tie dinner in the ballroom of London’s Dorchester Hotel. The inaugural Audi Polo Awards were organised by former England captain Andrew Hine and his brother Nicholas. Polo commentator Hamish McLachlan flew in from Australia to MC the ceremonies. Topping the awards were posthumous Lifetime Achievement recognitions for Lord Cowdray, who led the revival of polo in Britain after the war, and Australia’s Kerry Packer, whose massive investment stimulated improvements in grounds and ponies. The function also raised more than £100,000 for popular pony trainer and umpire Andrew Seavill, wheelchair-bound after a road accident. Later in the season a rare 40-40 exhibition match (featured in the enclosed DVD), post-game dinner and auction at the former Packer grounds in West Sussex netted another £250,000 to benefit Seavill. HS

Anyone attending the Argentine Open might want to take note of a new hotel offering five-star luxury in the heart of the capital. The Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt Buenos Aires is open for business in the fashionable Recoleta shopping and residential district. It combines a restored palace with the new Posadas building, and no expense has been spared. The original palace was built in 1934 by French architect León Dourge and stands in 4,400 square metres of lush gardens. When things are quiet on the polo field, guests can wander around exclusive designer boutiques such as Fendi, Emporio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Escada, all on the doorstep. Rooms are huge, there are restaurants and bars galore, plus a stunning spa, fitness studio and pool. Visit www.buenosaires.park.hyatt.com MARK PALMER

This was a record year for polo on television, with coverage of major events beamed to massive potential audiences. In England, Blue Tuna covered several events, which SkySports beamed to 10m UK households, and Eurosport aired to 2.5m subscribers on the Continent. In the Americas, programmes were aired by ESPN, while print media saw the publication by The Times of a special supplement, The Sport of Polo, on which Hurlingham Media was consultant. To view the supplement, go to www.mediaplanet.se/uk/pdf/polo.pdf

In 2004, Hurlingham contributor Alastair Vere Nicoll took part in the Invesco Perpetual Trans-Antarctica Challenge. The trip was sponsored by Champagne G.H. Mumm, who have asked designer Bill Amberg to create an expedition kit that can keep your bubbly cool for up to 12 hours. The leather rucksack features a cooling system, a bottle of G.H. Mumm Grand Cru, two unbreakable flutes, Leatherman, compass, serving mat and expedition journal. Available exclusively from Selfridges, priced £275.

Canadian sports star Larry Robinson, 55, won the Stanley Cup six times as a professional ice hockey player during a high-profile career with the Montreal Canadiens, and three times as a coach. He was inducted into the hockey Hall of Fame and currenly plays polo at the Sarasota Polo Club, Florida.

‘My dad always had some kind of a horse on our farm. We would jump on bareback and there was no stopping or turning – you just hung on if there was a corner. So I never really learned to ride properly. Now I play polo, I’m fascinated by the horse. My goal is to become a better rider, so my game will be better.

‘Polo was the first sport I found that was a lot like hockey. I came across it by accident and took it up while still playing in the National Hockey League. My wife said at the time: “Why couldn’t you play tennis, or boules, or golf or something? I’ve got to watch you for 20 years playing hockey and now you have to take up another dangerous sport.”

‘Polo is hockey on horseback in everything except the horse. When you watch the 40-goal you can really see the similarities: the passes they make, the places that they go, the way they take the man out and cover the man. It’s very similar. That’s probably what made it most frustrating for me, because when I started playing polo I could see the plays but I couldn’t get there on my

own feet.’ SARAH EAKIN

DVD ACTION

Organisers appear well on the way to making next year’s World Cup of the Federation of International Polo (FIP) one of the most impressive ever, with opening ceremonies and first matches in the heart of Mexico City. The final stage of the 14-goal world championships, the 8th held by FIP, will start on November 1, 2007, with 2004 champions Brazil defending the title. The grand opening will be in the polo stadium of the Campo Deportivo Militar Marte, adjacent to the city’s famous Chapultepec Park. The action will then move to the three grounds of Club de Polo Tecamac, an hour’s drive from the capital. According to Patricio Mujico, of Mexican organisers Pro Polo, almost half the 240 pool ponies required for competition have already been collected. During the run-up to the World Cup, zone playoffs will take place from February to May in Uruguay, New Zealand, Spain and Mexico. HS

Polo in Virginia, USA will receive a huge boost from a $4 million campaign sponsored by Virginia Polo Inc, which supports University of Virginia collegiate, high-school and adult polo in Charlottesville. Chairman Rob Rinehart made the announcement at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida, at an event hosted by Steve Orthwein, parent of two University of Virginia polo players. Mr Rinehart emphasised that Virginia Polo is not funded by the University of Virginia and must rely on its alumni and friends to support its many programmes. He said the aim of the campaign was to raise $3.5 million in endowment funds, the income from which would be used to support programmes, and $500,000 to build and maintain a student caretaker cottage at the 75-acre Virginia Polo Center. Go to vpolo@aol.com for information about the endowment

‘I’ve been using binoculars for about 15 years,’ says David Morley, the renowned polo pony expert. ‘They make all the difference. Most of the time, the polo you watch is played quite far away. I want to know how a pony is moving and how a player is swinging – and for that you need binoculars.’ This pair, the Ultravid 8 x 20BL by Leica, the famous camera maker, is the finest of the compacts in their new range. Ultra-light and boasting uncanny ergonomics, they fit well in your hands or trouser pocket and provide outstanding imaging performance. MP

With the aid of Argentine 4-goaler Francisco Pizarro, Gethin Maddocks has already brought almost three dozen ponies to England by boat – from Buenos Aires via the Azores – at almost half the cost per pony as air transport. ‘It struck me how expensive air transport is in relation to the price of a polo pony in Argentina,’ says Maddocks, 37, who is the animal welfare officer at Woolmers Park Polo Club. ‘Flying them in also reduces the number of ponies being imported, so dealers look for higher margins to cover their expenses. A more costeffective method of transport is the obvious alternative.’

Maddocks travels regularly to Argentina to vet low-goal ponies, and knows the lie of the land. ‘I researched different methods of shipping horses, including accounts from the Boer War, when 250,000 were moved from Argentina to South Africa,’ he says. Clearly Maddocks’ idea was not revolutionary: before the advent of air freight, polo ponies were always shipped by sea.

‘The main problem was to get a group of people willing to invest in the project,’ says the vet. ‘Most of the players I spoke to did not want to be involved with the maiden voyage, and we also had to find a shipping company with vessels and routes suitable for the task.’ Finally, with a financial package in place, the first Atlantic crossing got under way.

‘We used a system of loose boxes on deck – made by converting shipping containers,’ Maddocks explains, ‘so the ponies had plenty of room to move around and lie down.’ During the 12 days at sea not one pony had a major problem, he says, and even before they were landed in Britain, those ponies not already spoken for had been sold.

Maddocks says his aim is ‘to develop a system to move the ponies with as little stress as possible’. It costs about one-third less to transport horses by sea than by air, and Maddocks believes this method is better both for the welfare of the ponies and the pockets of their owners. No wonder he’s hoping to take to the seas again soon. Email contact@seahorseltd.co.uk for further information. MATT WARMAN

It’s taken more than 70 years, but it looks as though the late Lord Mountbatten’s dream of having just one set of rules for polo worldwide is about to become a reality. It was Mountbatten who, in the 1930s, first tried to get all national polo associations to integrate their regulations. After many false starts, the three biggest associations – in the United Kingdom, United States and Argentina – and the Federation of International Polo (FIP) , appear to be on the verge of a breakthrough.

David Woodd, chief executive of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) , has been busy drafting new international rules after agreements in principle were reached in meetings in Buenos Aires. As Hurlingham went to press, officials were meeting in Aiken, South Carolina to approve the draft in advance of formal ratification. ‘If all goes well, we should be playing under the new rules in 2007,’ Woodd said. HS

Pony’s name Toro Age 7 Sex Gelding

Colour White Height 15.1hh Origin Argentina

Tariq Albwardy, 18 (handicap 1), is the son of Ali Albwardy, owner of the championship Dubai team for which Tariq plays, alternating with his father. Last year Tariq became the youngest player ever to win the British Open Championship, just short of his 17th birthday. This year he won the high-goal Queen’s Cup and Prince of Wales Trophy.

‘Toro must be the cheapest pony in the Dubai string, which many people say is the best in English high-goal polo. For me, and the way I play, Toro is the best of the lot. My father bought him in Argentina, really cheap, and brought him over to our club in Dubai, where he played low-goal on him. None of us ever thought Toro would make a great pony. Then three years ago my father gave him to me, and I brought him to England to play in my first high-goal, the 2004 Gold Cup.

‘I played Toro in the Gold Cup last year, and this year every match in the Queen’s Cup and Prince of Wales Trophy, usually in the third and the fifth or sixth chukka. I know just how quickly Toro can stop and turn, how fast he is, how solid he is in a ride-off and what a steady platform he is for hitting the ball. Of course, I’ll never forget Mahbooba, the half-Arabian, halfthoroughbred mare on which my father taught me to play when I was 14, but now Toro is the real love of my life.’ HS