Ponylines

Patrick Guerrand-Hermès is something of a renaissance polo man and an unstinting ambassador for the sport. Formerly a director of Hermès, the luxury goods company, he developed the firm’s silk business. He is passionate about polo, which he started playing in 1953 as a young cavalry officer. A past president of the Federation of International Polo, Guerrand-Hermès was chiefly responsible for organising, arguably, the best World Polo Championship, in 2004 at the Domaine de Chantilly polo club, a facility he created in 1996. It now has nine fields and, during high season, hosts more than 300 players and 700 horses.

His latest project is La Palmeraie Polo club in Morocco. Located close to Tangiers, the club has three world-class fields, which overlook the Atlantic, and is surrounded by sand dunes and hills. In August, it held its inaugural tournament with six teams of five different nationalities; 40 ponies were provided by the Guerrand-Hermès breed. The players lived in tents and were served lunch every day on the uninhabited beach and dinners in other stunning locations.

The 2015 season is now over and the groundsmen are all busy putting the fields to bed for the winter. Looking back, congratulations are due to King Power Foxes for their victory in both the Queen’s and Gold Cups, with the Pieres brothers proving almost unstoppable.

Next on the agenda was the Coronation Cup, in which England faced South America. The weather was certainly on England’s side and, for the first time in many years, the game was played on a pristine ground. Incoming sponsors Royal Salute even built a magnificent garden on the side of the ground, which their guests were able to enjoy to the full. Although spectator numbers were a far cry from the heyday of 2007/08, the day was, overall, a great success, with an enthusiastic crowd witnessing England reclaim the trophy. Congratulations are due to José Klabin, president of the Brazilian Polo Association, who put in a fine performance playing at No 1 for South America.

At the end of the season, we were delighted to host a young team from Zimbabwe. Beaufort, Kirtlington Park, Longdole and Cirencester polo clubs all very kindly hosted a series of junior club-team matches, playing against Zimbabwe’s under-25s. The visitors won the first two games, then lost the final two.

September has inevitably been a month of many meetings, with discussions taking place on umpiring, the rules and, of course, handicapping. Many opinions and ideas have been circulated via social media.

Looking forward to the winter, the Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjin, China, will not be running the 24-goal FIP Super Nations Cup this year and, at the time of writing, we are still waiting to hear whether the snow polo tournament will go ahead. However, England, having been knocked out in the preliminary stages, are unlikely to be invited. An invitational team will be playing in Pakistan once again this year, and young players will attend their customary training clinic in February with Buster Mackenzie in South Africa. It looks as if it could be a reasonably quiet winter, although it is hoped that England will take part in the Nations Cup in April 2016.

I would like to wish those moving on to sunnier climes for the winter a successful ‘other’ season, and those left behind an enjoyable break – unless, of course, you are heading for the arena.

y HARRIMAN CUP The 31st Annual Harriman Cup, featuring alumni teams from Yale University and the University of Virginia, took place on 12 September 2015 at Bethpage State Park, with 1,000 revellers in attendance. Both teams played a heated game, but the final score was 13–7 to UVa. Chip Steigler’s horse, Pastura, was named BPP, and CB Scherer on the UVa team was named MVP. With this year’s win, the Virginia team has evened up the 31-year series, with the teams winning 15 games each, and tying one match, in 1992. The funds raised will benefit the undergraduate polo programmes at both universities. American businessman Neil Hirsch, who is co-founder of the Bridgehampton Polo Club and owner of the Black Watch polo team, has been honoured with this year’s Harriman Cup Award.

Founded in 1984, the Harriman Cup commemorates the life of W Averell Harriman, a 1913 Yale graduate and polo player, who was a former governor of New York and US secretary of commerce under President Truman.

y USPA SELECTS NEW CEO In July, the USPA Board of Governors unanimously endorsed its Search and Selection Committee’s choice of Duncan Huyler as the organisation’s next CEO, succeeding Peter J Rizzo. ‘Duncan has a track record of strong leadership and organisational achievement and will take our association to the next level of excellence,’ said USPA chairman Chuck Weaver. Huyler began his career as an officer in the United States army and went on to hold various senior leadership positions across many industries, including advertising, technology and finance. He has spent the past 10 years as a hedge-fund CFO in New York. An avid amateur polo player and active volunteer, Huyler previously served on several USPA committees, and has chaired the Interscholastic and Intercollegiate Committee for the past five years. ‘As the United States Polo Association celebrates its 125th anniversary, I am honoured to become part of the incredible tradition and history of this great sport,’ said Huyler (pictured below in Aiken, SC).

Lila Pearson is vice-president of Cowdray Park Polo Club and very much a fixture on the polo field. She plays 6, 8 and 12-goal, and recently won the Holden White Cup with her son George. I’ve ridden all my life and competed at one time or another in nearly all equestrian disciplines. I started riding polo ponies when I met my husband Charles, and played my first game in 1994. My first tournament was at Park House with Roderick Vere Nicoll and we won! The following year was meant to be my first proper season, playing 8-goal; however, the small matter of being pregnant with George put paid to that, so I really started playing in 1996.

It’s the horses that make polo so special to me. Finding, breeding and playing them are my passion. I like to think I’m doing my bit to keep alive the legacy my late father-in-law left behind, and also take pleasure in the fact that George is so keen.

Defining the perfect game is difficult. If I were watching, it would obviously have to be a really top-notch high-goal match, but if I were playing, it’d be any game in which I feel I’ve done my bit. That said, I do love playing flat-out chukkas with seven other competent, fun players on a good field.

I feel that some may have lost sight of what polo is all about. There are too many people trying to make a living from polo and not enough people to fund them. It creates all kinds of problems within the sport and muddies the waters in so many areas.

One of my most unforgettable experiences was becoming the first female player to reach the semis of the Gold Cup. Other memorable occasions include scoring the winning goal in extra time when substituting for Rick Stowe for Geebung; playing in the final of the Royal Windsor; and our triumph in the Ashton Cup. More recently, I was immensely proud to win the Holden White with George. { MAJOR GEORGE DAVID ROLLINSON, 1924 –2015 Major Rollinson (pictured third from left at Cowdray Park) passed away peacefully on 23 May, aged 90. David was born on 25 August 1924 in Colne, Lancashire. He studied architecture at Manchester University, but his tenure was cut short in 1941, when he was called up for duty in World War II.

He was initially based at the army training camp in High Lee, where he met his future polo mentor, the late Micky Moseley. David served with the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders until 1947, rapidly climbing the ranks to Captain, and during this time he engaged in battles including the liberation of the infamous Bergen-Belsen. Following a distinguished career in the army, David returned to civilian life and married his first wife, Joan. They moved to Dunsop Bridge in Lancashire to be near the family business, where David resumed work, and had two daughters, Gail and Amanda. By 1952, and based in Manchester, David rekindled his acquaintance with Moseley at Cheshire Polo Club, and it was not long before David was a playing member with a 3-goal handicap. One of the club’s biggest achievements came in 1968, when David joined Sebastian de Ferranti’s Kerfield House team to beat the Windsor Park team of Lord Patrick Beresford, the Marquis of Waterford, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh and Paul Withers to win the Cowdray Park Challenge Cup. It was while he was playing in Cirencester Park that David met his second wife, Sheryl; and their son, James, has continued the polo tradition. David played competitively at the Cheshire Polo Club well into his seventies, and, with Sheryl, managed the club. It was not unusual to see David umpiring 12 chukkas on the trot in his early eighties. David was a legendary character and will be missed by everyone who knew him. Howard Taylor

y BOOK LAUNCH A year in the making, Sotogrande Polo Ponies by Camilla Sykes takes the reader on a photographic journey of a year in the life of the polo ponies that visit or live in Sotogrande. Starting with some images of tender moments between mare and foal, the book covers visits from the dentist and blacksmith right through to the adrenaline-fuelled high-goal games with the likes of Cambiaso, Pelón and Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres.

Sykes left her job as a financial analyst in the Chilean branch of ING Barings to pursue a career in fine art and photography. She returned to university in London and obtained a degree in fine art from the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL.

She discovered polo while living in Sotogrande with her two daughters and was inspired by the beauty of the game. Having found her ‘muse’ in the polo world, she often travels with her cameras to the big polo tournaments, aiming to capture all the excitement and energy in her photographs. Her interesting journey to the edge of the polo field is as colourful as her images, which stand out as unique works of art. With every photo individually edited and crafted, this book would make an original gift for any polo lover. The book is available in paperback (£14.99) or large hardback (£95) from camillasykes.com

CHUKK AS

Back in 1922, the National Federation of Polo merged with the River Plate Association, forming the Argentine Polo Association (AAP), which had 254 registered players at the time. On 14 September this year, the AAP celebrated its 93rd anniversary. In the June issue of Hurlingham, we featured the United States Polo Association (USPA), which was founded 125 years ago, in 1890. However, The Hurlingham Polo Association was founded in 1875, making it 140 years old, and the oldest of the big three polo associations!

In August, Crown Resorts purchased half of the Packer family home, Ellerston in Australia, for AUS$60 million (£28m). James Packer, the largest shareholder, stood down as chairman of Crown Resorts, saying he wanted to ‘spend more time in the US [where his children live] and focus on the casino group’s global expansion’. Kerry Packer bought Ellerston 43 years ago in 1972. Included in the sale are 1,400 hectares, an 18-hole golf course (designed by British Open champion Greg Norman), a shooting range, go-cart track, swimming pools, cinema, horse-riding facilities and luxury accommodation. The 50 per cent sale of the Ellerston property does not include the agricultural business or the polo pitches, which are close to where Kerry Packer was buried in 2005.

In late September, Robert de Balkany passed away, aged 84. He began playing polo in 1958 with his St Mesme team in France, where he played for most of his career, apart from a short spell at Palm Beach in the 1980s. Fellow Frenchman Lionel Macaire was his principal professional teammate, and they played in the fnal of the Coupe d’Or in Deauville four times, winning three of them. Today, the St Mesme team, which plays in France and Sotogrande, consists of Robert’s son-in-law Birger Strom, his grandson Robert and his granddaughter’s husband, Clemente Zavaleta.

The Dominican Republic will host a series of 22-goal tournaments from January to March 2016. Play will take place at Los Establos, Casa de Campo and La Lechuza, with six to eight teams and four tournaments: Bronze Cup, Silver Cup, Gold Cup, and the Caribbean Open. Polo has been played at Casa de Campo for more than 50 years, and it is home to three polo felds, fve golf courses and a marina. Los Establos, which is in the resort of Cap Cana, will have three Battros felds and 300 high-end stables. Victor Vargas, who is moving his organisation from Palm Beach, will be playing with 10-goalers Juan Martin Nero and Pelon Stirling. Former Argentine Open winners Milo Fernández Araujo and Benjamin Araya will be involved in running the four tournaments. y F R E N C H O P E N The French Open finals on 21 September were full of promise following the high standard of play during the men and women’s semi–finals, and, indeed, all the previous rounds. The pressure of a final can lead to a tightly played and tedious game; however, this wasn’t the case for this year’s tournament. The blazing sunshine drew vast crowds, flooding both sides of the main field at Chantilly Polo Club. The women’s final saw defending champions Tom Tailor go face to face with team Lowell. The score of the previous round that had pitted these two teams against each other (7–3 to Lowell) suggested the final would simply be a formality for the team gathered around the best female player in the world, Caroline Anier. But Tom Tailor, under the leadership of Britain’s Lucy Taylor, valiantly led the score until the last chukka, 7–6. In the final moments, however, Lowell fought back, with a fantastic goal from Emma Boers securing the team’s victory, 8–7.

The men’s final, between Maquard Media and Tom Tailor, was equally thrilling, with a score gap that was never greater than one goal: 5–5 at half time and 9–9 at the end of the regulation time. So, the winners of the 15th French Open were to be determined by a play-off, and it was Argentine Martin Aguerre Jr who gave the final blow to Tom Tailor with a huge golazo from about 50 metres. The spectacular shot gave Maquard Media its first French Open win.

x P O L O C O M M U N I T Y C E L E B R AT E S L I F E O F W I L L TA N K A R D In late July 2015, the polo community mourned the tragic loss of Will Tankard, 31, of Aiken, South Carolina. Will died along with his loyal companion Chewy and three of his horses in a road-traffic accident in Ohio while travelling from Lexington, Kentucky, to Darlington, Pennsylvania. In a statement released a few days after the accident, the USPA commented: ‘Will was not only a face of polo in this country, but he was also its heart and soul. He was a true horseman and gentleman who set a wonderful example to our youth and was an inspiration to adults as well. Beyond his accomplishments on the field, Will was a genuine, passionate and caring human being who found his way into the heart of our polo family. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.’

Among Will’s numerous achievements and successes, he was a founding member of Team USPA, 2002 and 2003 National Interscholastic Champion, National Intercollegiate Champion in 2006, winner of the 2014 Bryan Morrison trophy and a key member of the 2015 team that competed in the finals of the FIP World Championship. A celebration of his life took place in September in Aiken, South Carolina.

NAME: HUGO LEWIS NATIONALITY: BRITISH POLO HANDICAP: 2-GOAL

How did you start playing polo? My family have always been involved with the game. My dad played in the army and all my cousins play now. I started playing at my local pony club when I was eight.

Who do you respect most in polo? My brother [Rupert Lewis], because he shows a lot of passion for the sport. I also have huge respect for Eduardo Heguy, who has coached me in the past. He has won nearly everything there is to win and has taught me how to be tough on the field.

How many tournaments have you played in this year? So far this year I have played the Queen’s Cup and the Gold Cup in England – and won both with King Power Foxes. I believe our success was down to the attitude of the whole organisation. Training both on and off the field is taken seriously and the quantity and quality of horses is on another level.

What are you doing this winter? I am hoping to go back to Argentina to train with Eduardo Heguy – probably with other English players such as Matt Perry – and to watch the Triple Crown. I also hope to play at King Power’s club near Bangkok.

What was your most memorable game? I will never forget the Gold Cup final against UAE with the two Pieres brothers. It was undoubtedly the highlight of my career thus far – I had always wanted to play in the final but never thought it would happen. Having ticked the box of playing, I then managed to fulfil another dream of actually scoring in the final.

PONY’S NAME: DOLFINA DIVINA SEX: MARE ORIGIN: ARGENTINA

Wandering along the pony lines of the JaegerLeCoultre Gold Cup final on Sunday 19 July, it was evident it was going to be a difficult task to select the Best Playing Pony of this year’s tournament. In the end, from among the 83 stunning ponies in the lines and on the pitch, it was Pablo MacDonough’s Dolfina Divina who took the title. I spoke to MacDonough after the match to find out what it is that makes Dolfina Divina stand out as such a special pony.

The eight-year-old bay mare was bred by Adolfo Cambiaso and is the daughter of Open Chimento and Fashion. In the Gold Cup, she was played by MacDonough in the first and fifth chukkas of all the major games: the quarters, semis and final. She has great acceleration, is very handy, stands her ground against being bumped and has a good heart, so ticks all the boxes for the perfect polo pony. She is clearly a favourite for MacDonough, who says: ‘She’s very quick in the short plays and always willing to run with control. You can check her in a few metres and she can change rhythm and doesn’t get tired; you can play her for five or six minutes in a row.’ All characteristics that are fitting of the BPP of the 2015 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup. Victoria Elsbury- Legg

{ R M PA O PEN FINAL On Saturday 22 August, Thai Polo came from behind to defeat La Familia 6–5½ in the RMPA Open final, played at the Royal Selangor Polo Club, Malaysia. The game had the 300 spectators on the edge of their seats throughout. Gines Bargallo and Horacio Etcheverry got La Familia off to a bright start, creating the better plays in the opening chukkas. Tun Yasir Moiz came back into the La Familia side, replacing Cipita, but it was Dato’ Zekri Ibrahim who was the dangerman up front, scoring two good goals in the match. La Familia led 4½–2 at half time, but Thai Polo refused to give in and fought back strongly in the third chukka. The team took a ½-goal lead with a chukka to play and stretched it with another in the final chukka. La Familia came back with a goal of their own by Dato’ Zekri with 30 seconds to play, but time ran out for the local club. Thai Polo patron Dato’ Harald Link had another solid game, man-marking his opposite number well. While Carlos Pando had another typically super game, it was Agustin Canale who was awarded MVP. It was a courageous performance as Canale had been sick all week with a virus and had missed both mid-week games. Paton, a 12-year-old Argentine gelding owned by Thai Polo, won the BPP prize. In the earlier round-robin for third place, La Sarita beat Royal Pahang and Head Hunters. With the win, Thai Polo moved further ahead in the RMPA International League standings, bringing their three-tournament total to 42 points. It is an unassailable lead in the league. Peter Abisheganaden