Originally from Russia, Andrey Borodin
has rapidly risen up the ranks since he
started playing polo five years ago. He has
played 18- and 15-goals with Park Place this
year, and the team is planning to enter
22-goal tournaments next year.
I started playing polo in 2012, as a pastime
to share with my wife Tatiana and our
daughter Varvara, who were taking beginner
lessons at Coworth Park. They kept talking
about polo and how exciting it was, so
I decided to give it a go. Back then I did
water ski slaloms, and skied at a very good
level for an amateur. Initially, polo didn’t
look challenging enough to me, but the first
time my pony went into canter during
a stick-and-ball session, I felt so much
adrenaline and thought, ‘This is quite fun,
actually!’ I used to play ice hockey during
long Russian winters, and it’s similar to polo
in that it’s all about winning, team effort and
being fearless. But what makes polo unique is
the bond between a player and his horse,
and a good horse makes you feel like you’re
one being, like ancient centaurs. For me,
the perfect polo game is achieved by
a combination of team players who are all
desperate to win; excellent horse power;
all team members coming together behind
the scenes; and a strong opposition. You may
not win, but you should be happy after
a perfect game. My most memorable game
was the final of the Royal Windsor Cup
this year. My goal for this year was to be
in the Windsor semi-final, so to win, and
to receive the Cup from the Queen, was
truly unbelievable.
H O O K E D O N P O L O
A N D R E Y B O R O D I N
A L L - W E A T H E R F L O O R I N G A T I P C
The International Polo Club of Palm Beach is to launch an innovative
regulation-size polo practice field with all-weather footing during the 2018
season. The special mix of sand, felt, fibre and unique binding agent is currently
being tested at Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, and
provides a safe surface for players and horses, by reducing divots created by
horses’ movement. The new surface is not intended to replace grass polo fields,
but will allow six to eight daily practices per week, regardless of the weather.
10
P O N Y L I N E S
TONY RAMIREZ/IMAGESOFPOLO.COM
A L U M N I P O L O
The Inner Circle and Alumni Polo Club Summer Polo Festival 2017 saw 800 singles
descend on The London Polo Club (Ham). Dating app, the Inner Circle, hosted the
festival, which began with four polo matches between four Alumni teams. After exciting
qualifiers, the final’s first chukka was close, with team Nuutrition (Adil Bux, Gaston
Devrient, Sam Browne and Nik Roessner) beating the Heads team (Flora Babot, Thijs
Povel, D'Artagnan Giercke and Rich Hine). Nuutrition showed their excellence in the
second chukka and pushed on to win the Inner Circle Summer Polo Cup. Third place
went to Dog Buddy (Richard Setterwall, Carl-Henric Heimdal, Youssef Kadiri, Hector
Worsley and Alex Hancock), after beating Cuckoo Club (George Shelton, Charlie Minns
Shearer, Nathaniel McCullagh and Jasper Upton).
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