A round up of this week’s polo news
By Victoria Elsbury-Legg
The week that truly launches the English high goal season got underway, starting with a Monday night hosted by Brian Stein at PJ’s Bar and Grill in Chelsea. Tuesday brought with it the President’s Draw at Guards where first the teams entered into the Archie David and the Bentley Royal Windsor and Mountbatten Cup were presented to the invited guests sipping on Cartier Champagne. Then the top four seeded teams of the twelve entered into this year’s Cartier Queen’s Cup were unveiled as Zacara, King Power Foxes (blue), Dubai and Talandracas. In quick succession polo balls sporting the Guards logo and the other team names were drawn to fill the spots in the four sub groups, with a decision finally being concluded that sub group A (Zacara, King Power (white) and Salked) would play sub group D (Talandracas, El Remanso and RH Polo), whilst sub group B (King Power Foxes, UAE Polo Team and Somerton) would meet sub group C (Dubai, VPS Healthcare Sifani and HB) in the first league matches.
With Wednesday the Cartier Queen’s Cup Draw arrived into many an inbox via email and is now available to view at: http://www.guardspoloclub.com/tournaments/the-cartier-queens-cup-2015 . Not to be out done by all the high goal, on Thursday the Royal Windsor Horse Show decided to get in on the polo action with its annual morning polo pony classes. Fresh from drawing up the schedule for the high goal action (starting on Tuesday 19th May with VPS Healthcare Sifani v King Power Foxes scheduled to play at 12noon, followed at 3pm by Zacara v RH Polo) the new Guards Polo Club Manager Antony Fanshawe joined Lord Patrick Beresford to judge the Polo Pony Classes held under the watchful eye of the ancient stone walls of Windsor Castle. Both seemed to agree (after Antony also rode her) that one pony stood out amongst the rest – winning Best Turned Out (sponsored by Millwheel), Champion Pony and best Mare (sponsored by Guards) was 11 year old homebred mare Tinx. By Balharbour TB stallion she is the 3rd generation of the breeding programme by Jane Ingleby and Miguel Ayala which they run together in the Berkshire area where they produce and train young polo ponies.
Spreading around the polo social media networks on Friday was the news that Guards Polo Club and Tally Ho Farm had joined forces to launch a Grooms Award Series to ensure that the skill and dedication of all grooms was recognised. Follow the @ponywelfare Twitter and Facebook posts for all the up to the minute news as each month from May to September the ‘most outstanding groom of the month’ judged by the panel (Antony Fanshawe, Club Vet Holly Baird and Tally Ho Farm founder Jeff Thomas) to be the most well-ordered, tidy in the pony lines, with an exceptional string and outstanding pony welfare management will received £150 and a review in the 2016 Guards Yearbook.
And Saturday, well that rounds off the week with the St Regis International Test Match being played out on the lawns of Cowdray with England (James Beim, Max Charlton, James Harper and Tom Morley substituting for an injured Richard Le Poer) meeting The Americas (Jamie Huidobro, Nacho Figueras, Matias Torres Zavaleta and Manuel Elizalde) to defend their title.
Then so begins another week and with it the grounds of Guards Polo Club will once again be filled with the anticipation, excitement and teamwork of grooms, spectators from around the globe and the unbelievable horsemanship of the best players in the world, as the air echoes with the sound of high speed hooves belonging to numerous stunning high goal steeds.