London Alumni travels to Mongolia
This summer the London Alumni Polo Team travelled to the land of the legendary warrior, Genghis Khan. Polo was allegedly invented in Mongolia in order to train the Mongol cavalry in warfare. It is said that Genghis Khan used the heads of his enemies as balls. Now, 600 years later, polo is being brought back to the country where it originally came from.
Moscow
The team started its journey with a weekend stopover in Moscow, where they were invited by Michael Rodzyanko from the Moscow Polo Club to play. The London Alumni players Lev Frenkel, Thijs Povel and Flora Babot enjoyed a final practice on laser level polo fields and full sized thoroughbred polo ponies.
Mongolia
The experiences in Russia enhanced the culture shock upon arrival in Mongolia, the last remnant of the great nomadic civilisations from the past. The land has remained untouched with the indigenous wildlife still roaming the beautiful landscapes of diverse terrain; forested mountains, hilly steppes and the Gobi desert.
Due to different transportation methods to make the five hour journey from Ulaanbaatar to the remote location of the Genghis Khan Polo club the players arrived at different times. James Visick and the Shelton brothers, George and Freddie, made the adventurous decision to attempt the journey on Chinese motorbikes in a country without roads, telephone signal or navigation. Everyone was extremely worried when the three had not arrived by the evening. It transpired that their bikes had broken down in the middle of nowhere and that they were luckily helped out by kind a nomadic family who helped them to fix their bikes and received them for that night.
The Camp
After the long journey, the team was kindly greeted by the Genghis Khan Polo Club. The camp is located in the Orkhon Valley, part of the UNESCO World Heritage and the gers are set on a hill, overlooking the Orkhon river and surrounded by the astounding view of the steppe.
Even though it is located in one of the most remote place in the world, the camp is incredibly comfortable and luxurious. Everything is of the highest quality: the cups used to refresh thirsty polo players in between chukkas are made of pure silver and the blankets are made from the finest cashmere by the company of the owner, Christopher Giercke. Christopher is known for producing the highest quality cashmere thanks to his careful selection of only the best raw materials and the use of natural and traditional processes, which have not yet been matched by any machines.
In the morning, the players could choose between extensive rides across the surrounding valleys, kayaking the gorgeous river or mountain biking the challenging terrains. Every afternoon would be filled with polo games.
The Mongol ponies are unbelievably strong. They may seem short and stocky but they have such extreme endurance and can easily play 4 chukkas.
Without any technological interference, it seemed like time was standing still. During dinner, Robert Adshead, one of the players who was improving considerably during his stay, recalled how he climbed the White Rock Mountain during the morning exercise the day before. He actually had to correct himself (to his amazement) that it was in fact, during that very morning.
Evenings
Every dinner was preceded by a musical performance. Odgerel Sampilnorov, the most renowned pianist in Mongolia, played pieces ranging from Debussy to Chopin as well as from Mongol compositors.
Thanks to the high profile guests visiting the camps with their family, intellectual debates naturally sprang up during dinners. While we were there, we had the chance to meet ambassadors, entrepreneurs and government officials.
The Polo
Christopher set the camp up as a charity, which aims to bring polo back to the country where it originated. He helps Mongols to pick up polo once they are too heavy for the racehorses. Through polo he is also giving them the opportunity to be exposed to an international environment. He sponsors them to travel the world to play in international tournaments and to train in New Zealand.
Inviting groups such as the London Alumni Polo Club gives his Mongol youngsters the possibility to test their polo skills against others and develop international relationships.
The end of our stay coincided with the end of the Mongol polo season. We had the chance to participate to the Genghis Khan Polo Cup where our two teams competed together with six other local teams. Christopher’s sons, D’Artagnan and Ich Tenger are both capable polo players and each captained their own team. Most local polo players could ride before they could walk and the London Alumni Polo players faced a much stronger than expected opposition. Only one of our teams made it through the first knockout round. Our other team was playing against the likely winners and lost 0-1 after a hard fought match. They did go on to win all their other games, securing fifth place. Our other team, with Freddie Shelton and Robert Adshead, continued to play well and made it all the way to the final. They lost by a small goal difference but everyone can only remember the fantastic neck shots and passes that D’Artagnan gave his team mates, playing well above his 0 goal handicap.
Even though we did not win the tournament, we all went home with new friends and a truly unique polo experience.
The London Alumni Polo Club
Students from Imperial College London and UCL founded the London Alumni Polo Club in 2012. Their goal was to bridge the gap between university and patron polo created due to the lack of polo opportunities for recent graduates. They created a platform for organizing weekly practices in the UK and regular polo tournaments and trips to extra ordinary polo destinations including Mongolia, Moscow, Uganda, Portugal, Argentina and Spain.