Mikey Howe on Thoroughbreds, Thailand and Technology
By Victoria Elsbury-Legg
Like many English polo players, four goaler Mikey Howe has been playing in a number of locations around the globe during the winter months, with polo taking him from the pitches of the Islamabad Polo Club, Pakistan to the floodlit VR Fields of the VR Sports Club in Thailand, where at the invitation of Edward Batchelor he joined his Cormix International Polo Team (played under the sponsors names – Crockfords) in the Thailand Polo Association Ambassador Cup 2015.
Aside from playing, Mikey Howe also owns Thoroughbred Polo Ponies (TPP), which, as he explains is where ‘We source and retrain thoroughbreds for polo. We focus only on the horses that have the nicest characters, natural talent and above all true ability.’ Given the ever expanding polo scene in Thailand, Mikey felt it could be a great place for TPP to have a presence, so it was perfect timing when his long-standing English patron Edward Batchelor (who is based in Thailand) extended his invitation to him to play in the Country for the first time, also giving Mikey the opportunity to see the ponies he had purchased from him in action.
Prior to seeing up TPP in the UK, Mikey had seriously looked into the possibility of setting up a business in Argentina producing ponies for polo, however, with economic changes and uncertainties he decided it was a more viable option to set up in England – specialising in sourcing and retraining usually unsuccessful racehorses as polo ponies. He explains, ‘As a result I saw what I believed to be an opportunity to get what I hoped would be a head start in what was to come, which is today’s strong sales market that we have in the UK today. So, Thoroughbred Polo Ponies Ltd was formed in 2008. Because of the nature of this business and the large overheads I would incur I had obvious concerns about the starting up process I suppose like any other start-up. I thought it could be reasonably successful but felt that it would probably be restricted at first to the UK. However I drastically underestimated the scale of these economical changes and the impact they would have on the market around the world on the ground. The result has been astounding and it’s turned into a business that has grown really very quickly into International exports with a vast range of export locations now on our radar.’
With Thailand rapidly being viewed as one of the key ‘polo places to be’, and with both ten goalers Gonzalito Pieres and Pablo MacDonough playing in tournaments for King Power at the VR Sports Club earlier in the year, Mikey found the opportunity to play there offered him the perfect chance to undertakes some ‘market research’ into the polo scene that is rapidly expanding in Thailand. So how did he find the polo set up? ‘It was a great trip and it was nice to meet Lucas the manager and his team. They have a great set up, nice ponies and run it all very well’.
Although his company is based in the UK, it is the growth of technology that truly enables Mikey to target a worldwide, international market, as he explains: ‘Online marketing is playing a huge part in this so I have learnt how to design my own adverts and set up online marketing strategies with specific audience targeting to advertise our App which is available on the App Store, https://poloponies.appsme.com , this enables me to advertise the website as well as individual horses when they are ready to be sold.’
From Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, to Apps and matches watched online around the globe with replays via drone footage – it would seem the world of technology truly is a perfect playing platform for the international world of polo.
Live coverage of all this summer’s top matches will be available on polo TV on www.hurlinghampolo.com