Great World Polo Blog

About 36 kids ranging from 10 to 17 years of age from all over the U.S. and Canada competed in a polo tournament at Brandywine Polo Club in Kennet Square, Pennsylvania last weekend July 28th-July 30th.

The "Polofest" event was conducted jointly by Brandywine Youth Polo and Work To Ride. Brandywine Youth Polo is a nonprofit polo school that offers free arena polo lessons to young riders (ages 11-17) at the Brandywine Polo Club. Work to Ride is a non-profit program in Philadelphia that aids disadvantaged youth through a variety of horseback riding activities.

The Polofest included workshops on equine maintenance and lectures on equine care and health, in addition to a regular tournament for kids.

Now, THIS is interesting..

According to the BBC News, Iran has been holding its first international women's polo tournament this week, with teams from Britain and Australia taking on the hosts.

Following Iran's Islamic Revolution of 1979, women were barred from playing polo "in public" until last year. And this is the first time--according to the BBC--Iranian women have competed in an international tournament.

"The significance of today's game is to find out what level our country's polo is at and to progress; to see and learn from their playing," said player Haleh Amirebrahimi.

Polo competitions in Iran are limited to single-sex matches. And the women - including the visiting players - must observe Islamic traditions in clothing. The women players wear headscarves under their helmets and long jackets.

Seems like it would be hot to me, but the players say they don't mind.

This Sunday, July 30th, 2006, is Cartier International Day at the Guards Polo Clubin England. In the main event, England will compete against New Zealand in the historic Coronation Cup. This annual event, now in its 22nd year, is attended by over 25,000 people and is the highlight of the polo and social calendar. The games will be played on the Smith Lawns in Windsor Great Park.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will once again be in attendance to watch the game and present the winning team with the coveted trophy.

The Coronation Cup teams are as follows: New Zealand: Simon Keyte, Cody Forsyth, JP Clarkin, and Tommy Wilson. The reserve is Craig Wilson, Coach Glen Gilmore from Australia, and manager Roddy Wood. England: James Biem, Mark Tomlinson, Henry Brett, Luke Tomlinson. Coach John Horswell, and manager Andrew Tucker.

This will be the fourth time that these two nations have met in this competition and the score currently stands at 2-1 to England. The Coronation Cup was first contested as an International Match in 1951 and 1953 and yearly since 1971.

Gibson Guitar is the main sponsor of the New Zealand polo team. The American-based guitar company has sponsored the winning, visiting teams (Chile and Australia) for the last two Cartier International events.

The morning match, for the Golden Jubilee Trophy, features a Hurlingham team in action against a Prince of Wales four. HRH Prince Harry has been a crucial member of the latter team for the past three years.

According to The Acorn, Ambassador Glen Holden (left) and his wife, Gloria, are joined by Pat and George Spears at the 23rd annual Golden Mallet Invitational Polo Tournament at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club in Carpinteria, California.

The event raised money for the Learning Center for Young Children, one of eight community services operated by the Assistance League of Southern California.

Black Bears beat Ellerston White 9-8 Sunday in the finals of the 22-goal Veueve Clicquot Gold Cup at Cowdray Park Polo Club.

CNN International did a story on the tournament yesterday calling the Gold Cup "Polo for the masses" yet they said the starting price for a polo pony is $90,000.

Speaking of which, I have several bargain-priced polo ponies for sale:

Batman -- $5,000 -- grey gelding 15:2

Lucy -- $8,000 bay mare 15:2

Julietta -- $10,000 dk bay mare 15:3

Mi Amor -- $35,000 buckskin mare 15:2

Contact me if you're in the market for a good horse.

Are the folks at the office competing for your time on the polo field? I sympathize entirely if they are, but trust me you're not the only one.

Take the case of James packer, son of the late great Kerry Packer. He's scheduled to play this Wednesday in the 20-22 goal Veueve Clicquot Gold Cup at Cowdray Park Polo Club. But the guys back at the office are bugging him to come home to Australia to sort out a squabble at one of his businesses, television network Channel Nine.

Mr Packer is rightly refusing to return home to umpire a management dispute. His has more important things to do. Play POLO!

Go get 'em Ellerston White!

1. Edward Hitchman (3)
2. Facundo Pieres (9)
3. Gonzalo Pieres (9)
4. James Packer (2)
   

For those of you lucky enough to be headed to Hawaii anytime soon, the beautiful Kaua‘i Polo Club starts its polo season tomorrow afternoon. The local news paper did a nice little puff piece to promote the club.

The article is mostly about grooms, but it also mentions a few of the club's players including Stuart Mckenzie, Ronnie Tongg, Ron Bonaguidi, Krista Bonaguidi, and Scott Sims.