|
|
|
|
|
SIAM POLO NEWS
|
THAILAND - SINGAPORE - INDONESIA - CHINA - KOREA - PHILIPPINES |
Sponsored by KING POWER
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
16 JUL 2011 -- THAI POLO AT GADBRIDGE POLO CLUB IN UK Just when you thought all the Thai polo action had come to a halt, Daniel Yanez has announced that there will be a sudden tournament held in UK with three Thai Teams in fierce competition -- King Power, Thai National Team, and Black Dog. Peter Davies has announced that he is calling the Black Dog team to the field. Eric Barthe has confirmed that he will assume the position of Minister of Defense. It is rumored that Jamie Woodward will return to the Kingdom of his birth to Captain the team. Even head of special operations for the team is planning an appearance. Thus, we shall have a full Black Dog team on the field in UK for the challenge that has been presented by Khun Vichai on his new polo farm in UK. Stand by for more photos and news from Pete. If you wish to attend this historic British event -- daniel@argentinapolo.com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 25
JUN 2011 -- FIP PRESIDENT VISITS TPAThe new president of F.I.P., Eduardo Hoergo, and Executive Committee Member, Peter Yunghanns, came to Thailand to visit all the polo clubs. They were on their way from the World Cup Playoffs in Malaysia to China, and TPA (Thailand Polo Association) representative, Ambassador Thawatjai, was on hand to receive them. They were very excited to hear about the plans for an All Asia Cup to be held in Thailand in December, and they asked if the name could be changed to include FIP as the FIP ALL ASIA CUP. They were very pleased with the success of the polo organized in Malaysia -- especially with the horses being equal for all teams playing -- and they were excited at the opportunity of seeing a tournament that would include China. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 DEC 2011 --
FIP ALL ASIA CUPThe President of TPA, Khun Vichai Raksriaksorn, has given his approval to host an ALL ASIA CUP 2011 in Thailand in early December 2011. The TPA has been in contact with Indonesian Polo Association, F.I.P., H.P.A., and will be sharing the details of this upcoming tournament shortly. After the very sad news that the Indonesian Government decided not to include polo in the SEA Games 2011, the TPA offered to assist Indonesia in maintaining the momentum in the development of polo in Asia by hosting this tournament. The TPA has invited the Indonesian Polo Association to throw in the first ball in recognition of their efforts to have polo included in the SEA games. The All Asia Cup hopes to include China in this tournament to honor and recognize China's tremendous progress and commitment to the sport of polo. The tournament will be held at a 2-4 goal level. There will be only national players on a team. The idea is that, pending assistance from other TPA member clubs, the horses would be divided into pools (overseen by a member of each national team). These pools would then be selected out of a hat. This would ensure that the selection of horses would be absolutely fair. The reason for the All Asia Cup is to show to the world the unity and commitment of Asia in development of polo by holding an inter-Asian tournament every 4 years with a vision to polo's future inclusion in the Olympics. TPA will be working with FIP and HPA to this end. The following countries will be invited to send teams to the All Asia Cup (depending on availability of horses) -- China, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Dubai. If you have any questions about the ALL ASIA CUP 2011, please email TPA -- tpa@siampolonews.com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
24 JUN 2011 -- INDIA WINS
WORLD CUP PLAYOFFS IN MALAYSIA It seems that India's tactic of training with the Nusantara Polo Team in Indonesia was a great success. The World Cup Playoffs Final held at the Royal Selangor Polo Club in Kuala Lumpur was truly invigorating match to watch. Two formidable teams from Pakistan and India came together to demonstrate some beautiful 14 goal polo in Asia, and the match was fairly close throughout the game, with India claiming a well-earned victory after 6 chukkas. The passing and level of play were very impressive. An even more exciting semi-final match was held on Friday with South Africa leading Australia by 4 goals at the end of the 4th chukka. Australia then came on fire, and scored 8 goals in the final two chukkas earning Australia a 12-9 victory and a place in the World Cup in Argentina in October 2011. The most successful part of the tournament was the management of the horses. There were 210 horses available for the 7 teams competing. These horses were divided into 3 catagories -- A, B, C. and then pools with an equal distribution of the 3 categories of horses. Each horse had a number clearly painted on it's rump. A team was drawn from a hat, and then that team captain drew the pool of horses that they would use for the tournament. They then had 2-3 days to try these horses before the tournament began. There was a reserve pool of 20 horses that were all category C. If any teams horses were injured during play, then a replacement would be drawn from the reserve pool of C grade horses. This was a powerful incentive for players to take care of their horses. 5 chukkas were played up to the semi-final and final, and then 6 chukkas were played. The tournament was supervised by FIP, and by all accounts a great success. It was noticed that approximately half way between each chukka, the game would be stopped and all players would change horses. This was to help horses that had recently arrived from Argentina to adapt to the high heat and humidity. Some players did not like this, but others deemed it fair, because normally a pro would change his horse half way through anyway, and this strategy allowed for all players to change in a relaxed and organized way. Players had 3 minutes to change during this break without sitting down. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 17-19 JUN
2011 -- THAI LADIES IN GERMANYKhun Ploy reports that she joined the Acqua di Parma team in Wallerstein, Germany this past summer with Marina, Robin and Patpat. It was the Rolls-Royce "Girls Only" tournament. The Parma Ham team did not win, but they all enjoyed playing around Robin. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 JUN
2011 -- FOG WINS IN KOREAIn what must have been a very challenging game, the June BMW competition between Singapore and Korea at Korea Polo Club was overtaken by fog. Jeju island is located off the Southern tip of Korea, which can bring some unusual maritime weather phenomenon, but to our recollection, this is the first time that a polo game has been cancelled due to fog. Khun Stijn filed this report: The resident KPCC team consisting of Lee Joo Bae, the owner of the Korea Polo Country Club, its professionals Noel and Alecs Vecinal and Australian 4 goal professional Mark ‘Charlie’ Field, were struggling on the first day to find their rhythm and finished 6-3 behind after four chukkas. Despite heavy rains most of the previous day and night, the tifton polo field at KPCC held up extremely well and showed little sign of wear. Owner Lee Joo Bae explained that he didn’t want polo in Korea to suffer from rain cancellations, so he built a large drainage system under the field, laid down a 30cm layer of sand below the grass and added over two feet in height difference to ensure the best drainage possible. Many distinguished guests and KPCC members from both Jeju Island and Seoul watched the 6 goal polo event on this first day. Argentine ambassador to Korea Carlos Alberto Arganaz said he enjoyed today’s fast flowing match and was looking forward to seeing more polo in Korea. On the second day, the KPCC team with guest player Leon Chu, President of the Singapore Polo Club playing in the first two chukkas, made a roaring start with their guest player scoring 2 of the 4 goals in the first chukka and bringing the score back to 7-6 for the KPCC team. The KPCC team held its ground in the second chukka of the day and kept the lead with an 8-7 score. Alecs Vecinal and Charlie Field made fantastic defensive moves stopping most Singapore attacks well before they got to the Korean goal area. Then, resident SPC professional Sattar Khan, SPC members Isabelle Larenaudie and Stijn Welkers, ably assisted by 2 goal guest player Shaukat Ali Malik from Pakistan, pulled out all the stops and turned the tide to end up with a 11-9 lead at the end of the third chukka. SPC’s Sattar Khan scored 3 goals in as many minutes with runs from the throw-in straight to goal. The island fog had been playing havoc with the polo plans all day, but at the end of the third chukka, neither spectators nor players could see further than a few metres. With the clock ticking, the organizers decided to finish play at the end of the third chukka, thus making 11-9 the final score and 
Singapore the winners of the BMW Cup 2011. Korea Polo Country Club was built
in 2009 and 2010 and had its official opening in June 2010. KPCC features a
club house with 10 hotel rooms, fitness center, wine bar and restaurant,
shop, swimming pool, villas and condominiums designed by renowned
Korean-Japanese architect Itami Jun. Other facilities include a polo field,
soccer field, covered arena, stables, outdoor arena and a soccer field. KPCC
sells real estate memberships as well as polo memberships. KPCC is located
on Jeju Island, South Korea. Jeju is a volcanic island and very popular as a
holiday resort and honeymoon destination. The main attractions on the island
are the lava caves and a large volcano crater. Submitted by Khun Stijn. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
29 OCT 2011 -- SHANGHAI POLO OPEN Steve Wyatt has risen again. The Shanghai Polo Open will be held in the Jiangwan City Stadium in Shanghai, and judging from all Steve and Rachel's past performances, it is sure to be a polo extravaganza to titillate the Chinese palate. For more info -- jessie@shanghaipremier.com -- Over the past several years the municipal government, sports and tourism agencies and Shui-On (developers of the KIC area in which the Jiangwan Stadium is located) group have lent their support for the extensive restructuring of the historical stadium, originally built in 1920’s; and with the technical support of the Premier company are now proud to announce the stadium will be the host venue for the Shanghai Polo Open for the next 5 years. “This is an amazing opportunity to bring high quality polo back into the center of a major city, making the excitement of the sport accessible to a large city-based audience. The Jiangwan Stadium is a unique ‘find’, very few cities in the world have today any stadium or venue that is large enough to host a full polo field” – commented Steve Wyatt, President of Premier Sports Marketing Asia, who are the technical consultants for the event. Mr. Charles Chan, Executive Director of the Shui-On group said “we are delighted to be the host venue for this exciting event, putting a top quality polo event within the reach of the residents and visitors to the city” (Shanghai has a population approaching 20 million, the stadium has a capacity of 24,000). Ms. Rachel Hua Hui-Cong announced that teams from across China are invited to participate and to match their skills against international teams from Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand and UK. Ms. Linda Li, President of the new Shanghai Premier Club commented that she was proud and honored to be able to support this historic event. The Shanghai Premier Club provided the elegant and powerful horses that performed at the stadium during the Press Conference and will be supplying the horses for the international teams participating in the Shanghai Polo Open in October; “the finest polo horses are thorough-bred horses, if we are to host international visiting players we must be able to provide horses of similar quality to those that they play in their home countries we cannot embarrass our guests (or ourselves) by asking them to play inferior horses; the horses of the Premier club are carefully selected from trusted suppliers in New Zealand and Australia.” The first polo player for more than 80 years to hit a ball across the field of the stadium was Mr Nick Keyte from New Zealand; after his history making display he commented “Good, yeah, the field runs surprisingly well; what an awesome setting! Unbelievable to be in a stadium with a full polo field, you just feel the excitement and can imagine the crowd watching and cheering us on” Official media partners for the event include the dominant TV broadcasters CCTV, SMG (Shanghai Media Group) assuring reach to over 400 million homes in pre event build-up as well as match coverage. Publications partners include lifestyle magazines from the Blu Inc and GQ, as well as specialist publications Polo Life and Equestrio. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 10
JUN 2011 -- CHURO PELLEGRINI NEW GM AT POLO ESCAPEOne of the most humble gauchos in La Asociacion de Los Gauchos Timidos, Churo Pellegrini, will be returning to Thailand next season as the General Manager of Polo Escape. Churo has confirmed that he will always be just "Churo the Vet," but all of his friends in China, Thailand and Salta are thrilled with this news. Khun Suzy reports that previous GM, Marco, has been invited back as a polo professional available for hire by any patrons who wish to hire him to play on their team. 30 POLO HORSES FOR SALE IMMEDIATELY Khun Suzy has reported that Polo Escape is very interested to sell 30 excellent quality horses immediately. These horses are perfect for 4-5 goal polo players. Their cost was between 10,000-14,000 US$ each (before import to Thailand). Landed here, cost approximately 22,500 US$ each. Suzy is preparing a list with horses names and prices, but if someone is keen to make a deal and buy all 30 horses right now, then she says the price is negotiable. Any interested buyers should contact CHURO THE VET -- churo@argentinapolo.com -- who is about to be a father down in Australia. It is a big year for one of the most famous gauchos in all of Asia. Congratulations Churo, Camille and Polo Escape. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
JUNE
2011 -- SANTY IN INDONESIA WITH A NEW NAME For those of you acquainted with Santiago Lujan y su estilo relajado, you know how fluent he is in the English language and also how quick witted and articulate he can be. Therefore, when Santy was recently asked about a particular polo stick that he had for sale, he looked at his potential customer and said, "This taco.... (10 second pause).... media cancha pegas" (this stick...... half field you hit). So, guess what... he sold the stick, and now everyone in Indonesia calls him -- "MEDIA CANCHA" (half field). Congratulations Media Cancha on your new nickname. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 JUNE
2011 -- CONGRATULATIONS FLACA & NICOWell, Ernesto "Che" Pieroni has finally done it... Nico and Flaca are going to get married. It is not an easy thing for a gaucho to sell a polo pony and to buy a ring, but "asi es la cosa, dija Barbosa..." Having served many years as a member of La Asociacion de Los Gauchos Timidos, Nico was very shy and surreptitious about this proposal. In fact, no one knew at all. Upon Che's return from a victory in Korea, with his back against the wall, he broke down and wept as Flaca tightened the saddle on his back. Of course, Che has made one very big foul and failed to request "permission to marry" from La Asociacion de Los Gauchos Timidos, so this will result in his immediate expulsion from La Asociacion. However, all the gauchos are very pleased with this good news and the ring on the finger. Everyone is hoping and praying that this momentous event will result in a mas tranquila and a menos histerica Flaca en la cancha. But you never know. Congratulations de nuevo Senor y Senora Che. view Che before the proposal. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
28 MAY 2011 -- NUSANTARA 14
GOAL INDONESIA VS INDIA IN THE MUD Fast polo is afoot in the Archipelago. Nusantara Polo Club recently hosted a 14 goal friendly match between the Indonesia and Indian national teams. This is the highest handicap polo tournament every held in Indonesia, and it was an outstanding match. Playing for Indonesia were: Novel Alpha Momongan (1), Santiago Lujan (3), Tomas Gandara (6), and Nico Curto (4). The Indians fielded: Samir (5), Shimran Sherill (4), Major Ravi Rattore (3), and Colonel Arjun (3). India defeated Nusantara 5 to 3 in an excellent display of hospitality and intercontinental play. The night before the match, it rained for 3 hours. The Pawan Hujan was called to stop the rain by use of the dark arts, but the rain continued. The polo field looked like a battlefield. AUDI sponsored the friendship match and the teams were escorted by Audi A4s onto the field. The Indian National Team is training with Indonesia at Nusantara until 10 June preparing for the D zone of the World Cup Playoffs. Thank you for the exciting report from Nico Curto. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
  28
MAY
2011 -- ROYAL SALUTE WINS IN
CHINAPolo in China was back in high gear at Nine Dragons. The weather was perfect. The China Navy did not invade the polo field, and there were a lot of goals from members. Leading dragon vet and Expeditionary Gaucho Churo Pelligrini led the Royal Salute team to an absolute victory. The final game was between Royal Salute and BMX, with a very narrow victory of 4-3. The winning team consisted of -- JEFF, DINO, LAWRENCE WONG, CHURO. Lawrence was wearing his new boots and receiving coaching from pioneering China Nine Dragons player Gene Wong. Churo has sent us some photos of this exciting moment in China polo history. Perhaps some of these players will be on the China national team in the ALL ASIA CUP 2011. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 14-15 MAY
2011 -- THAI POLO TEAM WINS IN KOREAThe Thailand Polo Association dispatched a Thai Expeditionary Polo Team to Korea to fly the colors at J.B.Lee's beautiful Korea Polo Club. The team was led by Ernesto "Che" Pieroni and joined by veteran Asian Polo Player Toby Copson from Shanghai under the capable management of Krittika Toumtong. There were hundreds of enthusiasts flown in from Seoul for the event on the shimmering island of Jeju. The Thai Team was wearing the Black Dog shirts on the field and employing "shock and awe" tactics. On day 1, JB was scoring relentlessly for the Korean team, but the Black Dog pressure was relentless giving the Thai team a three and a half point lead at the end of the 4th chukka. The weather was sunny and cool, so the teams were able to double some horses. The polo was followed by a tremendous Korean Barbeque second to non and a fine collection of Red wine. Many of JB's guests have shown a keen interest in learning more about polo, and lessons were given on Sunday morning to interested visitors. On Sunday afternoon, the teams assembled once again on the field, and the match continued. Korea came on strong with long passes from Alecs and Rodrigo, but the attacks were thwarted again and again by the Thai defense. In the final seconds of play, there was a determined charge by a Black Dog player to goal, but the attack was marked by JB Lee and ridden hard to the goal. As the Black Dog player reached forward to convert a final goal for the Thai team, he was hit hard by JB and thrown cleanly onto the ground with Korea pulling out a magnificent play to avert the goal. JB was ecstatic at his defensive prowess, and was justly awarded with "Man-of-the-Match" award. The final score was 13 Thailand to 8.5 Korea. Thank you to Korea Polo Club and JB Lee for a very warm welcome and excellent hospitality in Korea. KOREA TEAM: JB Lee, Rodrigo, Alecs, Noel. THAILAND TEAM: Che, Tom, Toby, Marlo.. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 5-8
MAY 2011 -- 2011 INTERNATIONAL POLO CLUB
 SERIES
AT VRSCPreliminary Rounds Thursday 5th May at VR Sports Club 4.30 pm S.P.P.’s field Moscow versus London (4 chukkas) -- Victory for London 5.30 pm V.R.’s field Bangkok versus Singapore (4 chukkas) -- Victory for Bangkok Friday 6th May at VR Sports Club 4.30 pm S.P.P.’s field Singapore versus London (4 chukkas) -- Tie Score 5.30 pm V.R’s field Bangkok versus Moscow (4 chukkas) -- Victory for Bangkok Saturday 7th May at VR Sports Club 4.30 pm S.P.P.’s field Bangkok versus London (4 chukkas) -- Victory for Bangkok 5.30 pm V.R.’s field Singapore versus Moscow (4 chukkas) -- Victory for Singapore Sunday 8th May FINALS at VR Sports Club 4.30 pm Subsidiary Final (4 chukkas) -- Moscow defeats London (exciting game) 5.30 pm Final (4 chukkas) -- Bangkok wins the first International Polo Series |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 BANGKOK
WINS INTERNATIONAL SERIES - Singapore played a very determined final
match against Thailand. They played a brilliant game against Moscow the
previous day and also an upset tie with London on Friday. Jon had captured
all of wife Lynly's carbon fiber polo sticks and proved to be a solid player
assisting Stijn and Gerry Gan on attack. Khun Tal was playing very well with
Khun Noo for Bangkok and carried passes from Lukas to goal. In the end, it
was a victory for Bangkok after an enjoyable match.
MOSCOW WINS SUBSIDIARY FINAL - In an extremely exciting match, we watched the Moscow team play a very solid team game on the final day to defeat London. Hernan Traverso received the award "Mas Caballero en La Cancha" for his gentlemanly play and excellent backhand passes to his team mates. It was a great honor to have the players from Moscow join us in Thailand for this tournament. Pavel instructed all of us on the fine art of appreciating wine. Evgeny showed us several determined charges down the field with excellent horsemanship. Egor was a dynamic point man carrying the ball to goal. FOREPLAY - The tension is building on the side of the field at SIAM POLO PARK as teams from Moscow and Ham Polo have arrived to check out the horses and the competition. It is evident that we have some real talent to bear at this year's INTERNATIONAL CLUB SERIES. The Russians are playing as a team for the first time in Thailand with Egor, Pavel and Evgeniy from the Moscow polo club. They have arrived with their chief gaucho Hernan Traverso who has been in Moscow for 6 years now. Hernan was immediately recruited into La Asociacion de Los Gauchos Timidos and he was blushing with pride at the honor bestowed upon him. On the other side of the field, we saw Khun Ploy training hard with two of her teammates. Aviation enthusiast Affi Ashraf has been playing for 4-5 years at Ham, and in his beaming red helmet, it is certain that he will be a force to contend with on the field. Also gracing the Ham team is veteran polo legend Ba Pataudi who will be celebrating his 59th birthday in July. Ba plays in India and in Pakistan, and this is not an easy thing to do. Ba was telling us that there are 3 all important things in India -- Religion, Cricket, and Bollywood. Ba's brother, General Isfaniyar Pataudi, is the Head of the Pakistan Polo Association. Ba has been playing at Ham Polo Club for 25 years, and he is an Honorary Member of the Genghis Khan Polo Club in Karokorum, Mongolia. Ba's father was the High Commissioner to Malaysia for 5 years and also served as Captain to the Selangar Polo Club team which at that time was located exactly where the Petronas Twin Towers are standing today. His father was playing of 5 goals at age 55 years of age. Ba is looking forward to attend the Finals of the polo this 25 June at Royal Selangar. THURSDAY - An exciting first match with Ham clinging onto a 1/2 goal lead in the final chukka until young Ba streaked down the field and claimed victory for Ham. The Russians played extremely well as a team. Hernan blinded all competition with the bright pink bandages on his polo boots. Egor was explosive in the front and Pavel was in charge of equestrian acrobatics as he managed to stay aboard amidst a most outreaching display. Bangkok VR team had a challenging game with Singapore as the Paisano Andrada played a very solid game with passes up to his fast-improving team with Stijn, Gerry and Jon firing relentlessly on goal. Khun Tal was too strong for Singapore to contain and had 3 amazing goals fed by Khun Lu to secure a VR victory. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 30
APR -- MEMBERS CUP AT SPPPolo Manager Daniel Yanez has announced that Khun Top has organized the Member's Cup at SPP this weekend. Francesca, James, Pete, Ploy, and Tal will be on the field. Daniel says that all the members will get a prize, and that everything is free. Special recognition will be given to the "Best Member, Most Tournaments Played Member, and Most Chukkas Played Member." There will also be a special prize for "El Mas Hinchas Pelotas" presented by Daniel Yanez. Stand by for all this excitement. 03 APR 2011 -- LA ASOCIACION DE LOS ESPECTADORES DE LAS PELICULAS We are not sure if this is the correct name yet, but nonetheless, a sudden forming of a new association occurred after the playing of the Birthday Cup. Co-Presidentes Flaca and Tina declared that it was necessary to found a new association to calibrate and collate and record the great films for future reference. The Co-Presidentes toasted their new association in front of a picture of Prince William and the meeting was witnessed by gauchos and players. Herewith and soon shall be a list of films to be seen. COMING SOON |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
4-11 SEP 2011 -- KING'S CUP ELEPHANT
POLO AT ANANTARA, HUA HIN Saturday, September 3rd -- Special games, Press games, Celeb games, Elephant
polo practiceSunday, September 4th -- 7 pm Welcome Gala at Anantara Hua Hin Monday, September 5th -- 12 pm Elephant Blessing Ceremony. 2 pm – 3 pm League A (Match # 1). 4 pm Arrival of Royal representative. 4.30 pm Elephant polo parade. 6 pm – 7 pm League C (Match # 2). 7.30 pm Welcome cocktails & dinner at Anantara Hua Hin. Tuesday, September 6th -- 8 am League B (Match # 3). 9 am League D (Match # 4). 10 am League A (Match # 5). 11 am League C (Match # 6). 12 pm – 3 pm Lunch at the pitch. 3 pm League B (Match # 7). 4pm League D (Match # 8). 5 pm League A (Match # 9). 7 pm Dinner Event. Wednesday, September 7th -- 8 am League C (Match # 10). 9 am League B (Match # 11). 10 am League D (Match # 12). 11 am League A (Match # 13). 12 pm – 2 pm Lunch at the pitch. 2 pm League C (Match # 14). 3 pm League B (Match # 15). 4 pm League D (Match # 16). 5 pm League A (Match #17). 7 pm TEPA Players’ Night. Thursday, September 8th -- 9 am League C (Match # 18). 10 am League B (Match # 19). 11 am League D (Match # 20). 12 pm – 2 pm Lunch at the pitch. 2 pm League A (Match # 21). 3 pm League C (Match # 22). 4 pm League B (Match # 23). 5 pm League D (Match # 24). 7 pm Dinner Event Friday, September 9th Quarter Finals -- 2 pm Winner A vs. Runner up B. 3 pm Winner C vs. Runner up D. 4 pm Winner B vs. Runner up A. 5 pm Winner D vs. Runner up C. 7 pm Dinner Event Saturday, September 10th Plate & Semi-finals -- 8 am 3rd League A vs. 4th. League B (Match # 25). 9 am 3rd League C vs. 4th League D (Match # 26). 10 am 3rd League B vs. 4th League A (Match # 27). 11 am 3rd League D vs. 4th League C (Match # 28). 12 pm – 2pm Lunch at the pitch. 2 pm Mahouts Championship. 3.3o pm Semi-final # 1. 5 pm Semi-final # 2. 7 pm King’s Cup Elephant Polo Gala Grand Gala Evening &Auction. Sunday, September 11th -- 9 am Lucky Loser Match 25 vs. Lucky Loser Match 27. 9 am Lucky Loser Match 26 vs. Lucky Loser Match 28. 10 am Quarter Final Loser 1 vs. Quarter Final Loser 2. 10 am Quarter Final Loser 3 vs. Quarter Final Loser 4. 11 am Winner Match 25 vs. Winner Match 27. 11 am Winner Match 26 vs. Winner Match 28. 12 pm – 1 pm Lunch at the pitch. 1 pm Plate Championship. 2 pm 3rd Place Final. 3 pm King’s Cup Elephant Polo 2011 Final. 4 pm Prize giving ceremony. 6 pm Farewell party at the field |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 15-17 APR 2011 --
LYNLY FONG GETS THE ICE IN SONGKRAN CUP The tournament was won by Lucas Lujan's team, but as everybody knows, the Songkran Cup is all about losing. This is a classic in Thailand. Celebrating the Thai New Year, this watery event is celebrated in true Thai Style, with the losing team being doused with large quantities of ice water. This year, Lynly Fong is brought her gaucho Miguel Diaz and husband Jon with their two jeep drivers and Constable Stijn to take on the SPP gauchos and veteran players Gerry Gan, Dino, and Ronnie. They have played strong all year, but it just was not to be on this tournament. There were 4 teams playing in the tournament, and you can see the enthusiasm from Khun Ploy as she was helping to cool off the losing team. Khun Ploy suffered this same fate a few years previously. So has Khun Noo. Practically, anyone who has ever played on the Black Dog team in the Songkran Cup knows what it means to lose this one. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 2-9
APR 2011 --
THAILAND DEFEATS UVA IN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY POLO CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL AT
SPP After the unparalleled success of this tournament last year with 8 teams from all over the world, Khun Ploy and Khun Top and Khun Tal are on the job again with TPA. This year we will have teams coming from Oxford, Cambridge, UVA, Regents, Thailand, Switzerland, Royal Holloway, and Oxford Brookes. In addition, Khun Ploy has an exciting new development of an Oxford-Cambridge Exhibition Alumni Polo Match. The theme of the University Polo Championships this year is "CIRQUE DE POLO." Let's go Khun Ploy who has done a fantastic job organizing this International Polo Trendsetting Event. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
END
OF APRIL -- THE ARGENTINE OPEN EN SIAM Many people thought that the Abierto Argentino was played only by 40 goal teams in Palermo, but they were not aware that two teams are preparing for a tremendous playing here in the Kingdom of Siam. In the end of April, the gaucho teams of PAISANO POLO and COMECHINGONES POLO will meet on the field and battle will determine the victor. Descendants of multiple Palermo winner Paisano Andrada will be on the field, and for sure the Comechingones Team will endeavor to defeat them. Standby for more details forthcoming. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 03
APR 2011 -- VICHAI &
 PETER
BIRTHDAY CUPWe haven't seen this joint Birthday Cup for almost a decade... Khun Vichai and Black Dog member Peter Davies share the same birthday, so the cup was dusted off and pulled from the trophy case, and the teams were back on the field. Davies assembled the team and recruited Captain Woodward from UBS control in Bangkok. The VR team came straight from the University Cup field, where they had a solid victory over the Oxford Brookes team. Khun Vichai was joined by Top, Tal and Power Nat. The Black Dog team recruited Khun Lu. It was a game of end to end and back and forth excitement. Great passes. Davies was conscripted to take all penalty shots for the team, because it was his birthday, and he hit tremendously, scoring almost all of them. Khun Vichai was the freshest member of his team, and they were showing some cracks which the Black Dogs tried to capitalize on. The teams were tied up to the end, when the VR team with a fine flying shot from Khun Top took the match with a 10-9 victory. Khun Top was presented with a "TOP Banana" Belt Buckle to honor his fine shot, and because he really is a Top Banana on the field. Woodward is off to Austria, and Davies is on to Mongolia. The Thai team will be back on the field this week in the University Cup. Tsu and Boon are off to UK, and Ernesto Che is thinking of taking his playstation to Tanzania. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 TPA
HANDICAP MEETING -- LUCAS LUJAN GOES TO 4
GOALSThe new TPA handicap cards are here. The TPA has been working overtime, however the TPA handicap committee decided that there was no need to have your photo on your card, so you are now free to exchange the cards with your friends and change your name and your handicap as you wish. Some changes for next season: Marco Focaccia up to 3 goals. Diego and Paisa up to 2 goals each. Lucas Lujan up to 4 goals. Paitoon up to -1 goal. The gauchos assembled to pay respect to Lucas Lujan (who is the current President of La Asociacion de Los Gauchos Timidos) who has been promoted to 4 goals. Lucas has had a very good season and has won or made the finals in almost all the tournaments this year. The Primera Dama will of course point out that she has played no small role in his progress. The guachos were nonetheless very proud of Lucas and gathered together to pay respect to him. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 26-27 MAR 2011 --
SINGAPORE WINS MINUS ZERO CUPKhun Meaw from Mitavite was on hand to present the winners trophy to the Singapore Team who rode to victory with gaucho Ernesto Che Pieroni in the Minus Zero Cup. The Singaporeans, feeling confident, wished to honor the Black Dog team and increase their victory profile by wearing the dog shirts. Che Pieroni had never ever won a tournament wearing a black dog shirt, so he was very pleased. Acting Polo Manager Daniel Yanez was very pleased with the tournament, because all new  players were able to take part and improve their
skills. The great shock on the field came from James Hewson who was driving
the ball from the back well downfield to his wife, Francesca, and sister,
Liana. The Hewson family had spent a week at SPP practicing and preparing
for the tournament.. Hector Rualo and Ronnie were very pleased with
their victory. Dr. Kuat and James Fletcher and Gillem were very pleased with
her first tournament. The MINUS ZERO CUP was a great success and thanks to
Mitavite for their sponsorship. The players were very grateful for
instruction given on the following subjects:1. Why turning the ball to the right or left is a foul; 2. How to hit the tail shot; 3. What to do with the ball on the boards; 4. How to hit a penalty shot; 5. The advantages of the nearside. 6. How to learn English from your Sony Playstation. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 20
MAR 2011 -- TAL RAKSRIAKSORN INDUCTED INTO LA ASOCIACIONOne of the greatest honors that can be bestowed upon a gaucho is to be inducted into La Asociacion de Los Gauchos Timidos. Anyone who knows Khun Tal knows that this is a very humble gaucho, indeed, and this past Sunday was his day, as the Presidente Actual of the Asociation, Lucas Lujan, and El Futuro Presidente of the Asociation, Agustin Andrada, presented Khun Tal with a sticker for his helmet. Khun Tal was beaming with pride at this great honor and could barely control himself as the sticker was placed on his helmet. Tal loves Thai horses, and he said that he was looking forward to upholding the standards and humility of the Association. The 4 Presidents of the Association will be hosting a President's Cup sometime later this season in honor of Tal and his esteemed inductance in the Association. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 20
MAR 2011 -- AUNTIE ANIS WINS POLO FESTIVAL AT POLO ESCAPEAuntie Anis is training hard so that she can represent Malaysia in the All Asia Cup later this year. She has just taken her team to victory at Polo Escape. They claimed victory in the Polo Festival Tournament which had 3 teams competing. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 14
MAR 2011 -- INDONESIA POLO SUCCESSFUL TRIP TO INDIAKhun Prabowo and Indonesia Polo Association President Mohammad Iman Kusumo took the entire Indonesian Polo Team with Coach Nico Curto on a polo expedition to India. They played in 4 different clubs in the cities of Jaipur and New Delhi. In the Jaipur Polo Club, they attended the Cartier Party with the Indonesian team of Novel, Billy, Harry, and Agus Gombong fielding a 3 goal team. They lost to the Indian Cavalry Polo team by one goal in the last chukka. It was a great job. At the Delhi Polo Club, the Indonesia Polo Team played under the Nusantara name and the gaucho Nico Curto joined a trio of Indians. There were 8 teams in the tournament and the club did a great job organizing the horses. At the 61 First Army Polo Club in Jaipur, the Indonesia team of Billy, Novel, Harry, and Nico fielded a 7 goal team and won the trophy in front of Khun Prabowo. Bowo also did a polo warm-up on the field by playing a chukka before the game on Elephants. At the Rajastan Polo Club in the city of Jaipur, the Indonesia team lost 3-4, but played well and had fun. This was a very good experience for the Indonesia polo team to play on so many different horses and different fields. Khun Bowo and the Indonesians were very pleased with the hospitality shown by the Indian National Team and the clubs in India. Nusantara Polo will be receiving the Indian National Team to play in Jakarta in June 2011 for 10 days of training at Nusantara Polo Club. Congratulations to Nusantara and Indonesian polo for this successful expedition to the Subcontinent. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 WARMING
UP FOR THE MINUS ZERO CUPThis was the first time this year that we have seen such splendid enthusiasm on the field with a complete force of beginning players. Gauchos Ernesto "Che" Pieroni with Lu Lujan were on the field commanding the young players how to hit the ball, join the line, and not to foul. It was great fun to watch with a cheering crowd of fans voicing their approval with each goal scored -- and a lot of goals were scored. James and Mau Cuat were a lethal combination up against the Gillem Melissa connection. I am sure we will see these two teams back on the field soon. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
  MAR 2011 --
NICOLE ONLINENicole Grunwell's photos of the Ladies International Rain tournament and the Goat Cup are now online -- www.nicolegrunwell.com
NEW SCOREBOARD AT SPP FIELD |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
06 MAR 2011 -- THE GOAT LIVES After
a 4 month break, Khun Vichai was back on the polo field to save the goat.
The Goat Cup was an outstanding success with 6 teams playing for the goat.
Khun Ploy scored two goals back to back on Day 1 showing her firm commitment
to saving the goat. Auntie Anis flew all the way from USA just for this
tournament (and for the opportunity of playing next to the gaucho Agustin
Andrada). Daniel Yanez cut his hair for this tournament. Jamie Woodward was
back in splendid form for this tournament playing with Henrietta and husband
Stewart and 3 goal Alex. The Goat Buscavida team was in the battle for their
lives on the final day with the Rubber Goat as the prize for the last place
team. The Buscavida team chose honor before victory and allowed new players
Hector and Mr. Bean to improve their skills. For this honor, Jamie Woodward
was awarded "Mas Caballero en La Cancha" (given in the name of Oscar Lujan
for that gaucho who best exhibits the qualities of a gentleman on the
field). The Siam Goat Park team has never seen such fire. SPP recruits Dino
and Gerry were in fine form, but the streak of lightning that no one
expected was the famous Moet-totting polo player, Eric Barthe. Eric was
striking all manner of balls in perfect harmony with his team. Ernesto "Che"
Pepperoni coordinated the attack for the Siam Goat Park team. The best game
of the tournament was Siam Goat Park against the Goat National Team, but the
Goat National Team under the command of Khun Tal with excellent
communications was able to defeat the Goat Park. Khun Noo and Khun Tsu and
Khun Boon carried the National Team to the final. On the last night, it was
arch enemies Black Goat up again against the Goat National Team. They have
fought this battle many times, but this time, the Black Goat team had a
secret weapon that they called into action in the final hour -- Khun Vichai
Rakriaksorn came out of a 4 month retirement to put on a Black Goat shirt
and lead the Black Goat team to a complete and thorough victory over the
Goat National Team. After the final bell, when the Black Goat team stood on the
winners podium, their hearts had been so softened by Khun Ploy's love of the
goat, and Khun Vichai's declaration "Don't eat the goat," that there was no
question the goat had been saved. In fact, Khun Vichai offered to buy a
playmate for the goat, so that the goat will not be lonely. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
4-6 MAR 2011 -- IT IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH -- THE GOAT CUP 2011 There
has been a sudden surge of interest in this low goal tournament (-1 to 2
goals). Dino has canceled all his plans and will return to the field to help
save the goat. The young goat was given to the gauchos as a thank you for
helping a local farmer. The gauchos were in the process of fattening up the
goat, when Khun Ploy arrived and fell in love with the goat. Khun Ploy has
been washing the goat and caring for it. She was not pleased when she
learned the goat's name was Asadita and that it was being fattened up, so
that it could be eaten. When Ploy announced this situation during the Gold
Cup, emotions and players were divided between those who wanted to save the
goat, and those who wanted to eat it. This resulted in the sudden formation
of a Goat Cup -- so that this matter could be settled on the field. The
winning team will decide the fate of the goat. Already Rajiv has recruited
Jean-Louis and will be coming up from Indonesia to Captain the Black Goat
team. Injured player, Jamie Woodward, feels so strongly about the goat, that
he has thrown off his crutches and will be back on the field to help resolve
this important issue. Auntie Anis is extremely hungry and she will be coming
up with her team to eat the goat. Gerry Gan is flying in from China for his
love of Goat. Henrietta Gourlay is bringing up her team from Singapore to
participate in the Goat Cup. James Bean, Stewart Patterson, Alex de Lisle
are coming to play for the goat. Peter Davies has been on the field showing
us the Mongolian tactics gleaned from his recent expeditions to the North.
Hector Raulo has now confirmed that he will be playing for the goat. UBS
worldwide reports that the impending Goat Cup is now featured on their
company newsletter. Eric Barthe has decided that this tournament will be too
good to miss, so he is signing on to help eat the goat. Dino has confirmed
that he will play for Siam Goat Park. Goat Escape has cancelled, so Paisa
and Joaquin will not be helping the goat to escape. If you want to help save
the goat (or help eat it), email Daniel to join this tournament --
daniel@argentinapolo.com --
Nicole Grunwell will be presenting the goat to the winning team! First Prize sponsored by Argentina Polo. DON'T
MISS THE GOAT CUP 2011. The following teams are being assembled.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
25-27 FEB 2011 -- POLO COOPERATION FOR LADIES INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT Sudden rains thwarted the opening of the Ladies International at Polo Escape on Thursday. Acting polo manager at SPP Daniel Yanez called Marco at Polo Escape and offered the use of the SPP Pattaya field. When the rains struck again on Saturday play, Marco accepted the offer, and the Ladies were back in action at the old SPP polo field where it all began. Reports have confirmed that the field is in perfect condition. Everyone is playing without boards, but it is good practice for them. Ploy's King Power Team has made it to the finals against the mighty force of the Polo Escape woman's team with Suzy, Marina, and Agustin Lorea playing around Robin. This may be the largest Women's International tournament that we have ever seen in Thailand. There is a gaucho on each team surrounded by lovely ladies. The final was to be played on Sunday, but the rains came again, so the Ladies International was decided by a wet penalty shootout with Polo Escape winning the shootout. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 20
FEB -- ENGLAND WINS SNOW POLOA very exciting if not chilly final between England and Argentina at Metropolitan Goldin Polo Club in China. The battle for 3rd and 4th went to France defeating Goldin China team. This was the first ever snow polo tournament in Asia and the proud opening of the Metropolitan Polo Club. Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club (“Metropolitan Polo Club”) features two international-sized polo fields, stabling for 150 horses, training facilities, riding school and the luxurious club hotel Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Hotel. The state-of-the-art equestrian facilities are supervised by professional international managers. Major international fixtures on the events calendar of Metropolitan Polo Club include the Snow Polo Cup, the China Cup, the Ambassador’s Cup and the Goldin Cup. Metropolitan Polo Club was opened in November 2010 by Hong Kong-listed developer Goldin Properties Holdings Limited as the sporting and social flagship of the “Goldin Metropolitan” mega-development which will comprise of three zones: a Central Business District home to the 117-storey Goldin Finance tower, a low density luxury residential belt, and a 898,000sqm Metropolitan Polo Club. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
FEB 2011 -- SPP MEMBERS FLY TO BARBADOS SPP
veteran players Stijn, Steve Wyatt, Scott, Stan Vukmer traveled to the
Barbados Polo Club to compete in the Asia Challenge Trophy. The members
of Team Asia arrived in Barbados on Sunday and stayed at the fantastic Mango
Bay hotel right on the beach. Monday was spent 'acclimatising', which in
Team Asia's case meant
going wakeboarding, waterskiing and sailing, which was all-included as part
of the hotel package. On Tuesday, Team Asia played 2 practice chukkas at the
host club Clifton, owned by Bruce Bayley. The previous weeks the weather in
Barbados was disastrous with continuous rain. Visiting teams from
Australia, South Africa and USA had stayed for a week to 10 days and in some
cases only played once. Team Asia brought the sun along, so play recommenced
but because of the long wait, many local players were eager to play, hence
only 2 chukkas for Team Asia on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we played at the
magnificent Apes Hill club owned by Sir Charles Williams. A fantastic field
and great clubhouse. Team Asia however must have been suffering from the
something (jetlag, hang-over, sunburn take your pick) because they got
clobbered 5-2. On Friday, Team Asia played at Holders, which is the original
location of the Barbados Polo Club where polo is still played regularly.
Team Asia had now sufficiently recovered and managed to pull a draw out of
their hats. On Sunday, the big finale was played at Clifton. Bruce Bayley
had pulled out all the stops and raised a marquee decorated with Chinese
lamps and beautiful hostesses dressed in cheong-sams to give it an Asian
feel. The crowd must have been terribly disappointed to find that the
players from Singapore, China, Thailand and Vietnam all had surprisingly
pale skin. Team Asia was sponsored by Nissan and Team Asia/Nissan put on a
great show for the crowd, but unfortunately were beaten in a fast and
furious match. A crowd of several hundred spectators watched Team
Asia/Nissan go down in flames, which were subsequently doused in the
clubhouse with lots of shots of Café Patron, a local concoction of tequila
and coffee. Apparently a Team Barbados will play in Shanghai in October at
the opening of the new Premium Club in Shanghai, so let's hope we will see
Barbados in action in Asia soon. (Report filed by Constable Stijn) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 17-20 FEB 2011 -- KING POWER
WINS THE GOLD CUP (4-6 GOAL)The King Power Gold Cup was held at SPP and VR polo field with 4 teams. There was a furious encounter between Black Dog and Siam Polo Park with Che declaring that he was canceling all friendships. Khun Dino kept his cool, and the SPP Team won by one goal. Headhunters were joined by new players Keith and Melissa and veteran players Sattar and Waqas Khan. The best matches of the tournament were between Headhunters and Black Dog with Melissa getting a goal and the Headhunters playing extremely will with Sattar and Waqas passing down field. The final between King Power and Siam Polo Park was on the big field. It was a closer game than the score allowed, but Khun Lukas was ably assisted by Daniel "the blocker" Yanez and able to control the game with solid passes up to Khun Ploy. Thanks to our visiting players Dino Asvaintra, Keith Elliot Yeo, Sattar and Waqas, and Melissa. Friday 4pm: SPP vs BLACK DOG. 5:30pm: HEADHUNDER vs KING POWER. Saturday 4pm: SPP vs HEADHUNTER. 5:30pm: BLACK DOG vs KING POWER. Sunday 4pm: BLACK DOG vs HEADHUNTER. 5:30pm: SPP vs KING POWER. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
TPA
PHOTO CONTEST -- IYAREAT, NARONG, PAT, FAZEELA The entire staff of TPA was turned out for the King Power Gold Cup and they had their cameras in hand. Each photographer has submitted two photos for submission to the Siam Polo News webpage. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 8-13
FEB 2011 -- PURO DEFEATS KUPPA IN ALL NATIONS FINALAdamas, Puro Polo, Pengiran Rahim's Brunei team, and Kuppa faced off in the 10-12 goal all nations tournament at Polo Escape, and the final was between Puro and Kuppa. The last chukka was a nail biter with Pura winning by a single goal 7-6. Khun Ploy has been jumping up at Equestrian Paradise and was not able to muster enough gaucho power to attend, so without an even 6 teams, Polo Escape chose a 4 team tournament over 5 teams because the teams at this level of polo prefer to play 4 chukkas rather than around Robin. Action started Wednesday. Hotdogs are 60 Baht each. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
12
FEB 2011 -- ENGLAND DEFEATS MALAYSIA AT DATO LINK POLO CLUB Apparently, it was a very exciting game to watch at the Thai Polo Club with the England team claiming victory, but only just, over the Malaysia team. Shaik Reisman was back on the field and the tension was awesome. Dato Link organized this match between England and Malaysia to occur on the same weekend as the Polo Escape tournament. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A
GATHERING OF GAUCHOS The largest assembly of Gauchos that we have seen in Thailand for a long time recently occurred during the Ambassador Cup at SPP and VR Sports Club with 10 teams competing from all corners of the globe. During a delicious asado dinner by the pool, the gauchos assembled to give "la signa del gaucho" and to thank King Power, The Argentine Ambassador, and the team sponsors for making the largest polo tournament in Thailand possible. (fantastic photo by Fazeela) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 01
FEB 2011 -- KHUN NAT JOINS THE THAI NAVYThe highest handicapped Thai polo player in the world has left the polo field to join the Navy. Khun Nat is a 2 goal player on the Thai National Team. His father, Khun Omsin, is one of the most famous polo people in Thailand. He has built two polo clubs and enriched the lives of countless families in Muktahan by introducing this remote village to the world of polo. We weighed Khun Nat before his departure, and he was 90 kilos. Everyone has been taking bets on how many kilos Khun Nat will loose during his 15 kilometer runs for the Navy over the next month. Please submit your answer to Siam Polo News and the winner will receive a gift SPP T-shirt signed by Khun Nat -- email Siam Polo News. UPDATE: On 28 Feb 2011, we have reports that Khun Nat now weighs 85kg. He is having some breathing problems, but is still alive. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 25-30 JAN 2011 -- CITIBANK WINS THE AMBASSADOR CUP 2011Citibank defeats Thailand Tatler in an exciting final to claim the Ambassador Cup 2011. This year's Ambassador Cup was the largest polo tournament ever held in Thailand and one of the largest ever held in Asia. 10 teams - 40 polo players - 160 horses - 80 chukkas - Teams from France, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Argentina, India, Thailand, Singapore held at Siam Polo Park and VR Sports Club (10 minutes from Suvarnabhumi Airport). The positioning of the sponsored teams: We had sponsored teams from: CITIBANK, THAILAND TATLER, LACOSTE, LAND ROVER, L'OREAL, TAG HEUER, AIR ASIA, GATORADE, BEVERLY HILLS POLO CLUB, NUSANTARA. Sponsors: MITAVITE, DAVIDOFF, CHOPARD. Tournament sponsors: KING POWER and ARGENTINA AMBASSADOR. The tournament was played at the 4-6 goal level and is one of the most enjoyable tournaments in Thailand. The Sponsors of the Tournament were KING POWER and the ARGENTINA AMBASSADOR -- view last years Thailand Tatler Report. Team Entry Fee -- 12,000 Baht (includes team shirts, free hotdogs, dinners and drinks for players). |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
TOURNAMENT FINAL PHOTO BY SHAIK REISMANN Shaik took the Photo of the Tournament and captured Auntie Anis facing off against Acting Polo Manager Daniel Yanez in the final between Citibank and Thailand Tatler. Shaik is a top player on the field and a talented photographer as well. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SUPER SCHEDULE |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tuesday - 4pm - SPP field - Round Robin (Lacoste-Nusantara-Gatorade) Nusantara narrowly defeated Gatorade 4-3. Exciting tie between old rivals Lacoste and Gatorade 2-2. Lacoste trounced Nusantara 3-1. Wednesday - 4pm - SPP field - Round Robin (L'Oreal-Citibank-BeverlyHills) L'Oreal showed us some very beautiful polo, and we learned about "Anti-Fatigue Kit" and the very special "Turbo Booster" (for skin). L'Oreal defeated Beverly Hills 5-3.5. Citibank defeated L'Oreal 4-3. Citibank defeated Beverly Hills 5-2.5. Wednesday - 5:30pm - VR field - Air Asia vs Tag Heuer Exciting to watch an equal opportunity Air Asia team with 2 female players out on the field. They did very well. Tag Heuer defeated Air Asia 8-6.5. But we are still trying to find out who Ani is and why there is a Malaysian flag on Marc's helmet. Thursday - 3pm - SPP field - Land Rover vs Tag Heuer A very exciting game to watch with end to end runs by the Paisano connection and then returns by Loreal-Diego. Land Rover won 8.5-7. Thursday - 4pm - SPP field - Round Robin (L'Oreal-Citibank-BeverlyHills) Citibank dominated the day with a solid defeat over L'Oreal 8-5 and of Beverly Hills 8-5. L'Oreal showed the power of the "anti-fatigue kit" defeating Beverly Hills 9-3.5. Thursday - 5:30pm - VR field - Round Robin (Nusantara-Lacoste-Gatorade) Gatorade was on fire and overtook the Nusantara lead. They were .5 goal ahead into the final two minutes of play, when Nusantara gathered strength and converted a penalty to take a half goal victory 6.5-6. Great game. Gatorade hit their arch enemies Lacoste hard, but then the Lacoste team totally destroyed Gatorade in the final chukka 7-4. Lacoste defeated Nusantara as we enjoyed watching the Thailand vs Indonesia pre-SEA games match up (score?). Thursday - 7pm - VR field - Thailand Tatler vs Air Asia The best game of the day with Thailand Tatler dominating, then Santos Anca look-alike Miguel Diaz combined inspirational play with Mark Hogberg (in his black Ina helmet) to mount an impressive comback for a 5-5 tie. Friday - 3pm - SPP field - 3rd from Group B vs 3rd from Group C Gatorade defeated Beverly Hills soundly 8-4.5. Nice game to watch. Friday - 4pm - SPP field - 2nd from Group B vs 2nd from Group C L'Oreal defeated Nusantara in a nail-biter 5-4. It was down to the wire. The most exciting game of the day. Almost into overtime. Obviously, the L'Oreal team was using the L'Oreal "Turbo Booster" facial treatment. Friday - 5pm - SPP field - Land Rover vs Air Asia Land Rover defeated Air Asia 9-7. Could have been more passing on the Air Asia team. Friday - 6pm - VR field - Thailand Tatler vs Tag Heuer Tag came out ahead, then Thailand Tatler came back to win 5-3.5. Impressive runs by Agustin Andrada with one run lifting the ball and tapping it in the air 6 times in true Cambiaso style. Agustin will be assuming the new role of President of La Asociacion very soon. Saturday - 3:00pm - SPP field - Loser of 3rd vs Loser of 2nd Beverly Hills defeated Nusantara 5-3.5. Saturday - 4:00pm - SPP field - 1st from Group B vs 1st from Group C Citibank defeated Lacoste in a very exciting match 9-7. Saturday - 5:00pm - VR field - Thailand Tatler vs Land Rover Thailand Tatler narrowly defeated Land Rover with a penalty hit from Lukas 30 seconds before the final bell 4-3. Great game to watch under the lights. The game was followed by a Beverly Hills Fashion Show and Tango demonstration and then dancing to music provided by Gung's Jazz band and then Eric and Daniel ipods. Delicious dinner from Pullman. We were honored by the presence of 10 Ambassadors who were guests of Felipe Frydman: Jorge Castaneda Mendez (Peru), Jorge Torres Pereira (Portugal), Kazi Imtiaz Hossain (Bangladesh), Isauro Ramon Mora (Panama), Otzhak Shoham (Israel), David Lipman (EU), Sohail Mahmood (Pakistan), Michelangelo Pipan (Italy), Nabil H.H. Ashi (Saudi Arabia), Mads Beyes (DCM, Denmark). Sunday - 3pm - SPP field - 4th Group A vs Winner 3 Gatorade gets nailed by Air Asia 4.5-7. Sunday - 4pm - SPP field - 3rd Group A vs Winner 2 L'Oreal narrowly defeats Tag-Heuer in an exciting game 7-6. Sunday - 5pm - SPP field - 2nd Group A vs Loose 1 Lacoste TNT trounces Land Rover for third place 5.5-4. Sunday - 6pm - VR field - 1st Group A vs Winner 1 CITIBANK WINS THE FINAL FOR THE AMBASSADOR CUP 2011 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
2011
SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES -- POLO NOT YET CONFIRMED After all the work that Thailand TPA did in 2007 to get Polo on the list of sports for the SEA Games, we now hear that the INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT is not sure if they will include polo in SEA Games 2011. This is a tremendous disappointment for the polo world. Huge strides were made to get polo recognized in Southeast Asia, with an objective of polo being eventually re-introduced to the Olympics (as it was in 1936), but now this setback from the Indonesian Government is a huge step backwards. We will try to get more details. We know that Khun Bowo and Nico Curto have worked tirelessly to get the Indonesian Polo Team ready for action in this 2011 SEA games, and we know that Khun Bowo put the first Indonesian (and Southeast Asian) on the top of Mount Everest, so we will wait and see what they are able to do for the SEA games in 2011. We all need to support Nusantara Polo Club to lobby the Indonesian Government to allow polo in 2011. The projected date would be 11-11-11 or something close to that. Khun Vichai was one of the main driving forces behind getting polo for the first time in history into the SEA Games and it was a tremendous success with 5 teams in Asia coming to compete in Thailand. Now the Thai Team will have to travel to Indonesia and take on a vastly improved Indonesian Team. For sure, the Malaysians will be there. The were the winners in the first SEA games, and they are very serious about polo. Singapore has been training hard in Argentina. The wild cards will be Philippines and Brunei. The other new and pressing question is whether newcomers China and Korea will be able to compete in some way. Khun Nat, who is the highest handicapped Thai Polo Player in the world, was not able to compete in the last SEA Games because he was serving as a Monk in Muktahan. Khun Omsin, Nat's father, is one of the very famous personalities in polo in Thailand. He has build two polo clubs and over 90% of the polo grooms in Thailand come from Muktahan. Khun Nat has been training hard with the Thai National Team and under the leadership of Khun Tal and Khun Top has been learning more about teamwork and team play. Stay tuned as we bring you more details. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 DATO
LINK
WINS THE THAI OPENThe Thai Polo and Equestrian Club is one of the great polo clubs of the world, and this past Saturday Dato Link's Orange team won the Thai Open. There were 5 teams entered in the competition and the final was very close until the last few minutes of play, and then the two Argentinean pros took the game away to a commanding victory. Second place went to T Satrias (Shaik, Saladin, Zekri, Fabian). Shaik Reismann and Saladin played very well. Edham Shaharuddin was replaced by Fabian Bolanteiro. The Third place team was Harilela Garcha. There was also pony polo with young kids playing on miniature ponies. The weather was excellent with cool sunny weather, so there was no need for an air-conditioned tent this year. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 GAUCHO
WEDDING PLANNED -- LU & JAZThe news of the day is that the President of La Asociacion de Los Gauchos Timidos -- Lukas Lujan -- has proposed marriage to La Primera Dama -- Jaz -- in a parking lot on the New Year 2011. This proposal followed Lu's stunning performance in the Celebration Cup leading Gerry Gan's Black Dog team to sudden victory at Polo Escape. Jaz is thrilled with this news and has a very large ring on her finger to prove it. Lu and Jaz can be congratulated at the upcoming Ambassador Cup at VR on 29 January 2011. CONGRATULATIONS Lu and Jaz. This, of course, means that the Presidency of La Asociacion will now go to el futero presidente Agustin Andrada to become El Presidente Actual after the wedding. We have to thank this sudden news report from La Profesora con su nuevo blackberry. FELICITACION. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
15-20 FEB 2011 -- SNOW POLO IN CHINA Well, China does like to move fast. They have decided they want to play polo and now they want to play Snow Polo. The first snow arrived in Tianjin just before Christmas. Now, the Metropolitan Polo Club wants to invite everyone to attend the first International Snow Polo Tournament in Asia. There will be teams from England, France, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and China Goldin. Two games per day (2pm and 5pm). We will keep you posted when we hear more. The last thing we heard from China is that they were looking for Snow Polo Balls the size of volleyballs. We advised them that a snow polo ball the size of a volley ball was a volley ball. We will be very interested to see just what kind of balls they end up with. Stay tuned for the exciting developments of polo in China. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
09 JAN 2011 -- PURO POLO WINS AT POLO ESCAPE In a nail biting final at Polo Escape, the Puro Polo team defeated Kuppa by 1/2 goal on Sunday. There were 4 teams entered into the 6-8 goal tournament -- KING POWER (with Captian Ploy and gauchos Nicolas "Che" Pieroni, Agustin "El Nuevo Presidente" Andrada, Daniel "Acting Polo Manager" Yanez) -- KUPPA (Marco, Diego, Agustin, Around Robin) -- POLO ESCAPE (Suzy, Joaquin, Budu and a 2 goal pro) -- PURO POLO (Fede, Paisa, William, Patron Jam Paolo). The entry fee for the tournament is unknown. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
UN NUEVO ASOCIACION EN TAILANDIA -- LOS GUACHOS
CON BLACKBERRY |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 28-30 DEC 2010 --
RHINOS WIN NEW YEARS CUP -- POLO ESCAPEPolo Escape saw a lot of polo action through Christmas up to New Years with Stuart Wrigley bringing his Rhino Team to have an enjoyable polo Christmas followed by a New Year tournament. His stick and ball training must have worked, because the Rhinos won through with an absolute victory and the game winning goal scored by Stuart himself. Stuart has confirmed that does not chew Wrigley's gum. Stuart in action on the far left after having played around Robin. Following is a list of the -1 to 1 goal teams. Stonehurst Polo Farm Team Paul Cheung: -1. Mint Chaiyakul: -2. Marina Galarza: 0. William Roberts: 2. Total: -1. Kuppa Robin Lourvanij: -1. Mon Chaiyakul: -2. Diego Gomez: 1. Ramiro Pellegrini: 1. Total: -1. Tagmersheim Polo Team Ingo von Morgenstern: -2. Isabel von Morgenstern: -2. Ariel Ponzi: 1. Jose von Potobsky: 3. Total: 0. Rhino's Dubai Stuart Wrigley: -2. Jeremy Pemberton: -1. Jieun Lee Wrigley: -2. Agustin Lorea: 4. Total: 0. Polo Escape Thailand Camille Fuller de Pellegrini: -1. Jennifer Too: -2. Joaquin Arrieta: 0. Marco Focaccia: 2. Total: -1. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| '"A'' DIVISION: (PLAYS AROUND ROBIN). TUESDAY 14:30HS. STONEHURST POLO FARM TEAM VS POLO ESCAPE TEAM. (2 CHUKKAS). POLO ESCAPE TEAM VS KUPPA POLO TEAM (2 CHUKKAS). KUPPA POLO TEAM VS STONEHURST POLO FARM TEAM (2 CHUKKAS). UMPIRES: AGUSTIN LOREA & JOSE von POTOBSKY. IN THIS DIVISION "A" THE WINNER WILL PLAY THE SECOND MATCH, (DIVISION B) ON SATURDAY 4 CHUKKAS. REMARK: THE WINNER IN DIVISION A, IS THE TEAM THAT GETS MOST POINTS AFTER THE TWO MATCHES (2 CHUKKAS EACH MATCH), IF IT HAPPENS THAT TWO TEAMS GET THE SAME NUMBER OF POINTS, THE WINNER WILL BE THE TEAM THAT SCORES THE MOST GOALS. IF IT STILL IS A DRAW, THE WINNER WILL BE THE ONE GOT LESS NUMBER OF GOALS SCORED AGAINST IT. *****(IN THIS DIVISION EVERY MATCH LAST ONLY 2 CHUKKAS AND THE MATCH WILL FINISH ON THE FIRST BELT ON THE SECOND CHUKKA).***** 16:00HS. "B" DIVISION (4 CHUKKAS). RHINO'S POLO TEAM VS BAVARIA POLO TEAM. THE WINNER IN THIS DIVISION WILL REMAIN IN THE SAME DIVISION, THE LOSER WILL GO TO PLAY THE ''A'' DIVISION. UMPIRES: MARCO FOCACCIA & DIEGO GOMEZ ECHAVARRY. WEDNESDAY 29TH: WILL DEPEND ON THE RESULTS. THE WINNER OF THE A DIVISION WILL GO TO PLAY TO THE B DIVISION. IN THE B DIVISION THE LOSER WILL GO TO PLAY THE A DIVISION. THURSDAY 30TH: THE WINNERS FROM BOTH DIVISIONS WILL PLAY THE FINALS 4 CHUKKAS. THE REST WILL PLAY AROUND ROBIN. NOTE: THE IDEA IS TO GIVE A BENEFIT TO THE WINNERS, SO THEY PLAY 4 CHUKKAS IN A ROW AND DON'T PLAY AROUND ROBIN. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
17-19 DEC 2010 --
POLO ESCAPE WINS CHRISTMAS CUP -- SIAM POLO PARK Polo Escape claimed the first place position in the Christmas Cup at Siam
Polo Park December 2010. There were six teams competing in the tournament
with Acting Polo Manager Daniel Yanez doing a superb job of organizing the
event and even playing one days proceedings amidst the ranks of the Thai
National Team. One of the great polo legends Gusi Casabal who is well known
for "kissing the polo ball" flew in from England to lead the Nasr Polo Team
with Mir Ahmed onto the field with El Campeon de la Vida "Che Pepperoni."
The highpoint for the Nasr Polo Team was Ahmed's tremendous goal against the
Black Dog Team moments before separating his shoulder from this game-winning
shot. It was a good game to watch as the Dogs struggled on the field. Nasr
claimed a well-deserved victory. The final day of action saw three games
back to back on the VR field. Khun Tal organized the Thai National Team to
put the Black Dog team firmly in last place. Veteran team member Eric Barthe
was missing in action for mysterious reasons that only Gusi could explain.
The second match with Malaysian Jam Jars against Nasr saw a very close game
with the Nasr Team narrowly defeating Auntie Anis and her gentlemen players.
The final was a riveting display of polo with the Polo Escape Team
determined to claim victory over King Power. Diego and Marco had blistering
drives down field with
 William in support. Camille Fuller de Pellegrini was
firmly planted out in front to convert any passes that she might receive.
Gerry Gan was marking Camille with LuLu and Agustin Andrada in a tumultuous
battle to wrestle ball upfield to Khun Noo or to Gerry. The field was in
rough condition after 2 previous games, and Lukas was struggling to perform
his normal search and destroy tactics downfield. In the end, Polo Escape
claimed a solid victory and earned the Christmas Cup victory. Khun Robin was
fresh back from playing 5 tournaments in Argentina and she was able to give
all the losing and winning teams kisses and prizes for the Christmas Cup. Shyam Mehta
was honored to represent Mumbai in this tournament and he has already
confirmed that he will return for the Ambassador Cup in January 2011. The Mumbai Polo Club
-- www.arcmumbai.com. The team entry
fee for the Christmas Cup was 12,000 Baht (including hot dogs). Latest
photos in from Chris Yeo --
www.clickapony.com/POLO |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| THURSDAY - Jam Jars slaughtered Thai National Team, but the Acting Polo Manager pulled a few goals out of his hat and rescued the game to about a 3 goal loss on the SPP field. Then the real action on VR field saw the NASR polo team leading by 3 goals in the final chukka, when Khun Lu brought the fire to the field and working with polo legend Agustin Andrada brought the King Power team a 3 goal victory at the final bell. Ang Ban Tong was serving the King Power team and enjoyed the game very much. Gaucho Che Pieroni was distraught and leading gaucho from London, Gusy, has announced that he is going to return is balance bracelet to China for repair. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| FRIDAY - Polo Escape defeated the Jam Jars on the big field. Nice game to watch. Then Black Dog was completely hammered by Lu and the King Power team. Khun Top came back from 3 months in England and scored several goals. Shyam called the team to order and there was complete chaos as King Power kept scoring goals. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATURDAY - The first game between Nasr and Black Dog saw a brilliant goal by Mir Ahmed to put Nasr on the scoreboard. Ahmed then was retired due to an injury from scoring such a brilliant goal and was replaced by his brother Mohammed. Jennifer Too served the Nasr team well -- employing all manner of Feng Shui tactics to render power to the Nasr team. Black Dog soldiered on with a brilliant back from Eric to Tom for a goal. Then Shyam driving the ball down field. Rodrigo sent a pass to Eric for a goal to reduce the deficit to only one goal. The black dog team is well-known for their last chukka comebacks, but it was not to be today and Nasr claimed a well-deserved victory with Gusi and Che Pieroni well pleased with the team's one goal victory. The second game had everyone on the edge of their seats. Khun Tal came back to join the Thai National Team. He had a talk with Khun Nat and set the team plan in order. It must have been a brilliant talk, because the Thai team was on on form. Tal left a ball for Nat, who then drilled it down field to Tal for a fine conversion. Polo Escape played very well with goals from Marco and good play from William and Diego. Camille informed us that her full name is now Camille Fuller de Pellegrini, and she scored too. Back and forth, with Polo Escape in the lead. In the last chukka, the score difference was down to just one. Nat had a chance to drive to goal, but Polo Escape foiled the attempt and the final bell gave the victory to Polo Escape. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SUNDAY - The Final will be played between Polo
Escape and King Power on the big field under the lights. 3:30 -- Black Dog vs Thai National Team (for the Rubber Horse). The Rubber Horse went to Black Dog with a solid final place finish but an exciting game with arch-enemy Thai National Team. Khun Tal led a brilliant game with Khun Nat at the back. 4:30 -- Jam Jars vs Nasr Team (for 3rd place). The Nasr Team played a very solid game against the Jam Jars and was able to claim a victory. Both these teams will be back for the Ambassador Cup. 5:30 -- Polo Escape vs King Power (for the Christmas Cup). This was the game of the tournament. Polo Escape was focused and executed well on the field with excellent play and good passing. King Power did not seem to communicate well and with rough field conditions, they could not move the ball up field. Some very inspirational play from Agustin Andrada. Gerry Gan was very excited to be playing in his second final in two weeks. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Group “A” KING POWER Vichai Raksriaksorn/ Nutthadith 0 Sila-Amornsak (Noo) Gerry Gan -1 Agustin Andrada 3 Lucas Lujan 3 Total 3 NASR |
Group “B” JAM JAR'S Anis Jam Jar -2 Ang Ban Tong 0 Saladim Mazlan 3 Shaik Reismann 3 Total 4 TNT POLO ESCAPE |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday 16th (updated) 16 pm: 1st match at SPP’s field. Thai National Team vs Jam Jar’s. Umpired: Luca Lujan and Nicolas Pieroni. 17:30 pm: 2nd match at VR’s field. King Power vs Nasr Polo Team. Umpired: Agustin Andrada and Nattapong Pratumlle. Friday 17th 16 pm: 1st match at VR’s field. Thai National Team vs Polo Escape. Umpired: Agustin Andrada and Nicolas Pieroni. 17:30 pm: 2nd match at VR’s field). King Power vs Black Dog. Umpired: Nattapong Pratumlle and Adolfo Casabal. Saturday 18th 4 pm: 1st match at SPP’s field. Polo Escape vs Jam Jar’s. Umpired: Nicolas Pieroni and Adolfo Casabal. 5:30 pm: 2nd match at VR’s field. Nasr Polo Team vs Black Dog. Umpired: Marcos Focaccia and Lucas Lujan. Sunday 19th 15:30 pm: 1st match at SPP’s field. 5th and 6th. 16: 30 pm: 2nd match at SPP’s field. 3rd and 4th. 18 pm: 3rd match at VR’s field. Final. Note: the tournament will be officiated under the rules of The Hurlingham Polo Association. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
12 DEC 2010 -- BLACK DOG SHOCKS ALL WITH SUDDEN VICTORY AT POLO ESCAPE The Black Dog Team had not won a single game all season when they rode onto
the field at Polo Escape. Two of their star players had been injured and
removed from service in the first tournament. The situation was very dire.
Team Captain-at-large Jamie Woodward assigned Singaporean Gerry Gan to lead
the team onto the field. Gerry accepted the challenge. Lukas "Lu" Lujan
accepted his charge to join the team with Jaz at his side (even though this
profile was changed in the Polo Escape brochure to omit Jaz). The weather
was calm and cool. On the final day of a three day tournament, it was an
all-animal final with Black Dog up against Stuart Wrigley's Rhino Team from
Dubai. It looked like it was all over for the Black Dog team down by 4 goals
in the final chukka, but then Captain Gan rallied his team. Eric charged
onto the field. Tom backed a ball to Lu and Lu converted. Lu hit a penalty. Gerry with an attempted charge at goal. Eric with a tremendous pass. Lu
shooting a drive from the throw-in up to Tom. Suddenly, the Black Dog team
was down by only 1/2 goal. There were seconds to play. Lu was again on
attack. Churo attempted to back, and a penalty was blown. Ten seconds to
play, and Lu lined up to hit the 40 yard penalty. This would be the goal of
the season for Black Dog if Lu could make it happen. The field fell silent.
Lu stuck the ball from a walk; it soared through the posts and Black Dog was
more shocked than any spectator -- they had just won their first game of the
season and their first tournament in years. It was only after the dust
settled and everyone was left wondering what had happened that the team
realized how such a miracle could have happened to them. The Black Dog team
realized that the only possible explanation for their sudden success must
have been the vast and considerable wisdom incorporated into the team,
because amidst their ranks were four stalwart members of La Asociacion de
Los Gauchos Timidos -- including two former Presidents and one "Presidente
Actual" de La Asociacion. This is the only possible explanation that anyone
can find to explain how this team could have won. Congratulations were
received from Canchi Andrada and Long-distance Manager Gustavo Yanez and
team advisors Pieroni, Juan and Agustin Andrada, as well as from H.E. The
Argentine Ambassador and from Captain-at-large Jamie Woodward. The team
presented a thank you gift to CEO Suzy on behalf of the team for a wonderful
tournament. The umpiring during the tournament was excellent. The field
conditions were excellent. The Malaysians were on form with Antie Anis
bringing her Jam Jar team to the field. Sturdy competitors Sheik Reismann
and Saladin were great to have on the field. All Malaysians showed such
poise and humility, that they were honored and accepted as members of La
Asociacion do Los Gauchos Timidos. Only Sheik Reismann could understand the
magnitude of this honor, because of his many trips to Argentina and his
fluency with the la nguage of the gaucho. Antie Anis was honored as a "Paisana"
in the Asociacion. They were thrilled. Paul Cheung played brilliantly for
Adamas Polo Escape on the final day. He scored a hat trick in 2 chukkas and
everyone was wondering how he could have improved his polo and his Russian
so dramatically in one day. "Ochin Horasho" Paul. Khun Suzy, who had
previously been banned from the field of play (due to a shoulder injury),
was placed back on the field for the final two chukkas, and she was pleased
to serve the Polo Escape Adamas team. The King Power Team was in disarray
for the first and second days and were justly hammered, but the excitement
came on the final day when Khun Noo (owner of the Noo Bar) became furious
and leaped off his horse. Acting Polo Manager Daniel Yanez tried to cool him
down, but Noo remained furious. He remounted his horse and the TNT King
Power Team came back on fire to claim a ferocious victory over the Malaysian
Jam Jar team. It was a thrilling game to watch. The most Caballero team of the
tournament went to Stuart Wrigley's Rhinos. Agustin Lorea played extremely
well as did Dubai Polo Club Manager Twm. Churo Pellegrini is for sure one of
the most pleasant and gentlemanly players on the field, but the honor of the
tournament goes to this team, because they game two penalty hits to their
team Patron Stuart Wrigley when they could have gotten sure goals to
increase their lead, then chose to keep the game close. In the truest sense
of the game, we would like to honor them for the spirit in which they played
the game. Congratulations and thank you for a very exciting tournament. This
year, the team entry fee for the Celebration Cup was 22,000 Baht (not
including hot dogs). Photos by Khun Na. Additional photos --
www.polo-photo.com --
www.polo-photo.com/ RHINOS
-- NEW TEAM IN ASIAWe completed our interview with new polo player Stuart Wrigley after the exciting final at Polo Escape. Stuart informed us that he and his wife, Jieun, started playing about one year ago after having been led around the Pyramids in Giza a few years earlier. Their tournament at Polo Escape market the completion of their first full season on the field. The team name, "RHINO," comes from their dog -- named: Rhino. Prior to the Celebration Cup, Stuart made a bet with Agustin Lorea: If they won the tournament, Stuart would stop smoking, but Stuart would not drink until they won the tournament. After the very exciting last minute loss in the Celebration Cup, Stuart is still smoking but not allowed to drink. Stuart confirms that polo history is repeating itself for the Rhinos -- as the following weekend, his team lost by 1/2 goal by a penalty hit at the final horn in Dubai. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
''A'' DIVISION: (PLAYS AROUND
ROBIN) - FRIDAY 14:30HS.
POLO ESCAPE ADAMAS VS BLACK DOG TEAM. (2 CHUKKAS).
POLO ESCAPE ADAMAS VS JAMJAR'S POLO TEAM (2 CHUKKAS).
JAMJAR'S POLO TEAM VS BLACK DOG TEAM (2 CHUKKAS). UMPIRES: AGUSTIN LOREA & NATHAPON PRATHUMALEE. IN THIS DIVISION "A" THE
WINNER WILL PLAY THE SECOND MATCH, (DIVISION B) ON SATURDAY 4 CHUKKAS.
REMARK: THE WINNER IN DIVISION A, IS THE TEAM THAT GETS MOST POINTS AFTER
THE TWO MATCHES (2 CHUKKAS EACH MATCH), IF IT HAPPENS THAT TWO TEAMS GET THE
SAME NUMBER OF POINTS, THE WINNER WILL BE THE TEAM THAT SCORES THE MOST
GOALS. IF IT STILL IS A DRAW, THE WINNER WILL BE THE ONE GOT LESS NUMBER OF
GOALS SCORED AGAINST IT. "B" DIVISION (4 CHUKKAS) - FRIDAY 16:00HS. RHINO'S POLO TEAM VS THAI NATIONAL TEAM. UMPIRES: WILLIAM ROBERTS & SHAIK REISMANN. THE WINNER IN THIS DIVISION WILL REMAIN IN THE SAME DIVISION, THE LOSER WILL GO TO PLAY THE ''A'' DIVISION. SATURDAY 11TH: WILL DEPEND ON THE RESULTS. THE WINNER OF THE A DIVISION WILL GO TO PLAY TO THE B DIVISION. IN THE B DIVISION THE LOSER WILL GO TO PLAY THE A DIVISION. SUNDAY 12TH: THE WINNERS FROM BOTH DIVISIONS WILL PLAY THE FINALS 4 CHUKKAS. THE REST WILL PLAY AROUND ROBIN. NOTE: THE IDEA IS TO GIVE A BENEFIT TO THE WINNERS, SO THEY PLAY 4 CHUKKAS IN A ROW AROUND ROBIN. THE TEAMS: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
''A'' DIVISION: (PLAYS AROUND
ROBIN) KING POWER TNT: Satit Wangkraso: 0. Nutthadith Sila-Amornsak: 0. Thanasin Chuawangkham 1. Natapon Prathumalee: 2. Total: 4. (Handicap must be 4 since the tournament accept teams from 4 to 6). ADAMAS POLO ESCAPE: Paul Cheung: -1 Diego Gomez Echavarry: 1. William Roberts: 2. Marco Focaccia 2. Total: 4. BLACK DOG TEAM: Gerry Gan: -1. Tom Claytor: 1. Eric Barthe: 1. Lucas Lujan: 3. Total: 4. |
"B" DIVISION (4 CHUKKAS) RHINO'S POLO TEAM: Stuart Wrigley: -2. Twm Morris-Lowe: 2. Ramiro Pellegrini: 1. Agustin Lorea: 4. Total: 5. JAMJAR'S POLO TEAM: Anis Jamaludin: -2. Saladin Mazlan: 3. Shaik Reismann: 3. Ariel Ponzi: 1. Total: 5. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
24
NOV 2010 -- BREAKING NEWS Captain-at-large Jamie Woodward has confirmed that he has a fractured shoulder. Jamie was leading the Black Dog team in the final day of action in the Loy Kratong cup when he executed a sudden dismount procedure from his horse in the midst of a tail backhand shot. He has confirmed today that he will be prohibited from play for 6 weeks. This confirms the second "Injury-in-Action" inflicted upon a member of the Black Dog Team whilst in the heat of competitive play. Jamie will be awarded a Purple Heart by the members of the Black Dog team at the next gathering of the team. The first Injured-in-Action player was Eric Barthe two years ago after receiving an under-the-neck shot to his leg. Both players will be awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for services rendered to the team. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
19
NOV 2010 -- INDIA DEFEATS ARGENTINA Member and former Polo Captain of the Singapore Polo Club, Satinder Garcha, has some good news to share with us via Torrey Dorsey. The Indian polo team won a historic victory over Argentina in the Friendly Match organised by the Embassy of India in Buenos Aires on 16 November. This was the grand finale to the Third Festival of India held from 4 to 16 November which included dance and music performances, seminars, literary contests, handicraft exihibition by 50 Indian companies, live demonstration of handicrafts by seven artisans plus an Astrologer with a laptop, film festival, photo and painting exihibitions, a Golf Tournament and  Polo
match as well as a Business Seminar on 16 November with 250 Argentine
businessmen and 45 members of a CII delegation. The Indian players are
Shamsheer Ali ( handicap- 6) Syed Bashir Ali (6), Satinder Garcha ( 2) and
Bhawani Kalvi (2). The Argentine players are: Jorge Donovan (6), Alberto
Zubiaurre jr( 5) Raul Pastorini (2) and Felipe Miguel (2). India was
trailing 0-3 in the first chucker and 2-3 in the second chucker. India took
the lead in the third chucker 5-4 and maintained the lead through the six
chuckers. The credit for this goes to Shamsheer Ali, India´s number one polo
player. The Ali brothers are based in Buenos Aires for about four months
every year. They have a permanent stable with their own horses. The other
player who contributed to the victory is Satinder Garcha, an Indian
enterpreneur living in Singapore and who is here for this polo season to
improve his handicap of two. Satinder has his own team called Elevation,
which beat the number one Argentine team Ellerstina (their B team, of
course) in the Gold Cup on 7 November. On that day Satinder played like a
4-5 handicapper. Satinder is establishing in Buenos Aires a stable with his
own horses and manager. Satinder is part of the international polo jet-set
and plays tournaments in many countries including India, Singapore, Thailand
and UK. He has his own polo team in Jaipur. He hires Argentine players to
play for his team. The embassy gave trophies to the winners and runners and
held a cocktail to celebrate the victory. Argentina is the undisputed leader
of polo in the world. Argentina has, at this moment, 11 ten handicap players
out of the twelve in the world. Argentina has not only the best players in
the world but also has the largest number of top ranked players. All the top
30 ranked players of the world are Argentines except for the sixth ranked
Uruguyan David Stirling. There are over 1000 polo fields in Argentina which
also has the best polo horses in the world. Adolfo Cambiaso is the best polo
player in the world. He was the youngest player to reach ten handicap, at
the age of ninteen in 1994, when he won the Grandslam of Argentina. Since
then he has been winning tournaments in Argentina and around the world.
While Argentina has perfected the game, it was born in India. The modern
game of polo, formalized and popularized by the British , originates from
Manipur in India. The first polo club was established in the town of Silchar
in Assam in 1834. The second polo club came up in Calcutta in 1862. The
British took the game from India to Britain, Europe and Americas and
popularised them. While the glamour of polo was kept up by the royalty of
Jaipur and Jodhpur, the level of the game in India has remained low. The
highest handicap in India is six. Since it is an expensive game it has been
maintained mainly by the Indian army, which could afford horses. Now there
is a boost to the game by the entry of Indian corporate chiefs who play and
patronise the game. Even with this, India is likely to continue in the minor
league while Argentina has taken the game to new levels of excellence. They
say that there are two levels of polo: world class and Argentine class. More
info -- www.indembarg.org.ar --
Report graciously submitted by H.E. R. Viswanathan, Ambassador of India to
Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
20-21 NOV 2010 --
KING POWER WINS LOY KRATONG POLO TOURNAMENT Siam Polo Park was full of activity
this past weekend as it hosted the Loy Kratong Polo Tournament. It was a
very fun tournament with our friends Dino and Gerry visiting from Nine
Dragons in China. Both of these players were assembled onto the SPP team
with leading gauchos, con las pelotas llenas, Nicolas Pieroni and Agustin
Andrada on loan from Paisano Polo Club. The SPP team destroyed the Thai
National Team on day one, because the Thai Team was missing critical player
Khun Top. The Black Dog team faced off with King Power on the big field
under the lights and were also destroyed. However, it must be said that
Black Dog Captain-at-large, Jamie Woodward, did an excellent job preparing
his team as the team was presented with Hugh Dawnay's book "Playmaker" about
one hour before the match. Peter Davies joined the Black Dog team, and the
team was very honored to have him, because he actually has a real black dog.
Day two, saw the Thai National Team destroy the Black Dog team. Two dogs
were injured and carried off the field on stretchers and replacement dogs
sent in. Eric Butter played brilliantly and was assisted by Acting Polo
Manager and Substitute Black Dog, Daniel Yanez. At one point, in chukka 3,
The Black Dog team was only down by one goal. However, the tide soon turned
with Khun Tal and the awesome force of the monk from Muktahan, Khun Nat,
combining to totally destroy the injured Black Dog team by something like
8-2. Without question, the Black Dog team won the "Caballo de Goma" (Rubber
Horse award). Jamie Woodward was not the slightest put off by the defeat,
because he said that the team would learn from the experience and come back
even stronger. Next, on field number 2, there was a spectacle. Everyone
thought that Cambiaso was in Argentina getting ready to play the Open.
However, we saw Cambiaso wearing Khun Vichai's jersey #1 in full flight down
the field, lifting the ball into the air, and taping it backhand, then
tailing it to Lukas, for a goal. The King Power team was teaching the Dragon
Hill Paisano Team how to play polo. There was only one momentary glitch,
when Lukas was charging down field, he realized that his girlfriend Jazz was
now on the expedition alone in Pattaya, and so with a completely open goal
and unmarked, he drove the ball straight into the goal post. Such is the
life of a gaucho con las pelotas llenas. The victory went to King Power.
Second place to SPP. Third to the Thai National Team, and Fourth and final
place to the Black Dog team. It was a great tournament and we were honored
to have our visitors Dino and Gerry back on the field. Thank you to all the
gauchos and Khun Dang and Khun Goong and Khun Vichai and Acting Polo Manager
Daniel Yanez and all grooms and vets for a very nice tournament.
 Loy Kratong is the very special Thai Holiday
where Thai people dress up and pay respect to the water and place a floating
flower arrangement on the water with candles and incense to send away bad
luck and bring in good fortune. The teams were: KING POWER TEAM, THAI NATIONAL TEAM,
SPP TEAM (with Captains Dino and Gerry), and last but not least... THE BLACK
DOG TEAM -- BREAKING NEWS -- After several years
retirement, Peter Davies will be back on the field. We saw Peter briefly
last season as he went up against the full force of the Black Dog Team
with Cabeza Grande, so this year, Peter has decided "if you can't beat them,
join them" and Peter will be a fully qualified member of the Black Dog team.
Peter is fully qualified, because he actually has a Black Dog who is the
official manager of the team. Captain-at-large Jamie Woodward will be back
in control of the team with Minister of Defense, Eric Barthe, and Special
Operations envoy Tom also in the ranks. The Thai National Team is the
arch enemy of the Black Dog team, and we have been watching these two teams
battle against each other for years. Khun Nat who has been studying in a
temple in Muktahan to be a monk (since termination of this last employment)
will be bringing new tactics to the field. Khun Top who has been honing his
handicap down in UK will be joining Khun Tal to complete the Raksriaksorn
Connection - a lethal force indeed. Khun Tsu will round out the team and
promises a lot of exciting action. The SPP Team will be the team to
watch this year with Khun Dino and Khun Gerry who have been learning new
tactics with the polo explosion in China. They will be joining the awesome
force of the Paisano Polo Club
connection Nicolas Pepperoni Pieroni and Agustin Andrada. Agustin will be
running in the next election for the Presidency of La Asociacion do Los
Gauchos Timidos. The other interesting team to watch in this tournament will
be the King Power Polo Team. We all know this team well, and they are
a force to be reckoned with. Khun Vichai (owner of King Power) will captain
the team with Khun Noo (owner of the Noo Bar) and SPP Acting Polo Manager
Daniel Yanez (owner of la Maquina de mierda) and the current President of La
Asociacion de Los Gauchos Timidos Lukas Lujan (owner of Amiga Jazz - when
she is not on the expedition). There is no question that this team of owners
will have victory in their sights. Come and join the fun at Loy Kratong this
year. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
21
DEC -- BRIAN XU AND AXUS TEAM WIN KUPPA TROPHY The 6 goal Kuppa Trophy was won by Captain Brian Xu at Polo Escape. On the 10th to 12th, Polo Escape will have the 6 goal Celebrations Cup. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
28
NOV - 4 DEC -- ELEPHANT POLO IN NEPAL Tiger Mountain will be sponsoring the World Elephant Polo Championships again this year. More information -- www.tigermountain.com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 3
NOV 2010 -- FIRST CHUKKASiam Polo Park celebrated their first Chukka last Wednesday with the opening of SPP while most of Thailand is still underwater from flooding. Nick Henry was on the field. He had booked his flight for the International Club tournament, but this tournament was changed due to rain, so Nick was on the field for the First Chukka instead. Khun Dang reports that there will be a club meeting this coming Saturday. SPP has a new Acting Polo Manager named Daniel Yanez. Daniel is off to a running start this year, because he now has a Blackberry. There are a growing number of gauchos that now have Blackberries in Thailand. Now we see that Lukas, Agustin, Pepperoni, Gustavo, Dang, Gung, have joined Marco and some other gauchos with the BB. Most gauchos find the BB preferable to the iPhone because the tracking ball reminds them of a polo ball (perhaps). We have no news from Churo nor Camille, so we don't know how successful the wedding expedition to Australia was last month, but we will try to find out. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 28
OCT 2010 -- NICOLE SUCCESSFULLY MOUNTS NEW STALLIONKhun Vichai had a new Stallion that needed to be mounted, so Nicole was called in for the job. It can be very dangerous to mount a new Stallion, so you need a rider with a lot of experience. Nicole reported that he was a perfect gentleman and that she was able to get on him and sit up and ride him around with no problem at all. We wish to salute Nicole for her courage and fine riding ability. Nicole has been helping to advise Khun Vichai and Khun Gung on the dimensions of the new indoor arena at VR sport club. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
4
NOV 2010 -- GOLDIN WINS EXHIBITION POLO MATCH IN TIANJIN, CHINA The Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjin, China had its opening 4 chukka exhibition match with great success. The two teams put on a very good show for the spectators followed by a Gala Dinner. Derek Reid did a magnificent job pulling the whole event off. It was an opening event for the hotel and polo club. The catering was excellent with plenty of Hong Kong and Taiwanese Singers complete with acrobatics and Lion Dancers. The field held up very well (since it was only put in 6 weeks ago) and the players played very carefully. Derek and his team should be very proud of their hard work that they have put in over the past months to make this event happen. Congratulations to Met Polo and Goldin Team. Thanks Steve for your report. TEAM GOLDIN (20 goals) 1. Aaron Vowles 4 2. Craig Wilson 6 3. Tommy Wilson 6 4. John Fisher 4 TEAM UK (18 goals) 1. Henry Fisher 4 2. Ben Turner 4 3. Damien Johnston 6 4. Richards Rawlings 4 Derek Reid has suggested that the game be played off the stick, ie no handicap. This will make it easier for the spectators to understand. These are two very good polo teams and the game will be open, straightforward and very pleasant to watch. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
13-14 NOV 2010 -- SINGAPORE POLO IN KOREA The Singapore Polo Club will send a team to Jeju, Korea in November to play an 8 Chukka match -- www.koreapoloclub.com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
23-24 OCT 2010 -- KOREA DEFEATS SHANGHAI IN JEJU The KPCC narrowly defeated Shanghai visitors in an 8 chukka match with a score of 12.5 to 12. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
2-6
NOV 2010 -- POLO INTERNATIONAL CLUB SERIES AT VR SPORT CLUB News Flash - The polo field is still underwater like most of Thailand, so this may be postponed Such is the speed and excitement of polo in Thailand that we have just been informed by the TPA that there will be polo clubs from Russia, Spain, Thailand, and UK competing in the International Club Series in early November at VR. Last week, we heard from chief vet at VR, Daniel Yanez, that the horses would not be ready by the end of October for beginner ladies lessons, but now it seems that they will be ready by the first week of November for a possible 8-goal International. Such is the speed and agility of the Argentine gaucho when assigned to a task at VR. The tournament is being hosted by Ham Polo Club (the only polo club in London). Singapore Polo Club Manager Torrey Dorsey, who is always on the ball, has informed us that this tournament has been publicized in the Jul/Aug 2010 issue of Equestrio Magazine. The Polo world's first "International Club Series" kicked off at London Polo Club (Ham Polo Club) with the home side victorious by half a goal over a visiting team from Moscow Polo Club. Pete McCormack says this tournament has been two years in the making and sees Thailand's King Power as the sponsor (as stated in the Equestrio Magazine). The series provides clubs and members with the chance to compete internationally using a league format. Each club will host three games, one against each opposing city club, with points allocated for the home and away wins as well as draws. the tournament will run throughout the 2010 season culminating in a final in November in Thailand. The clubs from VR (thailand), Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, London Polo Club (Ham), and Moscow Polo Club will be on the field. Set as a maximum 8 goal handicap tournament, each team is limited to just one professional player (whose handicap must be a maximum of 5 goals). Teams must comprise three amateur members from the club they represent, with two of the three being a national of the country they represent. Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers, Chairman of the Hurlingham Polo Association and the Ham Polo Club, said, "this series is especially exciting as it gives true amateur members a chance to play internationally... It is about clubs, not teams who compete at clubs, and it promotes the same spirit of grass-roots talent and enthusiasm for which our club is renowned." |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
20
SEP 2010 -- CHINA POLO REPORT Steve Wyatt informs us that polo in China is growing by leaps and bounds. Now there are 2 fully operational polo clubs in China -- Nine Dragons and Reignwood (Beijing). However, if the drainage system is working and the grass keeps growing, then there will be two more clubs up and running by November -- Tang in Beijing and Metropolitan Club in Tianjin. On a slightly smaller scale, we have a smaller one in Tianjin and the famous Sunny Time in Beijing. In the Spring/Summer of 2011, there should be another one in Beijing and, of course, the Shanghai Polo Club. Also, by the end of 2011, there could be an additional 3 clubs in China. so, guess what?.... China wants to play polo.... www.poloredbook.com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
  17
SEP 2010 -- GAUCHO LUCAS LUJANThe new President of La Asociacion de Los Gauchos Timidos has arrived in Thailand. Lucas is the first gaucho to complete a successful expedition en "La Tierra del Gaucho" and for this, he was immediately promoted to the position of President. The Asociacion has had a growing list of presidents. Khun Tom was the founding President, but he was overthrown by a coup led by the gaucho Nicolas "Che" Pieroni after rumors surfaced that he had been seen dancing the Tango with another gaucho in Rio Cuarto in 2009. The next President was the famous Thai Polo Player, Eric Barthe, who is one of the finest horsemen we have ever seen in Thailand. In fact, the symbol of La Asociacion comes from Khun Eric's belt buckle. He served the Asociacion with honor and distinction. Now, it is Lucas' turn to lead the gauchos on the field, and we look forward to following him this year. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SEP
2010 -- SINGAPORE POLO CLUB EXPEDITION TO MONGOLIA Singapore has dispatched an expeditionary polo team to Mongolia. Khun Stijn is a member of the team and has promised us that he will come back with some photos of the event. Anyone who has played polo in Mongolia and survived realizes how Ghengis Khan created the largest Empire the world has ever known. Mongolians are incredible horsemen -- and women -- and when they play polo, there are no rules. Standby as we wait for Stijn to emerge and provide us a full report. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
DEC
2010 -- IQBAL JUMABHOY COMING TO THAILAND FOR "FATHER-SON" MATCH Singapore Polo Club President Iqbal Jumabhoy announced that he and his brother would like to bring their sons to Thailand and play at VR Sports Club in a Father-Son polo match against Khun Vichai with his two sons Top and Tal. This could be the first ever Double Father-Son Polo Match ever held in Asia. Polo History in the making. Iqbal was a perfect host at the recent Thai-Singapore Youth competition held in Singapore and came up with this exciting idea after presenting the trophy to Khun Vichai. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SEP
2010 -- DIRK & BUA MOVING TO GERMANY Polo in Thailand is losing a valuable person. Dirk and Bua are moving to Germany. Dirk was a very skilled saddle-maker and bag maker who had worked very hard making saddle pads and repairing tack for all the polo clubs in Thailand. He started to have great difficulties collecting payment for all his work - sometimes having to wait over a month or longer - so he has packed up shop and moved to Germany. It may be hard for polo in Thailand to find a replacement as skilled as Dirk was. We wish Dirk and Bua well and look forward to hearing of his success in Germany with his family. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 AUG
2010 -- WARM WELCOME FROM SINGAPORE POLO CLUBSingapore Polo Club Manager Torrey Dorsey welcoming members of the King Power Expeditionary Polo Team on their friendship visit to Singapore. The Singapore Polo Club is 124 years old and many of their members have been playing in Thailand at all three polo clubs. SPP and King Power wished to reciprocate their support of polo in Thailand and were given a very warm welcome by Singapore club members, players and committee members. It can be safely said that the Singapore Polo Club staff and members are the perfect hosts. The Thai players felt they were given excellent horses, and combined with exceptional umpiring, it was a very enjoyable weekend. The young teams from Singapore and Thailand were competing in the Youth League in celebration of the Youth Olympics being held in Singapore. There was one member of the Thai team that did have some spectators questioning his "youth" status. Khun Vichai Raksriaksorn was an honored guest of the Singapore Polo Club and given the task of "getting the ball rolling" - as he threw in the first ball. Daniel Yanez was on hand to manage the Thai Team horses and logistics. Nicole was on a "special mission" to handle details of the traveling team and take photographs during the Thai visit to Singapore Polo Club. Khun Dang was the official representative of Siam Polo Park (special attache to the King Power Team). Khun Tao (from Equestiran Paradise) was an honored guest of Khun Vichai's at the event. Khun Vichai was overall commander of the Thai operation and was directing his team from above. The first day of play, had the Thai team trailing by two goals after the three chukkas. Khun Top did an amazing job of putting the ball through the goal (even when his saddle was sometimes sliding off). Khun Nat was in very good form at back, and had a rallying inspirational goal from about 80 yards that tipped the balance for the Thai team. Khun Noo was also on fine form and led several inspirational charges down field. On the second day of play, Thailand found their form, playing as a team, and were able to pull ahead by one goal at the final bell. SPP friend Ang Ban Tong was a great help to Khun Dang in helping to arrange hotels for the expedionary team with dates that kept changing. Ang Ban Tong also invited members of the Thai team to a delicious lunch at Boon Tong Kee restaurant before the first day of play. His tactics were successful, because the delicious food slowed down the Thai Team enough for Singapore to lead by two goals at the end of Day 1. Now we know what tactics to use on Ang Ban Tong when he comes back to visit us. The following Singapore Polo Club Committee Members were in attendance: Iqbal Jumabhoy (President), Leon Chu (Vice President), Jeff Hardee (Polo Captain), Ali Namazie (Honorary Secretary), Gary Tiernan (Honorary Treasurer), Stijn Welkers, Kevin Wilkinson, Wee Tiong Han. Thank you for your warm welcome. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 15
AUG -- FACUNDO BIRTHDAYThe gauchos were together to celebrate Facundo's Birthday at the Pattaya Siam Polo Park on the evening of 15 August. Many gauchos were there. Churo Pelligrini came over from Polo Escape. Nyata was there with Yamilla and they announced that she was 7 months pregnant -- but it was quite obvious anyway. Their gaucho will be coming soon and will be born in Thailand. San Miguel -- the chief gaucho dog at VR -- was also modeling his broken foot and the cast. Daniel Yanez was there with visiting gauchos Fede Rosales and his brother. It was a very fun evening with good humor and good food. The Gaucho Churo specifically did not want to be photographed and he shared with us that he will be having a special day coming up in October. We will be following this story and keep you updated. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
JUL
2010 -- TPA ACTION MEETING There was a TPA action meeting to look at the polo schedule for 2010-2011. Khun Top was chairing the meeting and all the TPA staff were there with Khun Daniel and Khun Goong and Khun Dang. It seems like the Ambassador Cup will be back again with the King's Cup and lots of other cups. However, there is some discussion if there will be a Rock Concert Polo and perhaps a Tri-Nations Charity Tournament. The University Cup last season was a tremendous success, and this year TPA looks to celebrate some Thai Holidays with additional tournaments -- like the Songkran Cup and the Loy Kratong Cup (with a midnight under-the-lights competition). We will update with the dates from TPA for VR, SPP, PE and perhaps even Thai Polo if we can find out what they are up to. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 06
AUG 2010 -- KUPPA WINS DUBAI CUP IN UKThe third time lucky as Khun Robin has captured the Dubai Cup with her string of gauchos in UK. It was a very close game with Kuppa winning the trophy at the final bell 8-7.5. This has been the third year that Kuppa has competed for the 12 goal Dubai Cup, and one of the very formidable DiPaola brothers was on hand to help guide the team. Khun Robin and Suzy have been having a very active polo summer traveling to Argentina and UK and Thailand to get everything ready for their new season. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 20-22
AUG 2010 -- THAILAND GOING TO SINGAPORE POLO CLUBTPA is dispatching the King Power Polo Team to Singapore for a friendly match this August. Khun Gung and Khun Daniel have announced that Nicole is in charge of all logistics and assembling the team. Khun Gung has also informed us that TPA will begin an aggressive schedule of international polo appearances for the Thai Polo team. We will bring you more updates from this event as we receive them. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SEP
2010 -- THE GRAND OPENING OF THE CHINA POLO CLUB The grand opening of the China Polo Club in anticipated for September 2010. Get ready for this one in Beijing. They are expecting to have some some public figures from China and overseas. We are told that his polo club is going to be the largest stadium in all of Asia. Let's wait and see.... Mark Godfrey reports: "Few people appreciate that China invented the stirrup. Much of the country’s traditions of horsemanship have died out since the days of the Tang Dynasty, thousands of years ago, when Chinese cavalries were the best in the world. Today there’s a resurgence of interest, as equestrian clubs open in major cities. Equuleus, in Beijing, gives lessons to wealthy Chinese and expats and at the weekend compete in national showjumping teams. But the real horsemen are to be found in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, where minority Mongols and Uyghur peoples produce some of the best riders and horses in the world." UPDATE -- It seems that in China, you are not allowed to use the word "China" in the name of your sports club, so the China Polo Club may actually be called the TianJin Metropolitan Club. They have 43 horses now in quarantine, which Nine Dragons helped them locate. Apparently, their Grand Opening is to be on 28 September, but one of our polo playing reps in China says that they do not yet have a field. They also do not have stadium seating, so there are many things to find out about the Grand Opening of the China Polo Club. Stay tuned.... |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
7-8
AUG 2010 -- FRIENDLY MATCH IN KOREA Our friend J.B. Lee has invited Singapore and Shanghai and Thailand to join a friendship polo tournament at his new polo club. This will be a low goal event with 4 chukkas a day. There is already a team coming from Singapore. The tournament will be for beginners and with a maximum handicap of 2 goals per team. For more information, email korea@siampolonews.com -- this date is unconfirmed pending confirmation of teams. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 20
JUL -- FELIZ DIA DEL AMIGOEver since the Cabeza Grande has his new BlueBerry, he has been able to inform us of strategic events from all points of the globe. He recently reminded us all that 20 July is the official "Day of the Amigo" in Argentina. This is the day when you wish all your Amigos the best and say hello to them. Cabeza informs us that he is "moviendo las vacas" in Villa Dolores and that all is well. He also sent us a photo of Santiago Yanez doing some stick and ball in the kitchen without the wall. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 JUL
2010 -- GUACHOS IN SWITZERLANDWe located the Bach-a-mann in Bern, Switzerland and found some other gauchos Manu and Agustin. The Bach-a-mann was teaching players in Bern for a month and then going to play a 15 goal tournament in St. Tropez, France. Manu is now the Cabeza Grande in St. Moritz, Switzerland. They have 6 horses there and not yet a field, but it is coming soon. It seems that it is difficult to get permission from the Swiss government to have official polo fields. The Bern field is separate from the clubhouse and the stables. Manu and his wife Caro are living in St. Moritz and he is giving lessons to some of the students at the nearby private school. The Bach-a-mann is very famous in Thailand for originating "La Signa del Gaucho" which is now recognized around the world and the official sign of La Asociacion de Los Gauchos Timidos. Bach-a-mann has recently accepted an appointment to the board of Directors at Argentina Polo. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
POLO
IN PHILIPPINES -- INTERVIEW WITH CHARLIE FIELD We had a chat with Charlie Field and will be sharing some of his background in polo shortly. The Philippine Polo Season is from November to March. In Nov & Dec, Charlie is on the farm with the best field. In Jan & Feb, there are 10-12 goal tournaments (with 2 teams) and 4 goal tournaments (with 4-6 teams). The Tournament season is from January to March. March is usually 4-6 low goal tournaments. More info coming soon. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
AUG
2010 -- KOREA INVITES CHINA TO PLAY A FRIENDLY MATCH There may be only one Korean polo player, but this has not stopped JB Lee from inviting China polo players to come and play a friendly match at the Korea Polo Club in August 2010. Any Chinese players that wish to join this match -- www.koreapoloclub.com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 KOREA
DEFEATS INTERNATIONAL TEAM IN OPENING TOURNAMENTRead the Report in English JEJU WEEKLY -- The opening weekend was a tremendous success for Korea Polo Club in Jeju, Korea. Surrounded by volcanoes this island paradise hosted the first ever polo game to be played in Korea in front of hundreds of VIPs and dignitaries. Mr. J.B. Lee was thrilled with the results of his hard work. Rain was falling on Friday and Saturday morning, but thanks to 30cm of North Korean sand and the hardiest grass (combination of Tifton and Perennial Rye that loves 15*-20*C) we have ever seen, the pitch was in perfect form for the opening game. H.E. Mr. Chua, The Singaporean Ambassador, was given the honor of getting the ball rolling as he threw it in, and the spectators were thrilled by some very high level polo. After Day one, the International team was leading by 1.5 goals. But on the second day, the Korean team was led by a ferocious charge by J.B. Lee scoring a hat-trick and taking the Koreans into the lead. It was a nail-biting finish, but our very own Campeon de La Vida -- Nicolas Pieroni -- helped carry the Korean team to victory. We will post photos soon. Congratulations to Korea Polo Club -- www.koreapoloclub.com -- and JB Lee for brininging polo to Korea. KOREAN TEAM: JB Lee, Alex de Lisle, Nicolas Pieroni, Rob Ballard. INTERNATIONAL TEAM: Marc Hogberg, Alex Vecinal, Mark Lillyman, Charlie Field. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 KOREAN
HORSE HISTORYUpon further inspection, we discovered that Korea is a country rich in horse history. The white horse in the Korean Polo Club logo comes from the ChunMa Tomb in KyungJu (town). "ChunMa" means "horse from heaven" and inside of the tomb was found the ancient image of the white horse. This tomb is either for King SoJi or King JoJung and was built after the time of unification. Ancient Korea used to be divided into 3 kingdoms, and the Kingdom of Shilla in the Southeast was the kingdom that united the 3 kingdoms which then lasted another 500 years. The tomb has 12 animals around it and is a large mound of earth in S.E. Korea. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
23
MAY 2010 -- 15 AMBASSADORS AT NUSANTARA FOR ARGENTINE INDEPENDENCE DAY It may have been the largest assembly of Ambassadors for a polo match in the history of polo -- certainly polo in Asia. On 25 May 2010, Argentina celebrated it's 200th year of Independance. The Nusantara Polo Club celebrated with a grand exhibition match between the Indonesian National Team and an Argentina Team. There were 600 spectators on the side of the field, complete with a Tango show. The honored guest was the Argentina Ambassador, H.E. Javier Sanz de Urquiza, and there was a splendid Argentine Asado for all to enjoy. Khun Probowo took to the field to lead the Indonesian Team with 3 of the Indonesian National Team members. The Argentine Team was led by chief gaucho Nico Curto, and when the dust settled, it was Argentina that won the day 10-5 and lifted the Silver Cup -- which weighed 30 kilos!!!! Congratulations to Indonesia and Argentina for a splendid display of polo and a great celebration of Argentina's National Day. INDONESIA TEAM: Prabowo Subanto (-1) / Ac'ep Krisnanadar (o). Billy Barsel (1), Novel Momongan (2), Hary Syafar (1)/Agus Gombong (0). ARGENTINA TEAM: Lucio Benedit (2), Juan Benz (1), Mariano Curto (1), Nico Curto (4). |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
ELEPHANT POLO MOVING BACK TO HUA HIN Chris Stafford has confirmed that the next Elephant Polo Tournament in Thailand will be held in Hua Hin. This next tournament will be in September 2011, so plenty of time for everyone to practice. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 KING
POWER FLAG ON SUMMIT OF MOUNT EVERESTSiam Polo News has discovered that another high altitude polo stick test was recently conducted in Nepal. This time the team was exploring the effects that lack-of-oxygen has on polo players and the polo stick in particular. On the summit of Everest, there is 75% less oxygen then at sea level. This causes a deterioration of brain cells, and the polo player can completely forget his stick if he is not careful. The temperature ranges from -40*C to -100*C, depending on the wind, and this can have a very damaging effect on the player and the stick. Khun Top very kindly dispatched a King Power flag for the expedition to use to promote polo and Duty Free to all the Sherpas in the Khumbu Valley. The expedition also felt very badly about the 1/2 goal loss that King Power (captained by Gustavo Yanez) suffered against the Black Dog team for the last place position in the Gold Cup. The King Power flag proudly reached the top of Everest on 17 May 2010 at 10AM. This year, there were 6 deaths on Everest and 12 climbers lost most or all of their fingers to frostbite. The expedition determined that polo is not feasible anywhere above 26,000 feet due to the low levels of oxygen, and that the loss of fingers due to frostbite makes holding the polo stick extremely difficult. Siam Polo News apologizes for the lack of updates during the two month expedition. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 12-16
JUN 2010 -- CONSUL GENERAL CUP IN CHINASteve Wyatt has proudly shared with us that the famous 6-8 goal Consul General Cup is returning to Nine Dragons in China. This has become a very popular tournament for spectators and the high fashion ladies in Shanghai and is not to be missed. www.ndhpolo.com -- Many of China's up and coming players have made their way to Thailand to compete and their level of play is increasing rapidly -- especially with Brian Xu's recent victory in the King Power Gold Cup at VR Sports Club. UPDATE 19JUN2010 -- We hear that the German Team with gauchos Federico von Potobsky and Terramoto Talamoni have won the Consul General Cup 2010. It is a very interesting story, because the Terramoto Team defeated the German Team with Potobsky last year in the final seconds -- so the old adage holds true, "if you can't beat 'em, get them to join you." Congratulations to all teams. We have heard reports that the Nine Dragons Field is one of the best fields in the world. Well done to Nine Dragons Polo. RESULTS: Porsche and Jebsen Germany Team won the cup. Second place was Star River Italy and Third place was Hurun Report UK. Wayne Glennie was back on the field for Hurun. Our very own Cabeza Grande was on the field in China for the very first time supporting our good friend Brian Xu and his Noblesse Shanghai Team. Other teams were M-House Hong Kong and Sun Media China. The Cabeza is now back in Argentina with his BlackBerry. There is an increasing number of gauchos now fielding the BlackBerry -- including Lucas in Villa Dolores and Pepperoni in Korea. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
9-12
APR 2010 -- SONGKRAN CUP AT VR The Songkran Cup is one of the oldest and most invigorating tournaments in Thailand -- for the winners anyway!! -- If you lose this one, your time has come to lie prostrate on the ground and receive several buckets of ice water. Indonesia was last years winner of the Songkran Cup. This year everyone is invited to send in their name and they will be put on a team. Khun Vichai has never ever received a bucket of water in the Songkran Cup, so this may be the year. If you want to join this very fun tournament (0-6 goals), then email Gustavo -- gustavo@argentinapolo.com -- This will be the last official tournament of the season. We have heard from Stijn and he says that he is coming and probably bringing many players from our friends the Singapore Polo Club. So far, we see that Martin Young, Gerry Gan, Graham and Anna Cox, Stijn, Eric, Vichai, Top, Tal, Noo, Ploy are coming. Khun Ploy loves the Songkran Cup, but not when she looses. UPDATES COMING SHORTLY. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
31
MAR, 1, 3, 4 APR 2010 -- THE UNIVERSITY CUP For the first time, there will be a University Cup in Thailand. The University Cup is held to promote polo at the University Level and to invite international teams from around the world to compete in Thailand. This year, Khun Ploy has assembled and impressive team and we look forward to watching her compete. Apparently, the 4th is to be a combination Final and Birthday Cup. For more information on the University Cup -- email Gustavo@argentinapolo.com -- UPDATE: On 30th Malaysia beat Regents A 13-9.5 // On 31st Regents B beat Sweden 4-3 and Singapore beat Royal Holloway 5-4. // On 1st Thailand beat Sweden 4-3, Regents A beat Royal Holloway 5-3. Malaysia beat Singapore 7-6 in a very exciting game. // Thailand will be going to the finals. // This is the first time we have ever seen a University Level Polo Tournament in Thailand and it is very excitement to see this level of interest in polo -- especially in Southeast Asia. It is also bound to be excellent training for SEA Games 2011. 1) Regent's A - Rhys Cole 0, Ploy Bhinsaeng -2, Christian Badenhop 0, Matthias Muelbachel -2 2) Regent's B - George Shelton -1, Constatijn Huynen 1, Viktor Peterson -1, Nick Motz -2 3) Malaysia - Chevy Beh 4, Garvy Beh 2, Flea Vaughn -2, Lucie Cowan -2 4) Royal Holloway - Charlie Minns Shearer 1, Tom Lama Croft 1, Anoushka Siegler -1, Emma Louise Cowrick -2, (Grace Flower -2) 5) Singapore - Imran Jumabhoy 0, Marc Hoeberg 1, John Hardee 0, Waqas Khan 1 6) Sweden - Jonathan Willen -2, Emily Cheah -1, Olliver Warley -2, Fadzli Shah Anuar -2 7) Thailand - Top, Tal, Noo, Tumb |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
22-28
MAR 2010 -- KING POWER AND AUDEMARS PIGUET IN FINAL AT KING'S CUP ELEPHANT
POLO View King's Cup Elephant Polo Portraits -- www.jeremysamuelson.com/incoming/polo/ -- View ABC News Photos of "World's Most Amazing Sport" -- http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/slideshow/photos-elephant-polo-thailand-10231615 -- Elephant Polo returns to the far northern corner of Thailand once again along the Burmese border amidst lush tropical jungle. This year was a very exciting year with a final between King Power and Audemars Piguet. Gustavo Yanez was for the first time in his life playing polo on the back of an elephant. Khun Nat and Khun Tom stuck him at back, and he performed brilliantly. The King Power team coming off a very exciting victory over Mercedes the previous day, was finding it difficult to put the ball in the goal with Audemars Piguet. The Kalaan brothers were playing very well and won through to claim the trophy. Mercedes played a fantastic game for third place against SOCO. Ed Story was back in fine form. The Grand Mullis was seen on the field playing this year for Veuve Cliquot. Mullis brought his tractor to the elephant polo. He is building a polo field on his farm about 11 km from Chiangsaen and he says he is building a hotel there too. All of the veteran players were trying to get Mullis to host a dinner at his farm next year. Khun Nat was promoted to the position of "Polo Professional" on the elephant polo field by Gustavo after scored relentlessly against Mercedes. James Manclark was thrilled with his 8 goals against the Anantara team, but he would not let Sangay substitute in on the Spice Girls team when he was asked to replace Khun Robin -- even though he was wearing a wig and a pink helmet. The teams for this year were as follows -- www.anantaraelephantpolo.com Audemars Piguet - Peter Prentice (Captain), Angad Kalaan, Uday Kalaan, Oliviero Bottinelli (Team Owner/Manager). Kingpower Thailand - Tom Claytor, Top Raksriaksorn, Gustavo Yanez, Nattapong Patummalee, Krittika Toumtong. Mercedes Benz Germany - Oliver Winter (Captain), Niffy Winter, Hugo Goetz, Dirk Goetz. SOCO International - Ed Story (Team Manager / Owner), Jason Friedman, Khun Taweesak, Paul. Veuve Cliquot - Chris Stafford (Captain), Col Raj Kalaan, Robert Mullis, Bjorn Richardson. Price Waterhouse WEPA Legends - Paul Stitt (Team Owner), Kristjan Edwards (Captain), Stine Edwards, Tim Edwards. TAT Thailand - David Wildridge (Captain), William Wildridge, Simon American Express - Rikard Hogberg (Captain), Thomas Engstrom, James Manclark. IBM Spice Girls - Sam Prentice (Captain), Chakra, Geoffrey Dobbs, Khun Robin. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
CONTACTS AT VR SPORTS
CLUB Polo Manager: Daniel -- mobile: 0860159487. daniel@argentinapolo.com Club Manager: Gung -- moblie: 086-9720888. gung@siampolonews.com Post Address: VR Sports Club, 88/1-7 moo9 OnNut-Teparaj Road, Preng, Bangbo, SamutPrakarn 10560 Thailand. Map to VR Sports Club Hotels nearby VR
CONTACTS AT SIAM POLO
PARK (new field at VR Sports Club)
CONTACTS AT THAI POLO
& EQUESTRIAN CLUB
CONTACTS AT POLO
ESCAPE
|
Webpage designed by Tom Claytor
www.claytor.com
ampas
with a mate. Now, more and more is being demanded of the gaucho, and with
this increased demand on his time, many gauchos are turning to the
Blackberry. Nicolas Pieroni has been testing his Blackberry on the field
in Korea. Lukas Lujan was able to take his horse all around Argentina by
Blackberry. Churo Pellegrini has found the Blackberry very useful for
communicating with his wife Camille Fuller de Pellegrini. Cabeza Grande has
been moviendo las vacas with his Blackberry. Agustin Andrada has been using
the Blackberry for the expedition in Lat Krabang. Polo Escape Gauchos
Agustin and Diego don't go anywhere without their Blackberry. Tomi Lockey is
able to shoe horses all across Asia and manufacture quality polo sticks on
two continents with his Blackberry. Daniel Yanez was hoping to get a free
Blackberry, but in the end, he found that he could not be an Acting Polo
Manager without one. Even Ham Polo Club Chief Gaucho, Gusi Casabal, will not
wear his magic microchip bracelet without his Blackberry. The entire upper
echelon of the SPP management team, Goong, Dang, and Noo Bar, have already
been using Blackberry. Even Nicole Grunwell admits that she would not jump
on a new horse without one. The Blackberry has proved time and again to be
an indispensable piece of equipment on the expedition. The Association is
planning to elect a Presidente and to think about other activities.
12-13
JUN 2010 -- FIRST POLO TOURNAMENT IN KOREA
