The Polo Report
By Steve Crowder
As we enter the second decade of this century on about the first day of Fall in 2011, where are the bright spots? To me there are few, but one that stands up well is our youths. The young players of the West Coast who are home grown like Nick Morrision, Jarod Sheldon, Julian Mannix, Jesse Bray, Revy Muller , Uretz boys Patrick, Wiley, Hank and Tony, Scotty Mac Cunningham, Daniel Galindo and a few more … being old and fat I can not remember them but will add them as I do remember. These are the people who can make Polo grow again in the West, but they need help and I do not see a lot of it coming from within our state. I think they came this far due to clubs like Eldorado, San Diego and some of other clubs around state, but now is now and the only builder going up at this time is Empire Polo Club. All other clubs are on a hold and save mode. The same thing happened in Florida around the turn of the Century. John Oxley and Bill Ylvisacker were quitting and it became very quiet until John Goodman got involved in 2002 and built IPC. Now look at it … Florida polo is thriving. To me this has made it a whole different world for polo and that is what we need here on the West Coast. The loss of Skeeter Johnston was probably the greatest loss for our sport in the last decade. Skeeter and John Goodman had the means and the vision to make polo grow and this is what I see in Empire … GROWTH. Without it polo withers and becomes harvest time and once it is harvested it is gone.
I have received some sarcastic letters from many who refuse to put their names on their posts about how El Dorado is being mistreated by me after all it did for me and my family. I think that statement is a bit goofy because if they put their names down I am pretty sure I have done more for Eldorado than most of them. One letter did have the authors name on it and he has done far more than me or all of us together for Polo at Eldorado and this is FRED MANNIX. As he has and is still carrying the club on his back and I did not include him in Owners still supporting the club which he does by still putting teams in to make it work. However, he did send his Sons somewhere else to play so they could grow in the sport because long before most of us he saw where we were going. I am not condemning Eldorado Polo Club as I understand why money is not being spent there … they are not playing polo anymore and the new people do not want to spend anything on it so why would the Owners continue to be givers? With that said, Al Haagan is stepping up to make a modern, first-class polo facility which is what we need to showcase the young talented players on the West Coast and creating barriers only hurts the young players and new potential patrons from growing. Look who we have lost a few to Florida already. It is not make believe … they are GONE. Playing at a new place called INTERNATIONAL POLO CLUB. I do think we can build on what Empire is doing and the lions are roaring! LETS PLAY POLO.