The Polo Report
By Steve Crowder

I have been trying to improve Polo for Americans and I think sometimes the USPA is trying to improve Polo for everyone else but Americans.

First the USPA wants 26-goal Polo. Why? It cost about a million dollars more to play 26 than 22 and that is a pretty good fact. Why do they want 26-goal Polo? It must be to be second best in the World.  There are two things to consider.  Who knows who is second?  England is way ahead of us alreadyand Spain has moved into 3rd place in terms of best polo in the World. That is the way I see it. Simple little things are happening. I recently saw a team in FL for 2014 with one American and 3 foreigners already in and one American is a Governor. This is all nice nice and nothing unusual. We are so worried about other nations. We just cave in.  Look at the political front. We know Syria has hated us from the time of birth and yet we want to help. Yes, I agree we need to believe in human rights and protecting humans, but should we kill ours just to do it and send aid that only the killers benefit from? You tell me.

Why do we not try to be just us … U.S. Polo? We do not need the World nearly as much as they need us.  Why do we work so hard to impress everyone and they do not care anyway. They just take the money and go home and build another house. I find it amazing how we, the polo community,  think much like Congress. About 90 % of our leaders in the USPA have never played 20-goal polo EVER and 99 % of our Congressmen have never been on the front line of a war or a battle. Yet they make the rules. I am not saying a brilliant mind does not have to be in the action to make it work, but well over 80 % of our leaders have had these experiences.

The first thing that comes to most minds is to blame the Patrons. It would be easy, but in real life most of the Patrons have worked hard to get here and they want to win.  Our system makes it easy.  Money talks lets get what fit’s us best and this is what they do. Unfortunately, very few want to lead another co. or be involved after their polo.  This is why the few people leading our sport are not all that bad.  They just have no idea about this level of polo.  The worst part of all is that they never try to learn as they answer to the big boy’s who do. That’s the way it is and I KNOW IT. Polo is a sport where maybe about 5,000 people are involved. Compare polo to recent numbers in other sports.  For example, over 1,200,000.00 young people play U.S. football and 700,000 play soccer in the U.S.   How many people care about POLO? Maybe 500. That is the way it is. Just my opinion.

In business and success, whether in war or life, people have been involved from bottom up. I have been wrong most of my life and that is the way it is, but I thought Weaver was going to be different. He knows how to make it work, but somehow as in politics, it just never changes. We are just an ole’ boys world and they may die, but it never changes because that is the way it always was.

The U.S. polo communities makes a big thing about the polo clothing line/brand and such, that is fine.  Are we we using it to improve American polo youth beyond the first line? NO WE ARE NOT. Where and when are they going to get to the big stage? There is no chance for them to play.  There is no money for horses and no one to change it. If you do not step in and implement that two U.S. Polo players need to be on teams that are above 12-goal and require three Americans on teams in 12-goal and below.  If you don’t support American players you don’t get to play. Funny thing is in 5 years, the cost will be same as today. American Patrons never pay locals the same as foreigners. WHY?  they do not have to.  They want to play Polo. I know you think what does he know? Well, not much.  I have been in Polo for 38 years and I started in the basement and I am not far out of it.  I can still see we have gone backwards since then and the last two people in authority I saw try to help change that were Jack Oxley and Bill Ylvisaker.

See ya.