I have a couple of things I have been thinking about and one is about our Zebras or polo officials. Its not capitalized because I do not understand what’s official. In a business you are responsible for everything from watering the lawn to meeting the movers or to making it work. If you do not you get terminated. In most jobs you would for sure get demoted. Even the Army does it this way. Well in polo if a player gets 3 red Flags he is out and that’s fine, but what about the red flag waver? Where and how is he accountable ?
Last weekend there were some cases that were big mistakes made by the umpires and yet they did not get a red flag or a demotion. They just a little more power. This is wrong! If they are going to control the game, why are they not governed by someone? In one game there were two huge mix ups by the umpires and they punished the teams. Why? Because they can and do? For example in the 1 o’clock game on field on field two a goal post was knocked down somehow after a goal was scored and the teams returning changed horse and were returning at a easy pace as goal post was still on ground, rule is return to center and whistle blows until condition fixed. Well it was not fixed or even close. The post was still down and the staff repairing it while totally in the line of fire. They threw in the ball and a player expressed his opinion that post was down and was red flagged and penalized for his action which could have been for safety of staff who were still fixing the post or the horses could have been injured running over them. I doubt this was the reason, but it was a screw up that cost the guy paying them a goal and could have been the game. This is WRONG!!! Later in the same game a blow by a player to another was blown. It was a foul, but the person hit had fouled. There was no red flag, even though many unkind words were said in front of a decent crowd. A penalty shot was awarded. If this is the case, 2 fouls, then it’s a throw in, if not by the rules this play should have both players removed from game for the rest of the chukker at least. A third player was very vocal and he was the beneficiary of it all. This is wrong and there is no way they can deny it, but guess what? They do not have to as they answer to” WHO” themselves. In all sports someone controls officials in Polo they control themselves. WHY. The umpires make (and this estimate comes from the USPA) around a Hundred Grand a year ++ and they have no boss. They do not even work for the government. This is NOT only my opinion and best of all its on DVD.
You tell me why we do not have red flags on umpires as well as players? A player loses a job or money why do umpires have no penalty for their errors?
Steve, you bring up an excellent point as it relates to the umpire program.
While the umpires police the sport, no one actually polices them.
Rick Sears was a shot in the arm for the program without question…but whether or not he can take it to the next level remains to be seen. The respect he commands from patrons and pros alike at this point will determine whether he can or can’t. His actions, reputation and demeanor will all play major role in the success or failure of achieving this.
When Rick hit the scene there was an immediate positive ripple thru the program, and it was a positive one from all aspects and both sides.
Whats happening now is the dust has settled, and we are reminded what a difficult task it is to properly officiate the game. Ricks job isn’t now nor will it ever be an easy one.
Back to the respect I spoke of, steps need to be taken by the director of the program to pull everyone involved together, on both sides if you will as in not just the umpires themselves but the pros and patrons whose games his umpires officiate.
Diplomacy at it finest is now necessary and therefore the question is can we find it in this director and not? Without it success may be limited as with the entities involved there is simply no other way to take the program to the next level, and it is time for it to get there if it can.