The Polo Report
By Steve Crowder
Across Europe and America last Summer there were 26 of the 20-goal teams playing in NY, CA,Deauville and Sotgrande. This was after English high-goal had finished at 22-goals. There could be more playing in other spots. Why? Is it because it is a better level to keep all players involved or is it less expensive and that makes it more popular?
I am trying to get an idea what is best for a real level of Polo as the low-and medium-goal polo seems to be in a bit of trouble around the planet. Why then is 20-goal doing so well? Polo goes from 40-goal, which I think is impossible as I doubt there are really 10 players @ 10 goals or even 8, as it has a very different set as the A handicap, but there are a lot more A handicap players for sure. Still these are two of the most different.
Back to the subject … 20-goal is low-end of the top Polo and 26-goal polo is the highest in the USA. This level got a decent number of teams and in England the 22-goal was very well attended with 20 teams. All across the states this winter low and medium goal Polo are again being beat up with a low number of players and teams. Why? Is it the money, is it time or the desire? Some say it is the fact that people are not making money to spend on the game at this level. Others say we need more Patrons and less Pros to make it fun! I am not sure, but it is obvious the big Polo seems to be in very good shape compared to the leagues below 20 goal. They feel they have lost some Patrons who used to step up every once in a while to the big time because they were making a lot of money and just wanted to give it a whirl and that seems possible, but if making less why not the 14- or 12- goal or even 8-goal? This is where I get lost, there seems to be no downsizing and it is not just the USA. It was the same in the UK and Europe. The best I can tell and not sure about Australia this year, but numbers and Players were also down in Argentina the last couple of months. Fields are becoming much better, rules are making the game better for many Patrons and spectators as well. Some where there is an answer! So lets here your ideas and your thoughts on WHY we are losing ground.
See ya.
Polo is a huge time commitment and a team sport. When you have to spend so much time away from work and family to spend the time to make practice games and tournament games every weekend, it becomes extremely stressful to a commuting patron. The low goal players whom think that they are professional because these choose to try to make a living at playing polo because they really can not afford to play the game without sponsorship, need to remember the commitment that the sponsor play in this game.
Thru the years I have witness abuse of this relationship many times with comments about not being paid enough money. Now from a sponsors side who would want to pay for the best and only get substandard pros. Anyone with enough money to play this game will play to the highest level they can afford to HAVE FUN. If it becomes where they are no longer having fun and they decide that it is just too much money and time commitment, then they just leave the game. If they are pushed to play at a higher level than they are able to comfortably play where they feel safe, then they also lose their confidence and wonder WHY am I spending this kind of money to be insulted by pros, telling them they need to learn to ride better. Well duh, who’s job is it to teach these players as they are hiring YOU the pro to teach and play with them.
So now, the only people who really can play this game are the super wealthy, who can afford to hire all the necessary people to cover all of the above and the single guys or gals who have no other commitments in life who can spend all their free time from their day job on working on their polo skills. No one, in their right mind, would pay the cost to buy a Ferrari and only get to drive a Firebird. So everyone in the polo world must remember that everything we say and do effects everyone in the polo world and when we have such competion for jobs or horse sales, people tend to forget this and start by putting others down to make themselves feel more improtant than those they are berating. We as a sport need EVERY level of the game and we need to be kind and compassionate to all those who choose to spend their hard earned money on this sport.
Everytime I play and hear a comment that is negative it reminds me of why all the sponsors have left the game, really who wants to come out for the weekend and hear all the backbiting and swearing that goes on aroung the polo community. No one is any better than anyone else when it comes to this game, yes some may be better on the field but lack in the horsemanship and care of their horses. When an outsider comes in and sees the horses bleeding from the mouth, skinny with dull coats they cringe because they realize the horses don’t get a choice in the abuse they are put thru. Pros may be good on the field of play, but lack the social skills to give the sponsor the social aspect they expect from the game. Some pros/sponsors are so serious about winning they forget it is only a game and when they throw temper tantrums, the sponsor/spectators look on in amazement. If they did that at their day jobs they would get fired or lose all their clients, so we need to look at all aspects of this game and not only at what polo people think. With the down turn in the economy it has helped clean house and all those who were struggling to afford polo have gone by the way side. Now when some one with money does come along, we all need to treat them with kindness and guide them into polo with knowledge and skills so that they can become the sponsor or high rated player of the future.
Now ,not eveyone wants to be known as the pocketbook, they just want to play polo so this is the level where I see the most frustration as it is not a team sport, it becomes just four people thrown together to play a game, it is super frustrating to play at this level but if that is all you can afford then that is all you get. When you have no structure at the bottom who will thrive to get to the top. This is where America is lagging behind compared to England. There is no incentive to improve at this level it is a bunch of players running around without a coach trying to play a team sport. All aspects of a free for all with the dominate ego berating a teammate instead of an outside player/coach on the fieldside coaching the team as a unit not as four individuals. This is why the students coming out of college play have a better opportunity to succeed in this game than those who join in and have to play without any kind of coaching. A pro on the field yelling at his teammate is not coaching.
We need to have some system set up to have players move up the ladder of playing ability before they can play tournament polo, as they have in England but Americans don’t want anyone to tell them how to spend their money. We have an unstructured learning environment and frustration level of players who play to the lowest ability level with no way of getting to next level. If you do not have money you can not get better instruction. I choose to groom and be around the best of the sport than to spend my hard earned money to play at the lowest level because of this very reason. Just my own opinion, but I have seen a lot of people come and go in the last 32 years of my polo experience. Smile, be happy, as what else better to do than be outside on top of a horse swinging a mallet YAH HOO!
Fantastic post and well said!!
Well said, pologroom. Truely excellent perspective. I am a patron in the low goal level in Nigeria, and i relate to all you said above. It is funny, but your comment has given me something to ponder on! “No one, in their right mind, would pay the cost to buy a Ferrari and only get to drive a Firebird”, This sentence means alot to me, man. I have been doing exactly that since I started playing polo; but its over now!
Thanx.
Like lowgoaler said,”Fantastic post and well said!!”
Pologroom,
Impressive comment, you should be the one directly under the masthead. A much better argument for low goalers to strive for higher goal polo, than the original authors constant, poorly constructed, negativity about us poor hayseeds.
TDS
The way I see it is quite simple.
A structured answer would involve a real plan spelled out quite clearly. That real plan would involve a complete restructure of the way the sport is governed and its money spent.
To keep it short, as an association we now have funds which we never had in my prime…funds with which we could not only promote the sport but more importantly put together an actual program in which players could be cultivated and grown accordingly thru a structured plan, from entry level thru aspiring pro. There could be different things one would have to accomplish in order to reach a desired level, a written structured all encompassing program from A to Z that would be put together by the governing body and funded by that same body.
Polo must now be run like a business and if we took on that concept we could apply some basic rules of business to the stuctured program I speak of.
I have made a nice living in the auto mobile business since retiring from professional polo so I will relate my thoughts to that business although it is not disimilar to other business models.
In that business as in many others you must start at the bottom or entry level which in this industry is as a salesman. If you want to move up and become an assistant sales manager you must first prove yourself a worthy salesman. You can’t walk in as a manager without prior proven experience as a salesman. Once you have proven yourself and move up to assistant sales manager you may aspire to become the lead manager of the sales department but once again you must prove you understand the overall aspect of the entire department before you can be qualified to become the lead. Once becoming the lead, the next step is General Sales Manager and that individual is responsible for all sales and finance operations and the people involved in the daily operation of those departments. Again, you simply can’t become that without proving yourself as a salesman, an assistant sales manager and then a lead sales manager. The final step is General Manager and as such you are basically responsible for all operations as in sales, finance, service and parts. You will also have to have proven that you have the ability to manage different types of people and have the ability to aspire each of them to do great things.
Sorry to bore anyone if I am however as I see it that process, that stuctured process is what makes the best people because they simply can’t move up with out successful experience.
A form of that type structure is whats needed in the polo world in this country both as a business model for those running the association as well as how its membership is grown, cultivated and then managed.
Yes, a bit long winded and not all may see its overall relevance but to me…and I have been saying this for quite some time, it is time to look at polo in this country as a business. A business starts with some money(which we have), and then the person or people that are paid to run it must figure out how to showcase a product that people are attracted to, advertise it accordingly and appropriately, make it readily available and easily understandable. Spend money on a few tremendously qualified people, realize where polo is readily available and incorporate those entities in a marketing campaign and then make sure that anyone who shows interest is shown a very structured environment in which they can enter, be safe in knowing what is right and wrong and be safe in knowing they can’t go wrong in this structured environment as it relates to how far they aspire to go in the sport.
I could go on and on but for now, lets hear what others have to say about the track we’re on and what should be next…
I think it has a lot to do with money. If you look at the high-goal teams, mid-level teams and low-goal teams/players and analyze their financial situation or how they generate their income I think you will find your answer.
I see a lot of small business owners or employees of large companies who may earn between $75,000 – $500,000 per year in the low goal. This is a generalization … and there are exceptions. These players play in the arena, 1- and 2-goal polo on the grass. They may step up and split a team in the 4-goal sometimes, but for the most part this is what they can afford and they will most likely not move up to higher levels at this income range. You also have the new and up-coming patrons pass through this level and keep moving up if they have the income to support it. It is this latter group that we are lacking. I don’t see a lot of new patrons with the financial ability to go up to the high-goal level being generated from the schooling programs here on the West Coast.
If you look at the teams in the 4-goal and 8-goal leagues … who they are and how do they earn their income. Take a look and you will see a shift? Property developers, young entrepreneurs, car dealerships owners, construction companies, are the types of businesses these players own. These industries have all been hit hard in the last two years with the economic downturn. I also see a lot of older players who are dropping down to lower goal polo as they wind down and eventually retire from the sport. Players are moving up and down at this level. But here on the west coast it is this mid-level that the economy has taken out of play.
Most of the 12-14 goal teams that have played here in the desert in the past also participate in 20 Goal polo in SB during the summer or in other areas. So if the only level of polo that is offered is 8-10 these same teams are just dropping down to the best polo that is available in their region without having to commute. They are filling in the teams that have dropped out due to the economy. While the 8-goal looks healthy is made up of higher goal teams dropping down and the 12-14 goal has been eliminated. The players/patrons at this level most likely earn more than $1,000,000 per year and most likely a lot more than that as their polo may cost that much or more in a year if you play 20 goal plus.
The middle class of polo has been thinned out and I think it has a lot if not everything to do with the economy. Our industry has to go through some changes and these hard times will sift out those who can’t afford it and force clubs to market themselves and polo schools to develop strategies to develop new patrons to once again grow the sport.
The solution to grow polo …
Every player and polo club needs to market polo to their local community whether it be their polo school, lesson specials or promoting their Sunday Polo venue. The challenge … most clubs don’t have the resources to do this effectively. The solution … develop some national & local polo marketing programs to help clubs on a national level and on a local level. The local programs need to be cost effective and easy enough for the clubs to implement in conjunction with some national support. Provide effective marketing tools, guidance and ideas. Develop and grow programs that work and share these ideas and programs with the industry.
There is a national ad campaign in progress through the USPA. They’ve been placing ads to promote polo in national equestrian magazines. I don’t know what the results are yet, but the program is an effort in the right direction. Through trial and error I hope they are able to develop some ads and campaigns that get good results and that can then be passed on to the individual clubs to implement on a local level.
Just my 2 cents!
I think it is relative.
You say 20 goal is doing well with 26 teams in 4 towns across the world and lower goal is not?
I wonder how many 4 goal teams were participating around the world over the same time period? Or for direct comparison, find the 4 largest 4 goal clubs in Europe and the US over the same time frame. Hard to know for sure but there is a good chance it would be more than 26. Low goal does not get the same press so it is much harder to follow
Aiken Polo Club had 38 teams (with redundancy, some teams played multiple tournaments . Probably somewhere near 30 unique teams) at one club playing 4 goal to 12 goal this fall. There was also good competition at other clubs in town from 4 goal to 12 goal.
Interestingly in Aiken, 20 goal was more popular than 16 goal, but less popular than 4, 8 and 12 goal.
I’m not sure the point I am making, just to say that I don’t think you can determine from the article above that low goal is not doing “as well” as 20 goal.
Steve, I didn’t really answer your direct question and I will attempt to do so.
My opinion is that the 20 goal level of polo has 2 signifcant things going for it that may be the reasons it seems to be doing relatively well.
First is that at the 20 goal level the players are sightly more polished and heres why…in order to get to be a good enough pro to play in 20 goal polo you will have had to be “aspiring” to be a high goal player. “Aspiring” is the key word because therein lies a separation from one pro or player to the next.
If one aspires to be a high goal player he/she must take on an overall concept that would increase the possibility of that actually happening. One will have had to recognize that some social grace or polish will be necessary, as well as a certain level of personal fitness. Its not 26 goal but if one is indeed aspiring to be a high goal player they are a significant part of that actually happening.
Second, one will have had to become comfortable with the true value of good horse flesh. Having accepted that the way you buy horses, or make horses and at least as important as those 2 things will be ones ability to understand what it takes to HELP each one of those horses be the best they can be. One will have had to become some type of horseman, staying away from a horses weak points while playing tournament polo and working on those things away from the field. Another part of that is accepting each individuals limitations both physically as well as mentally. Learning to exploit what each horse is good at and staying away from its weakness are important aspects of aspiring to be a high goal player, learning how important it is to get the most out of each individual and what exactly that means. Deciding what chukker each player on the team should play what type of horse is crucial and done at the higher levels of the game. If everyone on the team comes out on horses that are handy but have no speed then the overall team may be affected negatively, and vice versa if all team members come out on fast horses but noone on the team has any real handle in a given chukker, so organizing each team members line up of horses is a crucial part of the responsiblity of the team captain.
Last, the price point in 20 goal polo is significantly lower than 26 goal. While it can be substatially higher than low goal my opinion is that one does actually get what they pay for a higher percentage of the time in 20 goal polo. Better horses, better pros and a somewhat predictable experience.
I am certain there is still more low goal polo than other levels but that fact is part of the problem.
Entry level sponsors don’t know much in general so most rely on a pro or pros to tell them what”s what. That is or can be a significant problem for that entry level player. Some low goal pros aren’t aspiring to be or do anything other than make a buck where they can and socialize as little as possible. That is by no means a blanket statement but in general it is a big part of what separates the 20 goal level from the low goal level.
In summing up, my “opinion” once again is that the overall experience at the 20 goal level is much more rewarding to the sponsor in general. Quality professionals, properly cared for horses and consistent good advice is worth spending a bit more of ones hard earned dollars on and certainly less readily available in the lowest of low goal.
Just my opinion…
Dale, agreed … I also think Lynn makes some excellent points in the income levels and sources of income. I am one of those small business owners who will probably never play at the 20 goal level but who wants to maximize my P/E ratio (Pleasure to Expense ratio).
One of the exercises I did long ago was to calculate my cost per ball hit over the course of a season. Even a rough calculation is pretty mind-boggling. If you play primarily defense, like I do/did, throw in the good plays you made on defense that you are proud of. Cost per meaningful play made is another way of expressing P/E ratio.
I have thought really long and hard about how to maximize my own personal P/E ratio. For each person it will be different but I have boiled it down to the following: 1) Being a good player that can contribute to the team – missing balls isn’t fun; Being in the wrong place isn’t fun; Just having the best seat in the house or playing with the best pros isn’t fun; 2) Playing on great horses, well-cared for, suited to my playing ability and style for which I paid a fair price; and 3) Playing as part of a team with coaches, teammates and opponents who are interested in camaraderie, sportmanship, becoming better players and helping others become better players – not winning at all costs; No ego; No politics; No drama.
(BTW, I would give a shout out to Sunny Hale here. The closest thing I have found to #3, right now, on a consistent basis, is the Women’s Championship Tournament (WCT).)
Major Hugh Dawnay wrote a recent article in which he referred to the Polo Pyramid. It is, in fact, a pyramid, with most of the lower rated players at the bottom and a very few at the top. Those are the “aspiring players” you refer to and their high-goal sponsors. I believe what is best for polo is to embrace and strengthen the lower part of the pyramid. It is after all the supporting structure for the upper part of the pyramid. Every aspiring high-goal pro and sponsor at one time had to come through the lower part of the pyramid, even if only briefly.
The lower part of the pyramid is much like small business in America. Even though, as a small business owner I may only employ a few people, as a group small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all firms, they create more than half of the private non-farm gross domestic product, and they create 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs. To steal a phrase from another industry I am involved in, I think the goal should be not to continually compete with each other for the same piece of pie but to “grow the pie”. And the way to grow the pie, I believe, is through the bottom part of the pyramid.
Strengthening the bottom part of the Polo Pyramid can achieve three important goals: 1) Improving the quality of play at all levels and therefore positively affecting the P side of the P/E ratio; 2) Strengthening the polo economy by creating more jobs, more horse sales, more equipment sales, etc.; and 3) Make the sport more attractive and accessible to new players.
So the big question is how …
This thread contains many good ideas. Here’s my two cents. If I was suddenly in charge of the USPA, my highest priority, in order to strengthen the bottom of the pyramid, would be to create a “culture of learning”, which I would note exists in most other sports but is curiously absent in polo.
How do you create a culture of learning? Not easy, for sure, but here are a few ideas …
The first thing I would do is steal an idea I have seen work well elsewhere. I would use some of the USPA’s new found financial resources to create an annual conference or convention. Almost every other industry and association has one – in fact, most of them make a large portion of their revenue from their annual convention. I am very involved in the National Speaker’s Association and I would copy their model.
Even though every professional speaker potentially competes with every other speaker for each job, NSA has managed to create an amazing spirit of cooperation and generous sharing of knowledge among the members in order to “grow the pie” for the greater good of everyone. The annual national convention is one of the most visible places this transfer of knowledge takes place, although not the only one. It is truly something amazing that you have to experience to really understand.
At each convention, speakers who are paid tens of thousands of dollars to speak in front of paid audiences freely and generously share with their fellow speakers what they know. Through keynotes, break-out sessions and networking events, members share and learn from each other. They make connections that they might not otherwise have made. In fact, one of the highest honors, as a professional speaker, is being asked to keynote the National Speaker’s Association convention, for which they are not paid one dime.
Think of the “aspiring player” at a small club, or even an aspiring sponsor, who would have the opportunity to not only learn but also to meet other players, pros or potential employers from across the world and across the polo spectrum. Think of the opportunity of the association to provide real value to its members. At first, this convention might have to be subsidized until you could demonstrate enough value for attendees but eventually should, as I say, be a money-maker for the association and not-to-be-missed event by the majority of association members.
The second thing I would do is work to create a mostly non-existent job category within polo, which is the well-qualified Polo Instructor. And here I would emphasize the word qualified. This has obvious benefits in terms of all three of the strategic outcomes I mentioned previously.
The national convention would be one way to create a place for instructor’s to showcase their approach, expertise and results. Another step I would take is to implement a rigorous system of training and certifying instructors. Only then can we have a rigorous system of training and certifying players, as mentioned in some of the other comments in this thread. Surely there must be other sports we can look to as models. The teaching vs. touring pro model in golf immediately comes to mind.
I am sure there would need to be other steps in creating a “culture of learning” (and dare I say it, a culture of sharing), but these are some ideas I have based on my experience in other industries/sports. Would love to hear some other ideas.
FWIW …
@ pologroom – “on top of a horse swinging a mallet” is the best.
Kim,
I enjoyed reading about your thoughts as it relates to ‘cost per ball hit”, and it reminded me of a time long ago…1982 I believe, I had been raised to 5 goals and I was hired by a man named Willy B. Wilson to play for my first time in Santa Barbara in the 3 high goal tournaments for his team “Wilson Ranch”. The team was myself at back, Charles Smith at 3, Rob Walton at 2 and Willy B. at 1. First, we won all 3 tournaments which was certainly exciting for me as well as good for my career as I was indeed an “aspiring” high goal pro and that situation catipulted me into bigger and better things almost immediately.
Secondly and to my point, in our first team meeting Willy B. made a statement to all 3 of us that was this;
“The way I figure it, it costs me about $10,000 for every ball I hit based on what this team is costing me and how much I anticipate getting to hit the ball so don’t EVER tell me to leave it”!
I hadn’t been told that before or since but I never forgot that he said it.
To the body of your post, I agree with you 100% as it relates to the “pyramid” aspect of polo and how far off we are as it relates to spending money on its foundation, which is where ALL of us start out.
You may have read my posts and comments over the last few years as it relates to my thoughts on what needs to change in order to promote the sport and ultimately increase membership.
All the thoughts within your post have merit in my opinion. If we could restructure the association to be run like a business I believe alot of what you point out could indeed be accomplished. That being said it seems to be a subject that few are willing to get heavily involved in. Whether it’s fear of reprisal or lack of interest or anything else, the fact remains not many have been willing to touch it. Part of that is because the way the sport is governed now allows some people to be larger than life once they climb up the ladder so to speak and they gain immediate unadulterated power. Without that they might not be the entity in highgoal polo that they become thru governing the association. I don’t imagine those currently in charge are very willing to step aside and create a business like structure for running the sport in the future, but indeed that is what needs to happen. There as so many facets to the sport and yet we don’t seem to be in touch with the ones that we need to be in order to move forward as we see happening in other polo playing countries.
The perfect example to me is what we see happening in womens polo thruout the world. It is exploding and yet it all began with one womens thought and her planned execution. That person has no personal agenda, she is the only women in history to have won the US Open, how does one improve their position in polo from that? This particular person seems to want to simply grow the sport, not put herself in some lime light she would not otherwise be in. I personally feel the same thing could happen in childrens polo yet it seems largely untapped by the association at least as far as putting dollars towards structuring it and moving it forward.
Change is indeed necessary, its time has come but who will step up and force it to happen? How can we force it to happen? I think most of us who really care know it but unless our minority becomes a majority what will trigger this sweeping change? Therein lies the quagmire we are currently in and again, without a majority…a real majority what will trigger this absolutely necessary change? We simply cannot continue to do the same things over and over and expect different results. we all know the definiton of that…So my question is this, where do we start and what exactly has to take place in order to begin a complete restructure of the association? What will its initial impact be and what hurdles will have to be overcome in order to move forward rapidly. The initial down time from knocking down the old walls and constructing the new ones must be held to a minimum. An immediate plan to move forward must be in place and executed rapidly.
However, once that takes place, transparency will exist and available funds will be exposed and a real plan to grow the sport at the foundation level of the “pyramid” can be implemented. I see it and its time has definately come. Anybody else see it or is my vision for the future of polo warped and distorted in some way…
The progress of polo in the USA is a grassroots problem. When more farm kids start playing, there will be a bigger base from which to draw upon. City kids playing once or twice a week, as in the case of any sport or musical instrument, will not make for excellence. Polo is indeed time-consuming. Ice skaters and swimmers train 6 hours per day, 6 days a week, all year round. To excel in polo requires the same commitment.
In addition, I can identify three areas which tend to inhibit the progress of polo in the USA. All are not money problems and throwing more money out there will not improve the situation.
1.) Having 0-2 goalers as the club pro instructor. The pologroom describes this type of polo pro well. I have absolutely no qualms with low goalers trying to play polo when they have a shoestring budget. Likewise, I see no harm in a low goaler giving other low goalers advice on playing polo. The problem starts when a 0-2 goaler charges $100 per hour for lessons which are marginal, at best, and acts like the lord of the field. Absolute novices to the game revere these players as gods, having no idea how misguided they are. The „club pros“ or „polo gurus“, even at a national level , make a good living from these innocents, year after year, while rarely contributing any real value to the progress of the game. Many low goal „polo professionals“ work for years for a „patron“, and the patron still cannot ride or hit, because the „pro“ never sees it fit to teach his employer to improve.
2.) Mixing girls and boys, women and men in play. I am certain this will bring a plethora of criticism. However, this problem has been endemic in American sports for the past, few decades. One needs only to look at Little League baseball, or soccer, to see how the quality of those sports, at an internationally competitive level, has suffered. Likewise, in polo, women simply cannot compete with men on an physical basis. Even ex-5 goaler Claire Tomlinson has written on this topic. In Argentina, boys rarely play with the girls. The boys play an unabandoned, aggressive type of play. The results later in life are evident, especially when reviewing a list of 8-10 goal players in the world and where they come from. It is interesting to note the difference one sees in photos of very young polo players in the USA and in Argentina. In the USA the kids are predominantly girls, in Argentina they are predominantly boys.
That being said, it is a pleasure to play mixed games at a recreational level. I enjoy playing together with my wife. However, for players to progress to a high level in polo, it is essential for boys and young men to play amongst themselves in order to improve.
3.) The concept of the „Playing Patron“ in medium and high goal polo. In no other sport will one find a situation as ludicrous as in mixing a 0 or one goaler with an 8, 9 or ten goaler on the same field of play, particularly for a national championship. Imagine Donald Trump buying the New York Knicks basketball franchise, then dressing up in underwear and trying to play with four other players on a nationally televised, professional basketball game. There is no way that he could stay with the other players. But, this happens every year in polo. In North America and in Europe. It does not happen at the Argentine Open, because there is a rule that requires that a participant have at least a handicap of 6 goals. So called „winners“ buy a team for the US Open and then claim their place in history if they win. Or they can have bragging rights that they competed in the US Open, even if they did not win. How ridiculous is this?
There was a time in which patrons were actual high goalers, such as 10 goaler Harry Payne Whitney. Today, patrons should keep their high goal patronage to the task of organizing the best team possible, as do owners of professional sports. An „Open“ should be just that . Open to all teams, not restricted to 24 or 26 goals. Then, only the most competitive teams could complete. That means 32-40 goal teams for a national championships. Patron polo is fine, as long as the patron does not play, or, in the case of Peter Brandt, if the patron has a deservingly competitive handicap. Better still would be sponsorships of top teams as in the Argentine Open. Players, whether they are patrons or not, should be restricted to their respective level. A 0 or 1 goaler in high goal polo is also dangerous to all participants. Remember Eldon Palmer, a local car dealer driving the Indianapolis Pace Car in 1971, causing the only crash of a pace car in Indy 500 history. He had no business being out there. Zero goalers belong in low goal polo.
I think the most important thing that polo needs to grow is spectators. People are always trying to compare the structure of polo including high goal to other professional sports but without spectators there really is no comparison. The reason that other owners own the team but are not on it is because the team has some value on its’ own as a franchise. There is revenue generated from TV rights, official licensing, concessions, etc. Polo has very little of this. In polo why would someone own a team and not be on it? There is no benefit
Spectators bring in the next generation of players and the next wave of spectators and the cycle continues. Polo is just becoming more and more removed from mainstream and harder and harder to find a game to watch. What high goal sponsor wants to sponsor a team if no one watches, his friends don’t play, and his wife resents the fact that he is out there, and he is spending thousands of dollars-not to mention the danger? Polo is exciting and a lot of fun but it is far easier to pick up a soccer ball if no one is going to watch (in the US).
I am not sure what the handicap of the “club pro instructor” has to do with his/her ability to give advice. I watch other sports and I don’t think a Hall of Fame player makes a better coach than someone who only played at the high school or college level and became a coach. Many players do not have the physical attributes to be a top football player but that does not make them a a bad (or good) coach. Also, look at horse trainers. Do they need to be high goal players to train high goal horses? Probably not since most 10 goalers probably don’t have the patience, time, or desire to train their horses. So why can’t a lower rated player teach someone to play polo. Having said that, if a 10 goaler wants to give me playing, riding, hitting, or girlfriend advice, I would listen
RPM
You make some valid points. Allow me to address them. Sponsorship does indeed need spectators. After all, good sports marketing is for profit and not for philanthropy. However, when seeing patrons and sponsors as the answer, we encounter a chicken and egg paradox: is it the spectators that produce the participants, or is it the reverse case?
Sponsorship and playing patrons have been in American polo since the 1960’s. It is only recently that one finds sponsorships in Argentina. If you view videos of the Argentine Open Finals of the 1980’s you will find that sometimes the stands are almost empty. Still, Argentina has been able to produce very capable polo players over the past 80 years. The reason for this is that polo in Argentina is a sport of the countryside; in other words, it is a farm sport. Played among farmers. I witnessed a pick-up game last November just a few miles down the road from my farm in Argentina. Two teams of 20-21 goals played. All were just from the neighborhood. They ranged from a 3 goal groom to young Sapo Caset, an 8 goaler playing as a reserve for La Dolfina this past season. It was just a friendly game between kids on the block. No spectators to speak of. Imagine that! 20 goal polo…and nobody came!
I have heard it said that polo does not lend itself to mass spectatorship. The field is too large and the participants are too far away. That is why some saw arena polo as the answer in the 1980’s to polo’s popularity. Sportpolo.com quotes in it’s history page regarding polo in the United States, “The 1926 Open (Hurricanes vs. Argentina) had over 30,000 spectators. A single polo match in the Westchester Cup Tournament was attended by more than 45,000 spectators and the Cup of the Americas in 1928 was viewed by over 100,000 dedicated polo fans.” Incidentally, all this occurred before television and sports marketing. Coming back to the present, who would have thought that NASCAR racing could attract crowds in excess of 100,000? Their tracks are much larger and further away.
So, if spectators are the answer, and there are no top quality players to be seen, what can be done? Simple. Stop sweating the expensive marketing. If you don’t have the product to justify the expense, don’t offer it as such. Instead, just go out and invite people to watch you at your local club. Don’t charge them. Suggest that they bring their friends along and have a picnic while they watch an exciting game. It would be a change to their routine.Offer the weekend club chukkers to weddings, birthdays, corporate fun days. ANY OCCASION. Stop thinking about how you can make a profit out of it. You are going to be playing on the weekend anyhow. Open it up to the public. As players, we need to discard the snob appeal. Do you really think that baseball became the national sport by limiting its spectators? Polo needs to grow at the local level first. You might be surprised about the quality of athletes that take interest.
Regarding low goal polo instructors, my comment was concerning those “unqualified” instructors who charge full price and consider themselves polo gods within the club. You are absolutely correct when you state that “someone who only played at the high school or college level and became a coach” can be just as good as a Hall of Famer…in “other sports.” A starter on a high school baseball, basketball or football team, playing in a respectable conference, is the equivalent in polo to a 3 goaler. In Division 1 college sports, this player would be equivalent to a 4-6 goaler, if not more. The better US athletes tend to gravitate towards these three sports. A member of the tennis or golf team is usually not of the same caliber of overall athlete. Likewise, in US polo, one could play Intercollegiate Polo at the national level and still be an A (or zero goal) player.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1YGP5x_Zug&feature=more_related
Now suppose the next time you went to a high priced golf club, expecting a lesson from the Club Pro. You pay an enormous amount of money, and later you find out his only credentials are that he played on his high school golf team and has never broken 90. Would that annoy you? The same could be said of high school junior varsity baseball players passing themselves off as high priced batting coaches later in life. Is there much difference in polo?
If you can help out a novice, please do so. Those new to the game usually appreciate any kind of advice. It is when a club has an instructor who has no real experience that the progress of their members is hindered. If the pro is as good as he/she charges, why has this player never been able to move up in their handicap?