From time to time I will post a comment from a reader. This is one of those times. Thank you Polo Mafia:
Rumor on the exercise track is that there has been a new Board of Directors elected at Eldorado PC. What does this mean for the Club? It does conjure up a few threads of HOPE. Hope that there will be some improvements in communication between the polo playing community and the Club. This winter it feels like the players (pros and patrons) have been ignored . . . turned away from the door during a bad economic storm.
In the recent past, the Puppet Masters (just a couple), have made the management and staff dance like little puppets controlled by thin wires, lifting limbs into unfriendly and unrhythmic gestures. There have even been reports of a puppet cutting the strings of other puppets in the play . . . traitor or narcissist? Maybe a red flag or whistle should have been called when that foul occurred. Oh, that’s right, this is a puppet show not a polo game. There are no umpires or even a third man to ensure safe or fair play.
As we continue to bury our own . . . our pros, our vendors and our good people, we must ask ourselves what we can do to make a difference? Silence is not the answer.
Will the show go on? Of course it will. The question is “how will the story unfold?” Will the sequel include a heart transplant for the Club since the old one stopped beating? Will the new Masters open the door and let the players in from the cold? Will the puppets develop friendly personalities as the wires are handed over to a new Board of Directors? Will they open the front door and stall doors so pros can leg up their horses early and so patrons can play polo for a partial season at a reasonable rate? I guess we just need to get front row seats to this puppet show and see how it plays out.
The West Coast polo playing community hosts a large number of low goal teams who are price sensitive. The Clubs in California rely on this market for a portion of their sales and income. This fact combined with the economic crisis has led to a lack of teams playing this winter and possibly this summer. This has left many pros without jobs. Less teams, means lower membership sales, lower hay sales, lower farrier sales, lower food and beverage sales and an overall lower moral around the Club. FYI – the Club is negatively affected too!
In hope of getting a voice directly to the powers above, I will pose a few questions to the polo playing community. Post your ideas, comments and feedback so that your words (your voice) will be heard.
What do you suggest that Clubs can do, in general, to help polo players (pros and patrons) during the economic crisis?
What do you suggest that Eldorado Polo Club can do specifically, to help pros, service providers and themselves during this economic crisis?
What suggestions do you have for Eldorado Polo Club on how they can improve their facility, polo leagues and staff in an effort to provide better services all around?
