Fear is something we all probably have and it may come from the weirdest things. I had a bit of fear overcome me on Monday morning. It was about 3:45 in the morning. I was getting ready to head north or west to Santa Barbara area. I was putting out the garbage so Honey would think I was a good guy. I had just put it outside and was getting into my pickup truck when I noticed something in the shadows of a tree. There was still some moonlight left and I thought it just did not seem right. So I kept looking at it and then a light flashed as the garage door closed and I could see the eyes. I knew what it was, a coyote. Even though I have seen hundreds of them over the years it gave me the creeps. I wanted to get into my truck fast. It was just a 50-pound coyote, but damn it bugged me. It was just standing there looking at me from about 10 yards or less away. It’s hard to believe that coyotes have became so bold, but it’s the human growth, the drought and the loss of their natural habitat. Somehow the coyote population may get worse before we figure out how to deal with them.
The problem with the coyote population reminded me of polo. It is similar to polo and our way of life. Is it closing in on us as well? We have less organized polo, less quality of polo and horses. The polo industry is like the auto industry, it has turned into a foreigners market. We are just the support crew like the car dealers who were left for dead as the oil companies never bothered to tell them they were going to bury the oil price in Detroit. The car companies kept building bigger cars which required more gas and more diesel. Then it hit the industry hard. The foreign manufacturers have been dealing with this forever in other countries where gas has always been pricey.
Some of this is our fault. We are just too thick to see it. The car manufacturers and their leaders were obviously asleep because when Katrina hit it was Christmas for oil companies. If you add Iraq and the oil companies show their biggest profits ever. They should support the war financially. It was for them I think.
The polo people and industry is the same. When our leaders started reversing the foreign rules they reversed polo as well for the Americans. Most of them that had a chance went other ways as they saw the foreign invasion. You could not make a living when the shift happened from Amereican players to foreign players. The foreign players were working and playing for less money, lower expenses, no organization and most of them were from well-to-do families. This was not the case for all foreign players, but the majority of them.
Look at the lineups from coast to coast. Its hard to find a Yank team and other than patrons, there are not many Yank players. The U.S. has two players between 6 and 8 handicap who are under 25 years of age. None over 8 goals under 40 years of age. WHY? No talent? I do not think so. Maybe it is lack of opportunity? I think it is.
Do our leaders care? Probably some do, but what are we doing as an industry to build membership? College students and grooms are false numbers. As much as I am paying, but not playing as 100’s of others may be doing. What can we do?
My Ideas:
1] No foreign players under 4-goals. No green card, no polo.
2] No polo leagues or U.S.P.A. organized tournaments under 6-goal level
3] No foreign players under 6-goals in 18-Goal Polo and above
4] Raise U.S.P.A. dues to $500 per player, support insurance and hire people to do jobs
like marketing, organize help for clubs and sponsors.
5] Four chukker polo for amateurs and coaching leagues
6] Separate umpires from U.S.P.A. Then spend money to teach and control them with a
Commissioner. This will make them responsible for the job they do as an umpire.
Otherwise we are all going to be like that coyote last Monday morning.
See ya.