The Polo Report
By Steve Crowder
It takes ponies to make a polo game, but it takes people to make a polo club!
Some simple things Californians need to realize if this great sport can survive. This cartoon and message from long ago says it all. We see great crowds in San Diego and at Empire Polo Club and they have 8-goal polo. We see good crowds at El Dorado with 12-goal polo. At Santa Barbara we now have 16-goal tournaments down from 20-goal and we have people, but never a crowd.
We have all the ingredients the desert for Winter Polo. Empire Polo Club is Al Haagan’s baby and it makes IPC look like a pedestrian place and any other polo club on earth. Empire is absolutely spectacular, even if you do not play Polo. They get 2500 people a week from high end dining to tailgate. Teams have two tournament games every week for 3 months. If you want more, you can practice every day except for Monday. If you want something else, they will work with you and make it fit your schedule.
Next door, over the fence El Dorado, they have lots of fields and a higher level of polo. Both desert clubs, with their reasonable playing/stabling fees, make Florida prices seem unreal and you do not get rained out. They have 0-goal to 12-goal with Pro Pools for sometime visitors and all at a price that will make you so happy.
You will never be unhappy and your wallet will still feel fine. They have coaching leagues for new people and they have kids and junior polo for the young guns. Another thing about California polo is we do have some of the best young players in America and their only chance of a future is to leave. WHY? The American Team in last the World Cup was 3 westerners, and if one other could have gone it would have been 4.
California has the talent and the fields. Now we need some Patrons who want to make Polo their destiny and enjoy the King of Sports. We need people like Pat Nesbitt and Glen Holden, who made this a place to be. The Walkers are still going and thank God for that Danny is still running and his son Matt may be back in action soon. Henry is still moving and has a young gun named Charlie, but we need some more people to care and obviously some management to get it rolling.
For years, players from Chicago, New York, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas headed our way for winter polo as well as Missouri. Now they go South to Florida at double the price and 1/2 the polo. WHY ?
Summer Polo in Santa Barbara in the past was like WOW, hard to get in and the fields were weak. Today, there are many more fields and in great condition. We now have fewer teams than fields. WHY?
This is an idea of horse sales in Argentina and the big boys have not started yet.
Here are some sites to see from Carlos Naish about Horse sales early on in Arg. season Look these up…
http://poloist.net/la-natividad-kicks-off-argentine-auction-season/poloist.net/la-irenita-showcases-triple-crown-bloodlines
TAKE A LOOK THIS IS REALLY THE HORSE MARKET.
POLO properties for sale. This first one is not, but WOW, would be awesome.
Unbeliveable place for sale and you will never believe where it is made for
Polo Field.
Please look going on Auction soon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9nPuP-imzs&sns=em
Glen Holden’s old Place is smack dab in middle of SB Polo and for sale.
Zacara @ El Capitan a field on the Sea with magic in the mountains behind it.
In the Polo World around here, it was Scott Walker putting the whoa on them all with a huge over time goal in the finals of the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic at Will Rogers Polo Club. The face of Polo Nacho Figueras was his usual spectacular self, as there was no room left in LA at the big Charity. We need Nacho 24 -7 in California.
Way down south like Buenos Aires, Argentina, it is Fearless Fred, as in Mannix, trying to get back to the top 2 in the World. So far he has had to settle for 3rd in the first 2 big tournaments, but it’s Open time and the Mannix’s love the Opens. Good luck FM2 and Alegria. Young Julian is also doing well as he heads to the semis along with Clemente Zavaleta for the Pilar Muncpial, a 25-goal tournament. Ben Solemani is 2 and 0 with Restoration Hardware in the Ellerstina Gold Cup, which he was the first American to win it last year.
Lots of action going on in South Florida and North as The Villages Polo Club is smoking and the Ganzi Gang has Palm beach rocking at Grand Champions.
LETS HEAR YOUR IDEAS TO CHANGE CA POLO FOR THE BETTER?
See ya.