News from the Editor
This summer is one of celebrations. Guards marked the Golden Jubilee of the Queen’s Cup in style last month. First, the final was a cracker; second, Adolfo Cambiaso won a record seventh title; third, The Queen, looking wonderful in electric blue on finals day, and Prince Philip took obvious pleasure in the anniversary of the club they have been so involved with over the years.
The Thursday before the final, Prince Philip, the club’s president, was guest of honour at a Golden Jubilee dinner at the clubhouse. Among what amounted to a “who’s who” of guests from the high-goal scene of the past 50 years were Ros Packer, Anthony Embiricos, Mark Vestey and Harold Bamberg. The 50th-anniversary programme, masterminded by the club’s tireless PR chief Diana Butler and Guards archivist Graham Dennis, was packed with fascinating pictures and stories from over the decades. We’ve decanted a few facts to give a flavour of the tournament’s history on page 32.
Another historic celebration was looming as PTwent to press. More than 500 revellers were due to gather at Cowdray Park’s Lawns for a ball to celebrate the club’s centenary. In 1909, Sir Weetman Dickinson Pearson, an acclaimed engineer and industrialist, bought the Cowdray Estate for £500,000. His son Harold, a Liberal MP, had learnt polo at Oxford, and in 1910 the family laid one ground in front of Cowdray House and another at a bend in the river. Cowdray Park Polo Club was born – and the rest is history.
I hope readers will forgive me that we haven’t attempted to tell the club’s complete story: in the 2010 Cowdray yearbook Liz Higgins has done so (a great read) and, as I write, Clare Milford Haven and a band of enthusiasts are assembling stories and photos for a hardback book to commemorate the centenary. Instead, we bring you the story of today’s Lord Cowdray, Michael Pearson, the fourth Viscount. I had the privilege of visiting this engaging, intelligent, progressive thinker last month at home, where he spoke openly about his family, the estate and the polo club. Turn to our six-page feature on page 56 – illustrated with lovely photos by Vanessa Taylor. And have a brilliant July!
Argentina’s Nacho Figueras is set to lead out his country against hosts England at The O2 Arena in February New home in dome
POLO TIMEScan exclusively reveal that London’s O2 Arena, formerly the Millennium Dome, is to be the venue for a record-breaking arena polo match next winter. England will play Argentina in a three- a-side 24-goal clash on the evening of 24 February 2011, a Thursday. Organisers hope to attract 12,500 spectators, which would make it the world’s largest ever audience for an indoor game. The contest has the approval of the HPA and is being organised, as a joint venture by Gaucho Restaurants, Sand Polo and AEG, along with the HPA’s David Woodd and his team. On the same day a charity game will feature four celebrities and Scotland will put out a side to face South Africa in an 18-goal match.
The event will be the second major attempt to throw polo back into the sporting mainstream amongst Londoners, following the success of Polo
In The Park at Fulham’s Hurlingham Park. Though the Gaucho International has nothing to do with Polo In The Park, much like Daniel Fox-Davies’s creation the emphasis is to be as much on producing a good day out as it will be on the polo itself. A retail village, food and drink stalls, live music and corporate hospitality will aim to create a laid-back festival atmosphere for polo-goers, many of whom may never have seen the game before. The post-match ceremonies after the main international will see the presentation of The Churchill Cup, not pictured. A “players’” after-party will then follow the winners’ presentations in one of the huge nightclubs within the arena complex, capable of holding 2,500 revellers.
◗ Find out how London’s latest polo showpiece played out in our Polo In The Park report on page 40
ADOLFO CAMBIASO made royal history last month, accepting the Queen’s Cup from Her Majesty for the seventh time – more than any other player in its 50-year history. John Lucas, the late Eduardo Moore and Mark Vestey have each won the tournament six times. The 10-goaler first reached the final in 1993 with
Yolanda Carslaw
Ellerston White, losing to Black Bears. Then in 1998 he won with Ellerston White, alongside Gonzalo Pieres Snr and young Brit James Beim, thumping Labegorce 13-3. In 1999 the same team won, this time beating Jerudong Park. In 2000, the 10-goaler teamed-up with Geebung and defeated Les Lions 13-8. His past four wins have been with Dubai, playing and winning for patrons Ali, Tariq and – most recently – Rashid Albwardy. This year, in his first Queen’s Cup final since a narrow 12-11 victory over Broncos in 2006, Cambiaso gained his seventh victory. Turn to page 28 for the full report.
6 July 2010
www.polotimes.co.uk
Photographs by Tony Ramirez and James Mullan
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