PTJan/Feb 2010 p46-47 Playing YC JM GM MB 21/1/10 18:03 Page 3
FHM vital statistics
Playing members 46 Non-playing 20
Facilities Covered 50x27m arena lends itself best to two-on-two; tea hut,
loos, pub one minute walk away. Full-size boarded pitch, practice ground
and wooden clubhouse in summer.
Club philosophy Affordable polo for players who want to become
playmakers in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere.
Running the show HPA instructor Francis Matthews (1), the one-man-
band behind FHM Polo, set up the club in 1999 to create an alternative to
high-end clubs. As a co-creator of ‘County Polo’, a three-on-three Sunday
league, he offers an instructional stop-gap for players not ready or able to
pay professional fees. Alistair MacVicar MRCVS is club welfare officer,
Francis’s wife Patti is in charge of player nourishment and members
manage an active social scene in Sussex and London.
Location At Goddards Green, West Sussex, at West End Farm, where
owners John and Jackie Marsh keep Quarter Horses. Ten minutes from the
M23 and eight minutes from Burgess Hill station (55min from London
Bridge and Victoria). Nearby clubs: AEPC 10min, Knepp Castle 20min;
Sussex Polo 30min.
Crowd The likes of pilots, surgeons and students discover or dip into the
game. A hub for players trying to break the zero-goal barrier. Clinics have
included teaching by Malcolm Borwick (6). FHM has been the feeder club
for several devotees, such as AEPC founder John Bunn.
Ponies Full winter livery at West End Farm is £120 p/w including feed and
exercise, indoor and outdoor arena use. DIY available. Summer grass livery
from £25 p/w. Winter pony hire £25 a chukka; summer £35.
Lessons £30-£50 an hour one-to-one; £40 an hour for groups
Full membership £150 winter, £350 summer
Contact www.fhmpolo.20fr.com; 07778 436468
London-based members Ravi Bhatia and Eric Urbain. Play goes on in the indoor arena
regardless of the weather, followed by a trip to ‘the clubhouse’ – the Sportsman Pub
www.polotimes.co.uk January/February 2010 47
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84