for me and in 2008 she won the Best Playing Pony at the Major Generals. She is small and fast and turns on a sixpence. My dream team? I am a La Dolfina fan. Not just because of the way they play and their many victories, but also because they are just down the road from Puesto Viejo, and so they are our local team. It would be a dream to play with any of them frankly.
Which Guards tournaments would you most
like to win? It’s always fun to win the amateur two-goal – just
to annoy Bon
Team name and why: Puesto Viejo (red,
white and blue). I bought Puesto Viejo as a piece of land in my wife’s home country [Argentina] in 2003. It was meant to be a holiday home, but has since taken over our lives. It is now a fully affiliated polo club with 70 boxes, three fields, more than 30 members and eight rooms for guests to stay. We started to build our clubhouse this January. It will be similar in concept to the clubhouse at Guards, but with no planning restrictions it can be bigger and better!!
How did you get into polo? I met my wife in
1992 in Buenos Aires and I don’t think she realises that planes fly anywhere else from Heathrow except back home! I had to find something to do while I was down there – so I took up polo.
Favourite tournament at Guards? I
always enjoy the Cottington for some reason. I have never won it but I always compete alongside Antonio [Manzorro] my pro. The combination of three amateurs and one pro is always great fun.
Favourite pony?
Malesa . She is an 11-year-old chestnut from Ar gentina. Antonio found her
Coeur! But I would have to say the Archie David. I won the subsidiary one year and it nearly blinded me. I was riding off Howard Hipwood when his son Oliver backed the ball into my face! I played three tournaments of eight-goal with Oliver that season and I think that was the only time he tried to pass me the ball. It would be great to win the main event one year as eight- goal is so competitive in the UK and the Archie David is the most important tournament at that level. Favourite hotel? My wife and I spent our wedding night in the Lanesborough in London. It brings back happy memories.
Favourite restaurant for a special dinner?
We always go to Santini in Victoria. It’s close and relaxed and the food is good. Occasionally Margaret Thatcher eats there too. My wife isn’t so keen but I am a child of the 1980s and Maggie is my hero.
Who would be your ideal dinner party
guests? I would like to have dinner with Al Gore…so I could poison him! After that I would like to sit down with the Monty Python crew and a couple of bottles of wine and have a damn good laugh.
Favourite dish off the Clubhouse menu:
A pint of Stella, followed by another. Preferred wheels? I have just bought an Ford F-100 truck to pull a 12-horse trailer and it is huge. You almost need a ladder to get into the driving seat. Four adults can comfortably sit side-by-side in the second cabin and it can still get up to 120mph in a straight line. But the best thing about it is that it emits four trillion tonnes of CO2 a second- or about half as much as China. That green rubbish just annoys me.
Most listened to track on the IPod? My
musical life has become dominated by my six-year-old daughter so I find myself listening to Miley Cyrus – and sometimes even singing along! When I am in charge however I try to put on a bit of Green Day, or Foo Fighters. Other passions? I run 20 odd miles a week and go to the gym to lift weights three times a week. But the most fun is drinking with my mates.
Best book or film? I loved
The Hangover, but I would have to go with the Great Escape.
Most unusual gift ever
bought? I gave my wife a convertible BMW once.
Jeremy Baker
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