Cup
The club now hosts polo of the very highest standard including the Argentine Club Cup, which is the highest ranking tournament event in Europe; and the Evolution Test match which in 2007 saw England take on New Zealand. From its revival in 1989, by Simon and
Claire Tomlinson, the Beaufort Polo Club has had two clear objectives: to provide good quality polo at all levels and to encourage young British players. These aims have fuelled a dramatic growth in the club which now has 145 playing members of which 32% are under 21. This growth has been accompanied by success at all levels: Beaufort Pony Club teams win regularly at Cowdray. Beaufort based teams have won the 15 and 12 goal Victor Ludorum trophies more times than any other club. Beaufort based Hildon won the Cowdray Gold
in 2004. In 2005 Centaurous Beaufort was the first team since 1966 to qualify for the Argentine Open without an Argentinian in the side.
THE club boasts eight polo grounds and several practice and schooling areas. The club also employs over thirty seasonal Argentinian grooms who come over each year to look after some of the 140 horses that are stabled at the club. Each polo field measures a whopping six hectares (300 x 200 metres playing and safety area). When the eight polo fields and practice areas are totalled together it amounts to a staggering fifty plus hectares of grassland to manage - the equivalent to 83 football pitches! What is even more amazing is that all these playing fields are maintained by a staff of three - Mark Neale, who is the Head Groundsman, and two assistants,
Wlodek Sterkowicl and John Henry. Mark has been at the club for three years. Previously he worked as a Greenkeeper at nearby Bowood and Castle Combe golf courses. He has always been interested in the countryside and, in particularly, horses so, when the opportunity came to work at the Beaufort Club, he jumped at it. Mark is keen to bring into play some of his greenkeeping skills, particularly when it comes to presentation. As with most natural grass playing surfaces maintenance regimes are geared around good cultural practices, regularly mowing, feeding, aerating and renovations. Polo is played at the club seven days a
week from May to September and the groundstaff often find themselves working twelve hour days just to keep on top of things. The grass cutting alone is a
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