FOREWORD


Chairman’s Foreword I


am honoured to write my first Foreword as Chairman of Guards Polo Club. When I first picked up a stick to play


I never imagined that I would one day be writing this. However, more than 30 years of experience in the game – on and off the field of play – have given me an invaluable insight into the sport in general and this wonderful Club in particular. Lord Louis Mountbatten would, without


doubt, recognise the fast and competitive polo that we play here at Smiths’ Lawn and further afield. My friend Robert Lacey – we first met playing at a polo match in the 1980s – has written an impressive tribute to this powerful advocate of polo, who effectively created the modern game through his rewriting of the rule book and by patenting a revolutionary mallet. Although I am certain he would be


disappointed by the current visa debate within the game. David Woodd, Chief Executive of the Hurlingham Polo Association, has written an excellent summary of the current situation in this issue. Guards Polo Club, rightly, is at the forefront of this work, aiming to retain the international flavour of the game. One of the first things I did on being elected Chairman in November 2018 was to meet with David and HPA Chairman Stephen Hutchinson to discuss how the HPA and Guards Polo Club can work together more effectively on a range of issues, including the current situation with the Home Office and our Argentine colleagues. Polo may be a great sport but it is a


small one and our voices will always be better heard collectively. Over the next few months a newly created working party, which includes both Guards Polo Club and Cowdray Park – as hosts of the highest rated polo in the UK – will meet regularly to deliver a strategy that will ensure polo’s future long after I retire from the saddle. Of course to attract the world’s best,


regardless of nationality, one needs to provide the best polo fields. So I would personally like to thank Col Stuart Cowen for his tireless work as Chairman of the Grounds Committee. His commitment and dedication has seen us complete, on time, stage one of our grounds development plan


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here at Smith’s Lawn – the creation of the new road. I would now ask for your patience this season while we execute stage two, which includes the redevelopment of The Princes’ Ground. The result will be polo fields that are the envy of the world. Of course, I look forward to meeting as


many of you as possible throughout the coming season. Thanks to our long-standing and generous sponsors, Cartier, La Martina, Hildon and Access Bank, plus our newest addition to this coveted roster, OUT- SOURCING! Inc, Guards Polo Club hosted some 560 games last season. By adding into that impressive sponsors’ list, our equally supportive partners – Mosimann’s, Laurent-


Perrier Champagne, Vérité and Martin Collins – the Club’s CEO Neil Hobday and Polo Manager Anthony Fanshawe and their excellent teams at Smith’s Lawn, will again be able to deliver unrivalled sport and hospitality for all of our patrons, players, members and their guests.


Brian Stein Chairman


GUARDS POLO CLUB OFFICIAL YEARBOOK 2019


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