NEWSLETTER – SEPTEMBER 2011

BMW INTERNATIONAL SERIES:
The 2011 BMW International Series was a great success despite the terrible wet/cold weather conditions at Shongweni. The visiting Australian team were a great bunch and made many friends here in South Africa. They played really good polo and were happy to play whatever ponies were given to them. In the end they were superbly mounted thanks to the generosity of our pony lenders - the South African Polo Association is extremely grateful to all those players who unselfishly lend horses. Without this support your BMW International Series would be a non starter and your Association’s income stream seriously affected. The teams who did duty are as follows:

Australia
1. Kelvin Johnson (5)
2. Andrew Williams (5)
3. Matt Grimes (5) Captain
4. Rob Ballard (5)
Reserve Will Gilmore (4)

South Africa
1. Selby Williamson (5) Captain
2. Brad MacGibbon (5)
3. Russell Watson (5)
4. Gillespie Armstrong (5)
Reserve Davey Evans (4)

South Africa lost the Series 2-0 but not without a fight and some good polo. Matt Grimes and Rob Ballard showed their class playing very good constructive polo clearly demonstrating their professional approach and good horsemanship.
Interestingly, the two Blesbok matches played against the Aussies ended in draws when the handicap differential was taken into account. This is a great opportunity for South Africa’s younger players to pit their skills against touring teams and it is my belief that these matches should be promoted into bigger events.

HANDICAPS:
The following handicap changes were made at the last handicap meeting of the SAPA Handicapping Committee. The changes will be effective from the 10th January 2012 as most of the polo outside of the Cape will be winding down.

• Duncan Watson 4 to 5 
• Michael John Marlton 4 to 5
• Brad Gace 4 to 5
• James Hackland 3 to 2
• Dirk van Reenen 2 confirmed
• Byron Watson 1 to 2
• Cody Ellis 1 to 2
• Joe Mandy 1 to 2
• Craig James 1 to 2
• James Brice 0 to 1
• Andrew Jonnson 1 confirmed
• Guy Clegg 1 confirmed
• Eugene de Bruin 1 to 0
• Rob Barras 0 to 1
• Richie Hogg 0 confirmed
• Nicky Williamson 0 confirmed
• Aaron Pagel -1 to 0
• Dean Storah -1 to 0
• Cameron Chubb -1 to 0
• Dan Ronan -2 to 0
• Craig McCord -2 to 0
• Blake Chubb -2 to -1
• Clair Heaton Nicholls -2 to -1

TOUR TO CHINA:
The South African Schools team consisting of Byron Watson, Dirk van Reenen, Cody Ellis and Forrest Caine travel to China on the 2nd October to take part in an Under 18 tournament involving three other countries. They will be hosted by the Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjan and will be accompanied by team manager Greg Caine. All are in good form having recently won the 6 Goal Section at Natal Champs. We look forward to their progress in China.

SNOW POLO IN CHINA:
South Africa has been invited to take part in a “Snow Polo” tournament hosted by the Metropolitan Polo Club during February 2012. The intention is for 16 national teams to take part at 14-16 goal level on a knockout basis i.e. 4 pools of 4 playing each other within the pools and the top two teams from each pool advancing to the quarter finals. My understanding is that each participating team will be awarded a sponsored budget to meet expenses. We await further details in writing.

NEW ZEALAND:
We have also had an invite from New Zealand Polo for a 22-23 goal team to tour New Zealand during the first two weekends of February next year. This tour will clash with the China trip but we have sufficient high goal players to accommodate both invitations. So, there are opportunities a plenty for our top players to represent South Africa abroad next year. More details will follow in due course.

FEDERATION OF INTERNATIONAL POLO:
The finals of the FIP World Cup will take place at the Estancia Grande Polo Club, San Luis, Argentina from 10th – 21st October. South Africa, unfortunately will not be there as a result of our loss to Australia in Malaysia.
The annual General Assembly council meeting of FIP will take place on 24th October in Buenos Aires. I will be attending this meeting on behalf of SAPA where no doubt the question of South Africa hosting the 2014 Zone D playoffs will be discussed. Hopefully, we will be better equipped to make an informed decision once the mechanics of the tournament are outlined.

SANDTON RIDE OFF:
A Johannesburg events Company, in conjunction with SAPA, is planning an equestrian extravaganza next year in May to span over two weekends with numerous functions and fashion shows packed in between. The first weekend will feature horse jumping featuring jumpers from all over the world followed by “action polo” the second weekend. The plan is for eight cities (four local and four overseas) to compete on a knock out basis for a place in the finals. The event will take place at Willoughby (Stonefield) Johannesburg and will provide another source of income for the Association. If successful, the event could become an annual event in the city.

2012 FIXTURE LIST:
The 2012 fixture list is in the process of being finalized. There was much criticism of this year’s calendar exacerbated by the wet winter conditions country wide. There have been a lot of suggestions from players to plan tournaments on back to back weekends followed by a “free” allowing players to practice with their Clubs – especially those that are short of numbers and struggle to play polo when Club members are away at tournaments. With this in mind and to minimize transport costs the plan is to follow the Plett Easter season (where reciprocity between EG/KZN and local Cape players can take place) with two high goal EG tournaments followed by a break and then two Highveld tournaments. These need to be fairly early in the season before the major frosts set in. These would be followed by another break and then two major Natal tournaments. Club tournaments would be interspersed in between where ever best in consultation with the Provincial Chairmen.
Handicap levels for all provincial championship tournaments, Karkloof Classic and SA Champs will be increased from 12 to 14 goal – the FIP International level but more importantly to suck in more two and three goal players into higher goal polo. The effect of this will (hopefully) give younger 2’s and 3’s the opportunity of playing faster polo and subsequently take them to the next level.
With these tournaments set at 14/6/0 levels an overall prize will be awarded to the team winning the most tournaments. This will encourage teams not to change too much and form the basis of a mini league. An individual prize will also be awarded to the player with the most points in each section based on the success rate of the player. We will be looking for a sponsor for this. Tournaments would be weighted according to the degree of difficulty in achieving success i.e. winning SA Champs would earn more points than say Natal or Free State Champs.
The calendar will also include a Ladies section in as many of the major tournaments as possible – such as the Underberg High Goal, Karkloof Classic, Inter provincial and maybe the President’s Cup. The latter could form the basis of a selection tournament for the ladies to play an International during September/October next year.
These are all ideas planned for the 2012 polo calendar – any suggestions would be welcome.
 
UMPIRING:
The Association’s professional umpiring policy is still very much on track with a few new members eager to join the initiative. I am hopeful, budget permitting, to sponsor SAPA’s professional umpire’s at all major tournaments which should ensure a measure of consistency at these events.
Thankfully, on field discipline has improved during the latter part of the season and umpires will be instructed to keep it that way. The introduction of the “Yellow Flag” system has been partly responsible for this – a necessary aspect if we want to adhere to the NRC mandate of promoting polo in South Africa.
That’s the wrap for the time being – I wish all those Clubs holding tournaments in the ensuing week’s lots of fun and good exciting polo.
 
CLIVE PEDDLE
Executive Director – South African Polo Association

AUSTRALIA WIN THE 2011 BMW INTERNATIONAL POLO SERIES

The Australian Polo Team pulled off a convincing win against South Africa by 9 goals to 7 on Sunday 21 August at the Inanda BMW Polo Test. The playing conditions were in stark contrast to last weekend's waterlogged Test, as they took to the field in brilliant sunshine and played to a capacity crowd. Australian Rob Ballard won Man-Of-The-Match while Dirk Van Reenen's horse, Ocean, won Best Playing Pony. The win in Joburg means the Aussies head home winning the Series 15 goals to 12. Thank you to everyone for coming out to support the teams and we look forward to another exciting BMW Series in 2012. 

AUSTRALIA BEAT SA IN VERY WET CONDITIONS AT SHONGWENI

The visiting Australian polo team completed a sporting double yesterday when they followed up the Wallabies’ win over the Springboks in Durban on Saturday with a 6-5 victory over South Africa in the first Test of the BMW International Polo Series at a rain-soaked Shongweni Club near Durban watched ironically by the rugby Springboks who were guests of honour.

The game was very closely fought throughout and only won by the Australians at the end of the final Chukka. Andrew Williams of the Australian team won man-of-the-match although all eight players deserved a medal for playing in such difficult conditions.

This means Australia go to the final Test at the Inanda Club in Sandton on Sunday with a 6-5 advantage. Weather forecast is looking good at the moment so we can hopefully look forward to some sunshine and exciting polo. 

NEWSLETTER – JULY 2011

FIP TRIP TO MALAYSIA:

The South African team has just returned from the FIP Zone D Qualifiers in Malaysia. I was privileged to accompany the team as Manager and am happy to report that generally the tour was a great success albeit we never achieved our goal of qualifying for the finals in Argentina later this year.

ORGANISATION AND FACILITIES:

The event was hosted and organised (in conjunction with FIP) by the Royal Malaysian Polo Association. Peter Abisheganaden, the RMPA Secretary, was an amazing organizer/facilitator and left no stone unturned. All the team’s costs were paid for by the RMPA and it was left to each country to get their players to Malaysia. Thereafter accommodation, travel, meals etc were taken care of by the RMPA. Interestingly, some of the teams (New Zealand and Australia) had to pay their own way to Malaysia unlike South Africa whose travel costs and uniforms were met by SAPA.

The teams were accommodated at a seaside hotel resort an hour’s drive from the polo fields in Pahang – each team had its own dedicated liaison officer and air conditioned bus for transportation to and from the venue under police escort – a fairly large logistical exercise in itself. This meant no delays and matches always commenced on time.

Accreditation for participants was efficient and well organised as was the hotel reception staff.

Ponies were mostly from local players and patrons including those that were purchased from the Argentine and New Zealand. The RMPA entered into a deal with their patrons whereby the RMPA underwrote the cost of purchasing ponies with a four year interest free loan. Freight charges for the purchased horses were met by the RMPA out of funding received from the Malaysian government. Approximately 120 horses were bought from the Argentine and New Zealand.

All horses were graded into “A”, “B” and “C” categories by the Horse Coordinator and allocated into seven pools. All were number branded on their hooves as well as the number painted on the rump. Each team had 24 horses in total. Teams drew for their pony pool before the commencement of the tournament to ensure transparency – a major improvement on previous FIP tournaments held in India and Pakistan. Each team was provided with a list of their ponies, their age, previous tournament experience and who the owners were. All teams were also given a similar list of the other participating team’s ponies as well as a CD featuring a picture of the horses. Players were strictly prohibited from entering into the stable area at all times meaning one never really knew what preparation the horses were getting.

Because of the hot and humid conditions, it was mandatory for all players to change ponies after three minutes. Umpires were instructed to stop the game at a neutral point as close to the three minute mark in the chukka as possible to allow players to change horses. In effect matches consisted of 10 x half chukkas. Not ideal because players always took longer than the prescribed minute allowed for the change which made for a very stop/start affair. Because most of the horses were used to playing “patron polo” at a lower level, they were not sufficiently conditioned or fit and battled to cope with the hard 14 goal polo. Wind tunnels equipped with fans blowing a fine mist were erected for ponies to be cooled between chukkas. What was disturbing was the fact that very few ponies would have lasted a full seven minute chukka. The veterinary staff were excellent (there were three vets in attendance at all matches) attending to ponies that showed signs of distress as they came off the field. Lame ponies were withdrawn from the pools and replaced with another “C” grade horse so teams tended to look after their “A” and “B” ponies.  

Grounds were generally good but tended to cut up badly due to frequent down pours of rain. The surfaces were planted to a local grass species with a fairly broad leaf and certainly weren’t the quality of our better fields in South Africa.

The RMPA were superb hosts and organised numerous cocktail parties, functions and even a dinner with the Prince of Malaysia HRH Prince Abdullah at his official residence in Kuantan.

UMPIRING:

FIP have their own set of rules somewhere in between the HPA and AAP which took a bit of getting used to. However teams were well briefed on these prior to the start of the tournament. The umpires were all Argentine nationals chosen by FIP and in my opinion not up to scratch for a tournament of this magnitude. After each match the FIP Tournament Committee would hold a debrief meeting on the day’s play and teams frequently requested that umpires adhere to standard umpiring procedures. The same three officials were used for all matches thereby  achieving a measure of consistency.

TEAM SELECTION:

The ethos of FIP is to promote polo in younger players and to provide these players the opportunity of playing International polo at 14 goal level.  The average age of the SA team was 26 whilst the other nations were all above 30. Having said that, countries fielding a five goal player in their team seem to fare better than those that didn’t. We lacked the luxury of a “General” to keep the team focussed when things got tough.  When the SA squad was selected the only 5 goal player available was Guy Watson who eventually withdrew due to problems with his back. As per my previous newsletter South Africa selected a team of 6 players – 3 x four goal players and 3 x three goal players. We were under the impression that we would get an opportunity to try combinations and stick and ball during our “off days” but the reality was that no one was allowed to ride their horses in between matches. In South Africa’s case our first match was on Sunday 12 with the next game almost a week later on Saturday 16.  This is a FIP rule that definitely needs addressing.

RESULTS:

Our first match against Nigeria followed immediately after the opening ceremony making it difficult for the team to settle the nerves but once play began they played some good polo beating Nigeria 13-5. This win helped us immensely in giving us a strong net goal difference ensuring a place in the semis.

The second match against Pakistan was a lot more difficult and after giving away a goal and a half on handicap we went down 12.5 – 10. Pakistan played well and “finished” their goal scoring opportunities a lot better that we did – something that dogged us the whole tour.

Our third game was the semi final (with New Zealand, Malaysia and Nigeria having been knocked out) against India which was almost the identical team that played in the BMW International at Val de Vie. The only change to their line up was Simran Shergill in place of Ravi Rathore. We knew their 5 goal player Samir Shuhag would be the danger man and the boys marked him closely. As with Pakistan, we missed 21 goal scoring opportunities which eventually cost us dearly and the match. Final score 12 – 8.

This left us in the pressure cooker for the final match for 3^rd and 4^th playoff. The winner of this would qualify along with finalists, India and Pakistan, to travel to Argentina for the finals in October. So for SA it was a “do or die” match against old rivals Australia. I think the team are still battling to understand how they lost that match after being up 8 -3 at half time and dominating throughout. Australian coach Glen Gilmore cleverly changed their game plan using his team members to shield their 5 goal star, Matt Grimes, who scored all their second half goals. It was very frustrating to watch our lead being whittled away and eventually surpassed with Australia finally winning the game 12-10.

In spite of the losses, our young team played well gaining valuable experience. What did emanate from the tour was that if we are going to be serious about future FIP internationals, we need to prepare the team a lot sooner than we did. We need to ear mark potential players for the next playoffs well in advance and give the selected team a lot more preparation time.

For my own part, I met some really interesting people, gained valuable insight into the hierarchy of FIP and realized how blessed we are in South Africa to have such good polo facilities and horses.

FIP have requested that SAPA consider hosting the next Zone D playoffs in four years time and if agreeable, to present them with a pilot plan at the FIP finals in Argentina during October.

Obviously, my initial reaction was to determine whether such a venture would fit our NRC strategy model formulated last year. A tournament of this stature would certainly promote polo in SA. It would also increase the visibility of the sport. It should attract more spectators and would require some major sponsorship - crucial to the success of the event – plenty of ticks in the right boxes !!!! 

BMW INTERNATIONAL SERIES:

Australia will be competing in this year’s BMW International Series. They will be bringing a 20 goal team of 4 x 5 goal players which should make for a great Series. Their team is as follows:

1. Kelvin Johnson (5)

2. Andrew Williams (5)

3. Matt Grimes (5) Captain

4. Rob Ballard (5)

Reserve: Will Gilmore (4)

Matt Grimes played in the Australian team in Malaysia and is a very good player so we should witness some exciting polo.

The South African team will be announced at the conclusion of SA Champs later this month. Two Blesbok teams will also be selected – a “South” side to play against the Australians in KwaZulu Natal and a “North” team to play against them in Johannesburg. The venues for these matches will be advised.

PONY WELFARE:

As many of you will have heard, a very unfortunate incident occurred at a Club tournament recently, where a badly injured pony was badly handled to the disbelief and horror of many non polo playing spectators. One of the most important missives to emanate from the NRC strategy plan was to “promote polo in SA and improve the perception of polo with the general public”. Regrettably, such an incident could only have had a negative impact on polo’s image.

Clubs must ensure they have a horse box attached to a vehicle on standby at every match. A suitable screen must be available (preferably in the horse box) and in the case of an injury the screen must be erected immediately. It’s no good using the horse box and/or ambulance to shield the pony from the public – it doesn’t do the job sufficiently.

Clubs must ensure that a Veterinary Surgeon is on standby and easily contacted. This is a requirement in terms of our Pony Welfare Rules.

In the event of a severe injury every effort should be made to remove the pony from the playing field in a suitable horse box. Generally, the “adrenalin rush” in the injured animal makes this possible but if the injury requires that the pony be put down immediately for humane reasons and it cannot be moved without an unacceptable degree of discomfort, then this must only be by chemical euthanasia administered by a Veterinary Surgeon or suitably qualified person. Under no circumstances should the horse be put down using a firearm in front of the public. It is important to remember that in the absence of a Vet the umpires need to take control and ensure that the animal is correctly handled.

SAPA CHILDREN’S COACHING CLINIC:

The dates of the children’s coaching clinic has been moved a week later to accommodate children from the Highveld who will still be writing exams during the last week of June. The new dates for the Clinic are 4-7 July which falls between the “Dads & Lads” tournament in Underberg and SAPA Cup at Richmond giving fathers/sons the opportunity to play at either or both.

SAPA CUP:

Entries for SAPA Cup next weekend are encouraging with 6-8 teams in the 8 goal section. The 4 and zero goal divisions are at this stage looking a little “thin” but will hopefully fill up over the course of this weekend. Please enter your name or team to Sarah Jane Carr.

SA CHAMPS:

Notices for entry into SA Champs have been emailed to all players – if you haven’t received one please let me know and I can resend the directive. SA Champs will be held at Underberg for the first time and should be a great tournament – their grounds have had very little polo and are in excellent shape.

July/August appear to be busy polo wise so I wish you all well in the tournaments ahead. Please feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions or queries.

CLIVE PEDDLE

Executive Director – South African Polo Association

AUSTRALIAN TEAM TO PLAY IN THE BMW INTERNATIONAL 2011

The Australian team that is to play in the 2011 BMW International Polo Series has been named as below. If you'd like to read up a little more about them you can see a short bio on each player at the end.

 

AUSTRALIAN TEAM

1. Kelvin Johnson (5)

2. Andrew Williams (5)

3. Matt Grimes (5) Captain

4. Rob Ballard (5)

Reserve – Will Gilmore (4)

 

1. Kelvin Johnson (5 goal)

Kelvin, who is 37 years old, started playing polo in 1998 in Queensland. He has played in the UK, Argentina, Thailand, New Zealand and India as well as representing Australia on numerous occasions. He plays regularly in the UK and around Australia, and says of the game, he is “still enjoying it”. Kelvin is also a keen water skier.

2. Andrew Williams (5 goal)

Andrew, also 37 years old, is from Forbes, New South Wales and started playing polo at the Jemalong Club. He has represented Australia in the World Cup in which they were runners up and has been in teams that have won the Dudley Cup, Ellerston (18 goal), Australian Open, Hector King as well as runners-up in the Deauville Gold Cup (22 goal).

3. Matt Grimes (5 goal) Captain

33 year old Matt is originally from Queensland and is currently based at Ellerston. He has played in the USA, Zimbabwe, New Zealand and most recently represented Australia in Malaysia at the FIP IX Polo World Cup playoffs.

4. Robert Ballard (5 goal)

Rob is 33 years old and comes from Gunnedah, New South Wales. He has been playing for 15 years and started his polo career at the Windsor Polo Club turning professional in 1998. He has played high goal polo all around Australia as well as the United States and Canada. He has also represented Australia in World Cup Polo in Pakistan, France and New Zealand.

Reserve: Will Gilmore (4 goal)

FIP Playoff - SA vs Australia - Malaysia

MESSAGE FROM CLIVE PEDDLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SA POLO, IN MALAYSIA

South Africa had to play Australia for the 3^rd and 4^th playoff to qualify for a “final berth” in the Argentine later this year. The two teams competing in the final (India and Pakistan) automatically go through to the World Cup finals in October. So it was all to play for in this “do or die” match with the motivated and ready for a good win. The starting line up was the same as the semi final match against India with the exception of Johann du Preez who came into the side in place of Shaun Brokensha. The starting line up consisted of Campbell Macnab at back, Duncan Watson playing 3, his cousin Lance at 2 and Johann du Preez at 1.  

The boys started strongly scoring 3 goals in the first chukka without reply from Australia and by the half way stage looked like heading for a good win. A four chukka lead at half time looked positive although one can never write off the competitive edge of the Australians. The introduction of some clever tactical moves by Glen Gilmore, the Australian coach, led to the convincing first half lead being whittled away and eventually drawing level with South Africa. The last chukka was a nail biter with South Africa scoring early giving us a glimmer of hope. Two brilliant goals scored close to the final whistle enabled Australia to seal the match and leave a rather shell shocked SA wondering where it had all gone wrong.

The South African team was one of the youngest teams competing in the tournament and they certainly didn’t disgrace themselves. They played some very good polo at times but their inexperience and possibly lack of patience let them down at crucial times – during this match as well as in the semi final against India. The ethos of FIP is to promote polo in younger players and the team can be proud of the results achieved. For most it was their first experience in a World Cup qualifier against experienced players who have competed at this level on numerous previous occasions.

Kind regards

Clive