Polo Players Edition

JAN 2011

Polo Players' Edition is the official publication of the U.S. Polo Association. Dedicated to the sport of polo, it features player profiles, game strategy, horse care, playing tips, polo club news and tournament results.

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ᑢᑗᑢᑣ/ᑦ POLO MALLETS with a 2-goal handicap but with the patience of a saint, turned out very good polo ponies … When I began playing in Buenos Aires it was a great help because they would lend me all their good horses … [The stallions] had to be Thoroughbred racehorses, good confirmation, character, etc., which is what is still taken into account now.” Throughout their polo careers the Harriott brothers were partners supporting one another. When their father and uncle sent them a batch of 4 year olds, broken-in but unschooled in polo, they would ride each of them. By mutual agreement, one brother would have the first pick, with the other claiming second and third choice, thereafter alternately picking the remaining horses each for his own game. How many polo ponies would he typically play in an eight-chukker final? “In a final I would generally use five,” he replied. “I have even played four. On Wednesdays we would play a light practice match and on Thursdays, play at full tilt. If we noticed any of the horses were a bit heavy, we would probably play it half a chukker more.” Playing off a 10-goal handicap between 1974 and ‘82 and winning the Argentine Open 13 times, while twice playing for Argentina to win the Cup of the Americas, in his own right Alfredo ranked high in the Argentine polo galaxy in his day. Far from any sense of living in the shadow of his famous brother, he insists they have always been close and continue so. He freely acknowledged his gratitude for his elder brother’s support in his own polo career. How does Argentine polo played at the highest level nowadays compare with what he and his brother played at the peak of their own careers? “I won’t say that polo today is better or worse, but I prefer the polo we played and certainly enjoyed it more as a spectacle,” he replied. “It was an open game with the horses running all the time, and it was more of a team game. “One of the differences between polo then and now is that we were amateurs and now they’re all professionals. For the rest of the year they play with low-goal patrons. If they’re going to win then they have to play every position so they’ve developed a different kind of polo, more individualistic. Cambiaso is the best example of the modern style. “The game is so different now that none of the ponies we played would ever be chosen by today’s players—and we wouldn’t have chosen the ponies they now play either. Nowadays the horses are very correct and smooth, with explosive pace in the opening minutes of play but without staying power. “We would play all our ponies for two chukkers. Now they play each horse for three minutes, changing them frequently because they’re stopping and starting all the time, which is so much harder on a horse than the open, running game.” And the standard of umpiring in the high-goal game? “I don’t believe you can be a good high-goal umpire unless you’ve played high-goal polo. It’s more difficult now because the line of the ball changes so quickly.” Speaking to me before the Argentine Polo Association, to its great credit, clarified the interpretation of polo’s rules to deter players from possession of the ball no matter what, he continued: “They no longer penalize players who turn on the line of the ball and this has changed the game. No one plays the backhand shot nowadays. Mind you, I’ve never known a losing team to accept that the umpiring was competent or fair. Arguing with officials has always been a problem and it’s still a problem.” To this day, Juancarlitos and Alfredo Harriott live in the Coronel Suarez district, each with his own farm, which in Alfredo’s case involves breeding Thoroughbreds for racing and polo, not least to mount his two sons, Pablo and Sebastian, both semi- professionals with high-goal handicaps, playing with Coronel Suarez. Does Alfredo Harriott regret that his own polo career pre-dated professional polo at the highest level, offering the best players a handsome living, which takes them all over the world? “No, no, no,” he replied emphatically. “I am completely happy with the era when I played.” The past is another country; they do things differently there. CUSTOM MADE MALLETS ᑤ)∋∀!∗∗#∋&ᑰ∃ᑀᑰ& ᑀᑤ)∋%(+ ᑡᑰ∃∃!+ᑀᑥ!(ᑰ#)ᑀᑦ!),#ᑱ! Tipa Wood Heads Wide Selection of Canes We supply cane, grip & heads for repair We have light mallets for women & children NEW MALLETS IN STOCK ᑣᑤᑙᑢᑀᑩᑙᑗᑥᑃᑗᑥᑣᑨᑢᑘ We honor Visa/Mastercard/AMX 3500 Fairlane Farms Road Suite #6 Wellington, FL 33414 −−−ᑄ(∋∃∋%ᑰ∃∃!+∗ᑄᑱ∋% #&∀∋ᑖ(∋∃∋%ᑰ∃∃!+∗ᑄᑱ∋% ᑁᑓᑅᑅᑂᑀᑔᑅᑈᑃᑢᑗᑢᑣ ᑁᑑᑇᑑᑑᑂ ᑧ!∃ᑕᑀᑁᑐᑑᑆᑂᑀᑒᑔᑈᑃᑉᑔᑆᑆ ᑠᑰ.ᑕᑀᑁᑐᑑᑆᑂᑀᑒᑔᑈᑃᑉᑒᑆᑉ POLO PLAYERS EDITION 17

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