Guards Polo Club Official Yearbook 2017 Official Yearbook 2017 | Page 16

foreword
Chairman’s Foreword
D
espite an unsettled winter owing
to the visa crisis, Guards Polo
Club is ready to get the 2017
season underway. There is plenty to
look forward to. The arrival of Philipp
Mosimann and his team in the Clubhouse
is excellent news. Guards Polo Club is
proud of its status as one of the leading
clubs in the world and it is vital that its
hospitality offering, as well as its polo,
reflects that.
The introduction of several new
high-goal patrons, plus changes of key
personalities among some of the already
established teams, will ensure an exciting
22-goal season in 2017. Cartier’s
continued and generous support of the
Queen’s Cup allows us to attract the
biggest names of the game to Smith’s
Lawn and offer excellent high-goal sport
at Smith’s Lawn, Coworth Park, and I am
delighted to say, the Castle Ground at
Flemish Farm for the first time.
Sponsors are key to managing a
successful club, but to have brands that
are already deeply embedded in the
game is invaluable. Hildon comes within
this group. I was honoured to call the
company’s founder Christian Heppe a
friend – and rival on the field of play –
and so it is wonderful news that the firm
will continue his legacy through a new
sponsorship of the Archie David Cup.
As the biggest 8-goal tournament in the
world, I cannot think of a more fitting
tribute to a man who did so much for the
game he loved to play.
During the winter, our Polo Manager,
Antony Fanshawe, has been working
closely with the Grounds and Fixtures
Committees to look at how we can
begin to implement the Club’s Grounds
Development Plan. I know that Antony
is keen to get work started as soon as
possible on grounds 4 - 6 so that they
reflect the rising standards of our players
and their ponies and I would like stress
that the Board supports his drive. With
Flemish Farm now coming on stream full
time from this season, the Plan is another
step closer to starting.
The recent announcement that eight
teams will compete, for the first time, in
the schools’ Copenhagen Cup emphasises
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the continued importance of the game
at the grass roots. Guards Polo Club
has always been an inclusive club – our
raison d’etre is to create the best playing
platforms possible at all levels. So,
giving these student players a chance to
experience matches on first-class, full-size
grounds can only be good for the long-
term future of the game. With our official
clothing partner La Martina returning to
sponsor the annual Varsity Day for the
second year, Guards Polo Club continues
to be a leading advocate for student polo.
Of course, these student players will
be the bedrock of this Club in the future,
no doubt bringing their own teams to
our prestigious tournaments such as the
Bentley Motors Royal Windsor Cup.
Twenty 15-goal teams entered last year –
ensuring many memorable matches and
an excellent final played in front of HM
The Queen and our President – and we
are expecting similar numbers this year.
We also saw an increased entry across
a range of tournaments, including the
Land Rover Duke of Cornwall Trophy.
Played later in the season, this high-goal
competition is prized by the professionals
as it is the only 16-goal tournament
played in the UK at this time of year.
In fact, this tournament highlights one
of the keys to Guards Polo Club’s success.
Its Board and the Management Team, led
by CEO Neil Hobday, continually listens
to its patrons and players about what
they want from their Club. Now, with the
addition of two Directors on the Board
who represent the social membership for
the first time – Simon Mace and Freddie
Huxtable – Guards Polo Club is ready to
deliver its best season yet.
Jock Green-Armytage
Chairman
guards polo club official yearbook 2017