polo manager ’ s report
SILVER LININGS
Thanks to the recent visa saga with the Home Office , our Polo Manager could be forgiven for being pessimistic when asked for his thoughts on the upcoming season . Surprisingly , the very opposite is true . Antony Fanshawe thinks any downturn in play in 2017 is the perfect excuse for Guards Polo Club to start work on improving the grounds at Smith ’ s Lawn
Antony Fanshawe was in an upbeat mood in his office at Smith ’ s Lawn , despite the ongoing visa situation with the Hurlingham Polo Association ( HPA ) and the Home Office . A passionate advocate of the game , who is rarely afraid of voicing his opinions , Antony believes that the Club should use the current situation , which may well result in a reduced number of games , to its advantage .
“ What worries me most with the visa situation is that we might take our eye off the ball ,” he said . “ It ’ s a bit like Brexit – focus on that one thing and everything else goes to pot . The simple fact is that more people play polo than ever before and so we need to improve grounds 4-6 here at Smith ’ s Lawn to attract more players . For me it ’ s the only way forward as you need to continually improve its grounds .
“ If you want to be the greatest you have to maintain the highest standards across all aspects of the club . In polo terms , that means the quality of your polo fields . We have secured permission from the Crown Estate for the work on grounds 3 - 6 and are now in the process of obtaining planning permission , as well as financing . Once in place we aim to start the work as soon as possible . The high-goal players will never return to playing on ground 4 ! If we lose the use of the private grounds – so Guards becomes the hub again – but fail to improve our grounds , then that is a recipe for disaster .
“ This year , for the first time , I think I will have five high-goal fields here that I can use – The Queen ’ s and Duke ’ s Grounds at Smith ’ s Lawn , the two at Coworth Park and , for the first time , the Castle Ground at Flemish Farm . We will also get a couple of games at our usual private grounds thanks to the generosity of our patrons .”
Not surprisingly , Antony ’ s optimism is slightly tempered by caution due to the current situation . “ Of course , I am not saying that the visa issue will not affect us here . It will cause some problems , but will only be difficult at the start of the season . Once we know the teams and their crews and have checked their paperwork , it shouldn ’ t be a problem . It is likely that the Home Office will make spot checks during the season , but I would stress that it is the responsibility of the teams to make sure that they are compliant and for the HPA to police it . This is not the role of the Polo Manager .
“ That said , I think that polo people always try and pull together until we get onto the field of play . We need to acknowledge that there has been a problem with the visas previously and we must address , sensibly , what the Home Office is asking us to do . We all play because we love it and many of us have already leapt some pretty large obstacles to get to do what we love . However , I would add that , if by the end of this season the HPA has not addressed a few key Home
Office points , then I think polo may be in much more trouble . At the moment , we are just trying to roll into this season and make it work .”
So what about the upcoming season ? “ It is sad to see that some big names will not be playing in the Cartier Queen ’ s Cup this year – such as Zacara , HB and Dubai ,” said Antony . “ It ’ s going to be interesting to see who can match King Power . Although , after their 2015 / 16 football season , it might have seemed as if King Power ’ s British Open win at Cowdray was just ‘ normal service ’. So the pressure is back on the Pieres brothers [ Gonzalo and Facundo ] after the football team ’ s awful year [ although at the time of writing the Foxes were still in with a shout in the Champions League ].
“ The good news is that we will have some new high-goal patrons this season , bringing a fresh dimension to the 22- goal . It will also be interesting to see how Adolfo Cambiaso adjusts to his new shirt .
72 guards polo club official yearbook 2017