& More 2015
Lisa McDonald Photography
“Beach polo is a moveable feast. We bring polo to the people
so they don’t have to drive 20 miles out of town to see it. We also
make people feel comfortable so they want to go on and support
the sport. Quality of play is integral in entertaining these
newcomers to polo too; the IBPA promotes beach polo of 12 goals
and above though they support the lower levels. Watching beach polo
with teams handicapped below that level is the difference between
watching backyard football and premier league. A better standard
of beach polo helps to sell the whole sport. Some of the world’s best
players now play beach polo, including Matias Magrini, who plays
off 9 goals on grass and is now the world’s first and only 10 goal
beach polo player!”
The majority of international beach polo events now come under the
IBPA umbrella, according to Webbe, who is now Chairman
of the organisation. The IBPA has also just appointed a new
President, Joy Ford, Countess du Lau d’Allemans, a former model and
polo player, who has already spent two years coordinating charitable
efforts for global beach polo events. She will now concentrate on
supporting emerging beach polo ventures internationally and the
introduction of polo to a wider audience.
New beach polo venues in 2014 included Mexico, Austria, Poland,
Italy and China. The China event being a slight departure, as
it encompassed other aspects of luxury living. Attracting 7,500
guests, “SO! DALIAN” was a boutique yachting, networking and
20
lifestyle event, dedicated to promoting Dalian as a major tourist destination for boating, and luxury living in Northern China, part of this
offering was China’s first beach polo event, the ‘Beach Polo World
Cup’ as a key attraction. For the organisers, it was a monumental task,
but worth the effort; horses had to be transported some 800km, the
same went for sand for the playing field. As for the players, they
managed to gather teams and players from the USA, UK, Kazakhstan,
Thailand and of course, China.
This adaptation of polo seems to have gained some traction, as new
beach polo events are popping up every year. Most recently, New
Zealand held their first beach polo event in the scenic Hawkes Bay
area, with the Porangahau Beach Polo event and both Nigeria and Ghana are
currently in the planning stages for events there.
From the looks of it seems as though beach polo is definitely here
to stay
Above: Porangahau Beach Polo event during the last game of the day between
Ngatarawa and Central fm showing the playing corral on Te Paerahi Beach with
the majestic sweep around to Blackhead in the distance
Inset: Winners of the High Goal Cup Marquee Game, L-R, Aaron Vowles,
Simon McDonald and Lochie Hunter at the Porangahau Beach Polo event,
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand