Well, good morning guys. I'm just outside the block of stables here at Kings Polo
in Egypt, and it's looking a little bit like a construction site at the moment
but I can assure you it's going to be the most amazing place. Here behind me
you can see the boom that will be a hose coming over this wash Bay, that we're
creating for the horses. It's actually a really nice wash Bay. You can see down
here that there's a trough, and the tethering line here that the horses will
be tied to. The wash bay itself and there are 4 of these that do six horses, so
after exercise we can get the horses in here and wash them off quite quickly. But
just showing you this beautiful place and being around these amazing creatures...
What I wanted to just chat to you about quickly is your riding. Because to be
honest the thing that holds most people back when they are playing polo from
really progressing is how they ride. Because it goes to so many points you
know often you're riding horses that are better than you think they are.
And they only where they are at that level because of how you ride, and
somebody else comes and rides those horses that is a better rider
than you and you suddenly find that the horses actually improved. So, you are the
limiting factor. And to be honest, when I was a child we had the Peruvian polo
team come and visit, and we were very fortunate that the club was on the farm
and I grew up in a club that was really playing good polo at that point.
Club practices were 22 goal practices. But I was fortunate to have a lovely
string of horses and I had a horse that was at the bottom of my string. And Max
Pena, who was an 8 Goal player, took my string, you know, we all had to
put forward horses and he really enjoyed the horse,
you know. And he wanted to double chucker it, and all that kind of stuff. And by the
time I got the horse back, it was a totally different horse, and one that I
really enjoyed and was now at the top of my string. So, riding is such an
important part of it and if I think of somebody like Memo Grasida for example,
let's take him as an example, 10 Goals going for riding lessons every single
week. And I've been so fortunate, and working with a 7 goaler Chris
Mackenzie, last year in December, and he got me down there for a whole month just
to work on his riding and we changed his foot position and that kind
of stuff a little bit, and at the end of the first day he said to me, "Gavin I feel
like somebody's cut my foot off, I can feel it." And anyway, we progressed from
there, and after a week I said Chris go back and ride how you were riding and he
says "oh, I can't ride like this." So it was really an interesting exercise and he's
really enjoyed the results of that. So just be sure that your riding is not the
factor that's inhibiting you going forwards. And often it's a lot more
helpful for you, if you are a weaker Rider,
to get somebody to school your horses every now and then, and to play them a
chukka every now and then, okay. Just to keep them honest and keep them going
well. We run an Academy here, and all my Academy horses I take and I
personally school or get one of the pros here to go and stick
and ball the horse, and play a chukka, just to get it back into the good habits.
But be sure that your riding is not what is inhibiting you because what's really
important is to learn to ride with strong legs, because that will give you
gentle hands. And what you need to do, in my opinion, is often take your saddle
away, and put a sheepskin in its place. We have a nice padded
sheepskin that we put an over girth on so that you can still use your
martingale and running reins, and all of the rest and we make you ride without a
saddle. And even stick-and-ball without a saddle, to be honest, because that really
builds your legs up. So don't be scared to regress, and do those kind of things,
and also don't be too proud to go and get riding lessons. So I really hope that
hammers that message home, and from me here at Kings Polo, a hearty goodbye, and
I hope this has helped... and see you in the next lesson.