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Thursday, March 16 2017 / Published in Weekly Feature

Across the Pond: American Polo Player Sally Schwartz Rides for Oxford

 

Sally Schwartz and Tom Humphrey attending the annual OUPC White Tie Polo Ball at Blenheim Palace.
Photo by Nasir Hamid

By Lauren R. Giannini

The Oxford University Polo Club’s recipe for success is teamwork. Oxford scored a huge victory in the Metropolitan Intervarsity Tournament, also known as The London Challenge, a prestigious collegiate polo tournament of co-ed American and British teams — Harvard, Cornell, Skidmore, Cambridge and London — in July 2016 at the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club near Beijing, China.

The Oxford University Polo Club (OUPC) wasn’t favored to win, but earned the title with distinction by playing without an official coach and being the only undefeated team. Oxford’s team included Lizzy Hamilton (reserve), Charlie Hitchman, Louis Maddison, Sally Schwartz and Heather Winsor.

Sally Schwartz stick and balling in Millbrook, New York, at Smithfield Farms during her first summer playing polo.
Photo by Anna Pouschine

“I can’t imagine a better place for me than Oxford — it’s the most magical place,” said American Sally Schwartz, who started playing polo three years ago under the tutelage of Julio Ezcurra at Mashomack Polo Club in Pine Plains, New York. Her passion for riding ignited at the age of 2 in Millbrook, New York, where she grew up doing a bit of everything, including eventing. Today, she mostly trains young horses, foxhunts, hacks out and plays polo as much as possible. She has played in Wellington, Florida, with Julio and in Los Angeles, California, with HYT Polo’s Hannah Taylor and Ernie Ezcurra. Playing for Oxford has taken her all over England and to China.

“It’s been kind of a golden age of the Oxford University Polo Club,” said Sally. “We had a record-breaking season [2016] in what was the club’s most competitive year yet, especially in China with the inclusion of Cornell and Skidmore, instead of what was traditionally Yale and Stanford. Oxford was the only undefeated team — all the others had at least two losses. We weren’t one of the highest-handicapped teams, but everyone played fantastic and we beat Cornell for the title!”

The Oxford University Polo Club’s Christmas dinner
Photo by Jerickson Villacarlos

Crossing the Big Puddle

Oxford, top-ranked university in the United Kingdom (UK) and one of the world’s top five, cites the U.S. as its largest source of international students. American Tommy Hitchcock (1882, Varsity) was one of Oxford’s first 10-goal players, but women have figured prominently in Oxford’s polo history. One of the things Sally loves most is that the Oxford team is fully coed.

“I ended up at Oxford by a bit of a miracle — I applied almost as an afterthought,” said Sally. “When the college counselor at my school told me I needed to apply to a broader list of schools, I threw in an application with UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Services, based in the UK). I knew almost nothing about Oxford at the time. Whatever set of unlikely circumstances led me here, I am grateful we found each other. There are some really experienced and talented players in OUPC from whom I have learned a lot and who have inspired me to play a lot and to improve. I now play first squad.”

In her third and final year of study, Sally graduates this spring from Oxford with a degree in history of art. She serves as the polo club’s external relations officer, handling social media, press and some special trips and events. This year, she’s also captain of Oxford’s equestrian team, which competes similarly to the U.S. intercollegiate system. At shows, riders on each team have a seven-minute warm-up for dressage and five-minute warm-up for show jumping — all on unknown horses. But polo’s her primary passion.

“Our polo team is incredibly close,” said Sally. “It’s a privilege to know, work hard and have fun with this talented, fun group of people.”

The winning Oxford Polo Team in China at the Metropolitan Polo Club horsing around.
Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Polo Club, Tianjin, China

Student Initiative

Oxford University Polo Club depends on its members to run the organization and take on various roles to keep it organized and moving forward. In the last few years, the students’ intense dedication to promoting polo has made OUPC grow by leaps and bounds. Elli Gilje and Lizzy Hamilton, previous club chairs, took Oxford from 30 members to 70. Lizzy initiated a vital tournament sponsorship with the renowned polo brand La Martina. The students are very serious about finding as much funding as possible as it allows the club to provide financial funding for any student who wants to play.

“We have increased our network and social media presence — it was at 300 at the beginning, and we’re hoping to get it to 10,000 by the time I leave,” said Sally. “The current committee, under the leadership of Issa Patel, took our club to 150 subscribed members with 100 trying polo for the first time this year.”

Getting hooked on the game has a lot to do with enthusiastic drive and determination. Issa Patel started playing several years ago under the tutelage of Glynn Henderson, former 5-goal international player from New Zealand based in the north of England, where his family lives.

“Glynn is the one who got me into the sport and I haven’t looked back since,” said Issa. “I found Oxford’s polo club to be a fun, close-knit community. Here I am, two years later, chairman of OUPC, and I’m so lucky I have had the chance to work on super-exciting projects with such an energetic and dedicated committee. We had our most successful season with triumphs in the Varsity Match, the Atlantic Cup [Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge], which we re-launched and hosted with Cambridge, and the Metropolitan Intervarsity Tournament in Tianjin. We also became a Full Blue Sport [special award for athletes playing at the highest level] for the first time in Oxford history.”

Winning team in China at Metropolitan Polo Club
Photo by Elisabeth Halbesma

Teamwork, Teamwork, Teamwork

OUPC, founded in 1874 and one of the four oldest continuing polo clubs in the world, has a history of coed polo dating to the early 20th century. Women played chukkas and trained with the team, but the coed milestones took place when Claire (neé Lucas) Tomlinson played as “Mr. Lucas” in the 1964 Varsity Match and made history in 1966 when she became the first-ever female captain of OUPC. Claire made polo history as the first female player in the world to achieve a 5-goal handicap. At Oxford, the coed precedent is firmly established.

The fiercely contested Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge dates back to 1878. In 2016, the team of George Pearson, Vere Harmsworth, Charlie and Louis provided Oxford’s 19-0 annihilation of Cambridge, breaking the match record of 19-1, set in 1911. Winning the La Martina Varsity Match and the Atlantic Cup made for an extremely busy and exciting weekend and, no doubt, contributed greatly to OUPC earning that Full Blue Sport status.

It was in China for the 2016 Metropolitan Intervarsity Tournament that teamwork and self-coaching launched the Oxford team of men and women into the stratosphere of intercollegiate coed polo. There’s no more decisive way to win a championship than to play undefeated on foreign fields aboard unfamiliar horses. Although Oxford didn’t have an official coach, they received excellent support from the sidelines by teammate Christiaan de Koning and by top-rated players Charlie and Louis.

“I think our team is the best it’s ever been — it was fantastic,” said Sally. “In China, we had world-class horses, 26-goal horses, and we didn’t have a coach, like the other teams, but we had Christiaan with us and players like Charlie and Louis, who are often better than a coach because they’ll instruct you as you’re playing and they’re so specific about what you need to do and when to do it — that makes it a very steep learning curve. Plus, we’re accustomed to playing against the boys.”

Oxford’s strategy had Heather and Sally playing forward, to mark their men and take them out of the way, thus clearing the way for Charlie and Louis to get clear shots on goal. It worked. In the finals, Oxford bested Cornell, who was coached by David Eldridge, considered the best coach in all of Cornell’s history. According to Sally’s published report, Peter Elsner, London’s coach, told the Oxford team: “You played well, but God, you better thank your girls. They played outstanding — working hard clearing the way for you to make beautiful goals.”

Heather Windsor and Sally taking their men during the Tianjin China Finals against Cornell.
Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Polo Club, Tianjin, China

Polo Before and Beyond

Winston Churchill, who often coached and played at Oxford, once said, “A polo handicap is a passport to the world.” The intense excitement of a team sport played at great speed on horseback makes it fun to participate and to watch. At Oxford, polo is a way of life that provides students with a home away from home, a substitute community/family and an immediate social life, to boot. It’s also a good reason to apply as an undergraduate.

Louis Maddison and Charlie Hitchman modeling their OUPC La Martina clothing. 
Photo by Sally Schwartz

Oxford has given Sally much more than a degree; here it gave her direction. “It’s been amazing, especially playing polo and competing on the equestrian team,” said Sally. “But as much as I love riding, I don’t want to become an equestrian professional. I like polo as a team sport and I love the adrenaline of it. Once I started playing polo, I couldn’t put it down.”

Heather, current OUPC social secretary who grew up riding, began playing polo at age 13. “I have always been animal obsessed, especially horses,” she said. “I always enjoyed riding and I was intrigued about combining it with team sport. When I found out my school offered polo, I jumped at the opportunity.”

That seems to be the common ground for most of the OUPC team. Sally, Heather and Issa, along with other teammates on the committee, have been working to improve alumni involvement by hosting more matches and dinners and reaching out to polo clubs who indicate their interest in having Oxford alumni play. They’re driven and determined to make sure Oxford’s the best university polo club in the world. They’re also keen to keep playing.

“I feel very proud to be an American, but I think I’m going to stay in London — many of my friends are there,” said Sally. “Art has always been a passion and a hobby and it’s been a delight to study, but I’m still young and I don’t feel I have enough foundation to go off on my own. Ideally, I would like to work with horses, breed polo ponies, have a farm and an art gallery. That’s the dream.”

 

 

 

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Tagged under: lauren r. giannini, oxford university polo club, polo, sally schwartz

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Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
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