Pony Club and Junior HPA Polo 2008

During the last few years various proposals for the development of polo have been discussed but in 2007 a combination of factors, which included the weather, brought things to a head. As a result the Pony Club and the HPA sat down to discuss the future of polo for the young. Pony Club and Schools polo has grown in almost all respects and there has been an increasing demand for grounds with certain sections such as Jorrocks, Gannon and Langford often having to be played at different locations to the remainder. In addition, having played 4 chukka school matches, there has been an increasing wish amongst those with sufficient ponies to continue to play 4 chukkas in the school holidays. There has also been concern that some of the young players have lacked the opportunities to play the right sort of polo either within their own age group or within their club.

It was agreed that the programme of polo needed to provide the right opportunities for the different young players. This meant that the better players needed to be able to play with each other whilst the less experienced or able needed to play in a safe environment. In every case, better and more consistent coaching was needed. If this could be achieved, the young players would be encouraged to stay playing within their own age group for longer and thus create a Junior polo season which should help to optimise our young talent. Feeding young players into adult polo before they were ready and where they received little coaching was neither effective nor enjoyable.

In order to produce an overall higher standard of competitive polo earlier for those players that might wish and are able to take part, there will be 3 sections of Junior HPA polo in 2008. The aim of these sections will be to assist with the development of those players who have come up through the Pony Club or SUPA and the HPA reserves the right to refuse entry to players who are considered not to have done so. They will be played under HPA rules except for those Pony Club rules that govern all Sections e.g. hats and dress. The HPA Sections will run alongside Pony Club Polo with all teams wearing the City Capital Corporation (3C) strip. All those that want to participate must:

 Be a member of a UK branch of the Pony Club and hence covered by the PC insurance
 Be a member of a club with a confirmed HPA handicap which means that they must have passed the HPA rules test.
 Attend two HPA approved Area Training courses. Details to follow.
 Only play in one section of Junior HPA or Pony Club polo.
 If not a British national, have written permission to play from the HPA, which will take into account where that player is principally resident or being educated.
 Play as an amateur without any economic benefit.
In addition, there will be two other sections within Pony Club polo for the under 21s. This will allow players to choose whether they play one chukka (Ledner) or 2 chukka (Rendell) matches, but more importantly, there will be greater flexibility to move players within those sections between branches if it is considered appropriate for safety reasons. Click here for a flow chart summarising the format for Pony Club Polo and Junior HPA Polo and showing that any player can convert between Pony Club and HPA polo the following season.
 
GANNON – under 21 on 1st Jan 2008, for teams of 0 to 4 goals playing 4 chukkas (Section Manager: Christopher Price). Players to be 20, 19 or 18 with a handicap of -1 or above and players of 17 and 16 with a handicap of 0 or above.  No more than one player with a handicap of +2 or above to play in each team. Entry Fee: £200 per match.

LANGFORD – under 18 on 1st Jan 2008, for teams of -4 to 0 goals playing 4 chukkas. (Section Manager: Jilly Emerson). Players to be 17, 16, or 15 with a handicap of -2 to +2, and players of 14 with a handicap of 0 or above.   No more than one player of +2 or two players of +1 per team (the sum of the handicaps of the best two players must not exceed 2 goals).  Entry Fee: £200 per match.

HIPWOOD - under 15 on 1st Jan 2008, for teams of -7 to -5 playing 3 chukkas (Section Manager: Bridget Baxter). Players to be 14, 13 or 12 with a handicap of -2 to 0.  Entry Fee: £180 per match.

Provided that individuals and teams meet the above conditions, there shall be no HPA restrictions on the make up of teams. However, it is the intention that teams should be based on and play under the name of a club, Pony Club branch, university or school, each of which may wish to apply its own restrictions. Such restrictions have not been discussed with those concerned but it is suggested that the following guidelines are likely to apply:

Club Teams. It will be up to a club as to whether a team may carry the club name and how many members of the team have to be playing members of the club concerned but we would expect clubs to require at least 3 of the players to be regular playing club members.

Pony Club Branch Teams. It will be up to the Pony Club branch manager as to how many members have to belong to the branch concerned. It is suggested that there should be two.

University and School Teams. It is assumed that all 4 players will have to be eligible and approved to represent the university or school concerned.

Entries, which will be subject to approval by the HPA, must be signed off by the Team Manager to say that the name of the team has been agreed by the body concerned and must include the following:
 The Pony Club branch and club to which each player belongs.
 The names of all the players and confirmation that they have completed the necessary training days.
The Team Manager is expected to attend all his or her team’s matches and if unable to do so must notify the HPA Tournament Director or relevant Section Manager as to who will be responsible on that occasion.

The HPA have appointed Jeremy Barber as Junior HPA Tournament Director for one year. The exact format will depend on the number of entries in each section but it is planned that each team will play a minimum of 5 matches and that the tournaments will be played in two parts, starting with a league competition. The structure of each section tournament and scheduling of all matches will be the responsibility of the Junior HPA Tournament Director in consultation with the Section and Team Managers. Teams should be available to play as from July 12th.  According to the results of the league matches, a maximum of 8 teams in each section will qualify to play a ‘knock-out’ tournament starting the week of the Cowdray Championships. The semi finals and finals of the ‘knock-out’ tournaments will be played at Cowdray over the weekend of August 8th-10th as part of the Pony Club Championships. The Junior HPA Tournament Director and Section Managers will be members of the PCP Committee.

The above should produce an overall higher standard of competitive polo earlier for those players that might wish and are able to take part, provide a greater incentive to improve and keep the young playing polo within their age group for longer, and raise the standard of horse management. It is hoped that Pony Club branches, clubs, schools and universities will take up the opportunity to enter teams in the Junior HPA sections. Initially, it is going to be difficult for those involved to know how best to go about putting together teams but please be aware that any league phase is likely to be arranged so as to minimise travel for those involved. In addition, those teams that are local to each other should be able to play and practice together more easily.

It is important that we retain the inclusive approach and ethos of the Pony Club at the same time as offering greater freedom. This means that all efforts will be made to ensure all players are placed in an appropriate team and all branch managers and clubs are requested to return the proforma here by 31st January so that we have some idea of who might like to play what.

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