9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2001 - Page 0067
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
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REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 67 Polo and Equitation Rel-establishing polo as a Regimental sport in 2000 was exciting, istorically important and, quite extraordinarily, was achieved within one month of arriving in Germany. That was the easy part. To maintain polo as a Regimental sport through the 2001 season has been difficult. To mount a Regimental team, run a tournament in I-Iohne or just keep a horse requires, some say, a disproportionate quantity of effort, unless like polo players and riders, you appreci- ate the satisfaction and end product. The hard work started during the dark and cold days of the I-Iohne winter. Ponies were ridden out in an attempt to get them fit, mucking out seemed constant and in the often bitter weather, anything made from steel needed de-icing before use. Just leading four horses in deep snow up to the top fields was a liability. Furthermore, the polo pitch was inhabited by an unknown number of moles, which precipitated a battle of wills to break a siege that has still not been concluded. Throughout, the Bredebeck stables yard thrived, its number of horse owners increas- ing to include up to six Regimental wives, their horses and dogs, quite a community and a full stables with fifteen horses. Prior to the polo season starting, a course was run at I-Iohne for three days early in April under the professional instruction of Mr Giles Ormerod (Tidworth PC). Not only did a number of officers take part, so did officers from the QRI-I, SCOTS DG, two Regimental wives and three local Germans. At about the same time the Regiment purchased a very smart second hand Mercedes horse- box with a capacity of seven, an important step forward for the team to travel to local matches. The polo season was noted forbeing par- ticularly slow to start. Weeks of persistent rain made practicing very difficult throughout April and May. Foot and Mouth, although not endemic in Europe, added further limitations to the movement of horses. In May the first tournament was hosted by the SCOTS DG in Fallingbostel against a number of local sides. On a sunny but windy weekend, the tournament was a great success even if the flow of play was broken with balls readily disappearing into the mud when trodden on by horses. The Regiment is very lucky to have a pitch in I-Iohne that is noted for its excellent draining qualities and so, with some extremely lucky weather, we enjoyed a sunny tournament at the end of May that saw ten teams competing, a huge undertaking. Four teams played in an A division -1 to +2 handicap match in which a high standard of polo was witnessed. Six teams played a B division match -2 to -6 handicap, one that saw the Regimental team, the Delhi Spearmen, finish as Runnersup in the final. The team was more of a squad with Maj Woolley, Maj Fooks, Mrs Fooks, Capt Carpenter, 2Lt Simpson, 2Lt Searby and Frau Beate Rossbach all sharing chukkas. Teams from Hamburg, I-Iannover, Soltau, Berlin and Bad Bentheim played and brought with them a small number of overseas professionals. The lorry park was packed with more lor- ries, horses and sports cars than there was room for, a colourful and lively spectacle in itself. The infrastructure was put in place by sol- diers from B Squadron, led by SSgt Gorman the SQMS. This was The De/h/ Spearmah team A Carpenter J Fooks, WFooKs, G S/mpsoh /’m sure my contact /ehs fe// out somewhere near here/ done with military precision and complemented very well with bar, BBQ and on the Sunday, a first class lunch cooked by the Regimental chefs. A dynamic and lively commentary was given by 2Lt Milne I-Iome, particularly well done considering he knows lit- tle or nothing about polo. The spectators, who were numerous, including two of the Division’s Brigade Commanders, enjoyed a fun weekend, polished off with the mandatory party in Bredebeck. Some of the older German players commented that they had not seen it that busy since the halcyon days of BAOR and the Cold War. In the past few years polo has taken off in Germany as a popular sport. It is, of course, taken very seriously and played competitive- ly by the Germans, with a consequent raising of standards. This, however, is so much the case that Army teams, with increasing mil- itary commitments, find it difficult to match playing skill, horse quality or meet the increasing costs of entering ever more glittery tournaments. There is sadly little or no ‘farm polo’ or chukkas. Team handicaps for tournaments are therefore increasing which often precludes the novice player and the developing teams. The Regiment has the young and capable players but is under horsed. For this reason the Delhi Spearmen, has ‘touted’ for players to join and in 2001 a Norwegian businessman from Hamburg, Raider Labukt has been a key member of the side. When away tournament team handicaps have been too high for the Delhi Spearmen, Maj Monty Woolley, 2Lt Guy Simpson and 2Lt Matt Eyre-Brook have joined other teams to get to play polo. 2Lt Matt Eyre-Brook, a new officer with 9/l2L, had been playing in the Light Dragoon team for the Inter Regimentals whilst in the UK on his Troop Leaders’ course. The Light Dragoons were astonished to find themselves in the final of what is the oldest known polo tournament, it normally being the preserve of the Household Division. Not only did Eyre- Brook help the Light Dragoons reach the final, but he scored the winning goal giving the LD a win for the first time in their very short history. The highlight of the year was the Regiment’s second low goal tour- The horse wrth five /egs proved to be qurckest |
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