LONDON, 3 July 2005 — The 9th annual charity GCC Polo Cup, organized by Basil Al-Ghalayini of BMG Financial Advisors & the BMG Foundation, proved a success once again with the GCC team managing to scrape out a close win against the HRH Prince Charles team at the Smith’s Lawn at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park.
The event this year, which took place on June 25 under the continued patronage of Prince Charles, was dedicated to the late Lebanese President Rafik Al-Hariri, himself a dedicated supporter of charities and students around the world.
His son, Bahauddin Al-Hariri, represented his father and was the guest of honor.
The prestigious location, with Queen Elizabeth II’s much-loved Windsor Castle home just down the road, oozes British quality. The cub is tucked away in the center of the park and, because the English have an irritating way of not putting up road signs where you most need them, it is not easy to find.
We drove all the way around the perimeter of this enormous area, following signs to the Guards Polo Club only to miss the critical one as it was positioned facing toward the oncoming traffic.
After a week of sweltering hot weather (a boon for the Wimbledon Tennis fans), there was a day of thunderstorms and rain; luckily, the rain stayed away on 25th and the day was overcast and pleasantly cool.
I had been warned that in general the “polo crowd” in England can be posh and somewhat pretentious so I went ready to be entertained by the spectators as well as the polo. However, the blend of the Middle Eastern with the British created a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
This hospitable aura emanated especially from Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi ambassador to the UK. His presence was easy to spot in the crowd as he was the only one wearing traditional Saudi dress.
Guests were greeted first at the Guards Club House and then ushered to a huge marquee for lunch. The exotic flower arrangements inside elicited compliments from everyone I spoke to and the carefully chosen menu was superb.
Following lunch, Basil Al Ghalayini gave a brief speech to welcome everyone, in particular Bahauddin Al-Hariri, and to thank the Prince of Wales for his participation and patronage, and to thank all the sponsors. This was followed by a very entertaining demonstration and talk on the game of polo itself.
The “Game of Kings” can only be played with the stick in the right hand, so players such as the left-handed Prince William have to make a difficult transition to right-handedness if they want to play.
The game is played on a huge field the size of three football pitches, with four players aside. A player’s skill is designated according to his or her goal handicap, the higher the handicap the better the player.
Prince Charles is a 2-handicap player but the best on the field that day, Eduardo Heguy, holds a 9-handicap. A match lasts about one and a half hours and is divided into six 7-minute “chukkas”. As the game is played at a fast and vigorous pace, each player comes with up to 6 horses and usually changes to a fresh horse after a chukka.
Prior to the start of the match, the splendid brass band of the Grenadier Guards, resplendent in their black “buzzbees” and red uniforms, entertained us all by marching around the field playing a variety of rousing marching tunes.
They then stopped in front of the crowd to play the national anthems of Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the UK.
Prince Charles arrived without ceremony on the field with his team alongside the GCC team, which included Saudi Amr Zedan and Palestinian Hani Habbas.
The teams were evenly balanced with their total handicaps (11 to HRH team, and 12 to GCC) and it was an impressive game to watch.
I hadn’t realized how fast it is with some potentially hazardous maneuvers: The horses are trained to barge into opponents in a “ride off”, which can be done at a full gallop.
The best of the players can hit a bouncing ball while riding at the gallop and can send it flying down the field like a golfing shot. The commentator described any ineffective hits as a “tickle” and there were quite a few tickles during the match.
Players also have to keep themselves and their horses out of the way of flying mallets as they attempt to hit the ball with forward, backward and sideways swings.
At half-time it is traditional for spectators to wander onto the field to tread down the divots dug up by the horses’ hooves. This includes the ladies with their fancy four inch stiletto heels and it was amusing to see them return, oblivious to the mud clinging to their expensive party shoes.
It was a close match but the GCC team finally won, 6-5.5 score. That is the other thing about polo: You can end up with half a goal. Imagine a football result that said “Brazil 3, Italy 2 and a half”.
I discovered that in reality there isn’t really any such thing as a “half goal”; it results from reconciling the handicaps.
As the teams lined up to receive their awards, I found myself in the rare and privileged position of being within a few yards both Saudi and British royalty for a photo opportunity.
There were at least 20 other photographers jockeying for position and I savored the moment.
In addition to being a very enjoyable and extremely well organized event, the GCC Cup achieved its main goal, to raise funds for specific charities: The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts (UK); the Disabled Children’s Association of Saudi Arabia; the Friends of the Disabled Association of Lebanon, and the Graham Leyton Trust in Pakistan.
The event was supported by a total of 14 sponsors this year from Eqypt, Kuwait, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia and included Saudi Telecom Company, Al Hamrani Group, Med Gulf, and Azza Fahmy Jewelry.
