The Winter League will be on calculated on a point system with the two teams scoring the highest points
over the 11 days of play to compete for the trophy on Sunday 22nd August 2010.
Games will start at 1.00pm on Saturdays and 10.30am Sundays.

Individual nominations only.
To nominate please email your completed booking form to Adam Meally by Monday 12th July.
But be quick as positions are already filling fast!

Non member ground fees – $40.00 per day. Member Free. Horse Hire also available…

Trophy and prizes will be awarded for Most Improved and Best and Fairest on Sunday 22nd August 2010

Friends, Family and Pets Welcome
Date: 2010-08-22

Riverlands Polo Club Intermediate Polo Clinic

with NSW Polo Association Head Coach – Andrew Williams

Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th July 2010

Riverlands Polo Club, 507 Cornwallis Rd Richmond NSW

Times: 10.00am – 3.00pm with lunch at 12.30pm both days.

Coach: Andrew Williams (NSW Head Coach)

This comprehensive clinic will cover Advance riding, Hitting technique, Team tactics, 4 chukkas each day along with lunch and refreshments throughout the weekend.

Clinic size – 6

Cost $1200.00 per person including horse hire.

BOOK NOW

Call Adam direct on 0417 278 741 or email: adam@riverlandspolo.com

Andrew Williams is one of Australia’s highest rated professional polo players. Rated at 5 goals, Andrew has played right around the world, twice been part of Australia’s World Cup Team and recently captained it.

Andrew has been appointed as New South Wales Polo Association’s Professional Coach. He has held clinics for all levels of players and utilises his university training of human movement when designing his courses.

Entusiastic about coaching and growing the sport of polo in Australia, Andrew has recently held clinics throughout country NSW for the NSW Polo Association. The specific aim of these clinics was to introduce new players to the sport.

Lessons are available with Andrew all year round at Riverlands Polo. He is able to provide lessons designed specifically for the individual, group clinics and team coaching.

The Introductory Clinic

Our introductory coaching clinics have been developed and refined over the years to maximise your enjoyment of the sport.

The clinics are considered an essential tool in any aspiring polo players development, our goal by the end of the clinic is for you to have a solid foundation to spring board into your polo career.

This amazing introductory polo clinic with our professional and world renowned coaches will teach you the essentials of the game and leave you with a taste of the thrill and excitement of polo.

DONT MISS OUT!

RIVERLANDS POLO CLUB INTRODUCTORY CLINIC

SATURDAY 3rd & SUNDAY 4th JULY 2010

Start 9.30am. Finish 2.00pm both days.

Maximum group size 10 people with 2 coaches

Cost $800.00 (includes horses, information booklet, RLPC key ring and all riding equipment along with lunch and refreshments on both days.

Although it is beneficial for participants to have riding experience, it is not essential.

BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL       mail@riverlandspolo.com

Riverlands Polo Club invites you to join us at the International Test Match in the marque where all the action happens.

When: Sunday 28th March 2010

(Gates open at 9.00am)

Windsor Polo Club, Old Kurrajong Rd Richmond

ENJOY THE ACTION ON THE FIELD

Colts Match @ 10.00am

Riverlands Penalty Shoot Out

Australia vs NZ @ 1.30pm

NSW vs Zambia @ 3.30pm

RLPC MEMBERS FREE

Guests Tickets $40.00 per person

(Includes gate entry, unlimited access to Riverlands marque, beverages (2 drinks per person) plus prizes and much more…

BOOK NOW – TICKETS ARE LIMITED

*Tickets not confirmed until payment received

TO ORDER email your name, number of tickets and payment details to - mail@riverlandspolo.com

Cash, Cheque and Credit Card Payments Accepted.

*Please note an additional 3% fee will be charged for Amex

DIRECT BANK TRANSFERS please deposit to:

Riverlands Polo Pty Ltd

BSB  112 879

ACC NO 0666 838 28

Cheques Payable to Riverlands Polo Pty Ltd

Please forward all payment advice receipts via email to accounts@riverlandspolo.com.au

The Introductory Clinic

Our Introductory Coaching Clinics have been developed and refined over the years to maximize your enjoyment of the sport. The clinics are considered an essential tool in any aspiring polo players’ development; our goal by the end of the clinic is for you to have a solid foundation to spring board into your own polo career.

This amazing Introductory polo clinic with our professional and world renowned coaches will teach you the essentials of the game and leave you with a taste of the thrill and excitement of polo.
Although it is beneficial for participants to have riding experience, it is not essential.

Our first introductory clinic for 2010 will be held on 6/7^th February with an Intermediate Clinic being held on 13/14^th February.

• Start 9.30am finish 2.00pm both days – Saturday and Sunday.
• Maximum group size 10 people with 2 coaches.
• Cost $800.00 includes horses, equipment along with lunch and refreshments on both days.
• Additional dates are listed in our online events calendar.

by Tom Goodspeed

Ok.. so we don’t have sand traps, long grass, angled terrain, and water to contend with like a golf course..,..wait a minute, come to think of it……I have seen some sand traps toward the end of a playing season, and some pretty challenging lies, as well as standing water on a polo field….and I guess most arenas might look like one big sand trap to a golfer….so maybe golf courses and polo fields do have some things in common. I for one, would be in favor of having a “lady’s tee” for #5 penalties.

So why do golfers get around a dozen or so clubs to handle the various shot scenarios, while we only have one. As most of us are aware, their golf clubs have various angles and club sizes to address the particular needs of a shot, depending on lie and distance from the pin, and lets not forget weather conditions.

Does it make any sense to be using the same mallet 295 yards away from the gre….I mean goal, that we will use five feet from the uprights?

What about when our ball is lying in a sandy divot as opposed to sitting up nicely on some healthy blades of grass. Shouldn’t we be pulling out our wedge?

I guess it would be somewhat impractical to carry around a bag of clubs in some kind of modified saddle bag, and the field is cluttered enough without another eight caddies running around with us…..so we are left to the challenge of using the same club for a myriad of shot scenarios. Sure…. we may have a blanket full of mallets of varying lengths, but do any of us have mallets specifically for foul shots, long drives, or approaches on goal?

We as polo players, are forced to adapt our swings as opposed to the club for the desired result. However, it can be helpful to use the analogy of a bag of clubs when you are deciding on shot selection.

I understand that there are a great many players that are happy just to hit a ball and others who believe that the near-side is a side for other players to use, but for those of you that are beginning to hit more consistently, I offer the following thoughts.

When we are looking for distance or our full power shots, we want our drivers or our lower numbered irons. We want to use a full body swing that is hopefully assisted by the power that is generated by a horse in motion. We need good body rotation through the swing as well as making contact with the ball just as our mallet is beginning to start the upward phase of the swing. We are hopefully down under the centerline of the ball to assist in getting loft to help carry the ball.
Then as we get down to the offensive end of the field, we need to decide on more of an approach shot mentality, as the majority of us are looking to get up on the green, or in our case, in the vicinity of the goal.

I need to acknowledge that there are those players that can start looking for a shot on goal, 150 plus yards out, but they are the exception…or should I say exceptional players that we all love to watch.

Back to the rest of us, then we get “on the green” for the not so give me putting that can haunt us as the ball slices right or left of the goal posts while they are already hanging the presumptuous tally on the scoreboard.

We cannot change clubs, but we can change our attitude as they say. Distance requires more focus on full body rotation. Accuracy requires more focus on the position of your mallet head as the ball leaves your mallet. Why do so many of our attempts at a nearside fore hander carry to the right, under our horse’s neck? Why do so many offside fore handers go left? It is because with the natural rotation of our hand and wrist as we swing through the ball, we tend to turn our mallet head across the ball as we are making contact with the ball, causing the ball to go in that direction. We need to learn to be more aware of our follow through, as that is what determines the path or direction of the ball. I suggest you give a few weeks of focus to what a call the “little-little drill”.

A little slower swing and a little more focus on the position of your mallet head as you finish your shot. Are you completing your shot properly? Are you staying with your swing long enough……….or like most of us, are you swinging back into your saddle….incorrectly finishing your swing back in the middle of the saddle? You should be finishing your swing in the follow through position of whichever shot you were attempting.

You, like golf, should be dropping your head a tad as you swing, to insure that you are keeping your body down throughout the swing. Too many of us come up with our head, like golf, and then our club pulls away from the ball at the crucial part of the swing, as the ball is being carried and directed by the mallet head. Our eyes should follow the cane and be looking to the completed shot from underneath the cane. Most player’s eyes and head are above the cane and ahead of the swing. As you finish your stroke, how was your mallet head faced…in the direction that you hoped to send the ball?? Did your ball go left, straight, or right ? How did it relate to the position of your mallet head ?

Try the little/little concept for a few weeks. I think you will find it will take your accuracy up considerably. Then, as you slowly break the old habit and begin to substitute the new approach in your muscle memory, you can then begin to add some additional power in your swing. Be careful though. Often times I will see the little/little exercise show results, but then with too little practice, the players revert right back in to the old swing that now feels comfortable to them.

Remember that definition of insanity? Making the same mistakes over and over, expecting different results. If we want to correct something with our swing, we need to understand that our swing, however broken, feels natural to us now, because it is. So when someone tries to get us to make a correction, it feels abnormal. You have to remind yourself that if it feels wrong, that is a good thing. That means you are making an unfamiliar adjustment. But when you execute that unfamiliar adjustment enough times, it will become the new familiar. Same concept applies to learning how to swing earlier at speed. You just have to start your swing earlier than what your mind and body is telling you.

Like golf, stay aware of your follow through and keep your head down. I promise you increased accuracy. So the next time you pick up a mallet…take a good look at it. You need to realize that in that one club, you are holding your drivers, your irons, and your putter. You need to make that one club do all those different things. When you start your next swing…which club are you using?? I wish you the best of luck in your club or rather………..mallet selection !

Riverlands A Team (4 Goal) win the Sydney Polo Club Gold Cup

(Hamish Kelly, John Francis, Adam Meally & Angus Campbell)

http://www.pbase.com/wrs864/sydney_polo_gold_cup__bentley_cup_team_14__15_november_2009

http://www.pbase.com/wrs864/riverlands_at_windsor_8th_november_2009

http://www.pbase.com/wrs864/riverlands_polo_club_19th_september_2009

Photos supplied by Rev. William A Stewart – Amateur Sports Photographer
Phone: 02 4722 6895
Email: wrs864@optusnet.com.au

William has kindly allowed members to download photos direct from his site and is more than happy to email  larger resolution pictures on request.

Emergency Dismount Off a Moving Horse
From Tom Goodspeed

Simply put, eject without a parachute. Bail. Get off quickly. This is the second thing that should be taught to everyone on horseback, right after learning how to get on one. I have saved a situation many a time with a simple dismount. You need to be comfortable with the quickest way off a horse and how to land in a manner to minimize the potential for injury.

Step 1 – Shorten your reins.

Step 2 - Kick your feet out of both stirrups (being dragged is not a good thing).

Step 3 - Discard any whip or mallet.

Step 4 – Pick which side is better to get off. Practice both sides.

Step 5 - Press against the horse’s neck with one or both hands.

Step 6 – Kick your leg over the horse in a vaulting motion.  It is important to clear the rump of your horse.

Step 7 – Land off to the side of the horse, with your legs bent to absorb shock. You should be facing the side of the horse as you land onto your feet.

Step 8  - If you are at speed, be prepared to roll when you hit the ground.

If you ever watch snowboarders when they fall, they usually roll right back onto their board. It is sudden stops that will increase the impact. Strangely enough, when we are going fast, we are usually thrown into a roll naturally. Then we go down slowly, we put out a hand, or lock our knees and the result is a more serious injury.

Step 9 -Try to hold onto your horse if you land on your feet.

Step 10 - If you are on the ground, be aware of additional traffic and clear out of the way if possible.

Use safety girths (overgirths), keep your tack in good repair, and always use large stirrup irons, thick stirrup leathers (buffalo leathers are very popular). Practice your emergency dismounts at a stand still initially and then maybe at a moving walk or trot with professional supervision. The better you are at it, the more familiar it will be when the time calls for reacting as opposed to thinking.

Date: Saturday 21st November 2009

Venue: Centennial Park, Sydney

Time: 11.00am till 6.00pm

Tickets: $260.00 per person

Includes all food and beverage throughout the day. Prizes will be awarded for Best Dressed plus much much more….

Don’t Miss this celebration of Polo – Polo for the People!!!

Please email your details and guest names (each guest will receive a personalised VIP lanyard) along with payment details to mail@riverlandspolo.com as soon as possible.