Kim Mullahey

JAMES Connolly was presented with the Playmaker Award 2014 by James Kennedy from Waterford Polo Club, chairman of the Federation of Irish Polo Clubs for his outstanding contribution as a playmaker during the summer polo season.

The award was first presented to the late Major Hugh Dawnay in 2011 in recognition of various methods of teamwork he developed and employed in his career as polo player and later as a coach and instructor.

Meanwhile, details have been released on a scholarship programme open to young polo players to help them travel and play polo away in Ireland.

The scholarship programme is offered as the Beresford Scholarship by Waterford Polo Club to a number of international polo associations, including the United States Polo Association and South Africa.

The last recipient of the scholarship was 17-year-old Aaron Pagel from South Africa, who was based at Waterford Polo Club at Curraghmore until mid-August when he returned to the Swartberg Polo Club in Durbin.

DIFFERENCES

Pagel played polo at Curraghmore, as well as with the Moyne Polo Club in Durrow, Co Laois and at the AIPC in Phoenix Park and noted considerable differences between playing polo in Ireland and at home with the South Africa Polo Association.

“The summer polo season was a crash course in following the same rules as applied by the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) but with an Irish twist,” he said.

“Being on an underdog team and coming here was quite good and it was nice seeing different polo, nice to see different people. There are no lines though, no way to see which way the line of the ball is going!”

SCHOLARSHIP NOMINATIONS

Scholarship nominations open again in February and are awarded for the summer polo season from May until August.

“We started it last year and we offered it to the USPA, and this year we offered it to the SAPA,” explained James Kennedy of Waterford Polo Club and chairman of the FIPC.

“The whole concept is to help improve the standard of polo, to bring on young players and to play on the Irish circuit.”

For scholarship details available from Waterford Polo Club, email mkennedy@cssgroup.ie.