Managing Director and Chief Riding Instructor Peter Abisheganaden wrote a post on his blog, called “Rolling With The Changes.”  It is about moving targets. Peter focuses on a post-pandemic world that will, one day, return to horse shows, polo tournaments and travel.  Here is what he wrote:

Preparation – Preparation – Preparation

It is still important that we plan dates.  Riders, instructors, horses, everyone then has a chance to prepare for these dates.  Lockdowns might get extended, dates may change, but there is a plan.  It may be an evolving plan – the target dates might change, but the targets remains.

With this in mind, I uploaded version 7 of the 2021 KL Academy of Polo’s Event Calendar.  I am sure it won’t be the last version of this calendar we publish this year.

2020 was much the same, yet KL Academy of Polo managed a remarkable two events per month from June to December.

Six equestrian events or Horse Shows were held in the last half of last year.  There were combined dressage and jumping shows in June and August, dressage shows in the last three months of the year, and a reintroduction to Showjumping Equitation at the Christmas Show.

Embracing the ‘new normal’, RSPC riders also took part in the Equestrian Association of Malaysia’s (EAM) Digitalized Horse Shows in November, December and January.   The concept is that competitors stay at their home club, and jump a prescribed course, or do their dressage tests there, while the judges do the judging in real time, but remotely, by zoom.  The results are tabulated nationally to find the winners of each height class or dressage level.  The concept is like an FEI World Challenge, but held nationally, and judged on-line.  As there is no inter-club horse or rider movement necessary, it is a good way to run shows during lockdowns.

Equestrian Events tend to be seen as ‘serious’ shows.  KLAP alternated the traditional horse shows with other events that incorporated the use of KLAP’s polo ponies, softening the events so that they were less serious and seen more as ‘fun’ shows.

Many riders at RSPC were attracted to the Gymkhana Games that were run in July and September.  There were Handy Pony, Pole Bending, Flag, and Bean Bag races.

The highlights were the Barrel Races, run at great speed.  Polo players tested their polo ponies in these Barrel Races, some for the training, but inevitably, it got competitive.  KLAP also ran Barrel Races for our trainee polo players. This was ridden on KL Academy of Polo’s polo ponies and on some privately owned horses as well.

Another game that proved to be very popular was Cushion Polo.   Cushion Polo is played with four members on each team.  All players on a team have to have control of the cushion for at least three seconds before a score can be made, which is done by placing the cushion on a particular barrel, which is their opponent’s ‘goal.’

Four teams signed up for a Cushion Polo tournament in September last year.  The Cushion Polo Tournament proved to be a riot of fun.  Players really got into the game, and it became very competitive.

Perhaps the highlight of the year was KLAP’s reintroduction of the RSPC Pony Club.   Three camps have been held so far, and while the Summer Camp has had to be postponed, we hope to have a few more 3-day camps and 2-day rallies before the year is out.  KL Academy of Polo will start offering the Pony Club Achievement Badges and the famous Pony Club Tests.

Go Like The Klappers in 2021

We will still be going like the Klappers once MCO 3.0 is lifted or relaxed to allow socially distanced events again.   We have a plan.  The plan might change, most likely will be affected by changes of dates, but we have a plan…

Riders can look forward to more competitions, both equestrian and polo related.  KLAP will also offer a Malaysian Equine Council Level ‘O’ Stable Management course.  This is the first part of a continuing education series that leads to the Introductory Level and later Level 1 Instructors certification.

On the polo front, KL Academy of Polo will introduce the Hurlingham Polo Association’s International Polo School online courses and tools for our polo students.  This is expected to be rolled out in July or August.

In addition to digitalized and regular horse shows, KLAP hopes to organise a first Youth Polo Cup and a Novice Cup for the youngsters and not-so-youngsters who have just started polo.  The Youth Cup would be the first such age group tournament for under 23’s and under 18’s held in Malaysia.

Cushion Polo was such a success that in 2021 KLAP also hopes to organise the KLAP Cushion Polo Tournament, where players can form their own teams.  Some of these games may be played under lights in the evenings.  Arena Polo under lights, is also on the agenda for the wet season, if we can board the arena.

Another fun project is to start a quadrille, a formation ride that we hope to debut on the polo field before a major tournament.  That is of course, providing we have a major tournament before the year is out!

Polo and Riding Tours

The world will return to normalcy and travel sometime in the vaccinated future.  Covid will probably become endemic rather than pandemic.  Travel and tours will return.

KL Academy of Polo had a few tours already worked out, that we hope to roll out in the post-pandemic world.

1. Paisano Polo Tour to Rio Cuarto, Argentina
2. Pakistan Adventure Ride from Chitral to Mastuj
3. Shandur Polo Festival, Pakistan
4. Western Australian Polo Experience
5. Palermo Polo Tour, Argentina

The Shandur Polo Festival we went to in 2019 was a truly unique experience.  I hope we will be able to go again in 2022.

If anyone is interested, we will put you on a no-commitment mailing list for any or all of these tours.   That way you will be first in line when they are confirmed in the Brave New Post-Covid World.

To read the full article on PBITG.com, please click here: https://www.pbitg.com/rolling-with-the-changes/