them and they look like Mickey Mouse on the polo field. I don’t want
to be running around and not touching the ball. I want to play a level
where I am like Bautista Heguy, with a minus two and a zero.’
Dato’ Beh has a very effective way of putting the costs of polo
into perspective. Once again, his wicked sense of humour shines
through to drive the point home. ‘A friend of mine said to me one
day, “When you play the high goal, you play five games and it costs
you millions of pounds. If you give an open cheque to a beauty queen,
a Miss Universe, and tell her to fill in the cheque in exchange for
a night of fun with you, it would be cheaper than one chukka of
polo’. Once they realise that, it makes the patrons want to give up
polo. Many patrons want to do what I am doing. I don’t worry about
those things. I have my own organisation and I employ resident
players. It should be about reciprocation. I come to your country, you
come to mine, and when you come to my place everything is free.’
Generosity is certainly a dominant trait in Dato’ Beh, and he is
well-known around the world for supporting several charity events.
‘Whenever someone organises a charity match, I support them. In
fact, at this age I often like playing charity games. It is more fun.
I have played the Laureus Sport match at Guards Polo Club, and
subsequently at Ham, in England, for the past four years. We always
sponsor a team, with two 10-goalers. There are fundraising auctions
after the matches and I always buy the watches. I have bought four
IWC limited watches! They are the most expensive, so I buy them.
I have also bought paintings, and a polo lesson with Ruso Heguy in
Argentina. Ruso has been very nice to our family. My two sons
trained with him in La Pampa. For the past five years we have also
sponsored both the Tolo Polo and the Indios Potrillos MVP awards,
known as the Beh Family Cup. It is my duty to give back to
Argentina, to thank the country for training my children.’
‘Giving back’ is a phrase Dato’ Beh uses often in our conversation.
Whether sponsoring a charity event, a junior tournament, or
commissioning a clubhouse for his children’s university, he does
so with pride and humility. In reference to the now famous Beh
Building he donated to the University of Virginia, he says, ‘The
students needed a place to study, and for meetings and socials. Before
that they just had a locker room. The Beh Building is a place for polo
people to go and hang out. There are a couple of rooms for visiting
players to stay as well. I commissioned it two years ago, after
my children graduated, as a way of giving back to the school. My
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