In Talk, John Wash, the CEO of IPC gives an account on how to manage a crisis as he did in April when a number of polo ponies died. The three Cs of Credibility in Crisis -compassion, competence and confidence, as well as simple common sense – are well worth remembering in any difficult situation. Looking for a luxury gift this Christmas? Turn to page 18, where our editor, Arabella Dickie, discovers the beauty of bespoke, engraved shotguns. On a sadder note, Patrick Beresford pays tribute to one of the polo world’s longest standing and best loved followers, the Rajamata of Japiur, who passed away on July 27th.

In Features, we profile Luis Lalor, who is the new president of the Argentine Polo Association. He tells us of his goals and what sport the majority of the ruling Consejo play after meetings. Javier Tanoira has written an insightful essay – 75 pages but we have reduced it to four – on the state of Argentine polo. See if you agree with what he says, in particular his suggestions for putting speed back into the game. 2009 is the 25th anniversary of Cartier sponsoring the Coronation Cup. It is the biggest polo event in world and one of the best partnerships between a sport and a company; Herbert Spencer writes about the history.

If you were lucky enough to be in Europe this summer you would have seen some great displays of polo, most of which we cover in The Action. The Queen’s Cup was outstanding, with Apes Hill winning in over time. In the British Gold Cup, you will read about the pinpoint passing and fabulous horse power of La Bamba. The International was special this year in that the world’s two best players played together for Argentina. The English fought hard but nobody was surprised by the result.

Finally I invite you to visit hurlinghampolo.com where we will have match reports and news from around the world, including all the Triple Crown games.

Once again, I would like to thank all the people who bring Hurlingham to life. See you at La Victoria!

Roderick Vere Nicoll
Publisher