PoloBARN - Steve Crowder Polo Report

Dec. 31, '03: See You In '04. We are all leaving '03 behind like it or not. Tomorrow never comes, but everyone from now on for 365 days will be in '04. Where will we be? Hopefully we will have freedom & peace for a long while to come and so many polo games we cannot count 'em because that is peace flying down the field on a horse, seeing the world glide by and the wind in your face. You just do not want to stop, but you do sometimes later than you want and sometimes before you want, but you always stop. So why can we not stop?

1. Fighting for people who hate us
2. Driving in the left lane when not passing
3. Spending billions where we could be building at home
4. Mad cow disease
5. Running from terrorist
6. Interfering in other countries affairs
7. Buying oil from the Middle East. Give 'em $10 a barrel or tell 'em to keep it and spend war money on development or natural gas here in North America.
8. Send all Americans to charm school
9. Make all 7- 11,s hire 1 gringo
10. MAKE MORE POLO FIELDS, MORE POLO PLAYERS, MORE POLO PATRONS AND PLAY MORE POLO.

HAVE A VERY HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR

SEE YA AT POLO NEXT YEAR

Dec. 29th, '03: Did You Know? That polo is not growing in California? Do you know why? Well I do not and I wish I did. Here are some things I believe are part of the problem. We do not have a building ground for new players like we did when the LA Equestrian Center was here and that hurts polo. California Polo Club is helping. They have a great staff and they are building up a good support system which is important. Santa Barbara, San Diego and Eldorado are lacking in this department immensely. In Indio, I do not know if it would work as its a place like Palm Beach, it's a holiday town. In Santa Barbara it could be an available age problem of local residents. In San Diego it is possible. San Diego is a prime location as the population, the season and the size are smiling for polo prospects.

I believe that the 4 chukker, anyone can afford to play polo philosophy is BS as it's an expensive sport and that's all there is to it. I do not think its only a rich mans sport, but I think its wrong to bring people into it with the belief that its not an expensive sport. I think we need to make clubs like San Diego and Eldorado into high-end clubs. We just have to fix them up, make them fancy show places and bring the fancy people. You have to create the environment to make them want to spend time at the clubs. The rest of us will be there anyway. Just make the high rollers want to be there. Look at it this way. Good race horses may start in Phoenix or St. Louis, but they run at Del Mar, Lexington or Belmont. Classy Yachts go to Ventura or Lake Worth? I doubt it, maybe San Diego or Palm Beach. That's the way it is so lets build it up and make it a Royal Place. Look around the desert and every new golf club is building an amazing clubhouse no matter what. Why? It's the show place of the project and that's the way it is.

Lets support indoor polo, but forget the anybody can play polo. It's expensive and quit telling people its not. Get the start-up leagues going. Houston is a good example. They have a beginner, a novice and a advanced league and they put pros on the field and charge a good price to get it going. Why not do the same in S.B. and S.D.?

We do not have to do it the American way by helping the deprived and beaten. It just like Iraq and Afghanistan. We help them get right, but only the rich get richer and overthrow their governments, then kick us in the teeth because were the bad ones. Then we sit around trying to save face, killing hundreds of men and women of our own, knowing they hate us and spending money like it was water instead of hiring more police, educating our own and building a future for them. Just think if we took the billions being spent in Iraq and built up our teaching force, paid them more and paid the Police more and the nurses more. Then we would be smarter, safer and healthier and I would know how to spell better.

Also make every lawyer pay for any case he loses so he does not waste our money defending against some stupid suit he knows he will not win. I bet it would cut the cases by 70 %. We would also be able to have more people with money to play polo because they would be better educated to make more money. Teaching polo is fun. Try it or learn it.

See Ya.

Dec. 21, ’03: The Shortest Day – Yes, today was the shortest day of the year and it just gets longer from now on. It might not have been short enough for some and way to short for others. On the final tournament of 2003 in Ca (. outdoors anyway) it was White Oak with Laith Sarraf and Young Gun Mariano Gutierrez getting a fall double as they followed up their big run of the fall play winning both the World Gym and cmming right back to take the B division of the Players Cup. They had to come from behind, but did it when Joe Mullins and his Rancho Del Rio came out with their guns blazing and took a 3 goal lead, but could not hold off the charge from Mariano and Laith. For the rest of the day in the A flight it was the old fellows taking the wind out of the young guns Shane Rice and Brian Middleton who stopped last weeks finalist Klentner on Saturday. They ran into a buzz saw called Shen & Co. led by big Denny Shen and Lady Dickenson with old pros Eric Wright and Manny Rodriquez. It was good to see Kassem Shafi and Shalimar step up to the plate and play this hard even though it all ended in an OT loss.

It was great to see the ‘03 finale so well represented by new and exciting patrons like Laith and Justin as well as Kassem and Katie who were joined by the good guys like Cary with a new string and Joe Mullins who always shows up in the finals somewhere. Monday is the first day of winter and it is supposed to be 75 degrees in Indio, so lets sit back relax and get ready for 2 0 0 4 . On the way have a very Merry Christmas .

see ya

Friends described by Magellan POLO patron Dempsey Mork :

Not only polo

Me and you are friends .....

You fight ,I fight....

You hurt ,I hurt ........

You cry , I cry ...........

You jump off bridge .......

I'm gonna miss you !!!!!!!!!

thats polo

seeyou at the Players Cup

Dec. 22, '03: Falling Away - Yes its the last day of Fall and it's winter time the next time we see you. They were falling away today. The Young Guns of White Oak are just like Oaks. They get tougher with time. They did a tap dance on Polo America. Mariano Gutierrez and Laith did not do it all the rest of the team was in town today.

At high noon it was the Polo Dudes getting Shined as Denny Shen came to town to pick-up the silver. It was Rancho Del Rio and Joe Mullins doing the high fives as they sent the Moon Group to another orbit for the day. It was a big surprise as Shane Rice and Shalimar's Kassem Shafi came out and put the stop on the big run of Justin's Development Team. They said "go back to the table" and we have a date with with the Shine man Mr. Shen come Sunday afternoon. The other side is White Oak looking for another acorn as they smell the Rio on their table for Sunday brunch so be there.

Sunday, Dec. 14th: Showdown At Empire - It was a gunfight at high noon. Well, sort of. It was not noon, but unlike Saddam they did not surrender. They shot it out and there was no doubt who the best two players on the field were. In blue it was Domingo Questel and in the white it was Mariano Gutierrez, a new young gun from the South. In the 28 minutes of regulation the two had the ball probably 24 minutes between them. There was no give as the Young Gun found an Old Tiger who is double tough. Their best teammates were two rookies to the game of finals polo as Justine Klentner, a new man on the block who is headed to the big time I would guess, and Laith Alsarraf who has been nearby but finally stepped up to the plate and hired a gunfighter. Laith also did his share to make it happen and he did by making many key plays to get it done. It all happened in overtime as Klentner counted the silver just a little too early as they missed a gimme and opened the door one more time and they paid the price.

Without a doubt, the best two players for their teams were the two patrons Klentner and Alsaeeaf. They are men on a mission and they ain't no Saddam's they gave in to nothing. It was just a great finals and a very good display of sportsmanship and a very nice day. History might remember Iraq on this day, but it was a heck of a day for White Oak Polo.

See ya

Saturday, Dec. 13th: Wipeouts – World Gym is for the heavy weights and it was the heavyweights who were throwing the steel around on Saturday. Klentner Dev. with patron Justine Klentner doing a big share of the work and Domingo scoring at will blasted the Vineyards out of Summerland Wine, really squashed the grapes by 7 in 4 chukkers. Maybe the ratings are not right now, but it could get worse. On the other side it was Mariano Gutierrez doing the same thing to Shoot 4 the Moon as Katie was looking for Racehorses from last weekend as they needed ‘em with patron Laith Alsarraf also heading to goal at a high rate of speed. On to the finals it will be the Big Dogs for sure today. Domingo Questel and Mariano Gutierrez are both going to be flying today on some very fast fields at Empire. So if you looking for fun on the run come on over and have a little sun and see them run. You will be seeing two new patrons Justine and Laith that take polo the old fashion way. They play to win and they work for it.

See ya

Dec. 11th, ’03: Wonder Women- Well the Ladies are gone, but they made their mark. They got great press in the local paper and did play very tough all the way through. This tournament named after a very fun and exciting LADY DEBBI DOLLAR CONNAT who was a Player just a few years ago killed in a horse accident. There were young girls, there were lawyers,, there were housewives, mothers, pro-horse trainers, human health trainers, realtors, executives, but one thing for sure they were polo players out to hit that ball hard and far and they often did. Some got hurt, some got run off with and some just flat out played great. They took no prisoners. As you know real estate controlled the economy and it controlled the high-goal as Shoot 4 The Moon won the big one (A Flight). Carnation Farms slid by By Design in the B flight and it was the Wonder Girls stopping Aspen in the C flight.

The facts are from my view point:

MVP - Joslyn Parker

STARS- Christine Cato, Dayelle Bradley

Singers - Kate Weber, Kim Kelly and Julie Carter

Ladies From Far away - Ann Malinckrodt (FL), Kathy Alworth (MN), Christine Cato (SC), Karen Pimsner (SC), Terese Volmer (AZ).

BUMPS & BRUISES - Kathy Alworth trying to take a goal post back to Minnesota and Karen Pimsner trying to steel sympathy from Justin in South Carolina.

PARTIES - Beverly at the Cantina and the Gorgeous Miss Caroldean

It will be bigger and better next year after this show.

Dec. 8. '03: It’s A Full Moon. It was also a day for Shoot 4 The Moon and shoot they did. They made sure the out-of-towners did not take all the silver home as they put up a blistering pace and kept the Carolina Girls on defense most of the day. Dayelle Bradley blazed the trail to victory with 4 of the 5 goals and maybe even the 5th one. Cannon Cato (Christine Cato) had an off-day blazing down the field often, but just not on the mark as they were always a little left or right. Karen Pimsner is trying to feel like Justin as she did a free fall on her knee to ruin her day and had to be replaced by Abby Riggs for the final 8 minutes of the game. Speed was the name of the game today and Katie Moon had the speed balls as they were flying and on a field suited to be a parking lot for the winter. They were all a big part of the team. Katie had some good runs and hooks and Miss Kelly letting her hair down and backing the ball very well and Dayelle and Rocket Roxie (Keyfauver) letting ‘em run just a little too much for Joslyn, who played a good game. Cybele Jordan had the speed, but could not stop them. Karen and Christine on strange horses did a great job, but they were looking back too much. We were really glad they made their way West to find out it’s really a very nice place to be. In the other flights and the World Gym we will have to come up with the results for Monday morning news. For now it’s . . . SHOOT FOR THE MOON CHAMPS in ‘03.

See ya