RSPC: A Decade of Development

Peter

5 years ago

A Decade of Development is an article I wrote for the latest RSPC Magazine.

From 2010 to 2020, the Royal Selangor Polo Club was at the forefront of polo development in Malaysia. Our young players came through to win two successive South East Asian Games gold medals, in 2017 and again in 2019. Their journey was made possible by the wonderful polo played at our club, that helped their development from club players to national representation and international champions.

Our journey started with the 67^th FIP Ambassadors Cup, which Malaysia hosted in 2009. The final was held on 19^th April 2009 at the Royal Selangor Polo Club. FIP’s Ambassadors encouraged Malaysia to host the 2011 FIP World Cup Zone D Qualifier as they recognised the potential of Malaysia to become a regional player in polo. Our bid, made at the FIP General Assembly later that year would shape the next decade of polo in Malaysia.

Malaysia ‘horsed-up’, importing 100 polo ponies from Argentina in an innovative horse-purchase scheme. Many of those horses were stabled at our club.

In preparation for the World Cup, the Royal Selangor Polo Club would take the lead in staging top level tournaments. In May 2010, the RSPC International in May 2010 saw eight teams take part in the 14-goal RMPA International League Tournament held at our club.

While RSPC did not host an RMPA International League Tournament in 2011, we did have the honour of hosting the semi-finals and final of the FIP World Cup that year. It was then, and remains the biggest and most successful FIP World Championship event held. 216 horses were used to host the seven countries that played in this tournament. For the final, our club was transformed to host a fabulously spectacular event. A raised viewing gallery over the lawn housed royalty and dignitaries such as HRH Sultan Ahmad Shah, Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib, Prime Minister of Malaysia, HH Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur, FIP President Eduardo Huergo, and Ambassadors of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Nigeria and many more. The final was a magical affair that included a twenty-minute fireworks display.

It set the standard for future tournaments. RSPC would continue to host at least one RMPA International League Tournament from 2012 to 2018, sometimes taking on two or three such tournaments. It gave our local players a chance to hone their skills against international professionals.

Members were thrilled at the chance to play a high standard of polo in Malaysia. The Jumabhoy family moved their polo base from Singapore to RSPC, fielding their La Sarita team in the International League and other tournaments. La Sarita had many successes in Malaysia, winning the Malaysian Open, Royal Pahang Classic, RSPC Open and Merdeka League amongst their many successes.

Yeo Kuo Lee’s Head Hunters also participated in tournaments regularly in Malaysia, winning the 2015 National Championships and 2016 Merdeka League.

Dato’ Harald Link’s Thai Polo was RSPC-based for the Malaysian season. They enjoyed phenomenal success, winning the RMPA International League six times in a seven-year period, from 2012 to 2018.

Dato’ Mohamed Moiz has also been very successful, first with his BRDB Polo Team, before teaming up with his old friend Yeo Kuo Lee to form HLF, and finally with his own La Familia Polo Team, which won the shortened RMPA International League in 2018 and 2019.

Even members who did not play in the high goal tournaments benefitted from playing club chukkas with and against the professionals who were based at RSPC, for three to six months of the year.

When the RMPA International League was suspended in 2019, RSPC played medium goal series called the RSPC Triple Crown instead. It gave members like Jennifer Too, Datin Nurul, Dr Azfar, Ali Reda a chance to play in the highlight tournaments of the year.

While the International League was the glamour event, RSPC players also got to participate in the National League and Merdeka League. RSPC teams participated at this medium goal level, with the club hosting an annual National League tournament from 2011 till 2015. In the low goal Merdeka League, RSPC played a huge role in the development of young players, fielding many teams over the years, and blooding new players to competitive polo in Malaysia. Hosting a Merdeka League tournament every season since 2008, RSPC also had the honour of staging the Merdeka League final twice.

The Malaysian Ladies Polo Championship was started in 2012, played annually at RSPC. This evolved into the RSPC Pink Polo Ladies tournament, which not only been a top-level ladies’ tournament that has attracted the best lady players from all over the world to Malaysia, but also consistently fund-raised for charities raising Breast Cancer awareness.

While the International League was the high goal, Pink Polo was the champagne tournament. The lawn was transformed with games, special bars and seating, and fashion shows and flag parades were held on the field.

Youth players were given a start in the RMPA Colts Cup, played at RSPC alongside the RMPA Masters in 2014. Both age group events, they made for all amateur play in a tournament.

As other clubs depended on RSPC to host low goal tournaments, the RSPC Invitational series was born in 2018. Six teams took part in the developmental league with teams coming from as far as Terengannu and Kelantan to play at RSPC.

With so many tournaments to play in, RSPC’s players formed the backbone of the national team. Polo Captain Shaik Reismann has been in every Malaysian team since 2007, captaining the national side to enormous success.

Malaysia’s 2017 World Cup side had two players from RSPC – Saladin Mazlan, and team captain Shaik Reismann. The SEA Games side that won the gold medal at Putrajaya later that year again featured two RSPC players: Shaik Reismann and Abdul Rashid, who made his international debut.

Members and players from RSPC that have donned national colours include Saladin Mazlan, Huzaini Yunus, Mohd Edham, Dato’ Mohamed Moiz, Abdul Rashid, Muhammad Faizal (Cipita), Zulhelmie Nadzar (Lalo), Mohd Shareizat (Ejat), Yudie Jamili, Dato’ Mohamad Zekri, Dr Azfar Mustapha, Imran Moiz, and Keith Teh.

Imran and Keith were members of the B Division team that took silver at the 2019 SEA Games. The average age of the Malaysian B Division team was 19.25, brought down by the ages of our young stars.

Imran had already made history. At 13 years 6 months and 24 days old, Imran Moiz became the youngest Malaysian ever to play in a 14-goal RMPA International League game. Winning the 14-goal Thai Polo Masters in 2019 was icing on the cake.

RSPC is not just a polo club – the Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis Show Jumping Cup was held at RSPC in September 2018. Peter Abisheganaden, who is an FEI international course designer, organised Malaysia’s top show jumping event on the polo field, just before the final of the RMPA International League that year.

It was fantastic to see top class show jumping on the polo field again and the best show jumping horses and riders in Malaysia gathered at our club.

With all these activities at the club, the club invested in additional stables. The club now has 317 stables and has recently started upgrading the old stable blocks.

In the theme of development, KL Academy of Polo has invested in running a polo school at the club. The academy will help take our youth to the next stages of their development in equestrian and polo.

The RSPC Pony Club was resurrected by KL Academy of Polo last year. They held two RSPC Pony Club Camps, in July and December. There are plans for a Youth Polo Cup in August, and a regional Pony Club Polo Cup next year. The Christmas Camp was recognised as a Youth Camp by the Federation of International Polo.

Even as our players developed, so did our officials. Peter Abisheganaden was given the appointment as FIP’s Tournament Director of the FIP Snow Polo World Cup from 2012 to 2018. Peter gave some members opportunities to Steward at these tournaments.

Three international FIP Umpire Seminars were held at RSPC in 2014, ‘16 and ’18, organised by Peter. In recognition of his contribution to polo internationally, Peter has been awarded an FIP Ambassadorship.

While the club used to rely on caterers to feed the many spectators that would come for our matches, recently the club’s F&B department also kept pace with monumental epicurean development. RSPC now produces high-goal fare that has made us the envy of other clubs in Malaysia.

While our tournament parties have been the stuff of legends, more recently it is the authentic Argentine Asados that have captured the hearts of our members, and the Argentine community!

Polo has been the lifeblood of our club. And the Royal Selangor Polo Club has been the flag-bearer of Malaysian polo. It has been an epic journey, one that has filled stables, brought members and magic to our home. Long may our club continue.