POLO&LUXURY Magazine

30 May 2020

Lockdown, handshakes frowned upon, keeping your distance from friends, major events cancelled: the Covid-19 virus has disrupted normal life around the world. And it has also brought the "green polo season" that we all so eagerly await to begin, to an early end. While we were still enjoying the Snow Polo World Cup in Kitzbühel and St. Moritz in glorious winter weather and watched the tournaments of the Dubai Gold Cup Series with enthusiasm, today we only shake our heads sadly when the talk turns to polo. Almost all of the top tournaments planned for 2020 were cancelled early on or postponed to 2021. Despite expert opinion, which - as things stand now - predicts that no major events and thus no international polo tournaments will be held in 2020, some organisers - above all those of the Queens Cup, which is to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2020 - have the vague hope that they will be able to hold their tournament towards the end of the 2020 season after all. The contact restrictions also make training impossible for most people. And while you are bored to the bone with Stick & Ball to keep you in shape, you nostalgically think of Club Chukkers and cosy asados with friends. When we toasted to a great polo year 2020 with champagne at the turn of the year, probably nobody thought that we would not experience all this in 2020. This is very painful and yet it is nothing compared to the pain felt by all those who not only suffer from the restrictions but have lost one or even more family members to the insidious Covid-19 virus. At our last editorial meeting before the new POLO&LUXURY Coffee Table Book went to press, the following idea was therefore born: Let us start the first tournament in every club with a minute's silence for the thousands of Covid-19 victims. In this way we show polo players heart and compassion, something that is probably more valuable now than ever before. Now, we wish you much joy with the new POLO&LUXURY Coffee Table Book and we look forward to meeting all our polo friends around the globe again in good health as soon as possible. Yours, Birgit Hügli-Herrmann (publisher & owner