Thai Polo Open 2024 (10 goal)

2024 is off to a polo-packed start and I wouldn't want it any other way. This year for the second consecutive year I went to the Thai polo club in Pattaya for my 3 weeks of winter break. I will spare you the details as it was a similar trip to last year, living 3 weeks in the club (by myself) waking up early, going to bed late, and spending every minute with horses and friends I made along the way. Find that post here.

What made this year special was that after those incredible 3 weeks, that always seem to pass way too quickly, I got invited back to play in the Thai Open that next week. The Thai Open this year was 10 goals, the highest level I have played to date. What I learned cannot fit into one blog post and neither any form of list as I learn more and more every day, especially in Thailand working and playing with so many experienced professionals. One huge takeaway, that I'm sure you will also find if you listen to the audio in the videos is man-marking. While this is not something new for me as man marking is an essential part of polo, the level, speed, and intensity of the 10-goal games were drastically different. The decisions I had to make and the speed I had to be going at making these decisions were difficult to execute and playing against and marking 3,4,5 goal players I was often way too slow.

Another cool opportunity that I had this year, that unknowingly presented itself, was the work I was doing with the vet, Paula, at Thai Polo This year I was working a lot with the horses in the stable but I was also - if I say so myself - the best personal assistant the vet had. In doing so I learned so much about what it meant to be a vet, the type of things that you have to do, and how to do them. I found it interesting trying to connect what I was learning in biology class to what the vet was doing with the horses. I found that humans and horses have the same osmolarity, which is a topic we studied earlier this year in biology. Other than that I made good friends with Balta who played The Agong's Cup in Malaysia with La Sarita, the same team I have played for many times with in Malaysia as well.

Hopefully, 2024 continues to be a season filled with polo and I can't wait to see where I go next. Thank you to Manu and Caroline Link for letting me play the Thai Open and to all the people there who gave me tips and helped me to get better.

This is a link to the semi-final game versus Fast Fish. In all the videos I am wearing the #2 shirt and sporting my pink helmet.

Here are the links to the round-robin matches on Pololine TV:

• Thai Polo vs. Tang

• Thai Polo vs. 22BR

• Thai Polo vs. Fast Fish