Our First Polo Tournament Playing as ‘Team Whaley’.

Heading off to Bushman’s Rock Polo Club.

Friday morning started with a flurry  as everyone got up and ready to load the lorry and pickups, before we headed off to Bushman’s Rock Polo Club, for the children’s first polo tournament, where we were also playing as ‘Team Whaley’.

School was abandoned for the day, as there was too much to get ready before we set off.   With all our tasks laid out the day before, everyone soon got busy! Then, with eleven horses quickly loaded, the lorry was on its way by 10am.  

Bushman’s Rock Polo Club is a five hour drive from the farm, for our horse lorry. The lorry needed to leave early, in order to get there by mid-afternoon, before the crazy Friday traffic began.

Paula Joy and I headed off after the lorry, in the pickup, pulling the trailer full of tack, feed, buckets etc.  Douglas and Murray John followed later, in another pickup, full of hay and all our personal kit. It almost felt like an expedition!

Zebra greeting us upon arrival.

With great excitement, we arrived at Bushman’s Rock Polo Club in the early afternoon, to be surprisingly greeted by some zebra, who were hanging around the lovely green polo field.  Well you can imagine what our horses thought of the zebras!  

For some reason horses absolutely hate zebras, which usually causes them to race off in the opposite direction! We had to quickly herd the zebras away, before we could  offload our horses.  

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Although Bushman’s Rock is not far out of Harare, it is a beautiful game farm, with a polo field, a lodge and hospitality centre and a winery.  It certainly is a great place to play polo and the field looks fantastic.

Once all the horses were settled in and vehicles offloaded, we headed back to Harare, to return the next morning, in time to prepare for the big match.  

‘Team Whaley’.

Not only was it the children’s first big polo tournament, we were also playing for the first time as ‘Team Whaley’. It was an enormous blessing to be able to play as a family team.  As soon as we had our new shirts on the excitement began!  I am not sure who was more excited, the parents or the children?

When I thought of all the years of hard work it has taken us, to get to this moment, it certainly made the day even more special.  To top it all off, I turned 50 that very day! God had certainly given me a double blessing…  

Polo Games Begin.

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With Murray John (aged 9) playing no 1, Paula Joy (aged 11) playing no 2, myself playing no 3 and Douglas taking up the rear, at no 4, we were all ready for action, -complete with our eleven horses.  

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We looked upon this weekend as a training session for the children, so Douglas and I were determined to have them included in the game, as much as possible.  Our goal was to coach the children and develop their game sense, bearing in mind that we were playing against adults.

The children were tasked to take all the penalties and Murray, the sharp shooter, managed to score both his penalty threes.  Paula Joy took the penalty fours, which both went the distance, but wide of the goal.

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As we had two games of two chukkas each, we came away having lost one game and won the other. It was certainly most entertaining and there was a great team spirit all round!

I love it when I get into trouble for a bad shot!  Funny how children always seem to remember their mother’s blunders. I could only laugh, -knowing that I will be reminded of my mistakes, for years to come!

The awesome day ended with dinner at the club house, followed by the Bushman’s Rock members surprising me with a beautiful cake and a bunch of flowers.  My 50th birthday will be a memory I shall not forget, for the rest of my life…

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Sunday’s Matches.

Sunday morning arrived with the children determined to win their matches and so they both played with great determination and commitment.  

Douglas and I could not believe how much they had improved over the weekend and how they were both now reading the game and getting stuck in. In the end we narrowly lost the tournament to the other teams, both of which consisted of adults only.  

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We came away very proud of our ‘Team Whaley’ and all that we were able to achieve.

Awesome Memories.

Bushman’s Rock put on a great weekend, with superb hospitality.  Sadly, we never managed to go on a game drive through their park however, just being surrounded by the bush, was a treat in itself.

Once the games were over, it was time to pack up and get the horses back on the long trip home.   The drive home is fun, as everyone spends the trip talking about the game and all the different moves which were played.  

As parents we make huge sacrifices, one way or another, to help educate and develop our children’s talents.  In the end it’s always worth the effort, as the rewards are just fantastic.  

We shall continue to grow as ‘Team Whaley’ and we look forward to the next tournament, when we shall play again as a family.  

Thank you Bushman’s Rock for the wonderful fun filled weekend and may we be back next year to create some more wonderful memories.

 Happy Polo!

‘Son’s are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from Him.’ Psalm 127 vs 3.

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