The national ladies polo team captain Izzy Voorspuy has hailed the spirit of unity among various associations across the continent as integral to the growth of the Polo sport in Africa.
Voorspuy praised the ability of different stakeholders across the continent to organise competitions and share resources — including horses — noting that this generosity has helped developed the Polo sport.
“We are very lucky that we make friends through the sport. We are very lucky to be playing it. We have got very supportive teams behind us. What is so unique about playing in Africa is the hospitality when it comes to the horses. It is very rare to go to a country and to find that players from that country lend you their horses. Normally, you have to pay for them,” she said.
Voorspuy added: “Here (Kenya), we are very lucky with the generosity of our members who have put their horses forward because without horses, the competition is very impossible.”
Voorspuy was the skipper of the Kenyan team that won 11-8 against Zambia in a hotly-contested encounter on Sunday evening at the Nairobi Polo Club.
Reflecting on their epic win, Voorspuy said the opportunity to pit their wits against the best of the best from the continent bodes well for the development of the game.
“It was really a fun game…quite an opportunity to play against the Zambian ladies team. It has been a really fun weekend and it was a beautiful game. We are very lucky to have some new members coming through. We have got some really good new players, such as Sasha Camp, Michelle Morgan…we have got some really good numbers of players coming up and we are hoping that Kenyan polo can grow,” she said.
Voorspuy was in action at last weekend’s Horseman Cup at the same venue and believes the competition was a proper precursor to their international duel against their southern African opponents.
“It was really brilliant…an opportunity to get the horses down here and check them out before. It was very competitive because we had a competitive group of ladies hoping to make the team,” she said.
Speaking at the same time, Zambian captain Sally Jellis was glorious in defeat, pointing out that such international friendlies can offer young players the opportunity to grow their craft at the earliest opportunity.
“For the ladies who are up and coming…like my daughter who is 17 years old…this mean exposure to world class polo. She can get the opportunities to travel overseas…the same with other young Kenyan girls. And, all the other girls who are interested in the sport can aspire to the same level,” she said.
Turning her attentions to the game of the day, Voorspuy admitted it would have been more blissful had they worn it.
“If we had won, we would have definitely met our targets. We always knew it was going to be tough because they are a very strong tough at the moment. We chose our team a couple of weeks ago and we trained together but we can prepare as much as we can, at the end of the day it’s what happens on the field,” the captain said.
Their men’s team is expected to dock in the country in September for a match against their Kenyan counterparts.
