A Short History of the RMPA South East Asian Polo League

by Peter Ibrahim Abisheganaden

he RMPA Polo League was conceptualised by His Royal Highness Tengku Mahkota Pahang, Brian Miller and Dato' Mohamed Moiz in 2002. It then took three years of planning, prodding and cajoling to bring it to reality.

The first ever RMPA Polo League event was held in Singapore in June 2005. The Cartier International was a 13 to 16 goal tournament. Three teams took part - Royal Pahang Polo Club, Royal Selangor Polo Club (Ranhill) and Singapore Polo Club. Hosts Singapore Polo Club were worthy winners of the Cartier Cup, beating Dato' Mohamed's Royal Pahang Polo Club II in the final.

The second leg of the league was held at the Royal Selangor Polo Club in Kuala Lumpur at the Ranhill International Polo Tournament in July 2005. This was won by Royal Pahang II with the late Sariman Sharil lighting up the tournament with some brilliant play. A fourth team, Cameron Highlands, led by Brian Miller and co-captained by Hiroshe Kume, participated. Ably assisted by tournament MVP Craig Wilson and Selby Williamson, they beat Singapore in memorable match to take 2nd place.

The League Finals were held in the royal town of Pekan, Pahang, hosted by H.R.H. Tengku Mahkota Pahang and the Royal Pahang Polo Club. Five teams participated, two from Royal Pahang, Cameron Highlands, Royal Selangor Polo Club (Ranhill) and Singapore Polo Club. Dato' Mohamed's Royal Pahang II team won the league play.

Former 9-Goaler Gabriel Donoso, playing for HRH Tengku Mahkota's Royal Pahang I team took centre-stage in the final of the Royal Pahang Classic. They beat Dato' Mohamed's Royal Pahang II team 8-7 with a goal in the dying seconds of the match.

Dato' Mohamed's Royal Pahang II team was the league winners, accumulating the most league points over the three legs of the High Goal League. They were presented with the Sultan Ahmad Shah Polo Cup as inaugural High Goal League winners.

The B Division was an attractive division. At 2 to 6 goals, it offered easy participation. There was participation from as far off as Jordan as HRH Prince Rashid led a team from the Royal Jordanian Polo Club. Five other teams participated.

Royal Selangor Polo Club, comprising of Johan Indot, Nicholas Kosmatos and myself were the winners of the B League. We won the B division at the Cartier International in Singapore, were joint-winners at the Ranhill International in Kuala Lumpur, and were second at the Royal Pahang Classic.

This year the South East Asian Polo Leagues have grown in stature. The High Goal League has been renamed as the RMPA International League. Three legs of the league again will be held. The first was the Cartier International in Singapore in June. Royal Selangor has the middle leg. The League Final will again be held at the Royal Pahang Classic as part of the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Royal Pahang Polo Club.

With the inclusion of Harald Link and Nicholas Kosmatos' Thailand Polo, there are six teams in the International League. The polo captain of Royal Selangor, Dato' Mohamed Moiz, plays for RSPC this year.

Veterans Hiro Kume and Brian Miller are back for another high goal season as Cameron Highlands. In a move to encourage corporate sponsorship Tan Sri Hamdan has been allowed to play his team as Ranhill this year. Singapore Polo Club won the Cartier International again this year. HRH Tengku Mahkota Pahang had to miss the Cartier, but is committed to play the rest of the league with Royal Pahang.

The B League has been renamed National League. It will have only two legs this season. The first, at Royal Selangor in early July was a hotly contested affair. Four teams participated, with Sher-E-Punjab beating defending champions Royal Selangor in the finals. The Final shall be held as part of the Royal Pahang Classic.

The RMPA's South East Asian Polo Leagues now has participation by teams from three South East Asian countries, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. There are also many Asian and international players. There is no doubt the leagues have revitalized polo in the region. Clubs like the Royal Selangor Polo Club has seen an upsurge in demand for stables and is enjoying an unrivalled polo season.

The challenge for the future will be to encourage and keep corporate sponsors, and to expand the league with more events and teams. Polo makes a return to the South East Asian Games for the first time since 1983 when Thailand hosts the event in December 2007. Naturally teams are keen to play in Thailand prior to the SEA Games, and it is hoped that the South East Asian Polo League will be able to offer that opportunity next season.