The Polo Times magazine in its 2010 January-February issue reported on 8 goal England captain Luke Tomlinson believing that the new rules in Argentina have made life better for polo ponies - despite the fact the game is now faster.

In an interview with Polo Times deputy editor James Mullan on his return from playing the high-goal there, the England captain also said the games have been a better spectacle, easier to umpire and have returned the backhand to its former glory - but that lower levels of the game have not adapted as successfully.

"I had misgivings about the rules at first," admits Luke, who was sixth-highest goal-scorer in the Argentine Open. "I felt it was a step back towards when I first played in Argentina. Over 10 years, umpires have increasingly let players turn on the ball in defence and I thought it had become a good skill. But the new interpretations, which made this a foul again, were a success. "Players have been able to sustain their horses at a steady rhythm because the polo is generally easier to anticipate, and games are less disjointed by stop-start plays and fouls," Tomlinson said. "More open games also mean all four players are required to play a more equal role, so each player and his mount is required to do 25 per cent of the work. Under the old interpretations, often the best player would take it upon himself to do 60 per cent of the work. "In my view, however, at lower levels the changes haven't been so successful. If anything, it has made it more dangerous, as many amateur players and lower-handicapped pros are incapable of successfully hooking a backhand and simply end up charging down the line of the defender."

The detailed critique by Javier Tanoira of then current high goal polo and rule interpretations which brought forth the wave of rule changes around the world is available from the NSWPA website archived news report dated 26 October, 2009 or http://www.australianpolo.com.au/nsw/getnews.asp?f_Category=NSW&f_NewsID=1032