Hi All,

This weekend sees the A grade playing for the Ken Austin Trophy. As well as being one of the polo greats, Ken has been an avid polo supporter for many years and has been instrumental in young player development. It is with great honour that we will be playing for this trophy and we look forward to welcoming the Austin Family for the Finals.

We are also welcoming the New Zealand Colts teams who will be quite fittingly be playing in the A grade as a lead up to the Colts test Match next Sunday. We are still looking for a couple of more horses to mount these young players for this weekend so if anyone has a spare horse we would love to hear from you.

The clubhouse will be open this weekend and on Saturday night so please see the attached flyer for details.

Good Luck to all teams and we look forward to seeing you on the field.

Kind regards,

Dick Doolin

Club Captain
D.D.Polo
35 Maguires Rd
Maraylya, NSW. 2765
Mob:+61417499451

KEN AUSTIN BIOGRAPHY

Ken Austin was introduced to “the Sport of Kings” by Hector King, his brother-in-law, on Hector’s return from WW II, in 1945. Within 2 years Ken was playing with the Maharaja of Jaipur, in India, where he celebrated his 21st birthday.

Ken played alongside his brothers, Larry and Jack, at local Sydney clubs Green Point, Rossmore, Cobbitty and the County Polo Club (later known as Sydney Polo Club). In 1970, Ken became President and Captain of the Sydney Polo Club and remained until his retirement from the sport in 1995. In that period, he devoted much of his time to mentoring new players, both in his own club and in other local clubs.

In 1972 Ken was a member of the Australian team when it travelled to New Zealand to play against the local side and later that year, in Australia, against a visiting team from Argentina. During his 50-year career, he played in most countries where polo is played and travelled extensively in Australia to compete in club and high-goal tournaments. He competed actively at all levels of polo, often in distinguished company, and played for many years at the Royal Easter Show.

Ken reached a rating of 5 goals at the height of his career, usually playing at No: 3 position, although he played at No: 4 in his early years. He was known for his long, decisive and powerful backhand shots.

The rules of polo and umpiring particularly interested him and he umpired many club and international standard matches.

Ken was also a keen breeder and trainer of top-class ponies – the progeny of his bloodline still winning trophies on the field today.

Off the field, Ken’s contributions to polo include holding the office of Honorary Secretary for the NSW Polo Association, being NSW State Representative on the Australian Polo Council and serving on ratings committees. During his time in office, Ken was a great advocate of the promotion of polo to broaden the spectre of the sport and sort to give it wider appeal through media coverage and sponsorship.