Obituary from The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 25th February 2010, written by Marion Nicholas.A horseman born to take the reins
James Ashton, a leading figure in the world of polo, lived life at the gallop. When he died after a fall in a polo game in Thailand on Valentine's Day, it was a cruel shock but not entirely a surprise to his family and friends.
His courage was legendary, as were the resulting accidents. At the age of 69, he had pins in virtually every part of his body and had undergone a quintuple bypass - one friend noted that an archaeologist of the future might suppose his skeleton to be that of some transitional being between the biological and mechanical eras. Bionic Man.
As a husband, father, grazier, philanthropist, horseman, winemaker and polo official, Ashton's energy and industry were combined with a rare sweetness of character. Messages of condolence have poured in from across the polo community. On a Facebook site, messages were posted by people who had taken their children on farmstay holidays or for Riding for the Disabled lessons at Millamolong, his central-western property, or who knew Ashton through church, council, or his decade on the board of the Blayney abattoirs.
James W. Ashton was born in January 1941, the eldest son of Irene and Jim Ashton, a Sydney company director, grazier, and captain of the Ashton brothers polo team, which dominated Australian polo in the 1930s. James Ashton was head boy of his preparatory school, Tudor House. At the King's School, he won awards for leadership and academic and sporting excellence before graduating as a Bachelor of Arts from Sydney University.
At 21 he took up polo and in 1966 he married Susan Kirkby, with whom he had twin sons, twin daughters and - by then, surprisingly - one daughter. Sinclair Hill, Australia's foremost polo player, thought he showed promise as a future champion, but in the 1970s his polo career and his family's way of life were cut short by his contraction of brucellosis, a blood disease caught from cattle and almost unknown in humans.
Despite endless medical tests, his condition remained undiagnosed for 18 years. Doctors warned him of imminent death and the need, meanwhile, to find a sedentary occupation, so he and Susan moved their young family to Sydney, where he graduated with an MBA from the University of NSW.
When his illness was at last diagnosed and treated, the family returned to Millamolong, and Ashton to his beloved horses. He played polo for Australia in world cup tournaments in Buenos Aires and Berlin, and in matches from Shanghai to Tehran.
His energy was phenomenal. He engaged with local, national, industry and political interests, from the Graziers' Association to the Carcoar church. Friends learnt not to expect the couple to be on time for mere private engagements and anticipated their explanations: in James's case, they often involved horses, machinery and orthopaedic surgery.
When obliged in his sixties to have operations on his knees and hips, Ashton was said to have been offered a choice between a graceful upright posture and a more curved one suited to the back of a horse. There was never any doubt which he would choose.
In 1994, the Ashtons lost their son Jamie, an agricultural scientist and promising polo player, in a road accident in Queensland.
James endured this by working harder. He converted the homestead to a guesthouse, continued to breed horses and established a winery. He also founded the Millamolong Polo Club, with international tournaments in memory of Jamie and his nephew Will Ashton, also killed in a road accident.
He involved himself in polo administration, as president of the NSW Polo Association and then of the Australian Polo Council. In 2001, he persuaded the Federation of International Polo (FIP) to select Australia to host the 6th World Cup, a 10-day eight-nation tournament held at Melbourne's Werribee Equestrian Centre.
The success of this led to Ashton's election (in his absence) as FIP treasurer. And when the president Patrick Guerrand Hermes resigned mid-term last November, Ashton was inducted as interim president.
He was to have been formally elected at the FIP assembly in March: a recognition of his qualities of authority, courtesy, commonsense and calm.
Ashton is survived by Susan, his son Andrew, his daughters Sally, Emily and Georgina, five grandchildren, his sisters Rosemary Foot and Joan Masterman and his brother Wallace.
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Friday 26th February 2010 10.30am A private service will be held for close family and friends.
12.30pm Public burial at the Millamolong Polo Field. Everyone welcome.
All welcome afterwards at Millamolong Homestead for a celebration of James Ashton's life.
For directions, contacts and accommodation are on the Millamolong website:
www.millamolong.comPlease note the guest houses etc listed on the Millamolong webpage - www.millamolong.com - are holding rooms for funeral attendees. All they need do is mention that they are attending the funeral and the guest house of their choice will do everything possible to provide them with a room.
If anyone encounters a problem with their booking, they can call 02-6360-1500 or email secretary@oso.com.au
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It is with shock and profound sadness that I inform the polo community that James Ashton died yesterday following a fall in a polo tournament in Thailand. He was visiting Asian nations as part of his new role as President of the Federation of International Polo. James' early Polo career as a 4 goal player included victory in the Countess of Dudley Cup in 1966, a feat that he repeated in 1997 and 2006. Blessed with a remarkable eye he continued as a fierce and courageous competitor to the end. He was a former President of the NSW Polo Association and the Australian Polo Council and ran the 2001 Polo World Cup in Melbourne where competing countries gave James the accolade of providing the highest standard of ponies at any World Cup in history. In his inimitable manner James had encouraged players from all over this vast country to lend their best ponies for the event.
Our heartfelt condolences are extended to Susan and the Ashton family upon this dreadful loss.
Graham McGregor
President
New South Wales Polo Association
General arrangements will be advised when they come to hand.