Following Advice...chatting with Eric

A weekend of brilliant sunshine, pleasant breeze and polo. What could be better? A reunion with friends and an opportunity to make new ones. This was the Tagmersheim Polo Cup 13-14 June. and this year my new friend is Eric Rudicky. In my pre-game notes I saw he was from the Czech Republic and this, combined with his dashing beard, made him a stand out character for me to chat with.

I tore him away from pony preparations before his game with his Team Ising.

What club do you belong to, Eric?

Actually I'm what you could call a free agent. I have a farm but I play a lot in South Africa with Selby Williamson.

So when and how did you get into polo?

That was back in 2018 at Cambridge University. I had been working as a cowboy in Montana, USA. I'd loved the work with the horses and the western riding. Leaving for Europe,I asked my cowboy friends how I could keep up this riding experience and their advice was to get into polo. They told me it would have a similar feel to it and that the reins were also held in one hand. And they were right.

It's also a great big community and I've made many friends especially in South Africa. In fact I met but also lost my best friend to polo. He discovered the polo in Sotogrande, in Spain and is now completely into polo there.

And what's your favorite tournament or polo event so far, Eric?

You know what I really enjoy more than the tournaments are the practice chukkers at the Jurassic Park Polo club in South Africa. They are really constructive. There's less bashing, no screaming and a lot less hype, if you know what I mean.

Do you have a favorite pony?

Well of course, but I'm not playing her anymore. She's called Pelusa and is now a breeding mare. In fact I played her 3 year old daughter here in Tagmersheim Polo Club 2 weeks ago. She came to me via Thailand, Spain, Denmark and Germany. She's alwys been dynamic and responsive and it seems that she's able to pass these qualities on to her offspring. She's also just a tiny bit crazy....but they are always the best polo ponies, aren't they?

Can you give me three words that describe polo for you?

Life-style, horsemanship, community

Thank you Eric.

My pleasure, Jan.

Eric went on to play his game and I got back to the commentary stand. I enjoyed great games and a super enthusiastic spectator crowd.

Winners

Team Tagmersheim: Bella Yaroch, Sophia Jaenecke, Benedikt Jaenecke, Francisco Rattagan

Team Van Laack: Coco Juls, Ken Kawamoto, Marie Haupt, Segundo Copello

Team H3 Polo Passion: Andre Hiebeler, Julia Hiebeler, Lucas Sdrenka, Nicolas Penfold

Team Ising: Eric Rudicky, Emily Hase-Loock, Raphael Oliveira, Gregor Gruber

Team Bavarian Pirates: Eva Marquard, Manuel Lettieri, Eva Brühl, Benoit Tari

MVP Benoit Tari

BPP Pampita owned and played by Francisco Rattagan