Everyone hates a wet, rained out polo day, but occasionally there's a bright spot, and mine was a chance to chat to the two umpires at the Swiss Medium Goal at Polo Park Zürich
As the rain bet down on the field, we could all adjourn to the cosy clubhouse and, over coffee and cake, I made the best of the afternoon interviewing Nico Scortichini and Estaban Ferrari. Nico I'd met before but Estaban was umpiring in Switzerland for the first time.
"So, what's it like?" I ask him. He tells me that up until now it's all been good and the players are well - behaved. Okay, tomorrow, weather permitting, we should have the finals. Could be a slightly different story then, perhaps. But, for the present, Estaban was happy. He's notched up a mass of experience over the years. As a former +4 player, he's umpired for 24 years including 8 times for the prestigious Palermo Open. When hes's not travelling he's tending to his horse business. He buys up horses to retrain and sell on. Home's Argentina but he's often away in USA, Italy or Uruguay umpiring.
Nico was a familiar face and had been in Polo Park Zürich a few times. This year he'd just arrived from Milan and, before that, was in Pakistan, where he umpired in Islamabad. He tells me about the new club there with fabulous facilities, field and ponies. Previously he'd umpired in Lahore which is one of the world's oldest clubs. Nico obviously found Pakistan colorful and interesting, but he spends 7 months of the year umpiring in Europe. Home in Cordales, Argentina, he breeds polo ponies. Nico has been umpiring for 22 years - a demanding task. So I ask him "What's the hardest part of the job?" He throws his head back and laughs, saying "keeping todos contentos!" I bet!!
There's a skill to this job, keeping the game flowing but stopping it before accidents happen. Back when these two started their umpiring career you had to have been a professional polo player with a +4 handicap. There was a written questionnaire and a 3 day practical exam. After that your new career commenced.
Sébastian Le Page, owner of Polo Park Zürich, certainly seemed content with his umpires. He tells me there's a network and once you're in it you can apply for the umpires you need. The club has a good reputation, so it's not too difficult.
So there you go. Thanks to Nico and Estaban "todos contentos!"
I guess after the Golden Rule to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, todos contentos (keep all happy) must be the next hardest thing to do in the world.
Nice post as always.