Internationales Kinder Polo Camp 2005

What is Kinder Polo

What does Kinder Polo stand for?

Simply Polo for children. Also the little ones must profit from outdoor living and the Pologame. We want to inspire them to participate. The idea behind it is that they can learn in young years being around a Polo Pony and become friendly with a bamboo handmallet.
They are the Poloplayers of tomorrow.
Hereby we give them the opportunity to get to know the game of Polo and riding with children of their same age. Learning the ABC of Polo they can look into the Polo world of the adults.
This is the first step to be followed by the "JUGENDCAMP" in Berlin.

How did this project kick off?

Out of own initiative, the pleasure of the children and the love to the sport. The creation of something non existing.

"KINDER POLO" is primarily studied for children of Polo parents. That is parents owning Polo horses, riding regularly and spending time around their horses. Those children are taken along against their will on week-ends, or cannot wait for the next Polo game.
This is the target group of children - under these circumstances they develop very successfully. Unconsiously they are pushed and promoted by virusinfected Polo parents.

Who stands behind it?

Barbara Patricia Zingg, 36 years old, speaking 7 languages, Swiss. Of profession Fashion Designer (5 year study in Milan, Italy) and since 5 years active with a fulltime job in Polo.
Founding member and active in the family Pegasus Polo Club Greece, as well as Estancia Pegasus Polo, San Luis, Argentina.
Currently working as polomanager for Baron von Maltzahn at the Mecklenburger Polo Club Pinnow.

With the support of Mrs. Rosie Gibson (British Army Brigadier's Wife) at the time stationed in Osnabrück, Germany, and the Bombadier Morris we laid the first fundaments in the summer of 2004.
In England there is the "PONY CLUB" - and we are just starting out...and have a long way to go.

Mrs. Gibson herself has grown up with the "PONY CLUB", and is flattered of the "KINDER POLO" activities. So much, that she flew over from London with her two children Guy, aged 8 and Camilla, aged 11. It is very different than in England she says for there is this international mix and flair. The children come from different countries and live one week of intensiv polo and more.

What is the "Parents Cup"?

The Parents Cup is one of the nicest moments to admire and cheer for their own parents playing. After the pricegiving and spraying of the "KINDER champagne", the handing out of certificates we make the poloplaying parents play. That is a wonderful way to round up the camp and to unite small and big.

Since when does it exist in Germany?

Since 2 years. Last year we started off with a week-end camp at the "Bentheimer Polo & Country Club" in Bentheim, with 24 children, aged 5 to 13. This year we changed it into a week camp, with 9 children participating aged 8 to 13 at the "Mecklenburger Poloclub Pinnow".

Why international?

Internationality is part of my identity. Polo is made for making contacts worldwide. You invite and your are invited on return.
The children are confronted with new faces, live with different languages and traditions on the same spot, share and live together, are in continues competition with one another and important issue: are all treated the same. An important experience for life.

What nationalities are we talking about?

Currently I have concentrated on the german, dutch and english polomarket. Let's see what the future shall bring?

What is the goal of such an event?

"Polo brings people together." In this case the children. important is that they do not consume, but produce and make new experiences for life.

There are many facettes:

the most important one is to be able to communicate pleasure and joy, the best consequences to "learn and have fun". We promote the Polo youth, prepare them for the "JUGENDCAMP" of Dr. Inge Schwenger. Make new friendships, make the experience of belonging to a polo team, learn all about a Polo Pony, do sports, learn to love outdoorliving, grow up with animals and learn to love them, develop a teamspirit, learn disciplin.

What are the next steps considering "KINDER POLO"?

We have a little X-mas present for our Polo Kinder: www.kinderpolo.de, the creation of our new website. We are creating a KINDER POLO membership list of active and passive players.
Next year we would like to plan 2 camps in Germany and possibly one in the Netherlands. In the short future we would like to have Polo exchange students.

Successfully I am proud to announce, that we have the first 2 boys, Ole Knüpfer and Fabian Granrath, both 11 years old.

My dream is to create the first tournament in Germany - and hold meetings in the German DPV.
With interest also we want to work with children charity to make the healthy children understand how lucky they are, and to make them appreciate the world they live in more.

What does the programme look like and what do the children learn?

• everybody sleeps in a field tent
• discipline
• grooming
• history of polo
• rules
• bicycle polo
• stick'n'ball walking
• wooden horse - swing techniques
• hack and tresure hunt
• gallopping around the racetrack
• discipline riding
• chukkers
• Teamshirt Design with Textile colours
• Kinder Player's Night Disco Evening
• Plainecar Drive in the countryside
• swimming in a close by lake
• offroad drive in the woods
• Teamcompetition: saddling a polo pony and a polo player
• little English and Spanish

What makes the camp so special?

The combination of playing and learning - of freedom and discipline. We create a programme that surprises the children day by day.

What are the most common questions of the Polo Kinder?

• when do we ride?
• which horse may I ride?
• in which group am I?
• do we all get a prize?
• did I do well?

What are the dreams that they dream?

Gallopping. Play chukkers. Own their own pony and become a Polo player.

What really made their day?

The handing out of the Teamshirts. Every year I design new Teamshirts with funny titles, like "los gauchos" and "Polo Barbies". This year the girls were so happy that they loudly screamed:"Barbie, we love you".

The nicest quotation?

Tacking up the horses, Fabian Granrath, 11 years old, suddenly said happy: Oh.......I can now saddle my own horse, and therefore need no more groom.

Resumption of Barbara Patricia Zingg:

The KINDER POLO CAMP 2005 was an enormous success. Our Coach Team was very happy and if it were for the children, they would have stayed on for much longer.
The support I get from the British Army is very important to me. The education and discipline is very different and I trust we can learn a lot. Polo is very advanced in England and therefore a big challenge to build up children in the polosport also here in Germany.
Working with children brings me lots of joy - and we are always looking for better ideas and new activities to introduce in our programme. The goal is also to see the same children back - year after year- to make them grow up with KINDER POLO CAMP.
We developed a very compact and balance programme made out of theory and praxis, out of discipline and learning aswell as freetime. Creating freetime is so important for children of that age, where they can get rid of all their energy, play and get to know eachother.

Very new and fun was the theory lesson held by Bombadier Morris in the stables - with the utilisation of a plstic horse livesize- where the children had to think of questions and answers all around the polo pony.

The treasure hunt (Schatzsuche) got the children very excited: a hack into the forest with all the group ending at a small lake, where we discovered the chocolate filled treasure under a rock.
The Teamshirt Design with Textilecolours was a real challenge for the boy's and girl's team. They had to define a team name, a teamshirt colour, their play number and mix their designs to finalise with one for all. The girl's team created the "Team PONY POWER GIRLS" and the boys the "Team EL FUEGO KINGS".

To saddle a horse is a different task. We tought them by making them saddle different horses in a row as a team. First they had to prepare all the tack, aswell as the full polo player gear to await the ....one, two, three....go. We timed the fastest team and gave them points. After 3 days, they were able to saddle all by themselves.
Most interesting was to observe the children in their freetime. To find out what they prefered doing, like bicyle polo, jump from the hay balls, help in the stables, take a ride on the pick up, bath their feet in a small river, paint and of course make the girl's life difficult.
I am very proud of all the children, for they were a sportive and very harmonious group.
We managed to play 2 chukkers on final day, for most children a big day and their first polo game and pricegiving. A moment in their lives to be remembered.

We now need more support of the German Polo Association and the FIP to support the players of tomorrow.
I am very greatful for the support of the "Mecklenburger Poloclub Pinnow" supporting this event by provinding great horses.
Clara von Maltzahn, aged 8 is my regular Polo student and making lots of progress, even being lefthanded. She rides since she is 5. This is the polofuture of tommorrow.