Africa’s top polo tournament returns to Jozi

africaThe Land Rover Africa Cup promises to be a fiercely competitive tournament with 10 teams featuring world-class players at the top of their game.
On the 16th August, beauty, power and prestige will meld together when the representative teams from South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe and defending champions Ghana, will compete for the much-coveted Land Rover Africa Cup trophy!

Successfully into the second year of a three-year partnership, Land Rover and Johannesburg’s quintessential African equestrian destination, the
Inanda Club, are proud to reflect on the incredible success of the 2014 tournament. This winning formula has been applied to position the 2015 tournament as the highlight on the South African entertainment and equestrian calendar. “Last year’s event was a very exciting one with the atmosphere and the action on the field surpassing all expectations,” says Paul Oosthuizen, Inanda Club General Manager.

At this year’s event Range Rover’s most powerful model to date, the Sport SVR will be revealed when showcased in a Horsepower vs Machine power race, where it will be pitted against one of Inanda’s finest thoroughbreds.

Often referred to as ‘The Sport of Kings’, Polo is able to seamlessly marry skill, beauty and strength. The skills required by a top Polo player are a
combination of the hand-eye co-ordination of a cricketer, the agility of a gymnast, the fitness of a footballer and the strength and courage of a rugby player – and on top of this excellent horsemanship.

“Development is always an important consideration for the Inanda Club,” Oosthuizen confirms. “Whilst Polo is a sport which generally requires considerable wealth to progress to a high level, there is also a great opportunity to develop and assist young Polo players in South Africa.”

The Inanda Development Cup took place during the last weekend in May 2015, as part of the build up to August’s Land Rover Africa Cup crescendo. The objectives of the tournament is to enable talented, underprivileged and aspirant Polo players to participate in the sport and grow into professionals, by giving them access to training and development.

VIPs, celebrities, fashionistas, socialites and some of the continent’s most influential business figures, all have mid-August circled and confirmed as Joburg’s Biggest four-legged fun and most fiercely contested Polo competition in Africa.

With the continent well represented, the 2015 Land Rover Africa Cup is set to be the hottest ticket, reserved for only the very select sophisticates moving and shaking the upper tiers of South African pop society. The event is synonymous with the who’s who… the place to be.

Limited public tickets are available at Computicket at R200.00 per person (Incl. 14 % VAT). Gates open at 10.00a.m.

For further information: Web : www.inandaclub.co.za and Twitter: @LandRoverCup

Polo South Africa
Polo has been played in South Africa for over a century. Due to the number of highly trained horses needed to play the game, it has, traditionally, been a sport for the well-heeled, and to date there are only about 400 registered club players in the country. According to the South Africa Polo Association insurance companies rate the sport as the most dangerous contact sport in the world, with ice hockey in second position. The Polo players have only a helmet for protection and travel at speeds of up to 40kph on horses weighing up to half a ton. By comparison Usain Bolt’s average speed in setting the world 100m record was 37.6 kph.

Inanda Club
Situated in the heart of Sandton, the Inanda Club, a landmark of tranquility offers privacy and exclusivity to like-minded individuals, with a need for business, sport and social networking. The Inanda Club has made grand strides in the past boasting progressive and exciting polo development initiatives within the club. Through the success of these individuals, the rise of young talent from our disadvantaged communities is significantly shifting the outlook of polo and bodes well for the continued growth of this incredible sport into the future.

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