Rashid al Habtoor, the chief executive of Al Habtoor Trading Enterprises and chairman of Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club. He explains how the sport is a stress reliever, even if it may cost you a few teeth:
Your team, Mahra, won the Dubai Polo Gold Cup last year. When did your passion for polo emerge?
I started when I was 21. When we first started we were playing on compacted sand. There was no grass! By the time you hit the ball, you take two kilos of sand with you.
What aspect of the sport do you enjoy most today?
Polo is a lifestyle. It's not just a sport. Polo goes from the time you put your boots on, your shirt, your special belt. I can pick up the phone and pick a friend to play with in Buenos Aires, New York, Shanghai, Vienna or Cairo. Like Winston Churchill said: Your polo handicap is your passport to the world.
How does playing polo help you achieve in the business world?
It's the best way to relieve stress, but it is not like you decide to go out and play tennis. For example, I have two trucks that transport 50 horses. They must be loading from 9 in the morning for us to play at 3.30.
What else?
People get upset. People get into accidents. Last year, by mistake, I hit the ball and I broke all the front teeth of my nephew. My brother, last week, fell and broke his two fingers. Things happen, you know? People don't mean it. But it is good to play safe. You mustn't get too excited.
Do you approach business the same way you approach polo?
It's not the same, but there are similarities. In work, I am always on top of things but polo comes first. Business comes second. We play polo; when we have time, we go back to work.
Are you thinking about business on the field?
On breaks I am always thinking of improving business. My favourite break is when I finish polo. I usually sit for 20 to 25 minutes, just staring at the field while the grooms are taking the horses. I am thinking how fortunate we are that we are sitting here, during such a great game and with good friends, to be in Dubai. Life is great, safe. We thank God for that.
Have you learnt any lessons by playing against the likes of Prince William and Prince Abdullah from Malaysia?
Get your own field. I am working on it now. Land is more expensive than Tokyo, still, even with the crisis. Crazy. I can get free land from the Spanish government to build a polo field, but I cannot do this in Dubai. I hope to build a clubhouse with two fields in Dubai.
The photos in your polo room show you playing on grass, beach sand and even snow. The best spot to play?
The grass, of course. Real polo is on the grass.
