Columbus, the spanish cigar monopoly, and what do good cigars

ISSUE 01 | 2015
www.polo-luxur y.com
Fortune Heights Snow
Polo World Cup in Tianjin
Worldwilde a class of its own
US dollar or gold
Columbus, the Spanish cigar
monopoly, and what do good cigars
and noble wines have in common?
The fascinating world of cigars
THE ART WORLD OF
THE MIDDLE EAST
The impressive development of
the Middle Eastern art market
© Johanna Mühlbauer – fotolia.com
© ExQuisine – fotolia.com
© psdesign1 – fotolia.com
In search for a ‘safe haven’
LUXURY
E DITORIA L
&
COUNTRY
Liebe Leserinnen
Liebe Leser
LIFE
MAGAZINE
Dear
Readers,
Polo-Faszination around the world: Die März-Ausgabe lädt Sie auf eine
vielseitige Reise zu Polo-Events ein – rund um den Globus. Unser Ausgangspunkt ist der Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup Tianjin in
China, ein Turnier von beeindruckender Grösse und bestechender
Klasse. Die nächsten Stationen unserer Reise führen zum schneebedeckten St. Moritzer See und ins österreichische Kitzbühel. Von der
winterlichen Kälte geht es zum Porangahau Beach Polo, dem einzigen
Beach Polo-Event Neuseelands, und anschliessend zur Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge, eines der jährlich herausragendsten
Sport-Events in Dubai.
Polo passion around the world: The March edition will take you on a
fascinating journey to polo events around the globe. We start out at the
Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup Tianjin in China, a tournament
of impressive size and intriguing class. The next stop of our journey
brings us to snow-covered Lake St. Moritz and to the Austrian town of
Kitzbühel. From the alpine winter chill we are heading to the summery
shores of the southern hemisphere to the Porangahau Beach Polo,
New Zealand’s only beach polo event, and then on to the Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge, one of Dubai’s most prominent sporting
events of the year.
Für einmal rücken wir die Leidenschaft für erlesene Weine etwas in
den Hintergrund und entführen Sie in unserem Special in die Welt der
Zigarren. Unscheinbar von Gestalt, verbirgt sich hinter einer guten
Zigarre viel Handarbeit, grosses Know-how und nicht selten auch eine
spannende Geschichte.
For a change we will slightly roll back the passion for sophisticated
wines and introduce you to the world of noble cigars with our special
Havana feature. Behind its unsuspecting appearance, a good cigar is
made up of a great deal of skilful handcraft, deep know how and quite
often also an exciting story.
Parallel zum Erscheinen der März-Ausgabe öffnet auch das neue Polo
Luxury & Country Life-Internetportal seine Pforten. Sich optisch im Stil
eines modernen Newsletters präsentierend, wartet es mit aktuellen
Beiträgen und exklusiven Hintergrundberichten aus den Bereichen
Polo, Lifestyle, Luxus, Kunst, Reisen etc. auf und dient gleichzeitig
interessierten Usern und unseren Kunden als Networking-Plattform.
Alle Besucher, die sich auf dem Portal für den Newsletter registrieren,
haben die Chance, einen exklusiven Preis zu gewinnen, der Polo-Fans
begeistern wird. Schauen Sie vorbei unter www.polo-luxury.com und
gehen Sie auf Entdeckungsreise auf dem neuen Polo Luxury & Country
Life-Internetportal.
Coinciding with the release of the March edition, also the new Polo
Luxury & Country Life internet portal is launched. Presented in the style
of a contemporary newsletter, the site features latest news and exclusive
background reports about polo, lifestyle, luxury, art, travelling etc., and
at the same time provides interested users and our customers with a
unique networking platform. All visitors signing up for the newsletter in
the portal will stand the chance to win an exclusive prize that will excite
any polo fan. Visit www.polo-luxury.com and explore the great features
of the new Polo Luxury & Country Life internet portal.
Birgit Herrmann
Publisher & Owner
3
Birgit Herrmann
Publisher & Owner
Christoph Hügli
Chief Executive Officer
Christoph Hügli
Chief Executive Officer
Polo Luxur y & Countr y Life Magazine | Issue 01 | 2015
INHALT · C O N TE N TS
Polo
Interview with FIP President Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers........... 7
“Polo is not just a sport but a total way of life”
Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup 2015 in Tianjin/China.... 12
Worldwilde a class of its own
Chukker break with Chris Hyde ............................................................. 14
A talk with the charming king of snow polo
31st Polo World Cup on Snow St. Moritz.............................................. 18
Third successive victory in a row for Cartier
7
13th Valartis Bank Snow Polo World Cup Kitzbühel 2015............. 21
Fantastic polo and lots of glamour in ‘Kitz’
Beach Polo at its best.................................................................................. 22
Porangahau Beach Polo’s second successful tournament
10th Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge
at Desert Palm Polo Club Dubai................................................................ 24
Team Desert Palm: Diego Cavanagh leads his team to victory
The Hawaii Polo Club.................................................................................. 30
Polo in paradise
Fahrzeuge • Cars
14
Infiniti QX70 V6 3.7..................................................................................... 35
Nissans Noble SUV wagt einen Spagat
Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster................................................. 37
Engineering skill and design for top precision and perfection
27
37
4
INHA LT · C ONTE NTS
Special
The fascinating world of cigars................................................................ 38
Columbus, the Spanish cigar monopoly, and what do good cigars
and noble wines have in common?
Die faszinierende Welt der Zigarren ..................................................... 46
Kolumbus, das spanische Zigarrenmonopol, und welche Gemeinsamkeit
teilen gute Zigarren und edler Wein?
Premium humidors –
sophisticated casings for storing fine cigars....................................... 50
50
© Anton Gvozdikov – fotolia.com
“A good cigar ages best in the tropics”
54
Finance
Secure Investment....................................................................................... 54
US dollar or gold: In search for a ‘safe haven’
Art
Christie’s and the impressive development
of the Middle Eastern art market........................................................... 60
The art world of the Middle East
Christie’s Shanghai and Hong Kong offices......................................... 64
The art of the horse - Equestrian Art across the ages
Lifestyle
Die Terrasse als grüne Oase der Entspannung.................................. 67
Bacher Garten-Center AG – Publireportage
Travel
64
The most expensive cruises anywhere in the world....................... 68
Open-ocean cruising like Rockefeller
Jürg Beeli presents
the colourful underwater world of the Maldives.............................. 70
Schools of fish – living pieces of art under water
68
5
Polo Luxur y & Countr y Life Magazine | Issue 01 | 2015
POLO
FIP President Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers
“Polo is not just a sport
but a total way of life”
Since last December, the Federation of International Polo
has a new President: Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers. The
charming Australian played an outstanding role in the polo
world like not many others. Having served as Chairman of the
Hurlingham Polo Association from 2008 to 2012 as well as
being the Chairman of the prestigious Ham Polo Club London
for over 20 years, Nicholas has now taken the reigns of the
global polo organisation. In his professional life he is Chief
Executive of Horizon Energy Group (UK) Limited, the London
subsidiary of the Dubai-based oil & shipping corporation,
where he has earned a reputation as a man of diplomacy and
a skilful negotiator – someone who doesn’t beat around the
bush but pursues his goals with vigour and focuses on
sustainable success. In the interview with the publisher of
Polo Luxury & Country Life, the new President spoke about
his short- and medium-term goals and his love for the
polo sport.
Interview: Birgit Herrmann
End of last year you have been elected President of the Federation
of International Polo (FIP), what were your reasons to run for this
office?
Of course it could be that no one else wanted the job! However, I would
like to believe that after being involved in polo for almost 50 years that
my experience with running both a club and an association might allow
me the necessary attributes to make a success of the post. I was proposed by the Argentine Polo Association with whom I had worked
closely during my term of office with the Hurlingham Polo Association,
and it was felt by all three of the major Associations, the AAP, the HPA
and the USPA that the Federation needed to become more focused and
professional in its management in order to be able to promote the
growth of international polo and to assist the emerging polo nations.
7
Polo Luxur y & Countr y Life Magazine | Issue 01 | 2015
POLO
AUS DEN BERNER ALPEN
Rein. Natürlich. Nachhaltig.
Geniessen Sie den
einzigen Schweizer Kaviar.
Im Oona-Shop oder
im Oona – das Restaurant.
www.oona-caviar.ch
8
Tropenhaus Frutigen AG
CH - 3714 Frutigen
Tel: + 41 33 672 11 44
info@oona - caviar.ch
POLO
What are your short- and medium-term goals for your first term as
President of the FIP?
In the short term it is imperative that we set up a strong administrative
base for the Federation to be able to then drive forward our various
initiatives. To that end we have for the first time employed an interim
CEO, Alejandro Taylor who was a past Treasurer of the AAP. We are
currently canvassing the Member Nations to fill the permanent post.
Once this has been achieved we will move onto reviewing the way the
Federations Zone structure works to ensure that we can support all our
Members at whatever level they play and to find ways to encourage
more junior polo to bring in new blood to the sport. This all runs alongside current commitments such as the FIP World Snow Polo Tournament at the Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjin, China and ongoing preparations for the FIP World Cup which will take place in Chile in
March.
Let’s talk about promoting young talent in polo. With the pony clubs,
England does an exemplary and sustainable job in supporting young
riders in all equestrian disciplines. Outside of the UK, the support for
young talent in polo may certainly have improved, but the majority
of newcomers in our sport are still middle-aged adults. Does FIP
have an approach that could achieve a structured support of young
riders in the future? Will you personally campaign for the kids in polo
sport, and if yes, in what form?
Yes, Pony Club Polo in the UK has been an outstanding success and has
brought many new players into the sport, as has the Schools and Universities (SUPA) programme. The FIP Ambassadors Cup formula has
always been one of the main platforms for FIP, it is hoped that we might
be able to start a series of Junior & Intermediate Ambassadors Cups
around the world as the friendships made at this early stage will endure
throughout their playing lifetime. FIP also has a development programme to encourage both youth polo and umpiring clinics and we
distribute around $ 30,000 each year of IOC funds to Member Nations
to promote the sport but we need to raise more funds to advance this
programme.
FIP’s Mission Statement is probably the best way to outline our various
priorities:
• Enhance the image and stature of the great game of polo on an
international level.
• Promote the practice of the sport worldwide.
• Unite the polo associations of the many countries that play the sport
under one Federation and one International rule.
• Promote the sport to FIP members through coaching clinics and
tournaments for children.
• Promote the concepts of friendship, team spirit, equality, respect,
integration and embrace the idea of fair play and safety.
9
Polo is certainly one of the most costly sports that you can practice.
Large tournaments are funded by sponsors that the organising clubs
and their presidents are often recruiting from their business environment. Does FIP also make efforts to win companies and well-heeled
private individuals as sponsors for the polo sport? Will these revenues only be used for promoting the proprietary FIP international
championships or will parts of the funds also be used for other projects supporting the polo sport?
I really have to dispute your first statement, I agree that the sport is not
inexpensive, but it is a lot more affordable than many other sports such
as of sailing, flying, motorsports or even skiing if you do it regularly, it
really depends on the level you play at. Certainly at the grass roots level
it is a lot less expensive than many people believe and unfortunately
we lose a lot of potential players due to this misconception. However,
on the sponsorship front you are right, the only way to keep the costs
at reasonable levels is to encourage business cooperation and sponsorship but we also need to take heed of what the sponsors require if
we wish to retain them for a reasonable period. Yes, FIP encourages
partnerships with commercial concerns but not just to promote the
events, we also look to using such funds raised to promote both the
sport and development internationally.
For over two decades you have been Chairman of the Ham Polo Club
that was established back in 1926 and is the last of many polo clubs
that used to be in London’s Greater Metropolitan Area. Please tell us
more about your club.
I have always been immensely proud of the HPC, not just that we are
the last club in London out of a dozen or so that flourished back at the
turn of the last century, but also because we are a grass roots club which
is owned and run by its members for the enjoyment of the sport so it is
a mini-democracy. We play four times a week during the summer, we
all love our ponies and we all love the sport, players and spectator
members alike.
Polo Luxur y & Countr y Life Magazine | Issue 01 | 2015
© ExQuisine – fotolia.com
SPECIAL
38
S PE C IA L
The fascinating world of cigars
Columbus, the Spanish
cigar monopoly, and
what do good cigars
and noble wines have
in common?
Cuba is synonymous for premium cigars.
But long before Havana became the world’s
prime hub for fine cigars, it was the Spanish
who introduced cigars to the world. Shortly
after Christopher Columbus discovered the
Americas in 1492, the first cigar factories
were established in Spain. And this is also
how tobacco turned into what it is still
today: a luxury commodity. In its place of
origin, the Americas, it had only been used
by the indigenous tribes for religious or
medical purposes as a chewed, snuffed or
boiled herb. The first cigar factory in Havana
opened its doors in 1799. But in this period
the Spanish still controlled the world
market due to a monopoly. This changed all
of a sudden in 1817 when the Spanish
monopoly was lifted. In Cuba cigar factories
were popping up like mushrooms, the
economy was booming and quickly Havana
turned into the biggest trading hub for
cigars in the world.
By Birgit Herrmann
39
Polo Luxur y & Countr y Life Magazine | Issue 01 | 2015

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