Teams & Players

Polo Team Winners 2023

GAME ONE:

Stash + Lode Team

Coco Merz

Sisely Higgins George (MVP)

Lauchie Leishman

GAME TWO:

Countryside Realty Noosa

Jack Sanderson (MVP)

Andrew Tosky

Pip Fitzhenry

GRAND FINAL:

Think Investment Realty Team

Simon Skerrett

Blake Reid

Morgan Ruig (MVP)

Polo Team Players

“Mr Ryan Reynolds”

Shaun Birley, the unmistakable dooplegänger of Ryan Reynold’s. The man was destined for polo, it was written in Ryan’s stars and what Ryan wishes for, Shaun gets.

An Instagram sensation, ladies globally lust over him… if he isn’t on a polo field, he is jet setting the globe in pursuit of the perfect picture. He models for Ralph Lauren, so playing polo was only a matter of time.

Shaun made his debut this time last year on the Polo circuit, and for someone who had never ridden a horse 12 months his ability shows no limits, its truly remarkable how quickly he has picked up the sport. He has been coached by many of players you see here today, we are still trying to work out if that’s a good thing or bad.. you be the judge!

So if you think you see Ryan Reynold’s on the 14^th October 2023, it wont be him – it will be our pin up boy Shaun.

Coco “Pain Machine” Merz

A child polo prodigy, this young whipper snapper crafted her skills on the silky carpets of some Englands most renowned fields.

Dubbed Ms “Pain Machine”, this chick has broken bones in places many of us have never heard of!

After a long hiatus from polo pursuing her Snow Boarding Career where she represented England… she’s back in the saddle and ready to rumble.

Freshly off an MVP result from her most recent tournament… this kid is one to watch both on and off the field!

“Mr Serious”

Lauch discovered polo later in life whilst attending a bucks day in Argentina in 2018. Having recently sold his businesses, he quickly decided that polo was his new life. His love of sport and animals made polo a natural fit for him. He moved to Argentina in late 2018 to fast track his polo career.

Lauch asked his coach in Argentina in 2019, this question “when do you think I will get to 10 goals?”, the question was met with confusion, then a smirk and this was the coaches response “maybe your grandchildren’s, grandchildren will get to 10 goals, you personally, will never”!

Not to be one to take one persons opinion to heart, Lauch has now spent the best part of 4 years immersing himself in polo and he believes he finally ready to start taking down some of the titans of the sport, starting with winning the Polo & Provedores Cup.

Often described as “serious” on and off the field.. he does tend to loosen up after a couple cold beers… he carries a next level aptitude for winning and he hopes this will be enough to bring home the 2023 Noosa P&P cup.

"Lethal Weapon"

Starting his career in Argentina, gave Steve the horsemanship of a wild horse breaker. His tenacity on the field is unrivaled and to warn his competitors… his offside forehand has been marked as a “lethal weapon”.

Inge “Hollywood” Burke

Waltzing on the red carpet and constantly rubbing shoulders with with all the big wigs in the movie industry has earned Inge the nickname “Ms Hollywood”. But don’t let her good looks fool you… this gal is tougher than 99.99% of the men out there and she can ride!

Ms Hollywood is one of a kind, her passion for the sport is uncontested and she’s given more to the sport than most.

Be it on the field or off the field this girl keeps the smiles rolling… and we have no doubt she’ll be in the winners circle come Saturday night!

“Jimmy Big Time - Mr Polo”

James Thomas is from Victoria, James runs Venture Polo, Australia’s largest polo supplier and your go to guy if you'd would like to start the game.

James supplies all the horses and manages the players for events like these up the east coast of Australia. Travelling form state to state managing the circus that is exhibition style polo.

James was introduced to polo in the UK when he first left school, furthering his experience back in Victoria he went on to have a position in China for many years, returning to Australia to set up Venture Polo 8 years ago.

James’s biggest asset on the field is his knowledge of the horses. Watch in particular the little chestnut he plays called Church, arguably the best horse out on the pitch.

“The Party”

Morgan Ruig started playing polo on his family farm west of Brisbane when he was 12 years old. A bright future kicked off when he won the prestigious BMW Tournament in Brisbane, his first 10 goal match as a 14 year old.

His polo prowess took him to Argentina where he got to 2 goals as a 17 year old working for La Dolfina, one of the most successful polo teams in the world. His tenor with them was during their dominant 2006 Triple Crown win and the rumours have it, that they wouldn’t have made the triple without him.

Without doubt, his greatest sporting achievement would be not as a polo player, but as a “Professional” golf player, when he competed in the 2016 North Korean Pro Am. He is one of only two Australian golf players to compete in North Korea! Rumour has it he shanked the ball of the first tee, and it didn’t get much better after that.

Unfortunately sex, booze and rock and roll found Morgan and he hit a major plateau in his polo career which has lasted to current day. Watch out for him, he will be the life of the party.

“The Prince of Polo”

Blake Reid started playing polo when he was 13 years old around South-East Queensland. His parents had farms and horses since he was a child so was lucky enough to get into polo from a young age.

After school he spent a few years using polo to travel around Australia as well as internationally to England, NZ, Philippines and Argentina. He has one of the most natural swings in the game and scares his opponents with his menacing on field attitude. His off field game is the polar opposite, often dubbed “The Prince of Polo”. His biggest achievement to date is probably winning the prestigious Gold Cup in Australia 3 times.