New Zealand’s Hamish Bray learned to ride from 11 years old on a 13.2hh pony that he rode around the 600-acre farm where his family lived in the South Island. He played at Ashburton Polo Club in the summers and was soon eyeing up a future in the sport. “When I was at school I was like ‘I’m going to try this polo thing and see how long it lasts,’” he said.

John Horswell, a polo entrepreneur and player, would shop for horses in New Zealand to take back to England to keep or sell. He gave Hamish the first opportunity for a season overseas, on what became an ongoing nomadic polo life. Hamish spent southern hemisphere summers in New Zealand, switching to a couple of summers in England, later the US and also time spent playing in Australia.

In 1994 he came back to the States to work again for Steve Orthwein and he has been based here ever since. After six years or so, Hamish went out on his own. “I would have stayed on but I had a string of horses put together by then and I went out and went pro by myself.”

He umpired intermittently while still playing but in 2016 he decided to commit to the professional umpire program. “I started the full season in Houston and I had hung up my polo boots,” he said. “It can be testing and challenging at times, but I enjoy it.”

One of the main challenges for the umpires is being in the right place at the right time. “If you’re not in the right spot it can make your calls harder,” he said. “You’ve got to read the game so you can get to your spots before it happens.”