EQUISTERIAN ISSUE 9

SIDEFEATURE
Precocious
and multitalented
How young Amani Nzomo wowed polo enthusiasts at
the kenya International Tournament.
By Ea Equestrian Writer
There is no doubt that young Amani
Nzomo is a future polo champion. This
is quite evident in the way he holds his
mallet, rides his ponies and finds the
back of opponent goal line with ease.
Just to prove that this young lad is a continental
champion in the waiting, Nzomo recently caused a
stir during the Samsung Galaxy Kenya International
Polo Championship where he twice helped his team,
Dormans, clinched both the 5-7 and 10-14 goal tournaments
held at the Nairobi Polo Club.
The most memorable moment for this last born
in a family of five during the tournaments that
ran for two weekends in September was when he
rescued Dormans with a last minute brace to win the
encounter, which they were trailing, 8-6.5 against
hard fighting Browns Cheese.
“That was the best day of my life; I have never
experienced this phenomenon in my life. I can’t
believe I scored while playing against seasoned and
international stars,” he says.
When asked what makes him stand out from his
peers who are also mad about polo, Nzomo, 10, says
he does everything that puts him on course to be a
polo champion.
“I wake up very early in the morning to train
my father’s horses and attend all the polo classes
as scheduled by my Zimbabwean coach Smart
Kuusawa.”
“I have been handling horses since I was five and
I get better with time. Apparently, my relations with
the animals have improved of late, thanks to my
dedicated coach Kuusawa,”he notes.
Nzomo says on a typical day he wakes up very
early in the morning to accompany Kuusawa to the
adjacent Ngong forest where they drill the horses in
the morning dew-climbing them on hills and descents
to make the animals strong and stable.
The horses are taken for a second schedule at
midday where they are taught how to play the game.
“Just like footballers horses too needs to know
the rules of the game, here we teach them all the
cues, for example if I hit a backhand shot with my
mallet the horse should automatically know that we
are going back and so should make an about-turn ,”
he says.
The year six student at Brookhouse School in Nairobi
says he is literally on fire since teaming up with
Kuusawa who has trained him for two months now.
“My game has improved, from the way I hold my
mallet, take the shots and ride my horses, I can feel
it. You know when you are fit you feel it within you,”
he says.
Nzomo does not hide his passion for polo and
openly admits that he is interested in attending
a polo school in either South Africa or
England.
“I know South African hard hitter
Buster Mckenzie has a nice polo
school which I would not hesitate
to attend. My dream is to be
the best polo player not only in
Kenya but in Africa.”
He would also love to play
polo internationally in South Africa,
England, Argentina, Barbados
or Australia.
His father Rafael has already given
him a clean bill of health and says his
last born will be free for international polo in
another two years.
“To prepare him for the great task ahead I allow
him to go for serious training with his coach three
times in a week and I hope when he turns 13 or 14
years he will be able to proceed for the international
contests,” says Rafael.
Apart from Polo, Nzomo is also a force to reckon
with in rugby, football and in the Go-Kart motorsport
competition.
He was recently the star attraction for Ligi
Ndogo’s U-11 football team at the Gothia Cup in
Germany where he scored a brace in Kenya’s 7-1
demolition of the hosts.
Multi-talented Nzomo is also the 2012 Go-Kart
champion in the 50cc category he won during the Rift
Valley Motor Sports Club competition in Nakuru.He
also features for the Brookhouse School rugby team
where he plays the scrum half position.
My game has
improved, from the way I
hold my mallet, take the
shots and ride my horses,
I can feel it. You know
when you are fit you feel
it within you
The E.A. Equestrian ■ OCT-DEC-2015
14