Following the debate online, in social media and in the press started by Aurora Eastwood (featured in the August Issue of Polo Times) about the safety standards set in polo for helmets, Guards Polo Club has decided to make a decisions about what hats players and members at the club can use for the 2015 season. The debate was sparked following an accident involving Juracy Santos at the club earlier in the season. A campaign to push the HPA into changing a ruling to require all players to wear at the least a hat with a three point harness has begun. Others have called for tougher measures to only include hats that have been kite marked. As of yet the club has no issued any statement containing the particulars or specifying which hats will be acceptable however, it is a big step forward for the improvement of safety standards in the sport. The HPA had made a statement earlier in the year that they had no plans to review the safety regulations but instead highlighted the need to wear protective goggles and mouth guards.
Photograph: Action on ground one at Guards by Tony Ramirez/www.imagesofpolo.com