Published: February 23, 2022 | Updated: 24th February 2022
It may have become the largest beach polo event in the world but it started as the idea, and vision, of just one man.
Specifically Johnny Wheeler, then an officer in the British Army.
He had joined the Household Cavalry as a Second Lieutenant and left 23 years later with the rank of Colonel.
Johnny, pictured left,
was in Sandbanks researching his family history.
His grandfather, Sir Arthur Wheeler, had purchased Brownsea Island for £60,000 in 1925 as well as the Haven Hotel the same year.
As Johnny, a keen amateur polo player, walked along Sandbanks Beach an idea struck him.
Why not use such a perfect location to stage a polo tournament?
Johnny contacted a close friend, and polo professional, David Heaton-Ellis, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The first British Beach Polo Championships – better known as Sandpolo – were staged in 2008, within eight months of the initial idea.
The event, which attracted more than 6,000 people in 2021, is now in its 15th year.
Tragically David, pictured right, was only involved in the inaugural Sandpolo.
He died in 2009 at the age of 39 after bearing Motor Neurone Disease with both courage and grace.
A trust established in his name has now raised more than £1m to help fund research into the disease.
His widow, Sophie, continued to play a crucial role in the success of Sandpolo as event organiser and polo manager for ten years.
Johnny said: “From Day One, it was clear that we were onto something.
“The council, and especially Cllr Peter Adams, the Borough of Poole’s portfolio holder for culture and leisure [pictured left on a camel], saw the potential from the very beginning.
“At the time Piers Morgan was doing his TV series about Sandbanks and, although we were going through the financial crisis, it felt like the right time at the right place, even as a new event.
“We’ve never really looked back since.
“We have a robust business model with our income coming from sponsorship, ticket sales, merchandise and, initially, trade stands.
“We’ve never had one big sponsor but, instead, lots of smaller sponsors.
“But we are reliant on reasonable weather and everything has to be above high water.”
Traditionally held in the second week of July, although 2021 was pushed back to September because of the pandemic, the polo side of the tournament is little changed from the first Sandpolo in 2008.
A twist on traditional polo, Sandpolo is played with an oversized orange ball designed not to get lost in the sand but still move at a high speed.
Johnny said: “We still have the same amount of beach.
“We start our build on the Monday and by Friday lunchtime we’re welcoming our first guests.
“By the following Wednesday you’d never even know we’d been there.”
What has changed, though, is the range of evening entertainment.
At the end of last year it was announced that Tribeca Events had signed a five year partnership with Sandpolo.
The boutique event production and promotions company will be working alongside Johnny’s team to curate the entertainment and promotion across Sandpolo weekend.
Dorset-based Tribeca Events is co-owned by Joshua Simons, Steve Crawford and Benjamin Reynolds.
It has interests in multiple event brands and concepts in the region.
This year’s entertainment comprises:
Johnny, 56, said the success of Sandpolo was down to a team effort, including his “amazing” Operations Director Victoria Sheppard.
He added: “I feel incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved but I’m also really looking forward to this year’s Sandpolo.
“I can’t wait to welcome our guests back for what I know is going to be another fantastic few days.”
