Paul Clarkin had plenty of mates. More 2000 of them his funeral on the polo field of his beloved Mystery Creek Polo Club yesterday.
Clarkin, 53, died on July 22, a day after he was knocked off his horse during a polo match in Cirencester, England.
He started playing polo when he
was a teenager and it gave him everything he ever wanted.
He met his wife of almost 30 years, Chele, at the Morrinsville polo grounds.
Chele said he was a "long-haired scruffy Morrinsville lad" at the time, but it was love at first sight.
She "chased the pants off him" until they married in November 1974.
But Chele's mum wasn't impressed: "She thought he was a long-haired lout who drank too much and didn't have a real job," Chele said. But she soon warmed to him.
Chele and Paul had three children. John-Paul inherited his father's love of polo and is rated one of New Zealand's best players. Matthew plays professional rugby in France. The third child, Emma, died in car crash when she was 19.
Chele said Paul was loved by everyone he mixed with, be it the royal family in England or his mates at the Turf Bar and the "Nash" in Cambridge.
"I could write a book on Paul's escapades... they will be true stories but probably will be filed in the fiction section, as unless you knew him nobody would believe half of them."
Chele said her life with Paul was never dull.
"I remember saying on our 25th wedding anniversary that I could never leave Paul as our first 25 years together were so exciting I sure didn't want to miss anything."
Chele said she was always worried Paul's lifestyle would ruin his good looks.
During their time together he had lost an eye, broken his neck and most of the bones in his body.
Paul's casket was adorned with stirrups, polo sticks, balls and a can and bottle of Lion Red beer.
Some raised polo sticks as the casket, led by a white 1980 Cadillac Saville gifted to Paul after a stint in the Middle East, passed by.
The Cadillac carried a paper licence plate that read "Mr Polo".
- NZPA
