In about 12 months Jonathan Gabler hopes to host the first of many polo matches in Wakatipu, a sport he is confident will enhance the area's tourism scene.
In November Mr Gabler, originally from Australia, and his wife Lynley Fong were granted consent to establish a polo club, subdivision and residential platforms on an 84.9ha site in Malaghans Rd.
The site has been operating as a deer farm, but between now and the end of next summer the first stage of their development will be well under way.
Under the conditions of consent, two polo fields, each measuring 270m by 150m, stage one of the stables, three arenas and structural landscaping, along with post and rail fencing, must be completed before construction of the clubhouse can begin.
The first part of the first stage will be the playing fields, Mr Gabler said.
"We are going to go very slowly [on the development] - we need to develop the fields and some of the elements of the infrastructure, arenas and stables [first].
"It's a big job to turn this from a deer farm to a polo facility, but I think we're going to get great support from the locals.''
Mr Gabler said initially both playing fields would be levelled, but only one fully developed initially.
That would require stripping the fields, storing the topsoil and levelling them on a slight gradient to improve the drainage.
While there were different options for that, including undulating or "crowned'' fields, Mr Gabler said they planned to establish a 1% gradient over 300m, creating a 3m fall, "which is barely noticeable to a horse''.
The first field would be used "as a bit of a test''.
"We don't want to do both, make a mistake and then have to re-do both.
"We'll lay the turf in spring, whenever the ground temperature warms up, and then create a safe learning area, as well.
"Come spring, we'll start doing some polo lessons [and] we're hoping that one field will be ready for an exhibition match late summer or early autumn.''
Mr Gabler said the site was the "right location at the right time'' but admitted it could create some challenges in winter given it was almost directly below Coronet Peak.
"It's going to be tough in winter for us ... being on this road and being at the bottom of the hill, but we couldn't have honestly got much better.
"It's a beautiful location.‘‘We wouldn't be trying this, putting in the money or the time ... anywhere else but Queenstown.''
While Mr Gabler started playing polo only about five years ago, his wife had been playing on and off for 23 years, having initially been a competitive show jumper and eventer.
After moving to Perth to attend university, the only way she could get a stable there was to become a polo player.
"She was forced to move from equestrian to polo and she's never looked back,'' Mr Gabler said.
The couple lived in Indonesia and Hong Kong before moving to Singapore, where Mr Gabler decided to try his hand at the sport.
Every second year they travel to Argentina, where they own land and stables, but now they plan to make Queenstown their home.
The first members of the "family'' to move to the resort with Mr Gabler were six of the couples' horses, three of which were flown over from Singapore.
Three more were in Christchurch when the Otago Daily Times visited, playing in a tournament there before coming south.
Mr Gabler said he and his wife would, in time, need between 35 and 50 horses to accommodate matches, lessons and programmes.
They plan to make the facilities as inclusive as possible, offering beginners lessons for children and adults as well as "have a go'' days, similar to those offered in Argentina enabling visitors and residents to get a taste of the sport.
There would also be exhibition matches and, eventually, tournaments, with their consent allowing up to seven tournaments a year, catering for up to 300 people over a maximum of seven consecutive days.
Mr Gabler said they hoped the facility would become an attraction in its own right.
"The international element of [Queenstown] is pretty unique.
"You don't have that polo and rural area and a really vibrant international town 20 minutes away anywhere else.
"It's quite unique.''
