past work: nigeria: lagos polo club

Each year the Lagos Polo Club holds its annual tournament, bringing together most of the private as well as government backed teams from around the country. Polo, known as the "game of kings", is watched and played by the elite of the Nigeria whose teams regularly import horses and even players from abroad, most notably from Argentina, to enhance their game. Business deals are made on the sidelines while Veuve Clicquot flows like water for members including Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan. 

But few pay attention to those who work behind the scenes, the groomers who care for the horses, train them, as well as assist players during the matches. Many of the groomers live on the grounds of the club with their families, working rigorously throughout the tournament only meters away from the members VIP sections, which houses Nigeria's most rich and powerful, a strange reflection of the gross economic inequality between classes in a city where the underpaid poor are the backbone supporting the minority upper class.  

Some groomers hope to one day play on the field, many work for the love of the horse and game but all see it as income in a city where work is far too scarce.