MINT Polo in the Park 2012

Before circling back two weeks to relive the events of May 27^th I'll tell you about the MINT Polo in the Park event while it's still fresh in my mind. There are two things to love about this sport, polo. One, the beautiful, graceful, perfected and largely expensive horses. And two, the beautiful, rich, pampered and perfectly dressed men. Everything else is merely added fluff and fancy.

But those tertiary delights of a London polo match, to be fair, aren't that far behind in the rankings. The event took place at Hurlingham Park, which is historically linked to polo (see below), and was sponsored by the best of the best. Harrods department store, which as we know encompasses seven floors of exquisite collections across 4.5 acres, provided the food for the event. Veuve Clicquot, both a champagne house in Reims, France, and a brand of premium Champagne, was, not surprisingly, the champagne sponsor. Founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot-Muiron, Veuve Clicquot played an important role in establishing champagne as a favored drink of haute bourgeoisie and nobility throughout Europe and today they had a centrally located stand behind one of the two goal posts. 

Other sponsors include (with descriptions pulled from the official event website):

La Martina, the quintessential international polo brand, representing the elegance, prestige and tradition of the game of polo itself. La Martina is the world's leading supplier of technical polo equipment and clothing, and the brand of choice of discerning polo professionals worldwide.

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel is London’s “most fashionable address”. Blending sumptuous guestrooms with award-winning restaurants, a world-leading spa and bustling bar, it is the definitive destination for a luxury escape in the capital.

Camino Real Polo & Country Club is set in 770 acres of beautiful Argentinean countryside in the polo Capital of the world. Being built by polo enthusiasts for polo enthusiasts this unique first class development will be both home, holiday destination and place of work for people who have two things in common, their love of all things polo and equestrian and their desire for the best available facilities.

....as well as Audi, Evian, and a slew of financial consultants, health clubs, and other upper-echelon organizations.

A bit of history/context: Polo was first played at Hurlingham Park in 1874. In 1908 Hurlingham hosted the Olympic polo final (where England won a gold medal). The Hurlingham Club was the headquarters of British polo for 65 years, and the name became synonymous with the sport, but during the Second World War the polo ground was converted into allotments, with the last major polo event taking place in 1939. However, now for the fourth year running, Hurlingham Park hosted the world's top polo players as they battled it out in a furious display of horsemanship.

Polo in the Park was actually a 3-day event, with today being the MINT final and Plate final, two hard-fought polo battles, Australia verses Moscow, followed by London versus Buenos Aries. Between games entertainment was provided by The Devils Horsemen (the stunt display team most recently seen in Steven Spielberg’s epic movie ‘War Horse’). We had perfectly situated grandstand seats at the equivalent of the 50 yard line, only 12 rows from the front...the ideal spot from which to view both goals and take great photos of the horses (though, alas, like a proper fool I forgot my camera). The event reminded me very much of the Kentucky Derby (minus the infield and the exorbitant betting), with everyone dressed nicely, surrounded by horses and riders (though not mini riders, but normal sized, super fit, manly horsemen!), drinking fancy, expensive drinks........but even better because the excitement lasts longer than the typical 2 minutes at the Derby. And unlike most sports, it was simple and easy to follow, with 'periods' lasting only six minutes a piece so that even those of us who hate watching sports can get in on the excitement for explosive segments, perfectly timed to a length long enough to encourage enthusiastic cheers throughout but still short enough to keep everyone's attention throughout. So you watch some gorgeous horses and some gorgeous men and then go grab another glass of champagne or a fresh pina colada served in a real, giant pineapple. In the background you can always hear a bit of prattle from lively Cockney commentators and you can tell, thankfully, this event doesn't take itself too seriously. So while it IS all a bit upper class it's definitely a load of fun, especially if you get dressed up and go along with a group of friends. 

 

PS. For those of you who've seen Pretty Woman, they really DO let everyone onto the field between matches to fill in the divets.