Horses (and their riders), dressing up, and a beautiful early summer’s day – the recipe for my day at the Polo was always guaranteed to please! I went along to Hurlingham Park on Ladies’ Day to see my first-ever polo games and loved both the sport and the occasion.
We started with a lovely lunch – always good to have supped before an afternoon of a Pimms or two! I was blown away by the food at The Sands End, a gastro-pub by name and a taste experience by design. From the outside it seemed fairly unassuming, but inside the service was solicitous yet subtle, and just look at those heavenly meals – so tasty!
On to the polo, where we seated ourselves in the grandstand for a fantastic view of fast-paced, super-athletic matches between Lagos, Abu Dhabi, Buenos Aires, and Australia.
Hurlingham Park is in Fulham, which was an area for entertaining outdoor pursuits for hundreds of years as part of the estates belonging to the Fulham bishops. It welcomed polo in 1874, shortly after its introduction to England, and soon became the centre of polo in the United Kingdom.
It was a lot of fun to admire everyone’s outfits, enjoy the sunshine, and try to figure out the tactics of polo on the hoof (badoom-tsch). Almost as great a spectacle as the polo itself was the divot-stomping, which some may remember from the seminal classic Pretty Woman. This tradition sees the crowds head onto the field at half-time to press down the divots produced by the ponies’ quick turns – also a lot of fun!
In our finery – me, Gin, Gabrielle and Kate
Seeking shade and a thirst-quencher or two, we heading to the Mahiki tent. Mahiki is a well-known London club and they sure know how to throw a good party – up to and including delicious cocktails in pineapples!
The polo was a fab day out – head along to one near you if you get the chance!
Bits & Pieces
The Hurlingham Park polo is part of the City Polo Series – click here for more info
Our tickets were £40 for entry and refreshments were not included
