Polo isn’t the world’s most popular sport. That’s reserved for football, cricket or maybe rugby. But what other sport also offers shopping, entertainment, luxury, food and drink? Exactly. I can guarantee you polo is going to be the next big thing to hit world sport. But wait, hear me out.
I’ve always loved playing and watching football and rugby. Always confrontational, sometimes frustrating but rarely without fireworks, everyone loves a big game on a huge stage.
Polo is no different. The stage is huge (the equivalent of nine American football pitches) and there’s no mistaking the tension in the crowd. I was passing through London recently and went to the Hurlingham Club to watch a game.
The night before had been a proper men’s night out – raucous bars, stunning women and a night-time dip in a friend’s jacuzzi. But that was nothing in comparison to the polo. Off the field, we got in to the VIP tent and the stockbrokers I was with eased our way through the VIP tent to beside where the riders enter the field.
There was a brilliant rawness to what I saw. Horses thundering back and forth inches away, riders swinging their mallets, thumping the ball around the turf, horses panting and sweating in the heat, kicking dust high into the air. A quick break. Then back on. Mallets breaking, noses breaking (one rider was on the receiving end when I was watching; he of course carried on), all the while the crowd cheering in the sunshine, growing louder and louder as we emptied our cocktail pitchers. It’s what sport is all about, surely?!
It’s easy to see the appeal of the entire lifestyle that goes with the game too. I was in London, so obviously there was a full breakfast from Harrods, the champagne flowed and alongside the polo, the Salon Privé car show was taking place, luxury vintage cars effortlessly sprawled across the lawn. More on that another time though.
Later, over lunch I got talking to one of the South African players from team Durban Silver Spring 1870, still rocking the look in full polo outfit. Turns out he and the rest of his team play polo around the world – New Zealand, Argentina, India and, occasionally, Singapore. They spend the entire year chasing the summer. In turn, diamond-encrusted beauties spend their time chasing the players. I suppose everyone else is chasing the beauties.
During the half-time break, I joined the rest of the now-swaying crowd onto the field to replace the divots torn up by the charging horses. It’s my kind of gardening – I had one eye on the mojito in my hand and the other on everyone else. Gardening, eh? An excellent opportunity to catch a woman’s eye, it turns out.
To try your luck and watch a game (there’s far more polo going around the world than you’d think), find your nearest polo match via the sport’s governing body, FIP and while you’re at it, take a look at the rules.