Chestertons Polo in the Park 2019
Summer officially starts with one of my absolute favorite events of the year, Chestertons Polo in the Park! At the beginning of June people flock to Hurlingham Park in Fulham, London for an incredible 3-day party surrounding my favorite sport, polo of course. It is a massive celebration, with around 14.000 attendees on Saturday, Ladies Day, celebrating the start of summer and of course watching some polo, well at least my friends and I watch the polo matches.
Front row with our Pimm’s at the ready
The actual polo matches at Chestertons Polo in the Park are slightly different than what we see all over the world, the games are played with “city polo” rules. The main differences to regulation grass polo (which you can read more about here) are:
- 3 players per team – as opposed to 4 per team
- Ends are switched at halftime only, not after every goal as in regulation polo.
- High boards, you can bounce the ball off, as in arena polo, but on a grass field
- Smaller field. A regulation polo field is 300 yards long and 150-200 yards wide. The Chestertons Polo in the Park field is about 100 yards long and 60 yards wide.
- The Lanson perfect start – in regular polo the match starts with the ball being thrown in by the umpire, here the ball is placed in the middle of the field and two opposing players race to get it first. This is always an exciting start to the match.
Always a pleasure to meet up with my friend and one of the very familiar faces of Polo in the Park, Malcolm Borwick
My friends and I always think of our outfits a little in advance, especially me as I travel so much and packed my bags 3 weeks (and 3 countries) prior. The weather was not with us on the first day of Chestertons Polo In the Park, so I needed to rethink my entire outfit. As much as I like to look good I definitely prioritize being comfortable and NOT cold. Luckily I had my Fairfax and Favor Athena booties with me (I always have these in my suitcase as they are so versatile and go with most outfits, this model is sold out, but they have many other similar models). Saturday and Sunday had milder weather and I could wear my planned outfits.
When the La Martina helmet by the mechanical horses matches your outfit perfectly š
I absolutely love this Gal Meets GlamĀ dress, the best part: it has pockets!
Enough about #MyPoloStyle there are so many fun things about Polo in the Park worth mentioning: the matches, of course, the drinks, the food, the players, Iggy the mechanic La Martina horse and the best part is the energy and atmosphere at Polo in the Park.
My most concentrated swing on Iggy
I make sure to wear pants or a jumpsuit at least one day, so I can have a go on Iggy.
It is always Pimm’s o’clock at Polo in the Park
Empanadas are my favorite
Ed and his team Shanghai went on to win the trophy undefeated and got to spray lots of champagne on each other.
Winners! Team Shanghai; Tincho Merlos, Ed Banner-Eve and Duncan Qui
And some Lanson champagne showers to celebrate.
What a wonderful weekend, I am already looking forward to next year š
