Chestertons Polo in the Park day 1
After weeks of anticipation and planning our perfect #MyPoloStyle the day finally arrived! Although a few dark clouds in the morning threatened with rain, by the time we made our way down to Hurlingham park it was a gloriously sunny afternoon. As we got closer to the park it was obvious that something was going on as large groups of perfectly clad gentlemen and girls in summery dresses were making their way to the event of the summer the Chestertons Polo in the Park. I was excited for the social part of the event, but also very excited for the actual polo. Here are the teams and players and their handicaps, for more about polo rules etc check out my other blogposts: What is Polo? and Polo handicaps for newbies.
Firstly we wandered around exploring the perimeters, and the famous Mahiki pop-up bar serving some refreshing and exotic cocktails inside coconuts and pineapples (there were other drinks as well, but when you can get a drink inside a fruit that is what you go for). We found a good spot to watch the first match between mandarin Oriental Hyde Park team Hong Kong against Powder Byrne team Dublin. Hong Kong took their first victory with 5 goals to 4.
The Mahiki bar was the longest pop-up bar in Europe.
At the Mahiki pop-up bar with our coconuts
I am (coco)nuts about polo
The second match of the day was between Argentex team Davos against Shoreline team Lagos in which Davos showed their horsepower and skills and defeated Lagos by 7 points in a final score of 8-1.
Divot stomping between matches
The layout of Chestertons Polo in the Park was different to the two previous years, so we needed to find our way and our spot with a perfect view of the action on the field. In my opinion the layout of this year was much better. There was more space since the Mahiki bar and the Lanson Champagne garden each had their own area. Also the quintessentially British red double-decker Pimm’s bus was situated in a much better location (closer to the polo pitch, so we didn’t have to walk as far to get jugs of Pimm’s).
A sunny afternoon in Hulringham park
Join the Pimm’s summer party
Once we had our Pimm’s and our spot, it was time to concentrate on the polo action again as our friends Mohammed, Santi and Guille playing as City AM team Abu Dhabi took on Mint team London. It was a thrilling match of polo and team Abu Dhabi’s first victory at 7-4 against the home team.
Mohammed and George flying on the field
Guille about to take a penalty shot
Last but not least was the highly anticipated match between team England and team South America, which was the first time since 1939 that team England played on the grounds of Hurlingham park. It was a tough match and adjusting to the new rules that came with the smaller field was a task at the start of the match. Team South America scored a few 2-point goals from the 45-yards line, which essentially decided their victory of 6-4 and allowed team captain Rodrigo Ruedas could hold the trophy up high. Once the excitement had settle we did some more exploring of the many pop-up shops.
La Martina pop-up shop #WeArePolo
Exploring the pop-up shops
By this time the sun had set and it was time to head home and recharge our batteries for the next day at Chestertons Polo in the Park.
Stay tuned for the next chapter of our fabulous weekend coming up right here tomorrow! Subscribe to receive an e-mail when the post is up!
