Lady’s Guide to the International Day Polo

I haven’t attended many English summer social season events this year. With the exception of Royal Ascot, I’ve been out of town for pretty much everything. But the season continues, and on Sunday I managed to get to the International Day Polo.

International Day Polo

This annual extravaganza is one of the highest profile sporting events of the summer in the UK.

It combines the best of test match polo with film, fashion, entertainment, and society in what ends up being a great day for both sports and people-watching.

This year the International Day Polo took place at the Guards Polo Club, which is located near Windsor and Ascot in Berkshire.

A friend was kind enough to organize bus transport for a big group of us. We arrived in the morning and had time to walk around the International Day Polo retail village before the first polo game.

I was pleasantly surprised to find hats by my milliner friend Yvette Jelfs at the first booth I came across. From there the goods ranged from polo attire to luxury yachts and designer chicken coops (seriously).

After walking around the retail village for a while, we took our seats for the first game of the International Day Polo and spent a bit of time trying to remember the rules of the sport.

The last time I watched polo was at an estancia in Argentina when I was still working at Goldman.

One of my bosses was a polo player that happened to be on vacation in Buenos Aires at the same time as I was, and he invited my friend and I out to the pampas to watch him play.

But that was years ago, and with the exception of a horse dying in the middle of one of the chukkas, I don’t remember much. Thankfully a friend knew the rules pretty well, and she filled us in.

The first game of the International Day Polo saw Hurlingham battle the Prince of Wales team for the Golden Jubilee Trophy.

None of the people in my group had an allegiance to either team. As one friend put it, it was the first time in years we could choose which team to cheer for based on the color of their uniforms.

During half time, the stands emptied as everyone poured onto the field to participate in the long-standing polo ritual of divot stomping. By the time my group got to the field, all the divots had already been replaced.

Instead of stomping, we enjoyed the beautiful weather before returning to our seats to watch the final three chukkas. In the end Hurlingham won the game 7-6.

After the first game at the International Day Polo ended, there was a three-hour break for lunch.

Having brought our own picnic, we spent the interval lounging on the grass and walking around the grounds under what turned out to be strong sunshine.

Back in the stands, we watched a parade before the afternoon game of the International Day Polo. First came a line of young polo players.

These were followed by what looked to be a faux fox hunt, complete with a giant pack of happy hounds. At the end came the England team and the New Zealand team, which were about to compete for the Coronation Cup.

The playing got underway after a resounding rendition of the national anthem. England was up 7-1 by the end of the third chukka, and it looked to be a rout.

But New Zealand came back to tie the game, and the All Blacks had a chance to win. England ultimately claimed victory, though, scoring two goals in the final chukka. They won the game 9-7.

When the playing was over we piled back onto the bus and waved good-bye to the International Day Polo.

Having enjoyed the play so much, several of us decided to return to Windsor soon to take a polo lesson. I think we’ll discover it’s much harder than it looks.

If not, all we’ll need is 40 or so Argentine ponies to field a team next year. If I’m not out of town, that is.

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