BS: Cartier International Day 25 July

Subject: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 18 Jul 10 - 11:52 AM

Will anyone be going to Cartier International Polo Day next Sunday? England will play New Zealand ,and with both having 27 goal teams it promises to be a superb game - some of the best polo outside Argentina. There is a wonderful retail village set up, with outlets from Argentina where you can usually buy Argentine beef and chorizo to suppliment your picnic.

On top of that, there is perhaps the best people watching of the year - another chance to see Essex Girl struggling in her 8 inch heels as she did at the Duke of Essex Polo Cup yesterday!

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 19 Jul 10 - 11:48 AM

I never realised how popular polo is!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Jul 10 - 01:17 PM

Polo is the great game for man and horse.
It was the top spectator sport at the military institute I attended. One of the top players was a student from Hawai'i, who brought his horses with him from there to the mainland.

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 19 Jul 10 - 01:55 PM

It's far more accessible to everyone now, and inexpensive to watch.

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 20 Jul 10 - 10:16 AM

I used to follow polo fairly regularly in the late '60s in Milwaukee. Bobby Uihlein (owner of Schlitz brewery) led the Milwaukee Polo Club. The upper midwest was and still is a major horse community. I don't know what it's like now, but then it was a bring-your-own-lawnchair summer Sunday afternoon event. Lots of fun.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 20 Jul 10 - 05:31 PM

Yes it's pretty well much the same in local clubs in the UK. Just once a year we treat ourselves to a VIP marquee day at a big event, which was last Saturday. We saw an excellent game in Buenos Aires a couple of years ago at the Palermo ground which was free.

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 20 Jul 10 - 09:45 PM

I'd much rather watch polo than football (any variety), baseball or basketball -- especially in congenial and informal company. It's the skill and control exercised between horse and rider. I don't particularly find most horse RACING interesting -- that's just speed.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 21 Jul 10 - 03:30 AM

One of my clients is a racehorse photographer, I intend to speak to him about improving my polo photography - it's not easy unless you have an all singing, all dancing SLR camera. Went to our polo club last night for Mexican food night - Kenny Jones was in good form!

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 21 Jul 10 - 06:40 AM

It's very international of course, last night we spoke to folks from Argentina, Iran, Hungary, and one or two English!

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Stu
Date: 21 Jul 10 - 08:24 AM

I'll hold off until it's sponsored by Casio.

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 21 Jul 10 - 11:11 AM

Why?

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Stu
Date: 21 Jul 10 - 12:04 PM

Well, not my sort of thing. I'm not knocking it as a sport (I've never seen it) but the associations aren't something that floats my boat and although I'm sure the plebs are allowed to turn up to cast their critical eye over a chukka or two, it's really a sport played by and for rich people, royals and those who want to be seen on the international polo circuit. Since my personal aspirations are neither wealth or it's accoutrements, I am against the Royal family in all it's forms until it becomes self-supporting and the Queen is no longer head of state and I have no desire to be papped in the company of a celebrity, I can't see a reason for going.

Also, whatever demographic I part of, I'm guessing I'm not it seeing as I've not heard of several of the sponsors and the fact it's sponsored by Cartier suggests I might be out of my depth here. As for the ticket prices, £35 for the North Grandstand seems reasonable but £50 for the South a tad steep. I'd love to know how much the lunch tickets are though.

We didn't play it at school, after school and no-one I know plays it; it's not on telly, I don't see it in the papers and the results are never on the news or Grandstand. We never discuss it in the pub, in sessions, at home or anywhere else I ever go. It's relevance to me is nil, nadda, nowt. Come to think of it, if if Casio did sponsor it I wouldn't go - it would have lost it's essence as the sport of the jet-set.

So if it's OK, I'll give it a miss.* Each to his own though - sounds like a jape so raise a glass of Pimms for the rest of us!








*Even the Anton Mossiman lunch would't temp me, although I'd consider it if it was free of course (which I'm sure it might be to one or two of the richest and most beautiful) as I'm sure it will be delightful. I like the thought of an international crowd though, are they all minted or do they retire to their camper vans before heading off the the next meeting in Dubai or wherever?

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 21 Jul 10 - 04:59 PM

I suppose the big events can be viewed like that, but on a warm day 30,000+ will go to Cartier, and the sport is becoming more and more popular here. In Argentina, it is viewed as just one of the sports available.

I would say that Royalty involvement in polo tends to be very much for charitable purposes. Of course there is the showy element - but then football has that at the far lower end of the spectrum!

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 27 Jul 10 - 04:21 AM

It was a fantastic day, great weather, and the best polo this side of Argentina.

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 27 Jul 10 - 06:40 AM

As it clashes with Diamond Day at Ascot we always have a houseful of racegoers and merely curse the Cartier polo for adding to the traffic while trying to take guests to Savill Garden!

RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Cartier International Day 25 July
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 27 Jul 10 - 07:53 AM

We had no traffic at all until inside the park, and even then it was moving. We were in picnic position by 11:30am so probably missed worst of the traffic.