Ladies who polo

Ladies who polo!

We all have heard about the ladies who lunch, but much more exciting are the ladies who play polo. Glamour and polo are closely associated, so it won’t come as a surprise that as soon as I heard about the First Annual South Beach Women’s Polo Cup in May, I was on my way to the beach.

Polo ponies warming up

The Women’s Cup was part of the Miami Beach Polo World Cup, so all the dishy guys participated as well. An occasion not to be missed, and, even better, close to home.

As the name indicates, the tournament takes place on the beach, literally in the sand, between 20^th and 22^nd street. Polo is also associated with affluence and you could fork out several hundred dollars to sit in the VIP tent on the bleachers and watch, sipping champagne, hobnobbing with the rich and famous whilst biting into the odd strawberry.

Or, you could do exactly the same for free. The polo field is on the beach and all the savvy spectators brought their own champagne, picnic baskets and blankets and had themselves a great party on the beach right next to the field.

The beach is public and free

This prime position afforded an even better view of the players than from the bleachers and you could nearly touch the ponies when they paraded in. One of the sponsors was Mercedes, so a few of those super cars preceded the ponies. Being on the beach also meant being close to the grooms who had a lot of fun, loved us poor polo fans and were happy to pose.

A few of the toothy grooms

We could also hear the moderator, who was in fact very good, giving a great explanation about the games and guiding through each chukker.

And here they were. Male teams with the world’s best players, mixed teams with one lady and the all ladies teams.

One of several mixed teams

Two super players, James and Nacho

Does it get more glamorous?

It is certainly the fastest sport I have ever witnessed and also the one with the highest number of fatal accidents.

Luckily, nothing bad happened, nobody fell off or got injured and the flying polo ladies were a sight to behold. Glamour pure, enjoyed on a sunny afternoon, dancing on the beach afterwards and sharing champagne (out of plastic cups, but who cares) with total strangers all united by the excitement of the game and the incomparable South Beach spirit.

A lot more horsepowers here

Sometimes you really don’t have to travel, watch out for the joys you find at home.

Tags: florida attractions, miami sports, south beach, women polo tiurnament