A week ago I had the opportunity to attend one of the most important events in the English sporting and social calendar with the company of other fellow bloggers. Hosted by whisky brand Royal Salute, this is the largest annual international polo match in the world. For a first experience at the also known Sports of Kings, I have to say that it exceeded all expectations.
THE MASTERCLASS
It was an early start! At 9AM in the morning we had an introduction to the sport, with tuition from top league polo player Malcolm Borwick. I didn’t know that the sport actually originated in ancient Persia (circa 6th Century BC). Later, the sport passed to other regions in Asia, where it became very popular, including the Indian subcontinent.
The modern game of polo is derived from Manipur, India, where In 1833 the first polo club was founded. British military officers in India then introduced the sport to their peers in England and later on it spread worldwide.
I was surprised to know that the game is only played by 4 players on each team but the dimensions of the playing field (270m by 150m) is 6 times the size of a football field (approx. 100m by 70m.) This seems a very largue área with a lot of empty space, but if you consider that horses reach a speed of 30 miles an hour it would become chaos otherwise.
Another consideration to take into account is that polo is a very physical sport that requires a lot of strength and is highly dangerous. Emperor Alexander of Byzantine Empire died of exhaustion while playing and Qutubuddin Aibak, Sultan of Delhi, died impaled when he fell off the horse.
Due to this reason, there are strict rules that are applied in order for this already dangerous sport to avoid becoming a "factory" of injures! Probably the most important rule is the “imaginary line” between the player on hold of the ball (player who last hit the ball) and the ball itself that cannot be crossed at any time by any player. Nevertheless you are allowed to block the opponent’s mallet with your own mallet or even push the opponent off the line by intersecting him by no more than 45 degrees.
Later on, I had the chance to try the real game, or its version for first time players, anyway. I began by practicing a few swings with the mallet. As you can imagine, riding a horse at the same time as you try to hit a small ball with a long stick is not an easy task. Especially as it was my first time on the back of a horse. The experience let me with a feeling of wanting more and I have to thank the Guards Polo Academy for being so helpful and also so patient.
THE TASTING
It was 11:30 in the morning by the time we finished our Masterclass and what better idea at this time of the day than having a whiskey tasting! Well, at least we didn't have it before getting on the horse! I have never tasted such a fine whiskey and I can confirm, whisky tastes better the older it gets.
The first taster was a Royal Salute’s signature 21 year old blended scotch whisky. It was rich,complex and it became sweeter with just a few drops of water, letting out hints of sherry and oak.
The second to taste was a 38 year old blend in a special flagon made to represent the “Stone of Destiny’, an oblong block of red sandstone that was used for centuries in the Coronation of the Monarchs of Scotland, and later the monarchs of England and the Kingdom of Great Britain. What flowed from the bottle was a very dark coloured blend, with a distinctive flavour of raisins and dark chocolate, yummy!
But by far, the most special whisky to taste was the third one, the 62 Gun Salute, bottled in a luxurious blue glass decanter inlaid with 24 Carat gold, made of a blend of whiskies that have been aged for at least 40 years. I won’t tell you how much the 62 Gun Salute costs, but you can find out, and appreciate how prestigious it is and how honoured I felt to taste this delicacy. I was surprised by its colour, very light as opposed to the previous one.
THE MAIN EVENT
A bit tipsy, I changed into something more appropriate for the main event. Smart casual was required for this polo event. This means collared shirts for men, with trousers or chinos and smart shorts if the weather gets hot. I chose a blue blazer, something very appropriate for this type of events and you can never be wrong with one. I chose also a white shirt, pink striped tie, and blue pocket square with a flower print. I was happy with the colour choice as it matched the colour theme of the event, all on purpose, of course ;)
I was going to wear white trousers and loafers, and it probably would have look perfectly combined, but after checking the weather for the day, rainy of course, I changed my mind, and went for light grey check pair of trousers and my brown/blue spectator shoes. You know, grey combines perfectly with the English sky.
Food was delicious, drinks were delicious and desserts were as well. But what happened to the polo match? Wasn’t that the reason why everybody was there dressed to the nines? Well of course!
At 4PM the first game began. England’s top polo stars competed against the Commonwealth for the most prestigious international tittle in the sport. They gave us a some great moments and some players fell off their horses, something that made me think again of the dangers of polo. Apparently it is something that happens often.
Initially the weather seemed to get in our way but after a few cocktails we didn’t seem to mind too much about the rain and we all came out and had a fantastic time.
Thanks again to Royal Salute for the hospitality and great organization of the event. It was a first experience to be remembered.
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