Indian royalty versus British aristocracy
Polo matches are not just about the sport – the formal informality of the event is an attraction for royalty, nobility, cash-rich billionaires, fashionistas, cavalry officers and sponsors Select guests, including European and Indian royalty, cooled off with copious amounts of champagne.
Some, accompanied by children and dogs, picnicked near the polo ground as they kept an eye on the matches being played.
The venue for the British Polo Day matches was the private polo ground owned by Swiss-born financier Urs Schwarzenbach. The 64-year-old polo enthusiast and a friend of Prince Charles made 102nd spot on the Sunday Times Rich List this year.
The Jodhpur team played a fighting game in the match of four chukkas of seven minutes each, but went down to Etonians 4-5 for the Hackett Trophy. The British Exiles lost to the Commonwealth in the contest for the Charity Cup in a game played earlier in the afternoon.
The day was topped up by a gin & jazz inspired London designer Zaeem Jamal fashion show-case.
The Jodhpur polo team, owned by Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur, is the first visiting team at the British Polo Day.
The first British Polo Day, co-founded by former UK Army officers Edward Olver and Tom Hudson, was held in 2009 and has now spread to many countries across the world. “It helps create a cultural bridge and also a philanthropic bridge between the UK and other participating countries,” says Olver during a chat at the polo day.
“We invited Jodhpur as the Maharaja was a huge supporter of ours from the Day One. He also has deep links with Britain. He was educated at Eton and at Oxford so the connections are really strong. Every year we celebrate polo at his Umaid Bhavan Palace in Jodhpur,” explains Olver, adding: “India will always be special to us, especially as the modern game of polo was developed there.”
The Maharaja and Indian guests were hosted at Stowell Park in Cotswolds, home to the Queen Elizabeth II’s Master of the Horse, Lord Vestey and then by the Duke and Duchess of Rutland at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire for a day of shooting
“I’m enjoying their hospitality and the show they have put up is commendable,” says the maharaja, who hosts the British Polo Day in Jodhpur every year in December. “Jodhpur is very different from Henley-on-Thames or London culturally, and we put up quite a treat there too,” he adds.
“Rajasthan is passionate about polo,” says the maharaja, who wants “to expand that scope within the state, and work towards bringing that attitude all over.”
A silent auction raised ÂŁ69,390 for four charities including the Indian Head Injury Foundation, which was set up by the Jodhpur royal family after their son Shivraj Singh suffered head injury while playing polo.
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