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The Ponies Play On at The Hamptons' Premier Polo Event
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Polo enthusiasts want to see their sport become what Thoroughbred horse racing used to be, a genteel pastime, with the right mix of action and socializing, and broad popular appeal.
On a sunny Saturday last weekend, the “sport of kings” was on full display at one of the premier events in New York’s tony Hamptons summer resort: The Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge.
A few thousand spectators lined the field intent on celebrity watching as much as they were on watching the ponies. “Gossip Girls” star Chace Crawford huddled in one VIP tent. Desperate Housewives star Kyle MacLachlan and wife Desiree Gruber milled about with their young son Callum in tow.
Even d-rated celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian of reality show “Keeping up with the Kardashians" were out, using the event as a backdrop for celebrity photographers. Joining them were some of New York’s business and social elite.
Ben Silverman, the recently ousted Co-Chairman of NBC Entertainment & Universal Studios was glad-handing his way through the VIP tents along with film producer Michael Tadross, Star Jones, and “Real Housewives of New York City” reality show star Jill Zarin.
For the past several seasons, however, Nacho Figueras, who rides for the Black Watch team, has been the reigning king of Bridgehampton polo. He is also one of the prime movers who wants to broaden the appeal of the hard-riding players and their stout ponies.
In May Figueras organized The Manhattan Classic, an exhibition match that took place on more pedestrian turf, Governor’s Island just north of Manhattan It featured Britain’s Prince Harry, who rode with one of the teams.
But what impressed Figueras the most was the fact the event drew more than 5,000 visitors, regular folks from the Bronx and Queens, to watch the match, and maybe take away some affection for the sport. “They had a great day with their families and their kids, and that’s the truth about the sport,” he said.
In the Hampton’s the polo challenge has a more pedigreed lineage. In 1996, publishing mogul Peter Brant and billionaire Neil Hirsch, a fellow polo player, established the Bridgehampton Polo Club. They had previously played with the White Birch team in Palm Beach and Greenwich, two other upper crust bastions of the sport.
Hirsch, who founded Telerate, a financial information service, and made a fortune when he sold it for $1.5 billion nearly 20 years ago, founded the Black Watch team and recruited Figueras, a talented player from Argentina to lead it.
Since then, some of the world’s top polo teams have assembled for six consecutive Saturdays in mid-July through mid-August at David Walentas' sprawling Two Trees Farm in Bridgehampton to vie for the polo challenge cup.
On the field, which is 300 yards long, two teams consisting of four riders each, clash in a spirited effort to drive a small white ball through the other team’s goal. The action can be explosive as the horses charge up and down the field. But many who turn out for the contest are there to see and be seen.
The Bridgehampton event adheres to its upper-crust traditions with exclusive VIP tents, luxury sponsors like Blue Star Jets, Riva Yachts, luxury Swiss watch maker, Piaget, upscale clothing maker Polo Ralph Lauren, a sponsor of the Black Watch team, and plenty of free-flowing champagne. This year it’s been tempered only modestly by the economic downturn.
The main party tent is filled with chattering guests who pay scant attention to the action on the field. The hot spot in the tent was the giant bar where bartenders churned out the event’s signature cocktail, "The Hamptonite," a vodka concoction in orange, raspberry and blueberry.
Meanwhile, outside, hard-working Nacho Figueras was busy manning a booth, signing autographs and mingling with the crowd, tirelessly promoting the sport. Wife Delfina Balquier, and children, Aurora and Hilario Figueras, hovered nearby.
After the match, the crowd dispersed with most headed to private house parties or charity events like the 6th Annual Hamptons Happening, Cooks & Croupiers, which raised $265,000 to benefit the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. This year, the event drew tabloid headliers like Jon Gosselin of "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" and Michael Lohan, father of Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan.
The crowds will gather all over again, next Saturday as the two more teams take the field to thrash it out for the challenge cup. But if Figueras has his way, polo will one day find an audience as big as Thoroughbred racing, or god forbid, NASCAR.
