June 8th, 2010 
Tareq and Michaele Salahi posing at America's Cup of Polo event
I’ve written quite a bit about Tareq and Michaele Salahi and their America’s Cup of Polo. They have used polo to open doors for themselves, and have damaged its reputation in the process. Highly respected and talented polo players like Nacho Figueras roll their eyes with just the mention of the Salahi name. For those who have gone to traditional polo matches, you wouldn’t believe what the Salahis did with their event. What they did to polo was akin to taking a perfectly adorable 5 year old girl and giving her extension, a fake tan, false eyelashes, full makeup and having her “shake her bootie” on stage for the judges. The “Toddlers in Tiaras” of polo. They cheapened it, and I’m not even going to get into the damage they left behind — both physically to the polo fields and financially.
I would like for my readers to know that polo enthusiasts aren’t all about the glamour, pomp and circumstance. They just love horses and playing the sport. If you don’t believe me, read about Lezlie Hiner, polo player and Founder of Work to Ride. She’s a salt-of-the-earth woman who uses the sport she loves, and resources she has to help at-risk inner city kids through riding….and polo.
I would also like my readers to know that there are so many great, authentic polo events just a short drive from Washington, DC. Here are some I highly recommend:
Twilight Polo at Great Meadow
Twilight Polo takes place every Saturday night between May 22nd and September 18th at Great Meadow Polo Club. Though you won’t find Robert Pattinson there, you will find perhaps the best arena polo in the country! Gates open at 6:30 P.M., with the first match to begin at 7:00 P.M. Admission is $30 per carload ($10 if you come alone) and is the best deal in town for excitement and action. Pack a picnic, or buy delicious BBQ and Virginia wine on site. Tickets are available at the gate or for pre-purchase over the phone at: 540-253-5000. Need a space for your event? They offer a Twilight Polo Pavilion and One Night Chukker spaces are available- call the Great Meadow offices for more information!
Ralph Lauren's Nacho Figueras
Capital Hospice Polo Cup - On Saturday, June 19th, the 4th annual Hospice Polo Cup, chaired by Dee and Beau Van Metre will again take place at Great Meadow, The Plains, Virginia. The event features celebrity players such as the face of Ralph Lauren, Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras, Salvatore Ferragamo, and America’s Most Wanted‘s John Walsh. , incredible food and drink, and one of Virginia’s premier locations complete this fabulous event. Proceeds benefit the Adler Center for Caring on the Van Metre Campus in Loudoun County. This event always has an A list crowd from both Washington and Virginia’s beautiful horse country.
The Green Cup of Polo – On Sunday, June 27th, the 4th annual Green Cup of Polo will take place at Capitol Polo Club, Poolesville, Maryland. This event was founded by Robert T. Do, who is now bringing The Green Cup to Rome, London, Dubai to promote the fight against climate change worldwide. The Green Cup supports Philippe Cousteau’s EarthEcho International, EPIC (Equestrian Partners in Conservation), and ACORE (American Council On Renewable Energy) and has created the first ever social event to be certified ‘green’ by the Leonardo Academy. Polo fans will be treated to organic, sustainably harvested libations, while volunteers scamper around in fair-trade, organic cotton tees. All promotional materials will be 30% post-consumer recycled paper with soy- or vegetable-based ink, recycling and composting bins positioned throughout the event. Even the cleanup will be done by and eco-friendly cleaning company and last but not least, reusable VIP swag
Philippe Cousteau
bags.The event includes a fashion show featuring eco-friendly fashion from Joann Berman, Dalia Mac Phee and Vaute Couture. Expected to attend this year are: D. Hector Marcos Timerman, Ambassador of Argentina, Chip Reid, White House Correspondent for CBS News, Ross Tyler, Director, Maryland Clean Energy Program, Gerald P. Carmen, Former Ambassador to the UN. A few more notables are rumored to be in attendance like polo enthusiast and actor Tommy Lee Jones.
I encourage you to take a short drive out to the beautiful country and enjoy a day of polo while supporting great causes and good people!
- Miss A
The upcoming cups you mention are also wonderful and should receive as much support as possible.
One of the big arguments about the game of polo is that it is inaccessible to the average person. (I say this as a polo journalist and the wife of a third generation 4 goaler who has played on four continents).
For better or worse, you must admit that the Americas Cup of Polo has piqued public interest in the game (after all, the first APC featured Journey, and that’s hard to beat for attracting an adoring public).
As a POLO match, of course, it is not dazzling. One finds better polo on the fields of Bridgehampton, Aiken, or Guards. But it is a good spectacle and good fun. West Potomac Park is hardly the size of a regulation polo field and, thus, this exhibition is all about the party. So one must take that in the spirit.
Football purists don’t like those guys who paint their faces in team colors and run around screaming waving a foam finger. That is unlikely to happen in polo, of course, but there is room for all types.
In the interest of full disclosure, my magazine has been a media partner for the APC since its inception and we personally formed the team that will place in DC on Saturday.
Nacho won’t be there, of course. But it should be fun, all the same.
Yes, their first event featured the band “Journey”, but at whose expense? I appreciate your comments, though.
Point taken.
By the way, I LOVE your website.