Polo is a sport that Craig Stowe thinks Canadians will instantly relate to.
“It’s like hockey on horseback!” the event producer laughs. And it’s not that far of a stretch: replace athletes on skates with athletes on horses whacking balls and scoring goals and you’ve got yourself a game. (Although, the crowd is noticeably better dressed....)
The sport of kings is a historically hard one to present in this city, though. It requires not only the equivalent of eight football fields of land, an exorbitant amount of money, and dozens of able-bodied ponies to be stabled on site, but people who actually know how to play, as well.
“The majority of players in Vancouver actually have homes in California, in La Quinta,” Stowe explains. “They have ponies and ranches down there. […] So we do get one team up from the US to play, and then the rest is a mixture of people from around the world who come up for the summer, or join in with other teams here.”
Prior to the inaugural Pacific Polo Cup, adds Stowe, the sport (popular in places like Argentina, the US and Britain) hadn’t been seen in Vancouver in 22 years.
The annual event serves as a fundraiser for the Southlands Riding Club, a non-profit society based in Vancouver’s pastoral agricultural reserve near the Fraser River. The facility isn’t equipped with a full polo field either, so the event features a smaller field and three-on-three exhibition-style play, instead.
This is the third year of the event, and the second year that Stowe and co-organizer Nadia Iadisernia have been involved. And, known for their work with Vancouver’s long-running Luxury & Supercar Weekend, the duo have naturally packed more than just a rare and majestic sporting event into one single afternoon.
In addition to two international-calibre exhibition matches, the Pacific Polo Cup will feature music and drinks, a highly competitive best-dressed awards (check out last year’s photo gallery online for inspiration), a VIP lounge sponsored by Veuve Clicquot Champagne, a VIP dining pavilion catered by Hawksworth, a divot stomp, and a hopefully gorgeous summer day.
“Even though it’s an exhibition match, for anybody who doesn’t know polo it’s a better way of seeing polo,” says Iadisernia, “because it’s more up close and personal.”
Just how us horsey, er, hockey fans like it.
• Pacific Polo Cup takes place Saturday, Aug. 6 from 11:30-5pm at Southlands. Tickets from $50 at PacificPoloCup.com
