British Polo Day, presented by Land Rover, marked the second leg of its annual UAE Series with British Polo Day Dubai last Friday.

Hosts, the Habtoor family, welcomed over 700 VIPs and guests to the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, heralding the start of Dubai’s landmark 20^th Anniversary World Cup weekend.

Arriving in chauffeur-driven Land Rovers to a Champagne Taittinger reception, the VIPs included members of the Jordanian royal family, Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed, His Grace The Duke of Argyll, Prince Alexei Cantacuzene Count Speransky, Her Majesty's Consul General to Dubai Edward Hobart, Major General Carew Wilks, Jim and Fitri Hay, Dubai socialites Hugo Taylor and Lina Sammon and top polo player Pablo Mac Donough.

First up, elite members of the Cavalry & Guards regiments of the British Army coaxed their camels onto the pitch for the Hackett Thesiger Trophy, beautifully modelled on a photo that Sir Wilfred Thesiger took of HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan over 60 years ago. 

The match went the way of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Cavalry team who found the flags three times. The Gaucho Guards made a valiant effort to come back in the fourth chukka, but it was too little too late.

Equally entertaining for the pitch-side crowds was the Brompton Bicycle Polo Match – a rather amusing and unsteady example of pedal proficiency between Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club and Rest of the World. Rest of World put pedal to the metal and scored four triumphant goals, with no return from their Dubai contemporaries, resulting in a 4-0 win.

Guests were treated to an al-fresco lunch – expertly paired with Justerini & Brooks’ fine wines following which an afternoon of exhilarating and fast-paced polo began with The Falcon Plate – a hotly contested battle between The Royal Salute Oxbridge and Sofitel Gulf Polo teams which saw the latter triumph 7-6.

Not to be out-shone, the Hackett British Exiles took to the pitch against Habtoor Polo for the final match of the day – the British Polo Day Dubai Cup, which was won by the home side. 

While players swung polo mallets, guests took up their croquet sets in the pitch-side Harrods Garden Party, compete with a crowd-pulling caricaturist and a wonderful gallery of images by polo artist Mike Rumsby. British Polo Day’s resident Harrods Green Man kept order while guests enjoyed an afternoon of quintessential British charm, with an Emirati twist. Meanwhile, the Hackett and Taylor Morris ‘pop-ups’ added a dash of style and panache to the event, while the Royal Salute and Gaucho bars ensured that the Scotch Whisky and Watermelon Slings kept guests perky well into the evening!

At the prize-giving, Ghazi Al Madani, the Manager of Sports Tourism for the Dubai Sports Council, and Hobart, presented the outstanding British Silverware bespoke-designed Falcon Plate to the Sofitel Gulf Polo team. 

Land Rover’s Lorraine Toolan and British Silverware’s James Houghton then presented the British Polo Day Cup to Habtoor Polo.

Royal Salute’s ‘Most Valuable Player’  Jamie Morrison was presented with a bottle of Diamond Tribute, the Holland & Holland ‘Shot of The Day’ was awarded to nine-year-old Lucas Monteverde, and ‘Best Playing Pony’, sponsored by official timekeeper Jaeger-LeCoultre, went to Envedia, ridden by Sheikha Maitha.

British Polo Day’s Harrods Green Man then presented the Harrods ‘Luck of the Draw’ to Nicholas Grigorieff from Fashion 1 TV, while Prince Alexei Cantacuzene Count Speransky won Hackett’s ‘Best Dressed Male’.

Celebrated womenswear designer, Fitriani Hay then set the tone for the evening’s celebration with a spectacular fashion show, before guests headed off to Dubai’s hottest night-spot XL Beach Club.

The Dubai event followed its Abu Dhabi counterpart on March 21.

The events were partnered with Land Rover, Hackett London, Royal Salute, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Champagne Taittinger, Abercrombie & Kent, Billionaire.com, Justerini & Brooks, Brompton, Global Partnership Family Office, Holland & Holland, Charles Russell Speechlys, Gavel&Grand, Great British Racing International, British Silverware, Taylor Morris, 3RD HOME, Nihiwatu, Jax Coco, Gaucho, Floris, Etihad, RMAL Hospitality, Paul A Young Fine Chocolates, The Grosvenor Stationery Company, D.R. Harris & Co, Bonas MacFarlane Education, InterContinental Hotel Abu Dhabi, Sofitel Luxury Hotels, Pullman Jumeirah Lakes Towers Hotel & Residence, Platinum Heritage, Walpole and Pendragon Productions.