The New Zealand Polo Open must be the only sporting event in the country where you'd find an empty container of hair wax in the dunnies.
Somehow that encapsulates polo: image is everything and no detail is spared in the pursuit of quality.
Fisher Field, nestled in the hills surrounding Clevedon amid gum trees, hosted yesterday's BMW final between Verve Cliquot and Bayleys; champagne triumphed 12 goals to eight over real estate, thanks mainly to the skill of South African import Nachi du Plessis.
For someone who has never ridden a horse the idea of popping along is an annual novelty. Well-heeled ladies and chaps emerge from European vehicles; it's a devil of a job spotting a Holden Kingswood or Ford Cortina. Even a helicopter makes a cameo at play's end. Some patrons pay $25 and head to the picnic area on the hill. Others, who tend to speak using more elongated vowels, sample the hors d'oeuvres and bubbles in a $8125 VIP marquee.