Dewar's Russian Polo Cup 2006
in association with globus gourmet
Gorky 2, Nikolina Gora, Moscow, Saturday 1st July 2006
We had the right polo players – from Russia, Great Britain, Canada, the United States and Argentina. We had the right ponies, many of them bred in Argentina from the finest bloodstock. We had the right guest list of hundreds of Moscow’s high society, all dressed for this most fashionable of summer events. All we did not have on Saturday 1st July, for the Dewar’s Russian Polo Cup, was the right weather.
However, despite a distinctly chilly day, the final of the annual Russian Polo Cup, organised by the Polo for Russia Foundation, the Russian Polo Club and Eventica, saw an unprecedented number of guests make the trip to the polo field on the outskirts of Moscow at Gorky 2, not far from the Nikolina Hills. There, they were treated to some extremely high octane polo matches, interspersed with Dewar’s whisky cocktails, a sumptuous three-course lunch and the Dewar’s Polo Lounge party to round off the day.
The brainchild of Victor Huaco, President of the Polo for Russia Foundation and a founder of the Russian Polo Club, this Moscow event is growing from a relatively modest affair, frequented largely by the few familiar with the game and its aristocratic roots into a tournament that is attracting large international society crowds. Eventica was delighted to have been involved with the Russian Polo Cup in 2006, and in the event press conference, Edward Cowell, representing Eventica, underscored the company’s commitment to establishing the Dewar’s Russian Polo Cup as a major international polo event in its own right.
Guests arrived - in a long procession of Land Rovers, Jeeps, Porsches and the ubiquitous BMWs and Mercedes - to the sound of a military brass band and a welcome drink from the Dewar’s bar in the Reception Marquee. The start of the polo match enticed most to the viewing platform to see what was for many their first polo game.
Polo is, of course, not just about watching the so-called ‘sport of kings’ – it is also a serious social event of the summer season, and the entertainment and networking element of the Dewar’s Russian Polo Cup took centre stage when the final bell of the semi-finals sounded. Lunch was provided by luxury Moscow caterers Globus Gourmet, who, alongside Dewar’s and Dunhill, were the principal corporate sponsors of the event.
After lunch, the focus of the event returned once more to the polo field, as the tournament reached its culmination, with the final between the Dewar’s and the Globus Gourmet teams. An intensely closely-fought final chukka led to the victory of the Dewar’s team, and prolonged celebrations in the Polo Lounge tent, venue for the Dewar’s After-Party.
Guests at the event included Svetlana Zakharova, Prima Ballerina, Bolshoi Theatre; Тatiana Mikhalkova; Igor Chapurin; Elena Yermak, Fashion Designer; Dmitry Amunts, Deputy Minister of Culture; George Polinski, Founder, Europa Plus; Larissa Smertina; Zhanna Volkova; Tatiana Kurbatskaya; Asya and Sasha Obolensky; Faina Fridman; Maria Belik; Count Andrei Tolstoy-Miloslavsky; Boris and Ella Zimin, Dynastia Foundation; Vasily Pasechnik, Netjets; Alexei Zorin, Investflot; Sergei Riabokobilko, Stiles and Riabokobilko; Oleg Beriev, Mildberry; Igor Kofman, Evroservis; Andrei Gunin, Rolf Group of Companies and Dmitry Zelinin, Governor, Tver Oblast.
