Rund Abdelfatah
FEW outings can be as quintessentially English as a day out at the polo.
And Sotogrande certainly provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy it, with no less than three polo clubs within its confines.
While the Santa Maria club has a dozen pitches – and the famous Gold Cup tournament every August – the most exclusive is the Ayala Polo Club, which has three pitches – known as ‘canchas’.
A stunning place, hidden up the Guadiaro valley, the club was set up by Don Enrique in the 1960s and his granddaughter Paola owns the beautiful Cancha II restaurant within its confines today.
Polo games take place here and at Santa Maria throughout the summer, and both offer the perfect venue to see how the other half live and take a glass of champagne.
There are plenty of cafes, bars and shops and while the crowd is undeniably well heeled, those-in-the-know dress down as elegantly as possible.
Best of all, make sure to join the traditional ‘treading in’, or ‘divot stomping’, which comes during the five minute half time break.
“The other half”? More like the other one percent… Sure like to have a go of that “divvy-stomping” though…
Spot on comment stefanjo – no hard times for them and there never will be as long as there are so many serfs frightened of their own shadow.