Newport VS Scotland

This afternoon, we packed up our picnic cooler and a bag and took along our folding camp chairs to the polo match. We had a lovely bottle of wine, fresh strawberries, pita crisps and hummus. That might sound like plenty, but you should see some of the spreads people put out: huge blocks of cheese for cheese and cracker platters and many set up charcoal grills to make entire meals.

The weather was great today. At first it was full sun, clear blue sky and very hot. There were enough breezes to make it hard to wear my very wide brimmed hat. I didn't want it blowing off and spooking a pony! Then, toward the end of the match, the clouds rolled in and cool, almost cold, stronger breezes picked up. I'm sure the ponies and players appreciated that!

It is great fun to take pictures as the horses are such beautiful creatures.


I especially like to catch the action of a rearing pony.



I find it surprisingly hard to get shots with the ball included.

This pony is in a dramatic pose and has striking face and body markings too, compared with the more usual ones.



Wheeee! All four hooves off the ground!

I love this muscle shot, even though it was an accidental/too zoomed in one, it really shows you how fit and powerful these ponies are. They are so well trained and conditioned.

Scotland won by an embarrassing margin (10-5), scoring repeatedly in the last chukka!