September 19, 2010 was the Victory Cup Polo Game at Conyers Farm in Greenwich, CT.  Conyers Farm is an elite gated area of Greenwich that is known for its vast estates with lots of woods and nature… that and its special red streets haha.  When we pulled into the Conyers Farm gates, apparently the guards thought we lived there and so motioned for us to keep going forward rather than to turn left.  After driving for about 10 minutes with no sign of a polo match, we decided to turn back and to ask the guards for more definitive directions.  I suppose we should feel honored that they thought we lived in Conyers Farm?  Or perhaps the people of Conyers Farm should be concerned about the safety their guards really provide for them.

Upon pulling into the entrance of the Victory Cup, we were sent to the parking for the third tent, which was the VIP tent.  I am not sure what the other two tents were for, nor do I really understand what the difference is other than that our tent included sub-par food and more drinks made out of America’s Choice soda.  Go here if you didn’t already read my rant about the Victory Cup Pre-Party the day before, and you will understand my complaint about the America’s Choice soda.  But anyway, we parked right next to the car show:

After strolling through the Victory Cup’s car show, we entered the VIP tent to taste some of the food, which was supposed to be catered by Polpo.  However, if Polpo really catered this event, why would they serve corned beef, turkey and salads rather than Italian food?

And the next, even better, question is why would you serve meat (that is hard to cut) with flimsy plastic cutlery?  At least get the durable plastic-ware that won’t snap in half.  And don’t run out of plates and start serving meat in bowls like below.  At $150 per person for Victory Cup VIP tickets, I would have expected a little bit more class.

Now even though I was critical of the mixed drinks made of America’s Choice sodas, I do have to say that they had great cranberry juice.  And while they did not have any water at the beginning, they somehow started serving water after an hour or two.  The bartenders were very fast and had great personalities too – another plus.

Soon the Polo Game was about to start and lots of people gathered around the fence to watch the game.  I think that in many ways, it was nicer to not be in the VIP section and to actually have a place to sit while watching the game, especially on such a hot day.  These kids got the best seats, right in front of the fence in the grass.  How adorable are they?

You can see how beautiful the day was in this photo of the Victory Cup Polo Game taking place:

Before long, the game was half way done, and the ladies gathered on the field to stomp the divots, which is where they repair the field by pushing the grass and dirt that gets kicked up back into their place.  You could also walk to the other side of the field and pet the horses, who were very hot from playing polo and from the warm weather.

I can totally understand why The Victory Cup would have port-a-potties (even though I cannot fathom why the pre-party should not have regular working bathrooms) and I was impressed that the port-a-potties at the Victory Cup also had port-a-sinks so that people would be able to wash their hands.

We could not stand in the sun for the second half of the Victory Cup Polo Game, so we relaxed in the shade of our tent.  And as you can see, many people went with this options.  It makes me wonder if people really go to polo games to watch the game, or if they go for the social aspect… probably it is for a little bit of both.

And lucky for us, as soon as we returned to the VIP tent, they put out dessert: exactly ONE tray of tiramisu.  As a caterer, how could Polpo think it would be sufficient to bring one tray of tiramisu for all of the people in the VIP tent?  After about 30 people got tiramisu, it was all gone, and lots of people looked unhappy.  The tiramisu did not taste bad, though I have definitely had much better, so if you missed out on it, do not worry – you did not miss much.  The serving style was less than appetizing as well.

Overall, I was not terribly impressed with the VIP events for the Victory Cup Polo Game in 2010.  But the polo game itself sure beat the lame pre-party the night before!