South Africa dominates at polo

MIDRAND – The who's who of South Africa showed up and showed out at the year's most epic local polo game.

September 14, 2016

Racine Edwardes 1 minute read

The BMW International Polo Series 2016 was indeed an event to take note of.

From television personality, Minnie Dlamini, to former Miss South Africa, Jo-Anne Strauss, there wasn’t a single big-name South African personality who did not attend the second exciting polo test match between South Africa and Uruguay, which took place after the first test between the two teams in Durban on 4 September.

The 2016 polo series is the 27th partnership between BMW and the South African Polo Association and this shows ongoing investment in the sport, which is still lesser publicised than others in the country.

The support from BMW, Vodacom, Standard Bank, Allure and other companies – many of which had their own marquees at the prestigious event – shows the growing interest in developing the sport and making it accessible to the entire country.

Bonnke Shipalana, CEO of The Communications Firm and the organiser of Allure Lounge at the polo series, explained what was on offer at his prestigious marquee. “Being at polo gives people the opportunity to learn about horses. This is an opportunity to be entertained, to have fun, but also to learn and invest in the future.”

Although we love the glitz, glam and fashion on the day, the reason why everyone came out looking their best was to watch polo and see our boys win. The match started out as thrilling as possible with more than six goals scored between the two teams before half time, but in the end, it was South Africa who was victorious, beating their rivals 7–5 at full time.

The minister of sports, Fikile Mbalula stood proudly with the polo team as they accepted their trophy and celebrated their win.