It was a challenge keeping one’s cool in the 32-degree heat, but the effervescent crowd in the Cartier tent managed it with grace. Glasses of pomegranate fizz, Cartier champagne and Whispering Angel rosé hydrated the stylish crowd, and white fans were handed out by the Richemont maison on arrival.
Cartier Queen’s Cup at Guard’s Polo club, Windsor
Words by
Jemima Sissons
19th June 2017
It was a day of high heat and high spirits in Windsor Great Park for one of the season’s most glamorous bashes
Vibrant florals – to complement the incredible displays by John Carter flowers - and fruit prints were order of the day for guests like Katie Keight, Nadya Abela and Jasmine Hemsley. Other guests including Jilly Cooper, Lara Stone, Skepta and Zoe Jordan were among the ebullient crowd. In the marquee, guests dined on goat’s curd with Wiltshire black truffle zucchini flower beignets and Regent’s Park truffle honey, alongside a 2013 Jean Marc Boillot Burgundy, followed by fillet of Hereford beef with chargrilled summer vegetables. Pudding was a hedgerow berry pavlova with whipped Jersey cream and fresh mint.
After this everyone headed to the field to watch the match, in which Ben Soleimani’s RH Polo battled it out against Michael Bickford’s La Indiana, winning with the help of the World’s Number One player, Adolfo Cambiaso. His pony, Caraquenia, was named Cartier Best Playing pony.
There was a jolly mood back in the tent. Hugo Heathcote took to the DJ booth and got the crowd dancing with his be-turbaned pal Tom Carr on percussion before Mark Ronson took over until well past sunset.
Meanwhile Jilly Cooper talked about her new tome, set in the world of football, in which Rupert Campbell Black swops his spurs for soccer. The novelist lamented that football players don’t have nearly as much fun as those in the polo world.
“They are all slaves now,” she said over a glass of Pimm's. Everyone agreed that it was far more fun sticking to horses.
