Sheikha Maitha on women and polo

The sun is setting over the tree-lined polo field at Dubai’s Desert Palm resort. The grassy expanse, just a few minutes ago a flurry of activity, is falling into shadow; ponies are being led away and spectators are milling on the sidelines, waiting for buggies to come and whisk them back to the main hotel. There is a midnight blue G-Wagen, with a single-digit number plate, parked a short distance away and, inexplicably, a goat on a leash rummaging through the grass.

It’s the end of the opening day of the second Ralph Lauren International Ladies Polo Tournament and the day’s victors are lining up for a celebratory photo. A couple of the ladies express concern about how presentable they are after their exertions on the field. “This is what winners look like,” Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum interjects, with a flicker of a smile.

As it turns out, she’s right. By the end of the three-day event, Sheikha Maitha (under whose patronage the tournament is being held) and her cohorts on Team UAE – Sunny Hale, Marianela Castagnola and Ploy Bhinsaeng – will have beaten Team North America and Team Europe to lay claim to the winner’s trophy, rounding off an action-packed event designed to highlight the rising profile of women in polo.

There will also be a much-anticipated All Stars match, which sees Sheikha Maitha, Castagnola, Lucy Taylor and Nina Clarkin join forces to play against Hale, Bhinsaeng, Hazel Jackson and Eva Brull. “This is a historical moment for women’s polo,” says the tournament director Pete McCormack, of the event. He is not exaggerating.

Original article by Selina Denman

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Sheikha Maitha on women and polo