Polo in the Castle

27th June marked the first ever Polo in the Castle, a prestigious event held in the beautiful grounds of Cardiff Castle. The Ascot-style afternoon was organised by Cardiff Events firm Fusion, in aid of The Noah's Ark Appeal.

The sun smiled on the Polo and it was a gorgeous day – made even better by the colourfully dressed guests who were decked out in their finest suits and sundresses!

The grounds were split into two main areas; the hospitality area, for those who had booked for a sit down meal and ringside seats to the polo, and the public area, for those either coming in on the day, or who wished to wander freely around the grounds and the castle in addition to enjoying the polo.

Hospitality guests enjoyed a luxurious sit down meal in a beautifully decorated marquee between polo matches, while others in the hospitality area had their own small “pods” in which a light summer buffet was served. An ice cream van from the Cardiff PR company Freshbaked was also on hand for some cool refreshment!

The public area was equally well supplied, with two Pimms tents and a bar at which both alcoholic and soft drinks could be purchased. Tucked away under the shady alcove near the main house were delicious smelling carvery and candyfloss vans.

Guests arrived from 11am, and enjoyed the bright sunshine and high temperatures. At noon the proceedings were officially opened by Lyn Jones, Chairman of The Noah's Ark Appeal, who thanked guests for attending and announced at the polo was just one of the great ways the Appeal was celebrating its tenth birthday.

The attention was then turned to the polo arena, where the celebrity team captains rode on to the pitch to greet the crowd. Amy Guy, Jane James, Diana Abuzaid and Jason Dixon looked raring to go as they rode their polo horses around the stadium. The commentator then explained the rules of the game for those initiated, and the crowd looked on excitedly as the first two teams began the days play. Team Crouch were the overall winners beating opponents Williams Lee 5 – 2 in an exhilarating grand final.

Other activities during the day included a performance by ‘Lonesome Pete Whip Show’ and a Best Dressed Competition. For the hospitality crowd the entertainment carried on long into the night with a Cameo after party, an auction and a mouth watering hog roast.

Later on in the afternoon, raffle tickets were sold with all proceeds being donated to the Noah's Ark Appeal. Guests gave generously, and with the raffle proceeds, plus all non-hospitality ticket funds being donated to The Noah's Ark Appeal.

We must extend our thanks to the team at Fusion for all their hard work in hosting this magnificent event along with all the sponsors and supporters of the day.

If you attended Polo in the Castle, we hope you had as fabulous a day as we did. If you missed out, we hope you can join us next year.