Simply Abu Dhabi XXX

B ritish Polo Day was delighted to return to Abu Dhabi for the ninth year to celebrate the Year of Zayed whilst raising 100,000 AED for charity. As the sun set behind Ghantoot polo club, the Hackett Cavalry Team were roundly beaten by the Rosewood Abu Dhabi Guards Team in the battle to lift the Thesiger camel polo trophy. The crowd loved watching this unusual humped spectacle, now a legendary feature of the British Polo Day Abu Dhabi event. The great and the good fromAbu Dhabi and around the world gathered in black tie to watch some seriously fast-paced polo, which included the number one female polo player in the world, Nina Clarkin and Faris Al Yabhouni, Captain of Team Abu Dhabi, showing off their fine equine skills in the sport Sylvester Stallone describes as ‘like golf in an earthquake’. Prizes were handed out by His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Suroor Al Nahyan and His Excellency Philip Parham, British Ambassador. VIP guests sat down to a private dinner and charity auction, which raised 100,000 Dirhams in aid of WAHA international, established by Her Highness Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan in a response to the unacceptably high maternal and neonatal mortality rates in many parts of Africa and Asia. Tom Hudson, Chairman of British Polo Day said, ‘I’m extremely proud that this event is taking place during the Year of Zayed, at a time of increasingly blossoming relations between UAE and the UK. So many exciting technological innovations are happening here, and we look forward to many more years of being at the heart of the action in UAE.’