Janice Breen Burns
Thirty minutes into my first ever Jeep Portsea Polo meet, I was hooked up with its “face” for 2016, Olympia Valance. This is how we roll at the polo; on the surface, all fluttery frocks, clinking flutes and laughter in the sunshine but underneath, the delicate machinery of business and networking whirrs away.
Olympia (pictured below) is a disarmingly pretty 23 year old Neighbours actress and a genuine Next Big Thing, I’m told, with prospects comparable to the Hemsworth brothers, or Margot Robbie. (FYI, for those resident under rocks, they are currently Hollywood bombshells, formerly of Australia.)
Olympia, in her floral silk georgette Gucci maxi dress (so like a Zimmermann!), with its drifting frills and plunging neckline, was picked for Jeep’s “face” precisely for that potential. And, naturally, because she’s bloody gorgeous. “I feel very lucky to be where I am,” she tells me, “But, I love my job too: I’ve told them (the Neighbours writers), ‘Don’t kill me off; I want to come back one day!’” I suspect legions of Neighbours fans hope she does too.
Unlike me, Olympia has been to the Jeep Portsea Polo once before; “But, I didn’t really take much notice of the horses.” This year, however, a polo officianado explained the sport to her at a dinner hosted by Jeep so she’s up to speed on chukkas (four or five, depending on the game), players (four a side), handicaps (14 total in yesterday’s Peroni V. Jeep comp) so, between the business of interviews and posing for fans and media, she says; “I’m watching; I know what’s going on!” And, appears to be enjoying it.
Which is more, I’ll wager, than most of the six thousand-odd polo-goers clustered and strolling between the field’s rim of pitched white marquees. There’s just a 10 metre easement between them and the eight polo players and umpires pounding, kicking up dust, around Portsea’s dusty sea-side field on some of what polo guru Paul Roberts tells me is some of the “greatest equine flesh we have”. But, after a few moments of intrigue, most barely glance back from their canapes, flutes, friends, selfies. Which is Ok, say the PRs and event organisors I talk to; that’s the polo working like a well-oiled social media machine.
Paul Roberts is general manager of polo at The Legacy Agency or TLA (which took over the renowned Elite Sports Properties recently), so a genuine guru, called out to answer all the who, what, where, why questions about Portsea polo.
Like, why Portsea? I ask this first, because, apart from the old military parade ground’s obvious beauty, with Port Philip Bay sparkling through the scrub up one end, it’s an almighty bugger to get to for most of us though, notably not for the handful of celebrities, sponsors and media who are choppered in. “Because it’s unique, and quirky,” Paul says, “And, it’s becoming a lot more well known, especially internationally in the last five or six years because the corporate hospitality is as good as anywhere; you can watch with a drink in hand, talk to friends, listen to music: it’s easy to enjoy polo.”
It’s also a treat for some to see the 80-odd horses floated in for the meet, shuffling and neighing up one end of the fiel. For others (read, moi) it’s also nice to bump elbows, chat chukkas, with the 16 to 20-odd players who bring a little thrill of sweat-and-dust reality to the marquees whenever they climb down from their ponies and mingle between matches.
Jeep’s marquee is an extraordinary arrangement of five shipping containers, stacked for an upper viewing deck and display mount for the brand’s new Renegade SUV. Construction of the desert inspired design by Dig and Fish took a week, but its four hundred guests are oblivious, eyes only for each other and the summery menu including glossy fishcake burgers, little bamboo boats piled with glass noodle salads. Matt Preston apparently designed the menu which is interesting; I thought he was a restaurant critic and Masterchef host. Melbourne’s sweetie guru, Darren Purchase of iconic Burch and Purchase, designed the desserts including knucklesize caramel tarts and those perspex tube treats: sago pudding with passionfruit curd and mint (my review, I might be wrong; the passionfruit might have been lemon) and rasberry layered with….yum.
I was given a list of celebrities invited to the Jeep marquee but didn’t see most of them (apart from the lovely Olympia), such is the nature of polo’s drifting crowds, especially as most had wristbands to access two or three marquees. I did, however, see the Australian Open’s delightful new face of social media Silvana Philippoussis (pictured blowing kisses from the viewing deck, above, with husband Mark), Jess and Steph Dadon of @howtwolive, Myer marketing guru Melissa Templeton, the Herald Sun’s charming fashion director Kim Wilson, the Melbourne Fashion Festival’s ever-cheerful patron director Shiva Singam, legendary champion of independant fashion brands via Alice Euphemia, Karen Rieschieck, veteren fashion journalist Georgina Safe, Pacific Brands designer Roger Grinstead, dozens of Lovely Others and of course, legions of Lovely Bloggers including some of my faves, Bright Young Things Karen Woo, Jess Dempsey and Sanchia Sevel. Who did YOU see?
Delightful and delighted duo, Georgina Safe and Karen Reischieck
(Janice Breen Burns attended the Jeep Portsea Polo as a guest of Jeep, and was supported by the relentlessly hardworking team at Two Birds Talking. Thank you! Till next year..!.)
Now, Dear Ones, do watch for Voxfrock’s streams (Instagram and Facebook) from today’s So Frenchy, So Chic gathering in the glorious grounds of Werribee Mansion, Melbourne.
