The Melbourne Cup may be the race that stops the nation, but darling, the Portsea Polo is the real beacon on the equine social circuit. On this auspicious day of the year, the tanned and beautiful emerge from the holiday houses that pepper the Peninsula to meet, mingle and make the most of the bar. Oh, and there's some polo happening too.
The dress code is of the utmost importance, with the polo’s resident stylist recommending flowing dresses for the ladies and the obligatory boat shoe for the gentleman. It goes without saying that sunglasses are a must-have accessory in sunny Portsea, so make sure they remained glued to your nose, no matter how much Peroni you get through. Through the heat and the dust (hooves and mallet wielding kicks up more than a mouthful of sand for those on the rails) social outsiders are weeded out quicker than you can mispronounce Moët or Ralph Lauren.
There are general admission passes of course, but the real action will be taking place at the variety of marquees where DJs, networking opportunities and drinks will all be on tap. Amidst all those popped collars and chinos you’d be forgiven for missing the actual horses, but there’s always photo ops with spritely polo players to round out the day.