How to Enjoy a Polo Match:

Refreshments:

Polo clubs allow spectators to bring food and drinks. So pack a picnic lunch of items that will travel well for an afternoon sporting event.

Tailgating is very popular at a polo match, and the styles vary widely with the participants.

Attire

Polo is an outdoor sport, so dress according to the weather. You really can’t be over or under dressed. Spectators at a polo match wear everything from jeans to high fashion.

If the polo match you’re attending is a major tournament, charity benefit match or special event, you may want to dress up.

If you want to go divot stomping at halftime, and you should, it’s a good idea to wear shoes for health reasons and a hat for sun protection. Other than that, be comfortable.  And of course, wear your Solemates on your high heels!

Half-time

Divot stomping is a long standing tradition at half-time. Spectators wander all over the field stomping down the torn up turf. It’s fun and you can meet great people just wandering the field. Even at high goal tournaments the players often walk divots to keep limber at the half, and often they take breaks or change ponies close to the stands.

Many times you can say hello to the best polo athletes in the world. Just remember not too be too distracting, these are athletes who need to get back to work.

Viewing

A polo match is fast and the playing field is large. Your best bet is to watch the main group of players clustered loosely around the ball. Keeping your eye on the ball is difficult at far ends of the field, if you have binoculars bring them.

Watch a Video of Greenwich Polo Club’s White Birch polo team playing in a tournament against the Mercedes-Benz polo team.

Learn

Learn the basics of the equestrian sport of polo. If you aren’t with a friend who knows a little about polo, ask the people around you what’s happening. Many spectators love to help a new observer. If you’ve already made some studies of the game, you should be able to see the rules in action and recognize great play.

Seating

Most polo clubs are open for public viewing on weekends. You can enjoy a polo match played by some of the greatest athletes in the world right from the sidelines! Just bring a blanket or beach chair.

Polo is played in more than 60 countries and enjoyed by more than 50 million people each year.

So get off the Internet and get in the middle of world-class competition between some of the greatest names in athletic sport.

Who knew, however, that in Hawaii, May Day is celebrated with some lore? And the best part about Hawaiian May Day is that it is seriously called “Lei Day”.  Like all good holidays, it was invented. It has since been adopted by state and local government as well as the residents, and has taken on the sense of a general spring celebration. The first Lei Day was proposed in 1927 in Honolulu by poet and artist Don Blanding. Leonard “Red” and Ruth Hawk composed “May Day is Lei Day in Hawai’i,” the traditional holiday song. Originally it was a contemporary fox trot, later rearranged as the Hawaiian hula song performed today.

While we won’t be making it out to Louisville this year, we’re delighted that our Solemates will be making a strong showing! If you are heading out, but you don’t own your own pony, please make sure to pack some Solemates or find them at a Louisville Retailer (http://bit.ly/I6CyHp).

The horseman’s bags will all be prepared with Solemates and we’re delighted to announce that some 100 Churchill Downs employees will also be well-heeled for this year’s running of the roses, as well!

Beyond preventing your heels from sinking into the grass, be sure that you are properly prepared with big hats, sunglasses, pastel floral dresses, bourbon, mint julep cups, bright nails, and shiny clutches!

But it’s not only the 1% who will benefit from Solemates’ support while enjoying the Derby action.  All of the Churchill Downs female employees will be sporting their High Heelers as they orchestrate the events for both Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby days.  And while those racing revelers in the infield won’t be granted complimentary Solemates like the VIPs, local shops in the Louisville area are stocking up to meet their needs making sure all the lovely ladies heading to Churchill Downs will be well-heeled.

This year’s 138th running of the Kentucky Derby is going to the best yet, and while we’re keeping our winner prediction to ourselves for now, the secret is out that the only way to truly enjoy your trip to Churchill Downs is to stay high on grass the whole time with Solemates!

(1) No one knows. Take most advice with a grain of salt. No one can perfectly understand your situation. Everyone’s advice is clouded by their own experience and they will steer you based on their own bias’.  Just because they have successfully navigated their own businesses/careers does not mean they can steer yours.

(2)  Yes, it will cost more/take longer.

(3) Say thank you.  Write “Thank you” notes/emails.  When you ask someone for time or advice, thank them. Even if they respond that they can’t help you with what you might need, thank them. They took the time to tell you they can’t help. That action is worth acknowledging.

(4) Follow-up. Graciously. With everyone.  Even when you know that what someone wants to offer you isn’t directly in line with what you may want, if they ask you to follow-up, follow-up. You don’t know where things may take you.

(5) It’s a small world. Don’t give people a reason to think negatively about you or what you are doing.

(6) Inertia is the enemy.  Keep moving forward.

(7) Inaction and inertia are different things. Inaction can be your most powerful action.  Not every opportunity is worth pursuing. Distinguishing between those worthwhile and those worth missing is what will help to determine your success.  Remember, there are endless opportunities to spend money.

(8) You get what you pay for. You can’t skimp on the important stuff.

(9) No, there is no short cut.  People that promise you the world are the most likely to veer you off track & disappoint you.

(10)  Yes, this is the American Dream and be grateful that you live in a society that not only grants you the freedom to pursue it, but provides countless tools and incentives for you to be successful.

How to play:

(1) Follow us on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/solemates)

(2) Repost our image titled “MAGIC PIN” to your Pinterest page.

(3) Collect the most likes and/or re-pins. The person with the most likes and/or re-pins will be awarded 10 pairs of Solemates! 

(4) The contest will run from the time the “MAGIC PIN” image is posted until 8pm EST that same day. The winner will be announced the following afternoon.

BE WELL HEELED & Good Luck!

Solemates: Stay High on Grass

Can you imagine how amazing the actual wedding will be? A great invitation effectively conveys a tone for a wedding – it’s a tiny preview of what to expect in terms of formality, fun, traditions, etc.  This invitation says, “traditional with modern flare, elegant but not stuffy, and really, really fun”….

What sorts of things catch your eye when it comes to wedding invitations?  What might you want to convey in your own invitations?

Thank you to the Perfect Palette for their perfectly pitched assortment of images and prose!

Not everyone dreams of the flowing gown or hooped out princess dress for their wedding. Some people like things to be more reflective of who they are when they get married – and are less concerned with capturing the image of what they think they should be looking like.  That being said, designers have been hot on the trend of creating short, fun, sexy dresses that make it much easier for some brides to say “yes” to the dress…

Could you wear a short or tea length dress? What do you think of these?

I’m reading a (wonderful) debut novel with the same title (“The Language of Flowers”) and with spring upon us, it has me looking at flowers slightly differently.  Did you know that some flowers have very nasty, negative connotations?  Or that others can yield extraordinarily positive messages? It’s pretty amazing. The Victorian’s created this language in order to convey their feelings (love, lust, longing, apathy, disinterest, betrayal)….

You can tell someone that you are madly in love with them just by bringing them a bouquets of roses (that one we knew), but can you imagine gathering a bunch of honeysuckle to express “devotion” or thanking someone for their “patience” with a bouquet of asters? Giving someone a yellow iris can indicate feelings of “lustful passion,” whereas a traditional purple iris can mean “faith, hope, or courage”….be cognizant of color choices..

Even flowering plants like the rhododendron mean “beware!” Rhodys are not a personal favorite of mine as they flower for like 10 seconds and look so depressed in the winter that I’m tempted to fertilize them with Zoloft….but, at least I understand something else about them now. Beware of Dog – neigh, beware of horticulturally linguistic residents!

What do your favorite flowers mean? Do they say something about you? Would you ever use flowers to send a message? Wouldn’t you love to receive a Victorian-era bouquet fraught with meaning?