‘Daylesford isn’t always Toorak’: Posh polo a warm topic in bohemian town

Daylesford is famed for its thriving arts scene, gold rush-technology history, warm springs, and B&Bs. It’s extra approximately reveling in Bohemia than sipping Bollinger and using Benzes. But so one can change later this month while u. S. A .’s top polo gamers – and the accompanying social set – descend on the major Victorian metropolis for the inaugural Daylesford Polo. Not everyone is thrilled. The neighborhood literary pageant director views it as a display of wealth for the elite that is out of step with the network.

“Daylesford is not Toorak,” she says. Starting from $ fifty-five to $275 ahead, the tickets aren’t cheap, but all proceeds from the event will go to the charity TLC for Kids. The goal is to raise $100,000. The event may be hosted at Mandela, a four hundred-hectare polo farm with a 275-meter long polo subject at Drummond, 30 kilometers east of Daylesford. Multi-millionaire younger investor Tolga Kumova and his pal, expert polo participant Ben Kay, bought the farm ultimate September.

But why?

“I knew Ben loved the sport; he’s been gambling for a long time,” Mr. Kumova says. “He didn’t have a farm. So I turned into like, ‘I’ll move halves with you.’ So it turned into extra for him, then me.” Its preceding proprietor turned into Rupert Murdoch’s nephew, David Calvert-Jones, who helped restart the Portsea Polo in 2004. At Daylesford Polo on March 23, three video games will be held in front of company marquees, DJs, Bentley motors, and meals vans.

Some locals say it’s the incorrect fit for a town acknowledged for the grassroots ChillOut LGBTI delight competition and the Words in Winter literary software. Words in Winter director Maia Irell says she doubts many locals would need “to pony up $55 to $275 to observe the elite gallop around for half of an hour”. “We love bringing human beings to this place with its rich cultural history, but shows of wealth which include those that appear no longer in sync with the local community,” Ms. Irell says.

Hepburn Shire deputy mayor Kate Redwood says Daylesford is understood for its progressive social values. However, the polo changed into a private event and no longer taking council finances. “As lengthy, because it’s lawful and peaceful and doesn’t disturb the neighbors, we’re glad for them to do whatever they like,” Cr Redwood says. Tina Banitska, founder and coping with the director of The Convent Gallery in Daylesford, goes to the polo, which she says could provide “every other stage of hobby” for site visitors. “It brings intrigue to the town,” Ms. Banitska says.