An Equestrian Tabletop for Twilight Polo

Twilight Polo is one of my favorite ways to spend a summer evening with friends. It’s a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere. The matches are mesmerizing, from the way the players swing the heavy mallets to the speed of the horses chasing from one end of the arena to the other. It’s an easy drive from northern Virginia (around 45 minutes) and from downtown Washington, D.C. (50 minutes to an hour) – and it feels like you’re worlds away from the city. The setting is just so serene.

This year, Twilight Polo celebrates its Silver Anniversary, and we were honored to write a piece for their 25th anniversary magazine on tailgating essentials! We knew our tailgate spread had to be a celebration, so we set to work upping our game…

I wanted to play around with patterns this time, so I chose a blue and white tablecloth (similar idea here – and I love this one) as the base and this Pomegranate tablecloth as the topper. Look familiar? It was the smaller tablecloth used for our bar at Gold Cup last fall.

With the color scheme chosen, I went after flowers. I knew the arrangements had to be lightweight since they’d be traveling in cup holders, so I opted for two slender green vases I picked up for our lemon-themed party last year. They were the perfect complement to the tabletop.

I chose blue and green as the colors for our tabletop, and I was immediately drawn to these “shocking blue” hydrangeas at the flower shop. I snagged a few of them along with some green hydrangeas and these little fluffy bursts of green that reminded me of turf. I wish I could remember what they were called – promise I’ll jot them down next time! I love working with hydrangeas in my arrangements because they already come with their own greenery – those fabulous deep green leaves.

My girlfriend, Jen, suggested we serve mint juleps, which we all supported immediately. I used our nito caddy to corral bar accessories, like our muddler, mint, etc. Our nito tray centered the mint julep bar setup. Those have been some of my favorite summer entertaining pieces! Everyone brought julep cups and we ended up with the perfect amount. You can find silver julep cups at a wide range of prices. A few good options are these, these, and these. They’re a terrific gift for showers and weddings, too.

The cups do get cold to the touch, so make sure you have chic cocktail napkins handy. I used some old Kentucky Derby glasses that were spot on with the colors I was using for the table. They held plastic utensils, paper straws, and these too-cute horseshoe swizzle sticks.

My girlfriends (and their beaus) helped create a fabulous spread of more bites than we could ever possibly eat – watermelon arugula salad, ham biscuits, cheese boards, sausage wraps, blueberry scones, and so much more. You can find our bite-sized classic wedge salad appetizer recipe here, our 20-minute veggie bars here, and our pinwheel sandwiches here.

We also tossed in two sets of flameless candles. Let me tell you guys, these are must-haves for tailgates. They take outdoor entertaining from day to night with no sweat. I highly recommend getting a few sets them!

Interested in joining the fun? There are several Twilight Polo matches left this season, which all take place on Saturday evenings now through September 22nd. Tickets can be purchased in advance online for $25.00 per carload. And, remember to check out the night’s theme! If you enjoyed this post, click here for last year’s tailgate spread on the lawn.

A special thanks to The Great Meadow Foundation and to my fabulous friends (and their beaus) for helping make this post happen!