Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championship

The smell of fresh-cut grass and the crack of mallets wafted through the tents at the Seventh Annual Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championship. Teams from Santa Barbara, Calif.; Seattle; Monte Carlo, Monaco; and St. Moritz, Switzerland, took the field in six matches spanning a special two-day itinerary.

THE PARTY Record crowds of over 13,000 people at WestWorld of Scottsdale enjoyed drinks, divots and doggies at the sprawling, high-energy polo party. THE SCENE Polo lovers donned their most fashionable millinery and clinked glasses in Stella Artois’ Bottled Blonde Polo Lounge, and dug their toes in at the fieldside Sandbar tent. In a special pop-up, Fried & Fizzy, guests munched on fried chicken by Michael DeMaria while sipping Champagne. THE HIGHLIGHTS Excitement abounded both on and off the field. Guests peeped luxury automobiles on the sidelines at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction preview, which included dozens of vehicles in collaboration with local Ferrari and Lamborghini car clubs. While Ashley Busch captured the Molina Cup for the third consecutive year, her new hubby, Daytona 500 champion Kurt Busch, took on new fan-favorite World Arm Wrestling champion Travis Bagent. Ashley competed with the greatest American polo player of all time, Mike Azzaro, as part of the winning Barrett-Jackson Aspen Valley Polo Team. Other winners included Stella Artois’ St. Moritz Polo Team, and the ladies representing Talking Stick Resort & Casino’s team, who won Sunday’s Battle of the Sexes, beating Scottsdale Maserati men’s team 6-5. -Lauren Loudermilk

Photos courtesy of The Polo Party