Texas Cup polo at Memorial Park

If you have never been to a polo match, the Texas Cup is a good place to start. It runs at 4:00 pm today at the Houston Polo Club, tucked away behind Memorial Park, and it costs $18 to get in. The bill of fare is the classic polo experience: a world-class match, a player parade, live music, expert commentary, and a halftime Champagne divot stomp, where you get to help repair the turf. The part that gives the day its name is the best Texas-dressed contest, which hands out prizes and leans into the high-society-meets-Texas-flavor vibe of the whole thing.

The club itself is worth a look even if you are not a polo person. Founded in 1928, the Houston Polo Club sits on 26 wooded acres just inside the 610 Loop at 8550 and 8552 Memorial Drive, minutes from The Galleria and downtown. It is the largest polo club in the US and the world by player count, with two USPA regulation-size fields, a stick-and-ball field, a hitting cage, a covered riding arena, scenic riding trails, and full-service boarding. For food, the onsite concession, The Lymbar, serves South American-inspired dishes by Chef David Cordua and a premium drinks list, and there is a new Champagne and Caviar Bar over on the Red Oak Courtyard Lawn. If you want to upgrade your seat, Red Oak Courtyard tickets run $18 to $45 and Grandstand Box Seating goes from $260 to $1,300. Parking for Sunday polo is free, though it is limited, so it is worth planning ahead.

Since the club is inside Memorial Park, one of the largest urban parks in the country, you are in good company. The park covers 1,466 acres west of downtown, bounded by I-10, the West Loop, Crestwood, and Buffalo Bayou, and it is run by the Memorial Park Conservancy. It holds an 18-hole golf course that has hosted the PGA Tour's Houston Open fourteen times, and the Seymour Lieberman Exercise Trail pulls in nearly 3 million visits a year. The park stays open from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm, with the lots closing at 9:00 pm.

A few ground rules will save you a headache at the gate. The dress code leans toward the tradition of the sport: collared shirts with tailored shorts or casual pants for men, and sundresses or capri pants with flats or wedges for women. Hats are encouraged. Outside alcohol, controlled substances, weapons, outside food or drink, coolers, glass containers, and drones are not allowed, and while service animals are fine, pets are not permitted at Sunday polo. If you would rather be driven, Alto is the luxury rideshare partner, with professional drivers, branded SUVs, water, and chargers. The Texas Cup is not the only match on the bill today, either — the Galvin Agency Classic, the USPA Keleen & Carlton Beal Cup, and the Harvest Cup all run alongside it, each with the same format and $18 price, so there is plenty of polo to go around.