Women in wide-brimmed hats and men in casual chic gathered at umbrella tables sipping drinks, eating hors d`oeuvres and watching the horses go by at The Nature Conservancy`s Polo for the Prairie benefit last weekend.
It was a sunny, breezy day, made-to-order for an afternoon of watching a match at Naperville Polo Club, with the proper British accent of announcer Dawn Raab completing the picture-perfect gathering, co-chaired by Jim and Peggy Drury.
While Jim Drury participated as a player and captain for Pinecroft Farms in the polo match, wife Peggy recalled how her husband founded the event three years ago.
”He wanted to do something for The Nature Conservancy that would tie in with polo,” she said.
The event was an immediate financial success; this third annual afternoon of polo followed by dinner and live music under a tent had a goal of raising $50,000.
”We`ve already got $48,000 from donations and sponsors, so I know we`re going to make it,” said fundraiser committee member Jilly Kean. ”We also have the drawings donated by 12 Chicago architects; we asked them to do prairie drawings rather than buildings.”
The polo benefit is the only fundraising event for the Illinois chapter of The Nature Conservancy; 175 people paid $75 each to attend the day`s festivities, as the Pinecroft Farms polo team beat Pair-O-Docs 10-7. Another $6,000 was raised through the auction of the architects` drawings.
”This specific event goes to our project in Markham for the Indian Boundary Prairies,” said Al Pyott, the group`s executive director.
