social membership
letting others do the work . Managing director of a private equity firm , father of two children under the age of four and with a wife who is a busy A & E doctor at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital , this Board Director has already surveyed some members of the Cub to find out what they really want from their Clubhouse restaurant .
“ I did a small survey of several nonplaying members before we appointed Mosimann ’ s , asking the members what they were looking for in the Clubhouse catering . I was surprised by the answers and the consistency of the answers . I expected , being slightly cynical about this , that everyone would say , ‘ Oh we want to have lunch for £ 30 ’ and that ’ s it . Surprisingly , pricing was further down the list . The first thing the members said they wanted was table service . That was the overwhelming , number one response . “ Although price was an element , members wanted consistency of decent food more . The price point was more along the lines of ‘ Can we go there for lunch at £ 50- £ 60 per head including half a bottle of half decent wine per person ?’ That was one of the things that drove our relationship with Mosimann ’ s .
“ The majority of replies were surprisingly similar . And this from a slightly diverse focus group – not the ones who are at the Club every weekend with an Aston Martin parked outside – but some of our more local members .”
So with the team from Mosimann ’ s already making changes to the Clubhouse dining , Simon is turning his attention to the problem of integration . “ It is marvellous that we have high-end sponsors like Cartier and Land Rover and that they are now complemented by having Mosimann ’ s , but we do need to make the social members feel part of it too ,” says Simon .
“ I thought about Garsington Opera in Oxfordshire ,” he explained . “ They host four operas a year ; one of which is sponsored exclusively by a group of patrons ( of which Simon is one ), who have all donated a minimum of £ 1,500 . So I wondered if we could do something similar at Guards ? Some of our smaller tournaments are not sponsored and we have 1,000 social members .
“ Of course , if everyone gave £ 1 we could provide some good prizes for our
Members ’ events , such as last summer ’ s Royal Box Drinks Reception , are a great way to encourage integration
Simon Mace and Freddie Huxtable , representatives of the social members on the main Guards Polo Club Board of Directors
Lady Carol Caffyn-Parsons , Nirmala Sicka , Phillipa Douglas , David Howell Jones , Gilly King , June Howell Jones , Archana Sicka and Marie Isaac at the annual Guards Polo Club Members ’ Dinner at Mosimann ’ s in London
42 guards polo club official yearbook 2017