Best opportunity to meet Prince Charles

Although the 1998 Myopia Hunt Club program boasts a royal kiss-off from HRH the Prince of Wales (declining "your kind invitation to attend festivities surrounding the 110th anniversary of polo at Myopia"), Chuck does hope in future to "enjoy a chukker or two" on venerable Gibney Field, the oldest polo-playing venue in America. So who knows? Meanwhile, though the sign on Route 1A in Hamilton announcing the entrance to this bastion of equine activity is so small that anyone with real myopia might miss it, there's a bigger one proclaiming POLO EVERY SUNDAY. Yes, once a week the great unwashed are invited to brush shoulders with the horsy set, even to take the field at halftime and pat back the "divots" of turf dislodged by speeding mallets and thundering hooves. The game, despite the indignity of being played not in innings or in quarters but in "chukkers," combines the excitement of horseracing, hockey, and croquet. The players have fabulous North Shore names like Tiger, Gaston, and Doo Little. There are ladies in hats, little dogs on leashes, and opportunities to tailgate with the tony. Admission is a mere $5; children get in for free.

As for your chances of running into HRH, they're probably better here than anywhere this side of Balmoral or a Spice Girls concert. Captain Mark Phillips was recently in town, giving riding instructions. And his ex, Princess Anne, turned up at Myopia some years back. So to assume you won't find yourself replacing divots next to Camilla Parker Bowles, as she shoots a sultry look at the future king, might be, well, short-sighted.

Myopia Hunt Club, 435 Bay Road, South Hamilton. (978) 468-4433.