Polo Princess

Rebecca Coddington is that manic, fun and frizzy haired girl you've gawked at at parties. Always with a winning smile and quick wit, Beccy is a fantastic Hawkes Bay export.

A lady of hidden depths, Beccy is a also a model and a damn good polo player, tho not the tidiest rider with all those flailing limbs! 

D. Mark Harrison. What’s so hot about your life right now?

Rebecca Coddington. How the North Shore elites' waterfront mansions & extravagant price tags will be under water, thanks to Climate Change and how very soon my newly purchased $50,000 Northcote villa will be a highly sought after beachfront property with an extravagant price tag as a result!!

D.M.H. Pppfffff, sensible people know Climate Change is piffle. What’s the thing that makes Auckland cool for you?

R.C. Ponsonby Road and its reflective shop windows. Whilst pretending to peer at the items on display in said windows, I'm allowed to check myself out without looking like a self indulgent Paris Hilton wannabe (minus the incredible wealth & paparazzi following me). The good folk of Ponsonby have even taken care in removing objects from the sidewalk (bar a few stray dogs/children) so one doesnt trip whilst looking at the window. This is especially beneficial for "the vain on-the-go".

D.M.H. If you could choose and go live in a Sister City for Auckland where would you choose and why?

R.C. Somewhere on the North Shore. Its quite similar to Auckland weather wise but its not as evolved as us culturally.

D.M.H. It is part of Auckland you goose! What would be the hardest thing about Auckland for you to quit?

R.C. I dont know if you know, but in NZ, aka Auckland, I'm kind of a big deal, people know me. That would be the hardest thing to quit, being a pseudo-celeb & not doing queues as us celebs "don't do" queues Dahling!

D.M.H. Ha! That's gold! What’s your creative talent?

R.C. I'm a closet rapper. I take famous raps, rewrite them, then perform them to my adoring public (note-my adoring public is generally me at 3am on a Saturday morning rapping to a reflective Ponsonby shop window)

D.M.H. You are a talent! What in life is beautiful to you right now?

R.C. See question 1. So thus deciding what to do with my new found wealth.

D.M.H. Are you playing polo this year?

R.C. Of course! Polo is my life! Well thats what Dad tells me all the time: "Becky Polo is your life!" My whole family plays polo and we have a polo farm/lodge in Hawkes Bay which is currently housing 120 polo ponies. Whilst other families go away on holidays together, our family plays chukkas against each other. These arent friendly family bonding chukkas either, we dont go soft on each other, we play to win. It usually results in all of us having heated arguments, cussing one another, storming off, then reuniting for post chukka drinks, where all bad blood is forgotten over a few glasses of vino. Wine the cure of everything!. 

Name dropping a bit here but my brother Jonny who plays professionally here and in England just played against Prince William the other week in a big tournament & beat him! And yes, if you're wondering, I do know the Princes personally, but that my friend is another story!!

D.M.H, Yeah, yeah, everyone in polo knows everyone else, I played chukkas with the Prince of Wales in '95 at Beaufort, so there! What's your handicap?

R.C. My handicap is my attention deficit disorder... Other than that I'm perfect!!

My handicap is minus 1. (Polo handicaps go from -2 to 10, ed.) That's because I dont play full seasons, just the main tournaments, so my handicap stays low. It's actually good being a lower handicap than you actually are because you're in higher demand as your team will be stronger than the opposing team who are also on the same handicap. Well, that's what my brothers tell me!

D.M.H. You're a ringer! Nice. Thanks Beccy.