The J&B MET in Cape Town under the cover with Ed Beukes
When Horse Racing meets Haute Couture Fashion, galloping turns to glamour as some 50,000 people pull together to attend the annual J&B MET held at the Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town.
The J&B MET held its 36th horse racing event this year and ever since J&B became the sponsor of the event in 1978, it has just continued to be a highlight on the Cape Town calendar year after year.
Having started as the Metropolitan Mile in 1883, The J&B Met has developed into a classy and elegant yet thrilling and fun event. This year I decided to treat my fiancé with tickets to this super stylish Cape Town event to enjoy brushing shoulders with the who’s who at The J&B MET.
Every year the J&B MET has a new theme and guests are invited to dress according to the chosen theme. The themes are set to provoke the couples’ creativity; to dress-up and design new and innovative outfits which not only express their personalities but give an interesting twist to an otherwise normal day of horse riding.
Like most men, I had left the buying of the tickets to the last minute but when my fashion designer friend – Sheila-Madge Bakkes contacted me and asked whether my fiancé and I would be willing to wear one of her creations in SABC’s Breakfast show, Expresso, I saw my current dilemma rapidly disappearing.
This year’s theme was called “Made To Fly” and sure enough, after airing on the TV show, Chris and I won tickets to the glamorous J&B MET on the 2nd of February 2013. On arrival, we were each given three identically coloured armbands. The idea behind this was that guests had to swap armbands until the classic J&B colours of yellow, red and green were collected on one arm and only then could they be traded for a cool cocktail under the trees. Great initiative to encourage mingling!
The day was filled with gorgeous thoroughbreds, glittering guests and jockeys dressed in shimmering satin outfits. There was constant laughter, ludicrous cheering and the tension mounted when bets were placed and horses raced their ultimate race of glory.
So whether drawn by the horse racing, the people or the fashion, there’s something for everyone at one of Cape Town’s most spectacular events of the year; The J&B MET.
Where:
Kenilworth Race Course, Cape Town