THE SPORT

Polo is a fast moving and exciting game for players and spectators alike, with riders and horses working together in a tightly knit team, exhibiting levels of skill and performance that surpass all other sports. Most commonly, a game is split into four periods or ‘chukkas’ with a short break between each one during which the rider changes his mount.

Polo is one of the oldest team games in the world as well as being one of the fastest. While there is no reliable documented evidence to indicate when the game first started, it is thought that a game similar to that played today first took place around 600BC in Persia. From there, it was taken eastwards to India, China and Japan where it was played before the Emperors and their Courts by both men and women.

Although reports of this new game of ‘Hockey on Horseback’ soon reached England, it was not until 1869 when the first game was played by cavalry officers stationed at Aldershot. The first rules for the game were drawn up by the committee of The Hurlingham Club, London, in 1875. Since those beginnings some 150 years ago, the game has spread around the world and is now played in over 60 countries. The premier playing nations are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Great Britain, Mexico, New Zealand and USA.

The UK has led the world in establishing and promoting polo for the young in the Pony Club and particularly in schools and universities. Polo is now an official game in some 40 Preparatory and Public schools and in some 20 universities.

Polo has been described as ‘The King of Sports & The Sport of Kings’, while it is played by a number of Royal families across the world, it is, above all, a game for everyone with a passion for horses.