Origin of Polo

The origins of Polo are lost in the mists of antiquity. History records that the ancient Persians knew the sport as “Chaughan” and played it as far back as 2500 years ago. The Chinese also lay claim to a polo tradition dating back several thousand years. Be that as it may, in all probability these ancient civilizations picked up the sport from the Central Asian nomads whose home was the saddle and whose writ ran from the Great Wall of China in the east to the Caspian Sea in the west.

Certainly, the game of polo reflects all the qualities that made the Mongol hordes the greatest nation of horsemen in the ancient world – great equestrian skills coupled with a clear eye and stout heart remain the prerequisites of a polo player till today.

Radiating outwards from the steps of Central Asia, the game eventually spread as far as Japan, China, Tibet and India. Over the ages, the aristocratic game developed to promote equestrian and military skills. It was ranked next to battle itself, as the ultimate test of the prowess of princes and warriors.

Patronized by kings and the horsed cavalry, it was played by the likes of Darius, Genghis Khan, and Alexander the Great. It is said that when Alexander took over from his father in 336BC. The Persian emperors Darius III, sent him a polo ball and stick with the message that he should confine himself to the sport, and leave the business of war to those better adapted to it. The young Alexander thanked the Emperor for the present and replied that the gift was indeed symbolic, as he represented the stick and the ball as the earth which he intended, to conquer.

If Alexander’s skill at polo was anything akin to his skill in the arts of war – for he had soon defeated the mighty Darius – then he must indeed rank as one of the earliest known high-goal players!

While the Persians and later the Mughals, knew the game as “Chaughan”, meaning mallet, variants of the game tested the horsemanship and courage of the participants under the name of “Da-Kyu” in Japan, “Khis Kouhou” on the Russian steppes and “Djirid” in Turkey. The origins of the modern name for the sport can however be traced to Tibet, where it was known as “Pulu,” meaning ball and which in its anglicized from is known to the world as Polo.

In India, polo was widely played in medieval times, this is evidenced from the fact that Sultan Qutubuddin Aibak, founder of the slave dynasty and builder of one of Delhi’s most famous landmarks, the Qutub Minar, died of a fatal accident, impaled on the ornate horn of his saddle after a fall on the polo field in Lahore. However, it was Babar, the found of the Mughal dynasty, who established the popularity of the polo in India in the fifteenth century.

British tea planters in India witnessed the game in the early 1800’s in Manipur but it was not until the 1850’s that the British Cavalry drew up the earliest rules. In 1862, the first polo club in the world was formed by British tea planters at Silchar, west of Manipur. Calcutta Polo Club, the oldest existing polo club, was founded. In 1868, the Malta Polo Club was founded by British army and naval officers stopping off there on their way home from India.

In 1869, Edward "Chicken" Hartopp, 10th Hussars, read an account of the game in The Field, while stationed at Aldershot, and, with brother officers, organized the first game - known then as "hockey on horseback." The 1st Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards were quick to follow suit on grounds at Hounslow and in Richmond Park; and then on a small ground near Earl's Court known as Lillie Bridge. In 1872, the first polo club in England was Monmouthshire, founded by Capt. Francis "Tip" Herbert. All Ireland Polo Club was also founded in 1872 by Horace Rochfort of Clogrenane.

It did not take long for the sport to catch on around the world. The first official match in Argentina took place on the 3rd of September 1875, where the game had been taken by English and Irish engineers and ranchers.

Lt. Col. Thomas St. Quintin, 10th Hussars, introduced the game to Australia in 1876 - he was the "Father of Australian Polo" and two of his brothers stayed on there as ranchers and helped the game to develop. In the same year, polo was introduced to the U.S.A. by James Gordon Bennett Jr, who had seen the game at Hurlingham while on a visit to England.

The USA was the first to introduce handicaps in 1888.

Today, upwards of 80 countries play polo. It was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1936 and has now been recognized again by the International Olympic Committee.