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History
Of The Game
Possibly
the oldest team sport, polo's genesis is lost to the
eye of history. An Asiatic game, polo was probably first
played on a barren campground by nomadic warriors over
two thousand years ago.
Valuable
for training Calvary, the game was played from Constantinople
to Japan by the Middle Ages. Known in the East as the
Game of Kings, Tamer Lane's polo grounds can still be
seen in Samarkand.
British
tea planters in India witnessed the game in the early
1800's but it was not until the 1850's that the British
Calvary drew up the earliest rules and by the 1869's
the game was well established in England.
James
Gordon Bennett, a noted American publisher; balloonist,
and adventurer, was captivated by the sport and brought
it to New York in 1876 where it caught on immediately.
Within ten years, there were major clubs all over the
east, including Newport and Long Island.
Over the
next 50 years, polo achieved extraordinary popularity
in the United States. By the 1930's polo was in the
midst of a Golden Age - it was an Olympic sport and
crowds in excess of 30,000 regularly attended international
matches at Meadow Brook Polo Club on Long Island. The
galloping game produced athletes who would doubtless
have achieved greatness in any sport: Cecil Smith, the
Texas cowboy, who held a perfect 10-goal rating for
a still-record 25 years; Devereux Melbourne, instrumental
in formulating modern styles of play; and Tommy Hitchcock,
war hero, and the best of the best in international
competition for two decades.
In the
past 20 years, polo in the United States has undergone
an unprecedented and remarkable expansion. Check the
"Clubs" section of this web site for the location
of a polo club near you. At present, there are more
than 275 USPA member clubs with over 3,500 players.
Polo is
an international sport. During the summer season at
Hurlingham, England, the fall season at Palermo in Buenos
Aires, and the winter season at Palm Beach or Palm Desert
30 to 40 teams will be manned by players from the United
States, Argentina, Zimbabwe, Canada, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Mexico, France, Australia, South Africa, Great Britain,
and a dozen other polo playing countries. For over 30
years, the Argentines have been preeminent in the sport
but explosive growth in players and the availability
of good horses is honing the competitive abilities of
challengers from many countries, including the United
States.
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