Polo in the Cotswolds

600 BC. The first recorded game took place between the Turkomans and Persians (the Turkomans won).

4th century AD. King Sapoor II of Persia learned to play, aged 7.

7th cenury AD. Polo spreads from China to Japan

16th century AD. A polo ground (300 yards long and with goal posts 8 yards apart) was built at Ispahan, then the capital, by Shah Abbas the Great. The Moguls were largely responsible for taking the game from Persia to the east and by the 16th century the Emperor Babur had established it in India. Polo was revived in Japan by the 8th Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751) and was played until early 20th century. It was the favourite sport of the last Shogun who surrendered power to the Emperor in 1868.

1850s. British tea planters discovered the game in Manipur (Munipoor) on the Burmese border with India.

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.

1868. Malta Polo Club founded due mainly to army and naval officers stopping off there on their way home from India.

1869. Edward "Chicken" Hartopp, 10th Hussars, read an account of the game in The Field, while stationed at Aldershot, and, with brother officers, organised the first game - known then as "hockey on horseback"- on a hastily-rolled Hounslow Heath against The 9th Lancers. 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.

1872. The first polo club in England was Monmouthshire, founded iby Capt. Francis "Tip" Herbert (1845 - 1922), 7th Lancers, at his brother's seat, Clytha Park, near Abergavenny. All Ireland Polo Club was also founded in 1872 by Horace Rochfort of Clogrenane, Co. Carlow.

1875. The first official match in Argentina took place on 3rd September, where the game had been taken by English and Irish engineers and ranchers.

1876. Lt. Col. Thomas St. Quintin, 10th Hussars, introduced the game to Australia - 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.

1888. Handicaps were introduced in America

1895. The height for polo ponies was raised from 14 hands to 14.2.

1910. Handicaps were introduced in England and India.

1919. Height restriction on polo ponies was abolished.

Today, polo is played in 80 countries worldwide.

It was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1939 and has now been recognised again by the International Olympic Committee.

The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) is the governing body of polo in the UK, Ireland and many other countries throughout the world. As such, it is responsible for the regulations and rules under which the game is played. This includes the handicapping of any one playing in the U.K. or Ireland. The object of the HPA is to further the interests of polo generally and support by all possible means the common interests of its affiliated clubs and associations.

The Hurlingham Polo Association, Manor Farm, Little Coxwell, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 7LW
Telephone +44(0) 1367 242 828
Fax +44(0) 1367 242 829
Website: www.hpa-polo.co.uk

Asthall Polo Club, Asthall Farm, Kencot, Lechalde, Gloucestershire, GL7 3QT
Telephone 01367 860207/07740200507
Fax 01367 860207
Email asthallfarm@btinternet.com
Website www.asthallfarm.co.uk

Kirtlington Polo Club, The Polo Office, Park Farm, Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, OX5 3JQ
Telephone 01869 350 138
Fax 01869 351639
Email info@kirtlingtonpolo.com
Website www.kirtlingtonpolo.com

Edgeworth Polo Club, Field Barn, Edgeworth, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL6 7JF
Telephone 01285 821 695
Fax 01285 821 756
Email edgeworthpolo@gmail.com
Website www.edgeworthpoloclub.co.uk

Longdole Polo Club, Longdole House Farm, Birdlip, Gloucestershire, GL4 8LH
Telephone 01452 864544
Fax 01452 862321
Email rob@longdolepolo.com

Cirencester Polo Club, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1UR
Telephone 01285 653 225
Fax 01285 655003
Email info@cirencesterpolo.co.uk
Website www.cirencesterpolo.co.uk

Beaufort Polo Club, Down Farm, Westonbirt, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8QW
Telephone 01666 880 510
Fax 01666 880266
Email enquiries@beaufortpoloclub.co.uk
Website www.beaufortpoloclub.co.uk

Ladyswood Polo Club, Address Ladyswood, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, SN16 0LA
Telephone 01666 840880
Fax 01666 840073
Email info@ladyswoodpoloclub.com

Cotswold Polo