Starting out in the sport of kings

The Polo Lounge is like a fine old mink coat: opulent, dignified and warm." -Bryan Miller 

Polo is an outdoor, ball-game team sport that is played on a field that is the equivalent of nine American football fields, making it the largest field in organised sport. The objective of the game is easier said than done, scoring goals by knocking the small, white ball into the opponent's goals. When one throws in the complexities of being rammed by opponents, the movements and temperaments of the horse, and the bouncing of the ball itself (among many other issues faced during the match), polo becomes a rough and hard sport that requires both precision and tactics as well as gladiatorial combativeness. Today, we'd like to introduce you to the history of the sport and the general basics such as rules, equipment and a short guide to help get started.

Ancient and medieval origins

The origins of polo stretch back over two millennia to Persia, making it one of the most ancient sports in the world, but due to vague records much of the sport's early history is hypothesised. The Southwestern Asians originally called the game Chaugán (also believed to be the origin of golf by some, albeit this remains unclear.) The first public match was said to have taken place in 600 BC when the Persians were defeated by the Turkomans. It was generally reserved for the social elite in this era, with the tribes of ancient Asia competing through matches. In Shahnameh, the ancient poet Ferdowsi's famous national epic, he described polo's royal tournaments with great pomp, which further emphasised polo's aristocratic roots and its apt nickname, the 'Sport of Kings', in history. On a polo field along the famous silk road of China, a tablet was understood to have read "Let other people play at other things. The King of Games is still the Game of Kings." With the Mongols' help, polo fiercely spread through both India and China, becoming the national sport of Manipur, a state beholding a large and rich tapestry of history in polo.

The sport was also used to replicate warfare. It was used in training many of the elite cavalry of the age from the Byzantine empire to Kashmir (much like today, where many modern military colleges use it to the same effect, for example Sandhurst). Closely resembling battle, the earlier and more primitive versions of polo were quite rough. During the 12th century, the ruler of Constantinople, who was a great patron of the sport, literally paid and arm and a leg during a particularly crude match. Nevertheless, polo was always held in the highest regards in terms of gentlemanliness. An Iranian player of the 9th century plainly yet eloquently stated that, "a player should strictly avoid using strong language and should be patient and temperate."

Polo in India

Winston Churchill played polo

Among the famous players we know today, Sir Winston Churchill, the former British PM, reigned supreme as a most revered and formidable foe on the field. He picked up polo in India and was an avid polo player until his retirement in 1927 at the aged of 52. He was a relentless player, and often sought to play a minimum of eight chukkas (periods) daily, which was no-doubt an extremely tiring amount, when one considers the average amount played during a game is four. His devout and pious love for polo endured through all the accidents he attained during his service in India. Once, while attempting to set foot on the docks, Churchill slipped and severely dislocated his shoulder because of the heavy swells rocking the steamship. One would imagine that this serious mishap would have put an end to his polo career, but instead he would have his arm strapped to his waist during matches, enabling him to do everything apart from making the large swings. A second incident occurred while Churchill was supervising a rifle range, when shrapnel from a nearby target gouged his thumb. Owing to the pain of the injury, daily routines such as combing his hair were made excruciatingly painful, but this didn't deter Churchill from the sport, and he took it upon himself to have the reins strapped to his hand in order to play (an extremely dangerous move in the case of emergency dismounting).

The modern sport of polo

Polo is played on grass during the summer with teams of four and in an enclosed arena during the winter months with teams of three. The two types are known as outdoor polo and arena polo. A polo ground is 300 yards long and 160 yards wide - roughly four times the size of a football pitch - with 8 yard wide goals at either end. A match is divided into chukkas, which are seven minutes long with 30 seconds overtime. A top level game consists of eight chukkas but in many matches fewer chukkas are played. There are three minute intervals between chukkas, with five minutes at half-time, and teams change ends after each goal scored. Polo players are handicapped, from -2 to 10 'goals'. Only six players worldwide are rated 10 at present and the majority of UK players are rated at three goals or below. The team handicap is the total of the players' handicaps.

The sport of polo has spread the world over, from its not-so-humble beginnings, with patrons ranging from celebrities to the Crown and its successors. In the modern era of polo, Argentina dominates the world as a leading power. Today Argentina is the de facto Mecca of polo, with the largest number of 10-goal (highest attainable handicap) players hailing from the country. From 1900 to 1936 polo was an Olympic sport, with recent calls to reinstate it.

Polo is an old and traditional sport, the 'Sport of Kings'. From Constantinople's ancient fields to the present-day Calgary polo club, a uniting factor is the love and passion for the sport that has auspiciously endured the test of time.