Polo is one of the oldest known team sports in history and there are many mentions of polo across history. Although the exact origins of the sport aren’t known, there are records of the game dating back to the middle ages and games with similarities dating even further than that.
During the middle ages, polo wasn’t played as a game for enjoyment, but as a way to train cavalry. It was referred to as ‘hockey on horseback’ when it originally came to Britain and the first ever organised game came about in 1869 when it was read about in a magazine.
It seems funny that the sport we know and love today was first discovered by officers reading magazines to pass the time, however, polo grew in popularity and soon became a competitive sport and pastime for many.
The rules of polo were not set out to begin with, however, in 1874 the Hurlingam Rules came around and the game became more structured and framed.
With rules in place, it was far easier to organise games and tournaments and make the sport more of a competitive event than simply a game between friends. However one thing has remained, which is that the game has always been played on horseback.
There are few team sports that are played on horseback. When riding a horse for sport, one is usually alone either in racing, jumping and even dressage. Polo is one of the only team sports that is played on horseback.
In the present day, polo is still considered the ‘sport of kings’ and is an exclusive and impressive game to partake in. The game is becoming more accessible though, with the hiring of polo horses and polo lessons becoming more popular.