The history of Polo

Polo was first played in Persia - modern Iran - at dates given from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD. Polo was first a training game for cavalry units, usually for elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen, who played it with as many as 100 to a side, it was a miniature battle. In time polo became the Persian national sport played extensively by nobility. Women as well as men played the game, as indicated by references to the queen and her ladies engaging King Khosrow II Parviz and his courtiers in the 6th century AD. Persian literature and art give us the richest accounts of polo in antiquity. Ferdowsi, the famed Iranian poet-historian, gives a number of accounts of royal polo tournaments in his 9th century epic, Shahnameh (the Epic of Kings). In the earliest account, Ferdowsi romanticizes an international match between Turanian force and the followers of Siyâvash, a legendary Persian prince from the earliest centuries of the Empire; the poet is eloquent in his praise of Siyâvash's skills on the polo field. Ferdowsi tells of Emperor Shapur II of the Sassanid dynasty of the 4th century who learned to play polo when seven years old.

Valuable for training cavalry, the game was played from Constantinople to Japan by the Middle Ages. Known in the East as the Game of Kings. The name polo is said to have been derived from the Tibetan word "pulu", meaning ball.

Modern Polo

The modern game of polo, though formalized and popularized by the British, is derived from the princes of the Tibeto-Burman kingdom of Manipur (now in India) in the South eastern Himalaya play the game while they were in exile in India sometime between 1819 and 1826.

The princes were on the run from the Burmese who overran their kingdom during what was called the Seven Years' Devastation. The first polo club was established in the town of Silchar in Assam, India, in 1834.

The origins of the game in Manipur are traced to early precursors of Sagol Kangjei. This was one of three forms of hockey in Manipur, the other ones being field hockey (called Khong Kangjei) and wrestling hockey (called Mukna Kangjei). Local rituals such as those connected to the Marjing, the Winged-Pony God of Polo and the creation-ritual episodes of the Lai Haraoba festival enacting the life of his son, Khori-Phaba, the polo-playing god of sports. These may indicate an origin prior to the historical records of Manipur, which go back to the 1st Century A.D.

In Manipur, polo is traditionally played with seven players to a side. The players are mounted on the indigenous Manipuri pony, which stands less than 13 hands high. There are no goal posts and a player scored simply by hitting the ball out of either end of the field. Players were also permitted to carry the ball, though that allowed opponents to physically tackle players when they do so. The sticks were made of cane and the balls were made from the roots of bamboo. Colorful cloth pom-poms dangle at sensitive and vulnerable spots around the anatomy of the ponies in order to protect them. Players protected their legs by attaching leather shields to their saddles and girths.

In Manipur, the game was not merely a "rich" game but was played even by commoners who owned a pony. The kings of Manipur had a royal polo ground within the ramparts of their Kangla Fort. Here they played Manung Kangjei Bung (literally, "Inner Polo Ground”). Public games were held, as they are still today, at the Mapan Kangjei Bung (literally "Outer Polo Ground”), a polo ground just outside the Kangla. Weekly games called Hapta Kangjei (Weekly Polo) were also played in a polo ground outside the current Palace.

The British are credited with spreading polo worldwide in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Military officers imported the game to the UK in the 1860s. The establishment of polo clubs throughout Britain and western Europe followed after a formal codification of rules. The 10th Hussars at Aldershot, Hants, introduced polo to Britain in 1869. The game's governing body in the UK is the Hurlingham Polo Association, which drew up the first set of formal British rules in 1874, many of which are still in existence.

This version of polo played in the 19th century was different from the faster form that was played in Manipur. The game was slow and methodical, with little passing between players and few set plays that required specific movements by participants without the ball. Neither players nor horses were trained to play a fast, non-stop game. This form of polo lacked the aggressive methods and equestrian skills to play. From the 1800s to the 1910s, a host of teams representing Indian principalities dominated the international polo scene.

Polo found popularity in Argentina and the USA.

In Argentina the Hurlingham club was important in spreading the game. Wealthy British men spread the game. The Hurlingham club was set up by John Ravenscroft who inspired by the Hurlingham English Club, set out to found a club in the style of this British club in Argentina. His Hurlingham club also gave it's name to a city that grew around it. Argentina grew to be one of the most important centres of pro Polo. Yet the game was aided in the country by the fact that Argentinian gauchos, - Gaucho a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile and Rio Grande do Sul state in southern Brazil) - had commonly played "Pato", a game which they had been playing competitively since 1610. Pato is a game played on horseback that combines elements from polo and basketball. It is the national game of Argentina. Pato is Spanish language for "duck", as early games used a live duck inside a basket instead of the ball. Accounts of early versions of pato have been written since 1610. The playing field would often stretch the distance between neighboring estancias (ranches). The first team to reach its own casco (ranch house) with the duck would be declared the winner.

Pato was banned several times during its history due to the violence—not only to the duck; many gauchos were trampled underfoot, and many more lost their lives in knife fights started in the heat of the game. In 1796, a Catholic priest insisted pato players who die in such a way should be denied Christian burial. Government ordinances forbidding the practice of pato were common throughout the 19th century.
As a result of this games popularity in Argentina, many Argentians found a natural cultural connection between taking up Polo.

In 1876, the sport was introduced to both Austrlia and the USA.

Lt Col Thomas St.Quintin, of the 10th Hussars, introduced the famous game to Australia

While inthe USA James Gordon Bennett, Jr. organized the first polo match in the US at Dickel's Riding Academy at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City. During the early part of the 20th century, under the leadership of Harry Payne Whitney, polo changed to become a high-speed sport in the United States, differing from the game in England, where it involved short passes to move the ball toward the opposition's goal. Whitney and his teammates used the fast break, sending long passes downfield to riders who had broken away from the pack at a full gallop.

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