History of Polo and the Thrill of the Game!

"The Georgians playing Polo in the Kingdom of Imereti" 

Teramo Castelli, 1640.

The thunder of horses, a sharp SMACK, and the ball goes flying. In the haze of horses chasing a ball it may seem like a cacophony of action, but to a polo player they know exactly what their niche is. Each player was assigned a position with their own role in winning the game for the team, each with the reliance upon the other.

This was the original use of polo by it’s first players, the nomadic tribes of Iran in the 6th century BC, to train cavalrymen and it had spread east and west throughout the world since. There have been records of games played in the past with players numbering up to a hundred horsemen on either side. With so many moving parts, it will take the full attention of the rider, to perceive and be aware of his surroundings and simultaneously attempt to fulfill their role.

It is not a surprise that polo has such a strong continuity. Figures ranging from Saladin, to Emperor Basil the 1st practiced the sport as it found strong ground amongst the upper classes. In the middle ages it could be said the sport spanned from Japan to Constantinople. It would take a long while until it would begin to spread to the west.

The English were the first amongst their western compatriots, adopting polo during their Victorian years. It was in the British Raj that the first English polo clubs began to formulate, such as the Calcutta polo club. By the 1860s, the sport had definitely spread back to Britain; polo clubs would begin to form in mass after official rules were certified. For the British this was in 1874 by it’s governing body, the Herlingham polo association.

From there polo would spread the globe as the “sport of kings”!

Escanaba Polo Mallet Company builds high quality one of a kind polo mallets. This article was written by a young college student. Very nice. We give away much of our profits to charitable causes as they relate to child enrichment, horses, and other worthy causes. https://www.escanabapolomallet.com/