Polo is one of the oldest and fastest team games in the history of the world. The first recorded game occurred some time around 600BC in Northern Persia. The game slowly spread East as far as China and Japan.

It wasn't until the 19th century however, that Polo as we know it today began to take shape. British soldiers and merchants in India adopted the game, then played by the Manpuri hillsmen. The name 'polo' derives from the Indian word 'pulu', referring to the wood from which the ball was made; and the the word 'chukka' which comes from the word for round.

The first polo club was opened in India in 1859 called 'The Retreat at Silchar', however it wasn't until 1875 when Hurlingham in England became the recognised headquarters of the game, that any formal rules began to be produced.

Over the last 100 years the game has spread throughout the world. Argentina, Great Britain, Mexico, USA, Australia, Chile, Brazil and New Zealand are the main countries that play the sport today. Since the war Argentina has lead the world in the sport, success in part due to their breeding of the best ponies.

In England since the last war it has been a very different story to that in Argentina. The war nearly marked the end of the sport. Expenses had risen enormously and there was a great shortage of good ponies. With sound reorganisation Lord Cowdray and the Hurlingham Polo Association managed to restore the sports popularity with the public until once again the spectator sport was thriving.

In the last few decades the sport has benefited enormously from the participation of Prince Phillip, The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH The Prince of Wales and TRH Princes William and Harry. Commercial sponsorship in recent years has injected further momentum to the sports growth. There are now over thirty active clubs in Britain and Ireland.
The ruling body of the game is still the Hurlingham Polo Association.