December 9th, 2016 | 
Author: Terribly sad today to hear of the sad death of Darlan. We had written about…
British Polo Day; the new networking
While the weather is wet and icy cold in the UK, riders are enjoying warmer climates at the Jodhpur International British Polo Day event.
The event which began in 2009 has been hosted in over 50 countries including Abu Dhabi, Australia, China, Dubai, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, Sumba Island (Indonesia), Thailand and the US to name a few. One thing they all have in common is their growing industry and business connections. The aim of a British Polo Day is to continue the tradition of playing high quality polo against friends in host countries, while also acting as a platform for businesses in emerging and growth markets.
Hosts, British Polo Day, www.britishpoloday.com/ have teamed up with some well-known brands and companies to bring you the event including Harrods, Land Rover and Bentley.
The Indian event includes a cavalry vs guard’s elephant polo match as well as a gala dinner for networking. The event spans over the weekend of the 9th to 11th December 2016 and attended by an expected 20,000 plus guests.
So why polo? The sport was originally played in Persia and China. In the 19th century Britain revived the sport and Sir Winston Churchill was a big fan of the game. Polo is not taught in some of the country’s leading schools including Eton and Harrow not forgetting the British Army.
Mixing business and sport is nothing new, the difference here is the calibre of guests to such an event. Previous British Polo days have seen over 12 members of the Royal family, 100 billionaire and leaders including Sir Richard Branson of Virgin amongst other global names. The guest list make it the ‘it’ place to attend this winter. Tatler, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vogue all cover the event in their listings.
Why India? Because they defeated us at Polo many decades ago. The Jodhpur Polo and Equestrian Institute hosts the event this year. It was established in 1889 when Sir Pratap, younger brother of the Maharaja and Prime Minister of Jodhpur State took an interest in the sport and requested training from a Bengal Lancer. It resulted in the formation of a team which travelled to Britain and defeated our polo team’s twice over. Around the same period horse racing took off in India and is to this day just as popular a sport as in the UK. Only in 1993 did the centre re-open and establish itself once again under the Highness the Maharaja Gaj Singh II.
During the event there will be some healthy competition between two of the world’s best known educational institutes, Mayo and Eton. Mayo College is the Indian equivalent of Eton and the two go head to head over the weekend. The games are full of old traditions in both cultures.
Polo teams are made up of four riders who play on a 270 by 150m grass field with a plastic ball and mallets. A game lasts for approximately two hours and is divided into periods called chukkas. The Indian game is likely to see up to seven players per side and no goal posts. Instead a team wins by putting the ball out of the far end of the field.
Previously polo was Olympic sport and as such has a federation. It is played in a number of countries professionally but it still has the class stigma that sets it aside from other sports.