The History of Polo Sport

Polo is a team sport often described by the 10th Hussars of Aldershot in 1869 as "hockey on horseback". Two teams of mounted players try to hit a small ball through a goal as many times as possible in order to win. The game is usually played at a gallop and has gone through many variations over the centuries.

  1. Origins

    • It is unknown whether polo originated in either Persia (Iran) or China, since both countries played a game called "changar" over 2,000 years ago. However, according to The Ultimate Horse Book, the word "changar" is Persian and means "mallet".

    First Game

    • The oldest recorded game of changar (polo) was in 600 BCE between the Turkomans and the Persians. The Turkomans won.

    Moving

    • The Persians brought polo to India in the 1700's. By then, it was called "pulu", which was a Tibetan word that meant "ball".

    Colonialism

    • When the British discovered polo in their conquest of India, they embraced it as their own. The British then went on to spread polo throughout Europe, North and South America.

    Misconceptions

    • Polo ponies are ponies out of custom, even though many of them are small thoroughbreds or are from other horse breeds.