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POLO SPORT - Information, contacts, explanations and more ....
everythingpolo.com
has a comprehensive range of services, merchandise and information
for the sport of polo. Browse our web site for polo merchandise,
polo clothes & equipment as well as events, polo clubs and
services for the sport of polo.
Polo is possibly the world's oldest team
sport and it is a popular today as it ever was. Polo clubs
and associations can be found throughout the world.
If you are looking for information about
the sport of Polo or want ot buy merchandise, go to the relevant
category on the site.
Polo Merchandise - Polo Events - Polo Tournaments - Polo Ponies
- Polo Equipment
Polo Organisations - Polo Clubs -Polo Sport
Everything for the Polo Enthusiast
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Polo
is possibly the world's oldest sport. It's origins are lost im history but it
might have begun as a sport played by nomadic warriors in Asia over 2 thousand
years ago. The word "polo" is said to derive from "pulu" - the Tbetan word for
"willow" - the material from which the balls were originally made. The Moghul
emperors took polo to India where it was observed by Btirish soldiers in the
early 1880's. It was not until the late 1860's that the sport of polo became
established in Britain, the rules having been drawn up by the British cavalry
in the 1850's
Polo is now an active sport in 77 countries, and although its tenure as an Olympic sport was limited to 1900–1939, in 1998 the International Olympic Committee recognised it as a sport with a bona fide international governing body, the Federation of International Polo.
Polo is, however, played professionally in only a few countries, notably Argentina, England, Pakistan,India, and the United States. Polo is unique among team sports in that amateur players, often the team patrons, routinely play alongside the sport's top professionals.
Argentina dominates the professional sport, its polo team has been the uninterrupted world champion since 1949 and is today the source of most of the world's 10 goal (i.e., top-rated) players. It is also the source of the Raza Polo Argentino, the only purpose-bred polo pony in general international demand. In the world of polo, Argentina's Heguy family, are to polo what the Barrymore family is to acting.
The U.S. is unique in possessing a professional women's polo league, the United States Women's Polo Federation, which was founded in 2000. The sixteen-team league plays across the country.
The modern sport has had difficulty grappling with the traditional social and economic exclusivity associated with a game that is inevitably expensive when played at a serious level. On the one hand, many polo athletes genuinely desire to expand broad public participation in the sport, both as an end in itself and to increase the standard of play. On the other hand, many members of polo clubs, particularly social or non-playing members, are attracted to the sport precisely because of its aura of wealth and its remove from ordinary people.
Nevertheless, the popularity of polo has grown steadily since the 1980s, and its future appears to have been greatly strengthened by its return as a varsity sport at universities across the world. Recently, in commonwealth countries such as Canada, a modern incarnation of polo has gained popularity. Bulahla, an updated urban equivalent, is rapidly expanding and varsity teams have been created at The University of Western Ontario, McMaster University and McGill University.
Arena (or Indoor) Polo is an affordable option for many who wish to play the sport and the rules are similar. The sport is played in a 300 ft by 150 ft enclosed arena, much like those used for other equestrian sports; the minimum size is 150 ft by 75ft. There are many arena clubs in the United States, where real estate is at a premium, and most major polo clubs, including the Santa Barbara Polo & Raquet Club, have active arena programs. The major differences between the outdoor and indoor games are speed (outdoor being faster), physicality/roughness (indoor/arena is more physical), ball size (indoor is larger), goal size (because the arena is smaller the goal is smaller), and some penalties. In the United States and Canada, collegiate polo is arena polo; in the UK collegiate polo is both.
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