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Timeline

A polo timeline.

The dated history of polo in one table. Each row names its source, and where sources give different dates, the row is marked as disputed and the other versions are listed.

How to read this table: the source column names where each date comes from. Rows marked Disputed list the other dates or versions and who gives them. Wikipedia is a secondary source and is named as such. Some dates often repeated elsewhere, such as a tournament in 600 BC and very early dates for the ground at Imphal, are left out because we found no primary evidence for them; the origins page explains why.

Before 1850

WhenWhat happenedSource and notes
6th century BC to 1st century ADChovgan, the game Wikipedia names as polo's ancestor, is played in Persia and Central Asia.Wikipedia. Disputed: China, Iran, Manipur, Mongolia, Pakistan and Tibet all claim the birthplace (Wikipedia).
408 to 450Theodosius II builds a polo ground (tzykanisterion) in the Great Palace of Constantinople.Wikipedia.
618 to 907Polo in Tang China, recorded in tomb murals such as that of Li Yong, Prince Siguo.China Daily.
1210Qutb-ud-din Aibak dies after a fall from his horse while playing chaugan.National Museum, New Delhi.
c. 1580Abul Fazl's Ain-i-Akbari describes Akbar's polo, including night polo with burning balls.Lapham's Quarterly excerpt. The Akbarnama also describes the burning ball.
Early 1600sNaqsh-e Jahan Square, Isfahan, is laid out under Shah Abbas I, with stone polo goalposts.Columbia University. Disputed: 1602 (Lonely Planet), 1598 (Iran Safar), the 1500s (Historic UK).

1850 to 1899

WhenWhat happenedSource and notes
1853 to 1854Tea planters in Cachar are playing alongside Manipuri settlers.The Sentinel. Disputed: the first British sighting is also dated 1858 (Calcutta Polo Club) and 1859 (The Bridge).
1859Robert Stewart, Joe Sherer and local planters found the club at Silchar, now the Cachar Club.The Bridge, Sahapedia, The Sentinel. Disputed: 1834 (Wikipedia, Polo in India).
1861 to 1862The Calcutta Polo Club is founded.Calcutta Polo Club. Disputed: 1862 (HPA, Wikipedia), 1860 (The Bridge).
1868Naval officers take polo to Malta.The Field.
1869The 10th Hussars play the 9th Lancers in the first match in England, organised by Edward Hartopp.HPA, HorsePower museum, The Field. Disputed venue: Hounslow Heath (those three) or Aldershot (Hurlingham Club archive, search summary only).
1872The first English polo club is founded at Clytha Park, Monmouthshire.The Field.
1873The All Ireland Polo Club is founded.Phoenix Park visitors' guide. Disputed: 1872 (Carlow genealogy page).
1874The first polo match at Hurlingham, London.HPA. The Hurlingham Club archive (search summary) gives 6 June 1874.
1875The Hurlingham Polo Committee draws up the first English rules.HPA. Disputed: 1873 (Wikipedia, Hurlingham Club), 1874 (Historic UK).
3 September 1875The first official polo match in Argentina.HPA. Disputed venue: Estancia El Negrete or the Flores Athletic Club site (two Wikipedia articles).
1876The Champion Cup begins at Hurlingham.HPA.
1876James Gordon Bennett Jr. introduces polo to the US; the Westchester Polo Club is formed and plays its first game at Jerome Park in May.Museum of Polo, HPA. Disputed club date: 6 March 1876 (Museum of Polo), 6 May 1876 (Wikipedia), 1877 (Maryland State Archives).
1880The Ezra Cup is instituted in Calcutta.Calcutta Polo Club (its own date).
1886The first Westchester Cup, at Newport, Rhode Island, is won by Great Britain.HPA.
1888H. L. Herbert devises the American handicap system.Museum of Polo, HPA. Disputed: Wikipedia ties the system to 1890.
1888The Hurlingham Club in Argentina is founded.Wikipedia.
21 March 1890The Polo Association, later the USPA, is founded.Wikipedia.
1892The Indian Polo Association is formed.Calcutta Polo Club.
1893The first Argentine Open (then the River Plate championship) is won by Hurlingham.Wikipedia.
1893The Polo Pony Stud Book Society is formed at Chester, with a 14.2-hand limit for its stallions and mares.National Pony Society.
1895The pony height limit is raised from 14 hands to 14.2 hands.HPA; Royal Horse also gives 1895. Disputed: 1899 (Horse and Hound, search summary).
1898The County Polo Association is formed.HPA.

1900 to 1949

WhenWhat happenedSource and notes
1900Polo at the Paris Olympics; Foxhunters Hurlingham win.Olympedia, which notes it is unclear which Paris tournament was the Olympic one.
1903The Hurlingham Polo Committee is enlarged.HPA.
1904The first US Open is won by the Wanderers.Wikipedia.
1908Olympic polo at Hurlingham; Roehampton win.Olympedia.
1909The US "Big Four" win the Westchester Cup at Hurlingham.HPA.
1910Handicaps are introduced in England and India.HPA.
1911The Coronation Cup is first played.HPA.
After the First World WarThe pony height limit is abolished.HPA. Disputed: 1919 (Royal Horse; Horse and Hound, search summary), around 1920 (EBSCO), 1916 (Wikipedia, Manipuri pony, search summary).
1920Olympic polo at Ostend; Great Britain win.Olympedia.
14 September 1922The Asociación Argentina de Polo is founded at the Hurlingham Club.Wikipedia.
1922 to 1940Tommy Hitchcock Jr. is rated 10 goals every year but 1935.Olympedia.
1924Argentina win Olympic gold in Paris.Olympedia.
1925The Hurlingham Polo Committee is renamed the Hurlingham Polo Association.HPA.
1928The first Cup of the Americas, at Meadow Brook.Wikipedia.
27 October 1928The Campo Argentino de Polo in Palermo opens.La Nación.
1932Meadow Brook become the only winners of the Argentine Open from outside Argentina.Wikipedia.
1936Argentina win Olympic gold in Berlin, polo's last Olympic appearance.Olympedia. Historic UK gives the Olympic span as 1900 to 1939, but no Games were held after 1936 until 1948.
1939The last Westchester Cup before a 53-year gap, and the Champion Cup's last year at Hurlingham.HPA.
1949The County Polo Association merges into the HPA; Prince Philip takes up polo in Malta.HPA; the Royal Family website.

1950 to 1999

WhenWhat happenedSource and notes
25 January 1955The Household Brigade Polo Club, later Guards Polo Club, is founded.Wikipedia.
1956The first Gold Cup for the British Open, at Cowdray Park, is won by Indios.HPA.
1960The first Queen's Cup is played at Guards.HPA.
1961Juan Carlos Harriott Jr. reaches 10 goals, a rating he holds until 1980.Museum of Polo.
1964Claire Lucas (later Tomlinson) plays in the Varsity Match as its first woman player.Somerville College.
1971The Coronation Cup moves to the HPA's International Day; Prince Philip retires from playing.HPA; Royal Central.
1972Sue Sally Hale is admitted to the USPA; Claire Tomlinson becomes the first woman to win the County Cup.Wikipedia; Somerville College.
1975Coronel Suárez field the first 40-goal team in the Argentine Open.Wikipedia.
1970sPlastic polo balls are introduced.Wikipedia. Exact year not confirmed.
1979Claire Tomlinson becomes the first woman to win the Queen's Cup.Somerville College.
1982The Federation of International Polo is founded.FIP. Disputed: 25 November 1982 in Buenos Aires (Olympedia), in place by April 1982 (Wikipedia), 1984 (Australian Polo Federation).
8 August 1984The Argentine polo horse breeders' association is founded and the Polo Argentino studbook begins.Wikipedia.
1986Claire Tomlinson becomes the first woman to reach five goals.Somerville College.
1987The first FIP World Polo Championship, in Buenos Aires, is won by Argentina.FIP.
1992The Westchester Cup is revived.HPA.
1994Adolfo Cambiaso wins his first Argentine Open.Wikipedia.

2000 to today

WhenWhat happenedSource and notes
2003La Aguada, with four Novillo Astrada brothers, win the Argentine Open.Wikipedia.
17 November 2005Prince Charles is reported to be giving up polo.NBC News (Reuters).
2013UNESCO lists Azerbaijan's chovqan as heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.UNESCO.
2017UNESCO inscribes Iran's chogān on its Representative List; the Argentine Women's Open begins.UNESCO; Global Polo.
2022Spain win the World Polo Championship in Wellington, Florida; Argentina win the first Women's World Polo Championship; Poroto Cambiaso becomes the youngest Argentine Open winner.FIP; Wikipedia.
31 March 2023England win the Westchester Cup in Wellington, Florida.HPA.
10 December 2024Netflix releases the documentary series "Polo".Wikipedia.
2025The HPA's 150th anniversary year; the USA win the FIP Arena World Polo Championship; La Natividad-La Dolfina win the 132nd Argentine Open and the Triple Crown, Cambiaso's 19th Open.HPA; FIP; Buenos Aires Herald. Disputed count: an ESPN preview on the day of the final had already credited Cambiaso with 19 titles, which would make this his 20th.
July 2026The Ladies British Open and Cowdray Gold Cup finals are played on the same day for the first time.Cowdray Park Polo Club.
December 2026 or 2027 (scheduled)The XIII FIP World Polo Championship.Disputed: the United Arab Emirates, 6 to 20 December 2026 (Gulf Today, December 2023); Uruguay in 2027, no exact dates (FIP report on its September 2026 qualifier at Chantilly). The FIP's December 2025 report gave 2026 with no host or dates, and Wikipedia's list showed 2027.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, Polo (secondary)
  2. Wikipedia, Tzykanisterion (secondary)
  3. China Daily, 1,300-year-old mural is a snapshot of a polo match
  4. National Museum, New Delhi, Chand Bibi playing Polo (Google Arts and Culture)
  5. Lapham's Quarterly, Abul Fazl on Akbar's polo
  6. Columbia University archaeology, Isfahan and the miniatures
  7. Lonely Planet, Naqsh-e Jahan (Imam) Square
  8. Iran Safar, Naqsh-e Jahan Square
  9. Historic UK, the origins of polo
  10. The Sentinel (Assam), game of polo revives British-era memories
  11. The Bridge, polo's origin in India
  12. Sahapedia, Manipuri ponies and the origins of polo
  13. Wikipedia, Polo in India (secondary)
  14. Calcutta Polo Club, heritage
  15. Wikipedia, Calcutta Polo Club (secondary)
  16. The Field, the history of polo
  17. Hurlingham Polo Association, Year Book 2024 (PDF)
  18. HorsePower, the museum of The King's Royal Hussars, the beginnings of polo
  19. Hurlingham Club, from the archives (search summary)
  20. Phoenix Park visitors' guide (PDF)
  21. Ireland Genealogy Projects, Carlow, polo club
  22. Wikipedia, The Hurlingham Club (secondary)
  23. Wikipedia, Flores Athletic Club (secondary)
  24. Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, James Gordon Bennett Jr.
  25. Maryland State Archives, polo entry
  26. Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, H. L. Herbert
  27. Wikipedia, Polo handicap (secondary)
  28. Wikipedia, Hurlingham Club (Argentina) (secondary)
  29. Wikipedia, United States Polo Association (secondary)
  30. Wikipedia, Campeonato Argentino Abierto de Polo (secondary)
  31. National Pony Society, our history
  32. Horse and Hound, choosing polo ponies (search summary)
  33. Royal Horse, polo as an equestrian sport
  34. EBSCO Research Starters, polo
  35. Wikipedia, Manipuri pony (secondary)
  36. Olympedia, polo at the 1900 Paris Games
  37. Olympedia, polo at the 1908 London Games
  38. Olympedia, polo at the 1920 Antwerp Games
  39. Olympedia, polo at the 1924 Paris Games
  40. Olympedia, polo at the 1936 Berlin Games
  41. Wikipedia, Argentine Polo Association (secondary)
  42. Olympedia, Tommy Hitchcock Jr.
  43. La Nacion, guide to the Campo Argentino de Polo
  44. The Royal Family, sport
  45. Wikipedia, Guards Polo Club (secondary)
  46. Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, Juan Carlos Harriott Jr.
  47. Somerville College, Oxford, Claire Tomlinson
  48. Royal Central, remembering Philip, the prince and polo
  49. Wikipedia, Sue Sally Hale (secondary)
  50. Federation of International Polo, about us
  51. Olympedia, polo
  52. Wikipedia, Federation of International Polo (secondary)
  53. Australian Polo Federation, history
  54. Wikipedia, Argentine Polo Pony (secondary)
  55. Federation of International Polo, World Polo Championship
  56. NBC News (Reuters), Prince Charles gives up polo (17 November 2005)
  57. UNESCO, decision 8.COM 7.A.1, Chovqan
  58. UNESCO, Chogan, a horse-riding game accompanied by music and storytelling
  59. Global Polo, history of polo in Argentina
  60. Wikipedia, World Polo Championship (secondary)
  61. Federation of International Polo, Women's World Polo Championship
  62. Wikipedia, Polo (docuseries) (secondary)
  63. Hurlingham Polo Association, chairman Will Lucas's vision (December 2024)
  64. Federation of International Polo, USA captures the II FIP Arena World Polo Championship
  65. Buenos Aires Herald, Cambiaso adds another title at the Argentine Open final (8 December 2025)
  66. Cowdray Park Polo Club, Gold Cup day report (July 2026)
  67. ESPN, preview of the 2025 Argentine Open final
  68. Federation of International Polo, Switzerland qualifies for the XIII FIP World Polo Championship (30 September 2026)
  69. Gulf Today, UAE to host XIII FIP World Polo Championship (December 2023)
  70. Federation of International Polo, 2025 General Assembly in Buenos Aires (December 2025)

Keep reading

Origins

Persian chogan, Byzantine courts, Tang China and Mughal India: what the sources say, and where they disagree.

The International Era

The Westchester and Coronation Cups, the Cup of the Americas, the FIP and the World Polo Championship winners.

How the Game Changed

Team sizes, the pony height limit, handicaps, mallets and balls, and the rise of the patron.

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