British Polo Day Dubai 2013

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THe British Polo Day Dubaipresented by

Welcome to the fifth British Polo Day Dubai, sponsored by Hackett and Land Rover.

For those that have been here before, it is good to have you back and for those that are here for the first time, you are in for a thrilling afternoon of polo and a celebration of British heritage and tradition.

Polo began in Persia as early as the 5th century BC. The modern game as we know it was rediscovered in India in the 19th Century by the British Army and exported around the world. The Hackett British Army Polo Team returns to the British Polo Day Dubai for their second attempt at winning the Thesiger Trophy. We also welcome back players from Eton, Harrow, Oxford, Cambridge and The Cavalry & Guards Club.

As ever, we are indebted to all the sponsors for making this event possible. In particular, Habtoor Polo who have once again very generously provided the ponies and who are here this afternoon.

We start proceedings off today with the Cavalry v Guards Camel Polo match. For those new to camel polo, this is an intriguing spectacle. Both Cavalry and Guards regiments of the British Army had camel divisions in the nineteenth century and we are pleased to be once again reviving the association between these fascinating animals and groups of regiments.

We have Eton v Harrow in the Princes’ Cup. Eton and Harrow’s sporting rivalry goes back more than 200 years with the Eton v Harrow cricket fixture at Lords. Polo is no exception to the school’s sporting calendar and the score is poised at 2:2 between the two schools over the past 4 years.

The Gaucho Cup features Oxford v Cambridge. These two University towns have been pitted against each other for years and this match will continue a thrilling tradition.

Finally, UK v UAE: The Hackett British Army Team v Habtoor Polo is the climax of the day. Both sides will be competing for the Thesiger Trophy. The Thesiger Trophy, beautifully sculpted by Old Etonian George Bingham, is modelled on a photo that Sir Wilfred Thesiger took of HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan over 60 years ago. Sir Wilfred Thesiger also embodies the essence of today (having gone to Eton, Oxford and been in the British Army). He came to the UAE and made lifelong friends, being awarded the UAE Order of Independence. It is that friendship between the UK and the UAE that we celebrate with this event. We hope that you have a great day.

The Committee of The British Polo Day

P . O . B o x 2 4 8 A b u D h a b i

U n i t e d A r a b E m i r a t e s

T e l e p h o n e : + 9 7 1 6 1 0 1 1 0 0 F a c s i m i l e : + 9 7 1 6 1 0 1 5 1 8

d o m i n i c . j e r m e y @ f c o . g o v . u k http://www.fco.gov.uk

5 March 2013 Dear Friends

British Polo Day

I am delighted to see British Polo Day being celebrated again in the UAE. Polo and Equestrian are part of the DNA of the UAE and this event is yet another example of British and Emirati heritage and sport coming together so wonderfully -‐ with the unique combination of skill and grace that Polo demands. Both the UK and UAE share a love for sports. In the UK most Britons take part by playing in local clubs and competitions or by being part of the massive spectator following across the wide spectrum of sport from Ascot to Wimbledon and Lords to Wembley. And UK sportsmen and women are regular visitors to the UAE for world class events such as the Rugby Sevens, the Dubai World Cup, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the World Tennis Championships. Last summer’s London Olympic and Paralympic Games was a great example of that passion with both Team GB and the UAE National Team doing their countries proud. The Games also allowed the world to take a fresh and deeper look at my country -‐ Great Britain -‐ and indulge in all it has to offer from cultural heritage and innovation to business and shopping. The British Polo Day series of events have grown over the years to become one of the leading polo events of today. The event is celebrated in more than 10 different countries and as UK Ambassador to the UAE I am proud that the UAE is one of them and the only such country in the Middle East. Royal families in the UAE have played a pivotal role in the development of the horse-‐racing industry here and in the UK and the bonds with the UK royal family in this regard are unrivalled and deeply respected. The relationship between the UK and UAE has never been stronger. At any one time there are around 120,000 Britons living or visiting the UAE -‐ enjoying the warmth and spirit that has come to define the Emirates, and the words ‘second home’ to describe London by Emiratis are often heard and extremely welcome. It is due to a unique shared history that this relationship has grown so strong and resilient over the years. I would like to thank all our UAE and British friends who have made this British Polo Day in the UAE happen, and to pass my best wishes to all who are competing in this prestigious event. I hope it is yet another opportunity to make new contacts, strengthen existing bonds and refresh relations to take forward an even closer relationship in the future. With best wishes

Dominic Jermey Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the UAE

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© Oliver Doran at British Polo Day Dubai 2012

There will be VIP Coaches returning regularly to the Habtoor Grand Hotel, Dubai from 9:30pm onwards.

Please ask at the lobby of the Polo Club for more details.

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Timetable

12:00 – Camel Polo: Cavalry v Guards

13:00 – VIP Lunch

14:30 – Princes’ Cup: Eton v Harrow

15:30 – Gaucho Cup: Oxford v Cambridge

16:30 – Thesiger Trophy: British Army v Habtoor Polo

18:00 – Prizegiving

19:00 – Afterparty

Carriages at Midnight

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GAM is delighted to partner withthe British Polo Day in Dubai

For 30 years, GAM has provided bespoke portfolio management services, offering sophisticated tailored solutions that aim to deliver consistent, long-term performance. Through a relationship of mutual trust with our clients, we understand individual requirements and provide the highest standards of service.

Clients bene t from an experienced team offering innovative investment solutions through our commitment to truly active management and unrivalled access to the best global investment talent.

For more information on GAM Private Clients, please contact Rory MacEwen or Nick Andjel.

Rory MacEwenT +44 (0) 20 7393 8825M +44 (0) 78 2463 4346E [email protected]

Visit www.gam.com

Nick AndjelT +44 (0) 20 7393 8811M +44 (0) 77 1779 0537E [email protected]

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Dear players, sponsors, and guests:

As this year’s Cambridge University Polo Club Captain, I am pleased to see Cambridge, the sport of polo, and Britain as a whole so well represented in British Polo Day’s global program.

Teammates Casra Labelle and Imran Jumabhoy have flown over to join a Cambridge team in Dubai for what promises to be a brilliant day of polo and fun.

Back in England, we ended the winter season on a high note. Casra and I played on the Cambridge team that took home one of the University Nationals Trophies. Our up-and-coming talent put on an equally impressive show to win the Novice Trophy. In Druids Lodge’s winter-long University League, Imran, Casra, and I won second place for the Cambridge Blues.

We are all looking forward to more success as we kick off the summer season here in Dubai. On behalf of Cambridge University Polo Club, I hope to see you again at future British Polo Days across the world.

Best of luck to all the teams,

George UlmannCaptain, Cambridge University Polo Club

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DUBAI POLO AND EQUESTRIAN CLUB

At Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, you will discover the rich equestrian heritage of Arabia. Whether you want to ride magnificent Arabian horses across the desert at sunset, learn to play polo or take your family on a tour of our stables. This is the ideal venue, come enjoy it all with us.

Launched in April 2006, the Club has already become the heart of equestrian activity amongst residents in Dubai, as well as visitors to the city. This is thanks to the world-class polo, dressage, show jumping, training and livery facilities it offers.

The Club House, designed as a distinctive Spanish ‘hacienda’, provides members and guests with a wide variety of dining, leisure, business and entertainment options, featuring state-of-the-art communication facilities. It is the perfect setting for cultivating a common bond of interest in equestrian pursuits, and enjoying a lifestyle unique to the world of horses.

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Join the british polo day around the world

As British Cavalry Officers travelled the four corners of the earth, they learnt to play and love polo, spreading the game from Argentina to Australia. Polo is thriving everywhere it is played, British Polo Day celebrates the heritage of the game in each country, reviving some of the old rivalries whilst bridging cultures in a quintessentially British Day.

www.britishpoloday.com

British Polo Day United Kingdom, 29th June 2013

British Polo Day Germany, 7th July 2013

British Polo Day Russia, 7th September 2013

British Polo Day China, 21nd September 2013 TBC

British Polo Day Singapore, 28th September 2013

British Polo Day Mexico, 23rd November 2013

British Polo Day India, 14th December 2013

British Polo Day Thailand, February 2014

British Polo Day Abu Dhabi, March 2014

British Polo Day Dubai, March 2014

Brazil, The US and Australia to be added in 2014

If you would like to attend a British Polo Day, please email: [email protected]

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The Summer season of sporting events in Great Britain will soon be upon us with occasions such as Ascot, Henley and Goodwood being just some of the highlights of the sporting calendar, not forgetting of course Polo where matches take place all over the country from March to September. And while some people attend for the sport a great deal of others go more for the social ambience and the excuse to dress up.

We Brits enjoy our dress codes so while Polo events do not require the strict dress code of say Ascot it is usual to show that you have made some effort. If you wish to dress more formally then a very lightweight panama weave cool wool suit in khaki or parchment worn with a white or pale blue shirt and polka dot tie will be very smart, if the tie is too much for you then just add a silk pocket square, Linen and cotton suits are widely worn and are more relaxed. Alternatively the navy blazer worn with a Polo shirt and white jeans is a very popular style and one adopted by many of the players between matches.

As far as footwear is concerned, suede shoes, particularly chukka boots (though in Dubai they are probably better known as desert boots) really look the part. In Britain at the merest hint of the sun we go dashing for our Panama Hats and golf umbrellas otherwise worn to protect us from a unseasonal downpour.

If you are a newcomer to the sport of Polo then I recommend that you take a pair of binoculars because wherever you decide to sit to watch the match you will find that inevitably it will be being played at the other end of the field.

Jeremy Hackett

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When two players are approaching a ball in the open from different directions, the player (white), with the line of the ball on his offside, right hand side, has right of way.

The green player has the line, and at fair speed the white player would be crossing the line without sufficient safety margin, resulting in a penalty against white.

Even at a far lesser angle the white player would still be crossing the line if he continues in that direction, and committing a dangerous foul.

When travelling in the same direction the white player may draw level with green and then force him across the line and take possession of the ball without committing a dangerous foul.

The white player may move in parallel with the line and play a shot providing he can do so without interfering with the green’s mount or causing him to check back. If white would cross the line to the dotted position it would be a foul.

Two players riding for a ball from opposite directions in the open must both give way to the left and take the ball on their right or offside.

1 2

3 4

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Rules of Polo

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Princes’ Cup Eton vs. Harrow

Gaucho CupOxford vs. Cambridge

Thesiger TrophyHabtoor Polo vs. The British Army

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Presented byJamie Bowden, HM Ambassador to Oman

Presented byEd Hobart, HM Consul General to Dubai

Presented byDominic Jermey, HM Ambassador to the UAE

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The Eton team is captained by Rick Paton-Philip, who scored the winning goal for the Eton team at British Polo Day India. Eton has won the fixture twice in Dubai – they are confident of continued success. Rick is joined by his brother James, Harry Sutherland and Tom Hudson.

Of course the most well known Eton players are its polo playing princes, William and Harry. Eton also has produced some other fine polo players recently, perhaps typified by Luke Tomlinson, an 8-goal player and captain of the England Polo Team. However the history of Eton polo stretches a long way back with the first match played by Old Etonians outside of England being held over 100 years ago, when an OE team played in the United States.

eton

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Harrow

The Harrow team is captained by Clark Betz who also played in the first British Polo Day Dubai in 2009. Clark is joined by Hugh O’Donnell, a veteran of the region who has played in 4 fixtures. Harrow has also been represented in British Polo Day Singapore where they won a thrilling contest against Eton. Lord Byron famously played in one of the earliest sporting encounters between these two schools.

Harrow too boasts some other famous polo players: Jack Kidd in the modern era, a 4 goal player, as well as Jack Richardson and Richard Le Poer, and, perhaps most famous of all, Sir Winston Churchill.

Although the ancient sport of polo began in Persia and China many centuries ago, the British reinvented the modern game in the nineteenth century. Sir Winston Churchill, one of the greatest proponents of the game, once famously said “a polo handicap is a passport to the world” and polo is still thriving everywhere it is played, from Argentina to New Zealand. British Polo Day carries on the tradition of the British playing polo against friends in a host of different countries around the world.

www.britishpoloday.com

The Cambridge University Polo Club was founded in 1873 by the Hon John Fitzwilliam, making it one of the oldest surviving clubs in Europe. In 1879 the University players felt strong enough to enter a team in the Hurlingham Club’s Champion Open Cup which was the premier competition of the time and is equivalent to the modern day Gold Cup. Although they were quickly defeated, the experience served them well and they returned later that year to defeat Oxford in the first Varsity Match. The Varsity Match is still the oldest continuing polo fixture in the western world.

We are pleased to be joined by Casra Labelle and Imran Jumabhoy, current graduates of Cambridge University.

Cambridge

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The Oxford University Polo Club was founded in 1874, three years after the introduction of polo to Britain, by undergraduates from Christ Church and Brasenose Colleges, led by Mr. Walter Long (later Viscount Long of Wraxall and First Lord of the Admiralty). The first match was held on the 1st of July 1877, and was contested by its two founder Colleges amid considerable pomp and ceremony. The great success of that day encouraged the players to establish a Varsity match with the Cambridge University Polo Club. This Varsity match is the oldest polo fixture in the western world and was first played at the Bullingdon Cricket Ground in Oxford on the 27th of November 1878. It is the oldest continuing polo fixture in the western world. During the late sixties and early seventies, polo at Oxford enjoyed a purple patch, winning the annual match eight times in a row. Many of the players from this period are now well-known figures in the polo world. General Sir Redmond Watt played off a two-goal handicap while at university and subsequently became the highest rated Old Blue after the war when he peaked at five-goals.

The Oxford Team at British Polo Day Dubai features the current Oxford University Polo Club players George Allen and Jamie Lindsay.

OXFORD

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ESSENTIALLY BRITISH

HACKETT.C

OM

Sponsor of British Polo Day

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As history has shown, Polo and the Army are intrinsically linked. The modern Army still actively promotes polo. The Army Polo Association (APOLOA) was founded in 1998 to co-ordinate and encourage polo in the Army, both at home and abroad. The APOLOA runs the Inter-Regimental which is the oldest Polo tournament in the World. This tournament focuses on the highest standard of military polo and looks to encourage all Regiments/ Services to enter. Spread over 3 weeks and 3 rounds, the final is played at Guards Polo Club on The Queen’s Ground on a Sunday in June.

Often quoted as the sport ‘played’ by kings, Hackett’s association with polo is well known and immortalised in the now iconic Hackett Polo Shirt. From humble beginnings of providing shirts for the Guard’s Polo Team, Hackett has made a welcome return to the polo field by becoming the sponsor of the British Army Polo Team.

The Army Polo Association now keeps polo in The Army alive under the watchful eye of its Chairman, Colonel Simon Ledger who will also be our guest commentator for the day.

THE BRITISH ARMY

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The Habtoor family are one of the Middle East’s great polo patrons. The Al Habtoor brothers have played around the world as well as sponsoring the Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup. They also participated at numerous exhibition charity matches and played in Spain & St Tropez as well as snow polo.

In 2010, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Mohammed Al Habtoor launched the Dubai Polo Gold Cup which is one of the most important and prestigious polo tournaments in the region. In 2011, the Silver Cup was added to the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series. In 2012, Mohammed Al Habtoor led the Habtoor Polo Team to victory winning the Dubai Polo Gold Cup in a thrilling final and the event goes from strength to strength.

Habtoor Polo

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the artificial sweetener found in mainstream tonics. Its cloying taste will ruin the best gins. At Fever-Tree we use pure cane sugar to sweeten our tonic water, as well as natural quinine from Rwanda. In fact, all our mixers use only the finest natural ingredients to enhance the flavours of premium spirits. You don’t need a PhD in chemistry to understand that can only be a good thing.

Man has ridden camels almost as long as it has ridden horses, so it was only natural that after horse polo was developed camel polo followed. Today we welcome teams from The Hackett Cavalry & The Gaucho Guards regiments of The Britsh Army.

Cavalry & Guards Camel Polo Team

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We work with you to help you clearly define your needs and goals. Through this collaborative approach, we will create film and digital content that captures the essence of your company. Utilising the power of the Internet and its multiple distribution platforms, Pendragon provides you with a tailor-made end to end solution that will build a community based around content we develop. Founded in 2000, Pendragon Productions deliver exceptionalexceptional production values and services to its clients who value their communication output and recognise that digital media is at the core of today’s marketing channels.

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Camels were domesticated around 2000BC and the first camel saddles appeared in 1200 BC. Between 500-100 BC camels attained a military use. In the East Roman Empire the Romans used auxiliary forces known as Dromedarii, whom they recruited in desert provinces. The camels were mostly used in combat because of their ability to scare off horses in close ranges, a quality famously employed by the Achaemenid Persians when fighting Lydia. Camel cavalry have been used in wars throughout Africa, the Middle East and into modern-day India.

Given the history of man’s military connection with camels it is apt that when Dubai’s biggest Camel Polo match took place in 2010, it featured a match between the British Army Cavalry & Guards regiments. The British Army famously turned to using camels in the infamous battle of Abu Klea in 1885 while trying to rescue Charles Gordon from Khartoum. Camel Corps’ regiments were formed from the Cavalry (the Household Cavalry, the Dragoon Guards, the Dragoons, the Lancers, and the Hussars) and the Guards regiment of the camel corps was formed from the Grenadier, Coldstream and Scots Guards.

History of Camel-riding

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Polo and art have been intertwined as long as people have played the game, be it cave paintings, intricate sculptures or modern high definition photography. George Bingham, the renowned British sculptor brings some of his sculptures to the region and has created the “Thesiger Trophy” for the winner of the Hackett British Army Polo Team v Habtoor Polo. George tells his story:

Wilfred Thesiger was one of the 20th Centuries greatest explorers and travel writers. This tall, lanky old Etonian, known in the Arab world as Mubarak bin London (the blessed one from London) spent most of his life roaming the most distant, desolate and inaccessible parts of the world. He crossed the Empty Quarter twice, frequently lived as a bedu, travelling with the hardiest and most daring of regional tribesmen.

Thesiger’s travels frequently took him through the Emirate, through the southern oasis of Liwa and to Al Ain where he formed an enduring friendship with Sheikh Zayed, the future ruler of Abu Dhabi and the ‘father’ and first president of the UAE. In 1949 Thesiger stayed for a month with Sheikh Zayed, hunting with him on the nearby Jebel Hafeet, the highest mountain in Abu Dhabi. So when British Polo Day asked me to think of a subject for a trophy that encompassed both Britain and the UAE and celebrated the relationship of our two countries, the friendship of Wilfred Thesiger and Sheik Zayed immediately sprang to mind.

Thesiger was a prolific photographer, and he bequeathed his entire collection of some 22,000 photographs to the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford. Amongst those photographs there are many pictures of the hunting trip he went on with Sheik Zayed, and it is from these that I was inspired to make this trophy. I envisaged the Sheik seated on his camel ,a Saker Falcon perched on his arm, both looking at a quarry in the far distance. I had the idea, now for the research.

I am principally a sculptor of horses and English wildlife so the anatomy of the camel was then somewhat unfamiliar to me. Outside of a zoo, where it is difficult to get close to the animals to study them well enough to sculpt, where was I going

George binghamCreator of the Thesiger trophy

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to find camels in England? The power of the internet soon provided me with the answer; to my amazement I found a couple with 7 camels in Warwickshire, only a few hours from our home in Dorset. Jo Fossett and his wife Rebecca could not have been more helpful and invited me up to meet their wonderful creatures. Sitting in the kitchen before going out to the camels Joe advised me that the Sheik’s camel in the photographs was most probably of Syrian origin due to the long length of her legs,and he showed me how the camels are ‘’tacked up’’. Intrigued, I asked him what he did before he became a camel expert and trainer. With a dead pan face he told me he had been a lion tamer – I don’t know what I was expecting but certainly not that. Their camels were keen to come in as it was raining steadily, and I spent a couple of hours photographing, sketching and generally getting to understand the physiology of these good natured animals.

Whilst the Saker Falcon is small in this piece, I needed to research this bird never the less. This time the Hawk Conservancy came up with the model, a female Saker about 4 yrs old. She was in a foul mood the day I met her, and definitely not a creature to argue with.

Back in the studio I started sculpting in wax, working from the copious references I had made from the animals and Thesiger’s photographs of Sheikh Zayed. A couple of weeks later I was pleased enough with my efforts to decide that it was finished, and headed off to the foundry. The process of ‘Lost wax’casting has changed very little over the last thousand years or so. Briefly,the foundry makes a mould of my original sculptures, from which a hollow wax version is made. I correct any imperfections on this, and it is then encased in plaster. Once the plaster has had a week to dry it is placed upside down in an oven, so the wax melts and drains out. Molten bronze is then poured into the cavity, and when that has had time to cool the plaster is beaten off the bronze. You then have the bronze sculpture ready to finish in the chasers workshop, and finally it is patinated with various chemicals and heat, giving each piece it’s unique colouring. This is a very simplistic description of a hugely skilled and time consuming operation, and I am lucky to have the services of Atelier Foundry in Hampshire who produce such wonderful castings for me.

I have hugely enjoyed the making of this trophy, and look foreward to seeing it again in the more appropriate setting of Dubai!

For more information on George’s work www.georgebingham.com

BEULAH LONDON:THE AWARD FOR THE BEST DRESSED LADY ATTHE BRITISH POLO DAY DUBAI 2013

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Polo is perhaps the oldest game in the world – having been played over 2500 years ago - and is truly international. The name polo is said to have been derived from the Tibetan word “pulu”, meaning ball.

Ancient Polo

In 600 BC the first recorded game of polo took place between the Turkomans and

Persians. The Turkomans won. Polo began as a training game for cavalry units, usually the king’s guard or other elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen, who played it with as many as 100 to a side, it was a miniature battle.

Persian literature and art give us the richest accounts of polo in antiquity. Ferdowsi, the famed poet-historian, gives a number of accounts of royal polo tournaments in his 9th century epic, Shahnameh (the Epic of Kings). In the earliest account, Ferdowsi romanticizes an international match between Turanian force and the followers of Siyâvash, a legendary prince from the earliest centuries of the Empire.

The game spread into North India. In fact Sultan Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the first Muslim Emperor of North India, actually died accidentally in 1210 playing polo.From Persia, in medieval times polo spread to the Byzantines (who called it tzykanion), and

after the Muslim conquests to the Ayyubid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt and the Levant, whose elites favored it above all other sports. Notable sultans such as Saladin and Baybars were known to play it and encourage it in their court. Polo sticks were features on the Mameluke precursor to modern day playing cards.

Polo was passed from Persia to other parts of Asia including the Indian subcontinent and China, where it was very popular during the Tang Dynasty and frequently depicted in paintings and statues.

The Moguls were largely responsible for taking the game from Persia to the east and by the 16th century the Emperor Babur had established it in India. Polo was revived in Japan by the 8th Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751) and was played until early 20th century. It was the favourite sport of the last Shogun who surrendered power to the Emperor in 1868.

History of the Game

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Modern Polo

The modern game of polo, though formalized and popularized by the

British, is derived from Manipur (now a state in India) when British tea planters discovered the game in Manipur (Munipoor) on the Burmese border with India and eåstablished the first polo club in the world at Silchar, west of Manipur in 1862.

In 1869, Edward “Chicken” Hartopp, 10th Hussars, read an account of the game in The Field, while stationed at Aldershot, and, with brother officers, organised the first game - known then as “hockey on horseback”- on a hastily-rolled Hounslow Heath against The 9th Lancers. The 1st Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards were quick to follow suit on grounds at Hounslow and in Richmond Park; and then on a small ground near Earl’s Court known as Lillie Bridge. The first polo club in England was Monmouthshire, founded by Capt. Francis “Tip” Herbert, 7th Lancers, at his brother’s seat, Clytha Park, near Abergavenny in 1872.

In 1875, the first official match in Argentina took place on 3rd September, where the game had been taken by English and Irish engineers and ranchers.

Sir Winston ChurchillOld Harrovian

Prince Philipplaying polo

The Prince of Wales in Jodhpur1922

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BRITISH POLO DAY PERSONALITIES

Mrs. Zoe SnellBritish Polo Day Events Director

Eventing throughout her teens and competing at both a National and International level. She was an active member of the Oxford Brookes University sporting scene in both hockey and polo. Shortly after university, Zoe joined Cartier where she worked for six years as their Events Manager. She brings a wealth of experience in luxury sporting events. Recently married to the Head Rackets Professional at The Queens Club, they both share a love of sport. Zoe joins the British Polo Day Team as the Events Director and is responsible for the execution of all British Polo Day events.

Mohammed Al HabtoorPatron British Polo Day Dubai

Mohammed Al Habtoor is Vice Chairman and CEO of the Al Habtoor Group LLC. He began playing polo in 1999 and, with his brother Rashid, the family are one of the Middle East’s great polo patrons. In 2010, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Mohammed Al Habtoor launched the Dubai Gold Cup Series which is one of the most important and prestigious polo tournaments in the region. Mohammed and his brother Rashid have each played in the British Polo Day twice before.

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Lt Colonel Simon Ledger The voice of British Polo Day

Simon Ledger is a retired Lt Col in the British Cavalry regiment, The Light Dragoons. He joined the Army in 1975 and has served all over the world including Northern Ireland, UK, Germany, Norway, Cyprus, the Middle East and Kosovo. His last appointment was the Deputy Garrison Commander at Tidworth.

Playing polo since 1976, he has run the Tidworth PC as well as the Cyprus Polo Association and the CSPA. He began commentating in 1987 (polo, eventing and race calling) and since 1994 has commentated for all the major polo tours at Tidworth PC, Guards PC, Sandhurst and all British Polo Days worldwide. Chairman of the Army Polo Association since 2003; he organises all Army Polo activity.

Lady Violet MannersBritish Polo Day PR and Fashion Coordinator

Violet grew up in the Lincolnshire countryside the eldest of four siblings. She has been lucky enough to work with a fascinating variety of people from a very young age and this has given the skills to innovate on British Polo Day PR and Fashion.

She spearheaded Philip Treacy’s first visit to India and is well respected in the fashion space. She continues to manage all VIP, Fashion and Press relations for British Polo Day globally.

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Partners

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British Polo Day Dubai 2013

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