Why isn’t polo in the Olympics? Word that Prince Harry is doing a Netfix series about the sport, combined with horse show season and the Paris Olympics made me wonder this – and start googling.
The history of polo goes back millennia, around the world. Somewhere, it seems, there was always someone who said “Hows about we saddle up and whack a ball with a stick?” And enough others who said “Sounds like a plan!”
Like many horse sports, it also was a way cavalry officers trained themselves and their horses while having fun. So it fits with the history of many long-standing sports in the Olympics.
Olympics polo
Not surprisingly, therefore, polo was in the Olympics, from 1900 to 1936. In 1948, when the games resumed after World War II, polo was not included. The International Olympic Committee recognizes the Federation of International Polo (FIP).
There is a campaign to get snow polo introduced in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Yes, that’s an existing sport with its own world cup and all. The game sounds the same, but on snow instead of grass. I hope the lobbying is successful. I’d love to watch it.
Polo was featured prior to the 2018 Rio Olympics as a contender for inclusion in future games. As was squash. Guess which won?
Squash. So, two people lobbing a ball against a wall versus two teams of riders on horseback whacking a ball around a large field. And they pick the wall. I can’t even begin to understand how that decision was made.
Elitist?
Polo is a rich person’s game, they say. And what we see of it, it is. Played by royals, aristocrats and millionaires. Sponsors like Cartier and Deutsche Bank. Strings of expensive polo ponies.
To play polo, you need more than one horse. While the person may be able to play an entire game, the exertion required of the horse is such that no one horse can play for the entire time. And travel for the horses is costly if you’re competing at any distance away from home.
Other than that, the appearance of wealth maybe is just that – appearance due to the circumstances of those we see on polo grounds. Rich and/or aristocratic.
The trappings of the game overshadow the actual game itself. Forget about who is sitting on the polo pony and watch what they’re doing. It’s as complicated and strenuous as football or hockey. But there are as many horses as people on the field. We overlook the import of that if we focus only on the rider. We don’t understand the game itself – the rules, the training, the history.
Harry explains polo
When I heard that Prince Harry was going to make a series on polo, I was thrilled. He’s a recognizable name associated with the celebrity and royal worlds, and he knows the game well. So who better?
I’d thought of it already when I heard that he and Meghan had to do something more for Netflix to fulfill their multi-million dollar contract. We’ve had the Invictus Games and enough whining about his family. Polo has the glamour of the royal-adjacent, celebrity world as well as the work and skill of horse sports. Harry can tell us about a sport few of us know much about. He’s got the backstage pass to it all – horse and human. And the name recognition to attract an audience.
But I was alone in my enthusiasm. “Elitist,” “who cares” and “out of touch” were the sentiments that I heard expressed by royal and popular culture commentators. Doesn’t make sense to me. We watch celebrities just being celebrities, and rich people just being rich. Why wouldn’t we want to watch them doing something? Especially a game that few of us know much about and that, in its playing, does not actually care how much money you have or who designs your clothes.
Accessibility
Look at any stable. Lots of people own more than one horse. You don’t need to be a millionaire to start out in polo. But we don’t think that because we rarely see polo matches in “regular person” venues.
Once when I was at the Western Fair in London, Ont., I watched a polo match. A local club played a short exhibition game to show what it was like. There wasn’t a millionaire or royal amongst them. Regular guys and regular horses.
Watching them manoeuvre, hit the ball and run full-tilt toward the goal – it was wonderful! I’ve never again seen polo played. But I remember that game vividly.
The mission of the Olympic games is to increase visibility of sports and thereby encourage interest in them. Take the world’s top athletes and let them inspire others. At the Olympic level, all sports are elitist. No one gets near the games without a lot of time, effort and money.
But all sports, even expensive ones, can start with relatively little. Their accessibility, though, is in part dependent on their visibility. You see somebody swimming or skating and say – wow, I want to do that too. Watch dressage and practice the half-pass with your horse.
If asked “Wanna get some rackets and hit a ball against a wall?” or “Wanna get on a horse and hit a ball around?” I don’t have to think long about my answer. “What kind of saddle do I need?”
Polo Canada has information on clubs across the country. Women play polo in their own clubs as well as against and with men. (Kids play too, as do some little ponies.)
See my Modern Pentathlon for an equestrian sport that, sadly, was recently dropped from the Olympics.
