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The history of polo begins in ancient Persia around 600 BC. BC, where the game of polo became more and more popular and became a national sport. It later spread to Arabia and India as part of Islamic expansion. In the 19th century, polo made its way to Great Britain via India, and in 1859 the first English polo club was founded. Polo was an Olympic discipline five times until 1936.
Polo is a team sport with 4 players per team riding horses. They try to hit a 7 to 8 cm ball weighing 130 grams into the opposing goal with a long wooden bat. Every player needs a polo helmet with a face shield in competition. Furthermore, the horse is changed several times in order not to stress the animals too much. There are also 2 mounted referees on the field and a head referee on the edge of the field. The game is divided into periods of 7.5 minutes each, the direction of play changes after each goal. Each of the 4 players in a team has a specific tactical task.
Specially bred polo ponies, mainly from Argentina, are used for polo. The protection of horses is the top priority of the rules of polo.
In Argentina, where the world's best players come from, polo is more widespread than in Europe. England is the country with the widest base of polo clubs in Europe, where it is also played at numerous universities. In 2007 there were around 300 active polo players in Germany. 4 polo clubs with around 60 members are based in Hamburg. The number of clubs in the greater Berlin-Brandenburg area is also quite high.
