British Polo Day – making polo history in the twenty-first century – Part one
By Victoria Elsbury-Legg
Click here for Part two
It’s hard to believe that ‘British Polo Day’ has only been on the polo scene since 2009, especially considering in that time over 40 events have been held in 15 countries around the world and the British Polo Day Global Series now incorporates 10 annual events held in countries as far afield as: Abu Dhabi, Australia, China, Dubai, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, Sumba Island (Indonesia), Thailand and the US.
Founded by Ed Olver and Tom Hudson, British Polo Day (which became a trade mark in 2013) grew ‘from a love of the history and traditions of the ancient sport of polo and a recognition that the ‘international language of the horse’ can bridge cultures, bringing people together on a global scale while celebrating ties with our partner countries. The aim of a British Polo Day is to continue the tradition of playing high quality polo against friends in host countries, while also acting as a platform for businesses in emerging and growth markets, giving them intravenous access to the global elite. This shared love of the sport is used to open doors and build a network of diplomatic and commercial opportunities to showcase these companies and brands and use British Polo Day as a conduit for projecting quality, craft and heritage.’
The key to some of their success would appear to be achieved by intrinsically linking the wealth of history ingrained in the sport of polo, with each of their British Polo Days encapsulating the talents of British polo players from some of the top schools and colleges in Britain – Eton, Harrow, Oxford and Cambridge, alongside players from the British Army – all of whom compete against the best teams of the host country (to date over 100 British and international players have taken part in British Polo Days). There is little doubt their recipe has been hugely successful – over 20,000 guests have enjoyed British Polo Days, included amongst them are innovators such as Sir Richard Branson and Elon Musk, 100 independent billionaires, diplomats, government figures and members of 12 royal families.
Philanthropy is one key concept of a British Polo Day with over $1.5 million being raised so far in 2015. Starting the ‘2015 Global Series presented by Land Rover’ earlier in the year on Saturday 21st March was a British Polo Day held in Abu Dhabi at the Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club, owned by HH Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with over £35,000 in funds being raised for Women and Health Alliance (WAHA) and Help for Heroes.
To be continued