It’s known as the sport of kings but the game of polo is no longer the exclusive domain of aristocrats – especially here in Mexico.
Polo still attracts its fair share of social high fliers but with 15 clubs and 350 registered players in Mexico, both men and women, the game is broadening its appeal and trying to become more inclusive.
This means that anyone who would like to check out the Mexican polo scene for themselves is welcome at any of the five Mexico Polo Tour events scheduled in western Mexico in March and April (see box below). The first event takes place at Los Agaves Polo Club on the Tesistan highway outside Guadalajara on the weekend of March 7 and 8. There is no charge for entry, and food and drinks will be on sale.
For anyone not in the know, a game of polo consists of two teams of four players astride “ponies” (a traditional term only, as the mount is actually a full-sized horse) who try to thwack a ball with sticks (mallets) through sets of goals. At a high level, it requires superb horsemanship, technical skill and stamina, and is not a recommended pastime for riders with an aversion for the occasional bump or fall.
According to lawyer and polo enthusiast Francisco-Xavier López-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones, British miners and settlers brought polo (along with soccer and other sports) to Mexico in the 1870s, when it was quickly embraced by some prominent Mexican families. The first polo club was founded in 1880 in the Jockey Club of Mexico City. There’s no doubt the game was taken seriously at the turn of the century. During the summer Olympics of 1900 in Paris, Mexico won the bronze medal for polo.
López-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones remembers his father talking about thrilling visits to polo fields in Guadalajara in the 1940s, during the presidency of Manuel Avila Camacho, who had married Soledad Orozco García, a Zapopan native. A former revolutionary general who made his troops play polo to toughen them up, Avila Camacho promoted the sport vigorously during his six-year term and played frequently in Guadalajara, often sharing the limelight with top players from the United States. These American visitors were often too old to be called up for duty in World War II and were more than happy to be feted in Mexico and promote friendly bilateral relations.
At that time Guadalajara boasted several polo fields. Among the most famous was the “Old Polo Field” (where Av. Vallarta meets Av. Juan Palomar y Arias), and the one belonging to the “Asociacion Jalisciense de Polo” on Av. Lopez Mateos, in front of the site of the current Hotel Posada Guadalajara.
In the modern era, Mexico began to emerge as a serious polo nation in the 1980s, when several players jumped to international attention. The legendary Carlos Gracida (1960-2014) won nearly every honor in the game, including the Argentinian Triple Crown of Hurlingham, Tortuguitas and Palermo in 1987. In the same year he won the U.S. Open and the British Open Gold Cup, becoming the only player in history to win the Grand Slam of Polo, a feat he repeated in 1988 and 1994.
Gracida also won the “Camacho Cup” played in Texas, alongside the renowned Pablo Rincon-Gallardo and his brothers Memo and Ruben Gracida. This tournament was launched by Avila Camacho in 1941 as a perennial challenge trophy between Mexico and the United States.
Gracida was reportedly Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite player and the preferred instructor of royalty and celebrities, coaching the U.K.’s Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as King Constantine II of Greece, Prince Talal of Jordan and Sylvester Stallone, among others. Unfortunately, Gracida died last year of injuries suffered while playing polo at the Everglades Polo Club in Wellington, Florida.
The most famous polo field in the country is Mexico City’s Campo Marte, which is also used for important military commemorations. The iconic field hosted the 2008 World Polo Championship, won by Brazil, with Mexico finishing in third place, as well as the 1993 “Prince of Wales Cup” featuring Prince Charles and Gracida.
López-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones, a keen horseman who has been following polo since his early teens but admits was “never cut out for the sport,” welcomes the widening of polo’s appeal to a broader audience. “It’s no longer just the older, established families who are involved in the sport,” he says. “There are a lot of younger people now wanting to learn and take lessons. Often they become interested after attending an event for the first time.”
López-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones also mentions that, as with caddies in golf, stable boys (caballerangos) who look after polo horses often pick up the necessary horsemanship skills and become top class players.
Nonetheless, polo still struggles to shrug off its elitist label since it relies heavily on exclusive sponsors whose targets, naturally, tend to be the wealthier class. All polo events are wrapped around a lively social scene, with sponsors’ tents taking pride of place. The chief sponsors for next weekend’s event at Los Agaves are Italian automakers Ferrari and Maserati. Unfortunately, cars don’t come free with your second margarita.
In keeping with most polo events in Mexico, the public will be welcome without charge at the Los Agaves field on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8, with games scheduled to start around noon. The semi-finals and final take place on Sunday, when three games are scheduled.
Horse enthusiasts attending an event for the first time should find plenty to like about polo – in particular the bursts of speed, stamina, agility and manoeuvrability of the “ponies.”
A quick primer: A polo game consists of four to eight, 7-minute chukkas, between or during which players change mounts. There is a four-minute interval between chukkas and a ten-minute halftime break. Play is continuous and is only stopped for penalties, broken tack (equipment) or injury to a horse or player. The team with the most goals wins the game. Each contest lasts around one hour.
The Mexico Polo Tour
March 7 & 8: Los Agaves Polo Club (Carretera a Tesistan, just after the Colotlan highway turning, 1.5 kilometers past the northern Guadalajara Periferico).
March 13-15: Elite Residences Nuevo Vallarta.
March 28-April 11: Careyes Polo Club.
April 17 & 18: Leon Polo Club.
April 23-26: El Rey Polo Club, Quintana Roo.