1876 - FIRST AMERICAN POLO

1876-First American Polo Although polo and hunting are perhaps the oldest horse sports still played, polo did not arrive in the Western Hemisphere until the 1800s. British officials stationed in Calcutta, India, first formed a polo club in 1860. The game was imported to England by cavalry officers in 1871, and James Gordon Bennett brought the sport to America by 1876. Polo was first played indoors in a New York City riding arena. The immediate popularity of the sport led Harvard University to form an inter-collegiate polo team in 1885. In 1886, the British and Americans began playing international polo matches on a regular basis. By 1892 there were 13 U.S. polo clubs, most of which were in the East.