The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) is the governing body for

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

and many other countries. The

Federation of International Polo The Federation of International Polo (FIP) is the international federation representing the sport of polo, officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee. It was founded in 1982 by representatives of eleven national polo associati ...

produces the International Rules of Polo through a cooperative agreement with the Hurlingham Polo Association, the Asociacion Argentina de Polo, and the

United States Polo Association The United States Polo Association (USPA) is the national governing body for the sport of polo in the United States. Introduction Established in 1890, by David Grubbs the USPA provides resources to over 4,500 individual members and 250 polo club ...

. Within its jurisdiction, the Hurlingham Polo Association is responsible for implementing the rules of polo and for disciplining players who commit infractions against these rules. It also designates handicaps for each of the 2,000 or so players in the UK. It drew up the first set of formal British rules in 1874, many of which are still in existence.

History

The association originated as the Hurlingham Polo Committee in 1875 (which drew up the first English rules). The Hurlingham Polo Committee was re-titled as the

Hurlingham Club The Hurlingham Club is an exclusive private social and athletic club located in the Fulham area of London, England. Founded in 1869, it has a Georgian-style clubhouse set in of grounds. It is a member of the Association of London Clubs. Histo ...

Polo Committee and expanded to include representatives on the Council from the Services, the County Polo Association (formed in 1898 to look after the interests of the country clubs and to run the County Cup Tournaments), the three London polo clubs - Hurlingham,

Ranelagh Ranelagh ( , ; ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of D06. History The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood just outside Dublin, surrounded by lande ...

and

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...

- and from all associations within the Empire where polo was being played in 1903. Later, in 1925, the Hurlingham Club Polo Committee was re-designated as the Hurlingham Polo Association.

References

External links

The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) Website
The governing body for polo in the UK, Ireland, and many other countries. Polo in the United Kingdom Polo governing bodies Organisations based in Oxfordshire Sports organizations established in 1925 Sport in Oxfordshire Sports governing bodies in the United Kingdom

Polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

Vale of White Horse 1925 establishments in the United Kingdom {{polo-stub