Oxford University Polo Club
Oxford University Polo Club | |
Official website | |
University | University of Oxford |
Location | Oxford, England |
Founded | 1874 |
First Varsity Match | 27 November 1878 |
Known as | Dark Blues |
Home Grounds | Kirtlington Park Polo Club East End Farm, North Leigh |
Affiliation(s) | Hurlingham Polo Association SUPA |
Chair | Camilla Hyslop |
Captain | Thomas Gordon-Colebrooke |
Secretary | Ayaka Shinozaki |
Treasurer | George Tebbutt |
Polo Manager | Anthony Del Rio |
Social Secretary | Bérénice Sylverain |
Stash & Sponsorship | Yurim Park |
Press & Social Media Officer | Cadence Webley |
Senior Member | Jon Roycroft |
Head coach | David Ashby |
Coach | Hector Worsley |
Trophies | The Varsity Trophy given by the Hurlingham Club in 1920, Winter League Trophy, Summer Cuppers Trophy, Atlantic Cup Trophy, Claire Lucas Ladies Cup |
Team Colour | Dark Blue #002147 |
The Oxford University Polo Club (often referred to as OUPC) is the
The last Varsity Match won by Oxford was in 2023, defeating Cambridge 7–5.[2]
A Winter Varsity has also been created due to the growth in Arena Polo. Oxford won the Winter Varsity title in 2022, by 21-0, the biggest varsity win in the club history.[3]
History
Early days
The
Around 1900, the Oxford team included the three Nickalls brothers, two of whom went on to represent England.[17] Their contribution at university level saw Oxford romp to a 15–0 victory in 1898. Five years later, an American arrived at Oxford who was to become another 10-goal player and more famous than any of his predecessors: Devereux Milburn.[18] Not content with gaining a rowing Blue and being on the swimming team, Milburn guided the polo team to victory in successive Varsity matches, winning by a margin of 14 goals on both occasions. Even swimming and playing polo against the same university on one day was no problem for him.[19] He soon graduated to international level, playing number four for his country in every match between 1909 and 1927. Universally described as "the greatest back there has ever been",[20] in his prime he had no equal.[21] He was a pivotal member of the mighty "Big Four", the greatest side to play during that era, and one that changed the way the back position is played. Previously, the English regarded the back's role as similar to a goalkeeper in football, i.e. to stay by the goal and defend. Whereas before, polo was a gentleman's preoccupation, Milburn made a job of it.[21]
Amongst the club coaches were Captain James Pearce,[22] Lord Cowdray and Winston Churchill, who was a keen polo player himself and who came over to Port Meadow frequently from Blenheim Palace to play polo and to help the Oxford Varsity team "by giving them a good gallop and a pipe-opener before the inter[-Varsity]."[23][24]
Post-war
After the
During the late sixties and early seventies, when
Recent years
Another milestone was reached in 1994: for the first time in the history of any mixed university sport, the Varsity match teams were both captained by women (Jacqui Broughton, Oxford and Emma Tomlinson, Cambridge). In the last decade Oxford had another purple patch with five successive wins in 2007–11. In 2012, the winning streak came to an end when Oxford entered a strong +2 team against a -5 team on the Cambridge side, losing 2–13. The following year saw an unprecedented rise in membership and club activities under the chairmanship of Andreas Kranke, over 100 new members, the establishment of intercollegiate 'Cuppers' and an intercollegiate Winter League. The 2013 Varsity Match was won 11–3 with the help of new addition Lanto Sheridan, who holds the highest handicap (+4) reached by post-war players while still at university. History was made in 2016: the match record was broken by Oxford winning the Varsity Match 19-0 and the club also gained Discretionary Full Blue status amongst the Oxford Blues sports. 2016 also saw the launch of a Winter Varsity Match for arena polo and a renewal of the Atlantic Cup, bringing together university teams from Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford and Yale, with Oxford coming out the winner, and for the first time winning the University Challenge Cup at the Goldin Metropolitan Club in Tianjin, China. 2017 saw the beginning of a new Varsity tradition with the inaugural Claire Lucas Ladies Cup at Kirtlington with teams from Cambridge, Oxford and St Andrew's, which Oxford won undefeated. In the same academic year, the LaMartina Varsity was won against Cambridge 5-1 and the University Challenge Cup was won for the second time in a row at the Goldin Metropolitan Club in Tianjin. In 2019 the LaMartina Varsity was won 15–1.[28] In 2020, the Arena Varsity Team of 1. Capucine Granchi [Polo Manager] (1st Year, St. Hugh's), 2. Tamara Gibbons [Chairman] (2nd Year, St. Edmund Hall) & 3. Max Rumsey [Captain] (1st Year, Balliol) achieved 3 accomplishments, previously unattained throughout OUPC history. Firstly, they won the Open division at the universities' National Championships, out of 202 teams competing across all divisions.[32] Secondly, they maintained a completely unbeaten season, across all matches & tournaments. Thirdly, they won the accolade "Blues Team of the Year" at the Oxford University Sports Awards, thus reputing them to be "the best sports team at Oxford University".[33] Their chance to win the Varsity was cut short due to COVID-19 restrictions. The third Varsity after the pandemic was won by Oxford 7–5,[34] with the Varsity series currently standing at 67:57 in Oxford's favour.
Training
The club caters for players of all ability levels, even complete beginners who have no experience in riding.[35] Polo sessions including club chukkas are held throughout the year. These are run in conjunction with polo professional and H.P.A. Coach David Ashby and The Oxford Polo School, based at Kirtlington Park Polo Club.[36] Athletes have the opportunity to attend additional theory lessons during term time as well as an intense training camp during the vacations. The club genuinely desires to broaden public participation in the sport, both to increase the standard of play and to go against the traditional social and economic exclusivity associated with the game.[37] Arena polo (or indoor polo) is an affordable option for many who wish to play the sport, and the club offers reduced lesson prices for students and helps covering the entry fees for tournaments. The result is that the popularity of the club has grown steadily since the 2010s and the club has more than 100 active members (June 2013).[38]
Varsity match
The match format is extremely unusual as it is traditionally not handicapped. Teams are also mixed which is rare opportunity amongst the Oxford University Blues sports. The original conditions were:
"No player eligible who has been a member of his University for more than four years, or who has not been in residence during the term in which the match takes place. Instituted in 1878. Played generally at Hurlingham, in June."[39]
Currently, polo is a Discretionary Full Blue sport at Oxford University.[40] A maximum of 4 Half Blues can be awarded at the discretion of the captain with regards to the impact made in the 'A' Varsity team. One Discretionary Full Blue may be awarded to a member of the Varsity 'A' team at the Chairman's discretion, providing that the Varsity match is won and they have a handicap of 0 or above. No Half Blues are offered to the members of the 2nd or 3rd team.[41]
Oxford and Cambridge take it in turns to host the B-Team Varsity event on a separate weekend during Trinity Term. The Old Blues match serves as the traditional curtain raiser for Varsity Day.[42]
Cuppers
The Club runs termly inter-college polo competitions, or '
Nationals and fixtures
The Club competes in numerous exhibition matches and tournaments every year all over the UK, and increasingly abroad. Within the UK the Club participates in the two main university tournaments, the Winter Nationals in
Starting in 2013 with the inaugural Metropolitan Intervarsity Polo Tournament, the Club plays against the strongest student run polo clubs from around the world at the Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjin, China every year in July. Oxford was able to win the challenge for the first time in 2016.[45] Active members and alumni compete all over the world, most recently at the British Polo Day in Dubai,[46] Singapore, Nihiwatu, India, Mexico[47] and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup.[48]
In fiction
In the 1917 novel of Hilda M. Sharp, "The Stars in their Courses" (published by G. P. Putnam's) the young Hon. Patrick Kirkpatrick is a dashing horse rider and polo player at Christ Church, Oxford who runs himself into debts through gambling and his love for polo and hunting.[49]
Author
OUPC appears in Transformers: The Last Knight, for a polo match scene against their rivals from Cambridge.[51]
Notable players and alumni
- Walter Long, 1st Viscount Long, Christ Church (1854–1924)
- Thomas Hitchcock, Sr., Brasenose (1860–1941)
- William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland, Christ Church (1857–1943)
- Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, Brasenose (1861–1928)
- Charles Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton, (1863–1957)
- Piers Alexander, Viscount Valletort, (1865–1944)
- Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat, Magdalen (1871–1933)
- George Child Villiers, 8th Earl of Jersey, Balliol (1873–1923)
- Patteson Womersley Nickalls, New College (1877–1946)
- Charles Duncombe, 2nd Earl of Feversham, Christ Church (1879–1916)
- Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, New College (1879–1952)
- Thomas Agar-Robartes, Christ Church (1880–1915)
- Devereux Milburn, Lincoln (1881–1942)
- Rajendra Narayan II, Maharaja of Cooch Behar, Christ Church (1882–1913)
- Neil Primrose, New College (1882–1917)
- Harold Pearson, 2nd Viscount Cowdray, Christ Church (1882–1933)
- George Bampfylde, 4th Baron Poltimore, New College (1882–1965)
- Robert Hudson, 1st Viscount Hudson, Magdalen (1880–1957)
- Archibald Leslie-Melville, 13th Earl of Leven, Christ Church (1890–1947)
- Prince Serge Obolensky, Christ Church (1890–1978)
- Edward VIII, Magdalen (1894–1972)
- Tommy Hitchcock, Jr., Brasenose (1900–1944)
- Francis Hastings, 16th Earl of Huntingdon, Christ Church (1901–1990)
- Weetman Pearson, 3rd Viscount Cowdray, Christ Church (1910–1995)
- Charles Wood, 2nd Earl of Halifax, Christ Church (1912–1980)
- George Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne, Christ Church (1912–1997)
- Arthur Budgett, Christ Church (1916–2011)
- George Haig, 2nd Earl Haig, Christ Church (1918–2009)
- Peter Palumbo, Baron Palumbo, Worcester (b. 1935)
- Arturo Goetz, Jesus (1944 – 2014)
- Claire Tomlinson, Somerville (1944–2022)
- H.R.H. Prince Hassan bin Talal, Christ Church (b. 1947)
- Redmond Watt, Christ Church (b. 1950)
- H.R.H. Sultan Abdullah of Pahang, Worcester (b. 1959)
- Richard Rowley, (b. 1959)
- Allanah Weston, Merton (b. 1972)
- François Perrodo, St Peter's (b. 1977)
- Lanto Sheridan, Harris Manchester (b. 1988)
- Hon. Richard Vere Harmsworth,[52] St Peter's (b. 1994)[53]
References
- Notes
- ^ "Tournaments & Events". British Army Polo Association.
- ^ "La Martina Varsity Day 2023". Instagram Guards.
- ^ "Tournaments and Events". OUPC Instagram account.
- ^ Horace A. Laffaye: The Evolution of Polo. London 2009, p. 24.
- ^ J. Moray Brown: Polo. London 1896, p. 133.
- ^ Horace A. Laffaye: The Polo Encyclopedia. London: McFarland 2004, p. 283.
- ^ The Polo Year Book. County Polo Association. 1931. p. 78.
- ^ a b Captain James J Pearce: Everybody’s Polo. London 1951, p. 30.
- ^ J. Moray Brown: Polo. London 1896, p. 134.
- ^ "Polo Club Archive". Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ^ a b E.D. Miller: Modern Polo. London: 1922, 4th ed, p. 400.
- ^ "Polo Monthly". September 1931: 428.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ "Polo Monthly". Hurlingham Polo Association. 1932: 296.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ "The Polo Monthly" (PDF). July 1910: 370. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ "Polo Monthly" (PDF). July 1911: 377. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Nelson W. Aldrich Jr: Tommy Hitchcock. An American Hero. Fleet Street Publishing Corp. London 1985, p. 120.
- ^ Horace A. Laffaye: The Evolution of Polo. London 2009, p. 139.
- ^ Horace A. Laffaye: The Evolution of Polo. London 2009, p. 102.
- ^ E.D. Miller: Fifty Years of Sport. London: Hurst & Blackett 1923, p. 240.
- ^ "2009 Westchester Cup International High Goal Polo". Westchestercup.org. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ a b Horace A. Laffaye: The Evolution of Polo. London: Mc Farland & Company 2009, p. 44.
- ^ Pearce, James J. Everybody's Polo. Robert Hale.
Author of "The Horse Rampant", "Everybody's Polo" etc
- ^ "Polo Monthly". May 1931: 91.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Captain James Pearce: Everybody’s Polo. London: Robert Hale 1949, p. 31.
- ^ Henley Polo Club at Friar Park was founded in 1947 by Major Archie David and became part of Guards Club in 1955. Friar Field was left as a spare polo field for Guards.
- ^ Horace A. Laffaye: Polo in Britain. A History. London, MdFarland & Company 2012, p. 168.
- ^ Hurlingham Polo Association. 1994. p. 37.
- ^ a b "History". Oxforduniversitypoloclub.com. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ Eton Players (1990). HPA Handbook 1990. Hurlingham Polo. p. 47.
- ^ Horace A. Laffaye: The Evolution of Polo. McFarland & Company: London 2012, p. 207.
- ^ Justin Cartwright: This secret Garden. Oxford revisited. Oxford 2008, p. 164.
- ^ Officer, OUPC Press (10 February 2020). "SUPA Winter Nationals". website.
- ^ "2020 Sports awards Oxford University". Facebook Page Oxford university sports.
- ^ "La Martina Varsity Day 2023". Instagram Guards.
- ^ "Training". Oxforduniversitypoloclub.com. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ "Welcome to The Oxford Polo School – Polo Lessons and Livery near Oxford". Theoxfordpoloschool.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ a b "Oxford Polo Club Homepage". OUPC. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ "Oxford Polo Club Homepage". OUPC. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ^ Modern Polo, by E.D. Miller, London: Thacker and Co. 1896 p. 399.
- ^ "Discretionary Full Blue Sports". p. 18. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ^ "Women's Discretionary Full Blue Sports". oxforduniversityblues.co.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Fixtures". OUPC. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ "Home". Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ "Atlantic Cup". OUPC website. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ "Oxford winning at the Metropolitan Club in China". Getty images. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ "Fixtures". Oxforduniversitypoloclub.com. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ "Max Kirchhoff". British Polo Day. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "OUPC Twitter account". Oxforduniversitypoloclub.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ "The Stars in their Courses". G.P. Putnam. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ^ http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/fight_for_the_great_dad_sby_6RievlJ3Y8fEt16uHRVHbI Son claims his LI dad was 'Great Gatsby' inspiration – and someone stole his $750G book
- ^ "Instagram".
- ^ Oxford Uni Polo Club [@OUPoloClub] (4 June 2015). "Vere Harmsworth, no3, Eton polo captain 2013 (the year he also won the Royal Windsor!) Plays up to 15 goal level #FTT" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Oxford Uni Polo Club [@oxforduniversitypoloclub] (6 June 2021). "Meet the team" – via Instagram.
- Bibliography
External links
- Official website of OUPC
- Oxford University Polo Club on Twitter