Polo is one of the oldest and fastest team games. The first recorded game occurred about 600 BC in North Persia from where it spread slowly East as far as China and Japan. However, it was not until around the middle of the 19th century that the beginnings of polo as we know it today took shape, when soldiers and merchants in Northern India adopted a game then played by Manipuri hillsmen. The name 'polo' is derived from the Indian 'pulu' for the wood from which the ball was made and the word 'chukker' comes from the Indian word for a circle or round.

Although the first polo club, The Retreat at Silchar in India, was founded in 1859, no formal rules were produced until 1875 when Hurlingham in London became the recognized headquarters of the game. During the past 100 years, the game has expanded throughout the world and is now regularly played in over 50 different countries.