Oxford University Polo Club
| Oxford University Polo Club | |
 |
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| Homepage | |
| university | University of Oxford |
| place | Oxford , England |
| Founded | 1874 |
| First varsity tournament | November 27, 1878 |
| Known as | Dark blues |
| Home venues |
Kirtlington Park Polo Club East End Farm, North Leigh |
| Association |
Hurlingham Polo Association SUPA |
| Board | Andreas Ill |
| captain | George Allen |
| Senior member | Dunja Aksentijevic |
| Club coach | David Ashby |
| Club trophies | The Varsity Trophy Winter League Trophy Summer Cuppers Trophy |
| Club colors | Oxford 'Dark Blue' # 002147 |
The Oxford University Polo Club (OUPC or OUPC) is the Polo Club of the University of Oxford . The club was founded in 1874 by undergraduates from Christ Church College and Brasenose Colleges and is the third oldest surviving polo club in the western world after the Cheshire Polo Club and the Cambridge University Polo Club. With over 100 active members (as of June 2013), the club is one of the largest polo clubs in the world and maintains the second-oldest polo tournament in the world with the varsity match against Cambridge.
history
The Oxford University Polo Club was founded in 1874 by Walter Hume Long , later Viscount Long of Wraxall, one of the most ambitious English politicians of the late 19th century. A harvested hayfield on Port Meadow near Wolvercote (Oxford) was the cornerstone for a separate playing field, which existed until the Second World War . The first varsity match was first played at the Bullingdon Cricket Ground in Oxford on November 27, 1878 and ended in a 5-0 win for the hosts. Until 1939, apart from 1894 and 1900 and during the First World War , the Varsity Matches were played at the Hurlingham Club in London.
After the Second World War it needed the support of the Henley Polo Club to be able to train regularly again. Only in June 1951 was another varsity match hosted against Cambridge; this time in Cowdray Park, which was made possible with the help of Viscount Cowdray, a former Oxford player and the then chairman of the HPA. From 1961 the Varsity Match moved to the still young Kirtlington Polo Park, which had been founded as Kirtlington and Oxford University Polo Park and served as the home ground for the Dark Blues. Cambridge, on the other hand, chose a venue of their choice every two years until Guards Polo Club was finally won for the varsity match in 1995 .
Player personalities
From the beginning, Oxford players were selected for national teams. William Kavanagh, who played in the first varsity match in 1878, became one of the first high goalers and played for England in several games against the United States national team . Tommy Hitchcock Sr., who had successfully led his team in the varsity match in 1882, soon became one of the leading players in the United States and one of the first 10-goal players. Twenty years later, Devereux Milburn led his varsity team to victory in two consecutive varsity games, winning by a margin of 14 goals on both occasions. An international career followed and he played number four for his country in every game between 1909 and 1927. He revolutionized the tactical direction of the number 4, which changed from passive goalkeeper to active defensive game.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Oxford won eight straight wins when Prince Charles was the Cambridge team captain. Many of the players from that period are now well-known personalities in the polo world. General Sir Redmond Watt played with a two-goal handicap during his studies and still achieved a five-goal handicap, as did Claire Tomlinson (née Lucas). She played with a zero goal handicap as a student. With her five-goal handicap, which she later achieved, she revolutionized the polo world. She became the highest rated player in the world who was used in high goal matches alongside her male teammates without any differences. She was also the first woman to take part in the Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Match and the OUPC's first female team captain.
Individual evidence
- ^ History of HPA. ( Memento of the original from January 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
- ^ J. Moray Brown: Polo. London 1896, p. 134.
- ↑ Captain James J Pearce: Everybody's Polo. London 1951, p. 30.
- ↑ ED Miller: Modern Polo. 4th edition. London 1922, p. 400.
- ↑ Horace A. Laffaye: The Evolution of Polo. Mc Farland & Company, London 2009, ISBN 978-0-7864-3814-3 , p. 44.
- ↑ Horace A. Laffaye: The Evolution of Polo. Mc Farland & Company, London 2009, p. 102.
- ↑ Horace A. Laffaye: The Evolution of Polo. McFarland & Company, London 2012, p. 207.
