Britain. 1926. A year remembered for the general strike and the birth of Queen Elizabeth II. A horse-powered country that was still recovering from the devastation\u00a0of the Great War. Millions were still restricted to strict rationing. Just 8 miles away from Hyde Park corner a new social hub for the wealthy had just been founded, Ham Polo Club.<\/p>\n
In arguably the most rural location possible in the city, just on the outskirts of Richmond Park, sits the last remaining polo club in England’s capital. Originally known as Ham Common Polo Club, it boasted one full size ground and two smaller grounds, along with the first Argentine 10 goaler, Johnny Trail as a regular coach.<\/p>\n
You might be wondering what on earth is a ten goaler? Each player receives a handicap based on his polo skill. In the UK this is awarded on a scale ranging from minus 2 to 10 with 10 being the highest. It is so difficult to attain a 10 goal handicap that less than two dozen players in the world have managed it. They are all Argentinian.<\/p>\n
Many clubs struggled to continue in a war-torn Britain throughout the late 1940s. Ham Polo Club would have also been forced to close it gates forever if it wasn’t for one man. William Francis Walsh, universally known as Billy, was returning from his service in 1946 and found the owner of the stables where he worked had died. The stables were now on the market.<\/p>\n
Walsh decided to buy the stables and revive the club under HPA (Hurlingham Polo Association) rules. It is widely considered that Billy, along with Lord Cowdray and Arthur Lucas, were solely responsible for the rescue and continuation of polo in post-war Britain.<\/p>\n
Walsh helped run the club in the decades that followed before his death in 1992. Since then, numerous prominent figures have sat on the committee including the late Leicester City owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who was club president between 2008-2012.<\/p>\n