British Polo Day – presented by Royal Salute marked its fifth event with a preceding itinerary in Jaipur, where The British Army and Jaipur Polo Team played an inaugural match on 12th December. His Highness The Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur personally hosted the likes of His Highness Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh, Maharaj Narendra Singh, Colonel Umaid Singh, The 13th Duke of Argyll, Helen Bromovsky, The Honorable Geraldine Harmsworth, Satindar Garcha, Ron Wahid, Vinod Kumar, Marc de Panafieu and Princess Alexandra Cantacuzene Count Speransky, for a three-day celebration of sport and creativity.
In the heart of ‘the blue city’, some of the most notable polo players from the two nations took to the field for three days of fast-paced polo. The British Army took on home side The President’s Bodyguard in the opening Jaeger-LeCoultre Umaid Bahwan Palace Cup, followed by the closely-fought Jodhpur versus Mundota Fort & Palace, Jaipur in the Royal Salute Marwar Trophy and, on the final day, the hotly-anticipated Eton versus Mayo: the The RJI Capital Yuvraj Shivraj Singh of Jodhpur Plate. Players also saddled up for two quintessential games of Brompton bike polo, as the Hackett British Exiles took on Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur, the latter winning 4-2 whereas the Harrods Cavalry were beaten 3-2 by the Jaeger-LeCoultre Guards, whilst guests delighted in having their caricatures taken in the Harrods Garden Party.
