British Polo Day India took place over the weekend this December at His Highness TheMaharaja Gaj Singh II Of Marwar-Jodhpur’s private polo pitch, to commemorate the heritage and history of the game of polo and the strong links between Britain and India, at Umaid Bhawan Palace. 

The first polo match saw Eton College play Mayo College with the Indian team coming out victorious, winning 8 – 5.  Mayo College is known as the “Eton of India” and has a long friendship with its British counterpart.  It is a fixture steeped in history with eleven Viceroys of India being educated at Eton as well as five governor-generals and three high commissioners, and of course, His Highness The Maharaja Gaj Singh II Of Marwar-Jodhpur, as well as his son, Yuvraj Shivraj Singh of Jodhpur who had the distinction of attending both Mayo and Eton.  The princess Baiji Lal Sahiba Shivranjani  Rajye, hosted a spectacular party for the players in celebration.

The following day, the weekend of polo culminated with the Umaid Bhawan Palace Trophy and the British Army Polo team defeating the Royal Jodhpur Polo Team(the “Jodhpur Eagles”).   This was another historic fixture with the British Army having played in Jodhpur for over a century with famous individuals such as Sir Winston Churchill and Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Ofcourse, polo is synonymous with fashion and style and the weekend did not disappoint.  The British Polo Day India featured a fashion show by Beulah, the ethical British fashion label with links to India, not least because one of its founders, Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs is great-great-grand daughter of The Marquess of Reading, Viceroy of India (1921 –1926).