Polo in Northern Pakistan

Polo, a game of kings, elitist, military men and feudal landlords. A game for which you need money to keep several thoroughbred ponies, a stable and workmen to take care of this. In the Northern Areas of Pakistan polo is the most popular sport. More popular as a spectator sport or a topic of conversation among men than cricket. The sport is heavily subsidized by the military and police forces. Officers have access to the sport without having to keep a stable full of ponies.

Some two thousand years ago polo became popular in Persia as a training exercise for cavalry units. Rulers organized warlike games of hundreds of horses at each side. The sport spread trough Asia and eventually was played in Japan, China and throughout the Byzantium empire. During the Raj era, the British took the game home to England where a set of rules was invented making the sport more suitable for a gentlemen.

The photos below were taken in Chitral during a preparation tournament for the big mach against the city Gilgit. A commission of men judge the players and select a team which will play at the annual tournament at Shandur Pass, the world’s highest polo ground.

The rules of this type of polo are quite simple, it is freestyle polo so there are not many. The match is divided in two halves of twenty minutes. Each team has to hit the ball between the post of the defending team. It is a rough sport for players as well as for the ponies. Both are routinely hit by a ball or the mallet and it is not uncommon for a pony to drop dead on the pitch of heart failure.

As a lone westerner I was picked out of the crowd and offered a seat between the local politicians and royalty. This however was not a very good seat, because I was only able to see the middle of the ground. I politely took my leave and photographed the game behind one of the posts, occasionally running for my life when a group of ponies came running towards me.

I hope you enjoy the photo’s.