One of the oldest team sports, Polo is considered to be a risky game and a sport favoring the rich society. A blue-blooded sport as it is called, Polo might involve huge risks but there is not a single soul who would not give up anything to face the challenges of the game. The sudden rush that you experience when you step up on horseback and hold the mallet, is incomparable to any feeling in this world. The first timers will surely count their cruel baby steps but if asked to step off the horse and put the mallet down, there won’t be a single right-minded soul who would agree to do so. The pain and the risks will soon vanish, the sweat will feel like holy water, the early morning sessions and horse interactions will be a luxury and the mallet will be your weapon.
LA POLO brings to you Polo quotes by some famous Celebrities, who at some point of their lives have been influenced by the rich tradition and the legacy of the sport supported by a few anecdotes from the lives of these celebrities.
1. "A Polo handicap is a person's ticket to the world."
~ Sir Winston Churchill
The two-time British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill was an army officer, writer, painter, and an avid Polo lover. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, when he led Britain to victory in the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. In addition to his career of Politician, Sir Winston Churchill was an abounding writer under the pen “Winston S. Churchill”. When commissioned into the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars in 1895, Churchill gained permission to observe the Cuban War of Independence and sent war reports to The Daily Graphic. He continued his war journalism in British India and these reports formed the basis of his first book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force. An impression painter, Sir Winston Churchill painted over 500 paintings, mostly landscapes, over 48 years as a painter.
A great fan of the sport, Sir Winston Churchill was a Polo player and enthusiast. The first mention Sir Winston Churchill first mentions Polo in a letter to his father, seeking permission to ride in September 1893, shortly after he arrived at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, where he granted permission to play the game. Winston Churchill had taken the entrance exam for Sandhurst three times before he passed for Cavalry, and couldn’t make it in the infantry. ‘In the infantry, one has to keep a man; in the cavalry, one has to keep a man and a horse as well.’ By 1895, Churchill had discovered Polo and he was improving steadily in the game. He played polo for the regiment and during his time at India, he used to be a regular member of the team playing against Indian players. In 1902, Sir Winston Churchill wrote a letter to Secretary of State of War St John Bodrick where he argued against a proposed prohibition of inter-regimental Polo tournaments and inferred how Polo contributed to building a soldier’s character and skill.
2. " There's nothing wrong with you that a little Prozac and a polo mallet can't cure."
~ Woody Allen
Born as Allan Stewart Konigsberg on December 1, 1935 in Brooklyn, Woody Allen as a young boy was intrigued with magic tricks and playing the clarinet. Allan broke into show business at 15 years when he started writing jokes for a local paper, later moving on to write jokes for talk shows. While writing jokes for others, Allen felt that his jokes were being wasted so he started telling his own jokes and started doing stand up. His focus shifted towards movies when he was approached to write a script for Warren Beaty to star in What’s New Pussycat. During production, Woody gave himself more and better lines and left Beatty with less compelling dialogue. Woody quickly started doing his own projects under his own production house and his theatrical debut was in ‘What’s Up Tiger Lily?’. While best known for his romantic comedies, Woody Allen transacted towards Murder mysteries and crime dramas with time to explore other genres. One of the finest murder mysteries by Allen, ‘Manhattan Murder Mystery’ in a scene between Allen’s character Larry Lipton and Carol Lipton Woody talks about Polo mallet being the cure to everything. The conversation between two characters is somewhat like –
Carol Lipton : Well, listen, I think maybe I will go back to seeing my shrink, I think, I think I…
Larry Lipton : You don't have to see your shrink, there's nothing wrong with you that can't be cured with a little Prozac and a polo mallet.
3. "Playing polo is like trying to play golf during an earthquake."
~ Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone might be known as the ultimate boxing champion of Hollywood, but the legendary actor and filmmaker has a long association with the elegant and royal polo lifestyle. The Italian Stallion, as he is fondly known in the Rocky movies, Sylvester Stallone’s polo journey began when his father Frank Stallone started steering horses in their native place Italy. Sylvester’s father, the late Frank Stallone was a professional Polo player in Italy before emigrating to New York in the 1940s.
“The name Stallone translates as stallion. My family were horse people but they weren’t rich. They were peasants. My father moved to America to get more money but also to get away from horses to do something Stallones hadn’t done. But he couldn’t give up horses, no matter how hard he tried and continued to play Polo,” Sylvester Stallone said.
4. "Polo is like tennis, you literally have to live it."
~ Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone was 11 years old when he first picked up a mallet. The father and son Stallone duo took part in an exhibition match at Palm Beach Polo and Country Club in Florida in 1990, where they competed with the professionals. Sylvester once stated that “Playing Polo is like tennis; you literally have to live it,” and he stands by his statement. “It’s weird when you are on the horse you think you look like Rambo and you should charge around, but that’s not what the game is about. It’s about being patient. I have to remember that a lot of the time.”
5. "Polo is like playing golf with a saddle, and there are a lot of moving parts."
~ Joel Edgerton
Joel Edgerton, an Australian actor, director, writer, producer, and filmmaker played the role of Tom Buchanan, a powerful and famous Polo player in the classic The Great Gatsby. The character of Tom Buchanan was inspired by Polo legend Tommy Hitchcock Jr. Introduced by Gatsby as 'the Polo player', Tom Buchanan's character came from a wealthy and rich background, to pay homage to the Sport of Kings, and was a powerful muscular man, showing the intensity and focus required to play the sport. Joel Edgerton explains the game of Polo in a short and crisp sentence in which he relates the sport to Golf.
6. "Polo, racing and horse shows all are doing great work to help the farmer and rancher to raise better horses.”
~ Will Rogers
‘Oklahoma's favourite son’, Will Rogers was a motion picture star, a cowboy, newspaper columnist, and humorist. He was idolized by America and was the highest-paid actor at that time. A Polo enthusiast, Will Rogers promoted the sport among the Hollywood elite. Rogers worked to popularize and support Polo programs throughout the 1920s and 30s while he played with and against some of the most famous people of the Hollywood industry. Guests and friends who mounted for practice games at Will’s Santa Monica Ranch included Hollywood giants such as Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Darryl Zanuck, and Walt Disney. Introduced to the game in 1915 during a stint in New York, Will Rogers spent the next two decades of his life playing Polo every chance he got, in Mexico, the Philippines, England, Spain, even with the Maharaja of Jaipur in India.
Happiest on horseback, Will Rogers had a natural talent for Polo and seldom found time for other sports. Rated as a three-goal player at his death, Will Rogers played as high as a +5 handicap player. Known for playing a rough-and-tumble, Rogers was often thrown from his mount. In a 1934 match at Santa Barbara Polo Club where Will played alongside his father and broke two of his ribs when his horse rolled over him.
7. "To me, the Polo player has elegance and imagination. It embodies a sophisticated luxury and a timeless style."
~ Ralph Lauren
While fashion trends fluctuate regularly, Ralph has remained true to his original style, selling not just waspy clothes but a lifestyle. The way of styling and his technique to cater to the people has earned him a personal fortune close to $1 billion and a place amongst the elite in design history. A kid from the Bronx, New York, who wore tennis sweaters to school when everyone else slouched around in leather jackets, Ralph Lauren grew up in a middle-class Jewish household and for a time shared a bedroom with two of his three elder brothers. Possessed of an inbred sense for fashion, Ralph took part-time jobs early on to fund his desire for designer clothes. Midway during his business school, Ralph quit college to follow his passion for lifestyle and fashion.
Drawing on his interests in sports, Ralph Lauren named his first full line of menswear ‘Polo’ in 1968.
8. "The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot."
~ Bill Russell
9. "I am the stick, the ball is the world”
~ Alexander the Great
Legend has it that Alexander the Great when about to invade Persia was sent a polo ball and mallet by the Persian ruler as an invitation to a game of polo. Turning down the invitation, replied the greatest conqueror of all time: “I am the stick, the ball is the world”
10. "A polo pony is like a motorbike with a mind of its own weighing half a ton."
~ Anonymous
11. "Polo drifts gently in and out of fashion."
~ Kate Reardon
12. "Polo is not just a sport, it is a way of living."
~ Anonymous
13. "You are a dear soul who plays polo, and I am a poor Pole who plays solo."
~ Ignacy Jan Paderewski
14. "Everyone turns toward someone. Look for one scarred by the King's polo stick."
~ Rumi
15. "I still climb Mount Everest just as often as I used to. I play polo just as often as I used to. But to walk down to the hardware store I find a little bit more difficult"
~ Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel, born in Springfield, Massachusetts on 2nd March 1904 wasn't actually a doctor (at least not until his alma mater, Dartmouth, gave him an honorary Ph.D.). His unique poetic meter and leap-off-the-page illustrations made him one of the most successful children's writers in history. Trying to overshadow the pain through his artistic creativity while writing some of the most interesting and funny stories and comics for children, Dr. Seuss is an epitome of what everyone calls a funny man.
Known to tickle the funny bone, Dr. Seuss's stories have not only engaged the children but the comics have attracted a large crowd of filmmakers and storytellers towards them. In this quote, Dr. Seuss compares the difficult and raging tasks of climbing Mount Everest and playing Polo to him walking down the hardware store to buy his daily chores.
16. "After seeing kids play polo against big guys, it only shows that horses are the greatest equalizer in the world. No matter what you weigh, the little fellow is your equal on a horse."
~ Will Rogers
17. "The Ball no question makes of Ayes and Noes, But Right or Left as strikes the Player goes; And He that toss'd Thee down into the Field, He knows about it all – HE knows – HE knows!"
~ Omar Khayyam
18. "Polo is perhaps the most ancient of games. All our best games are derived from it, and cricket, golf, hockey, and the national Irish game of hurling are all descendants of Polo"
~ T.F. Dale
Last Updated: 20th September 2022
