Ham Polo Club is a Hurlingham Polo Association polo clubhttps://hpa.sport80.com/public/widget/4 situated in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is one of the oldest polo clubs in the United Kingdom and the last surviving club in London. The club occupies a location between Richmond Park and the River Thames overlooked by Ham House, eight miles from Hyde Park Corner. The club's facilities include three polo fields (two boarded), a stick and ball field, an exercise track, livery service, coaching and a members' clubhouse with a restaurant and bar which is managed by Ham Polo Club's own catering department. Polo is played at Ham Polo Club between May and September. The club has around 70 playing members and several hundred social members.

The club organises polo games and practices through the week and tickets can be purchased by spectators for Friday, Saturday and Sunday games.

History Ham Polo Club is the last remaining of the many clubs that existed as satellites to London's 'Big Three' – Ranelagh, Hurlingham and Roehampton. The club began life as the Ham Common Polo Club in 1926, with one full sized ground and two smaller rounds. The first ground was next door to Brown Gates House, Church Road, Ham Common, home of the first chairman, Loftus Storey.

The full-sized ground lay between Richmond Gates and Sheen and a regular coach there was Johnny Traill, the first Argentine 10 goaler, who lived at nearby Roehampton. Ham Common Polo Club, together with Stoke d'Abernon and clubs such as Worcester Park, Kingsbury and Crystal Palace, was ideal for Londoners who did not compete in the major tournaments at the 'Big Three' but who played for the fun of the game. The 1939 season was necessarily the last for the next six years.

Ham was revived in 1946 largely by the efforts of William "Billy" Francis Walsh (1907–1992). On returning from service in the Army, Walsh found that Captain Tom Brigg, the owner of the stables where he had worked, had died and the stables were on the market. Using his gratuity Walsh bought the stables and began offering a livery service to club members. Loftus Storey returned as club Chairman, formed a committee, appointed Billy as Polo Manager and Ham Polo Club was revived under HPA rules. It is widely believed that Lord Cowdray, Arthur Lucas and Billy Walsh were the trio who rescued polo in the United Kingdom after the war.

The first post-war English polo tournament was held at Roehampton in 1947 and the Ham Polo Club team carried off the premier trophy the Roehampton Cup (now played for at Ham). Three years later the club began using a field adjacent to Ham House for matches. Then in 1954, George Stevens, The Dysart families' tenant at Ham House Farm' agreed to turn the Ham House orchard into a polo field for the club.

The first president of the club was Major Archie David the patron of the Friars Park team. The Autumn cup which he presented is still played for annually at Ham. Johnny Traill became a familiar figure at the club and Edward Tauchert Rescued the Roehampton Trophy from the Roehampton Golf Club.

In 1970, thanks largely to the efforts of the then president Sir David Brown, the club purchased the freehold of the land. Sixteen years later land adjacent was purchased and the club gained another ground. In 1982, at the age of seventy, Billy Walsh retired as manager of the club to become president. He was succeeded by two further generations managing Ham Polo Club, Peggy, his daughter and Tim, his grandson.

The club continues to play polo between May and September, managed by George Meyrick. The current president is Bakhtiyar Pataudi. The club currently does not have a chairman, it is chaired collectively by the Board of Directors.

Flagship tournaments A number of tournaments run throughout the season at Ham Polo Club. The flagship tournaments are the Summer tournament (0–4 goal), The Roehampton Trophy (6 goal) and the Billy Walsh Tournament (0–2 goal).

Membership The number of playing members is limited and applicants must be interviewed by the committee. Social membership entitles individuals or families to use the clubhouse facilities on match days as well as being invited to the club's social functions. Academy membership is also available and a Junior category for young players.

Grounds and Playing Facilities

Ham Polo Club has occupied its current 28 acre site since 1950, after moving from the original site it had occupied from 1926 to 1949. At the current site the club's land includes two full size polo grounds and additionally a grass stick & ball area. Ground 1 at Ham Polo Club is surrounded by lawned picnic areas for spectators. In 2026 the club completed construction of a full size all weather polo arena for use playing winter polo. Players are also provided with a gym and a wooden horse cage for practice.

The club also has access to two further playing fields in Richmond Park.

On the club land there are stables for 120 polo ponies as well as tack rooms, wash down areas, feed rooms and turnout paddocks.

Charity

Ham Polo Club has helped raise almost £2 million for charity over the last few years. Several main charitable events are run each year.

ChildLine Sundown Polo Challenge On a Saturday evening in June each year a polo match, dinner and charity auction is held to raise funds for the ChildLine organisation. Patron of the charity Esther Rantzen is always present alongside a host of celebrity guests.

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation works with millions of underprivileged children worldwide. An event takes place annually, this year a number of Laureus ambassadors were in attendance including Edwin Moses, Hugo Porta, Sean Fitzpatrick, Daley Thompson and Boris Becker.

Chakravarty Cup For many years the Chakravarty cup was held at Ham Polo Club. The event, started in 1997, raises funds for the charities and foundations supported by The Royal Family. The Prince of Wales took part in the match for nine years; now he has retired, his sons The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex take part.

Notable members Elle Macpherson, Australian model, businesswoman, television host and actress Ali Albwardy, patron of the Dubai Polo Team Adolfo Cambiaso, 10-goal professional polo player Lolo Castagnola, 9-goal professional polo player

Partnerships

Ham Polo Club engages in brand partnerships, sponsorship agreements and brand affiliations with companies looking to associate themselves with polohttps://www.hampoloclub.com/sponsorship. Most recently Ham partnered with Pommery Champagne, Camden Town Brewery and Dima's Vodka. British Footwear brand Hugs & Co. have been partnered with Ham since 2016 to present as the Best Playing Pony sponsor.

Chairmen Loftus Storey 1937–1938 Polo ceased during World War II 1939–1945 Loftus Storey 1947–1950 Major S.C. Deed 1950–1954 Edward Tauchert 1955–56 C.J. Busby 1957–1965 R.W.Addie 1966 C.J. Busby 1967 C.J.Harrison 1968–1971 Col Gerald Critchley 1972–1979 P.Adams/G.Godbold 1979–1984 G.E.Godbold OBE TD 1979–1995 N.Colquhoun-Denvers 1995–2018 H. Davis 2018–2024 S. N. Chamberlain 2024-2026 The Board of Directors 2026 -

Presidents Major Archie David 1957–1970 Sir David Brown 1971–1979 Doug Riley-Smith 1980 post vacant 1981–1982 Geoffrey Lawson 1983–1986 Billy Walsh 1987–1992 Bryan Morrison 1993–1996 Douglas Brown DFC 1997–2000 J.W.M. (Buff) Crisp 2001–2003 Saeed Ali Albwardy 2004–2007 Vichai Raksriaksorn 2008–2012 Steven Lamprell 2013–2016 Mohammed S Almarzooqi 2017–2020 Col. Geoffrey Godbold OBE TD DL 2021-2025 William Healy 2025-2026 Bakhtiyar Pataudi 2026-

Polo managers Billy Walsh 1946–1986 Peggy Healy 1987–2000 Tim Healy 2001 James Lange 2002–2003 Tom Benson 2004–2005 David Leach 2006 Daniel Devrient Kidd 2007 Adolfo Casabal 2008–2011 William Healy 2011–2021 Gaston Devrient 2022- January–June Lucy Dowie/Manuel Perez (Joint Interim) 2022- June–September Marcus Hancock 2022 - 2023 Antonino Menard 2024 - 2026

Directors of Polo Operations George Meyrick 2026 -

Trophies

Annie's Trophy Anthony Cup Trophy Ascott Cup Asprey Red Cross Trophy Autumn Cup Aylesford Trophy Bannister Bowl BBVA Bowl Best of Richmond Boisdale Social Candilio Cup Chairman"s Trophy Childline Trophy Childline Champagne Committee Crystal Crescent Oil Trophy The Gerald Critchley TrophyGerald Critchley Trophy, Wikimedia Commons. David Brown Trophy David Healy Don Zoilo Double Bett Trophy Doug Brown Plate Dubai Desert PalmDubai Trophy winners 2009, Wikimedia Commons. Dubai Desert Palm II FAL Energy Farewell Cup Floating Seat Ghana Airways Trophy Goal Cup Godbold Trophy Ham Cup Ham Mini Hine Cognac Trophy HR Owen Trophy Hunt Kendall Indian Army Trophy Jimmy Edwards J & S Franklin Trophy June Bamberg Trophy Kingfisher Trophy King Power Charity Newport Cup Trophy No Name Cup Peter Pitts Trophy Peter Pitts II Petersham Bowl Player of the Year Trophy Polo Challenge Quatros Amigos Red Cross Rerrieson Richmond Park Cup Roehampton Trophy Rosie Adams Bowl Siam Trophy Sladmore Trophy Social Trophy Social Committee Stagshead Trophy Tauchert Bowl Trophy Thailand Trophy Tiger Mountain Tiger Mountain 2 Trophy Tiger Mountain PanAm Trophy Tigerstream 1 Trophy Tigerstream II Trophy Tiger Tops Tournament Cup Umpire's Millennium Ventura Pauly Trophy Visitors' Trophy Walsh Challenge Anglo-German Lufthansa Best Player Orthoceras Belemnite

References

External links

Ham Polo Club Blog – News and Reviews of matches and tournaments at Ham Polo Club Flickr – Images of Ham Polo Club YouTube – Videos of Ham Polo Club Wikimedia Commons