Polo

Key Information

Student Polo in Scotland is hosted by either Thom Bell at the Kinross Polo Club or James Douglas at the Dalmahoy Marriott Country Club in Edinburgh. Uniquely Thom Bell, is the coach of multiple teams including St Andrews, Stirling, Aberdeen, and Dundee. All 4 teams practice at his facility in Kinross, but given that Thom just wants to see everyone succeed there is never any bad blood between his teams.

SSS Polo matches happen three times a year, twice in the fall and once in the spring. Students playing polo also have a chance to compete at the Stirling Winter Arena Tournament in late-October, The Edinburgh Annual Tournament in mid-November, and the St Andrews Charity Polo Tournament in late-April.

Whether you have been riding your whole life or never been on a horse before, if you are interested in Polo as please contact your SSS Polo chair.

Sport Chair: Jay Spoehel

Contact: ssspolo@outlook.com

Governing body: Hurlingham Polo Association 

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You might want to know…

• SSS Polo matches happen three times a year, twice in the fall and once in the spring. Students playing polo also have a chance to compete at the Stirling Winter Arena Tournament in late-October, The Edinburgh Annual Tournament in mid-November, and the St Andrews Charity Polo Tournament in late-April.

• Polo is one of the oldest sports still played today. It dates back to the 6^th century BC in Persia, where it was originally played by the king’s guard and other elite cavalry troops. It was not until the mid-1800s that it was brought to Europe by British cavalry units that had learned the game while deployed to India.

• Polo is governed in the U.K. by the Hurlingham Polo Association.

Meet your Sports Chair

Jay Spoehel

Jay joined the sport of Polo as a Fresher at the University of St Andrews. Before starting Polo, Jay had only been on horse just a handful of time when he was 11 years old. Jay’s favourite thing about Polo is the friends he’s made along the way including those from his own St Andrews team, teams all over the United Kingdom, and of course the horses he’s gotten to know over the last two years.

Jay worked in Wyoming, USA at a polo club over the summer of 2019, which helped his riding ability tremendously. Jay studies Economics at the University of St Andrews and will be in his third-year during the academic year 2020/21.

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