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 and Aberdeen. All three teams practice at his facility in Kinross.

Scottish Student Polo matches happen four times a year, twice in the first semester and twice in the spring semester. At every league day, each club brings a Beginner and a Novice team. Over the course of the four league days, each of the clubs will play each other to determine the winner. At the final league day, the winners are announced and the league trophies, which are stored at Thom Bell’s venue, are engraved.

Students playing polo also have a chance to compete at the Edinburgh Annual Tournament in mid-November, SUPA Winter Nationals in mid-February 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 the Scottish Student Polo chair.

Sport Chair: Abbie Grant

Contact: ssspolo@outlook.com

Governing body: Hurlingham Polo Association 

Upcoming Polo Events

You might want to know…

• SSS Polo matches happen four times a year, twice in semester 1 and twice in the semester 2. Students playing polo also have a chance to compete at the Edinburgh Annual Tournament in mid-November, SUPA Winter Nationals in mid-February, 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

Abbie Grant

Abbie grew up riding and began playing polo at age 10. During her 7 years on the Maryland Girls Varsity team, she won 6 national championships and, in 2019, was awarded PTF Girls High School Player of the Year.  She was excited to continue her polo career with the St Andrews Polo Club when she began her first year in 2019. Since then, she has dedicated most of her time to the club and loves all of the friends she’s made through polo. Her favorite thing about polo is the community and all the amazing people involved in the sport. Abbie is also one of the Executive Directors for the St Andrews Charity Polo Tournament.

Abbie is in her fourth year at the University of St Andrews where she studies Biology. In the summers, Abbie plays polo at the Maryland Polo Club in the US and looks after her family’s 20 polo ponies with her two sisters.

SS Polo Development Group

Abbie is joined by Mhari Campbell (Vice-Chair) to form the SS Polo Development Group

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