OklahomaHorses Magazine January 2023

12 OklahomaHorses • January / February 2023 Alive and Well Polo Has a Rich History in Oklahoma by Casie Bazay P olo is one of the oldest team sports known to man, with nomadic warriors playing the game more than 2,000 years ago. The name is thought to have originated from the Tibetan term “pholo,” which means ball or ball game. In Persia, polo was first used as a training game for cavalry units, usually the royal guard or other elite troops. Throughout history, polo was often played by the wealthy and noble of society. Today, many people around the world play polo, with more than 100 countries participating in the Federation of Interna- tional Polo. The sport also has a surprisingly rich history in Oklahoma. John T. Oxley (1909–1996), who found- ed Oxley Petroleum with his son John C. Oxley and later established Oxley Nature Center with his wife, Mary K. Oxley, had a passion for polo which some people say outweighed his business interests. He es- tablished the Tulsa Polo Club in 1954 and continued to play the sport into his early eighties. In his younger years, Oxley was captain of winning polo teams at the U. S. Open and led the first U.S. polo team to capture England’s Gold Cup. In 1994, Oxley was inducted into the Polo Hall of Fame as one of the best all-time polo players in the world. He also began to raise thorough- breds, and his Greenhill Farm, later called Oxley Ranch, near Owasso became one of the country’s largest commercial producers of polo horses. Polo is still thriving in Oklahoma today, with teams that practice and play in three main hot spots —Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and most recently, the small town of Has- kell. The Basics of Polo Polo typically is played on an outdoor grass field 300 by 160 yards in size (approxi- mately 10 acres), although it is occasionally played indoors on a smaller field. The ob- ject of the game is to drive the ball between the opponent’s goalposts and score the most goals. Each team has four players on At the 2022 Polo on the River tournament next to the historic Stockyards City in Oklahoma City, Richard Varner (left), Keith Monroe, Jenn Stewart, Greg Summers, and Don Gruntmeir compete. Photo courtesy of Jenn Stewart.