Polo, the Galloping Game
An Illustrated History of Polo in the Canadian West

Tony Rees
Foreword by Prince Charles

About the Book

Polo was a cowboy sport in the Canadian West long before the advent of the organized rodeo with its bucking horses and chuck wagon races. Played there within twenty years of its introduction to Britain, it flourishes today.

From the first match in southern Alberta in the 1880s, the game’s popularity spread like wildfire through the foothills ranchlands. In a country whose life revolved around horsemen and horses, polo became its most popular sport and a focus of community pride and social life. At its peak, some twenty clubs were grouped around Pincher Creek, Calgary, Winnipeg, the B.C. Interior, and on the West Coast. With the turn of the century, their teams, looking for outside competition, regularly won major tournaments in Eastern Canada and the American West. Their stars were in demand as professionals.

With the advent of cars, tractors and lanes, the face of ranching changed, and with it, polo’s universal appeal. Wars and economic depression brought most clubs to their knees, while others struggled to survive. Today the Calgary Polo Club is has a strong influence on the U.S. Polo Association, and elsewhere in the West, the game is growing.

Based on extensive research, Tony Rees vividly explores the history of polo on the field and the role of its players and patrons in the development of Western Canada’s unique society. Polo, the Galloping Game defines the place of western Canadian polo in the international world of sport.

About the Author

Tony Rees is a Calgary writer and historian. His first book, Hope’s Last Home: Travels in Milk River Country, was shortlisted for the 1996 Writers Guild of Alberta’s award for non-fiction.

More Information

For more information on this title, please visit http://www.gallopinggame.com/

Orders

For information on how to order this book, please click here.