Horse Sense

While certain global brands nod to equestrianism, polo’s official body, Hurlingham Polo Association, has gone and launched a fully-fledged fashion and lifestyle label and it’s taking the horsey world by storm, says Julia Robson

Ricky France-Lynch was moody, macho and magnificent... he had a large crumbling estate and a nine-goal polo handicap... writes Jilly Cooper in her bestselling chick-lit book, Polo, the third (and raunchiest) of her Rutshire Chronicles, which first put equestrian fashion on the style radar back in the late 1980s.

Eventer at Novice and 1* competitions, Kitty Mae Taylor, wears stretch cotton polo shirt

What began with Cooper’s Riders in 1985 – with its iconic cover of a male hand squeezing a pert female bottom – whet the appetite for an exposé into the glitzy lifestyles of polo folk, with their polished ponies, lean-bodied players and, of course, their expensive wardrobes. It ended with the compulsory wearing of (tight) white trousers, known as polo whites, both off and on the field, with Princess Diana and Elizabeth Hurley leading the charge.

Once again polo fever is on the rise. This time it’s no longer considered just a rich man’s sport or even a sport for men only. Last November, 250 million people in 103 countries tuned in to watch the Argentine Open, just one high-profile international event, compared with the 8.7 million viewers who watched the FA Cup Final on BBC1.

Hurlingham Polo 1875 stretch cotton pique polo dress

The sport currently has 23,947 players worldwide across 90 countries and has a growing fanbase, particularly with women and students. During freshers’ week in 2017, 300 students signed up for university clubs. Some, like Regent’s University in London, even offer a polo scholarship. The idea of fusing polo – the sport and its runners and riders – and jet-setting groupies into a brand was not lost on American designer, Ralph Lauren, who built an empire and amassed a fortune from it. But now polo is coming home.

No records exist on who invented the sport, however it is believed to have been first played in central Asia by tribesmen who used human skulls as a ball – the British tea planters in India, who were introduced to the game, are responsible for giving it a makeover and its iconic kit – notably the polo shirt, which has spawned a thousand copies.

Although polo was subsequently exported to Argentina, Australia and the United States its spiritual home remains in the UK, where the official body, The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), resides. It was at its headquarters in Hounslow Heath (now Heathrow airport) that the rules for the game were first laid down in 1875.

Polo player Henry Smith wears Hurlingham Polo 1875 stretch cotton pique sash polo shirt and polo whites

Ralph Lauren Pre-Fall '18

Gucci's bestselling snaffle shoe

The decision to launch a brand born out of, and named after, Hurlingham, which still oversees 38 of the 77 polo-playing countries from Azerbaijan to Gambia, is pertinent. The game is not the genteel Pimm’s and divotstomping as we know it. Serious injuries can occur to both horse and human as they hurtle at each other at speeds of 30mph on fields the length of six football pitches. It is still the fastest team ball game on the planet and the rules, which limit a match to six ‘chukkas’ of seven minutes, are there to stop the ponies from getting exhausted.

Hurlingham Polo 1875, as the new polo fusion brand is called, may well be British born and bred but it has its sights set way beyond the horsey set. It hopes to muscle in on the activewear clothing market, forecasted to exceed $231.7bn by 2024, and in addition to polo whites, do for their newly launched equestrianised jod-jeggings and jod-jeans what yoga pants have done for Canadian brand Lululemon. This yoga-fusion brand ranks in the top ten global clothing retailers and has simultaneously catapulted sheer or partly-sheer yoga pants into high fashion and every woman’s wardrobe.

‘It’s fairly easy to build a business, but it’s hard to build a brand,’ says Simon Hawkins, CEO and founder of Hurlingham Polo 1875, who previously worked for Reebok and witnessed the first soft trainer designed and marketed for women roll off the production line in the 1980s. ‘But polo was already steeped in history and heritage.’ Discovering old photos of Winston Churchill playing polo further convinced Hawkins the clothing of the sport had a story to tell – ‘and when you are creating a new brand having a story to tell is everything,’ he says, adding that, ‘if it were a person it would be a mix of Daniel Craig, Helen Mirren, Zara Tindall, Prince Harry, Victoria Pendleton and Eric Cantona’.

Dior is bringing back its iconic Saddle bag for A/W’18

Mathilde Pinault is the face of equestrain brand Miasuki.

Kitty Mae Taylor wears Hurlingham Polo 1875 stretch cotton polo shirt and stretch cotton twill ‘whites’ jeans

Hawkins believes that few sports can fire the imagination quite like polo does. Thanks to the handicap system it’s also one of a very few that is played by both sexes and determined by handicap. Having an equally strong women’s range has seen Hurlingham Polo 1875 being well on the way to establishing a presence internationally since its soft launch four years ago. Its tag line ‘Authentically British. Absolutely International’, meanwhile, feels a good fit for our Brexit-blurring times.

The biggest coup would be to get the brand – which is already worn by polo’s elite and ‘young guns’ players – worn by the leagues of fans who turn up to watch the match and polo people. Princes William and Harry are regular fixtures and use polo events to raise money for their various charities. Many pieces have a whiff of on-trend streetwear while others have that Made in Chelsea feel about them. There are polo tops (of course), hoodies, cashmere knits, red chinos and shirts, along with the favourite accessory of every polo player – a crested cap. Womenswear features purposedesigned updates on stretchy jodphurs with their non-chaffable saddle seams and expandable waistbands. Candy pink sweatshirts and relaxed cotton jersey blazers are perfect for spectating a polo match, while glorious oversized cotton cricket sweaters, a polo mini dress and a crisp, white cotton shirt span school-run to serious-business-lunch.

It helps that high fashion is giving a nod to the equestrianista right now. Gucci can’t produce enough snaffle loafers to supply demand and Christian Dior’s big launch this month is an update of its iconic Saddle bag.

There’s also Miasuki, a brand aimed at those who ‘love horses and beautiful things’, whose face is Mathilde Pinault, the daughter of Kering chief, François-Henri Pinault, proving that equestrian fusion gear – even the gilet and hunting pink – is almost catwalk-ready. Ricky France-Lynch would love it.

hurlinghampolo1875.com

Photography: Sue Westwood- Ruttledge

Hair and make-up: Carl Stanley

Styling: Julia Robson

Location: Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire. capesthorne.com