University Focus: Cambridge

Cambridge University Polo ClubFocus

Cambridge University Polo Club (CUPC) is a long established university polo club, with a number of wins under their belts and while the 2020/21 season has been delayed due to lockdowns, their highlights from the 2020 SUPA Winter Nationals included CUPC’s Beginner 4 team placing third out of 12 and their Novice 4 team came third out of 16.

CUPC’s 2019 fixture against Royal Holloway resulted in an 8-1 win for its beginner team, and another win for their novice team with a final score of 13-9. Although they didn’t manage to beat Oxford in the 2019 Varsity A match, their Varsity B team won against the Dark Blues.

Jenny Ward George

When I first went to a trial lesson at CUPC, I was sceptical. It took my friend, Catherine Richards, three years to convince me to try it out. So, it came as a surprise to me that polo would be a sport that I would quickly fall in love with, so much so that I would end up joining the committee the same academic year! Polo itself is exhilarating, fun, competitive, and engaging, but one of the best parts of CUPC is the team you get to know and the camaraderie along the way. CUPC have been particularly supportive and welcoming, and together with the university and colleges, make polo fully accessible through subsidising lessons, transport and matches. Between a recommendation from the captain and a sports grant from my college, Peterhouse, I was able to compete at SUPA Winter Nationals, a major highlight of playing polo last year.

Ed Cartwright

I joined CUPC and played polo for the first time last year and quickly became addicted! It’s a great environment to learn in and it didn’t take long to get used to a totally new style of riding, the lessons are a nice mix between stick and ball work and practice chukkas and provide a good opportunity to socialise too. I’ve since started playing closer to home at White Rose Polo Club and I’m eager to get back in the saddle with the university and hopefully play in the Nationals next term.

Victoria Campion

I grew up riding – eventing and show jumping – but only started polo in my final year. It was such a wonderful opportunity to learn a whole new riding style, and I enjoyed it so much I went on a polo holiday as soon as that first term of lessons was over. The opportunity to compete at SUPA Nationals was also a great introduction to actual game play and made me absolutely set on finding a club and continuing playing after graduation.

Chloe Chadwick

My introduction to polo was the most unexpected delight and highlight of this past year. Joining a lesson in my first week at Cambridge, I was instantly captured by everything about the sport, with the wonderfully welcoming Club and coach creating a fun and supportive learning environment. As a beginner, joining CUCP was the perfect polo introduction, with our brilliant teammates constantly cheering us on and always willing to lend us some (often much needed!) advice. Whilst the season was unfortunately cut short, highlights – including the Beginners’ Winter Varsity and SUPA Winter Nationals – have only made me more excited to continue playing in the years to come.

Photograph by Emmpix

Josh Cowan

I found my first year playing pretty exciting throughout – initially from adjusting to the differences in riding polo ponies in jarringly close proximity to others, and then as I slowly learnt rules and tactics it came from the feeling of striking more than a few hits together, and then from having freer-flowing chukkas and the chance to string everything together competing with others, culminating in Winter Nationals!