Club Polo Nacional
T
he Montreal Polo Club, a precursor to Club Polo Nacional, was first organized in 1899 by several members of the Canadian Hunt Club. Iris Clendenning’s book entitled, “The History of the Montreal Polo Club 1900 - 1940”, published in 1987, carefully documents those early years, stating: “In the summer of 1899, they formed a pool for the purchase of ponies and other initial expenses and Mr. Simard imported a carload of polo ponies
from the West, a few of them saddle broken, but most entirely wild.” A field was prepared the following summer and practice commenced in 1901. During that same year, Montreal played the Toronto club and was soundly defeated. In 1907, three new members joined the club, all of whom had learned to play either in England or the West, and the skill level significantly improved. Although the club disbanded in 1910, several members joined the Back River Club, which had been formed in 1905 by another group of Montrealers including Hartland MacDougall, a highly regarded
Andreas Cup winners Will Schneider (Bl.D.PC), Pierre Verville, Elisabeth Halle, Alfredo Viel
34 \ THE SPORT OF POLO IN CANADA
