Polo 3: International Polo
In 1886, the United States challenged England to a best-two-of-three series in Newport, Rhode Island, for a trophy called the Westchester Cup. England won easily, 10-4 and 14-2, and successfully defended the cup at Hurlingham in 1902 after losing the first match. However, the U. S. won the trophy in 1909. There were ten matches after that, with the United States winning nine times. The last match was played in 1939.
Polo became very popular in Argentina during the 1920s, often drawing crowds of 60,000 and more. In 1928, Argentina and the United States played a series for the Copa de las Americas (Cup of the Americas), with the U. S. winning two out of three. The United States also won the second series, in 1932, but Argentina won with two-match sweeps the last two times the cup was played for, in 1936 and 1950.
Mexico and the United States first played for the General Manuel Avilla Camacho Cup in 1941, in a best-three-of-five series at Mexico City. The U. S. won three straight matches. In 1946, there were two Camacho Cup series, in September and November, and the United States swept both of them. Those easy victories killed interest in the trophy until the early 1970s, when it was revived.
Polo was on the Olympic program five times. In 1904, at Paris, teams of mixed nationalities took all three medals. At the 1908 London Olympics, only three teams competed, two from Great Britain and the third representing Great Britain and Ireland. The only genuine international Olympic competition took place in 1920, 1924, and 1936.
European championships were held for the first time in 1980 and the international governing body, the Federación Internacional de Polo (FIP), was founded in 1985. The FIP held the first world championship tournament in 1987. Since 1989, the tournament has been conducted every three years.