Polo 4: Women in Polo
Eleonora Sears was the first woman known to play competitive polo, on an otherwise all-male team in 1912. Some other women got similarly involved in the 1920s and many local clubs permitted play between mixed teams, most of which had three men to one woman.
A few all-women teams were also organized, in England and France as well as the United States. In 1934, eight teams formed the Pacific Coast Women's Polo Association, which later became the United States Women's Polo Association.
Although virtually all clubs accepted women members, women weren't allowed to hold individual memberships in the USPA until 1972. The number of women members has risen from about 10 percent in 1990 to about 20 percent.
Women's polo got its biggest boost in 1976, when the national collegiate women's championship was inaugurated. The USPA also conducts many other women's tournaments.
The International Women's Polo Association, founded in 1997, has members from 31 countries and is working to establishing a circuit of international tournaments.