Where and when did you first start playing polo?

I first started playing down at home in Dorset when I was about fifteen. My friend’s dad used to play and knew that I’d done a lot of riding at the Pony Club, so he introduced me to polo. I was lucky enough to have a pony of my own so I joined the Pony Club’s team and it just progressed from there really.

What is it that appeals to you about polo?

A lot of people think initially it most all be about the image. But once they sit on the horse and realise they’re going 30 miles per hour, at a flat-out gallop, attempting to hit a ball the size of a hockey ball with a 52-inch stick – then they start to understand the skill and exitement involved.

But it can be a dangerous sport too. In fact there’s a room in Caius called the Catherine Yates room which was named in honour of a girl who sadly died a few years ago playing polo at Cambridge.

Would you say it’s possible to take up polo without the horse-riding background?

You do need the horse-riding yes, but a lot of people come to us who’ve never ridden at all and we tell them to have two three-hour riding lessons for a week or two at the Polo Club, after which they’re normally fine to start. You actually start to learn to ride through playing polo quite a lot, although it’s obviously a more agressive style of riding then say showjumping which is more technical.

Bar horsemanship, what makes a good polo player?

Hand-eye co-ordination is pretty key. You can see the people who have played a lot of team sports take to it very much better because it’s such an instinctive game and you have to be able to see where a play is going. In terms of other sports, it’s probably closest to hockey except it’s not on foot, of course.

What have been the highlights of your polo career?

The Varsity matches are always an absolute highlight because we play at Guards Polo Club down in Windsor Great Park, which is the Twickenham or the Lords of polo. Last year around six to eight thousand people came to watch which was incredible and the whole event is sponsored by Jack Wills, so as you can imagine it’s a pretty great event in itself.

Is polo really a spectator sport?

For arena polo (indoors) there’s tiered seating so it’s a lot easier to watch. But outdoors on grass, because it is such a big pitch it’s quite hard to see what’s going on. Certainly for someone who doesn’t know a lot about polo it might just look like a lot of people running around on horses.

How do you prepare with before a match?

We run through tactics with our coach and try to find out as much as we can about the opposition, because when you play tournaments you often don’t find out who you’re up against until the day. A lot of preparation though is purely trying to calm your nerves and getting in the right frame of mind, especially before Varsity matches where the build-up is huge and you play in front of such a large crowd.

Who are the characters in the polo team?

There’s Simon Bewsey Dyke who played last year and now organises all the polo at the club. He sends out emails (essays) to the polo list which are just infamous for their content. And then you’ve got Alex Rose who’s gone through a number of very dubious nicknames throughout the course of his time at Cambridge. All of which feature in Bewsey Dyke’s emails, but I don’t think Alex would be too happy if i repeated them here.

Have you ever played against either of the Princes?

I’ve never played against the Princes but I have seem them play in the Inter-Regimental Polo Championships. Prince William is slightly unfortunate because he’s left-handed and you have to play right-handed in polo, but considering that he’s not bad. Charles in fact was a very good player in his day, playing off a handicap of about three or four which is pretty close to professional standard.

Do you think polo could ever find more widespread popularity?

The trouble is for a lot of people they’re never exposed to it and so they just don’t have any interest in polo. Of course, there is plenty of stigma attached too and the sheer cost of the sport is enough to put off a lot of people.

But Cambridge provides a great opportunity for a lot of students who wouldn’t otherwise consider playing polo and it’s probably the cheapest place in the country to play because our brilliant sponsors, Jack Wills, provide us with so much kit and equipment.

What would you say to any freshers who want to try polo?

Definitely come and give it a go. It’s a unique sport and it doesn’t matter if you haven’t played polo before, you just need enthusiasm.