S magazine's Victoria Gray joins the polo set with rising star Max Charlton

As regular S Magazine readers may know, I’m a lover of all things equestrian. So when I was given the chance to pick up a mallet and try my hand at a few chukkas of polo, I jumped at the opportunity.

Polo is the oldest recorded team sport in the world and can be traced back in ancient Persia to about 600BC. At that stage it was played by the military and noblemen, but the high-octane game we play today originated in a northeastern state of India in the 19th century.

It is now popular all over the world and is generally considered an elite sport among the super-rich. But, as I discovered, it’s much more accessible than people may think. What is more, you don’t need to be a pro to last a chukka – a seven-and-a-half minute period of play, for novices like me.

My tutor for the day was recently appointed Land Rover ambassador and rising star of polo Max Charlton. At just 26, Max is already one of only three British polo horsemen playing off a handicap of seven goals. He is a well-established member of the England squad and has played in most of the world’s major tournaments. 

Max was born and raised in Windsor but, unusually, was not from a polo or horsey background. “I was introduced to polo by an architect, who was working on my parents’ house, when I was 12 years old,” Max tells me. “I had been riding and was involved in The Pony Club activities, but from my first experience on the polo pitch I was hooked.” 

Berkshire was the perfect place for a polo-mad teenager, as there are several clubs in the area, including the renowned Guards, for which Max plays today.

Set in the grounds of Windsor Great Park, Guards Polo Club was founded in 1955 and is now the largest such organisation in Europe. 

It is also where I am going to make my polo debut. The hallowed emerald-green pitch I am going to be riding across is called The Queen’s Ground and has been graced by many of the polo world’s great and good, including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. And, I’m told, the Queen has regularly been an observer from the sidelines. No pressure then.

Even with such a prestigious guest list, Max insists polo is not reserved for the upper classes and the super-rich. “It’s becoming ever more popular and it is more accessible than most people think,” he says.

“A lesson costs about £75, which is around the same price as a golf lesson, and you don’t need your own horse to enjoy the game as the clubs provide them. If you find you really enjoy it, you can join a low goal club and play in a team.”

During a professional polo match, a player will ride several horses, as the game is so intense and fast. So unlike some equestrian sports, the game relies less on a one-to-one partnership between horse and rider and more on overall skill and general horsemanship.

“I try not to get too attached to one particular horse,” says Max, “although I’m very sentimental about a little mare called Pixie. She broke her leg and it was thought she’d never play again, but after several operations she’s back on the pitch.

“The English polo summer season runs from May to September,” he adds. “But in the winter I travel abroad to play.”

New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and Barbados are among the countries Max has played, and he says that while it may sound glamorous, it can be hard being away from home for long periods.

Before I am given a mount, Max introduces me to a wooden horse for some stick-and-ball practice, designed to help me get my eye in and co-ordinate my swing.

The ball is rolled towards me and I am asked to hit it with the side of the mallet in a smooth swinging arc. It’s more difficult than it looks, and bearing in mind I am perched on an immobile wooden frame, I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. 

Surprisingly, Max soon thinks I’m ready to proceed and introduces me to my pony (polo mounts are always called ponies despite their size – never call them horses). My ride for today is Lucia, a 12-year-old mare and polo veteran. Even though I’ve ridden horses for years this is something completely new. Polo ponies are very sensitive, unfailingly obedient, and are trained to accelerate at speed, spin on a sixpence and stop on a dime. Their direction is controlled through contact on the neck. This is called neck reining. 

Max shows me how to hold the reins in one hand and how to correctly carry my mallet. At first it all feels very clumsy and I manage to inflict what turns out to be a cracking bruise on my shin with my own stick. But I love the feeling of my horse’s speed and agility under the saddle and it’s not long before I’m galloping end to end, with Max tirelessly delivering the ball back to me. 

He is such a skilled and understated horseman he makes it look effortless. Easy it is not. I miss shot after shot but finally I see a chance and Lucia surges forward, she has seen the ball, too, and has locked on to it. Her ears are pinned flat back against her head and her hooves thunder beneath her as we charge towards the ball. 

I swing, make contact and hear the satisfying noise of mallet against ball – it’s such a sweet sound and to my amazement the ball travels half the length of the pitch and through the goalposts. This is definitely more luck than judgment, but it feels amazing. It’s such an exhilarating experience and I don’t want to stop, despite the fact I know my muscles will be aching later. 

After my lesson, I get to see how it’s really done and take my place on the sidelines to watch the Land Rover Duke of Cornwall Final, where Max and his team mates play an exhilarating match. Thanks to my morning in the saddle I’m able to follow the action. It may have something to do with my earlier adrenaline rush, the perfect summer afternoon or the glass of champagne I have in my hand, but I’m truly hooked now. 

Max Charlton is one of Britain’s leading polo players and a Land Rover ambassador. Land Rover has been at the heart of equestrian sport for more than 30 years. To find out more, visit landrover.co.uk.