Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club to fly the flag for Indian polo in Spain and the United States

A team from the Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club (HPRC) leaves this week for a fortnight of international polo across two continents, playing club-to-club friendlies against Madrid Polo Club in Spain and Commonwealth Polo Club in Lexington, Kentucky.

The tour runs from September 23 to October 4, 2026 and continues the club’s programme of taking Indian polo abroad — as sportsmen, and as ambassadors for the game in the country where it was first played.

The touring side is led by Chaitania R Kumar, president of HPRC, with Arsalan Khan, Saif Attari and Akash Reddy. All four are products of the club’s own polo programme at Aziznagar, and Kumar, Khan and Attari formed the core of the HPRC side that won the MSN Realty Arena Polo Championship in November last year.

Madrid: Two matches on grass, and a party

The tour opens in Spain. After a day of stick-and-ball and a day of practice chukkers, HPRC India meets Madrid Polo Club in a four-a-side fixture on Saturday 26 September, followed by a mixed-teams match on Sunday 27 September in which players from both clubs are drawn together. Madrid Polo Club is hosting the visiting side throughout, providing horses, grooms and tack, and closes the weekend with a party at the club for both teams and their supporters.

Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club’s Saif Attari, Chaitania R Kumar and Arsalan Khan are all set to fly the flag for Indian polo in Spain and the United States

Kentucky: Under lights at Commonwealth Polo Club

From Madrid the team flies to the Bluegrass. Commonwealth Polo Club at Paris, Kentucky — one of the leading arena polo clubs in the United States and home to the University of Kentucky polo programme — hosts two days of practice chukkers on 30 September and 1 October before the tour’s final on Saturday 3 October, played three-aside under floodlights in Commonwealth’s arena.

HPRC’s third international tour

This is the third time HPRC has taken a team overseas. The club’s international outreach began with a tour to Hawaii, and in October 2024 HPRC riders represented India at the Buddy Combs International Arena Challenge at Lakeside Polo Club, San Diego. In a match that finished 14–12 to the hosts after being tied 11–11 going into the final chukker, Chaitania Kumar scored five goals and Arsalan Khan was named Most Valuable Player.

The side travelled with the blessing of the Indian Polo Association, whose secretary, Col Vikram Kahlon of the 61st Cavalry, was with the team in San Diego. Robin Sanchez, chairman of the United States Polo Association’s arena committee, described the fixture as historic for bringing together the country that gave the modern game to the world and the country that shaped arena polo.