Polo was first played by the Chinese in about 600 BC. Drawings of the time show that the sport was played by both men and women. Over the centuries, polo spread throughout Asia and Mongolia. The Persians adopted it from their neighbours and called it the ‘game of kings’. Modern polo came out of the British Raj in India in the 1850s. The cavalry, impressed by the skills of local horsemen, quickly took it up with a passion. The name itself is a derivative of the Indian name for the wooden mallet or stock - "poola". Polo rapidly became the focus of colonial social life.

The first match to be played in England was in 1869 on London's Hounslow Heath (now Heathrow Airport). From Britain, the game spread to the United States, South America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The first match in Australia was played at Albert Park, Melbourne, in 1875. The first polo match recorded in Queensland was played at Eagle Farm Race course in March 1877. The next mention of polo in Queensland was in 1886 when William Hood, who had played in India, introduced the sport to Augathella and the next year, founded the Toowoomba Polo Club. In 1895 a Brisbane solicitor, Adolph Feez, credited as the father of Queensland polo, established the Queensland Polo Association. That year a Queensland team travelled to Sydney by train and won the three games they played against New South Wales.