The
birth of the Polo Club of Barcelona
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The Promotion of the Equine breeding disappeared, branch of the Equestrian
Circle, and first organiser after the horse races that took place during
many years in our city; the enthusiasm rapidly decreased for the equine
sport. Enrique de Ibarrola, the equestrian professor Paulina de la Cruz
and a few other members of this Circle acquired a reduced number of horses
to play polo, because this was the only attraction that the daring horseman
could be offered, because in Spain the equine competitions were still
not held, nor was horse riding outside of Spain.
From the Equestrian Circle, the first polo teams were born and those that
made it up were then established to play private games, basically on a
regular basis, in the hippodrome of Casa Antúnez, until they founded in
a society called POLO CLUB OF BARCELONA, their statute was edited and
approved on May 11, 1897. The objective of this society was to promote
the game of polo and give to equine sports fans forms of distraction and
recreation, at the same time as they developed qualities of skill and
solidity in the horses.
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The first horse competitions
in Barcelona were held in Plaza de Armas in the Ciudadela park, on June
12-15 in 1902. The Equestrian Circle, honouring the title that was given
in the competition in 1907. The following year, this society that was
founded to be dedicated to the game of polo, was called the Real Club
de Polo de Barcelona, and had the necessity to take care of the organisation
of the competition, because it wanted its name to be added to the Equine
Society.
Therefore, they put the equestrian professor Arsenio Abad in the riding
school on Caspe Street who supported by numerous students, offered equestrian
enthusiasts equine parties that took place in the riding school during
1907 and 1908, constituted of horse tattoo, belt races for horsewomen,
trick riding, presentation of tandems, and various equine games, which
for their novelty, aroused the curiosity of the people from Barcelona
and promoted the interest for the noble art of horseback riding. The riding
school was called the Jockey Club.
In 1910, when the friendships that united the horsewomen were closest,
they spread among them the idea of the formation of a society dedicated
to the promotion of equine sport, given that, the Real Club de Polo of
Barcelona, was constituted in the equine society. It dedicated itself
only to the development of the game of Polo and the celebration of the
yearly equine competition in Barcelona.
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The idea that germinated among
the students of the Jockey Club, rapidly was accepted among them and they
named a commission to make the preliminary steps directed towards the
early construction of a equine society called the BARCELONA JOCKEY CLUB
.
Therefore, the Real Club de Polo acquired the extensive land of the Casa
Rabia on the Sarria highway.
In 1912 the Barcelona Jockey Club had 113 members while the Real Club
de Polo had 117. There was the necessity to completely reform the statutes
respecting the rights acquired and the starting of the development and
implantation of new sports. On July 2, 1912 the statutes that gave life
to the new society called the ROYAL POLO JOCKEY CLUB OF BARCELONA, EQUINE
SOCIETY. The installations occupied an extension of 93,427 square meters
(court for competitions, gardens, polo field five tennis courts, hockey
and soccer fields, gallop trail, skating, jumping practice field...).
In 1904 they formed the Association of Tennis Law of Barcelona with five
associated clubs: the Barcelona Law Tennis Club, the Sportverein, the
Health Sport Club , The Royal Sportsmen´s Club, and the Polo Club. A few
years before, in 1903, these clubs organised the first international tennis
tournament in Barcelona.
In 1907 hockey started to be played among some members of the polo Jockey
Club. In 1912, they played the first hockey game in Spain between two
complete teams. The Polo Jockey club challenged the Spanish team and they
won 5 to 2. The Spanish team whose players already played Hockey, were
also football players- always ready to play any sport. After this important
victory, interest in Hockey grew enormously in the Polo Jockey Club.
In 1914 the Club already had
four sections available that were, during many years the pillars of its
sports infrastructure: Polo, Equine, Hockey, and Tennis.
From
the Sarria Highway to Diagonal
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In 1932, the Club occupied the Diagonal area that is currently the privileged setting for its evolution and consolidation. In 1939, the club took on the official name of the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, which it is currently called. In this period, the Club consolidates its participation and competitions, as well as the organisation of its most emblematic events, like the Competition of International Jumps, International Polo Tournament, International Hockey Tournament of the Kings, and the Potter Veterans Tennis Cup, and these competitions are judged by distinct federations, like the World Hockey Championship (1971), The World Championship of Tennis Veterans (1993), International Women´s Tennis Championship (1994 and 1995) or the Pre-Olympic Hockey Tournament (1996).
Its international hockey players
received the bronze medal in the Olympic games in Rome (1960), the silver
medal in the Olympic games in Moscow (1980), and the silver medal in Atlanta
(1996).
In the nineties, the Club incorporated a new and emerging sports discipline
in which the main sport that was practised in its installations was: paddle
tennis. In only a few years, the club had eight paddle courts and a number
of important members of all ages who played it.
The
Olympic Games of Barcelona
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For the Olympic Games of Barcelona
in 1992, the Real Club de Polo- headquarters of the trials of the Hurdle
Jumps and Taming- was completely remodelled in its Olympic installations
and today, it is one of the highest level international sports clubs for
its variety, quantity, and quality. Currently the Club continues with
a constant process of remodelling and up-dating its sports and social
installations.