FRIDAY FOTO October 29, 2021

Ahoy?

(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Edward Wargo)

U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant j.g. (junior grade) Robert DiRado competes in the National Commander in Chief Cup polo  tournament in Charleston, South Carolina on October 1, 2021.

Here at 4GWAR, this is not where we expect to see a member of the Coast Guard — on horseback with a polo mallet in hand. An Army officer, maybe. They’ve been playing polo since the 1890a.

The “Sport of Kings,” is believed first to have been played by Iranian and Turkic nomads in Central Asia, with the current form originating in Iran (Persia) and spreading east to India where the British encountered it in colonial days and took it back to England and the rest of western Europe.

In 1896, the U.S. Army took up the game at Fort Riley, Kansas. In addition to improving the riding skills of cavalrymen, polo taught leadership, teamwork and strategy, according to the United States Polo Association website. Polo was introduced at West Point in 1901. By 1914, 17 Army posts were playing polo. In 1928, the U.S. Army team made it to the final of the U.S. Open Polo Championship, and there were Army polo teams across the country, as well as in the Philippines, Hawaii and Panama. The other military branches, Air Force, Marines and Navy soon followed suit.

Lieutenant DiRado, who is the Executive Officer of the Southeast Regional Fisheries Training Center in Charleston, South Carolina, represents the Department of Homeland Security on the Navy team.

Army beat DiRado and his Navy teammates in the final round of the Commander in Chief Cup tournament. Just a week later, however, Di Rado was part of a joint Department of Defense team that defeated a British Armed Forces team. At the Churchill-Roosevelt Cup polo tournament October 9 and 10, in Aiken, South Carolina, the U.S. team dominated, winning 11-8.