about vancouver polo club

Polo’s history in Vancouver can be dated back as early as 1921, however over the years it was slowly displaced from the area as hunter jumpers grew in popularity. Although polo was gradually pushed out, there were still some very dedicated players in the area. Claudia and Tony Torquist, for example, played polo throughout the Pacific Northwest and have recently brought the game back to the area for special occasions such as the Vancouver International Polo Festival, an annual exhibition game.

In 2015 after one of the highly-popular exhibitions, Paul Sullivan decided to stay for a clinic to be held the next day. “At the clinic a bunch of dads like myself went and tried polo for the first time despite never really riding horses and had a great time,” Sullivan shared. “My daughters are big hunter jumpers and I am very much involved in their on-going careers as amateurs. I certainly wanted a place in the horse world given how much time I spent in it and when I tried polo I thought ‘alright, this is a lot of fun and the horses are reasonably easy to ride’ and away we went.” Within a year, Sullivan and the Tornquists purchased a 20-acre property in the nearby city of Delta to be used as the home base for Vancouver Polo Club.

Propelled by a forward-thinking board of directors and dedicated staff and members, Vancouver Polo Club has transformed over a short amount of time from a dream of having polo back in the city into an ever-progressing club. Growth is on the minds of everyone involved at VPC and we are excited to see what the future holds for the club.