Borrowdale Polo Club

Borrowdale Polo Club is one of Africa's most historically significant polo institutions, operating in Harare's prestigious Borrowdale suburb and maintaining a polo tradition that stretches back to the colonial era when Rhodesia was one of the sport's most active African centres. The club has survived the tumultuous political and economic history of Zimbabwe with remarkable resilience, adapting to dramatically changed circumstances while preserving the essential polo culture that has defined the sport in this part of Africa for more than a century. The club hosts Zimbabwe's national polo championship — the country's most prestigious polo event — and participates in the broader southern African polo circuit alongside clubs from South Africa, Zambia, and Mozambique. Zimbabwean polo has a distinctive character shaped by the country's agricultural heritage and the extraordinary horsemen that the region's farming and ranching communities produce. The polo ponies at Borrowdale are typically Zimbabwe-bred thoroughbreds or crosses, representing an equine heritage that has contributed significantly to polo across the southern African region. For polo visitors, Borrowdale offers an experience unlike anything available elsewhere in Africa: polo played in a country of extraordinary natural beauty and complex, turbulent history, by players who have kept their sport alive through circumstances that would have ended polo in most other nations. The club is a symbol of Zimbabwe's enduring love of horses and its connection to a sporting tradition that transcends political upheaval.