New Zealand

New Zealand has one of the oldest polo cultures in the world outside the sport's traditional heartlands. The New Zealand Polo Association was founded in 1890, one of the oldest national polo associations anywhere, and it still governs the sport across the country.

The centrepiece of New Zealand polo is the Savile Cup, first presented in 1891 by Captain Savile, aide-de-camp to the Governor-General, to be played for annually by the polo clubs of New Zealand. More than 130 years later it is still contested as the national club championship, and it is one of the oldest sporting trophies in the country.

New Zealand is a small polo nation by the standards of Argentina or the United States, with the sport rooted in rural club communities rather than a high-goal professional circuit. Its place in world polo is historical: few countries can point to a national championship reaching back as far as the 1891 Savile Cup.

For international fans, New Zealand polo runs on New Zealand time. Auckland observes New Zealand Daylight Time at UTC+13 in the southern summer and New Zealand Standard Time at UTC+12 in winter. A 13:00 NZDT throw-in converts to 00:00 GMT in London, 19:00 the previous evening EST in New York, and 21:00 the previous evening in Buenos Aires. Check Auckland time and New Zealand time for live conversions.