Considered to be one of the most elite sports in the world and first played in Mongolia over 2000 years ago, polo is fast becoming an affordable prospect in the UK.

Since its conception, the sport has enjoyed worldwide popularity but Argentina is the real mecca of the game. Here in the UK, the polo tradition also runs deep. Guards Polo Club, owned by the Queen and situated in Great Windsor Park, hosts the Cartier Gold Cup each year, attracting celebrities and high fliers from all over the world.

But polo is changing and competition between pony providers, instructors and professionals within the sport has opened up the market; polo is now much more affordable and small clubs are emerging all over the country to fuel the nation’s new passion.

The idea of the game is relatively straightforward; two teams of four riders with long bamboo mallets face each other on a giant rectangular green. A very small white ball is thrown between them and the first team to manoeuvre the ball through the opposition and between the distant goal posts, scores. Opponents are encouraged to impede the opposition’s progress by ‘hooking’ their stick with their own to prevent them from hitting the ball or ‘riding off’ - using their pony’s strength to gain position. This involves riding - often at full gallop - alongside an opposing player and ‘bumping’ them off-course making it impossible for them to hit the ball.

The rules are designed with human and equine safety in mind. Very simply, each time the ball is hit, an invisible line is drawn in the direction that it is travelling. Imagine this is the white line on a motorway. Players may not cross it, stop on it or come in from the side in the same way that motorists should not cut up other drivers. The scoring end is changed each time a goal is scored. Some say this rule was first implemented in Argentina to compensate for the inequity of playing on a pitch with one boggy end.

So, who plays polo? Sporting types and social climbers, of course. There are those looking for something new and exciting. Polo is fast, exhilarating and challenging and combines elements such as team spirit, competition and camaraderie. It keeps you fit and has a vibrant social scene associated with it. Polo is great for energetic youngsters and reduces stress levels in professionals.

Historically a male sport, the number of women players is now on the up. Like other equine disciplines, it’s one of the few sports in which women and men can compete on the same terms as the sexes are not separated.

Polo is unusual because even a player with limited experience (and plenty of spare cash) can form a team including the likes of the polo equivalent of David Beckham, and play at International level.

Some say that, at first, polo is a little like tapping your head and rubbing your stomach; controlling your pony with your left hand whilst swinging your mallet at a ball that seems very far below you, with your right hand. But it isn’t like that; as soon as ‘ball frenzy’ kicks in, you forget about the steering issues and employ every means in your embryonic repertoire to hit the thing.

But if you don’t have millions in the bank, polo is not out of your reach. You can feed your intrigue for relatively little if you research carefully. Try out a few different instructors to find the one that best suits and talk to lots of people: polo enthusiasts love to offer help and encouragement.

A note of caution: polo is highly addictive. There are so many elements out to thwart your objective of cleanly hitting a long, high ball through the goal with all your loved ones watching in admiration. Firstly, there’s your hitting skill and your riding skill to deal with. Then you’ve got the performance of your team mates. On top of all this, you’ve got four opponents doing their best to stop you, and then finally, you’ve got your horse. All these elements conspire to drive you completely mad with frustration or to catapult you into ecstatic addiction. That’s polo.