The United States Polo Association (USPA) is the national governing body for the sport of polo in the United States, and a retail chain that manufactures and promotes a lifestyle sports fashion brand of ready-to-wear casual footwear, apparel, and accessories, operating at least 1,100 outlets globally as of 2023.

The USPA has established a number of programs for new players to learn the sport in the U.S. including Regional Polo Centers and clubs that host schools and lessons across the country.

In 2012, 60 Minutes aired a special feature on polo's resurgence in America and included several interviews with dedicated players and ambassadors in the United States.

[7] The segment highlighted one of the USPA's specialty programs, Work to Ride, which is dedicated to helping inner-city youth in Philadelphia through polo and other equine activities.

Bennett came to be known as the father of American polo as it was he who assembled the players, knowledge, equipment and Texas horses to play the first loosely structured matches in the United States.

The association began operations on a voluntary basis of committee structure and continues as such today with a small office staff.

In its early days of organization, the association initiated changes in the number and length of time periods (chukkers) in a match.

Even before the association was formed, the Westchester Cup, one of the oldest tournaments in the world, was contested in 1886 by the United States and Britain.

This prestigious international polo tournament was played at the time when the Kentucky Derby, Wimbledon and the British Open were all new events in a sparse sporting calendar.

Though the British won that first match at Westchester easily, the Americans used the defeat as a catalyst to improve their game strategy and the quality of their horses.

The center of much of this excitement was Meadowbrook Polo Club in Westbury, NY, the site of many of the first U.S. Open and Westchester Cup Championships.

Other great names in polo emerged, such as ten-goaler Tommy Hitchcock Jr., who reigned for 20 years and captured America's hearts.

The Great Depression eventually took its toll on the fabric of American society and polo, like most things, faced some dire times.

Though the number of military players peaked in 1940 with 1,432 registered members, Army polo later disappeared as the mechanization of the era outmoded the need for the cavalry.

Polo survived after the war, thanks in great part to Cecil Smith of Plano, Texas, considered one of the first “professional” or paid players.

When the first U.S. Open was played there in the 1950s, the ascent of Oak Brook began and continued as American interest in polo revived during the 1960s.

Polo evolved from a society sport to include a far broader base of budget-minded horsemen, professional players and commercial sponsorship.

With the dominance of Oak Brook fading, the polo centers of the 1980s grew to include Florida, Texas and California.

In 1986, the United States Polo Association moved its national headquarters to a more central location in the heart of thoroughbred country, Lexington, Kentucky.

Pride and spectator interest were at a high point, particularly after the 1989 Federation of International Polo World Championship in West Berlin, Germany.

The USPA completed two major strategic planning efforts (2005 and 2011) that resulted in many new and innovative programs and services that were designed to grow and sustain the sport.

Continued growth at the collegiate level assures a bright future as polo's strength depends on these young players of tomorrow.

[16] The company designs and manufactures its lifestyle brand as a ready-to-wear athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories consumer line that was started in 1981, currently sold in department stores such as Walmart and Target, operating at least 1,100 outlets globally in across 190 countries aiming to open 400 more outlets, that delivered a record $2.4 billion in global retail sales in 2023 and opening flagship outlets in high profile locations such as the iconic Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, U.A.E., Tocuman International Airport in Panama City, Panama, Xianyang Kaihuang Plaza in Shaanxi, China, 1000 Foot Road in Bangalore, India, [17][18][2] in São Paulo, Brazil in April 2022.