Manila Polo Club

The Manila Polo Club (MPC) was incorporated on August 18, 1909[1] by American William Cameron Forbes, who would start serving as Governor-General of the Philippines within the same year. Forbes was a polo enthusiast who owned two polo fields in his estate in Boston, envisioned the club as a venue for polo and leisure for "gentlemen of a certain class" assigned to work in the Philippines like himself.[2] Forbes is credited for establishing the first polo field in the Philippines[3] and served as delegate of the club until the outbreak of World War II.[4]The clubhouse was inaugurated on November 27, 1909.[1]

The original location of the clubhouse was situated on land acquired by Forbes himself using his own money, along Calle Real (now F.B. Harrison Avenue) in Pasay. The club's membership was primarily American in its early years and also had foreigners with different nationalities as its members. Complying with Forbes' original intention for the club, less than 20 percent of the club at that time were native Filipinos.[2]

Aside from being a key figure in the club's establishment, Forbes also aided the growth of the club's reputation internationally due to his work as a writer and contributor for polo magazines published outside the Philippine islands. One of the high profile guests of the club in the pre-World War II era was then Prince of Wales Edward VIII who played a polo match with an American team at the MPC's clubhouse.[2]

In July 1922, the Manila Polo Club became a member of the United States Polo Association which led to the organization of the Far Eastern Circuit which saw the participation of several army camps.[4]

In the 1930s, a dispute regarding the application of an aspirant member caused a schism. The club voted against the membership application of Manuel Nieto, a colonel who served as an aide to then-Philippine President Manuel Quezon which caused the Elizalde brothers to resign their membership with the club[2] to found the Los Tamaraos Polo Club in 1937.[3]

When the Japanese occupied the Philippines during the World War II, the Manila Polo Club was taken over by the Japanese military and converted to become the Japanese Navy Recreation Club.[4] The original clubhouse was later burned down during the Battle of Manila of 1945.[2]

After the war, the club was temporarily hosted in a 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres) property along Dewey Boulevard (now Roxas Boulevard)[2] in Pasay. Businessmen Alfonso Zóbel de Ayala & Joseph McMicking of the Ayala Corporation convinced the club to move to Makati, particularly in an area which was being developed by their company. That area would later be known as Forbes Park, named after club founder Forbes.[5] The main lounge of the new Manila Polo Club was designed by Pablo S. Antonio, Sr.[6] By around the 1960s, there are more Filipinos and non-American foreigners had become members of the club. In 1964, the club elected Enrique J. Zóbel as its president, marking the first time the club would be led by a Filipino.[2]

The Manila Polo Club became a proprietary share club in 1979 and under the new set-up, the club's membership was required to consist of 60 percent Filipino and 40 percent foreign. In 1983, the club allowed the transfer of shares to widows of its male members, allowing women to become full members. María Paz Rufino Laurel-Tanjangco was the first female member of the club. In 1987, gender-related restrictions on membership was dropped. Maribel Ongpin became the club's first female board member in 1995 and Isabel Caro Wilson became the club's first female president.[2]