More than a century of Polish polo history was brought to the big screen with the premiere of Destination: Polo | History of the European Championship in Poland. Hosted at Sowiniec Polo Club, the special evening brought together the people who have shaped the sport in Poland, alongside numerous polo players, friends of the clubs and enthusiasts of the game.
Directed by Tomasz Wieczorkiewicz of notTypicalmedia, the documentary tells a story that reaches far beyond the XV FIP European Polo Championship hosted at Sowiniec in 2025. It looks back at more than 100 years of Polish polo, beginning with its early roots in Łańcut, where the Potocki brothers played an important role in introducing and developing the sport. From these pioneering beginnings to the creation of modern polo clubs and ultimately the organisation of the European Championship, the film connects different generations of Polish polo.
Hangars turned into a cinema
For the premiere, the hangars at Sowiniec Polo Club were transformed into a unique cinema and event space, creating a setting closely connected to the equestrian character of the club and the story presented on screen. The audience included numerous players from Poland and abroad, polo enthusiasts and people who have supported the development of the sport over the years. Most importantly, the evening brought together the founders of all of Poland’s polo clubs, making the premiere a symbolic gathering of the modern Polish polo community. Paweł Olbrych represented Buksza Polo Club, Kazimierz Czartoryski Żurawno Polo Club, Tomasz Tokarczyk Warsaw Polo Club, Marek Setkiewicz Silesia Polo Club and Mariusz Świtalski Sowiniec Polo Club.
Their presence in one place carried particular significance. Each of these clubs has written its own chapter in the revival and development of polo in Poland, building infrastructure, organising tournaments, developing players and creating communities around the sport. The premiere provided a rare opportunity to bring those individual stories together. The roots of Polish polo, however, extend much further into the past. More than a century ago, Łańcut became an important centre for the sport through the Potocki family. This historical heritage forms an essential part of the documentary, connecting Poland’s early polo traditions with the revival of the sport many decades later and its development into the community that exists today.
The road to the international stage
That journey eventually led Poland to the international stage. The FIP European Polo Championship was first held in St. Moritz in 1993. Over the following three decades, the competition travelled to some of Europe’s established polo destinations, including Chantilly, Rome, Vienna, Sotogrande and Berlin. Poland made its European Championship debut in Berlin in 2016. Nine years later, another milestone was reached when Poland hosted the championship for the first time.
From 26 August to 7 September 2025, Sowiniec Polo Club welcomed eight national teams: Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Hungary and France. For nearly two weeks, the club near Poznań became one of the focal points of European polo. The championship also produced the greatest international result in the history of the Polish national team. After narrowly losing 4.5 to 5 to eventual champions Spain in the semi-final, Poland defeated Italy 6.5 to 4 in the bronze medal match, securing its first ever FIP European Championship medal. The Polish team of Eric Aronowicz, Mateusz Świtalski, Miłosz Ruszkowski and Marcin Świtalski, coached by Facundo Cordeu, made history by placing Poland on the European Championship podium for the first time.
A story spanning more than a century
Yet Destination: Polo is not simply a film about one championship or one result. It is a story spanning more than a century, from the beginnings of polo in Łańcut, through its modern revival and the people who built Poland’s clubs, to the historic moment when eight European national teams arrived at Sowiniec to compete for the continental title. The premiere brought that entire story together, with founders, players and polo enthusiasts gathering in the very place where a new chapter of Polish polo history had been written only months earlier.
Destination: Polo | History of the European Championship in Poland celebrates where Polish polo came from, how far it has travelled and the ambitions that continue to shape its future.
