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From Yaks to Chukkas: Maturin Mackenzie-Hill’s Wild Ride Through Mongolian Polo
09/07/25, 11:00
A surreal and hilarious account of one man’s attempt to bring polo to Mongolia — and survive the experience. Mongolian Polo is a true story of horses, vodka, diplomacy and total cultural dislocation.
- Mongolian Polo is a true story told like no other — a madcap cultural collision between British upper-crust tradition and Mongolian vastness, written with dry humour and a weathered sense of adventure by Maturin Mackenzie-Hill.
When the author embarks on a journey to stage a full-blown polo tournament in the heart of Mongolia, nothing goes quite to plan. There are lost horses, unlikely allies, diplomatic entanglements, nomadic negotiations, and one very chaotic attempt to play an elite sport where no one quite understands the rules — least of all the organiser himself.
This is not just a travel memoir; it’s a full-throttle dive into absurdity and endurance, powered by stubborn optimism and frequent vodka. Along the way, Mackenzie-Hill offers glimpses into Mongolian culture, British eccentricity, and what happens when ambition gallops faster than logistics.
Smart, unfiltered and often laugh-out-loud funny, Mongolian Polo is for readers who enjoy Paul Theroux, Bill Bryson, or the kind of pub story that sounds too outrageous to be true — but somehow is.
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