At the 2025 Polo Awards in London on 12 May, Nina Clarkin was honoured with the Hurlingham Polo Association’s Medal of Honour, marking her retirement as captain of the England women’s team and recognising her extraordinary contributions to the sport.
Nina’s international polo journey began at just 18 years old, when she helped secure England’s victory at the 1999 FIP European Championships in Chantilly. Since then, she has proudly represented her country across the globe — from Mexico and Spain to Austria, Barbados, Jamaica, New Zealand, and beyond.
A driving force behind developing women’s polo, Nina was instrumental in introducing women’s handicaps and in 2018 she was the first woman to be awarded a 10-goal ladies handicap; a rating she has maintained for the past 7 seasons.
As England women’s captain she has led the team to multiple victories in the Diamond Jubilee, Silver Jubilee, and Golden Jubilee, and has continued to play internationally in the mixed game too, including the Olympic Trophy at Polo In The Park and at the FIP World Championships. She has been an incredible ambassador for the sport in this time and has given so much of her time, energy, and support to the international game. She’s hosted teams at home in New Zealand with her husband JP, travelled alongside teams abroad, and supported them in home international fixtures when not playing. She continues to be an inspiration for young players the world over, and last year came full circle when winning the Victrix 16-goal title alongside her eldest daughter Elizabeth.
Whilst not hanging up her England saddlecloth just yet, Nina has decided to step back from the captain’s role and will be handing over to Hazel Jackson for 2025. Hazel is the current world number one in women’s polo and we are excited to welcome her to this role, while taking the opportunity to thank Nina for her enormous contribution to England polo. We are sure there are many great moments still to come in Nina’s career and look forward to the next chapter.
