Sekou McDonald didn’t come to polo via household custom or privilege. Born in Kingston and raised in Level Hill, St Catherine, he migrated to the UK shortly after leaving highschool. His formative years was formed by modest means, self-discipline and the affect of his aunt and her husband, Ned, whom he thought to be a father determine.
In 2018, McDonald returned to Jamaica to bury Ned. What adopted was a interval of grief and melancholy that left him trying to find course. Polo entered his life not as a long-held ambition, however at a second when he wanted construction and goal. That encounter would ultimately lead him to create 876 Polo, now recognised because the UK’s first Jamaican polo staff.
Falling in Love with the Sport
McDonald’s introduction to polo got here in 2021, when a pal invited him to a match in an effort to elevate his spirits. After the sport, he was given the prospect to strive polo himself, regardless of by no means having ridden a horse earlier than.
“I had the chance to strive polo for the very first time with out ever using or enjoying earlier than, and I used to be immediately hooked,” he recalled.
The training curve was steep, however the calls for of the game appealed to him. Polo required routine, self-discipline and focus, parts that helped him regain a way of course. Somewhat than serving as a distraction, the game imposed a construction that demanded dedication and consistency.
He started coaching commonly, taking classes that shortly turned a part of his weekly routine. “My first lesson become two, then three, and the remainder is historical past.” McDonald would go on to compete at membership degree in exhibition and invitational matches throughout the UK. Over time, what began as a private outlet developed into one thing extra deliberate.
Constructing One thing Greater than Himself
As McDonald turned extra established within the sport, he turned more and more conscious of how few folks like him have been seen inside it. As a Black Jamaican man enjoying polo in England, he stood out instantly.
“There aren’t many who match that class or mould,” he famous. “Actually, most individuals thought I used to be Nigerian.”
Somewhat than ignore these assumptions, McDonald selected to handle them straight. He based 876 Polo to make id seen in an area the place it was largely absent and naming the staff after Jamaica’s worldwide dialling code was part of that deliberate selection.
“I made a decision I’d make my very own staff utilizing the Jamaican space code, so there’d by no means be any doubt about who I used to be and the place I’m from.”
What started as a private response to loss had now taken on a wider goal. The subsequent step was to check whether or not that imaginative and prescient may maintain up past the UK.
Taking 876 Polo Worldwide
In March 2025, 876 Polo returned to Jamaica for a world exhibition match at Kingston Polo Club, going through a mixed UK and US facet in a intently contested 4–4 draw. For McDonald, the match represented a full-circle second — bringing the game that had helped him rebuild again to house soil.
The match demonstrated each the athletic calls for of the game and the staff’s intent to interact Jamaican audiences at house. The Kingston fixture featured a world line-up together with McDonald alongside Florito Curti, Shiv Rambarran and Charles Chambers, reflecting the staff’s international composition whereas sustaining a transparent Jamaican id at its core.
The response from attendees, lots of whom have been watching the 876 Polo staff play for the primary time, was encouraging. “There was an actual sense of appreciation for the athleticism and agility required of each rider and horse,” McDonald mentioned. He additionally credited institutional backing for the success of the occasion, noting that “the Jamaica Polo Affiliation has been extremely supportive and has actively inspired our efforts to interact a wider Jamaican group in polo.”
The match confirmed that 876 Polo’s ambitions prolonged past symbolism, laying the groundwork for one thing extra everlasting.
The Rum Problem Trophy: A Flagship Occasion
Later in 2025, 876 Polo reached a defining milestone with the staging of the inaugural Rum Problem Trophy at Guards Polo Membership in Surrey. Hosted and contested by 876 Polo in partnership with Bentry Capital and La Hechicera Polo Group, the event marked the primary time a Jamaican-led staff had anchored a significant invitational on the prestigious venue.
The naming of the occasion was intentional. “The Rum Problem Trophy got here to be named as such since Jamaica is understood for its rum and the opposing staff, La Hechicera, is within the rum enterprise,” McDonald defined. Past symbolism, the occasion demonstrated the staff’s organisational ambition and its capacity to function at a excessive degree throughout the sport.
The event additionally highlighted the calibre of gamers related to 876 Polo. McDonald competed alongside fellow Jamaican polo gamers Freddie Farquharson and Alexander Thwaites. Farquharson is a longtime determine within the native recreation, main the West Indies Petroleum (WIP) to victory on the 2024 Willie deLisser Polo Cup. Their involvement strengthened the Rum Problem Trophy’s aggressive standing and helped set up it because the staff’s flagship annual fixture.
Reflecting on the occasion, McDonald mentioned the day stood out “not solely as a result of my staff gained, however as a result of I’ve seen the expansion of the model via the unimaginable press that adopted by PoloCam, and the curiosity it garnered from severe polo aficionados and the power and pleasure that was palpable on the sidelines.”
A Rising Drive
For McDonald, 876 Polo remains to be very a lot a piece in progress. The ambition now’s to deepen the staff’s aggressive footprint whereas persevering with to make use of the game as a car for Jamaican visibility.
“We need to improve our presence within the polo world by getting into tournaments within the UK, rising our annual Rum Problem Trophy, and there are plans afoot to take the staff to the US, components of Africa, and naturally — house to my beloved Jamaica,” he mentioned.
On the core of that imaginative and prescient is a wider perception about Jamaican potential. “We as Jamaicans are resilient and highly effective,” McDonald added. “Our presence is a power to be reckoned with in any sport to which we apply our hearts and minds.” It’s a conviction that underpins the staff’s philosophy — Past the Recreation. Past Boundaries. Past Expectations.
Past growth, McDonald is evident about what he hopes the staff represents. “I’d like to focus on that a fantastic polo staff can come from a small Caribbean island and do nice issues in such a distinct segment area,” he famous, including that the message extends nicely past polo itself.
