Hobby horses of the rich and famous plans are afoot

Another sponsor, Piaget of Switzerland, has signed up for similar reasons. Executive Thomas Bouillonnec says the event is a great way to publicize the watch brand and to treat clients to a beautiful day out.

For a trained soldier like Olver, used to moving troops around in tricky situations, organizing a peacetime polo event is relatively straightforward. He spent many years with the Household Cavalry, the regiment that provides a mounted guard for Britain's Queen Elizabeth on ceremonial occasions. When the soldiers perform the daily changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London, onlookers gather to admire the slickly groomed horses and grandly attired soldiers, who sport metal breastplates and plumed helmets.

Olver says that when he was on desert patrol in Iraq, dodging mortar bombs and engaging in firefights was an almost daily occurrence.

The army gave him invaluable organizational skills and contacts that have allowed British Polo Day to operate seamlessly across different continents, he says. As well as the major annual event near Beijing, he is considering putting on exhibition games in smaller cities.

"The idea would be to do a British polo series, build an arena from scratch in the second- and third-tier cities and create something very special. The game would be held on a sand surface, with a bigger ball. It allows people to get a taste of polo, a kind of showcase. It is an exciting prospect."

The organizing company will also broaden its reach, capitalizing on its association with Britishness, Olver says. The idea is to offer other services that play on Britain's strong points, including its private schooling, sought-after London housing, strong legal tradition and respected financial institutions.

"I see us taking the best capital to the best opportunities and the best opportunities to the best capital. We don't want to operate in gray areas. In Britain we are world famous for quality. My regiment, for example, still uses steel breastplates whereas other presidential guards use aluminum.

"I think Britain is a trusted source with quality values. We are known as being very straight and very respectable, with a seriously good grasp on craft and luxury."

Britons are not very good at "shouting about ourselves", he says. "They are more reticent and private."

Olver says he better appreciates the country's strengths, having grown up as an expatriate in Hong Kong, where his father, Jake Olver, held various positions with the Swire group. Olver junior went to university in Britain and worked as a city trader in London and for a marketing company, before joining the army.

His current existence is peripatetic, circling the globe to organize British Polo Day events, and sweet-talk potential sponsors. It involves meeting some of the world's wealthiest people.

"We work with 70 independent billionaires and 12 royal families around the world. I think what gets interesting is we are being presented the whole time with business opportunities."