Julian Hipwood (born 23 June 1946)[1] is a British polo player and coach.[2][3][4]
He was born and raised in the Cotswolds, England.[5] He started[6] his career playing association football and gradually moved on to polo.[5] Both Julian Hipwood in 1981 and his brother Howard Hipwood in 1982 achieved a 9-goal Polo handicap. Only 55 players worldwide have been rated 9-goal by the United States Polo Association.[6]
He won the Barrantes Memorial Tournament and played on the winning team of many of Royal Palm Polo Club's 26-goal Sunshine League tournaments.[3][4][5] In 1977–1978, he played with the Fort Lauderdale team, alongside captain Jack Oxley and players Jamie Uihlein, Bart Evans, Juan Bautista Castilla, Lito Salanito and Tom Harris.[5] In 1978, he was a finalist in the Argentine Open, the first Englishman to do so.[3] He played on the Southern Hills team that won the 1980 U.S. Open Polo Championship, but was sidelined due to an injury.[3]
From 1981 to 1984, he won the 30-goal World Cup five time.[3][4] In 1996, he won the United States Polo Association Monty Waterbury Cup and Heritage Cup.[3][4] He was also the captain of the England National team winning the Coronation Cup six times, and the British Gold and Queen's Cups.[3][4]
He later reconverted to a polo coach.[3] He has coached the UK teams of George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven and London-based French businessman Jérôme Wirth.[2] He also coached the Coca-Cola team, which won the U.S. Open Championship in 2002.[3]
He lives in the United States.[3][4] He was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame on 12 February 2010.[3]
His daughter Accalia Hipwood is a radio presenter.[citation needed] Currently co-hosting the Radio 2 Breakfast show with Kenny & Accalia in Dubai.[citation needed]