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Polo for the masses at golden event
 This year, Ellerston White competed against the Black bears in the final. QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- For half a century, one of the polo world's most coveted trophies has been fiercely fought over at Cowdray Park Polo Club in West Sussex, England. The cup is the sport's premier tournament in Britain and considered internationally by many as second only to the Argentine Open. Lord Cowdray's grandfather started playing on the fields at Cowdray in 1910. His son, the current Lord's father, is credited with the sport's revival after World War II. "In 1948 there was a couple of visiting Argentines who were efficiently impressed with the standards of polo they saw to invite my father to take a team to the Argentine," Lord Cowdray told CNN. His father took a team to the open in 1949. "This is really what kick-started post-war polo because it was a very successful event. It created a lot of press interest and after that there were many more people who wanted to take up the sport." The rise in popularity in the early 1950s lead to the creation of a local championship and in 1956, the Gold Cup was born. In the years after World War II, horses were scarce, a far cry from today's championship where each of the 20 teams participating in the cup has up to 60 specially trained polo ponies. The price of a horse starts at $90,000 and can cost up to double that figure. Teams are made up of players from various countries. They are invited to participate by the patron, who along with the team sponsor, shoulder the enormous costs of competing. Italian businessman Alfio Marchini is captain and patron of the Loro Piana team, named after the cashmere company that has sponsored them for five years. Marchini told CNN that he tried to select players for his team that got along well with each other because he believed the spirit of the team was as important as winning. "Polo is the only sport in which you can find non-professionals and professionals playing together. In football, at the high level they are all professional and in this sport they are not," Marchini told CNN.  Azzura compete against Dubai in the early stages of the cup. "I try to find all the time a team where people are friends because, in my opinion, sport is very important if you play to win but also the spirit of the team." The ability of the field is leveled out using a handicap system. Players are given a goal ranking, where the skills of the team combined are added together. The skills of the mounts are also important, with some of the best, according to Marchini, coming from Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. During the Gold Cup, which runs from July 1 to 23, he'll use up to 14 different horses. "The horses are like the cars in Formula One. They are the most important things, and by this I also mean the men who work with the horses all day ... they are really important people," Marchini said. The sport is dominated by men but there are some female players. Lila Pearson, Lord Cowdray's sister-in-law, lead her team to the Gold Cup semi-final in 2001, and Nina Vestey, the 24-year-old Briton who plays for Loro Piana, has a handicap of three. In 2003, at age 21, she became the first female to compete in the final of the Gold Cup. Vestey told CNN that the sport could be difficult for women to compete in because of the stronghold of the game by men, but she said things were improving.  For 50 years the Gold Cup has been played at Cowdray Park Polo Club. "I think it's quite difficult, but there are more and more young girls starting to play in the pony club and come through the system," Vestey said. "There's a lot more (women) playing, but it's quite difficult to get to this sort of level. I think in time it will happen, but it's a slow sort of progression really." With the vast sums of money needed to run teams, polo has a reputation for being a sport for elitists. Not so, say the organizers. They are promoting the Gold Cup as an event for polo enthusiasts. Twenty teams from around the world have been in England to compete in the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup since the beginning of July. In this year's final, played on Sunday 23 July, the Black Bears beat Ellerston White 9-8 on the manicured grass field. Art of Life airs on CNN International on Saturday, July 22. For show times click here. 
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