Craxel, whose Black Forest platform delivers constant-time data infrastructure for defense and space, cyber and national security, and financial markets customers, today announced its sponsorship of the UK Armed Forces Polo Association (UKAFPA) for the 2026 polo season, including Rundle Cup Day on 11 July 2026, an event that draws around 5,000 spectators.
A registered charity since 2012 in England and Wales, UKAFPA can trace its lineage back to the start of Polo in the modern world in 1869. The Inter Regimental, a UKAFPA event can trace its origins from 1878 and remains the oldest trophy still competed for in the world. Functionally, UKAFPA oversees and coordinates polo across the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force, working alongside the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Equestrian Association, the Army Polo Association and the Royal Air Force Polo Association to increase physical fitness and raise morale among Service members.
As a company working alongside defense, national security and critical infrastructure organizations, Craxel is proud to support the people behind those missions. The sponsorship helps create sporting opportunities for military personnel across all three Services, at every rank and among veterans, and supports the development of top polo players in the UK and abroad. It also helps UKAFPA maintain the highest standards across Service polo and opens the door to future support for other military sport-related charities. These values mirror the discipline and precision Craxel brings to its own work in defense and space, cyber and national security, and financial markets.
The partnership also reflects Craxel's continued investment in the UK, where the company operates from Belfast, Northern Ireland, alongside its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia.
“We're proud to partner with UKAFPA for the 2026 season. Supporting sporting opportunities for military personnel across all three Services, from grassroots participation through to top-level competition, is exactly the kind of partnership Craxel UK wants to be part of.”
Gary Connolly, Managing Director, Craxel UK.
Craxel builds Black Forest, a patented multi-model database platform delivering constant-time indexing across graph, vector and time-series data. The platform enables organizations to process and query complex, high-volume datasets at speed, supporting mission-critical applications across defense and space, cyber and national security, and financial markets.
Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, with a UK office in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Craxel serves enterprise and government customers solving some of the world's most demanding data challenges.
The UK Armed Forces Polo Association is a registered charity (No. 1145778) founded in 2012 to promote the efficiency of the UK Armed Forces by increasing physical fitness and fostering esprit de corps and morale among Service members, in particular through facilitating and encouraging participation in polo. UKAFPA oversees and coordinates polo for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force worldwide.
The UKAFPA partnership forms part of Craxel Causes, the company's programme supporting organisations that strengthen the defence community.
Through Craxel Causes, Craxel invests in initiatives that support serving personnel, veterans and military families through sport, wellbeing and community. The company will continue working with UKAFPA to explore future opportunities that benefit the wider Armed Forces community.
Lauren Farrall
Marketing Manager
