Prince Harry commended for rescuing unconscious polo player

Is Prince Harry really a knight in shining armor? He may just be, after adding his latest feat to his roster of rescues. The British Red Cross is commending the prince for aiding an injured polo player after a collision during a recent charity match in Brazil.

“Given the prince is a veteran of Afghanistan and an active duty officer in the English Army, he’s presumably had good training in basic trauma care – so it’s not surprising he knew what to do,” the British Red Cross posted on its blog Monday. “His actions do underline a very serious point: when accidents happen, particularly on a sports field, someone needs to have the confidence and skills to step in immediately and help.

Photos show Prince Harry rushing to the aid of Washington, D.C.-based defense contractor Bash Kazi, who took a took a nasty fall during the event held on March 11.

Suzanne Plunkett  /  Reuters

Prince Harry, right, challenges Nacho Figueras of Argentina at the Sentebale Polo Cup in Campinas, Brazil on March 11, 2012.

Prince Harry, a veteran polo player who has been competing since his youth, saw danger hit the field when three rapidly advancing players converged on the ball. One player was unable to stop his horse and collided into Kazi's mount. He was thrown unconscious to the ground.

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Thiago Bernardes/str  /  Getty Images Contributor

Prince Harry helps unconscious Bash Kazi after his fall, flipping him into a recovery position.

The prince was the first to arrive to Kazi. He flipped Kazi into a recovery position – mouth pointed downward to prevent choking – and massaged the injured player’s neck until he came to.

"I remember waking up with these piercing blue eyes looking at me," Kazi told the Washington Post in recalling what happened in the field in a game between Prince Harry's Sentabale squad and his St. Regis team. "Prince Harry was the first one off his horse, doing the right thing, turning me over to make sure I regained consciousness."

He was carted off the field in an ambulance, but was later given a green light to return to the contest.

Kazi, who said he believes he suffered a mild concussion from the fall, knows the danger of polo after 25 years in the game. While called the "sport of kings," catering to the well-heeled, the risk of injury lurks in collisions when horses reach a speed of 40 mph out on the field.

"It's like playing hockey while being mounted on a horse," Kazi told the Post.

He thanked Prince Harry with a warm hug following the match, and Harry's heroic effort only added to the red-haired royal's growing list of rescue operations. He made headlines last October after helping a young woman who was tossed into a pool at a party, and more recently, came to the aid of a friend who had been mugged.

Often regarded as the most party-hearty member of Britain's royal family, spotted in nightclubs as much as palace events, Prince Harry has stepped up in the international community. He recently represented his grandmother, the queen, on goodwill trips to Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize, gaining raves for his people skills along the way.

Like his brother Prince William, 27-year-old Harry continues a military career. He served a 10-week stint in Afghanistan in 2008 as part of the Household Calvary Regiment of the British Army, and recently earned qualification as a Apache helicopter pilot.