Ponies in Play

An Introduction to Polo
by Dave Nichols

So admit it, you thought “Polo” was only a fancy brand of clothing fashioned by Ralph Lauren. Actually, Lauren plays polo at a club in Florida named Boca Raton; his sponsorship of a tournament team inspired him to create the logo that is so much a part of modern American fashion. You may have noticed that the logo even adorned the uniforms of U.S. athletes at the closing ceremonies of the 2009 Olympics in Beijing.

Polo as a sport comes to the U.S. by way of Great Britain, which picked it up from India during the days of the British Empire. Refined as it is played today, picture a gigantic grass field, usually 300 yards long and 200 yards wide (the largest game field of any sport) with a goal at each end. Four players on each side are mounted on fast, lithe Thoroughbred-type horses and play a match of either four or six periods (chukkers) of seven minutes each with thirty seconds of overtime if play is continuing.

How to Play
The ball (made out of solid plastic composite and just a tad larger than a baseball) is struck with a bamboo mallet shaft with a maple head. Picture something like a croquet mallet with a long shaft, a rubberized grip and a head that looks like a fat cigar put on at an angle from the shaft so one can hit away from the horse’s legs. The height of the horse determines the length of the mallet.

The ball is struck with the side of the mallet, and better players are able to send out long shots--over a hundred yards--not only from the right side of the horse (the “off” side), but also from the left side (the “on” side). Each team is lined up, with player one closest to the team's goal and player four furthest away. The idea is that the team with possession of the ball tries to advance it from player to player toward the goal; meanwhile, the team on defense attempts to stop the rush and get play going the other way. Players are allowed to “ride each other off” (push the horse out of the way, shoulder to shoulder) as long as they do not put their horse in the way of an opposing player’s swing. Any deliberate disregard for player or horse results in a severe penalty.

In order to play the game at top speed, the rules provide that a player who lines up with the ball's line of flight has the right of way over players at an angle to the line of flight. All players must play right-handed; otherwise, chaos would ensue.

So, what do I do to get the other guy off the line and prevent him (or her--lots of women play) from hitting? I can come in at an angle and have my horse push the other off the line, and then I can hit. I can come in from the right and reach my mallet down from the “on” side and hook his mallet so that he can’t swing through. I can meet the ball coming at me as long as I have the ball on my right (off) side. Or, I can race ahead and hit the ball from my “on” side.

What I cannot do is ride in at an angle and cut the other player off. Horrendous crashes have resulted when players have not heeded this rule. Keep in mind that competent players can hit the ball both forward and backward from both sides of the horse, as well as under the neck and tail from both sides, though by far the most shots are taken hitting forward from the “off” side, like a golf shot.

Settling the Score
Referees are mounted like the players and will award free shots from various points on the field depending on the seriousness of a foul. The most commonly called foul is crossing the line of a player who has the right of way.

There are no goalies. The only defense is to outrun the other player to the ball, “back” the ball to the side so that a teammate can carry it the other direction, or meet the ball (which is very difficult, as it is bouncing).

There is no getting around it…polo is not a cheap activity. It requires at least (on the amateur level) two horses per player for a four chukker game, with each horse playing two chukkers. Higher goal polo may require six playing ponies for a rider, one for each period, along with all the tack, grooms, trailers and the like to take care of them. And all those horses must be exercised daily and put through agility drills to get them extremely handy as well as fast.

Spectators Welcome
Polo is played in the Northwest in diverse places. The most popular days are Saturdays and Sundays, and spectators are generally welcome. If you are lucky, someone will sit you up on a polo pony, hand you a mallet, and allow you to “stick and ball,” in other words, dribble the ball around at a walk. To find where the sport is played in your area, I suggest searching the Internet for “United States Polo Association Member Clubs” and clicking on the button for your state.

People often ask whether the horses enjoy the game or hate it. Anyone who has watched a horse race knows that horses are competitive. Experienced horses have no fear of the mallet swing or other horses and will readily try to push another horse aside. Horses also love to run, and there is plenty of that in polo.

I suspect that if you asked the horse, he would say he doesn’t like anything, really, other than grazing in a field; but all the horses I have seen very much got into the game and refused to let other horses get the best of them.

Hopefully, someday you will get a chance to see a game in person if you haven't yet. The horsemanship, speed and athleticism of both horse and rider are exciting to watch.

About the Author
Dave Nichols is a retired superior court judge living in Bellingham, WA. He played polo at a local club for twelve years. He also fox hunts in Maryland when he gets the chance, and he is tutoring his granddaughters in the great sport of horseback riding.