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The 2500 year-old game of polo is one of the fastest, roughest,
and most dangerous sports played today. It is gaining increasing
popularity as a premier spectator sport and can be an easy
game for the first-time spectator to enjoy. Imagine the excitement
of seeing players on thoroughbred horses bumping and jostling
with each other as hockey on horseback, racing at top speeds
down the field while striking a small ball with the precision
of an experienced golfer.
 Polo
is played on a 10 acre grass field, 300 yards in length by
160 yards, which is the approximate area of ten football fields.
Goal posts are set eight yards apart on either end of the
field. The object of the game is to move the ball down-field,
hitting the ball through the goal for a score. The team with
the most scores at the end of the match is deemed the winner.
Teams then change direction after each goal. Two teams, made
up of four players each, are designated by shirt color. The
players wear high boots, knee guards, and a helmet of their
own selection. By tradition, players wear white pants in tournaments.
The mallet made of a bamboo shaft with a hardwood head is
the instrument used to hit the polo ball, formerly wood, now
plastic, about 3 to 3 _ inches in diameter and 3 _ to 4 _
ounces in weight. In fact, the English word POLO is derived
from the Tibetan word, "pulu" meaning ball.
The surface of a polo field requires careful and constant
grounds maintenance to keep the surface in good playing condition.
During half-time of a match, spectators are invited to go
onto the field to participate in a polo tradition called "divot
stomping", which has developed to not only help replace
the mounds of earth (divots) that are torn up by the horses's
hooves, but to afford spectators the opportunity to walk about
and socialize.
There are six periods or "chukkers" in
a match, each is seven minutes long. Play begins with a throw-in
of the ball by the umpire at the opening of each chukker and
after each goal; only penalties or injuries may stop play
as there are no time-outs or substitutions allowed, except
for tack repair.
The four basic shots in polo are distinguished by the side
of the pony on which strokes or shots are made. That is "near-side",
left side of the mount, and "off-side" right side
of the mount. This creates the near-side forward and back
shot, and the off-side forward and back shot. Shots can also
be made under the pony's neck, across his tail, or the difficult
under the belly shot, all variations of the basic shots.
A team is made up of four players, each wearing a jersey
with numbers 1 to 4, which correspond to their assigned position.
Number 1 is the most offensive, concentrating on opportunities
for scoring. Number 4 is the defensive player, primarily responsible
for defending his/her team's goal. Usually, the most experienced
and highest-rated players are at positions 2 and 3, with the
pivotal player being number 3, who must serve as an effective
field captain, or quarter back. The number 3 coordinates the
offense, and passing the ball up field to his teammates as
they press toward the enemy goal. Each player is also assigned
an opponent to cover on defense and must be prepared to shift
offensive and defensive modes and to make any play that will
benefit his team.
Each player is assigned an individual handicap on the ascending
basis of C, B, A (-2 thru 0) and 1 thru 10. This handicap
reflects the player's ability and his value to the team -
the higher the handicap the better the player which is just
the opposite in golf. The team handicap is the combined handicaps
of the four players. The team with the lesser handicap is
granted the difference in goals (or points) prior to the start
of the match. For that reason, a match may well have a "score"
before based on team handicaps, prior to the start of the
game. Player handicaps are evaluated and revised annually
by the United States Polo Association. Handicapping is a subjective
evaluation of the individual's horsepower, game sense, hitting
ability, and overall value to a team.
 The
polo ponies are central to the success of any team, primarily
thoroughbred, often with race track experience, and considered
the most athletic of equine performers because of their requirements
to sprint, stop and turn and accelerate to open speed for
seven minutes in duration. A player's proficiency is predicated
on the agility and athletic ability of his/her horse. Leg
wraps protect the lower legs of the horse, which is referred
to as a polo "pony". Players must change mounts
after each chukker due to the extreme demands placed on the
pony. Therefore, a team usually has a minimum of 24 horses
available during the match. It is not uncommon that 90% or
more of the horses played are mares.
Although there are many rules to the game of polo, the primary
concept to which all rules are dedicated is safety, for the
player and his mount. The right-of-way is defined in accordance
with a player's position relative to the direction of travel
of the ball which is a line created in the direction that
extends forward on an imaginary line which, if followed, will
create traffic patterns which then enable the participants
to not only play at top speed but to also avoid dangerous
collisions. In general, play will flow backward and forward,
parallel to an imaginary line extended ahead of, and behind,
the ball. The line of the ball may not be crossed except under
special circumstances and only in such a way as to legitimately
gain control of the ball. When a player has the line of the
ball on his right, he has the right-of-way. This can only
be taken away by "riding off" and moving the player
off the line of the ball by making shoulder-to-shoulder contact.
Strategy and anticipation are two of the most important
elements in polo and usually come with experience. For the
spectator, keep an eye on the horses. The speed and athletic
abilities of both the horse and rider are spectacular. All
of these elements combined, make the fast-paced action of
polo one of the most exciting and demanding sports in the
world.
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 Possibly
the oldest team sport, polo's genesis is lost to the eye of
history. An Asiatic game, polo was probably first played on
a barren campground by nomadic warriors over two thousand years
ago.
Valuable for training Cavalry, the game was played from Constantinople
to Japan by the Middle Ages. Known in the East as the Game
of Kings, Tamer lane's polo grounds can still be seen in Samarkand.
British tea planters in India witnessed the game in the early
1800's but it was not until the 1850's that the British Cavalry
drew up the earliest rules and by the 1869's the game was
well established in England.
James Gordon Bennett, a noted American publisher; balloonist,
and adventurer, was captivated by the sport and brought it to
New York in 1876 where it caught on immediately. Within ten
years, there were major clubs all over the east, including Newport
and Long Island.
Over the next 50 years, polo achieved extraordinary popularity
in the United States. By the 1930's polo was in the midst
of a Golden Age - it was an Olympic sport and crowds in excess
of 30,000 regularly attended international matches at Meadow
Brook Polo Club on Long Island. The galloping game produced
athletes who would doubtless have achieved greatness in any
sport: Cecil Smith, the Texas cowboy, who held a perfect
10-goal rating for a still-record 25 years; Devereux Melbourne,
instrumental in formulating modern styles of play; and Tommy
Hitchcock, war hero, and the best of the best in international
competition for two decades.
In the past 20 years, polo in the United States has undergone
an unprecedented and remarkable expansion. Check the "Clubs"
section of this section for the location of a polo club near
you. At present, there are more than 275 USPA member
clubs with over 3,500 players.
Polo is an international sport. During the summer the season
at Hurlingham, England, the fall season at Palermo in Buenos
Aires, and the winter season at Palm Beach or Palm Desert,
30 to 40 teams will be manned by players from the United States,
Argentina, Zimbabwe, Canada, New Zealand, Pakistan, Mexico,
France, Australia, South Africa, Great Britain, and a dozen
other polo playing countries. For over 30 years, the Argentines
have been preeminent in the sport but an explosive growth
in players and the availability of good horses is honing the
competitive abilities of challengers from many countries,
including the United States.
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BUMP
A player is permitted to ride into another player so as to
spoil his/her shot. The angle of collision must be slight
causing no more than a jar. The faster the horse travels the
smaller the angle must be. A good bump can shake your dentures
loose!
CHUKKER
Also called a period. There are four or six chukkers in a
polo game each lasting 7 minutes. A player returns each chukker
on a different horse, although a player may rest one for a
chukker or two and play the horse again during the game.
GOAL
Any time a ball crosses the line between the goal posts, it
is considered a goal regardless of whether a horse or a mallet
caused the ball to go through. In order to equalize wind and
turf conditions, the teams change sides after every goal scored.
HANDICAPS
All players are rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (the higher the
better). The handicap of the team is the sum total rating
of its players and in handicap matches the team with the higher
handicap gives the difference in ratings to the other team.
For example a 6-goal team will give two goals to a 4-goal
team.
HOOK
A player may spoil another's shot by putting his mallet in
the way of the striking player. A cross hook occurs when the
player reaches over his opponent's mount in an attempt to
hook; this is considered a foul.
KNOCK-IN
Should a team, in an offensive drive, hit the ball across
the opponent's backline, the defending team resumes the game
with a free hit from their backline. No time-out is allowed
for knock-ins.
NEAR SIDE
The left-hand side of a horse.
NECKSHOT
A ball which is hit under the horse's neck from either side.
OFFSIDE
The right hand side of the horse.
OUT OF BOUNDS
When a ball crosses the sideline or goes over the side boards
it is considered out of bounds and the umpire throws in another
ball between the two teams at that point. No time-out is allowed
for an out-of-bounds ball.
POSITIONS
Each of the 4 team members plays a distinctly different position.
Since polo is such a fluid game, the players may momentarily
change positions but will try and return to their initial
assignment. No. 1 is the most forward offensive player. No.
2 is just as offensive but plays deeper and works harder.
No. 3 is the pivot player between offense and defense and
tries to turn all plays to the offense. No 4 or the Back,
is the defensive player whose role is principally to protect
the goal.
SAFETY
Penalty No. 6. When a defending player hits the ball across
his own backline, the other team is awarded a free hit 60
yards from the backline with the ball placed at the same distance
from the sideline as when it went out.
TAIL SHOT
Hitting the ball behind and across the horse's rump.
THIRD MAN
The referee sitting at the sidelines. If and when the two
umpires on the field are in disagreement, the third man makes
the final decision.
THROW IN
A chukker begins and many plays resume with the umpires bowling
the ball between the two ready teams.
TIME OUT
An umpire calls time-out when a foul is committed, and accident
occurs or at his own discretion. A player may only call time-out
if he has broken tack or is injured. No time-out is allowed
for changing horses or replacing a broken mallet, although
a player may do so at any time.
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