Polo

Here you will learn all about Polo in 9 points. You will learn about its history and development.

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What is Polo?
The fastest ball sport in the world, it is played with four men on horses to a team. A ball is hit with a stick towards the goal, one at each end of a 300 yard long by 160 yard wide field. A game consists of 4 to 6 periods called chukkas, a chukka is 7 minutes long. Teams change ends each time a goal is scored. It can be played by men and women of any standard. The handicap system goes from -2 at the bottom to the very best at 10. In handicap tournaments the number of goals start is obtained by multiplying the difference between the two teams' total handicaps by the number of chukkas to be played and then dividing by 6. There are usually two umpires on ponies on the field, and a third man, the referee, on the side line.

Where to Play?
Polo clubs can be found throughout the Country, many of them catering for beginners. Some of the Pony Clubs have also taken up polo resulting in an increase in young players. Arena Polo is played during the winter, three aside and in an arena.

Brief History of the Game of Polo
The first recorded game took place in 600 BC, between the Turkomans and Persians (the Turkomans won).

In the 4th century AD King Sapoor II of Persia learned to play, aged 7. In the 16th century AD a polo ground (300 yards long and with goal posts 8 yards apart) was built at Ispahan, then the capital, by Shah Abbas the Great.

The Moguls were largely responsible for taking the game from Persia to the east, and by the 16th century the Emperor Babul had established it in India. (It had already long been played in China and Japan, but had died out by the time the west came in contact with those countries).

In the 1850s British tea planters discovered the game in Manipur (Munipoor) on the Burmese border with India. The first polo club in the world was formed by them at Silchar, west of Manipur. Other clubs followed and, today, the oldest in the world is the Calcutta Club, founded in 1862.

Equipment
Helmets are compulsory. Pony Club - only one pony is needed and sticks and balls can be provided. Clubs - ponies, sticks and balls can be hired for hour sessions from some clubs. Normal games - a minimum of two ponies are needed.

How Much Does It Cost?
No more than the cost of keeping a pony, plus a club subscription of, in some cases, only a few hundred pounds. Like a lot of sports, it can also be very expensive at the top.

Other Facts about Polo
The oldest royal polo square is the 16th century Maiden-Shah in Isfahan, Iran (Post revolutionary name is: Naghsh-i Jahan Square).The oldest polo club in the world still in existence is the Calcutta Polo Club (1862).

The highest polo ground in the world is on the deosai Plateau Baltistan at 4307 meters (14,000 ft).

Polo is the only sport that you must play right handed. Left handed play was ruled out in 1975 for safety reasons. To date, only 3 players on the world circuit are left-handed. The most prestigious Polo Tournament in the world is the Palermo Polo Open, held annually in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Arena (or Indoor) Polo
Polo is an affordable option for many who wish to play the sport and the rules are similar. The sport is played in a 300 ft by 150 ft enclosed arena, much like those used for other equestrian sports; the minimum size is 150 ft by 75ft. There are many arena clubs in the United States, where real estate is at a premium, and most major polo clubs, including the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, have active arena programs. The major differences between the outdoor and indoor games are speed (outdoor being faster), physicality/roughness (indoor/arena is more physical), ball size (indoor is larger), goal size (because the arena is smaller the goal is smaller), and some penalties. In the United States and Canada, collegiate polo is arena polo; in the UK collegiate polo is both.

Polo Training Foundation’s
The Polo Training Foundation's purpose is to establish and administer a series of funds, including memorial, advisory, international, endowment, intercollegiate/ interscholastic, and others. These funds are dedicated to support Polo in collegiate or scholastic sports curriculums, promote international goodwill through Polo competition, and above all, encourage development and sportsmanship through teaching young people the principles of the game of Polo.

The United States Polo Association
The United States Polo Association is a non-profit corporation, but is not a charitable organization under the IRS code and cannot accept tax deductible donations. The members of the USPA are the Active Member Clubs. Each member club selects a Delegate to represent the club and its registered members. This Delegate receives all communication from the USPA. He represents his club at the USPA annual meetings, and casts votes for the club in the election of Circuit Governors, Governors-at-Large and Officers.


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