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Virtually Horses

The Sports

The first polo club in England was Monmouthshire, at Clytha Park, near Abergavenny. Handicaps were introduced by the USA in 1888 and by England and India in 1910.  The first official match in Argentina took place on 3rd September 1875. The game had been taken there by English and Irish engineers and ranchers.  Today, approx 80 countries play polo. It was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1939 and has now been recognised again by the International Olympic Committee

How the Game is Played

Polo is an equestrian team sport played on a ground measuring 300x 160m or 300x 200m.  The variation of ground width depends on whether boards enclose the  boundaries or not. These boards stop the ball rolling out of play easily.  Goal posts are positioned at each end of the ground.  Grounds may be on a variety of surfaces including grass, sand or snow.

Each team has three to four people depending on the size of the ground used and play consists of 'chukkas'.  Each chukka is a period of play timed to last 7 mins. A full game is 8 chukkas, but often in club matches 4 or 6 chukkas are played.

At the end of a chukka, a bell is rung, but the game goes on until the ball goes out of play, or for another 30 secs when the bell is rung again, the chukka ends where the ball is.  There are intervals of 3 mins between chukkas and 5 mins at half time. Ends are changed at every goal scored - this has been found fairest when there is a wind.

Handicaps

Each player is handicapped (on a 4-6 chukka basis) from -2 up to 10 goals (the top professional players). The aggregate handicap of the four players in a team is the team handicap. e.g. if all players have a handicap of 2 goals each, the team handicap is 8 goals and is referred to as an '8 goal team'.

In handicap tournaments, if both teams do not have an equal aggregate handicap, one team is given a number of goals start which is calculated as follows: the number of goals start is obtained by multiplying the difference between the two teams' handicaps by the number of chukkas and dividing by 6, any fraction counting a half a goal.

Ponies

Ponies can play two chukkas in an afternoon with a rest of at least one chukka in between. Although they are always referred to as 'ponies', there is no height limit so many of these ponies are indeed horses.

Fouls

A player following the ball on its exact line has the Right of Way over all other players. Any other player who crosses the player on the right of way close enough to be dangerous commits a foul. Penalties vary according to the degree of danger and closeness of the cross. No player may hook an opponent's stick unless he is on the same side of the opponent's pony as the ball.
Dangerous play or rough handling is not allowed - a player may ride an opponent off, but must not charge in at an angle.

The Shots

Polo is a game of skill and tactics.  As in tennis there are a number of different shots which must be mastered to play well.

Go to Polo.co.uk page to view a guide to polo shots


 

Auckland Polo Club

Polo Down Under - The Mark Harris Polo School (NZ)

International Links

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