INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT POLO
THE BASICS:
Polo is a ball sport, played on horses where one team attempts to score goals by hitting a hard hockey-sized ball through their oppositions’ goal with a mallet attached to the end of a 4 ¼’ stick.
THE PITCH:
A regulation polo field is 300 yards (274 meters) long by 160 yards (146 meters) wide. It’s almost as big as 10 football fields and is the largest field in organized sports. Goalposts are eight yards apart.
CHUKKAS (also Chukkers):
Each polo match is divided into “Chukkas”. A Chukker is 7 minutes with an added 30 seconds to finish out the play. 7 minutes represents the amount of time a horse can reasonably exert itself before needing a rest. Polo matches are divided into 4 – 6 Chukkers depending whether the lever is Low, Medium or High goal polo.
PLAYERS:
In outdoor polo there are four players on a team. Numbers 1 and 2 are traditionally attacking while 3 is the midfield playmaker and 4 is defense. However, as the sport is so fluid there are no definite positions in Polo.
POLO IS A GENDER-BLIND SPORT:
A player’s handicap (skill level) is what counts, while gender is of no importance. Male and female players who have achieved the same handicap are treated as equals and considered to have identical skill levels; polo is one of very few sports where this holds true.
HANDICAPS:
Handicaps in Polo range from -2 to 10 “goals” with 10 being the best. A player who is playing above his handicap level (i.e. 3 playing as a 5) is known as a bandit, and is a very valuable but short lived commodity. Handicaps are assessed and independently mediated several times during the season.
LEFTIES ARE NOT LEFT BEHIND:
In 1975, left-handed players were ruled out for safety reasons. Today Polo must be played right-handed although there are still three lefties on the world circuit. To understand why, consider this: you’re driving merrily down the road when all of a sudden, coming straight at you, is an Englishman driving on the left side of the road. The panic you’d feel in that situation is just what a right-handed polo player feels when he and a lefty approach the ball from opposite directions.
THE RULES:
The Rules of polo are centered almost in totality around safety. When you have ½ a ton of horse traveling one way in excess of 30mph, you do not want to be hit by ½ a ton of horse traveling in excess of 30mph the other way. Polo is inherently dangerous, which may be part of the allure; however, the rules go a long way to negate risk.
UMPIRES:
Two mounted umpires, referee the game. They must agree on each foul/call made, if they disagree they refer to the “3rd Man” who would be on the edge of the pitch in line with the center mark. His decision will settle the argument.
POLO PONIES:
Polo Ponies are often from Argentine or North American thoroughbred lines, are around 15 hands (4 inches or 10 centimeters to a hand) to 15.3 hands high. They must be fast, nimble and have great endurance.
THE POLO BALL:
The Polo ball is 3 ¼ “ (9 centimeters) in diameter and regulation mallets vary from 48 to 54 inches (122 to 137 centimeters) in length.
WHITE PANTS:
Like many polo traditions this one can be traced back to India where the game was played by nobility that competed in intense heat. Players preferred clothing that was light in weight and color. Polo it seems has always been fashionable.
HORSES’ MANES AND TAILS:
Free flowing manes and tails are a danger in polo because they can become entangled with players’ mallets or with the reins as the rider tries to control his horse. Manes are shaved and the ponies’ tails are wrapped or braided to prevent the hazard. Wrapping or braiding replaced the crueler practice of docking (amputating) the horse’s tail near the base so all that remained was a short stump.
DIVOT STOMP:
It’s customary at polo matches to invite the spectators onto the field at halftime to tread in the divots kicked up by the horses. The custom has a practical as well as a public-relations value: the field is repaired for the teams by the time they begin the second half of play. It’s not clear who was the first enterprising club manager to realize he had an abundant and cheap grounds-keeper crew at his disposal. But old-timers will tell you the job used to be done by hired help. In the 1920’s, for example, laborers at the polo clubs tapped in the divots after every period with a tool resembling an oversized croquet mallet. Between games, wives of the polo grooms, many of whom were immigrants, could be found on hands and knees cutting dandelions and other weeds from the fields. I’m sure you have all seen Pretty Woman and the famous divot stomping scene. So grab your floppy hats and your glass of champagne and enjoy the experience of Polo.