Equestrian team sport
This article is about the sport played on horseback.
For the clothing, see polo shirt .
For other uses, see🏧 Polo (disambiguation)
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known🏧 team sports.
[7] The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet🏧 to hit a small hard ball through the opposing team's goal.
Each team has four mounted riders, and the game usually🏧 lasts one to two hours, divided into periods called chukkas or "chukkers".
Polo has been called "the sport of kings",[8] and🏧 has become a spectator sport for equestrians and high society, often supported by sponsorship.
The progenitor of the game and its🏧 variants existed from the 6th century BCE to the 1st century CE as equestrian games played by nomadic Iranian and🏧 Turkic peoples.
[4] In Persia, where the sport evolved and developed, it was at first a training game for cavalry units,🏧 usually the royal guard or other elite troops.
[5] It is now popular around the world, with well over 100 member🏧 countries in the Federation of International Polo, played professionally in 16 countries, and was an Olympic sport from 1900 to🏧 1936.
Arena polo is an indoor or semi-outdoor variant with similar rules, and is played with three riders per team.
The playing🏧 field is smaller, enclosed and usually of compacted sand or fine aggregate, and often indoors.
Arena polo has more maneuvering due🏧 to space limitations, and uses an air-inflated ball slightly larger than the hard solid ball used in field polo.
Standard mallets🏧 are used, though slightly larger-head arena mallets are an option.
History [ edit ]
Origins and etymology [ edit ]
A Persian miniature🏧 from the poem Guy-o Chawgân ("the Ball and the Polo-mallet") during the Safavid dynasty of Persia, showing courtiers on horseback🏧 playing polo, 1546 AD
The game is originally invented by Iranians and its Persian name is "Chovgan" (čowgān).
The game's English name🏧 derives from the Balti language,[a] from its word for 'ball', polo.
[9] It is cognate with the Standard Tibetan pulu, also🏧 meaning 'ball'.[9][10]: 25
Although the exact origins of the game are not certain, many scholars[11] suggest it most likely began as🏧 a simple game played by Iranian people.
[3][4] An archaic variation of polo, regionally referred to as buzkashi or kokpar, is🏧 still played in parts of Central Asia.
[4] It was developed and formalised in Ancient Iran (Persia) as "chovgan" (čowgān), becoming🏧 a national sport played extensively by the nobility.
Women played as well as men.
[5] During the period of the Parthian Empire🏧 (247 BC to 224 AD), the sport had great patronage under the kings and noblemen.
According to The Oxford Dictionary of🏧 Late Antiquity, the Persian ball game was an important pastime in the court of the Sasanian Empire (224–651).
[6] It was🏧 also part of the royal education for the Sasanian ruling class.
[6] Emperor Shapur II learnt to play polo at age🏧 seven in 316 AD.
Middle Ages and Early Modern era [ edit ]
Statue of polo player in Gilgit, Pakistan
Valuable for training🏧 cavalry, the game was played from Constantinople, where Emperor Theodosius II constructed a polo ground early in the 5th century,[13]🏧 to Japan by the Middle Ages.
The game also spread south to Arabia and to India and Tibet.
Abbasid Baghdad had a🏧 large polo ground outside its walls, and one of the city's early 13th century gates, the Bab al Halba, was🏧 named after these nearby polo grounds.
The game continued to be supported by Mongol rulers of Persia in the 13th century,🏧 as well as under the Safavid dynasty.
In the 17th century, Naqsh-i Jahan Square in Isfahan was built as a polo🏧 field by King Abbas I.
The game was also learnt by the neighbouring Byzantine Empire at an early date.
A tzykanisterion (stadium🏧 for playing tzykanion, the Byzantine name for polo) was built by Emperor Theodosius II ( r.
408–450) inside the Great Palace🏧 of Constantinople.
[14] Emperor Basil I (r.
867–886) excelled at it; Emperor Alexander (r.
912–913) died from exhaustion while playing and Emperor John🏧 I of Trebizond ( r.
1235–1238) died from a fatal injury during a game.[15]
Tang dynasty Chinese courtiers on horseback playing a🏧 game of polo, 706 AD
After the Muslim conquests to the Ayyubid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt and the Levant, their🏧 elites favoured it above all other sports.
Notable sultans such as Saladin and Baybars were known to play it and encourage🏧 it in their courts.
[16] Saladin was known for being a skilled polo player, which contributed to his cavalry training.
[17][18] Polo🏧 sticks were featured as one of the suits on the Mamluk precursor to modern-day playing cards.
Europeans transformed the polo stick🏧 suit into the "clubs" of the "Latin" decks, as polo was little known to them at that time.[19]
The game spread🏧 to South Asia where it has had a strong presence in the northwestern areas of present-day Pakistan (including Gilgit, Chitral,🏧 Hunza and Baltistan) since at least the 15th–16th century.
[20] Qutubuddin Aibak ( r.
1206–1210), originally a Turkic slave who later founded🏧 the Mamluk dynasty (1206–1290) Delhi Sultanate, was accidentally killed during a game of polo when his horse fell and he🏧 was impaled on the pommel of his saddle.
Polo likely travelled via the Silk Road to China where it was popular🏧 in the Tang dynasty capital of Chang'an, and also played by women, who wore male dress to do so; many🏧 Tang dynasty tomb figures of female players survive.
[21] According to The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity, the popularity of polo🏧 in Tang China was "bolstered, no doubt, by the presence of the Sasanian court in exile".
[6] A "polo-obsessed" noblewoman was🏧 buried with her donkeys on 6 October 878 in Xi'an, China.[22]
Modern game [ edit ]
India and Britain [ edit ]
The🏧 modern, international, game of polo is derived from the form played in Manipur, India, where it was known as sagol🏧 kangjei.
Also in use in Manipur were the game's Tibetic names, polo or pulu, referring to the wooden ball, and it🏧 was these terms, anglicised, which were adopted for the sport's name in its slow spread to the west.
A European polo🏧 club was established in the town of Silchar in Assam, India, in 1859, the English tea planters having learnt it🏧 from Manipuri incomers.[23][24]
Manipuri polo players in 1875
The origins of the game in Manipur are traced to yet earlier precursors of🏧 sagol kangjei.
[25] This was one of three forms of hockey in Manipur, the other ones being field hockey (called khong🏧 kangjei) and wrestling-hockey (called mukna kangjei).
Local rituals such as those connected to the Ibudhou Marjing, the winged-pony god of polo🏧 and the creation-ritual episodes of the Lai Haraoba festival enacting the life of his son, Khoriphaba, the polo-playing god of🏧 sports.
These may indicate an origin earlier than the historical records of Manipur.
Later, according to Cheitharol Kumbaba, a royal chronicle of🏧 King Kangba, who ruled Manipur much earlier than Nongda Lairen Pakhangba (33 CE) introduced sagol kangjei ('kangjei on horseback').
Further regular🏧 playing of this game commenced in 1605, during the reign of King Khagemba under newly framed rules of the game.
Old🏧 polo field in Imphal, Manipur
In Manipur, polo is traditionally played with seven players to a side.
The players are mounted on🏧 the indigenous Manipuri Pony, which stands less than 13 hands (52 inches, 132 cm).
There are no goal posts, and a🏧 player scores simply by hitting the ball out of either end of the field.
Players strike the ball with the long🏧 side of the mallet head, not the end.
[26] Players are not permitted to carry the ball, although blocking the ball🏧 with any part of the body except the open hand is permitted.
[27] The sticks are made of cane, and the🏧 balls are made from the roots of bamboo.
Players protected their legs by attaching leather shields to their saddles and girths.[10]:🏧 26
Polo players of Manipur in Mapal Kangjeibung , the world's oldest polo playground
In Manipur, the game was played even by🏧 commoners who owned a pony.
[10]: 25 The kings of Manipur had a royal polo ground within the ramparts of their🏧 Kangla Fort.
Here they played on the manung kangjei bung ( lit.
'inner polo ground').
Public games were held, as they still are🏧 today, at the mapan kangjei bung ( lit.
'outer polo ground'), a polo ground just outside the Kangla.
Weekly games called hapta🏧 kangjei ( lit.
'weekly polo') were also played in a polo ground outside the current palace.
The oldest polo ground in the🏧 world is the Imphal Polo Ground in Manipur State.
The history of this polo ground is contained in the royal chronicle🏧 Cheitharol Kumbaba starting from 33 CE.
Lieutenant (later Major General) Joseph Ford Sherer, the father of modern polo, visited the state🏧 and played on this polo ground in the 1850s.
Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India visited the state in 1901 and🏧 measured the polo ground as "225 yards long and 110 yards wide" (206 m × 101 m).[28]
The Cachar Club, established🏧 in 1859,[5][29] is located on Club Road in the heart of Silchar city in Assam.
In 1862, the oldest polo club🏧 still in existence, Calcutta Polo Club, was established by two British soldiers, Sherer and Captain Robert Stewart.
[30] Later they spread🏧 the game to their peers in England.
Polo was first played in England by the 10th Hussars in 1869.
[31] The British🏧 are credited with spreading polo worldwide in the late 19th century and the early 20th century at the height of🏧 its empire.
Military officers imported the game to Britain in the 1860s.
The establishment of polo clubs throughout England and western Europe🏧 followed after the formal codification of rules.
[10]: 26 The 10th Hussars at Aldershot, Hants, introduced polo to England in 1834.
The🏧 game's governing body in the United Kingdom is the Hurlingham Polo Association, which drew up the first set of formal🏧 British rules in 1874, many of which are still in existence.
This version of polo played in the 19th century was🏧 different from the faster form that was played in Manipur.
The game was slow and methodical, with little passing between players🏧 and few set plays that required specific movements by participants without the ball.
Neither players nor horses were trained to play🏧 a fast, non-stop game.
This form of polo lacked the aggressive methods and required fewer equestrian skills.
From the 1800s to the🏧 1910s, a host of teams representing Indian principalities dominated the international polo scene.[10]: 26
The World Champions Polo League was launched🏧 in Jaipur in 2016.
It is a new version of polo, similar to the Twenty20 format of cricket.
The pitch was made🏧 smaller and accommodated a large audience.
The first event of the World Champions Polo League took place in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, with🏧 six teams and room for 10,000 spectators.
The rules were changed[32] and the duration of matches made shorter.
[33]Argentina [ edit ]
Luis🏧 Lacey, former captain of Argentine Polo Team in 1922
Argentine Polo Open Championship
British and Irish immigrants in the Argentine pampas started🏧 practising polo during their free time.
Among them, David Shennan is credited with having organised the first formal polo game of🏧 the country in 1875, at Estancia El Negrete, located in Buenos Aires Province.
The sport spread quickly among the skillful gauchos,🏧 and several clubs opened in the following years in the towns of Venado Tuerto, Cañada de Gómez, Quilmes, Flores and🏧 later (1888) Hurlingham.
In 1892 The River Plate Polo Association was founded and constituted the basis for the current Asociación Argentina🏧 de Polo.
In the Olympic Games held in Paris in 1924 a team composed of Juan Miles, Enrique Padilla, Juan Nelson,🏧 Arturo Kenny, G.
Brooke Naylor and A.
Peña achieved the first gold medal in the nation's Olympic history.
The title was defended at🏧 the 1936 Berlin Games with players Manuel Andrada, Andrés Gazzotti, Roberto Cavanagh, Luis Duggan, Juan Nelson, Diego Cavanagh, and Enrique🏧 Alberdi.
The game spread across the country, and Argentina is credited globally as the capital of polo;[citation needed] Argentina is noted🏧 world wide for having the largest contingent of 10 handicap players.
Five teams were able to gather four 10 handicap players🏧 each, to make 40 handicap teams: Coronel Suárez, 1975, 1977–1979 (Alberto Heguy, Juan Carlos Harriott Jr.
, Alfredo Harriot and Horacio🏧 Heguy); La Espadaña, 1989–1990 (Carlos Gracida, Gonzalo Pieres, Alfonso Pieres y Ernesto Trotz Jr.
); Indios Chapaleufú, 1992–1993 (Bautista Heguy, Gonzalo🏧 Heguy, Horacio Heguy Jr.
and Marcos Heguy); La Dolfina, 2009–2010 (Adolfo Cambiaso Jr.
, Lucas Monteverde, Mariano Aguerre y Bartolomé Castagnola); Ellerstina,🏧 2009 (Facundo Pieres, Gonzalo Pieres Jr.
, Pablo Mac Donough and Juan Martín Nero).
The three major polo tournaments in Argentina, known🏧 as "Triple Corona" ("Triple Crown"), are Hurlingham Polo Open, Tortugas Polo Open and Palermo Polo Open.
Polo season usually lasts from🏧 October to December.[34]
Polo player, with referee
Polo has found popularity throughout the rest of the Americas, including Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and🏧 the United States of America.[10]: 26–27 [35]
United States [ edit ]
A polo match at the Kentucky Horse Park
James Gordon Bennett🏧 Jr.
on 16 May 1876 organised what was billed as the first polo match in the United States at Dickel's Riding🏧 Academy at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City.
[36] The historical record states that James Gordon Bennett established🏧 the Westchester Polo Club on 6 May 1876, and on 13 May 1876, the Jerome Park Racetrack in Westchester County🏧 (now Bronx County) was the site of the "first" American outdoor polo match.H.L.
Herbert, James Gordon Bennett and August Belmont Jr.
financed🏧 the original New York Polo Grounds.
Herbert stated in a 1913 article[37] that they formed the Westchester Club after the "first"🏧 outdoor game was played on 13 May 1876.
This contradicts the historical record of the club being established before the Jerome🏧 Park game.
There is ample evidence that the first to play polo in America were actually the English Texans.
The Galveston News🏧 reported on 2 May 1876 that Denison, Texas had a polo club which was before James Gordon Bennett established his🏧 Westchester Club or attempted to play the "first" game.
[38] The Denison team sent a letter to James Gordon Bennett challenging🏧 him to a match.
The challenge was published 2 June 1876, in The Galveston Daily News.
By the time the article came🏧 out on 2 June, the Denison Club had already received a letter from Bennett indicating the challenge was offered before🏧 the "first" games in New York.[39]
There is an urban legend that the first game of polo in America was played🏧 in Boerne, Texas, at retired British officer Captain Glynn Turquand's famous Balcones Ranch.
[40] The Boerne, Texas, legend also has plenty🏧 of evidence pointing to the fact that polo was played in Boerne before James Gordon Bennett Jr.
ever picked up a🏧 polo mallet.[41]
During the early part of the 20th century, under the leadership of Harry Payne Whitney, polo changed to become🏧 a high-speed sport in the United States, differing from the game in England, where it involved short passes to move🏧 the ball towards the opposition's goal.
Whitney and his teammates used the fast break, sending long passes downfield to riders who🏧 had broken away from the pack at a full gallop.
In 1909 a United States team defeated an English team with🏧 ease.[31]
In the late 1950s, champion polo player and Director of the Long Island Polo Association, Walter Scanlon, introduced the "short🏧 form", or "European" style, four period match, to the game of polo.[42]
Director Walter Scanlon, Bethpage, Long IslandRules [ edit ]
All🏧 tournaments and levels of play and players are organized within and between polo clubs, including membership, rules, safety, fields and🏧 arenas.
The rules of polo are written to include the safety of both players and horses.
Games are monitored by umpires.
A whistle🏧 is blown when an infraction occurs, and penalties are awarded.
Strategic plays in polo are based on the "line of the🏧 ball", an imaginary line that extends through the ball in the line of travel.
This line traces the ball's path and🏧 extends past the ball along that trajectory.
The line of the ball defines rules for players to approach the ball safely.
The🏧 "line of the ball" changes each time the ball changes direction.
The player who hits the ball generally has the right🏧 of way, and other players cannot cross the line of the ball in front of that player.
As players approach the🏧 ball, they ride on either side of the line of the ball giving each access to the ball.
A player can🏧 cross the line of the ball when it does not create a dangerous situation.
Most infractions and penalties are related to🏧 players improperly crossing the line of the ball or the right of way.
When a player has the line of the🏧 ball on their right, they have the right of way.
A "ride-off" is when a player moves another player off the🏧 line of the ball by making shoulder-to-shoulder contact with the other players' horses.
The defending player has a variety of opportunities🏧 for their team to gain possession of the ball.
They can push the opponent off the line or steal the ball🏧 from the opponent.
Another common defensive play is called "hooking.
" While a player is taking a swing at the ball, their🏧 opponent can block the swing by using their mallet to hook the mallet of the player swinging at the ball.
A🏧 player may hook only if they are on the side where the swing is being made or directly behind an🏧 opponent.
A player may not purposely touch another player, another player's tack, or a pony with their mallet.
Unsafe hooking is a🏧 foul that will result in a penalty shot being awarded.
For example, it is a foul for a player to reach🏧 over an opponent's mount in an attempt to hook.
The other basic defensive play is called the bump or ride-off.
It's similar🏧 to a body check in ice hockey.
In a ride-off, a player rides their pony alongside an opponent's mount to move🏧 an opponent away from the ball or to take them out of a play.
It must be executed properly so that🏧 it does not endanger the horses or the players.
The angle of contact must be safe and can not knock the🏧 horses off balance, or harm the horses in any way.
Two players following the line of the ball and riding one🏧 another off have the right of way over a single man coming from any direction.
Like in hockey, ice hockey, or🏧 basketball, fouls are potentially dangerous plays that infringe on the rules of the game.
To the novice spectator, fouls may be🏧 difficult to discern.
There are degrees of dangerous and unfair play and penalty shots are awarded depending based on the severity🏧 of the foul and where the foul was committed on the polo field.
White lines on the polo field indicate where🏧 the mid-field, sixty, forty and thirty yard penalties are taken.
The official set of rules and rules interpretations are reviewed and🏧 published annually by each country's polo association.
Most of the smaller associations follow the rules of the Hurlingham Polo Association, the🏧 national governing body of the sport of polo in the United Kingdom, and the United States Polo Association.[43]
Outdoor polo [🏧 edit ]
Outdoor or field polo lasts about one and a half to two hours and consists of four to eight🏧 seven-minute chukkas, between or during which players change mounts.
At the end of each seven-minute chukka, play continues for an additional🏧 30 seconds or until a stoppage in play, whichever comes first.
There is a four-minute interval between chukkas and a ten-minute🏧 halftime.
Play is continuous and is only stopped for rule infractions (fouls), broken tack (equipment) or injury to horse or player.
The🏧 object is to score goals by hitting the ball between the goal posts, no matter how high in the air.
If🏧 the ball goes wide of the goal, the defending team is allowed a free "knock-in" from the place where the🏧 ball crossed the goal line, thus getting ball back into play.[44]
Indoor or arena polo [ edit ]
Arena polo has rules🏧 similar to the field version, and is less strenuous for the player.
It is played in a 300 by 150 feet🏧 (91 by 46 m) enclosed arena, much like those used for other equestrian sports; the minimum size is 150 by🏧 75 feet (46 by 23 m).
There are many arena clubs in the United States, and most major polo clubs, including🏧 the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club, have active arena programmes.
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.[citation needed]
Some of the most important arena polo tournaments held are:The U.S.
Arena Polo Championship, a 12-18🏧 goal tournament, is one of the highest levels of fast version of polo competition currently played in the United States.
Its🏧 history dates back to 1926, where the first tournament was held and won by the Yale University team of Reddington🏧 Barret, Winston Guest and William Mui.
The Arena Polo Grand Prix held in Argentina, promoted by La Carona Polo Club along🏧 with the Argentine Polo Association, was organized for the first time in June 2019, and was the start for the🏧 Arena Polo in Argentina.
The Arena Polo European Championship.
The first tournament of this championship was held in 2015.
Alongside the Equestrian Federation🏧 of Azerbaijan Republic (ARAF) the tournament was organized by the team of World Polo
Polo ponies [ edit ]
Polo ponies waiting🏧 for the game to begin
The mounts used are called 'polo ponies', although the term pony is purely traditional and the🏧 mount is actually a full-sized horse.They range from 14.
2 to 16 hands (58 to 64 inches, 147 to 163 cm)🏧 high at the withers, and weigh 900–1,100 pounds (410–500 kg).
The polo pony is selected carefully for quick bursts of speed,🏧 stamina, agility and manoeuvrability.
Temperament is critical; the horse must remain responsive under pressure and not become excited or difficult to🏧 control.
Many are Thoroughbreds or Thoroughbred crosses.
They are trained to be handled with one hand on the reins, and to respond🏧 to the rider's leg and weight cues for moving forward, turning and stopping.
A well trained horse will carry its rider🏧 smoothly and swiftly to the ball and can account for 60 to 75 per cent of the player's skill and🏧 net worth to their team.[45]
Polo pony training generally begins at age three and lasts from about six months to two🏧 years.
Most horses reach full physical maturity at about age five, and ponies are at their peak of athleticism and training🏧 at around age six or seven.
However, without any accidents, polo ponies may have the ability to play until they are🏧 18 to 20 years of age.[citation needed]
Each player must have more than one horse, to allow for tired mounts to🏧 be replaced by fresh ones between or even during chukkas.
A player's "string" of polo ponies may number two or three🏧 in Low Goal matches (with ponies being rested for at least a chukka before reuse), four or more for Medium🏧 Goal matches (at least one per chukka), and even more for the highest levels of competition.
[citation needed]Players [ edit ]
A🏧 girls' polo team, United States
Each team consists of four mounted players, which can be mixed teams of both men and🏧 women.
Each position assigned to a player has certain responsibilities:
Number One is the most offence-oriented position on the field.
The Number One🏧 position, which generally covers the opposing team's Number Four, is usually the rookie of the team.[ citation needed ]
is the🏧 most offence-oriented position on the field.
The Number One position, which generally covers the opposing team's Number Four, is usually the🏧 rookie of the team.
Number Two has an important role in offence, either running through and scoring themselves, or passing to🏧 the Number One and getting in behind them.
Defensively, they will cover the opposing team's Number Three, generally the other team's🏧 best player.
Given the difficulty of this position, it is not uncommon for the best player on the team to play🏧 Number Two so long as another strong player is available to play Three.
has an important role in offence, either running🏧 through and scoring themselves, or passing to the Number One and getting in behind them.
Defensively, they will cover the opposing🏧 team's Number Three, generally the other team's best player.
Given the difficulty of this position, it is not uncommon for the🏧 best player on the team to play Number Two so long as another strong player is available to play Three.
Number🏧 Three is the tactical leader and must be a long powerful hitter to feed balls to Number Two and Number🏧 One as well as maintaining a solid defense.
The best player on the team is usually the Number Three player, usually🏧 wielding the highest handicap.
is the tactical leader and must be a long powerful hitter to feed balls to Number Two🏧 and Number One as well as maintaining a solid defense.
The best player on the team is usually the Number Three🏧 player, usually wielding the highest handicap.
Number Four is the primary defense player.
They can move anywhere on the field, but they🏧 usually try to prevent scoring.
The emphasis on defense by the Number Four allows the Number Three to attempt more offensive🏧 plays, since they know that they will be covered if they lose the ball.
Polo must be played right-handed to prevent🏧 head-on collisions.
[46]Equipment [ edit ]
Polo helmet with face guard
Polo player wearing kneepads, "riding off" an opponent
The rules for equipment vary🏧 in details between the hosting authorities, but are always for the safety of the players and mounts.
Mandatory equipment includes a🏧 protective helmet with chinstrap worn at all times by all players and mounted grooms.
They have a rigid exterior and interior🏧 protective padding and must be to a locally accepted safety standard, PAS015 (UK), NOCSAE (USA).
A face guard is commonly integral🏧 with the helmet.
Polo boots and knee guards are mandatory in the UK during official play, and boots are recommended for🏧 all play everywhere.
The UK also recommends goggles, elbow pads and gum shields.
A shirt or jersey is required that distinguishes the🏧 player's team, and is not black and white stripes like an umpire shirt.
White polo pants or trousers are worn during🏧 official play.
Polo gloves are commonly worn to protect from working the reins and mallet.
Not permitted is any equipment that may🏧 harm horses, such as certain spurs or whips.
[47] [48]Ball [ edit ]
The modern outdoor polo ball is made of a🏧 high-impact plastic.
Historically they have been made of bamboo, leather covered cork, hard rubber, and for many years willow root.
Originally the🏧 British used a white painted leather covered cricket ball.[49]
The regulation outdoor polo ball is 3 inches (7.
6 cm) to 3+1⁄2🏧 inches (8.
9 cm) in diameter and weighs 3+1⁄2 ounces (99 g) to 4+1⁄2 ounces (130 g).[50]
Plastic balls were introduced in🏧 the 1970s.
They are less prone to breakage and much cheaper.[51]
The indoor and arena polo ball is leather-covered and inflated, and🏧 is about 4+1⁄2 inches (11 cm) in diameter.[citation needed]
It must be not less than 12.
5 inches (32 cm) or more🏧 than 15 inches (38 cm) in circumference.
The weight must be not less than 170 grams (6.
0 oz) or more than🏧 182 grams (6.4 oz).
In a bounce test from 9 feet (2.
7 m) on concrete at 70 °F (21 °C), the🏧 rebound should be a minimum of 54 inches (140 cm) and a maximum of 64 inches (160 cm) at the🏧 inflation rate specified by the manufacturer.
This provides for a hard and lively ball.
[citation needed]Mallet [ edit ]
The polo mallet consists🏧 of a cane shaft with a rubber-wrapped grip, a webbed thong, called a sling, for wrapping around the thumb, and🏧 a wooden cigar-shaped head.
The shaft is made of manau-cane (not bamboo, which is hollow) although a small number of mallets🏧 today are made from composite materials.
Composite materials are usually not preferred by top players because the shaft of composite mallets🏧 cannot absorb vibrations as well as traditional cane mallets.
The mallet head is generally made from a hardwood called tipa, approximately🏧 9 1⁄4" inches long.
The mallet head weighs from 160 g (5.6 oz) to 240 g (8.
5 oz), depending on player🏧 preference and the type of wood used, and the shaft can vary in weight and flexibility depending on the player's🏧 preference.
The weight of the mallet head is of important consideration for the more seasoned players.
Female players often use lighter mallets🏧 than male players.
For some polo players, the length of the mallet depends on the size of the horse: the taller🏧 the horse, the longer the mallet.
However, some players prefer to use a single length of mallet regardless of the height🏧 of the horse.
Either way, playing horses of differing heights requires some adjustment by the rider.
Variable lengths of the mallet typically🏧 range from 127 cm (50 in) to 134 cm (53 in).
The term mallet is used exclusively in US English; British🏧 English prefers the term polo stick.
The ball is struck with the broad sides of the mallet head rather than its🏧 round and flat tips.
Saddle [ edit ]Polo saddle
Polo saddles are English-style, close contact, similar to jumping saddles; although most polo🏧 saddles lack a flap under the billets.
Some players will not use a saddle blanket.
The saddle has a flat seat and🏧 no knee support; the rider adopting a forward-leaning seat and closed knees dissimilar to a classical dressage seat.
A breastplate is🏧 added, usually attached to the front billet.
A standing martingale must be used: so, a breastplate is a necessity for safety.
The🏧 tie-down is usually supported by a neck strap.
Many saddles also have an overgirth.
The stirrup irons are heavier than most, and🏧 the stirrup leathers are wider and thicker, for added safety when the player stands in the stirrups.
The legs of the🏧 pony are wrapped with polo wraps from below the knee to the fetlock to minimize pain.
Jumping (open front) or gallop🏧 boots are sometimes used along with the polo wraps for added protection.
Often, these wraps match the team colours.
The pony's mane🏧 is most often roached (hogged), and its tail is docked or braided so that it will not snag the rider's🏧 mallet.
Polo is ridden with double reins for greater accuracy of signals.
The bit is frequently a gag bit or Pelham bit.
In🏧 both cases, the gag or shank rein will be the bottom rein in the rider's hands, while the snaffle rein🏧 will be the top rein.
If a gag bit is used, there will be a drop noseband in addition to the🏧 cavesson, supporting the tie-down.
One of the rein sets may alternately be draw reins.
The field [ edit ]
Relative sizes of an🏧 association football ground and a polo field
The playing field is 300 by 160 yards (270 by 150 m), the area🏧 of approximately six soccer fields or nine American football fields (10 acres), while arena polo is 96 x 46 metres.
The🏧 playing field is carefully maintained with closely mowed turf providing a safe, fast playing surface.
Goals are posts which are set🏧 eight yards apart, centred at each end of the field.
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 stamping", which was developed not only to help replace the mounds🏧 of earth (divots) that are torn up by the horses' hooves, but also to afford spectators the opportunity to walk🏧 about and socialise.
Contemporary sport [ edit ]
Polo played as a part of the 1900 Summer Olympics
Polo is played professionally in🏧 many countries, notably Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Iran, India, New Zealand, Mexico, Pakistan, Jamaica, Spain,🏧 South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and is now an active sport in 77 countries.
[52] Although🏧 its tenure as an Olympic sport was limited to 1900–1939, in 1998 the International Olympic Committee recognised it as a🏧 sport with a bona fide international governing body, the Federation of International Polo.
The World Polo Championship is held every three🏧 years by the Federation.
Polo is unique among team sports in that amateur players, often the team patrons, routinely hire and🏧 play alongside the sport's top professionals.
Some of the most important tournaments,[opinion] at club level, are Abierto de Tortugas, Abierto de🏧 Hurlingham and Abierto Argentino de Polo, all of them in Argentina (la Triple Corona).[citation needed]
East and Southeast Asia [ edit🏧 ]
Indonesia plays against Thailand in SEA Games Polo 2007
Polo has been played in Malaysia and Singapore, both of which are🏧 former British colonies, since being introduced to Malaya during the late 19th century.
Royal Johor Polo Club was formed in 1884🏧 and Singapore Polo Club was formed in 1886.
The oldest polo club in the modern country of Malaysia is Selangor Polo🏧 Club, founded in 1902.
[53] It was largely played by royalty and the political and business elite.[54]
Polo was played at the🏧 2007 Southeast Asian Games, 2017 Southeast Asian Games and 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Nations that competed in the tournament were Indonesia,🏧 Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines (2007), Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand (2017) and Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines and Malaysia (2019).
The 2007🏧 tournament's gold medal was won by the Malaysian team, followed by Singapore with silver and Thailand with bronze while the🏧 2017 tournament's gold medal was won by Malaysia, followed by Thailand with silver and Brunei with bronze.
The 2019 tournament's gold🏧 medal was won by Malaysia, followed by the Philippines with silver, and Brunei receiving bronze.[citation needed]
The recent resurgence in south-east🏧 Asia has resulted in its popularity in cities such as Pattaya, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.
In Pattaya alone, there are three🏧 active polo clubs: Polo Escape, Siam Polo Park and the Thai Polo and Equestrian Club.
Indonesia has a polo club (Nusantara🏧 Polo Club).
More recently, Janek Gazecki and Australian professional Jack "Ruki" Baillieu have organised polo matches in parks "around metropolitan Australia,🏧 backed by wealthy sponsors."[55]
A Chinese Equestrian Association has been formed with two new clubs in China itself: the Beijing Sunny🏧 Time Polo Club, founded by Xia Yang in 2004[56] and the Nine Dragons Hill Polo Club in Shanghai, founded in🏧 2005.
[57]West Asia [ edit ]
Polo is not widely spread in West Asia, but still counts five active clubs in Iran,🏧 four active polo clubs in the UAE, one club in Bahrain[58] and The Royal Jordanian Polo Club in Amman, Jordan.[59]
Polo🏧 in Iran is governed by the Polo Federation of Iran.
There are five polo clubs in Iran: Ghasr-e Firoozeh, Nowroozabad, Army🏧 Ground Forces, Kanoon-e Chogan and Nesf-e Jahan.
Iran possesses some of the best grass polo fields in the region.
The country currently🏧 has over 100 registered players of which approximately 15% are women.
Historically, Kurdish and Persian Arabian horses were the most widely🏧 used for polo.
This was probably also the case in ancient times.
Today Thoroughbreds are being increasingly used alongside the Kurdish and🏧 Persian Arabian horses.
Some players have also been experimenting with Anglo-Arabians.
Iranians still refer to the game of polo by its original🏧 Persian name of "Chogan", which means mallet.
Iranians still maintain some of the ancient rituals of the game in official polo🏧 matches.
[citation needed]India [ edit ]
The governing body of polo in India is the Indian Polo Association.
Ireland [ edit ]
Polo first🏧 began its Irish history in 1870 with the first official game played on Gormanstown Strand, Co.Meath.
Three years later the All🏧 Ireland Polo Club was founded by Mr.
Horace Rochford in the Phoenix Park.
[60] Since then the sport has continued to grow🏧 with a further seven clubs opening around the country.
The sport has also been made more accessible by these clubs by🏧 the creation of more affordable training programmes, such as the beginner to pro programme at Polo Wicklow.
[61]Pakistan [ edit ]
The🏧 annual Shandur Polo Festival at Shandur Top in Chitral District is an international event attended by enthusiasts from all over🏧 the world.
[62] The Shandur polo ground at Shandur Pass is the world's highest, at approximately 3,734 metres (12,251 ft).
[63] The🏧 governing body of polo in Pakistan is the Pakistan Polo Association.
There are more than twenty-one polo clubs in Pakistan[64] and🏧 over forty polo championships held all over the country every year.
[65] Pakistan has qualified for the preliminary rounds of the🏧 World Polo Championship three times.
Pakistan's Hissam Ali Haider is the highest capped played in the Asian circuit.
He has played for🏧 Cartier in the St.
Moritz Snow Polo World Cup and the Commonwealth team in the Royal Salute Coronation Cup, both of🏧 which were won by his team.[66]
United Kingdom [ edit ]
The governing body in the United Kingdom is the Hurlingham Polo🏧 Association, dating from 1875, which amalgamated with the County Polo Association in 1949.
[67] The UK Armed Forces Polo Association oversees🏧 the sport in the three armed services.
United States [ edit ]
The United States Polo Association (USPA) is the governing body🏧 for polo in the U.S.The U.S.
is the only country that has separate women's polo, run by the United States Women's🏧 Polo Federation.
Variants and related sports [ edit ]
An old polocart displayed at City Palace, Jaipur.
The museum also displays a "night🏧 polo ball" with a rotating platform on which a candle is placed.[68]
These variants are considered sports separate from standard polo🏧 because of the differences in the composition of teams, equipment, rules, game facilities, and so on.
Variant forms of arena polo🏧 include beach polo, played in many countries between teams of three riders on a sand surface,[69] and cowboy polo, played🏧 almost exclusively in the western United States by teams of five riders on a dirt surface.
Another modern variant is snow🏧 polo, which is played on compacted snow on flat ground or a frozen lake.
The format of snow polo varies depending🏧 on the space available.
Each team generally consists of three players and a bright coloured light plastic ball is preferred.
[70] Snow🏧 polo is not the same sport as ice polo, which was popular in the US in the late 1890s.
That sport🏧 resembled ice hockey and bandy but died out entirely in favour of the Canadian ice hockey rules.
Water polo shares a🏧 name with polo, but more closely resembles handball.
Sagol kangjei, the polo variety discussed above, is arguably a version of polo🏧 though it can also be seen as the precursor of modern outdoor polo.
Variants that are related but clearly diverge from🏧 the polo format include:
Cowboy polo uses rules similar to regular polo, but riders compete with western saddles, usually in a🏧 smaller arena, using an inflatable rubber medicine ball.
Horseball is a game played on horseback where a ball is handled and🏧 points are scored by shooting it through a high net.
The sport is a combination of polo, rugby, and basketball.
Pato was🏧 played in Argentina for centuries, but is very different from modern polo.
No mallets are used, and it is not played🏧 on grass.
Polocrosse is a combination of polo and lacrosse and is also played on horseback.
It was developed in Australia in🏧 the late 1930s.
Played on vehicles or other animals [ edit ]
Polo is not played exclusively on horseback.
Such polo variants are🏧 mostly played for recreational or tourism purposes.
Non-equine variations include:
On other animals [ edit ]
Camel polo is played in Mongolia [71]
Elephant🏧 polo is played in South Asia.
Yak polo is played in Mongolia and western China.
On vehicles [ edit ]
Auto polo was🏧 a motorsport invented in the United States in the early 1900s.
Its rules and equipment were similar to polo but automobiles🏧 were used instead of horses.[72]
Canoe polo is played around the world in kayaks and governed by the International Canoe Federation.
Cycle🏧 polo is a similar game played on bicycles instead of horses.
A variant of cycle polo is also played on penny-farthings.[73]Golfcart🏧 polo
Motoball (motorcycle polo) was invented in the United States.
Segway polo originated in the United States.
A lighthearted variant, hobby horse polo🏧 (German: steckenpferdpolo), was devised in 1998 in south western Germany.
The Erster Kurfürstlich-Kurpfälzisch Polo-Club in Mannheim was founded in 2002 to🏧 organise matches and promote the game.
Since then, the variant has gained further interest in other German cities.
[74][75] It is played🏧 on hobby horses, the toy, instead of polo ponies.
While following standard polo rules in part, it has some more unusual🏧 rules: Goals, for example, are the height and width of bar stools; and any departure from accepted gameplay standards will🏧 attract "penalty sherries" to be consumed by the offending player.
[76]See also [ edit ]Notes [ edit ]References [ edit ]
Further🏧 reading [ edit ]
