NEWS
Polo is a dynamic and exciting team game that is played on horseback. One of the oldest known sports in the world, it is thought to have originated in Persia over 2000 years ago. The game as we know it today originates in India in the 1800s, where British soldiers who were stationed there saw the game being played locally and adapted it for their own uses, often using it as training for cavalry riders.
Brought to Britain soon after, rules were established and from then on the game spread, and is now played across the world where as well as the UK, it is particularly popular in Argentina and the USA. The sport is overseen by the FEDERATION.
The object of Polo is for a team to score more points than its opposition, thus winning the game. Each team attempts to move the ball into the opposition's half of the pitch with the aim of eventually hitting it through the goal to score. Each team of four is made up of attackers and defenders, but realistically all members of a polo team are expected to be flexible and make any play whether offensive or defensive and change position as necessary to benefit the team.
Each team is made up of four players, each one assigned a position which is displayed by the number worn on their kit.
In terms of equipment, the most obvious piece of equipment is a horse specifically bred for the game of Polo, known as Polo pony. Each player will need at least two to switch out between chukkas and these may be the player's own or they may be provided by their club. These horses will need a special saddle which will enable the player to be seated securely, control the horse and swing the mallet. Other essential pieces of equipment are a helmet, a polo stick, knee guards and a ball.
Scoring is simple in Polo, and a point (known as a goal) is scored when the ball is hit into the goal. Unlike many other games that change halves at set periods such as halftime, in Polo, teams change field direction every time a goal is scored. It’s not known exactly why this is the case but it is thought that it stems from the past where pitches were traditionally on an East/West axis and teams would not want to spend extended periods of time with the sun or wind in their face.
The team who have scored the most amount of goals and thus end up with the highest amount of points at the end of the game are deemed the winners. If the game is drawn, another chukka is played and the first to score wins. If nobody scores in this, another chukka is played in which the goalposts are widened and the first to score wins.
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