ABOUT THE SPORT
Polo Team and Polo Strategy
A Polo Primer
The Rules of the Game
BY PAM GLEASON, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER OF "THE AIKEN HORSE"
Polo In History
More than 2,000 years ago, horsemen on the plains of Persia invented a game. Mounted on their Oriental warhorses, they practiced hitting a small ball with a long wooden stick. They built polo grounds—large flat fields, about the same size as we use today—and erected goal posts on each end. These posts were solid stone pillars, some of which are still standing in modern-day Iran.
The game drew hundreds of enthusiastic players and spread throughout the Middle and Far East. Chinese emperors and empresses played. Japanese warriors played. Even Alexander the Great played. Polo remained a popular sport for centuries. Eventually, it found its way to India, which is here that it got its modern name. Polo, or "pulu," is the Manipuri Indian name for the willow root, from which the players made their ball.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, the Eastern game met the Western world. British army officers and tea planters in Assam, India, watching the local people compete, got a hankering to try the sport themselves. Within months, polo was the rage among the officers, and it was not long before the game went home to England. There, the players formalized rules. The most influential rulebook came out of the Hurlingham Club, a sporting club on the banks of the Thames at Fulham. Originally founded as a meeting place for pigeon-shooters, Hurlingham turned to polo in the 1870’s and never looked back. The Hurlingham rules eventually dominated the world of polo, governing the game in many countries and forming the basis for national rules in others.
From England, polo spread throughout the lands of the British Empire. In the spring of 1876, it came to America in the "luggage" of James Gordon Bennett, an eccentric millionaire who was the publisher of the New York Herald. At least, he brought the balls and the mallets in his luggage. The horses came to Westchester County, New York from Texas. The first recorded game in America has an interesting story. Mr. Bennett invited a select group of local gentlemen to a dinner at his estate, at which he expounded upon the thrill of the "new" sport. At the meal’s end, he brought the gentlemen out onto his lawn, where grooms held a dozen Texas cowponies. The gentlemen mounted up, swung their mallets at the ball, and were instantly addicted. The new players bought the horses at 20 dollars apiece and began to play regularly in an outdoor riding ring in New York City.
Polo caught on quickly in America, spreading anywhere that there were horses and people with leisure time. The first polo club in America, the Westchester Club, was founded in Newport, Rhode Island in the summer of 1876. It immediately moved north, south, east and west. The United States Polo Association (USPA) was born in 1890 as the "Polo Association." That year, the organization comprised five clubs. Today, there are almost 250 polo clubs in 43 states. In addition, 34 colleges and universities across the country have collegiate polo programs that have introduced many new players to the game. There are even interscholastic teams and pony club teams that compete at their respective levels.
Playing the Game
Polo is simple. Four mounted players make up a team. These players meet on a manicured grass field. The first objective of the game is to hit the ball (made of hard plastic and about 3 ˝ inches in diameter) through a set of posts marking a goal 8 yards wide. Players use mallets made of a cane shaft and a wooden head, ranging from 48 to 54 inches long. They must carry these mallets in their right hands—playing left-handed is no longer allowed. The head of the polo mallet is shaped roughly like a cigar. Players hit the ball with the side of the head, not with the end.
The second objective is to prevent members of the opposing team from hitting the ball and scoring. Defensive plays include "hooking" an opponent’s mallet as he tries to strike the ball, "riding off" (placing your horse next to his and encouraging your horse to push his off course) or "bumping" (riding off with a bang—but it is illegal to bump or ride off at an angle greater than 45 degrees.)
The play begins with a lineup at the center of the field. One of the two mounted umpires bowls the ball between the two teams. Each team fights to gain possession. Most of the rules in polo come from the concept of the "line-of-the-ball." The line of the ball is an imaginary line that the ball creates when a player hits it. A simplified explanation of the rules would say that a player must not cross this line if there is another player behind him who is "on the line" and therefore has the "right of way." This sometimes means that a player must take the ball on the left side (near side) of his horse, and sometimes means he must not try to hit it at all.
If a player does "cross the line" or commits another foul such as "high hooking" (hooking another player’s mallet when it is about the level of his shoulder), the umpire blows a whistle. The fouled team then gets to take a penalty shot. The more serious the foul, the closer this shot will be to the fouling player’s goal. A minor foul might merit a hit "from the spot." If the foul is more serious, or is repeated or deemed to be intentional or dangerous, the umpire might move the ball up to mid-field, to the 60-yard, the 40-yard or the 30-yard line.
After each goal, the teams switch directions. If the red teams scores on the east end of the field, then in the next play, red will be trying to score on the west end of the field. Switching directions after each goal equalizes field conditions. However, it can be confusing to players and spectators alike!
A polo match is divided into six periods called chukkers. Each chukker consists of seven to seven one-half minutes of playing time. The timekeeper stops the clock whenever a player commits a foul and when someone hits the ball over the endline, but not when a player knocks the ball out of bounds on the sides of the field or scores a goal. At seven minutes, the timekeeper sounds a warning bell. Play continues until a goal is scored, the ball hits the sideboards, goes out of bounds or 30 seconds is up. When time is up, the timekeeper sounds the horn. Then the players have four minutes to leave the field, change horses and come back for the next chukker. After the third chukker, there is a longer half-time break, during which spectators are encouraged to walk out on the field to "stomp the divots."
Most players prefer to have a fresh horse for each chukker. As a rule, a horse can play only one or two chukkers per game. This means that a play must have a minimum of three horses to compete in a match. At higher levels, some players use as many as eight horses in a game, jumping off one and onto another mid-chukker.
The Makings of a Team
The four players on each team wear jerseys bearing a number from 1 to 4. The number refers to the player’s position on the field. The Number 1 is primarily an offensive player, whose job is to run to goal, hoping for a pass from his teammates so that he can score. The Number 2 is also an offensive player, but he must be more aggressive, breaking up the offensive plays of the other team, and putting "his nose in every play and continually forcing the attack," according to polo legend Tommy Hitchcock. The Number 3 is usually the strongest player on the team. His job is to hit long balls, set up his teammates, plan the plays and make them happen. He also must cover the opposing Number 2. The Number 4, or Back, is primarily defensive. He covers the opposing Number 1 and generally "shuts the back door" preventing the other team from scoring. He also must get the ball to his teammates, often by hitting long back shots.
Field of Dreams
A regulation polo field is 300 yards long by 160-200 yards wide. Many polo fields are equipped with sideboards, which help to keep the ball from going out of bounds. Although play stops when the ball crosses the boards, horses and players regularly jump them and keep on playing, which is why polo fields are marked with a run-off area or safety zone. Spectators must take care not to park their cars or let their children play in this space!
Polo fields are high-maintenance affairs. They require frequent mowing, fertilizing, aerating and rolling to keep them smooth. They also take up a lot of space, roughly as much area as nine to twelve football fields. The best grass for polo fields is one of several special hybrids or Bermuda grass. Bermudas create a smooth turf that stands up well to galloping hooves. Their fine blades enable the ball to roll straight and true. Players put a lot of stock in good fields and are always happy to drive a little farther for the chance to play on one.
The Life
Polo was once the sport of kings, played only by the wealthy leisure classes. Today, although the sport certainly requires investment of time and money, the people who play have different backgrounds and occupations. People of all ages and abilities can play polo. The range goes all the way from England’s Prince Harry to the local veterinarian, real estate agent, blacksmith or carpenter. Polo players are not all men, either. Women make up the fastest growing segment of the polo playing population. And of course, children of all ages are introduced to the sport as early as four years of age. Polo is, in fact, one of the only contact sports in which men and women regularly play together on an equal basis. And it is probably the only contact sport where all family members (husband, wife and children) of one, two or three quarters can compete together on the same team.
Some polo players are professionals, who make their living playing polo, teaching, or training and selling horses. Other players are dedicated amateurs, who spend most of their spare time riding and playing. Still other players are more casual, playing on weekends or occasional weekdays after work. Whatever their level of commitment, all polo players share the special world of polo; a world with its own language, its own worries and preoccupations and even its own set of celebrities. They are united by a shared passion for horses, a shared commitment to the sport, and a shared connection to the traditions of the past.