First person account of an into polo clinic by Serena Carlson
On a weekend trip to a wedding, I searched the internet for non-wedding activities for my boyfriend Matt and me to do. Google helpfully suggested polo lessons. I was intrigued. As a hunter-jumper rider, I can ride a horse, but riding a horse while hitting a ball sounded like a fun challenge. Matt doesn’t ride but he was a good sport and agreed to try it.
Polo was first played in Iran 2,500 years ago. It spread throughout the Middle East and Asia. British officers stationed in India began playing the game in the 1850’s and exported it to Great Britain, the U.S. and South America. Today polo is played worldwide.
Polo is traditionally played on a grass field by two teams of four players. Players each wear a number, one through four. The object of polo is to score goals by knocking a ball through the opponent’s eight-yard wide goal with a long mallet.
Outdoor polo is played on a grass field the size of ten football fields, 300 yards by 160 yards. The outdoor ball is about 3.5 inches in diameter and made of hard plastic. Arena polo has three players on a team in an arena 100 yards by 50 yards with an inflated leather ball the size of a softball. The goal is ten feet wide.
Arena polo is a game of short sprints and frequent direction changes. Field polo is faster with long gallops and passes. Polo matches last approximately an hour-and-a-half and are split into periods called chukkas.
The instructor started us with short polo mallets called “foot mallets” to learn the four basic polo strokes before mounting the horse. To over-simplify, the ball is hit with the wide side of the mallet, not the end as in croquet. The ball is hit forward or backward, from either the right or the left side of the horse.
The purpose of the foot mallets is to learn how to swing at the ball without the added complication of steering a moving horse. We took a few practice swings before taking aim on the ball. I have always struggled with golf, and found it similarly difficult to coordinate the ball with the position of the mallet head. I kept whacking the ground. Or the air. Sometimes both. Matt, meanwhile, was making it look easy.
Once we felt comfortable with the foot mallets, the instructor took us to meet “Charlie Horse,” the name I gave the pinto-painted metal horse we were to climb aboard for hitting practice. He had a “realistic” head and neck, with metal legs making him the approximate height of a real horse. Charlie was enclosed within a roofed, hitting cage. The floor, front and back, was sloped upward. When you hit a polo ball, it rolled back to you so you could hit it again.
Charlie’s role was important. Much like our practice with the foot mallets, we could get a feel for hitting a ball while mounted, without accidentally hitting or injuring our horses as we flailed around with the mallets.
I tried it first and learned about the logistics of swinging a full-length mallet while leaning over the horse’s side without falling off. It’s all about counterbalancing your weight so you don’t tip over. You also can rest your rein hand on the horse’s neck. Did I mention that you hold the reins in the left hand and hold the mallet in right? It takes some getting used to!
After taking turns on Charlie Horse, it was time to try out our skills on real horses. We watched the instructor tack up. There is a LOT that goes in to preparing a polo pony. Legs are wrapped and tails are tied up in short tight mud knots. Breast collars and martingales are standard equipment as are overgirths and double reins with gag bits.
We rode out to the practice field where we walked our patient ponies and ineffectually whacked at the balls. We were still trying to learn the “how” of swinging properly while taking care not to hit our horses’ legs.
The lesson seemed to be over with so quickly! There is a lot to learn about the game and it definitely takes a lot of practice. I had a great time and would do it again in a heartbeat.
Despite its royal reputation, club polo is a family-friendly sport. You don’t need a big string of horses to have fun. You can play with only one horse, splitting a position with another player who has only one horse.
Polo can provide a break in routine for you and your horse. A chance to put all those rollbacks and flying lead changes you practiced to good use. It can increase you and your horse’s confidence while riding with other horses outside of an arena.
Although Northwest polo is primarily a summer sport, lessons are available under cover year around at some clubs. There are a dozen polo clubs scattered around Oregon, Washington and British Columbia (see list below). They are eager to start your polo addiction so they have more people to play with. You’re welcome at any club to watch practice games or tournaments and meet the people.
WASHINGTON
Tacoma Polo Club – info@tacomapoloclub.com – Roy
Boot ranch – blakeandbobbi@gmail.com – Yakima
La Conner Polo Club – 253-732-3111 – LaConner,
Seattle Polo Club – cameron@seattlepoloclub.com – Enumclaw,
Spokane Polo Club – babin72@sullivanbabin.com – Spokane
White Swan Polo Club – virgjjones@gmail.com – White Swan
WSU Polo Club – horsepolo@wsu.edu – Washington State University, Pullman
OREGON
Bend Polo Club – nearsideoffside@yahoo.com – Bend
Cascades Polo Club – mountainheart@earthlink.net – Bend
Hidden Creek Polo Club – dannyjuarezpolo@gmail.com – West Linn
La Grande Polo Club – mt_view_ee@yahoo.com – La Grande
OSU Polo Club – polo@oregonstate.edu – Oregon State University, Corvallis
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver Polo Club – info@vancouverpolo.com – Vancouver
Victoria Polo Club – michaeladey@shaw.ca – Victoria
Okanagan Polo Club – sflana@telus.net – Kelowna
If you are interested in learning more Polo or hosting a Polo clinic at your facility; contact Claudia at http://www.polo-zealot-school.com