Polo

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It has been suggested that Sagol Kangjei be
merged into this
article or section. (Discuss)

For other uses, see Polo
(disambiguation).

Polo Players

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the
objective is to score goals against an opposing
team. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into
the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet. The traditional sport of
polo is played at speed on a large grass field up to 300 yards in length, and
each polo team consists of four riders and their mounts.

Contents

1 Variants

1.1 On
horseback

1.2 Other
variants

2 History

3 The game

4 Common Techniques and
Practices

5 Polo ponies

6 Players

7 Equipment

8 The field

8.1 Outdoor
Polo

8.2 County
Polo

8.3 Arena
polo

9 Contemporary
sport

10 South East
Asia

11 Notable polo
players

12 Related
sports

13 References

14 External
links

[edit]
Variants

[edit]
On horseback

A modern variant is called arena polo which is played
indoors or more commonly outdoors on an enclosed all-weather surface (the field
of play is much smaller, rarely exceeding 100 yards in length). In arena polo
there are only three players on each team and a small inflatable leather ball is
used instead. Arena polo matches usually consist of four 6 minute periods
(called chukkas or chukkers), as opposed to outdoor, where there are 7 minutes
chukkers. In arena polo, there can be between four and eight 7 minute chukkas
(depending on the level being played). A form of arena polo seen almost
exclusively in the western United States is cowboy polo.

A recent variant is polo, a close variant of arena polo, played on sand in Dubai and Miami and most recently in the UK.

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
colored light plastic ball is preferred.[1]

A popular combination of the sports of polo and lacrosse is the game of polocrosse, which was
developed in Australia in the late 1930s.

These sports are considered as separate sports because of the differences in
the composition of teams, equipment, rules, game facilities etc.

[edit]
Other variants

An old Polocart displayed at City Palace,
Jaipur

Polo is not played exclusively on horseback. Such polo variants are mostly
played for recreational or touristic purposes; they include canoe polo, cycle polo, camel
polo, elephant
polo, golfcart
polo, Segway polo and
yak polo.

[edit]
History

A game first played in Persia (Iran) at dates given from
the 5th century BC, or much earlier,[2]
to the 1st century AD and originated there,[3]
polo was at first a training game for cavalry units, usually the king's guard or
other elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen, who played it with as many as 100
to a side, it was a miniature battle.[4]
In time polo became an Iranian national sport played extensively by the
nobility. Women as well as men played the game, as indicated by references to
the queen and her ladies engaging King Khosrow II Parviz and his
courtiers in the 6th century AD.[5]
Certainly Persian literature
and art give us the richest accounts of polo in antiquity. Ferdowsi, the famed Iranian
poet-historian, gives a number of accounts of royal polo tournaments in his 9th
century epic, Shahnameh
(the Epic of Kings). In the earliest account, Ferdowsi romanticizes an
international match between Turanian force and the
followers of Siyâvash,
a legendary Iranian prince from the earliest centuries of the Empire; the poet
is eloquent in his praise of Siyâvash's skills on the polo field. Ferdowsi also
tells of Emperor Shapur II
of the Sassanid dynasty of the
4th century who learned to play polo when he was only seven years old.[6]

Sultan Qutb-ud-din Aibak ,the first Muslim Emperor of North India, He ruled
as an emperor for only four years, from 1206 to 1210 but died accidentally in
1210 playing polo. While he was playing a game of polo on horseback (polo aka
chougan in India), his horse fell and Aibak was impaled on the pommel of his
saddle. He was buried near the Anarkali bazaar in Lahore (which is now in
Pakistan). Aibak's son Aram, died in 1211 CE [2], so Shams-ud-din Iltutmish,
another ex-slave of Turkic ancestry who was married to Aibak's daughter,
succeeded him as Sultan of Delhi.

From Persia, in medieval times polo spread to the Byzantines (who called it
tzykanion), and after the
Muslim conquests to
the Ayyubid and Mameluke
dynasties of Egypt and the Levant, whose elites favored it
above all other sports. Notable sultans such as Saladin and Baybars were known
to play it and encourage it in their court.[7]
Polo sticks were features on the Mameluke precursor to modern day playing cards.

A Persian miniature from
the poem Guy u Chawgan(the Ball and the Polo-mallet) during Safavid dynasty of Persia, which shows Persian courtiers on horseback
playing a game of polo, 1546 AD.

Later on Polo was passed from Persia to other parts of Asia including the Indian
subcontinent[8]
and China, where it was very popular during the Tang Dynasty and frequently
depicted in paintings and statues. Valuable for training cavalry, the game was
played from Constantinople to Japan by the Middle Ages. Known in the
East as the Game of Kings.[5]
The name polo is said to have been derived from the Tibetan word "pulu",
meaning ball.[9]

The modern game of polo, though formalized and popularized by the British, is derived from
Manipur (now a state in India) who played the game known
as 'Sagol Kangjei',
'Kanjai-bazee', or 'Pulu'.[10]
It was the anglicised form of the latter, referring to the wooden ball which was
used, that was adopted by the sport in its slow spread to the west. The first
polo club was established in the town of Silchar in Assam, India, in 1834.

The origins of the game in Manipur are traced to early
precursors of Sagol
Kangjei.[11]
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 Marjing, the Winged-Pony God of Polo and
the creation-ritual episodes of the Lai Haraoba festival enacting the life of
his son, Khori-Phaba, the polo-playing god of sports. These may indicate an
origin prior to the historical records of Manipur, which go back to the 1st
Century A.D.

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 high. There are no
goal posts and a player scored simply by hitting the ball out of either end of
the field. Players were also permitted to carry the ball, though that allowed
opponents to physically tackle players when they do so. The sticks were made of
cane and the balls were made from the roots of bamboo. Colorful cloth pom-poms
dangle at sensitive and vulnerable spots around the anatomy of the ponies in
order to protect them. Players protected their legs by attaching leather shields
to their saddles and girths.[12]

In Manipur, the game was not merely a "rich" game but was played even by
commoners who owned a pony.[9]
The kings of Manipur had a royal polo ground within the ramparts of their Kangla
Fort. Here they played Manung Kangjei Bung (literally, "Inner Polo Ground”).
Public games were held, as they are still today, at the Mapan Kangjei Bung
(literally "Outer Polo Ground”), a polo ground just outside the Kangla. Weekly
games called Hapta Kangjei (Weekly Polo) were also played in a polo ground
outside the current Palace.

In 1862 the first polo club, Calcutta Polo Club,
was established by two British soldiers, Captain Robert Stewart and Major
General Joe Shearer.[13]
Later they spread the game to their peers in England. The British are
credited with spreading polo worldwide in the late 19th century and the early
20th century. 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.[12]
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.

Meanwhile, British settlers in the Argentine pampas started practising it
during their free time. Among them, David Shennan is credited with having
organized the first formal polo game of the country in 1875. The sport spread
fast between 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 by Juan Miles, Enrique
Padilla, Juan Nelson, Arturo Kenny, G. Brooke Naylor y A. Peña obtained the gold
medal; this also occurred in Berlín 1936 with players Manuel Andrada, Andrés
Gazzotti, Roberto Cavanagh, Luis Duggan, Juan Nelson, Diego Cavanagh and Enrique
Alberdi. From then on, the game spread powerfully across the country and
Argentina is credited globally as the mecca of polo.

Tang Dynasty Chinese courtiers on horseback
playing a game of polo, 706 AD.

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, nonstop game. This form of polo lacked the aggressive
methods and equestrian skills to play.
From the 1800s to the 1910s, a host of teams representing Indian principalities dominated
the international polo scene.[12]

A terracotta female polo player, Tang Dynasty, early 8th
century, Musée Guimet,
Paris.

Polo found popularity in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Pakistan and the United States of
America.[14][15][16]

James Gordon
Bennett, Jr. organized the first polo match in the United States at Dickel's
Riding Academy at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City. 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 toward 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.

The oldest polo ground in the world is the Imphal Polo Ground in Manipur
State. The history of this pologround is contained in the royal chronicle
"Cheitharol Kumbaba" starting from AD 33. Lieutenant 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
pologround as 225 yards long and 110 yards wide. The oldest royal polo square is
the 16th century Gilgit Polo
Field, Pakistan, while the
highest polo ground in the world, Shandur, located in district Chitral, Pakistan at 4307 meters
(14,000 ft).A traditional polo tournament between the teams of Chitral and
Gilgit takes place every year in July. Maj Cobb from British Raj was a polo fan
and he used to come to Shandur for playing polo on the invitation of Mehtar
Chitral in moon light. The oldest polo club in the world still in existence is
the Calcutta Polo Club (1862).

[edit]
The game

Polo in Pakistan

Field polo requires two teams of 4 players. A full-size field is 300
yards long, and either 200 yards or 160 yards wide if there are side
boards—these are generally 6" high. There are tall collapsible goalposts at each
end of the field spread 8 yards apart. The object of the game is to score the
most goals by hitting the ball through the goal. Polo teams change direction
after each goal in order to compensate for field and wind conditions.

In arena polo, which is popular in the United States, the size of the field
is ideally 100 yards long by 50 yards wide. The size of arena fields in the
United States, where arena polo was first played, is often more variable where
indoor armories and riding academies are still occasionally used. The playing
boundary is marked by high wooden walls (usually at least 6 feet high). Arena
polo requires teams of three riders, and goals are scored by passing the ball
into a 10-foot-wide by 12-foot-high goal recessed into the end walls. In arena
polo ends are changed at the end of each 6-minute period (chukka, chukker, or
chucker) and not after a goal is scored. Arena polo uses a small leather ball
between 12.5 and 15 inches in circumference and looks like a miniature
football.

In Pakistan, Shandur invites visitors to
experience a traditional polo tournament between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit annually in July. The
tournament is held on Shandur Pass, the highest
polo ground in the world at 3,700 meters. The festival also includes Folk music, dancing and a camping village is set up.[16]

Gilgit, Chitral and Skardu have always played the
game of polo closest to its original form. In the past, local Khans, Mirs and
Mehtars were the patrons of the game. At times, more than 50% of the annual
budget of their principalities would be spent on supporting the game.[17]

A polo game has periods of play, known as chukkas (also
chukkers or chuckers). This term originated in 1898 and is derived
from Hindi chakkar from Sanskrit chakra "circle, wheel" (compare
chakka). Depending on the
rules of the particular tournament or league, a game may have 4, 6 or 8 chukkas;
6 chukkas are most common[18]
Usually, each chukka is 7 minutes long, but some games are played in shorter
chukkas. Between chukkas, the players switch to fresh ponies. In less
competitive polo leagues, players may play only two ponies, alternating between
them. For more competitive leagues, and in United States intercollegiate polo,
each pony is played in at most two chukkas.

An umpire holding a ball pick-up stick and with
ball holders strapped across the withers.

Games are often played with a handicap in which the sum
of the individual players' respective handicaps are compared. The team with the
lower handicap is given the difference in handicaps as goals before the start of
the game.

The game begins with the two teams of four lined up each team in line forming
two rows with the players in order 1, 2, 3, 4 facing the umpire in the center of
the playing field. There are two mounted umpires on the field and a referee
standing on the sidelines. At the beginning of a game, one of the umpires bowls
the ball in hard between the two teams. Teams change goals on ends of the
field/arena after each score or chukker in outdoor polo to minimize any wind
advantage which may exist. Switching sides also allows each team equal
opportunity to start off with the ball on their right side, as all players must
hit right-handed.

[edit]
Common Techniques and
Practices

There are two basic defense techniques allowed in polo. The hook, or hooking,
is when a player uses their mallet to block or interfere with an opponent's
swing by hooking the mallet of the other player with their own mallet. A player
may hook only if is he is on the side where the swing is being made or directly
in front or behind an opponent. A foul is awarded for any hooking that does not
fit this stipulation. For example, a player cannot reach over the mount of
another player to hook their mallet, and this would be considered a penalty.

The other defense technique is the bump, or ride-off. This is similar to a
body-check in hockey. It is used to break an opposing player's concentration,
move him off the line of the ball, or spoil his shot. A ride-off is when one
player rides his pony next to an opponent to lead him away from the ball. This
is only allowed when the angle of collision is not greater than 45 degrees.

[edit]
Polo ponies

Main article: Polo pony

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
high at the withers (one hand
equals four inches or 10.16 cm), and weigh between 900-1100 lbs. The
polo pony is selected carefully for quick bursts of speed, stamina, agility and
maneuverability. 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 be
responsive to the rider's leg and weight cues for moving forward, turning and
stopping. A well trained horse will carry his rider smoothly and swiftly to the
ball and can account for 60 to 75 percent of the player's skill and net worth to
his team.

Polo 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 6 or 7.
However, without any accidents, polo ponies may have the ability to play until
they are 18 to 20 years of age.

More than one pony per player is needed in order to allow tired mounts to be
changed for fresh mounts between or even during chukkas. There are typically
between 4 to 8 ponies per player. The group of ponies for a given player is
commonly referred to as a "string of polo ponies", with a minimum of 2 or
3 ponies in Low Goal matches (with ponies being rested for at least a chukker
before reuse), 4 or more ponies for Medium Goal matches (at least one per
chukker), many more for the highest levels of competition.

[edit]
Players

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 offense-oriented position on the field. The
Number One position generally covers the opposing team's Number Four.

Number Two has an important role in offense, 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.

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.

[edit]
Equipment

Iranian girl polo
player

Polo player wearing kneepads, "riding
off" an opponent

The basic dress of a player is a protective helmet (usually of a
distinctive color, to be distinguished at the considerable distance from which
onlookers are watching the game), riding boots to just below the knees, white
trousers (often ordinary denim jeans), and a colored shirt bearing the number of
the player's position. Optional equipment includes one or two gloves,
wristbands, kneepads (mandatory in some
clubs), spurs, face mask, and a whip. The only piece of equipment
required by the United States Polo Association (USPA) rules is the helmet or cap
with a chin strap.[19]

The outdoor polo ball is made of a high-impact plastic, but was formerly made
of either bamboo or willow root. The indoor polo ball is leather-covered and
inflated, and is about 4½ inches (11.4 cm) in diameter. The outdoor ball is
about 3¼ inches (8.3 cm) in diameter and weighs about four ounces (113.4
g). The polo mallet has a rubber-wrapped grip and a webbed thong, called a
sling, for wrapping around the thumb. The shaft is made of manau-cane (not
bamboo because it is hollowed) although an increasing number of mallets today
are made from Composite materials. Wood Mallets in NZ is the pioneer of this
technology. The heads of the mallet are generally a cigar shape made from a
hardwood called tipa, approximately 9 1/4" inches in length. The mallet head
weighs from 160 grams to 240 grams, 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 polo
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 sizes of the mallet typically
range from 50 inches to 53 inches. The ball is struck with the longer
sides of the mallet head rather than its round and flat tips.

Polo saddles
are English-style, close contact, similar to jumping saddles although
most polo saddles lack a flap under the billets, having instead a
saddle blanket. Some players omit the saddle blanket. A breastplate is added,
usually attached to the front billet. A tie-down (standing Martingale) may be
used: if so, for safety a breastplate is a necessity. Usually the tie-down is
supported by a neck strap. An overgirth may be used. 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 prevent injury. Jumping (open front) or gallop boots are
sometimes used along with the polo wraps for added protection. Often, these
wraps match the team colors. The pony's mane is roached (hogged), and its
tail is braided so that it will not snag the rider's mallet.

The bit frequently is a gag bit or Pelham bit. If a gag bit,
there will be a drop noseband in addition to the cavesson supporting the
tie-down. There frequently will be two sets of reins, and one set of reins
frequently will be a draw rein.

[edit]
The field

The playing field is 300 yards long by 160 yards wide, the approximate area
of nine American football fields. 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, centered 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 has developed to not only help replace the mounds of earth (divots) that
are torn up by the horses' hooves, but to afford spectators the opportunity to
walk about and socialize.

[edit]
Outdoor Polo

The game consists of six 7 minute chukkas, between or during which players
change mounts. At the end of each 7 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 penalties, 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 the ball back into play.

[edit]
County Polo

Polo is often regarded as a “rich man’s sport”, and, indeed, like any sport,
there is a lot of money involved at the “top end”. However, what people do not
realise is that it is not expensive to get started and to play at the “grass
roots” level.

With most clubs in the UK, players need to become members, and invest in at
least two ponies to be able to play “standard” club chukkas. It is usual to play
four back-to-back chukkas using each pony for two chukkas alternately, so that
they each play, then rest and then play again.

For many people, this is a too big an initial step to take when they are just
taking up a new sport, and this is where County Polo comes in. It is a wonderful
initiative, using the concept of a sound, teaching format, and requiring players
to use only one pony, which may be hired, or owned. It is usually played with
‘three-a-side' – as opposed to the standard four-player polo – and therefore
allows each player to get more involved and develop.

The County Polo chukkas are usually overseen by a qualified HPA* (* HPA is
the acronym for The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) Website. [1], the governing body of Polo in the UK as well as other
countries in Europe) mounted instructor/umpire, who will coach and explain
throughout the chukka.

With this format, including shorter chukkas, with breaks in between, the
ponies are not getting over tired, so there is no need for such a large
“string”. Players may well continue to play polo at this level for many happy
years, or players with more ambition will benefit from the tuition as they move
onto more competitive polo.

County Polo is best complimented with regular stick-and-ball sessions, and
regular wooden horse practice.

County Polo has had a resurgence in recent years, although the original
County Polo Association was formed in 1898* to look after the interests of the
country clubs and to run the County Cup Tournaments), the three London polo
clubs - Hurlingham, Ranelagh and Roehampton - and from all associations within
the Empire where polo was being played. (* Source from The Hurlingham Polo
Association - http://www.hpa-polo.co.uk/about/history_hpa.asp

[edit]
Arena polo

There are minor variations between the US and British rules of arena polo.
The game consists of four periods also called chukkas (six and a half minute
chukkas are currently played under British arena rules), between which players
change mounts. An individual horse may not play two successive chukkas. Play is
continuous and is only stopped for penalties, broken equipment that may be
dangerous, or injury to horse or player. The object is to score goals by hitting
the ball against the back wall of the recessed goalmouths at each end of the
arena. Ends change at the end of each chukka not after goals are scored as in
field polo. High wooden boundary walls, which are usually 5–6 feet high, and
netting above the walls aim to prevent the ball from going out of bounds. If the
ball goes out it is considered a dead ball and the game is restarted (under
current British arena rules free hits are awarded against the team that hit the
ball out). Although the smaller playing area in arena polo prevents the horses
from galloping at the speeds reached in field polo, the game is arguably quicker
with non-stop end-to-end action.

[edit]
Contemporary sport

Polo played as a part of the Olympic games
(1900)

Polo is now an active sport in 77 countries, and 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
of International Polo, but the maximum handicap of the teams cannot surpass
of 14 goals (it is considered that, if not so, the Argentine National team would
win them all).

Polo is, however, played professionally in only a few countries, notably Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic,
France, Germany, Iran, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the
United States.[20]
Polo is unique among team sports in that amateur players, often the team
patrons, routinely hire and play alongside the sport's top professionals.

The most importants tournaments of the world, in a clubs level, are Abierto
de Tortugas, Abierto
de Hurlingham and Abierto
Argentino de Polo, all of them in Argentina (la Triple
Corona). This country has a very strong advantage for others, because it has
the best players and the best clubs.

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.

The modern sport has had difficulty grappling with the traditional social and
economic exclusivity associated with a game that is inevitably expensive when
played at a serious level. Many polo players genuinely desire to broaden public
participation in the sport, both as an end in itself and to increase the
standard of play, while others value and seek to preserve the social and
economic exclusivity of the sport. The popularity of polo has grown steadily
since the 1980s.

Arena (or indoor) polo is an affordable option for many who wish to play the
sport, and the rules are similar. The sport is played in a 300 feet by 150 feet
enclosed arena, much like those used for other equestrian sports; the minimum
size is 150 feet by 75 feet. There are many arena clubs in the United States,
and most major polo clubs, including the Santa Barbara Polo & Raquet Club,
have active arena programs. 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.

[edit]
South East Asia

Indonesia plays against Thailand in SEA Games Polo
2007

Polo was played at the 2007
Southeast Asian Games. Nations that competed in the tournament were
Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines. The tournament's gold
medal was won by the Malaysian team, followed by Singapore with silver and
Thailand with bronze.

The recent surge of excitement in south-east Asia around the game has
resulted in its popularity in cities such as Pattaya, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. In Pattaya alone, there
are 3 active polo clubs (Polo
Escape, Siam
Polo Park and Thai
Polo and Equestrian Club. Indonesia, a country without royal ruling, has a
polo club (Nusantara
Polo Club). A South East Asian Polo Federation was formed with initial
meeting in March 2008 that involves Royal
Malaysian Polo Association, Thailand
Polo Association, Indonesian
Polo Association, Singapore
Polo Association, Royal
Brunai Polo Association and The
Philippines Polo Association.[citation
needed] More recently, Janek
Gazecki and Ruki
Baillieu have organised polo matches in parks "around metropolitan
Australia, backed by wealthy sponsors."[21]

A new Chinese Equestrian Association has been formed and two new clubs have
been formed in China itself: the Beijing
Sunny Time Polo Club, founded by Xia Yang in 2004 [22]
and the Nine
Dragons Hill Polo Club in Shanghai, founded in 2005.[23]

[edit]
Notable polo players

Italics indicate those who are notable also outside of polo.

Mariano
Aguerre

Mike Azzaro

Pete
Bostwick

Henry Brett

Adolfo
Cambiaso

Bartolomé
Castagnola

Prince Charles

John-Paul
Clarkin

Paul Clarkin

Dennis
Coleridge Boles

Gabriel
Donoso

Nacho
Figueras

Martin
Garrick

Robert L. Gerry,
Jr

Carlos
Gracida

Juan
Carlos Harriott, Jr.

Prince Harry

Tommy
Hitchcock, Jr.

Tommy Lee
Jones

Walter Jones

Gonzalo
Pieres

Facundo
Pieres

Robert Skene

Porfirio
Rubirosa

Jonathan
Curthbert Wright

Luke
Tomlinson

Harry Payne
Whitney

Stephen
O'Brien

George Patton

Carlos
Menditeguy

Flash
Gordon (fictional)

[edit]
Related sports

Buzkashi involves two
teams of horse riders, a dead goat and few rules. It is played in Central Asia, and has a
variant known as kokpar which is quite similar.

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 much different than modern polo. No mallets are used, and it is not played
on grass.

Polocrosse is
another game played on horseback, a cross between polo and lacrosse.

[edit]
References

^ http://www.worldsnowpolo.com/

^ R. G. Goel,
Veena Goel, Encyclopaedia of sports and games, Published by Vikas Pub.
House, 1988, Excerpt from page 318: Persian Polo. Its birth place was Asia
and authorities credit Persia with having devised it about 2000 BC..

^ Steve Craig,
Sports and games of the ancients, Published by Greenwood Publishing
Group, 2002, ISBN
0313316007, p. 157.

^
"polo.
(2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 26, 2007, from
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online". http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-5832/polo.

^ a
b
"Polo
History". http://www.scottishpolo.com/history_game.html.

^ Naqsh-i Jahan
Square in Isfahan is in
fact a polo field which was built by king Abbas I in 17th
century.

^ Touregypt.net

^ Malcolm D.
Whitman, Tennis: Origins and Mysteries, Published by Courier Dover
Publications, 2004, ISBN
0486433579, p. 98.

^ a
b
Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries by Robert Crego. page 25.
Published 2003. Greenwood Press. Sports & Recreation. 296 pages ISBN
0313316104

^
"Polo History". http://www.indiapolo.com/Polopedia/History/history.html.

^ The Guinness
Book of Records. 1991 edition (page 288)

^ a
b
c
Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries by Robert Crego. Page 26.
Published 2003. Greenwood Press. Sports & Recreation. 296 pages. ISBN
0313316104

^ "150 years
Celebration-UNLOCKING A POWER BRAND". Calcutta Polo Club. http://www.calcuttapolo.com/corner.html. Retrieved 2010-12-29.

^ Sports
and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries by Robert Crego. Page 26 - 27.
Published 2003. Greenwood Press. Sports & Recreation. 296 pages ISBN
0313316104

^ FIP World Cup VIII - 2007

^ a
b
Tourismesouthasia.com

^ Youtube.com

^ .Polo.co.uk

^ United
States Polo Association Rule Book 2009

^ 8o Campeonato Mundial de Polo: México 2008

^ David, Ceri (2008-11-23). "Going Polo". Sunday Herald
Sun: pp. Sunday magazine supplement (pp. 20–21).

^ The Daily Telegraph

^ NDPpolo.com

Polo by Penina Meisels and Michael Cronan.
Collins Publishers, San Francisco, 1992. ISBN
0-00-637796-3

[edit]
External links

Media related to Polo at Wikimedia
Commons

Slsjet Polo Team

Todo
sobre el polo en venezuela

America's Polo Cup

American Polo Horse Association

Federation of International Polo

National Polo League

United States Polo Association (USPA)

Hurlingham Polo Association - Governing body of the sport in
the UK & Ireland

Edinburgh Polo Club

Polo
offers City pros a level playing field, by Jorn Madslien, BBC News

Luxury
brands target the polo set, by Jorn Madslien, BBC News

Making a
mint out of polo ponies, by Jorn Madslien, BBC News

Pushing
boundaries to pay to play polo, by Jorn Madslien, BBC News

Polo
comes back home to Iran, by Frances Harrison, BBC News

Information and news about polo

Video-on-demand clips of polo matches from around the
world

LivingPolo.com, your daily update on what happens in world
polo

Polo

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See also: Paralympic
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polo"

Categories: Polo | Former
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| Team
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Hidden categories: Articles
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