Polo Rules

Polo Rules

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in where you attempt score goals against an opposing team. Riders score by driving white wooden or plastic balls (size 3 – 3 and a half inches, weight 4 and a quarter – 4.75 ounces) into an opposing teams goal using a long handled mallet. Goals are only valid if the scoring rider is mounted. The traditional sport of polo is played outdoor, and each polo team consists of 4 riders and their mounts (ponies).

Polo must be played right handed. Left handed play was ruled out in 1975 for safety reasons. To date, only 3 players on the world circuit are left handed.

The field
The playing field is 300 yards long by 160 yards wide, the approximate area of 9 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.

Player positions
Each position assigned to a player has certain responsibilities:

Number 1 is the most offensive position on the field. The number one position generally covers the opposing team's number four.
Number 2 is the most difficult position on the field to play. The number 2 has an important offensive role of either running through and scoring himself, or passing to the number one and getting in behind him. Defensively he 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 2 so long as another strong player is available to play 3.
Number 3 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.
Number 4 is the primary defense player and though he can move anywhere on the field, he often tries to prevent scoring. The excessive defense of the number four allows the number three to commit to more offensive plays knowing he will be covered if he loses the ball.

Chukkas

Play occurs in seven minute periods, called chukkas. The full game is played over eight chukkas, depending on league rules, matches can also have 4 or 6 chukkas.
A game is divided into periods, called chukkas, (since 1898, from Hindi chakkar from Sanskrit chakra "circle, wheel", compare chakka) of 7 minutes, and depending on the rules of the particular tournament or league, a game may have 4, 6 or 8 chukkas; 6 chukkas are most common. 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 modern indoor variant is called arena polo. In arena polo, there are 3 instead of four players on each team and chukkas are 7 1/2 minutes in length. The playing area is 300' x 150'.

Each player in high goal (top level professional) tournaments uses a fresh pony for each chukka because the game is played at a very fast pace, with the horses galloping much of the time. In club games, ponies may play 2 chukkas in a match.

Another modern variant is snow polo, which is played either out door or indoor on snow on a frozen ground or ice. Each team generally consists of 3 players and also the equipment differs from the sport of polo. Other variants include elephant polo, bike polo and Segway polo. These sports are considered as separate sports because of the differences in the composition of teams, equipment, rules, game facilities etc.

Field polo requires 2 teams of 4 players each mounted on horseback to play the game. The 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 lightweight goalposts on each side 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.

In arena polo, played mainly in the US in large arenas such as armories and riding academies, the size of the field varies due to the size of floor space, but 100 yards long by 50 yards wide is ideal. Arena polo requires teams of 3 riders, and goals are scored by passing the ball into a 10' goal recessed into the sideboards. Arena polo uses a ball between 12.5" inches and 15" inches in circumference and looks like a miniature soccer ball.

The game begins with the 2 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 2 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 2 teams. Teams change goals on ends of the field / arena after each score or chukker for indoor 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.

The basic dress of a player is a protective helmet (usually of a distinctive colour, 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 1 or 2 gloves, wristbands, knee pads (mandatory in some clubs), spurs, face mask, and a whip.

The outdoor polo ball is made of a high compact plastic, but was formerly made of either bamboo or willow root. The indoor polo ball is leather covered and inflated and is about 4 and a half inches (11.4 cm) in diameter. The outdoor ball is about 3 and a quarter 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 thumb sling, for wrapping around the hand. The shaft is made of bamboo-cane with a hardwood head approximately 9 and a half 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 (also called "cigar") is of important consideration for the more seasoned players. Female players almost always use lighter mallets and cigars 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 range from 48 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, similar to jumping saddles. 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. 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 ankle to prevent injury. 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.

Difference between outdoor and indoor polo

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 4 minute interval between chukkas and a ten minute half-time. 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.

Indoor polo
The game consists of four 7 and a half minute periods also called chukkas, during which players may change mounts. 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 (which is usually a door with motion sensors). Balls cannot go out of bounds unless the arena played in doesn't have nets or anything to stop the ball going over the 4.5' wall. If the ball goes over it is considered a dead ball and is then bowled in. The arena is smaller than the field that polo is played on outside. Because of the small size of the arena, indoor polo play is slower than outdoor

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