PICTURES

MALLET/STICK
Mallets, which are really called sticks, are 49 to 53 inches long, which a handle on one end and a hardwood crosspiece on the other. The pole is usually made of bamboo. It is used to strike the polo ball, hopefully, repeatedly until one scores a goal. Used defensively, the stick can hinder an opposing player’s shot, foiling his attempts to score. The ball is hit with the side, not the tip, of the crosspiece.

BALL
The aim of each polo match is to whallop the ball around the field and eventually in to the goal. Balls are about 3 ½ inches in diameter and weigh 4 ½ ounces. They are made of hard wood or plastic.

PLAYING TIME
A club polo match lasts approximately one hour, and it is played with two teams, four players on each team. In each match there are four (low goal) to six (high goal) seven-minute periods called chukkas. A clock times the period and a warning bell is rung at seven minutes, after which the chukka continues – for up to an additional 30 seconds – until the ball goes out of play, or hits a board, or a foul is committed. A final bell is rung at seven and a half minutes, when play must stop immediately. There is a three-minute interval between chukkas, when players go to the lines to change ponies, and a five-minute half time interval, when spectators help to stomp down divots on the field.

FIELD
A full polo field is 300 yards by 160 yards. The field is surrounded by a short wooden border called “the boards”. The horse and rider may go over the boards as necessary in play, but if the ball goes out, play stops.

GOAL
In polo terms this has multiple meanings. Physically it is the two pointed poles at each end of the field that players try to knock the ball through. These are set eight yards apart and will collapse if struck by a horse or rider. When a player hits the ball between the poles, at any height, it is considered a goal or a point. Goal also refers to a player’s skill at polo, with a handicap rating from -2 to +10 goals. Besides, also matches are rated by goals. The handicaps of all four players on a team are added up to give the team rating, which is also the match rating.

DIVOT
During the half time interval, there is an old polo tradition of spectators stomping divots. Divots are chunks of grass on the playing field that the horses have torn out. The holes can cause bad bounces of the ball and other problems during play.

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