Polo is the world’s fastest team game and is played on the largest playing area of any organized sport measuring 300 x 160 yards or roughly the area of 9 football fields. Teams are made up of 4 players mounted on horseback with the objective being to outscore your opponents by hitting a ball between two uprights.
Players achieve this using a mallet, which is made from a flexible bamboo shaft or “cane” and a hardwood “head”. The ball, made of extruded plastic measuring 3 ½ inches in diameter and weighing roughly 4 ounces can be hit at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.
The earliest form of the game, dating back as far as the 6th century BC is most often attributed to Central Asia, more specifically Persia (modern day Iran). Polo spread and flourished throughout the region and was popular amongst the ruling classes of modern day Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and China
Polo was used as a training exercise for mounted soldiers and more closely resembled a military battle than the modern game, with as many as 100 players per team and matches lasting for several hours.
The modern sport of polo was introduced to the west when British military officers and local tea planters formed the first recognized polo club in 1859 in Manipur, India. By the end of 1876 the game had spread to many other countries including; Malta, England, Australia, Argentina and the United States.
Over the next century and a half polo became increasingly popular throughout the world and is currently played in 84 countries.
Today because of the handicap system where players are rated on a scale of -1 to 10 (10 being the pinnacle) polo is able to be played at many different skill levels by a wide variety of participants with women making up one of the largest and fastest growing sectors of membership. Polo clubs are abundant and most have a polo school associated to help the complete novice take their first steps into the exciting world of polo.
For more information please visit our find a club near you page or email info@polozone.com