Many centuries have passed since the first day riders played polo, but it is certainly one of the oldest known equestrian games. From its cradle in Central Asia, through Australia, Great Britain, Argentina, the United States, not forgetting France, polo has conquered many riders. An elite sport, not an elitist one, a prestige sport, not a caste sport, a competitive sport par excellence, polo is above all a team sport which requires a perfect understanding between the players; individualities, however brilliant, can only be juxtaposed and not complement each other. Victory will only belong to those who know how to show cohesion, discipline, and responsibility.
It was the British tea planters who came to the mountainous provinces of Assam in the 1850s who first experienced the joys of polo. After arriving in India from the northwest with the Muslim invaders and from China from the northeast, polo almost completely disappeared with the decline of the Mughal Empire, surviving only in the regions of Manipur, Gilgit and Assam. Kangjai – the fantastic game discovered by the planters – was far from the sophisticated and organized game we know.
Polo: sport of kings, king of sports
A subtle combination of the spectacular actions of running and the excitement of ball games, polo, under the name chaugun (mallet), took its first steps in ancient Persia, long before it reached India in the 13th century. Ancient manuscripts show an elegant and noble equestrian game played by kings and their courts: a game like the one we know but with teams of 6 players. It seems that this discipline was also practiced in all the rest of the East, especially in China as some miniatures testify and in Mongolia. A similar game was played in Japan but “da-kyu” was played with a mallet ending in a net.
For the tea planters, this royal game, whose current name is derived from pulu, a Tibetan root from which the balls were made, became a real passion. In 1859, they founded the first polo club: the Silchar Polo Club, named after the capital of Cachar. The rules that were established at that time served as the basis for the rules of modern polo. The first teams that played in Silchar consisted of 9 players and later 7 players. Due to the increase in the size of the horses and the speed of the game, the number of riders was later reduced to 4. As for the horses, those used by the planters were Manipur ponies whose height at the withers rarely exceeded 1.22 m. In 1876, the regulations set the maximum height at the withers for polo ponies playing in India at 1.37 m, and at 1.42 m for those from Great Britain. Before this clause disappeared in 1919, it was amended again in 1895 to raise the maximum height to 1.47 m. Today, a height of 1.55 m is considered optimal.
From horse field hockey to polo
In 1869, a few officers of the 9th Lancers, the 10th Hussars and the 1st Lifeguards and Royal Horse Guards played what the English called “horse field hockey” at Hounslow Heath, near London. Due to the enthusiasm of the first spectators and the success of the new game, the Hurlingham Polo Club soon became the headquarters of English polo. The first rules of the game were drawn up by the Hurlingham Polo Club Committee in 1875. Gradually, the number of polo players grew and the game spread to the rest of the world, particularly to the British Empire, the United States and Argentina. International matches began in 1886 at the famous Westchester Cup, with a series of matches between the Americans and the British. The Americans, who won the famous Copa de las Americas, were closely followed by the Argentinians, and remained the best until 1933, when the Argentinians beat them. The British, victims of the unfortunate consequences of the war, lost their polo. It was not until 1950, thanks to the enthusiastic initiatives of Lord Cowdray, energetically supported by a group of pre-war players, and the patronage of H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, that English polo was revived, and the Hurlingham Club was revived.
In France, polo appeared in Dieppe in 1890 and quickly gained the capital. Two years later, the Paris Polo Club opened its doors in Bagatelle, followed in 1895 by Deauville. The Coupe d’Or was played there, and for many years the Lancel Polo Cup, which recently became the Weston Polo Cup. Today, the Chantilly Polo Club and the Domaine d’Aprement, north of Paris, host major international events every year.
The Gold Cup and Coronation Cup in England, the World Cup in Florida and the US Open are among the most prestigious international tournaments.
However, the highest level of sport is played in Argentina, where the three most selective and legendary tournaments in the world are held: the Tortugas Open, the Hurlingham Open and the one that every player has dreamed of winning: “El Campeonato Abierto de la Republica Argentina”, better known as the Palermo Open.
Argentina also has the largest number of players with the highest handicap (10), and the Argentine “petise- ros” (grooms) are exported to all corners of the planet with their unparalleled know-how.
In 1976 in Buenos Aires and in 1990 in Indio (California), two great matches took place between two teams with 40 goals of handicap each, the maximum possible. They were composed of the greatest names in Argentine and world polo: J.-C. Harriot, A. Harriot, A.-P. Heguy, H. Heguy, M. Heguy, E. Heguy, H. Heguy (J), G. Heguy, G. Dorignac, F. Dorignac, G. Tanoira, D. Gonzalez, E. Trotz, G. Pieres, A. Pieres, G. Gracida, and C. Gracida.
Olympic sport until 1936, polo did not stop growing under the aegis of the International Polo Federation.
Horses and teams in polo
Despite being a few centimeters too tall to fit into the “pony” category, polo horses still retain the name. In terms of breed, the star is the Argentinean horse. A good polo horse has a short loin, a supple neck, and very strong hocks. It must be as fast as it is maneuverable and very agile when changing feet. His harness is classic and includes a fixed martingale buckled to the noseband. Blinkers are not allowed. The tail of the ponies is always braided, and the mane is generally shaved short. Its limbs are protected by gaiters or bands.
Players wear white breeches and the team jersey. Helmets and knee pads are mandatory.
Polo is played on a grass field measuring 145 m by 275 m. The goalposts are 7.50 m apart. The ball is made of wood (willow or bamboo heart). Its diameter is 8.5 cm, and it weighs 130 g. The mallet, about 1.30 m long, is made of rush while the head, cigar-shaped or cylindrical, is made of ash, bamboo, or sycamore. The flexibility of the lower third of the mallet is very important because it gives the player the possibility of making long-range shots with a minimum of effort.
The teams are made up of 4 players whose position and role on the field are very precise:
- the forwards: n° 1 and n° 2 continue the attacking passes of their n° 3 and try to mark their opponents n° 3 and n° 4. But their main role is to mark the goals;
- the center forward: n° 3 is the “pivot” of the team. He launches the attacks and covers the n° 4 in defense. He is usually the best player of the team.
- The back: n° 4, also called back hander is the defender of the team.
To referee the game, a referee on horseback follows each team. There are no goalkeepers but goal judges, on foot, placed behind the posts. A referee placed outside the field decides in case of a dispute.
Matches are usually played with handicaps. Each national federation assigns a handicap to its players. The individual handicaps are added together to obtain the team handicap. The subtraction from each team’s total will be the point lead given to the team with the lowest handicap. In all tournaments, there is usually an Open Cup that is played without goal return. This is particularly the case for the Coupe d’Or de Deauville, the French championship.
Polo Game and Rules
The game is played in several periods called chuk- hars (from the Urdu word: chakkar which means “all”.) and lasts 7 min 30s. Their number (4,6,7,8) varies according to the nature of the competition (8 in a tournament and usually 4 in ordinary matches). The players have 3 min of rest between each period and a 5 min break at half-time; this allows them to change frames. If the 2 teams are tied at the end of the game, play continues until a goal is scored. Teams change sides at each point and horses may play 2 periods of the same game provided they have had rest time between the 2. Play is stopped if a horse falls or lays down, if a player is injured, if there is any dangerous harness damage and if a player loses his helmet or if the ball goes out of play. A timekeeper will keep track of the timeouts.
The ball can only be hit with the right hand. Left-handed players must have at least a 4 handicap to be allowed to play with their left hand! There are several types of shots: the front forehand, back forehand, under the neck, behind the rump and sideways (under the horse’s belly). The same actions can be done on the left hand side, as a backhand.
The rules of polo are primarily designed to ensure safety in an extremely fast-paced game. They are therefore intended to define the priority trajectories in the players’ movements. The player following the ball’s trajectory on his right has absolute priority over all other players. This line can only be cut in front of him at a distance that does not present any risk of collision. There is no such thing as offside and offences are punished by free kicks, either on the spot or in the middle of the field, at 54, 36 or 27 m depending on the place where the offence was committed and its gravity. It is also strictly forbidden to hit the ball in front of an opponent’s forelegs, to sandwich an opponent, to zigzag or to hook another player’s mallet if you are not on the same side of the ball as him or just behind.
Polo, a demanding sport for horse and rider
At the dawn of the 21st century, at a time when our civilization tends to give priority to science and technology, it was necessary for a sport that originated in ancient times to remind us of the true values of our ancestral traditions and to perpetuate an art of living that is inseparable from them.
Today, we honor a modern polo which tends to make it accessible to the greatest number of riders who will find there the possibility of expressing their qualities and their talents by the courage, the endurance, the submission, the discipline, the calm, the judgement, the speed of observation and the self-control without which they cannot succeed.
We are convinced, following our elders, that nothing trains a man to be a man, that nothing prepares him better for the battle of life than this demanding and bewitching sport.
It is this same team spirit and these same qualities that have prevailed for the perpetuation of our Federation since 1921, which could only continue insofar as each one, according to his competences and his aptitudes, contributed with his energy, his faith, and his perseverance.
It is with this team spirit and the combined efforts of all the French players of yesterday and today that polo has become, in France, a recognized sport before it inevitably becomes again, as it was yesterday, Olympic.
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To learn more: the page dedicated to polo
