New to polo
Polo in ten minutes
Two teams of four, on horseback and at a gallop, each trying to hit a small ball into the other's goal with a long mallet. Here is all you need to follow a match.
- Line of the ball
- Right of way (width not set by this rulebook — drawn schematically)
- Ball
- Foul
What happens
- Blue 1 hits the ball.
- White 3 crosses the line of the ball in front of Blue 1.
- Whistle.
The field
A polo field is huge: up to 300 yards long and, with boards along the sides, 160 yards wide. At each end stands a goal: two posts 8 yards apart and no crossbar, so a ball at any height between them counts. The low boards, no higher than 11 inches, send the ball back into play.
Read the rule: HPA Rule 1 · Facilities and access during play →
- Goal: two posts, 8 yards apart
- Boards along the sides, no higher than 11 inches
- Centre: play starts here with a throw-in
- Safety zone around the field
Teams and handicaps
Each team has four players, and every one of them holds the mallet in the right hand, left-handers included. Every player has a handicap, rated in goals; add up the four and you have the team's handicap. When the totals differ, the team with the lower one starts with goals already on the board.
- Helmet with its chin strap: nobody plays without one
- Protective goggles: compulsory under 18
- Shirt in the club's registered colours
- White riding breeches
- Spurs: never sharp or pointed
- Stick in the right hand, never the left
- No buckles or buttons on boots or knee guards that could damage another player's boots or breeches
- Brown riding boots
A match in chukkas
A match is 4 to 6 periods called chukkas. Each lasts 7 minutes; a bell then gives up to 30 seconds more, ending at the next break in play. Between chukkas there are 3 minutes, and 5 at half time.
The one rule to understand
As the ball travels it draws an imaginary line: the line of the ball. The player following that line, with the ball on their right, has the right of way. Nobody may cut in front of them unless it is far enough ahead to be perfectly safe.
- Line of the ball
- Right of way (width not set by this rulebook — drawn schematically)
- Ball
- Foul
What happens
- Blue 1 hits the ball.
- White 3 gives way to Blue 1.
- White 4 gives way to Blue 1.
Fouls and what the umpire gives
Two umpires on horseback follow the play and blow the whistle for a foul. The fouled team gets a free hit, and the more dangerous the foul, the closer to goal it is taken. A dangerous or deliberate foul that stops a goal near the goalmouth gives the goal outright.
- Penalty 2: 30 yd from the goal line, opposite the centre of the goal. Or from the spot of the foul, if it happened inside the 30-yard line
- Penalty 3: 40 yd from the goal line, opposite the centre of the goal
- Penalty 4: 60 yd from the goal line, opposite the centre of the goal
- Penalty 5a: where the ball was, at least 4 yd from the boards or side lines
- Penalty 5b: the centre of the field
- Penalty 6: on the 60-yard line opposite where the ball crossed the back line, no more than 40 yd from the centre
Ride-offs and hooks: what is allowed
A player may push an opponent off the line shoulder to shoulder, a ride-off, as long as the ponies meet at the same speed and at a safe angle. A player may also block an opponent's swing with their own mallet, a hook, but only from the side the ball is on or from directly behind.
- Line of the ball
- Right of way (width not set by this rulebook — drawn schematically)
- Ball
- Foul
What happens
- Blue 1 hits the ball.
- White 2 rides Blue 1 off, shoulder to shoulder.
- White 2 hits the ball.
Go deeper
Every rule of the four rulebooks we cover, in the rulebook's own words, with a picture where it helps. Or see where they differ, topic by topic.
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