Field & Equipment
The outdoor polo field is 300 yards long and 160 yards wide, and is surrounded by a safety zone, which is bordered by a wooden wall no more than 11 in high. Each goal is marked by a pair of posts 8 yards apart and at least 10 feet high. The posts are made of light, flexible materials that will give or break in collision.
At each end of the field a 30-yard line and a 60-yard line are marked, and an X marks a spot 40 yards from the goal and directly in front of it. At the center of the field is a mark in the shape of a T, the base of which is a segment of the midfield line.
The ball is 3 1/4 inches in diameter and weighs 4 1/4 to 4 3/4 ounces. It is usually made of willow root, ash, or bamboo, but some plastics are also now used. The mallets, 48 to 54 inches long, have cane handles and narrow wooden heads, 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 inches long, set at a slight angle. Total weight is about a pound. The ball is struck with the side of the head, not the face.
Each player must wear a polo helmet or cap with a chin strap. Players usually also wear boots and kneepads, which must be free of buckles or studs. Sharp spurs are not allowed.
Officials
There are two mounted umpires. Each has general responsibility for one half of the field. A third official, the referee, stands at about the midway point, outside the field. His ruling is final if the umpires disagree.
Behind each goal there are two goal judges, one behind each goal post; they signal with flags when a goal has been scored. The goal judges may also be consulted by the umpires on incidents that occur near the goal.
The Teams
Each team is made up of four players, numbered 1 through 4. They are not restricted in their play in any way, but the No. 4 player functions more or less as a goalkeeper, while the No. 1 is usually the chief attacker.
The No. 2 player usually starts offensive action by gaining the ball in the team's own end or by taking a pass from the No. 4 player and then starting upfield.
The No. 3 player has to work hard on both offense and defense, trying to break up opponents' plays before they threaten to score, and also taking part in offensive passing combinations. Substitutes are allowed only when a player must be replaced because of injury or illness.
Timing & Scoring
A game consists of six, or less often of eight periods (chukkers) of 7 minutes each, with 3-minute intermissions between chukkers and a 5-minute intermission at halftime. Teams change ends at halftime.
After 7 minutes of play in a period, a bell rings, and the period ends the next time the ball hits a board or goes out of play. A second bell rings 30 seconds after the first, and the period then ends immediately if it has not already terminated.
Goals are scored by striking the ball between the goalposts at any height; the goalposts should be considered as extending indefinitely upward.
Progress of Play
The game begins with the opposing sides lined up on opposite sides of the T mark at midfield, all facing the same sideline. The umpire faces them, at the head of the T, and rolls the ball between them from a distance of at least 5 yards. Players must not move until the umpire has released the ball; once it leaves the official's hand, they try to gain possession.
Play is continuous, stopping only when a goal is scored, a foul is called, or the ball goes out of play. After a goal, the teams change ends, unless it is a penalty goal.
Fouls
The rules of polo are relatively simple and are designed primarily to protect the ponies and their riders from serious injury. Most important are the right-of-way rules:
- The last player to hit the ball has the right of way over any opponent, so long as the player is following the line of the ball.
- In general, the player following the ball on its exact line, or at the smallest angle to it, with the ball on the player's offside (the right), has the right of way. When the ball has stopped dead, its line is the line it was following before it stopped. If a player attempts to hit a dead ball and misses, its line is the direction in which that player was riding.
- Two players approaching the ball from opposite directions, with the ball on their offsides, both have the right of way; but the player who actually gets the ball then assumes the right of way.
- It is a foul to cross another player's right of way, if the crossing makes that player slow down or change direction.
Other fouls involve improper use of the stick. A player may not reach in front of or under an opponent's pony to hit the ball, and may not hit the ball into the legs of an opponent's pony; and, in general, the stick may not be used in a dangerous manner or held so that it will interfere with another player or pony.
It is proper for a player to use the stick to hook an opponent's stick only if both player and ball are on the same side of the opponent's pony, or in a direct line behind it. Hooking is permitted only when the opponent is about to strike the ball. An opponent's stick, however, must never be hooked above shoulder height.
Penalties
The officials have a good deal of leeway in how they award penalty hits. They try to choose a punishment that fits the nature of the offense. The most severe penalty is a penalty goal; the umpire awards a goal to a team because the official feels a goal would have been scored if a foul hadn't been committed.
Other fouls are punished by penalty hits from various locations:
- From a spot 30 yards from the opponents' goal and directly in front of it. The penalized team must have all of its players behind the goal line until the ball is hit, and no member of the team may be behind the goal or ride out between the goalposts. Players on the team awarded the free hit must stay behind the ball until it is hit.
- From the 40-yard spot; the same rules apply.
- From a spot on the 60-yard line immediately in front of the goal. Players of the penalized team must remain 30 yards from the ball until it is hit. Players of the team taking the penalty hit may be placed anywhere.
- From the spot where the foul occurred. The ball must be at least 4 yards from the sidelines; members of the team being penalized must remain 30 yards from the ball until it is hit, and members of the team awarded the hit may be placed anywhere.
The team that was fouled always has the option of taking the penalty hit from the spot where the penalty occurred; in that case, defenders must remain 30 yards from the ball until it is hit, but members of the offensive team must be no closer to the goal line than the ball is.
If the losing team is awarded a penalty with less than 20 seconds to play in the game, the game ends only after 20 seconds have elapsed or when a goal is scored.
Out of Play
When the ball goes over a sideline, the umpire rolls it in from the spot of crossing, with the two teams lined up as they did to begin the game, one team on each side of the umpire and all facing him.
If the attacking team hits the ball over the backline, the defending team puts it in play with a free hit from the spot, and all opponents must remain at least 30 yards away until the ball is hit. If the defending team hits it over the backline, the other team is awarded a penalty hit from the 60-yard line, opposite the point where the ball went out.