| The object of the game is to move the polo ball down-field, hitting the ball through the goal posts for a score. Polo teams then change direction after each goal in order to compensate for field and wind conditions. A team is made up of four polo players. |
|
A polo match is usually played outdoors. A polo field is 300 yards long and 160 yards wide, the largest field in organized sport.
A polo match lasts about one and one-half hours and is divided into timed periods called chukkers. Each chukker is seven minutes long. |
|
| Play begins with a throw-in of the ball by the umpire at the opening of each chukker and after each goal. |
|
| Players must change horses after each chukker due to the extreme demands placed on the polo pony. |
|
| During half time, spectators go onto the field to participate in a tradition called "divot stomping" to help replace the divots created by the horse's hooves. |
|
| Polo players are ranked yearly by their peers and the USPA on a scale of -2 to 10 goals. Team play is handicapped on the basis of ability. |
|
| Most of the rules of polo are for the safety of the polo players and their ponies. The basic concept is the line of the ball, a right-of-way established by the path of a traveling ball. |
|
| Two mounted Umpires do most of the officiating, with a Referee at midfield having the final say in any dispute between the umpires. |
|
| Penalty shots are given depending on the severity of the foul. |
| |
