How to start playing Polo?

Few tips to jump on the horse and get started!

You want to try out polo but you don’t know how? Well reading this might help you find out how and where to start playing polo.
Often people get into polo because a friend or family introduced them to the sport. But national federations like USPA are increasingly putting effort incentives to help people to get started. The wonderful thing about Polo is the fact that it can be shared and enjoyed by players on a wide range of skills level. It’s maybe the only sport where professional players share the field with amateurs.
Polo is a unique sport and if you ask those who play it, after hitting the ball a few times at full speed it becomes very addictive. Before starting to play chukkas (one period on a polo game) you need to practice and for that, there are two options.

Find the closest Polo Club near your home

There are more than 1,000 polo clubs all over the world, and more than 300 only in the US, you might be surprised how close you live from one of them. Going to a polo club is the easiest way to discover the sport. They have the horses that will perfectly suit your first moves on the polo field. Indeed the choice of the horse is critical to start. Polo is a sport where you need to be in confidence all the time with your horse. When you start practising, the movements are not natural even if you are an experienced rider. So as you focus on your swing and rotation you need to be sure that your horse behaves properly. Most polo clubs have special incredibly calm horses for beginners. Even if you have never ridden in your life most polo clubs can offer the perfect horses to start. They have very reactive and very very quiet horses. The best way to find the closest Polo club to you is contacting your national federation.

Find a polo resort where you could start with intensive training holiday to learn the basics

On Polo Travelers we have selected the best polo clubs to practice our beloved sport. We believe that it is the best way to discover the sport or to improve your game. The polo resorts we have selected offer comfortable accommodation and a wide range of training programs to start polo and at the same time discover a new place or even a new country. There are more 1,000 polo clubs around the world in 90 countries. For the moment our partners’ polo clubs are in 6 countries (Argentina, USA, France, Spain, Morocco, Britain, Thailand) but we are working to find new places to increase our offer.

Learn the rules

The rules of polo might seem a bit hard to understand at the begging but they are the pillar that guarantees players’ safety on the field. It is very important to play in the right conditions and doesn’t overestimate its own level.

In another article, we will explain you the best tips to catch up with the polo rules as fast as possible!

The Basics

Basically, polo can be seen as a very simple game but it can be very complicated game to play. A game opposes two teams of 4 players each which objective is to score more goals than the other to win the game.

The most basic skill that you need to master learn to be at the right place on the field. Your position on the field is extremely important because its the best way you help your teammates to play. At the beginning, the best way to do so is to listen to your teammates and follow their instructions. Try not to focus on the ball but more on the women and men in the other team. The second basic skill to master is the stick and ball. Of course, you don’t need to hit the ball like a professional just yet. You should just fix your aim and hit the ball in that direction. As long as you can do the basics, you would be able to play polo like a beginner.

Now that you’ve learned about the basic skills that need to be covered and the right places where to start, you are well prepared to start playing polo. If you don’t succeed when you first start, don’t give up. After all, it takes practice to reach perfection. That’s how they coined the term ‘practice makes perfect’ anyway.