It’s a one day clinic being held locally next weekend. I can’t wait! I was so excited, combined with them having the option to bring your own horse, I busted out a broom and went for some practice out in the grand prix field 
My mare is beyond fantastic. Didn’t give a hoot that I was swinging the broom in her face, over her butt, helicoptering it, smacking her with it, dragging it in the grass or hanging off her side…one hand on the wheel and at all speeds, brilliant turns and breaks!! I love this mare more than I can explain. She is game for anything! :winkgrin:
Turns out though, after speaking with the organizer, learning on a horse that hasn’t played before either will probably make it more difficult. Ya, I should have known that haha. I just was hoping to share the fun with my pony. So, I will be using one of the ponies offered, which realistically is going to be amazing in itself to say I’ve ridden one. Little bit sad that Princess Fluffy won’t be able to join me, but maybe we’ll get to play together another time.
So for those of you who have played, any tips??
Anyone else coming to play/watch on Saturday at Southlands?
I’m busting out the formal whites of course 
just have to make a decision on my shirt!
Let me just say that the difference between a game horse who is humoring the idiot on his back, and a polo pony who actually understands how to play the game, is AMAZING.
Those ponies are smart, catty, and quick…they’ll put you where you need to be before you even know you need to be there!
My tips?
Keep practicing as much as you’re able to on your own horse, with stick and ball. (Even something like a soccer ball will do for now, just to start honing hand/eye coordination.)
And have fun!
Be prepared to look like an idiot. :lol: I have miserable hand-eye coordination and find it very challenging, but fun!
Hope you have a lot of fun 
But be careful it is highly addictive… I would not advise you to learn on a green horse. Believe me playing the game of Polo keeps you very busy and you will not be able to focus when you have also to focus on your horse. The horses I learned on did everything by themselves and I really appreciated it… I have a dressage horse which is suited for Polo and once in a while we just play a little stick and ball with her …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqeZNjzizZU&list=UU2oaCvoP2MyOFP2MPYqHCsw my husband took a lesson with her…but I think a match is different for a horse… its not just the hitting of the ball. Polo is a rough game also for the horses and they have to be comfortable with it… I got my self an old Polopony now to learn and I love her to pieces I think that makes more sense then using a green horse… Hope you tell about your experience
I plan on continuing to look like an idiot out back with my broom and a soccer ball for the moment until I get a bit better haha if you are lucky, someone will be hiding in the bushes filming me!
Manni~ thanks for the video! now I have some techniques to practice!!
any tips on how to save my arm from fatiguing super fast? I’m guessing it’s just a matter of practice but if not, knowing now would be great!
Oooooo im so jealous!! We had a club here and I only got to play for two seasons, then the land was sold:(. Bit during that time I had such a blast and YES highly addictive!!
You are so lucky to get to ride on a trained polo pony! They are so incredibly smart, talented and very catty like GFaG said.
I would practice haning on to and steering with four reins and your mallet as well. And if you can find a foot mallet and ball to practice with on the ground and even your bicycle that is great to start getting your hand eye cordination in order. Plus you’ll save your girl from getting accidentally wacked in the face! (It happens!)
Oh and wear a wrist gaurd of some sort. Until you learn how to properly hang onto and swing the mallet, I can garuantee your wrist will break (bend) from the weight and momentum of of your mallet and swing.
Good luck! You will have such a blast! And polo peeps seem to be a really nice and welcoming group:) Totally jealous!!!
Ps sorry for any sp errors…small phone screen yada yada
There is NO, absolutely NO, better exercise to obtain a truly independent seat than playing polo–plus, it’s a BLAST! The biggest thing to get right is “the brace.” This is the position where you are standing in the stirrups, twisted with a purchase between legs and saddle, to take a shot. If you get THAT right so it is second nature, you can hit anything you want. Without it–you can’t. It’s truly the basis of the entire skill set.
Enjoy! 
There’s not a whole to it if you can ride a horse properly, and have good hand/eye co-ordination. You will notice how much crap they hang on the horses head though. I tried first on a friend’s pony and barely had to touch the reins - you can do it all with your weight/seat and the ponies will follow the ball if they’re any good. That leaves you free to follow/wack the ball. Having got that down you learn tactics/rules and all that clever stuff. They are more used to teaching large middle aged rich gents that can’t ride a horse - hence all the equipment.
Any chance I could have “the brace” explained a bit more?
I can gallop and swing a polo mallet with some accuracy. Unfortunately, I can’t do both at the same time. :lol:
I used to warm up polo ponies before matches and exercised them during the week. Yes, they are very quick and nimble! If you have the opportunity to use one in the clinic, I would highly recommend it. It is going to be easier to learn if the horse already understands the job.
I’ve never played polo but my friend’s cousin plays and trains polo ponies. He says the hardest thing to teach them is to accept another horse running directly toward them. One good reason you should not try to learn on a horse that has not been trained to play!
How exciting! I have a feeling that your broom practice will help your arm not get so tired, which is the biggest thing for me.
After the clinic, get a real mallet - you have to get the right length for you, your arm and the hieght of horse you are riding, so you can begin to train your arm to swing correctly. You cannot swing correctly with a broom. It will take strength you didn’t know you don’t have, and it will take training to learn the swings. You can practice alot at home, but not with a broom. And, yes, a trained polo pony is what you need to learn to play the game. I was lucky, the local club also had lessons. I took 20 to 30 lessons before I could slide into a game comfortably feeling I might be able to contribute in some way, so a one day clinic will introduce you, but not prepare you for the sport. Find lessons and get a real mallet. and for freak’s sakes, don’t twirl it over your head. Where you put a mallet is as important safety wise as where you point a gun. You can put a horse’s eye out with that thing, so learn to use it correctly, and you will have lots of fun!
A lot of horses used in polo schools travel with their heads cranked to the left. Why? Because they are constantly being smacked in the chin with the mallet by people taking uncontrolled full swings or even half swings. I know this because I had a hard time keeping my wrist turned out and my shoulders parallel to the horse when I was learning. Also, they are somewhat accustomed to people (generally big fat men) who’ve never ridden before hanging on with the reins whilst they gallop about flailing at the ball. It’s a hard life for a polo school horse. Wear a wrist brace. My goal one summer was to be able to carry the ball down the field at the canter and back without missing a shot. I did it on an amenable little rescue Arabian mare who’d been trained Western and neck reined. She was a SAINT. Your mare sounds awesome too. Messing around with a walking mallet will help your ball handling.
Well I’m not sure that I will have access to a mallet after my clinic… It’s really only to say I’ve done it 
We haven’t had polo in vancouver in about 20 years, so the odds of me joining a team or being able to take more lessons are pretty slim 
As for swinging the mallet around like a lunatic, don’t worry i won’t be at the clinic, give me more credit than that! it was just as part of testing her reaction to it being moved around her head and body the first time with it.
I did a two hour intro clinic a few months ago - let’s just say I questioned if I had even ridden the last 15 years. I felt like a total idiot up there! But it was a blast and I would love to take lessons on a regular basis if it weren’t for the cost. Have fun!
pp-I give you tons of credit! You clearly love your horse and you know how to ride. It just used to make me so sick to see huge guys using the ponies like dirt bikes. But that happens in all disciplines for sure. I was totally hooked on hitting that little white ball. Hope you have as much fun as I did. You can get a used mallet and a ball and have a lot of fun just dribbling around with your good mare to start after your lesson. You do kind of need a well mowed area though.
Maybe I am running with the wrong polo crowds, but I am not seeing any of the “old, fat men” abusing patient ponies that the others are mentioning.
Nothing but gorgeous Argentinian men. With a couple pale English men tossed in for good measure and a change of pace in the accent department. :lol: A friend works in Texas on a polo farm and posts regular photos for her girlfriends to drool over. I, meanwhile, stayed up here in NY where a man of ANY body type is hard to find on a horse in an english saddle. :lol:
Well I’ll keep you posted on the male/female ratio and their level of fitness/hotness if it works in my favor, I just might have to put real effort into a club up here haha
[QUOTE=GoForAGallop;7708875]
Maybe I am running with the wrong polo crowds, but I am not seeing any of the “old, fat men” abusing patient ponies that the others are mentioning.
Nothing but gorgeous Argentinian men. With a couple pale English men tossed in for good measure and a change of pace in the accent department. :lol: A friend works in Texas on a polo farm and posts regular photos for her girlfriends to drool over. I, meanwhile, stayed up here in NY where a man of ANY body type is hard to find on a horse in an english saddle. :lol:[/QUOTE]
I agree. The Texas crowd is full of those Argentine lookers and the horses are spoiled, living better than most people all week long in exchange for 7 minutes of pure athletic display once a week on Sunday. The truth is most of the horses i see love the sport as much as their rider.
I played/took lessons for about a year and a half. Loved it! I have small, weak wrists and my right wrist took a beating. It would get so tired that I’d lose my grip on the mallet after a while. My coach had me get some putty that they sell at sporting good stores for strengthening your hands.
Those seasoned polo ponies will go exactly where you ask them to. Don’t expect them to go around another horse, they will go through them! I had an unfortunate incident where my horse t-boned someone else’s from the side, and the rider came off. I grew up riding horses that avoided obstacles…or jumped over them, so it was a shock!
Definitely get a mallet to practice with at home. I am an odd bird. I sat on a high rock wall outside my house and practiced swinging the mallet to get stronger. Also be prepared to get many bruises up and down your legs. It makes for interesting cocktail party conversations when you wear a dress.
