The rules of the Polo

The rules of the Polo. Each Polo match is played by two teams, each made up of four riders, who must score goals in the opponent’s goal, usually on grass pitches as large as 4 football fields.

These are the rules of the Polo . The four players are also called knights or amazons. It is refereed by two mounted judges (“referees”) and a third line judge (“referee”) who watches the game from a central turret and intervenes in case of disagreement between the two referees on the field. The skill of the players is measured with a scale of values ranging from -2 to 10; these values are called handcaps (hp) and are calculated on the basis of the criteria specific to each national federation. The competition field has a maximum length of 275 meters . a minimum of 230 meters, a maximum width of 180 meters,  and a minimum of 146 meters. The doors, 8 meters wide, are made up of two three-meter high poles built with lightweight materials not to damage players and horses. The ball is made of wood with a maximum diameter of 9 cm and weighs approximately 130 gr . The purpose of the game is to score the highest number of goals . The goal is scored every time the knight pushes the ball between the goal poles. The teams change the sides of the pitch every time a goal is scored for fairness. A game lasts from four to eight times (chukkers) , agreed before each game, of seven actual minutes each with three to five minute intervals to allow players to change horses. The end of each time is checked by the sound of a bell or a horn. If the ball is still in play when the bell rings, it is allowed to continue for a further 30 seconds until the second bell rings, unless there is a game interruption (goal, foul, ball goes off the playground) which decrees the end of time. At the end of the game if the result is null, the game continues until one of the teams scores a goal . Have we intrigued you? How about a nice holiday on horseback between Cordoba and Mendoza where you can go trekking on horseback and play polo? Follow this link to discover our horse riding trip in Argentina.

Since Polo is a rather dangerous sport , there are some rules that control the behavior of horses and riders on the field, to avoid and limit any accidents during matches and to ensure the maximum fairness and safety in the playground. Fouls are severely punished by awarding the shot to the opposing team at the same spot where the breach was committed. After being thrown, the ball draws an imaginary line that the players cannot cross. Only the player who has just thrown the ball, and whoever is following his line, is in possession of the ball. As a consequence, he has the right of way over other players. It is also forbidden to risk dropping or tripping a horse. Attempting to take possession of the ball by passing the cue under the neck in front of the legs of the horse is strictly forbidden. Likewise, it is not allowed to catch an opponent’s bat while his arm is over his shoulder or while he cannot throw the ball. Zigzagging in front of an opponent is forbidden. Excluding the inevitable contacts with the opponent, every action that does not respect the sporting spirit of the game, rough scores, impropriety and intimidation is banned and is a violation of the rules. The rules of this sport are very similar to those of football, with one bigger difference: in the game of Polo there is no offside . Aa injured player cannot re-enter the game. A player may get some help outside during a game to change horses, the cue or the harness of the horse, but he has to do all of this without interrupting the game. Here the website of the Italian federation to learn more