Polo FAQ

Four, on a full-size outdoor grass field. In arena polo, played in an enclosed indoor or all-weather space with a lighter inflated ball, teams are three-a-side. See what is polo and arena, snow and beach polo.

Matches are divided into periods called chukkas, each about seven minutes of play. Club matches often run four chukkas, while high-goal matches can run six to eight, so with breaks between chukkas a full match commonly takes roughly one to two hours from throw-in to final whistle. See what is polo.

A chukka (or chukker) is one timed period of play, about seven minutes long. Players typically change ponies between chukkas because the pace is too demanding for one horse to sustain the whole match. See our glossary and polo ponies page.

No. Prior riding experience helps, but it isn't required — polo schools and accredited clubs teach the specific polo seat directly to complete beginners, often putting you on a schooled horse in your very first lesson. See learning to play.

Every registered player is rated on a single scale from -2 (beginner) to 10 (the sport's rare summit), reflecting their overall value to a team rather than goals scored. Team handicaps (the sum of four players' ratings) set tournament levels and, in handicap matches, can give the lower-rated team a starting goal advantage. See the handicap system.

The pace of a chukka — repeated sprints, stops and turns — is too demanding for one horse to sustain through a whole match, so players maintain a set of ponies (a “string”) and change mounts between, and sometimes during, chukkas. See polo ponies.

It's a genuine contact sport played at speed on horseback, so falls and collisions are a real risk, which is why helmets are mandatory and knee guards, gloves and boots are standard. Rules around right of way exist specifically to prevent dangerous collisions, and pony welfare rules protect the horses too. See the rules and equipment.

Grass polo is played four-a-side on a field roughly the size of nine football pitches with a small hard ball. Arena polo is played three-a-side in a smaller, walled, enclosed space with a larger inflated ball, producing a more continuous, physical, close-quarters game. See arena, snow and beach polo.

Intro lessons and hired club ponies are priced comparably to other riding instruction — the accessible entry point most beginners use for years. Costs rise significantly if and when a player moves to owning or leasing their own ponies, which is where the sport's expensive reputation is genuinely earned. See learning to play and buying and leasing ponies.

Yes, routinely — polo teams are very often mixed-gender at club level and beyond, because selection is driven mainly by a player's handicap rather than by physical category. Dedicated women's tournaments have also grown alongside this long tradition of mixed play. See women's polo.