| Experts say the benefits of horseback riding include | | | | chair. |
| the obvious, of enjoyment as well as developing better | | | | Polo is an incredibly fun and exhilarating sport to watch |
| balance, coordination and the exercising of your brain. | | | | and even more so to play. It is a game played in |
| There are benefits also of Polo as a sport in respect | | | | seven-minute periods called chukkas, with six chukkas |
| of team building and character building. | | | | being the normal length of play. There are four riders |
| Taking Riding lessons from an instructor with Polo | | | | and their mounts on a team. |
| experience and a school of horses rather than hopping | | | | The Grounds and Field On a full sized grass field, each |
| aboard your neighbour's hardly trained 5-year-old nag | | | | team has four people. The Polo grounds are 300 |
| gives you the twofold benefits of a knowledgeable | | | | yards long, 160 yards wide if boarded. Being boarded |
| instructor and a highly experienced and well trained | | | | means the field has a 12-inch upright board bounding |
| horse with a good temperament that can tolerate | | | | the perimeter, which stops the ball rolling easily out of |
| added bouncing at times. | | | | play. |
| The other benefits of learning to ride a horse are that, | | | | If the ground is un-boarded, it is 200 yards wide and |
| it is a great activity for young and old alike, and is also | | | | marked with a white line. The goal posts, which are |
| excellent for people with physical, cognitive or | | | | poisoned at each end, are measured to be 8 yards |
| emotional disabilities. | | | | wide. |
| A quick crash course into Polo You don't want to | | | | The duration of Play A full Polo match is 8 chukkas, |
| have a bad experience, before you head out into the | | | | but often in club matches only 4 or 6 chukkas are |
| field you want to make sure that you have control of | | | | played. Each chukka is timed to last 7 minutes, then a |
| your animal. | | | | bell is rung, but the game goes on until the ball goes out |
| A lot of the gaining control of your animal will come | | | | of play, or for another 30 seconds when the bell is |
| through experience and just gaining confidence, and | | | | rung again, the chukka ends where the ball is. |
| realising the horse will do what you tell it to do when | | | | The clock is stopped between the umpire blowing his |
| you tell it to do it. That is if you know what you're | | | | whistle to stop the play, and the whistle to restart play |
| doing, and safety should always come first. | | | | if a foul is committed or the ball goes out of play. |
| When equipped, each rider has a long-handled mallet | | | | There are intervals of 3 minutes between each of the |
| that they use to try and score a goal by hitting a white | | | | chukkas and 5 a minute half time. Ends are changed |
| wooden ball into the opposing teams' goal. It is fast, | | | | at every goal scored - this has been found to be |
| furious and exciting to behold, especially as the horses | | | | fairest when there is a wind. |
| seem to come within inches of your sideline lounge | | | | |