Types Of Polo Sport

Interestingly enough, the sport of polo today is not restricted to huge open fields for horse polo. Over the years many variants in the game have developed. While some of them are very close to the conventional method of playing, others are quite contrary,

The adjoining versions of Polo are- beach polo, indoor polo, paddock polo. These are governed by the same rules & regulations. Two teams riding on horses, battling by striking a polo ball with a mallet.


BEACH POLO-
The teams in Beach Polo consist of 2-3 players.The chukkers are of four to seven minutes. Beach polo ground is basically a sand arena on a beach. Four feet high sideboards surround the playing aren. After each chukker the players replace the traditional polo horses .The ball is prepared of pure leather with a 12.5 cm diameter.



Shri Rashid Al Habtoor, Chairperson of the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club and Shri Sam Katiela introduced beach polo in Dubai in the year 2004 .This was followed by the establishment of Miami Beach Polo World Cup in 2005 in the United States.

Since then, many tournaments and matches have been played across the globe including Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Colombia, Chile, France, England, India, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Poland, Uruguay and The Netherlands.

The International Beach Polo Association was founded in the year 2008 by the then Chairman Alex Webbe .Sincere effort was made to rise the number of participating nations for the promotion of beach polo.The uniform regulations & handicaps were created.
 

 

 

INDOOR POLO-
Parent Polo rules & regulations are applicable to Indoor Polo. The ground is smaller in comparison to the main polo ground. It is made up of dirt or sand, and is prepared to keep the ball in motion.The match consist of four chukkers.The teams consist of three players each. Approximately four feet high sideboards surround the field. Usually only two chukkers are played by each horse. Players between each chukker replaces horse in Arena Polo.

 

 

 

 

PADDOCK POLO-
In paddock polo each team consists of three players who do not change ponies during the duration of match. There are two periods of ten minutes each. The ball is same as that used in arena polo. All kinds of fields & seasons are suitable for playing this version of polo.The riding school horses specially developed for other subjects such as jumping & dressage are used for playing. In France paddock polo has developed to a great extent. There are around one thousand players in the counry associated with it. In Valenese, France the second biggest annual tournament of Paddock Polo is observed. In this tournament twenty four teams and three thousand spectators gather annually. Many universities of France possess paddock polo disciplines .The university teams are also invited to participate at Chantilly, Lyon or Aix en Provence


 

 

 

Some other types of polo are:

ARENA POLO-
The same rules & regulations as those in indoor polo are followed by indoor polo. The only difference is that the Indoor Polo Ground possesses a roof on the top.
 

 

Also read: Indian Polo Arena League

 

SNOW POLO-
This version of polo is played by keeping the ball in play on an arena packed with snow surrounded by recommended fencing. In Snow Polo the teams are composed of three players who play four chukkers of seven minutes each.The Polo horses are decorated with special shoes for achieving better traction.The ball is of bright red color and is manufactured of plastic. It is designed in such a fashion which prevents it from disappearing in the snow.

This modified version of the sport was first launched in the year 1985. It was introduced at the resort town of St.Moritz, Switzerland, one of the earth's coldest sports station.The curious spectators from all over the country entertained the event. On a rugby field decorated with Snow in the month of January, The St Moritz Snow Polo World Cup is organised.The match has the equal excitement, intensity and speed as the traditional polo.



In France, snow polo is celebrated at Megeve, Val D Isere and various other hilly resorts in Italy, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Poland. In Aspen Valley, Colorado, USA it is exclusively competed.
 

 

 

Also read: 36th Snow Polo Cup

 

 

BIKE POLO-
The origin of bike polo dates back to the end of 19th century, but attained popularity only in the 2000s.

The foundations story of this version is based on fixie bikes (the derails and the bikes without brakes). In the United States of America, courier services had these type of bikes to perform duty and used to accumulate after duty for fun & sports. This was how bike polo developed. After this, its fame enhanced in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In 2007 the sport of bike polo arrived in France .Though not fruitful & successful in the, younger generation with the passage of time developed more interest in it than the traditional polo.

This version is governed by very few and simple rules & regulations. It features two teams of three players each, who are not allowed to touch the ground with their feet while making a contact with the ball. One hand of the player holds the handle of bike, while the other holds the mallet.
 

 

 

Also read: Ease Of Bike Polo

 

 

ELEPHANT POLO-
The members of British Aristocracy for the first time played the sport of Elephant Polo in India during the end of Twentieth century. In Thailand this sport is considered as the most expensive, slowest, weirdest and the biggest game.

In Thailand every year The World Elephant Polo Championship takes place. The Championship consists of the King's Cup Tournament. In Nepal, Tiger Tops Tournament is observed and in Sri Lanka, the Taprobane Trophy Elephant Polo Tournament takes place annually.

In the beginning, soccer balls were used to play elephant polo but after detecting that the soccer balls could easily be smashed by elephants, the standard polo ball replaced it. The sticks are constructed of cane and have a standard polo cigare at the end. The height of the Polo stick is according to size of the elephant- it varies from 6 to 9 feet.

Besides the fact that the elephant polo is played with an elephant and not by riding a horse, there’s another main difference between elephant and horse polo. Here, there are two people- ;the Mahout and the Player .

The Mahouts are the drivers of elephants, with verbal commands and by putting pressure to the back of the elephant's ears with their feet. The elephants react to the Mahouts’ commands & signals quickly as the Mahouts have experience of working with the animal for many years. It is the duty of the player to order the Mahout in which direction to move, how fast and when to stop while the player is trying to reach the ball.
 

 

 

 

SEGWAY POLO-
The horse Polo is similar to that of Segway Polo.The players instead of playing on horseback, ride a segway on the field. The rules & regulations have been adopted from horse polo. According to the tradition, it consists of two teams of five players each playing on grass field.

On 11th July, 2004 five members of the Bay Area Segway Enthusiasts Group or Bayseg played the first ever segway polo match at the San Francisco Bay Area, the birthplace of segway polo. The version has enjoyed important development after specific rules were made for it.



Segway polo is gaining popularity and the teams have started developing in the United States of America, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Barbados and New Zealand. The International Segway Polo Association (ISPA) is the official governing body.
 

 

 

Last Updated: 27th June 2022