Polo Tip #27: Playing Smart — Safety

Play Within Realistic Perimeters of Your Present Competence.

You are running down the field, you alone are aware of what you are comfortable with and what you are not comfortable with, respective of speed, contact, and hitting. You need to take care of yourself, regardless of what you may be being instructed to do by a well meaning teammate. You should properly communicate any concerns or limitations that you might have to your teammates, so that you can come up with a more effective strategy for both you and your team. For example, you have been assigned an opponent that you are not physically able to stay with due to either horsepower or variance in riding skills. It is better to communicate that and try to adjust the strategy. It is true that you need to push yourself some to improve, but that should always be done carefully. Better to challenge yourself to more speed on the track and in higher goal practice matches, than throwing yourself into a competitive match, well over your head.

I have witnessed overly enthusiastic teammates encouraging a player to go to plays at speeds that they have no business attempting at their present level of competence. I have seen way too many players on horses that are not well suited to them over the years. It is true that we need to challenge ourselves to progress, but do it carefully. Polo is so much more fun when you are able to play the game for a long time.

Happy Polo !!