Polo Tip #5: Proper Mallet Length

By Tom Goodspeed

There are several different views as to the subject of mallet lengths. One school is to use the appropriate length for whatever size your horse is. Another school advocates using the same size for all your horses for a better sense of hand-eye. Surface conditions will sometimes enter into the equation. If the grass is long and the ball is sitting high or the arena surface is really deep, you may want to go an inch shorter. Likewise, if the grass is really worn or the arena surface is hard, you may go an inch longer.

Personally, I have grown up using different lengths and have learned to adapt fairly quickly. I have also tried to size my mallet to be comfortable on the near-side and then stand up off the ball a tad on the off-side. As I have matured in my years, well at least physically, I find it less intimidating to be reaching too far out from the horse. My mallet lengths in my closing years were mostly 52-54 inches. I usually rode horses from around 15-2 to 16 hands. In my younger days, I used very short mallets and placed a lot more focus on the off-side forehander. I had to wait until my testosterone productions lowered before I finally realized that longer was better. Wait, did I just say that?  I think something is wrong with these keys. Oh well, you get the idea. Choose the mallet size that allows you the best opportunity to make all of your shots on both sides of the horse, without placing yourself at any more risk than our wonderful sport already provides. Happy Polo !!

 
Tom Goodspeed can be contacted at polotom@usapolo.com