What’s PoloGringo all about?
Welcome to PoloGringo!
I’ve started this blog because I don’t feel that there currently exists a resource for novice and intermediate polo players to turn to for advice and new ideas. When I first began playing, I looked everywhere for information on malletwork, polo equitation, outdoor vs. arena strategy, tack recommendations, even something as simple as how to properly wrap a pony’s leg. I couldn’t find anything beyond the most superficial of information online.
I did find some discussion boards and polo-related blogs, but they concerned themselves mostly with USPA politics. I think this is an important discussion to have, but to the novice player (like me) it’s far removed from any immediate point of concern. At the time, I was still more concerned with how not to fall off during a nearside backhand attempt.
Unable to find what I wanted on the Internet, I bought hundreds of dollars worth of books. Some of them turned out to be decent, one turned out to be great, but most were unusable. (I’ll talk about the worthwhile books in a later post, and tell you where you can buy them)
Eventually I began grooming at the Detroit Polo Club pro bono in hopes of learning from the ground up. I learned a great deal from the other grooms, the club pro, and the barn manager that I feel would have taken me years to grasp had I not donated my time and attempted to earn their trust. After a few months of grooming for weekend games, I hired a pro and learned even more. Suddenly the books started to make sense. The diagrams and explanations on hitting began to “click” and my passion for the sport really took off.
I still have a lot to learn. In fact, I’m sure that much of what I already think I know is flat-out wrong. But it strikes me that the Internet is a resource that the sport of polo has only just begun to tap. Despite my relative lack of experience, if we can manage to strike up some discussion here then even my mistakes can prove educational not only to myself but to other new players as well who are likely experiencing similar problems and misinterpretations of the existing literature.
My sincere hope is that PoloGringo will serve a resource for new players, or indeed anyone interested in contributing to the ongoing discussion of all things polo. As my own skill progresses, I will share what I learn through this site and I encourage anyone who reads this blog to join in the discussion. Ask questions, share tips, correct my mistakes. And above all, enjoy!
4 Comments
Never forget my first practice with the full club. I had been a student in the polo school the previous summer, only allowed to play in the arena (dogs and students keep off the grass and exceptions are made for dogs whose owners are full members and have hired a pro). I was quite taken with the sport and ante’d up for a full membership the second year. So here I come in my new gear, on my new horse, walking out onto that beautiful grass field for the first time. I walked up to one of the regular members and said “Hi, I guess I’m your number one”. He looks at me and says “THEN YOURE IN THE WRONG F——— PLACE ARENT YOU!” After the first few games my official nickname was “LEAVEIT LEAVEIT LEAVEIT” . I finally made the decision that I either had to learn how to play the game or give it up.
My point is that many players buy into the sport, hire a pro to carry them and can only ride bomb proof, made ponies. Far too few study the sport, attend the clinics and work into it as you seem have done. One of the most neglected or ignored skills is basic horsemanship and equitation. My greatest thrill now is not in playing but in watching horses I’ve trained play.
Anyway, good luck with your blog, I think its a worthwhile companion to PoloZone. I’ll keep in touch.
Oh, wow! I’m glad you stuck with it — even after an introduction like that.
My first real embarrassing moment was playing at the El Sur arena in Wellington. The El Sur club was kind enough to let a few of us from the University of Michigan polo club spend a day there in the sun to practice. Well, we didn’t have our trusty old walk/trot intercollegiate loaner horses there and I mounted up on a horse that was significantly beyond my skill level.
I was naive enough at the time to think “a horse is a horse” and I could handle anything. Needless to say, I eventually came off at a gallop and nailed the wall like a railroad spike. I learned a lot of humility in that moment and spent the rest of the year taking private lessons to improve my horsemanship. The following summer I got to play that same horse outside on the grass and she was fantastic.
I’m glad I finally put in the extra time to improve my equitation, although it would have saved me a sore neck and busted nose had I not thought of myself as such a hotshot and done it earlier.
Thanks for your comment. I hope to see you around here more in the future!
I agree with you Caleb.
I am taking private equitation lessons since apri 2008, one year.
I have always loved horses and since I saw a polo game , it was love at the first time, and since then I have been practicing every week, 2 times.
Here in our Brazilian Polo Club the students aren´t allowed to play in the arena, just after a lot of practice.
I want to play just for love and for passion, because I realy like the smell, the wind in my face, the noise of the horses in a gallop…
But Polo is a hard sport, and for women it’s harder…
Caleb is right “a horse is a horse”, but horses have good days and bad days to!
And we have to be ready to everything in a polo arena, wen the game start.
In this year I learned a lot of humility and I am sure that I still have many years to learn more about horses, about equitation and about this passion of Polo.
PS: Sory , my englhish is not very good….I’am still learnig.
Thanks for the comment, Juliana. My understanding is that the tradition in the US used to be that new players weren’t allowed to play in any chukkers for a year or more after starting polo. This “rule” was gradually relaxed until the present day, when a new patron can on occasion start to play, in some clubs, almost immediately. Largely I believe this is a money issue, the hope being to get a new patron hooked as fast as possible so they’ll put more money into the club.
I think your club is doing the right thing. It’s good that you’re taking the time to familiarize yourself with the sport before jumping headlong into matches!
Because horses are not machines, each is different. Different manners, temperaments, ways of moving, etc. For this reason, I don’t think horsemanship can ever be truly learned in full, rather it’s an ongoing process. The longer you practice and the more you learn, the higher your playing ability will be on many different mounts.
Best of luck and keep practicing! This is one of the very few sports in the world that you can truly play for your entire life…we’ve all got plenty of time to learn!