Polo 101
It all begins with an idea.
The rules of polo can be complicated for those new to the sport. Here are some of the basics, as well as some fun facts, that will help you enjoy the games!
Did you know? Polo is the second fastest team sport (after hockey) with the ball travelling at speeds up to 110 mph.
THE GAME
In the arena there are two teams of 3 players each (On grass polo it would be 4 aside) There is also an umpire out there to call fouls and keep the play safe. Each player on the team has a different role, attacking offensive (#1), offensive and defensive (#2) and the ‘quarterback’ (#3). The game is four chukkers (or periods) long, and each chukker is seven and a half minutes, with time stopped for fouls. The players will change to fresh horses after each chukker. The objective of the game is for each team to score as many goals as possible by driving the ball into the opposing teams goal zone. The goal zones are located at each end of the arena, and the teams change scoring ends for each new chukker.
Did you know? A polo team can be a mix of men, women, professionals, and amateurs. It’s not uncommon at the Toronto Polo Club to see families playing together as teams!
Did you know? There are thirteen polo clubs across Canada. The Toronto Polo Club plays all year long using outdoor and indoor arenas from October until May. They have even had some polo matches on the snow!
HANDICAPS
Each player is assigned a handicap rating between -1 to 10 goals, with only a handful of ten-goalers in the World (The Wayne Gretzky’s of the polo world!). The handicap rating system determines a player’s horsemanship, playing ability and game sense. In a game the culminate handicap of one team must be equal (or be close to) the culminate handicap of the opposing team.
Did you know? Canada’s current highest rated player is Fred Mannix Jr., from the Calgary Polo Club. Mannix is an accomplished 7-goal player in North America and 9-goal player internationally and is the highest ranked Canadian on the World Polo Tour.
RULES
Plays are based on the LINE OF THE BALL. This is an imaginary line created by the ball as it travels down the field. It represents a right of way for the last player striking the ball and is the basis for most fouls in the game. Like driving a car, players must stay in their own lanes to avoid collisions.
A player is allowed to “hook” another player carrying the ball. This means bringing down their mallet to stop the swing of the opposing player.
A player is allowed to “bump” another player carrying the ball. This means riding next to the opposing player and using the horses shoulder to push the opponents horse off the ball.
After a goal is scored, players line up at the centre of the arena for a throw-in by the Umpire.
PONIES
Often bred for polo, a good polo pony loves its job and knows the game (sometimes as well as the rider). Any type of horses can be used, but smaller animals that can carry the weight of a man are ideal as they are easier to hit the ball from. A polo pony must be courageous, intelligent, sensitive (without being nervous or high strung), obedient, and trained for polo. Many players at the Toronto Polo Club are importing Argentine bred polo ponies, as they exhibit these qualities. You will also see off-the-track thoroughbreds, quarter horse mixes, and the odd Heinz 57. To play at a lower level of polo, a player can get away with having just two ponies for a game. They will “double chukker” each horse. However, as the play gets faster it is recommended to have a fresh horse for each of the four chukkers.
Did you know? Polo ponies are exercised in groups or “sets”. A groom will ride one horse and lead up to 4 ponies working all five horses at once.
EQUIPMENT
Polo players must wear safety approved helmets with a face mask or goggles, boots with a heel, knee pads to protect when “bumping”, and white pants (a polo tradition that can be traced back to India where polo began). The polo mallet is made of bamboo cane, and is the shaft is flexible.
The ponies also wear protective clothing, including leg wraps and hoof protectors (bell boots). Their manes are roached (shaved off) and tails bound up to avoid interference with the mallet or ball.
Did you know? Polo mallets can only be held in your right hand, the reins in your left hand. Left-handed players must learn to adapt, and some of the top-rated players in the World are left handed.
GAME ETIQUETTE
Polo players love a crowd, so don’t be shy to cheer loudly for your team! If you come to watch a match at the Toronto Polo Club this summer bring your chairs and picnic and prepare to have some fun. We do ask guests to please stay well behind the safety lines (horses are allowed to cross back and forward over the boards during the game, so you need to be at least 18’ back from the boards to stay safe). Also, dogs must be on a leash at all times.
Canadian Women In Polo
It all begins with an idea.
Though women have been playing polo since the sport was first introduced into North America, female players were few and far between. There were a small number of women who played in the 1920’s (in fact the Calgary Polo Club fielded a women’s team that played in New York at the first international women’s tournament) however polo was traditionally a male dominated sport. Women were not even permitted to join the United States polo Association until the mid-1970’s. This, however, has been changing over the last 5 decades as women polo players represent one of the largest growing sectors of polo today. Women polo players now account for approximately 40% of registered players with the Canadian Polo Association and the United States Polo Association.
Pioneer women players in the 1970's at the Toronto Polo Club, such as Kelly Offen and Sue Smellie, paved the way for females to play at the club. Similarly, in Western Canada, Julie and Jan Roenisch were also the catalyst that brought serious women’s polo back to the Calgary Polo Club for the first time in fifty years. Coming from avid polo families, these ladies showed the men that females can be worthy contenders on the polo field.
Loretta Thompson was instrumental in pioneering women's participation at the Grande Prairie Polo club. A mutual love of horses and polo brought her and her husband Cledwyn Lewis together. Not only did they encourage women players, but they also made it a priority to foster relationships with other polo clubs across Canada and around the World.
Thanks to the perseverance and determination of so many of these early women players, most Canadian polo clubs today have a large roster of females. The Greater Niagara Polo Club membership is comprised of over 70% women and girls. They have successful women’s Interscholastic and Intercollegiate teams that compete on the USPA circuit. The Club runs a weekly ‘Ladies Night’ - a fun and supportive polo match of 12 - 16 women players, followed by a boisterous potluck with food, drink and a lot of laughter in the clubhouse. Tammy and Hailey Van der Burgt provide coaching and mentorship, and it is the ideal space for women to learn, gain confidence, and develop in the sort.
As the number of women players grow, so do the number of women's only polo tournaments. There have been several highly competitive women's tournaments held at the Calgary Polo Club over the last few decades, attracting top women players from around the World. In 1991 The Ottawa Polo Club held the first Eastern Canadian Women’s tournament, bringing women players from Ontario and Quebec. Today, the Ottawa Polo Club membership is comprised of 50% women players.
"Polo For The Cure" is held every summer at the Toronto Polo Club. The tournament is now in its 15th year and is also a fundraiser for breast cancer research and treatment at Southlake Regional Health Centre. To date over $1million dollars has been raised for this cause. The tournament brings between 10-12 teams of women every year, with two flights of games. Polo For The Cure was developed by two members of the Toronto Polo Club, Keri Weir and Donna Malloy, and continues to live on as the longest running annual women's tournament in Canada.
Women’s tournaments have also been a common event at the Springfield Polo Club over the years, though not always annual. A few years of tournaments were played around the change of the millennium for local women of the club, but then in 2006 Sue Smith, along with Colleen Kelly-Hrynchuk and Bobbi Enns, organized a women's tournament with incoming players. Reciprocal polo trips with many clubs across Western Canada for mixed polo had created a "polo family" of friends and it was the women among these friends who got together in mid-August at the Springfield Polo Club. In 2007, the tournament grew from three to four teams. Club theme parties continued, and the tournament enjoyed five good years. A number of years went by until 2019 when a women's match was revived due to the influx of new women playing polo at the Springfield Polo Club.
With the growth of women's polo in Canada there are many strong female players that have come though the ranks and stood out for their exceptional talent. Julie Roenisch, from the Calgary Polo Club, got to a 2-goal handicap, and in 1992 became the first woman to ever play in the US open. Manitoba born Dayelle Fargey is currently the only female professional player in Canada, and also made it to 2-goals (6 goals women’s handicap). Dayelle, along with other local women players, helped to start the first ‘women-only’ games at the Royal Winnipeg Polo Club, which evolved into women’s tournaments at clubs across Western Canada. Dayelle plays professionally in the US during the winters, and at the Calgary Polo Club in the summers. There are so many strong women players scattered across the country that have represented Canada on the International playing field over the last few decades, that it is difficult to highlight just a few. However, in the short but glorious history of modern-day women’s polo it is fair to say that women’s polo is alive and well in Canada.