Polo

Polo is a sport in which two contrary teams, formed by four players each, try to get a small wooden ball or plastic ball into the other team’s goal, by hitting it with a wooden stick from on top of a horse. The object of the game is to get as many goals as possible to beat the other team. Each team has to do this in four periods of time called “Chukkas” made of 7.5 minutes each.

Polo is played outside and inside as well, but the rules vary depending where it’s played. For example, a normal match played outside is made out of six “Chukkas” and a match played inside is made out of only four “Chukkas”. The field must be of a maximum of 275 meters and no less than 230 meters in length. As for the width it should not be more than 180 meters if it’s opened and 146 meters if it has wood on the sides. There is also a required space out of the field so that fans never come any danger.

Polo is a sport usually played by royalty or very high society people. This is because of the cost of horses and the cost to maintain them, which is the cost of food, medicine and place to live. Some of these horses can reach $30000 dollars in value, before adding all the food and other expenses. The matches are very elegant and are always filled with important people and sometimes even celebrities. That is why the people who have polo for a hobby not only enjoy playing and watching the sport, but also take advantage of establishing or making new business contacts and business decisions at every match. It is worth mentioning that until a few recent year polo was categorized as “social events”.

Playing this sport requires years and years of training for the jockey and the horse. This is one of the world’s most difficult sports to master, since it is very hard to control an animal that is so large and powerful. In my opinion, I admire this sport, since I find the compatibility that some jockeys and horses reach truly amazing. They have to coordinate so well, so that in a match they appear to be one.