Polo

I am a polo player. Although I've ridden horses throughout my life (in three-day eventing, mostly), I'm relatively new to the sport of polo. After moving to Wichita, Kansas last year and being unable to bring my horse with me, I took up polo at the local club. It was surprisingly difficult! While I am very good at simply riding horses and negotiating a dressage test or jumping course, I found I was not very good at handling a long mallet and hitting a very small ball!

I learned to play on this horse- a big Thoroughbred gelding named Doctor J. The Doctor is a very experienced polo pony; in this photo, he's being ridden in a tournament by his owner. Doctor J is a very responsive horse- just a touch of leg or flick of the wrist will direct him to where you want to go. He's been playing polo so long that he knows to follow the ball! He listens for the sound of it being it , then gallops after it, slowing just slightly to allow his rider to take a good hit at it. Doctor J is my very favorite horse.

Polo is a very competitive sport! Teams are composed of four players, each covering a fairly specific position. Number one is an offensive player. Number two is another offensive player, and generally does most of the scoring. One and Two often play off one another, passing the ball for optimum scoring opportunities. Number three is a tactical player, who is often the best player on the team. Three's primary responsibility is to hit long balls up to One and Two to allow them a chance to score. Number four is a defensive player, who usually defends the goal. 

One of the most exciting parts of polo is a ride-off- players compete for a hit on a stray ball; if they can't get a good shot, the goal then becomes preventing another player from hitting it. Here's a shot of a few of us at practice, heading toward a ball: 

Close quarters can result in 'hooking'; that is, using your mallet to stop another player's swing! Here, I stop my friend Paul from getting a hit: 

Paul rides BC; I am astride Magnum

Most of the time, though, polo is all about speed. Here, my teammate Josh (#3)  races with an opposing player toward the ball: 

Polo ponies move very quickly! 

Sometimes, though, all they want to do is go back to the barn...

Doctor J

And have a bath! 

Magnum