Dans Papers - June 8, 2007 - Clippity Clop - The Sport of Kings, Part 1

This week, I have been gearing up for my first polo lesson at the Southampton Polo Club. I dropped by the club last week and, contrary to my previous belief, polo ponies are not scraggly cast-offs from other equine disciplines. These horses are big, gleaming, muscular athletes with a sparkle in their eye and, for the most part, extremely forgiving temperaments. Once I looked out over the three perfectly flat polo fields, I knew that I had to try it. So, on Friday afternoon, I am taking my first polo lesson. Stay tuned for a recap of that lesson next week. For now, here's a polo primer to get everyone ready for this season.

A polo game, called a match, is played with two teams of four players each on a grass field. The playable part of the field is 300 yards long and 200 yards wide, marked by a white line. The goal posts, at either end of the field are placed eight yards apart. A game is separated into chukkas, which are seven minutes and thirty seconds long. Professional games have eight chukkas, while most club games have five or six. There are three minutes in between chukkas and five minutes at half time during which the players change horses. In professional polo, horses play no more than two chukkas in an afternoon, with a rest of at least one chukka between chukkas played. In club polo, horses may play in up to three chukkas, depending on the speed of the game and the fitness of the horse. At the end of each chukka, the teams switch sides of the field.

The purpose of the game is simple - use your mallet to hit the ball into your opponent's goal. However, a complex penalty and handicap system keeps it interesting. Handicaps are what distinguish amateur players from professionals. The handicaps are called goals and are on a scale from -2 to 10. Most professional players play with a handicap of five goals or more. Once a team of four is established, the players' handicaps are totaled to find the "team handicap." If each player has a handicap of four goals, the team would be referred to as a "sixteen-goal team." When two teams of unequal handicaps play each other, the team with the lower goal-number is given the difference in goals before the start of the game. If a sixteen-goal team plays an eight-goal team, for example, the eight-goal team would start the game with eight goals already "scored," while the sixteen-goal team would start with a score of 0.

Once the game begins, penalties can be given for excessively rough play, for crossing in front of another player who is following the ball on its exact line, hooking an opponent's stick from the opposite side of the pony as the ball, or running another player off the field by charging at them from an angle. The severity of the offense and degree of danger determines how severe of a penalty is issued. Penalties range from the ball being tossed ten yards from the offending team's goal to a free hit from 30 or 60 yards away. Only the team captain may speak to the umpire or dispute a penalty.

If you want to watch some serious professional polo, head over to Two Trees Farms on any weekend in July or August to watch the best of the best compete at the Brigehampton Polo Club's high-stakes tournaments. Some of the teams, such as Black Watch and White Birch, have already attained household-name status. As far as the players go, there are many rising stars to watch this season. However, there are two favorites worth knowing about before you go. Ignacio "Nacho" Figueras is my pick, not only because he is a 6 or 7-goal player (depending on the year) and the captain of the Black Watch team, but also because he is the face of Ralph Lauren's Black Label Collection, making him the poster athlete for Hamptons sports around the world. Speaking strictly sports, however, Adolfo Cambiaso as the most important player to watch. Cambiaso has been playing at the ten-goal level since the age of nineteen and is considered the best polo player in the world. Although he has played for White Birch in the past, he will be playing for Crab Apple this year.

For more information on the rules of the game, the stars and when tournaments are being held, visit www.sportpolo.com.