Glossary

The language of polo

Every term you'll hear at the boards and in the registry — grouped and defined.

Polo speaks its own dialect — half cavalry, half sporting club. Here is the whole vocabulary, sorted by where you'll meet it.

Play & rules

Chukka / chukker

A period of play, about 7½ minutes long. A match is four to eight of them. Also used for practice ('stick & ball chukkas').

Throw-in

How play starts and restarts — the mounted umpire bowls the ball down the centre line between the two teams lined up shoulder to shoulder.

Line of the ball

The imaginary track the ball travels after it is struck. It sets the right-of-way; crossing it dangerously is the most common foul.

Change of ends

Teams swap directions after every goal so neither side is favoured by sun, wind or slope.

Throw-in line / 30, 40, 60

The distances from goal at which penalty hits are taken, depending on the severity of the foul.

Safety / knock-in

Restarts awarded when the defending side puts the ball over its own back line — taken from the spot or the back line.

Shots & skills

Offside / nearside

The right / left side of the pony. Nearside shots, played across the horse's body, are the hardest in the game.

Forehand / backhand

A shot struck in the direction of travel / driven back the other way. The backhand is the back's main clearing shot.

Ride-off

Legally pushing pony shoulder against pony shoulder to move an opponent off the line of the ball.

Hook

Using your mallet to block an opponent's swing — permitted only below shoulder height and on the side the ball is being played.

Neck shot / tail shot

A ball struck under the pony's neck / behind its tail — advanced strokes that keep play alive at speed.

Mallet / stick

The cane-shafted bamboo-headed implement used to hit the ball; the ball is struck with the long side of the head, not the end.

Stick & ball

Solo practice hitting the ball — the core of a player's training, logged on Chukka as drill sessions.

People & ratings

Handicap

A player's rating of overall ability, from −2 to 10. A team's handicap is the sum of its four players'.

Goals on handicap

The head-start goals the lower-rated team begins with, derived from the handicap gap and match length.

10-goaler

A player rated at the maximum handicap of 10 — the very best in the world. Fewer than a dozen exist at any time.

Patron

An amateur, usually the team's owner and financier, who plays alongside hired professionals.

Pro / hired gun

A professional player engaged to strengthen a patron's team for a tournament.

Umpire / third man

The two mounted officials who ride within the play, plus a neutral referee at the boards who settles their disagreements.

The pony

Polo pony

The horse itself — not actually a pony but a small, fast, agile thoroughbred-type, bred above all for stop, turn and temperament.

The string

A player's set of ponies; a high-goal player may ride six to eight different horses in a single match.

Best Playing Pony (BPP)

The award for the finest horse of a match or tournament — ponies are judged and honoured separately from riders.

Tail-wrap / bandages

The protective wrapping on a pony's tail and legs, both practical and part of the turnout.

Groom

The essential support behind every string — preparing, swapping and caring for the ponies through a match.

Field & furniture

The boards

The low side-boards running the length of a grass field that keep the ball in play; 'at the boards' means near them.

Goal

Two posts 8 yards apart with no crossbar — any height counts. Worth one point.

Arena

The walled, sand-floored enclosure used for the three-a-side indoor variant of the game.

Penalty / spot hit

A free hit awarded for a foul, taken from 30, 40 or 60 yards out, or as an undefended spot hit.

Divot stomp

The half-time tradition in which spectators walk the field to tread the kicked-up turf back into place.