Polo clubs in Italy
How and where to practice the kings’ sport
“The kings’ sport”, so it’s called polo. Although this refers mainly to its old and noble origins and to its distinguished players, actually it describes also another characteristic: exclusiveness. This game, in fact, is not for everyone: a polo team – made of four players, about twenty horses and at least four or five people from the staff -, moves from Country to Country, from game to game, for six months a year. This implies a significant commitment, under different points of view.
The existing polo clubs are not many, especially in Europe, where to find space for such a structure is not always easy. Besides the stables, that have to be suitable for many horses, the space for animals to work, the staff houses, the club house, it is also necessary, obviously, to have suitable playing fields. A polo field is much more than a simple grass expanse of 270×180 meters: it has to be compact and flexible with a sandy bottom and a resistant grass blanket; constant maintenance and irrigation are necessary.
In Italy, the clubs affiliated to FISE, Federazione Italiana Sport Equestri (Italian Federation Equestrian Sports), are about fifteen. This can seem a small number but actually, in proportion to the only hundred-fifty members, it really offers a good choice.
What is the way to start practising this sport? It is necessary to go to a polo school where an instructor will lead you through learning the basic of this complex game. First of all, you will learn the horse-riding specific for polo that, besides the reins in the left hand and the stick in the right hand – also for left-handed people -, involves to manage the balance in a slightly different way from other equestrian sports.
Then, you will learn the eight basic shots – forward, backward, under the neck and under the tail both to the right and to the left -, sometimes helped by the wooden horse. Then, you will learn the rules and finally you’ll be ready for the first match: an unparalleled emotion.
To take part to games it is also necessary to pass an exam, consisting in a theoretical and a practical part. Once you pass the exam, it will be assigned a -1 handicap; handicap that will grow according to the performance, evaluated by a commission attending the events and that meets once a year to decide possible changes in the rating of the players.
Although it was, and it will always be, a niche sport for few people, polo has every year new members: people coming from other equestrian sports who want to try something new, people who were fascinated by it when seeing others playing, people looking for a lifestyle which is unique, exciting and challenging. The path to becoming a professional in polo is, in fact, a path lasting a whole life; the players reaching game levels beyond 2 gol of handicap are very few, but maybe it is exactly its difficulty the characteristic which makes it so attracting. And once again, this game is a perfect metaphor for life: it is not the destination that counts but the path.
Allegra Nasi
Italian version
Clubs, Horseback Riding, Polo,
Tags: FISE, Italian Federation Equestrian Sports, Polo, polo club, polo school
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