The Basics
 
To get the most out of polo, it helps to understand the ins and outs of the game.
 
Polo is a team sport played on horseback where you attempt to score goals against an opposing team. Riders score by driving white plastic balls (size 3 - 3 and a half inches, weight 4 and a quarter - 4.75 ounces) into an opposing teams goal using a long handled mallet. Goals are only valid if the scoring rider is mounted. The traditional sport of polo is played outdoors, and each polo team consists of 4 riders and their mounts (ponies). Polo must be played right handed. Left-handed play was ruled out in 1975 for safety reasons. 
 
The polo field is 300 yards long by 160 yards wide (the area of six footballs fields). The goal posts are eight yards apart, centered at each end of the field. The boundaries of the field can either be 'boarded' with 12-inch timber boards or marked with white lines. The playing field is carefully maintained with closely mowed turf providing a safe, fast playing surface, similar to that of a lawn bowls green.
 
 
The Teams
 
Two teams of four compete on the field. While each player plays both offense and defense throughout the game, each player's number indicates his or her actual role or position.
 
Number 1 is the most offensive position on the field. The number one position generally covers the opposing team's number four.
 
Number 2 is the most difficult position on the field to play. The number 2 has an important offensive role of either running through and scoring himself, or passing to the number one and getting in behind him. Defensively he will cover the opposing team's number three - generally the other team's best player. Given the difficulty of this position, it is not uncommon for the best player on the team to play number 2 so long as another strong player is available to play 3. 

 
Number 3 is the tactical leader and must be a long powerful hitter to feed balls to Number Two and Number One as well as maintaining a solid defense. The best player on the team is usually the Number Three player. 

 
Number 4 is the primary defense player and though he can move anywhere on the field, he often tries to prevent scoring. The excessive defense of the number four allows the number three to commit to more offensive plays knowing he will be covered if he loses the ball. 
 
 
The Rules
 
Similar to soccer, the objective of polo is to drive the ball down field and between the opponent's goal posts. The game is divided into six seven-and-a-half-minute play periods called 'chukkas'. The game begins with the 2 teams of four lined up, each team in line forming two rows with the players in order 1, 2, 3, 4 facing the umpire in the center of the playing field, thus forming a tunnel between the two teams. There are 2 mounted umpires on the field and a referee standing on the sidelines. At the beginning of a game, one of the umpires bowls the ball in hard between the 2 teams. 
 
Teams change goals on ends of the field / arena after each score to minimize any wind advantage which may exist. Switching sides also allows each team equal opportunity to start off with the ball on their right side, as all players must hit right handed. When a goal is scored the play resumes back in the centre of the field.  When a player hits the ball the projectory is called, the 'line of the ball'. This is the imaginary path the ball travels on, and it represents a right of way for the last player striking the ball. (Crossing 'the line' is the most frequent foul in the game). 
 
Games are often played with a handicap in which the sum of the individual players' respective handicaps are compared. The team with the lower handicap is given the difference in handicaps as goals before the start of the game.  The modern indoor variant is called arena polo. In arena polo, there are three instead of four players on each team and chukkas are 7 1/2 minutes in length. The playing area is 300' x 150'.
 
Each player in high goal (top level professional) tournaments uses a fresh pony for each chukka because the game is played at a very fast pace, with the horses galloping much of the time. In club games, ponies may play 2 chukkas in a match with a chukka off in between.
 
Another modern variant is snow polo, which is played either out door or indoor on snow on a frozen ground or ice. Each team generally consists of 3 players and also the equipment differs from the sport of polo. Other variants include elephant polo, bike polo and Segway polo. These sports are considered as separate sports because of the differences in the composition of teams, equipment, rules, game facilities etc.
 
 
Equipment
  
The basic dress of a player is a protective helmet (usually of a distinctive colour, to be distinguished at the considerable distance from which onlookers are watching the game), riding boots to just below the knees, white trousers (often ordinary denim jeans), and a colored shirt bearing the number of the player's position. Optional equipment includes 1 or 2 gloves, wristbands, knee pads (mandatory in some clubs), spurs, face mask, and a whip.
 
The polo mallet has a rubber-wrapped grip and a webbed thong, called thumb sling, for wrapping around the hand. The shaft is made of bamboo-cane with a hardwood head approximately 9 and a half inches in length. The mallet head weighs from 160 grams to 240 grams, depending on player preference and the type of wood used, and the shaft can vary in weight and flexibility depending on the player's preference. The weight of the mallet head (also called "cigar") is of important consideration for the more seasoned players. Female players almost always use lighter mallets and cigars than male players. 
 
For some polo players, the length of the polo mallet depends on the size of the horse: the taller the horse, the longer the mallet. However, some players prefer to use a single length of mallet regardless of the height of the horse. Either way, playing horses of differing heights requires some adjustment by the rider. Variable sizes of the mallet range from 48 inches to 53 inches. The ball is struck with the longer sides of the mallet head rather than its round and flat tips.
 
Polo saddles are English style, similar to jumping saddles. A breastplate is added, usually attached to the front billet. A tie down (standing Martingale) may be used: if so, for safety a breastplate is a necessity. An overgirth may be used. The stirrup irons are heavier than most, and the stirrup leathers are wider and thicker, for added safety when the player stands in the stirrups. The legs of the pony are wrapped with polo wraps from below the knee to the ankle to prevent injury. Often, these wraps match the team colors. The pony's mane is roached (hogged), and its tail is braided so that it will not snag the rider's mallet.