Polo has its own language, born on the fields of India and England and enriched in Argentina. Here are the words you will hear along the field, and the ones that gave their names to the circles of Le Privé.
The match
- Chukka (or chukker): one of the periods of play, about seven minutes long. A match is played over four to eight chukkas, with a change of pony at every chukka.
- Throw-in: the umpire throws the ball between the two teams lined up, at the beginning of every chukka and after every goal.
- Goal: the ball crosses between the two goal posts, whatever the height. After every goal the teams change ends.
- Half-time: the pause in the middle of the match, when guests are invited onto the field for the divot stomp.
The players
- Team: four players, numbered from 1 to 4. Number 1 is the most offensive, number 4 — the “back” — defends.
- Handicap: the level of each player, from −2 to 10 goals. The handicap of a team is the sum of the handicaps of its players; a 10-goal tournament gathers teams whose total does not exceed ten.
- Ten goal: the highest handicap, reached by very few players in the world.
- Patron: the player who builds and supports the team, often alongside professionals.
The game
- Line of the ball: the imaginary line drawn by the ball in motion. It gives the right of way and is at the heart of the rules on safety.
- Ride-off: two riders push against each other side by side to take the line of the ball.
- Hook: blocking the mallet of an opponent with your own mallet.
- Near side and off side: the left and right sides of the pony. Mallets are held in the right hand.
- Stick-and-ball: the training with mallet and ball, alone or in small groups.
The ponies
Polo horses are called ponies, whatever their height. Speed, intelligence and calm make a good polo pony: many players say that the horse accounts for most of the success. The pony line is the line of ponies along the field, saddled and ready for the next chukka.
