Get trained
This page explains the principles. It is not a substitute for lessons from a qualified polo instructor or club, and it does not replace the rules of your governing body, club or tournament.
Below the helmet, a polo player's kit is mostly about the legs: tall boots, padded knee guards and white trousers, with gloves on the hands. The rules set the minimum, and they differ between the HPA, the USPA and the Pony Club in ways that matter if you play under more than one of them.
What the rulebooks require
| Item | HPA 2026 (Part 2 Rule 2.3d) | USPA 2024 Outdoor (Rule 4) | Pony Club 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boots | Polo boots must always be worn during play | Boots, or boots and half-chaps, covering the calves | Standard riding, polo or jodhpur boots with a fairly smooth thin sole and a well-defined square-cut heel |
| Knee guards | Protective kneepads must always be worn during play | No kneepad requirement found in Rule 4; studs on knee guards are banned | Compulsory in all sections except HX, JOPPS and JOR, where strongly recommended |
| Trousers | White jeans or breeches for matches | White pants or breeches in USPA Events | Not recorded in our research |
| Projections | No equipment with sharp projections that might injure another player or pony | No sharp spurs, protruding buckles, or studs on boots or knee guards | No tassels or fringes |
| Elbow pads | Recommended | Not covered in Rule 4 | Recommended |
The USPA revises its rules each year and its 2026 book was not reviewed for this site, so players in the United States should check the current edition. We found no AAP or FIP rule on boots or knee guards.
Polo boots
The St. Moritz Snow Polo World Cup programme (2023) describes polo boots as knee-high leather, in dark brown or black, usually with a long zip down the front, and says some modern styles are reinforced on the outer sides.
Sources disagree on colour. The South African Polo Association's guide says polo boots are always brown and attached to knee pads. The St. Moritz programme says dark brown or black, and the Pony Club's 2026 rulebook allows black or brown. None of the adult rulebooks we read sets a colour.
Pony Club boot rules
The Pony Club's 2026 rulebook is the most detailed on footwear, because it covers young riders:
- Plain black or brown half chaps must be worn with jodhpur boots.
- Interlocking boot soles and stirrup treads are banned.
- Feet, stirrup leathers or irons may not be attached to the girth, and feet may not be attached to the stirrups.
- Stirrups should leave about 7 mm of clearance either side of the boot, and a design that releases the foot easily in a fall is strongly recommended.
SUPA, which runs UK schools and universities polo, recommends full-length riding boots rather than chaps or ankle boots.
Knee guards
The St. Moritz programme describes polo knee guards as padded leather with Velcro straps, sometimes with extra silicone or padding at key points, and says they are worn because the knees are exposed in ride-offs. SUPA notes that knee pads are mandatory under HPA rules but that players may warm up without them.
Ask a coach or an experienced player at your club to check how your guards fit.
Stirrups
The St. Moritz programme says polo stirrups are wider than in other equestrian sports so players can stand and reach for the ball, and that snow polo players sometimes add adhesive wraps for grip. Stirrups belong to the saddle as much as to the rider; the saddles page covers how they are attached.
Gloves
None of the rulebooks we read requires gloves, but most players wear them. The St. Moritz programme says nearly all players wear gloves for grip and protection, many now with carbon fibre protection built in, and that some players at St. Moritz add an under-glove for warmth. The South African Polo Association's guide says riding gloves protect the hands and improve grip on the mallet.
Body protectors and other padding
- Elbow pads: recommended, not required, under the HPA's 2026 rules and the Pony Club's 2026 rulebook.
- Body protectors: the Pony Club's 2026 polo rulebook says they may be worn in polo. Its appendix requires a BETA 2018 Level 3 body protector only for cross-country and pony racing, not polo, and notes BETA's advice to replace body protectors at least every three to five years.
Devices
The Pony Club's 2026 rulebook bans headphones, phones and any device that lets someone else communicate with the rider during play, and bans recording devices. Helmet cameras are covered on the helmets page.
Shirts
Team shirts are part of the kit rules too. Under the HPA's 2026 rules (Rule 2.3d(vi)), they may not have black and white vertical stripes, which the St. Moritz programme says is how umpires are recognised. They must be numbered 1 to 4, with back numbers at least 9 inches high in a contrasting colour; smaller shirts may carry proportionally smaller numbers. The St. Moritz programme says players and umpires wear white polo jeans in matches, closer to jeans than jodhpurs in style.
Before you play, check the current rules of your governing body, club and tournament, and follow the maker's guidance on fit. For buying by category, see the boots and knee guards guide.
Sources
- Hurlingham Polo Association, Rules and Regulations for Polo 2026 (Polo South Africa copy, PDF)
- United States Polo Association, 2024 Outdoor Rules (PDF)
- The Pony Club, Polo Rulebook 2026 (PDF)
- SUPA, rules for universities
- Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz, equipment explained (2023, PDF)
- South African Polo Association, polo equipment guide