Practice gear: the wooden horse, stick-and-ball and the rules that still apply.

The wooden horse and the hitting cage

Yale Alumni Magazine (September/October 2015) describes the "hitting cage" in Yale's Payne Whitney Gymnasium, where swinging on the wooden horse has been a rite of passage for the university's polo players since the gym opened in 1932, and beginners use it before they ride real horses.

The same article quotes the club's alumni adviser noting that a player can hit the wooden horse's leg hard, which you must never do to a real horse. How schools teach that stroke is covered in practice and the swing.

We also found search summaries describing wooden horses used at other academies, but could not read those sources, so they are not included here.

Stick-and-ball

Match rules do not stop at the end of a match. Several reach stick-and-ball and practice:

• HPA 2026: the rulebook defines the polo ground to include any practice areas of an affiliated club, so HPA rules apply there. Rule 2.2j requires headgear approved under the HPA Helmet Regulations for everyone riding at a polo ground, including grooms exercising ponies.
• HPA 2026 match days: Annex G tells goal judges to stay alert between chukkas to players stick-and-balling on the ground.
• Pony Club 2026: polo grounds at its events may not be used for stick-and-ball practice.
• Australian Polo Federation (July 2023): from 1 August of the year a pony turns 20, it may be used only for clinics, lessons and stick-and-ball, with one exception: sub-zero polo with a -2 player, if a vet has done a heart and eye test within 12 months.

What changes in practice chukkas

Note the difference between the two main rulebooks here. Under the HPA's 2026 rules the helmet standard applies whenever you are mounted, practice included. Under the USPA's 2024 rules, the NOCSAE ND050 certification is required in USPA Events and Club Events and only recommended for other mounted polo activity. The USPA revises its rules each year and its 2026 book was not reviewed for this site, so check the current edition. A club can require more than its national body.

Learning without your own kit

You do not need a full set of gear, or a pony, to start. The HPA's academies page says HPA-affiliated academies are licensed and insured, supply coaches and ponies, and take complete beginners, including people who have never ridden. It also says HPA-affiliated pony hirers let players take part without owning a pony, and that a stick-and-ball trial can be arranged to find a suitable one. The HPA's Arena Polo Hub says no riding experience is needed to start arena polo. Ask the academy what you need to bring.

Polocrosse is a different sport

Polocrosse is a separate sport with different kit. British Equestrian describes it as a one-horse sport, played with a stick that has a racquet head and a loose thread net for catching and carrying a soft rubber ball, with teams of six playing in alternating sections of three. Wikipedia says it combines polo and lacrosse and was developed in Australia in the late 1930s.

The UK Polocrosse Association says players may use only one horse per normal tournament except in case of injury, the ball is sponge rubber about 4 in across, and the field is 60 by 160 yards. It lists required horse equipment as leg protection (polo bandages or sports boots), overreach boots on all four legs and a breastplate.

Polocrosse players who move to polo start again with the rules. The HPA's 2026 rulebook says polocrosse or pato players taking up polo must pass the rules test and be seen in chukkas before a bracketed starting handicap is set.

Before any practice session, check the rules of the ground you are riding on: your governing body's, your club's, and any conditions the event sets. See getting started for what the governing bodies require before you can play sanctioned polo.