Getting started: from first lesson to first chukka.

Start at a recognised school

In the UK, the HPA points beginners to its affiliated academies (polo schools). The HPA says these are officially recognised, display an HPA plaque, and are licensed and insured, with their own coaches and ponies. They take complete beginners, including people who have never ridden, as well as players returning to the game, through individual or group lessons.

The HPA's Arena Polo Hub says no riding experience is needed to start arena polo and that all ages are welcome. It suggests academies and clubs as the place to begin, and notes that some arena clubs have their own polo schools on site.

The HPA's introductory page links newcomers to membership (how to join, the rules test and the CV form for players with a handicap abroad), its Find a Club service, academies and pony hirers, youth polo with a Performance Pathway, and coaching. Its Find a Club page lists over 60 HPA coaches.

Some programmes start the swing on a wooden horse. Yale Alumni Magazine (2015) described the wooden horse in the "hitting cage" at Yale's Payne Whitney Gymnasium, which beginners have used since 1932 before riding real horses. The practice page covers practice in more detail.

You do not need your own pony

The HPA says its affiliated pony hirers let players take part in matches and tournaments without owning a pony, and that a stick-and-ball trial can be arranged to find ponies that suit the player. For children, the Pony Club says its centres make polo accessible to those without their own ponies.

What the HPA requires (UK and Ireland, 2026 rules)

Before anyone plays at an HPA affiliated club, the HPA's 2026 rules set out several steps:

1. Membership. Under Rule 2.2a, nobody may play any match, organised game or club chukka at an HPA affiliated club in the UK or Ireland, or at an HPA-licensed event, unless they are a registered HPA Associate Member, have joined an affiliated club, and have received a membership confirmation email from the HPA. The same joining process applies to arena polo with no additional charge from the HPA, and the HPA's annual subscription covers both the summer and the arena season (HPA 2026 rulebook, Rule 2.2a and membership regulations, paragraph 4).
2. The rules test. Under Rule 2.2b, a newcomer's first handicap is the introductory -2, which a club may award once the member has passed the HPA rules test and is judged safe. The Arena Polo Hub says players who have never held a handicap pass the Rules Test using a password from their club.
3. A handicap. To play any match or tournament, a player must hold an HPA handicap between -2 and 10. The handicaps page explains how it changes as you improve.
4. Approved events only. Under Rule 2.2p, HPA members may not play in an unauthorised polo event, meaning one outside an affiliated club that the HPA has neither endorsed nor placed under an affiliated club's responsibility.

What the HPA requires you to wear

The HPA's 2026 rules require a helmet of a type approved under the HPA Helmet Regulations, with the chinstrap fastened, whenever mounted. Everyone riding at a polo ground, including grooms, must wear approved headgear. Players must also wear polo boots and knee pads, eye protection (glasses, goggles or a face guard), and white jeans or breeches in matches. Elbow pads and gum shields are recommended. Check the current HPA Helmet Regulations and the label in your helmet; the helmets page sets out the standards.

What the USPA requires (United States, 2024 Outdoor Rules)

• Registration and a handicap. Under Rule 2b, a player without a current USPA handicap, or whose USPA registration is not paid up, may not play in any USPA event. Rule 2c makes the penalty forfeiture, regardless of knowledge or intent.
• A certified helmet. Under Rule 4a, a helmet with a chin strap is mandatory, and helmets in USPA events and club events must be certified to the NOCSAE ND050 standard for polo helmets. The certified helmet is recommended, but not required, for other mounted polo activity.
• Eye protection is mandatory for players under 18 and strongly encouraged for everyone else.
• Clothing. Under Rules 4c to 4e, boots (or boots with half-chaps) covering the calves, white pants or breeches in USPA events, and no sharp spurs or protruding buckles.

The USPA revises its rules each year and its 2026 rulebook was not reviewed for this site, so check the current USPA rulebook and your club's conditions before you play.

Youth polo: the Pony Club (UK)

The Pony Club's 2026 Polo Rulebook describes Pony Club polo as open to young people aged 6 to 21, organised in nine sections (five by age alone and four by age and handicap), with finals at the Pony Club Polo Championships in early August. It is founded on "one player, one pony", so a child can play from 6 to 21 with a single pony. The Langford, Hipwood, Rocksavage and Gannon sections play two- to four-chukka matches that need two to four ponies per player. The rulebook says 63 teams played in 2024.

The Pony Club's 2026 rules ban spurs in every section and require eye protection (sports glasses, goggles or a face guard) for all players, with elbow pads and gum shields recommended and body protectors allowed.

College polo (United States)

A U.S. Polo Assn. release from April 2026 says the USPA's Collegiate Partnership Program supports more than 30 colleges and universities and about 70 teams, and that the 2026 Division I National Intercollegiate Championship ran from 19 to 22 March 2026 at Prestonwood Polo and Country Club near Dallas. The college and youth events page has more.

After a head injury

The governing bodies set return-to-play limits after concussion, and they are not the same. The HPA's 2026 rules (Rule 2.2m) bar a player from competitive play for at least 21 days after a concussion or suspected concussion, counting the day of the incident as day zero, with a narrow exception for baseline-tested high-goal players. Under the USPA's 2024 rules (Rule 21d), a player who has been knocked unconscious may not play again that day; the 2024 Outdoor Rules have no separate concussion rule, and no current USPA concussion protocol was found for this site. The Pony Club's 2026 rule says a person diagnosed with concussion must not ride or take part in close-contact Pony Club horse activity for 21 days, which may be extended on medical advice. The injuries and concussion page covers what the rulebooks say.