Nearside shots: hitting on the pony's left.

The nearside is the pony's left. Because the rulebooks require the mallet to be held in the right hand (HPA 2026 Rule 2c; USPA 2024 Rule 28e, with a narrow exception for left-handers registered before 1974), every nearside shot is played across the pony's body. This page sets out how a top player, a club and a school describe these shots. It is background for lessons, not a replacement for them.

Why the nearside is harder

Dallas Burston Polo Club's guide (January 2020) explains the difficulty simply: the mallet stays in the right hand, so for a nearside forehand the player has to twist and reach over the pony without hitting it. The St. Moritz snow polo rules guide (2024) describes nearside play the same way, as looping the mallet hand over to the pony's left and twisting in the saddle.

Argentina Polo School (June 2026) says nearside shots need balance, an independent seat and trust in the pony. That ties them closely to the polo seat.

The nearside forehand

England captain Luke Tomlinson described it to Shortlist in 2011. He twists to the left, brings the right arm up by the left shoulder, and swings through using more wrist than on the offside, much like a tennis backhand.

The nearside backhand

Tomlinson's nearside backhand starts with the right hand up by the pony's left ear. Dallas Burston Polo Club's guide says the stroke requires the rider to lock the right knee into the saddle and rotate the upper body fully, and that it can feel unsettling but is powerful when done well.

Which nearside shot is hardest: sources differ

• Luke Tomlinson (Shortlist, 2011) calls the nearside backhand easier than the nearside forehand.
• Argentina Polo School (blog, June 2026) describes the nearside backhand as among the most technically difficult shots in polo.
• Dallas Burston Polo Club does not rank them, but calls the nearside forehand harder than the offside forehand and the nearside backhand potentially unsettling.

Neither source explains its ranking, so we report both. Your instructor will decide the order in which you learn them.

Keeping the pony safe

Dallas Burston Polo Club's point about reaching over the pony without hitting it is also a welfare point. The National's 2012 report of a lesson with Coutts Polo at the Palace in Abu Dhabi says students were taught, above anything else, not to hit the pony's head or rear. Both rulebooks also have welfare rules about the mallet: the USPA's 2024 Outdoor Rules (Rule 5h) prohibit intentionally striking a mount with any part of the mallet, and the HPA's 2026 rules list abuse of a pony as unsportsmanlike conduct (Rule 35). Yale's polo club gives the same concern as part of why its beginners swing at a wooden horse first; see practice.

Practising both sides

Global Polo (March 2024, with Lily Brennan) advises practising nearside forehands and backhands on both sides during stick and ball, rather than only the offside forehand. Global Polo describes stick and ball as hitting around a practice field or arena at less than full strength, to build muscle memory and finesse.

The nearside and the rules of play

The rulebooks treat the nearside differently from the offside, which affects when a nearside shot is the right choice:

• HPA 2026 rules, Rule 27b: where two opponents are not already making a play on each other on the exact line of the ball, a player on the exact line with the ball on their offside has precedence.
• USPA 2024 Outdoor Rules: the interpretations to the Right of Way rule note there is no nearside Right of Way.
• HPA 2026 rules, Rule 30: a nearside backhand may not be hooked behind the player.

The USPA revises its rules each year and its 2026 book was not reviewed for this site, so check the current edition. For how precedence works in full, see the line of the ball.