Riding one-handed: neck reining, stops and turns.

In polo one hand is busy with the mallet, so the pony has to be steered, stopped and rated with the other. This page sets out how schools and one HPA Club Coach describe that, as principles. Learn the aids themselves from an instructor, on a pony schooled for polo.

One hand for the reins

Argentina Polo School (2025) says polo needs one-handed rein control so the other hand is free for the stick, and calls neck reining one of the first adjustments a new polo rider has to make. The Horse Network report of a 2015 lesson at Palo Alto Polo Holiday says the reins are held in the left hand, usually two reins, and that the mallet is swung in the right hand.

The right-hand mallet rule is in the rulebooks, and they word it differently:

• HPA 2026 rules, Rule 2c: only the right hand may be used to hold the stick to hit the ball or to hook another player's stick.
• USPA 2024 Outdoor Rules, Rule 28e: all players play with the mallet in the right hand, except left-handers registered with the USPA before 1 January 1974. The USPA revises its rules each year, so check the current book.

What neck reining is

Wikipedia (a secondary source) describes neck reining as an indirect rein aid: pressure of the rein against one side of the neck asks the horse to turn away from it. It says the aid is taught once the horse already responds well to weight and leg aids, and that in polo and polocrosse the rider holds one or two pairs of reins in one hand without needing slack for the neck rein.

Where the rein hand sits

Tim Ward, an HPA Club Coach profiled by POLO+10 in 2014, says the left hand should stay about two inches above the pony's neck and never rest on it, whatever skill is being practised. His descriptions of the four movements below all start from that hand position.

Stopping, turning, accelerating and checking

Ward lists these alongside the half seat as the core of polo riding. His cues, as POLO+10 reported them:

Stopping

Heels down, the rein hand kept about two inches above the neck at its usual distance from the chest, the upper body leaning back slightly, sitting lightly, and the legs squeezing just behind the girth as the lean begins.

Turning

The rider looks where they want to go with the eyes, upper body and hands, presses the reins on the pony's neck, and applies the outside leg on the outside flank. He calls this "press the buttons".

Accelerating

The rider looks in the direction of travel rather than down at the hands, squeezes the flank and moves the hand slightly forward, without leaning forward.

Checking

A half halt that gathers the pony like a compressed spring, to buy time for a shot or to get speed back under control. He describes it as a stop-like action with less lean back.

Argentina Polo School (2025) contrasts polo's sudden stops and quick turns with the measured rhythm and straight lines of show jumping.

Exercises Ward uses

POLO+10's profile lists the exercises Ward builds around these skills: accelerating up a track and stopping dead, backing two steps then turning and accelerating back, and a "clock" drill in which the rider accelerates toward numbers called out by the coach. His group warm-ups include riding in a line at varied speeds, passing a ball along the line, and riding without stirrups. These are drills run by a coach in a controlled session; the practice page covers how schools structure them.

The whip, the spurs and the mallet

The rein hand is also the whip hand, and the rules limit how aids are used:

• HPA 2026 rules, Rule 2.3b and c: whips may be no longer than 48 inches, including any tag, and may be used only in the left hand, on the shoulder or quarters, while the ball is in play. Misuse of the whip is unsportsmanlike conduct. Spurs must be smooth and rounded with a single shank of no more than 2 cm, and rowel spurs are not allowed.
• USPA 2024 Outdoor Rules, Rule 5g and h: crops and spurs may not be used unnecessarily or excessively, nor when the ball is out of play except in exceptional circumstances. Intentionally striking a mount with any part of the mallet is prohibited, and under the rule's interpretations a single crop strike loud enough for a spectator to hear may be penalised.

Clubs add their own expectations. Singapore Polo Club's lesson rules (November 2019) require members to look after pony welfare when mounted, for example by taking care not to strike the pony's legs with the mallet. For the full equipment rules see spurs and whips, and check the current rules of your club or tournament.