Equipment for Pony and Player

Players

· All players and grooms must wear helmets. Face guards are optional, an alternative is protective goggles. Players also wear knee pads to protect against hard ride offs. Gloves are also worn to help grip the reins and to stop the stick strap rubbing.

· Players do not wear jodhpurs but white jeans.

· The polo sticks are known as mallets, they vary in length between 50” and 53” depending on size of the pony. They can be made of bamboo or a composite manmade material. The mallet is always carried in the right hand and whip in the left. George Wood describes the relative differences between the two varieties.

Ponies

· The ponies appear to wear a lot of equipment, however it is mainly for protection. They must wear bandages or some form of protection on all four legs. Often they will have boots on top of the bandages to provide support for the tendons. They will also wear overreach boots around their feet to protect against opponents pony’s studs and in case they tread on themselves.

· Many ponies play in studs to give them extra grip, they are only allowed to be placed in the hind feet.

· The tack is far more complicated than standard english riding equipment. All ponies must wear a standing martingale, and the bridles have 2 reins to help with steering.

· The ponies have their manes cut off to avoid them getting tangled in the reins. This causes them no discomfort.

· Finally their tails are tied up to avoid them getting caught up in the sticks.