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What A Romantic Date At The Polo Match!

You’re missing too much if you haven't watched a polo match yet. Watching a polo match is unlike watching football or a basketball match where the rules and fouls are common. The polo match requires certain knowledge beforehand. But let’s just assume you've not read polo. How would you then go to watch the match and blend with the audience?

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What A Romantic Date At The Polo Match!

There is something missing in your life if you haven’t watched a polo match yet. The charm of polo lies in its niche, one of the oldest organized sports in the world, the sport come with a treasure- of heritage, eminence, lineage and privilege and a sport burdened by its antecedents, the rich history, the glorified families and sumptuous events

One of the oldest sports in the world, enjoys the reminiscence of its noble origins, also referred to as the “game of the kings” is every man’s dream to play. The sport incites desires in its audience with its exemplification of thrill, unity, techniques, and sportsmanship, dedication, and obeisance for the horses and leads to the generation of rapid global expansion in participation and polo spectatorship in the sport. Being a polo audience will be one of the most determinant decision you will take. Unlike other sports where rules of the game are generally common, and the audience is not expected to behave in a certain way, polo expects the audience to have pre-knowledge about what should be the behavior of a spectator while you’re watching the match and how to talk polo. Today the sport is played in more than 80 countries throughout the world and enjoyed by more than 50 million people every year. In countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Australia, and Great Britain, championship matches draw crowds rivaling, which at times exceed the most common sports like football and basketball. With its fashion substance, Polo has been a gala event for ladies to parade their best outfits and styles. It follows a table of do’s and doesn’t. A table of what you should know, and what you should pretend to know, what you should criticize and what you should appreciate.

TAKE YOUR DATE TO WATCH A POLO MATCH
polo spectator
I'm sure, horses excite every lady on earth for their magnificence and the fact of being a symbol of royalty and horsemanship. Taking your date out to watch a polo match on a bright sunny day would be so much more adventurous, interesting and memorable. Give her enough time to dress up for the sunshine and tell her to wear the hat, and do not forget to compliment her for the hat. Talk polo with her in flirtatious form. Some statements like ‘your face shine more than this sun, I think I should wear that hat’ will spice up your flirting. If you are able to, then take her to one of the horses. That’s a winning situation when you’ll be explaining to her everything you know about the horse. Here’s a tip, get near to the horse and say, ‘'This is a re-trained horse that was into racing: they usually get cast away when they're considered that they're not going to make it to the final place’. Later on, show your sentimental side and tell her ‘I’m glad he’s got this better life as a polo pony when there was nowhere to go for her’. This would make her fall for you instantly. Tell her about the rich history of the sport and how you developed an interest in it. Let her fall for the taste of your royalty and believer in the ancient world of culture and sports. You can also tell her about the game and its proceeding required that you know about them. Before you go for a date, you ought to prepare to have an everlasting impression on your girl. And so LA POLO is always a savior.

TAKE A TOUR SEVERAL THOUSAND YEARS BACK. LET’S TALK POLO!
polo parade

Do not think of going to a polo match without knowing its history. It’s like you eating the apple and you don’t know its benefits. Apartheid on the basis of royalty, Polo enjoys the essence elitists. The goal game played on the horseback with horse galloping in the direction you want him to, making yourself a good rider, Polo is the most ancient game. Originating in Persia probably when humans started evolving in terms of societies, a several thousand years old, well, yes! Thousand years old. That’s how much old the sport is. The sport originated in Persia and was brought to the United States via England by the courtesy of James Gordon Bennett, an American publisher, and sportsman, approximately one hundred and thirty years ago. On his visit to London at the Hurlingham Club, he was inspired by the games he had seen, and on his return to America, he carried along with him a supply of balls and mallets. Texas cow ponies were brought to New York, and that winter, in 1876, indoors at Dickel’s Riding Academy, people learned to hit and ride for Polo. In 1877, the next summer, they went to Jerome Park Racetrack to play outdoors there. In India, the sport was inspired in the hearts of the royals majority in Rajasthan. The golden families were enriched in the sport and considered it as their leisure.

A shot basic knowledge of the sport is enough. In case you are a polo enthusiast and looking to dive deep into the history of polo and its origin, we have it there for you.

HOW TO READ A BOOK WITHOUT KNOWING THE LETTERS?
polo match

Right! You do not know the rules and proceeding of the game. How would you know when is the player hitting and what shot. A foul? Would you just sit back thinking, maybe he stabbed a player unknowingly? Or would you just look at the horses and feel bad that they are running, when what they wish for, is to run. Knowing a polo match, to be precise, feeling the heat of the polo match is what will instigate you when you’re sitting in the field. Knowing the rules of the game and how to talk polo will help you become a better spectator and will be worth your polo audience

> Polo is played between two teams with four players each. Every player is entitled to his own responsibilities on the field. In the team, player one is the attacker(offense); player two, is the midfielder(offense), player three, is the pivot(often the highest rated-player); and player four, is the defender.

> The field of the polo match is 300 yards long and 160 yards wide. There are goals at each end of the field that are spaced eight yards apart.

> The game is played in periods also known as chukkers that are seven minutes each plus 30-second overtime. The polo ponies are changed after every chukker.

> A goal is scored when the player hits the ball through the posts at the end of the field. One goal is equal to one score. Players switch sides after each goal is scored.

> Players might challenge their opposition team by ‘riding them off’, which is when a player attempts to move the player away from the ball or taking them out of the play riding alongside. They can also bump the opposition which is a physical maneuver and they can also attempt at hooking the opponent’s stick while they are hitting the ball.

> The two umpires on the field consult each other on the respected decisions.

> Following a foul, a free hit is awarded towards the goal.

These are very basic rules of the sport that must be kept into mind. Well, having said that how would you know whether the red team hit the ball or the white team. Did you think that hit five seconds ago favored a goal for Argentina or was it Britain? Ah, you missed out on that. Whenever I'm going to watch a polo match I always support the red team, it's my favorite for this ‘X’ player and his handicap. Therefore,

Knowing your players, their teams, their handicaps is just as important as your ‘hats’ in the polo match. Sunshine doesn't let you focus sometimes.

Same goes with the names of the players. To be a wonderful spectator, you should not necessarily know about the sponsors, but a knack of more knowledge doesn't hurt. Maybe you bump into the Ferrari CEO or the ambassador of IWC Sonam Kapoor. A selfie with the celebrity would be an icing to the cake, isn’t it?

FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT, A PERFECT GUIDE TO WATCH A POLO MATCH
You can always show off! Yes, everything has a limit, but then the basics can pull you off. If you didn't have time last weekend to research enough for the polo match you can quickly go through these points to get a gist of how to fake it.

polo audience

THE FOUR SHOTS THAT YOU CAN BOAST OFF

There is a decent knowledge that you need to have before complementing or commenting on a player or the game, to be precise rules to talk polo. If you want to be a critic and play a part of villain on the spectator seat, look out for the two forehands and the angle at which the ball flies to understand the shot. There is the cut shot (when the player hits the ball to the right whilst riding forward which is difficult to play); the neck shot (when the player hits the ball under the horse’s neck); the open backhand shot (defensive shot that goes away from the horse); the tail backhand shot (defensive shot played between the tail of the horse). If you think the player hit the shot apt; don’t miss out exclaiming ‘tidy’.

AFTER ALL, COMPLEMENTS ARE NECESSARY
Never miss out on complimenting a good horseman and a 'typey' horse. They say “Your claps boost the player”. A true horseman and a true rider deserve the appreciation of riding and building his horse. You don’t have any knowledge about the game, but you don’t want to look stupid among other polo spectators. Calm down, and just say ‘this player is a good horseman’ with a decent smile relaxing at the back of your chair, giving a confident look, and you see nobody will know it. It’ll be enough to complement and make other polo audience feel your vast knowledge about horsemanship is genuine. The pretty coward thing to do! But you have to look cool among polo spectators, so chuck it. If you want to show your horse knowledge, say ‘that’s a nice type’. 'Type' is an expression that is used for the body shape of the horse and its capacity, so when you say 'that's a typey horse' that means it's a nice and a compact size for a polo pony (with a round bum, a reasonably short neck, but athletic, with a good long set of legs on). To add on to the quirkiness, Say 'that's typey'. And well you can also define the sexes of the horses, as ‘mares’ or ‘geldings’, it will make you sound like you know way too much.

THE VOCABULARY ALWAYS MAKES YOU FEEL SUPREME.
polo audience  at match
Don’t use football terms or your basketball lingo. Talk polo when you're in the polo field among polo spectators. The sticks are not sticks, they are mallets. The grassy playing area in no ways is a ‘pitch’. Its a ‘field’ or you can also refer it to as a ‘ground’. The ball is a ball. ‘Offside’ means the right-hand side of the horse. If you really want to impress the polo audience and the girl beside you, talk about the horse's gear. They have different bridles, so you could say 'I see, that that horse is galloping with a 'Pelham and running reins', or 'a gag and running reins' or 'this Pelham has a different action, and it allows the horse to stop much better’. Never say that it's a break, say, one chukker has ended. Do not try to show off beyond limits. If you want to converse with a polo player, you can very decently do that. Do not ask stupid questions like ‘how much did you buy that horse for’? Polo players have big egos, If you ask them about themselves, they will be more than happy to answer your inquiries.

DO NOT TRY TO LOOK LIKE A POLO PLAYER
It's a small world of polo. If in any way you are trying to look like one, they’ll know you’re not. Avoid wearing white trousers and knee-high polo boots if you’re not playing polo. If you have to dress up, wear a smart casual shirt with a unique styled blazer that emancipates your royalty with a nice pair of chinos. If you want to be invited to a VIP wear a tie too. A gentleman look always plays its card. You can tell your lady to wear anything from dresses to pants to jeans. Do not wear heels, after all, polo is a sport. You can definitely go for wedges if that’s something you’re too conscious about. The sport has a simultaneous fashion replica with it, and do you don’t have to settle for anything less. Just be yourself, and dress up etiquette.

TRY THIS TO CAPTURE ATTENTION
polo horse , polo pony

Definitely, you would not want to stick out as a novice at a polo match and to receive approvals from the polo audience on your remarks beside you, you can always throw some pickup lines to the polo spectators to draw attention and display your IQ and they will know it when you talk polo. "When will the umpire bowl in (it means a roll-in of the ball by the umpire when the players are lined up)?" "My god, you missed out on that bump (when a player rides his pony into an opponent)?" "How many chukkers are left for the match to get over. I lost the track of the count?" "I think I can do a better job as a flagman, it seems to be so easy (the person who waves a flag to signal a goal)." "I’m sure that horse must be at least 16 hands (it's a measurement unit for a horse's height: one hand = four inches)." "That's a fine hook (it means hooking the opponent’s mallet while he is trying to hit the ball)." "How many knock-ins (when the defending team rolls the ball back into the game after it crosses their back line) do I have to see before I knock someone out?" "He is apparently weak on the nearside (the left-hand side of the horse). Sometimes someone brings up a subject you have no idea about, don’t get uncomfortable. Act casual in front of the polo audience and say, ‘ I think it's mostly about the horsepower in the sports polo’ or you can also say 'I think it's more a case of they being out-horsed.’ No matter what’s happening on the field and what time of the match it is, you can say: “The pace is a bit choppy”, with the right touch of impatience on your face and in your voice. Trust me, this is an impeccable and unchallengeable comment for the reason the pace is always choppy in polo. And there you go, with the right verses of knowing how to talk polo.

polo rules



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