Life and Leisure

Show me the money

By Xu Junqian (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-20 07:54

Nine Dragon Hill, the country's first polo club. Provided to China Daily

The saying that polo is a game for those who make $20 million a year, while golf is for people who make $20,000 is a slight exaggeration but it does convey the message that it is primarily for the rich and powerful. A player's ability is most important, but his or her polo pony is a crucial factor.

Most polo ponies are around 15 hands high, while regular horses are usually above 16 hands. Polo demands quick bursts of speed and agility and larger horses cannot achieve this so easily.

A variety of horse breeds are used. In the United States, thoroughbred polo ponies are crossed with quarter horses, known for their nimbleness. The most popular polo pony is a thoroughbred polo pony crossed with Criollo horses from Argentina.

Polo ponies cost from 50,000 yuan ($7,514) to 200,000 yuan. In a game, a pony is only allowed to play two periods out of the possible six sessions of a match, in case they get tired and injured. Therefore, three ponies are needed for each player.

It is usual for the ponies to be looked after by the club, which costs about 3,000 yuan ($451) a month, partly due to the 1 ton of straw it eats, in addition to carrots, oatmeal and corn. There are also the vet and grooming bills. The ponies also require a saddle, bridle and so on.

Traditional attire for the players includes a helmet, mallet, knee pads, gloves, white pants for tournament matches, and a pair of special riding boots required for standing on the stirrups for long periods. This equipment costs from 5,000 to 10,000 yuan.

For the match, the ponies must have their manes hogged and tails plaited, so as to prevent their hair tangling with the mallets. Previously, tails were usually docked, but now they are trimmed and folded up against the tailbone. A polo field is the size of nine soccer grounds, or 275 meters in length and 160 meters wide. There are two three-meter-tall goalposts at both ends of the field.

A polo match consists of four to six chukkas (periods), each lasting for around seven minutes. Lovers of the sport will tell you that the seven minutes can be as exciting as a one-and-a-half-hour soccer game, as the ponies run at up to 35 km/h. Ardent fans of polo will tell you there are only two things that will prevent them playing the game, death and bankruptcy.