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 Much has changed in the modern game
of polo since a certain John Watson returned from India in 1884 and
proceeded to teach players how to combine and play for their sides
instead of for themselves. Prior to his arrival on the scene the
method of play was for one man on each side to be goalkeeper and
for the others to play forward in a heap, hitting the ball as often
as they could and keeping the ball to themselves. Watson introduced
the now familiar 'riding off' and the positional play still used
today. The game of polo was exported to America and later
Argentina, their influence adding to and improving the game to the
one we all know. We think that John Watson would have approved of
Arena Polo and would be an avid supporter of Polo Wicklow..
The first recorded polo match played in Ireland was in Co.
Carlow, in 1872, with the All Ireland Polo Club (Dublin) being
founded later, in 1874. One hundred and twenty one years on, the
first Arena Polo match was played in Ireland in Co. Wicklow, in
1993, and the same year Polo Wicklow with its two grass fields and
full sized arena became the only facility offering both grass polo
and arena polo for twelve months of the year. Advantageously
positioned on the East Coast of Ireland 30 miles south of Dublin,
the influence from the Gulf Stream ensures that the area has no
extremes of weather, polo has only been cancelled once in twelve
seasons due to snow. The arena surface and the unique drainage
system all contribute to continuity and reliability of play. We
have found that influence of the Guinness however, and the great
hunting with the South County's can play its part in the
cancellation of a fixture, as it did when the Dutch team visited
Ireland. They all bought a piece of the Irish soil during the chase
and arrived many hours too late, a little disorientated and too
exhausted to play that evening, their match was rescheduled for
Sunday and St. Patrick's Day . This match was captured on canvas by
travelling American artist Lee Erickson who spent a month painting
the polo scene in Wicklow.
At the end of the grass season the polo addicts transfer
immediately to the arena season. The management of the ponies has
changed due to the 'twelve months' season, firstly the Professional
player and the grooms have a permanent job and the care of the
ponies is continuous. We have six Argentine grooms working for us
and keeping the horses in top condition throughout the year.
Following the system of care pioneered in America our ponies have
regular short breaks during the year, they do not loose condition
and there is no need for a rigorous fitness program when brought
back in to work. All the visiting players have commented on the
quality, ability and well being of the horses now in their twelfth
year of this regime.
There is no doubt that the Arena is the best place to get a
young horse or a horse with bad grass polo habits corrected, we
also have seen that the old myth, that any horse will do for the
arena, is not correct. At the Arena International in Berkshire the
best horses, combined with the best team play made the difference.
Again and again we see in the matches that the horse power makes
all the difference to the result and this means that the best
horses must also belong in Arena Polo.
This year we introduced the rule of continuous play after a ball
has been scored, which makes the cam much more exciting for not
only the players but also the spectators. A fair amount of
spectator power was influential in these decisions as the
spectators role in Polo Wicklow is vital and they too are entitled
to enjoy the game as much as the players. The chukka length is
reduced to 6 and a half minutes to take into account the continual
play. In general it is most important to ensure that the fast flow
of Arena Polo which makes the game so special to play and exciting
to watch is preserved and the game is played with a minimum of
interruptions.
 Polo Wicklow is pleased
to have an ever willing umpire in Sandra Giles, in her role of
adjudicator she has the respect of all the players, even those who
have been sent off the field of play know it was for a good reason!
Stricter umpiring this year has helped to make the game safer and
once the players became used to the disadvantage of severe
penalties for infringements or dangerous play, the standard of good
and more careful play was evident. New players had guidelines from
the first day and easily slotted into games. Due to the speed and
the lack of 'cooling off' periods in the chukka (achieved in grass
polo with the ball out periods and the throw in from the centre) it
became imperative to have no discussions or queries at all with the
umpires during the match, this has been rigorously enforced. It
goes without saying that many an extra chukka was played out in the
club house where the umpire was unable to enforce a penalty for an
opinion!
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