The sport of polo has been around centuries, dating all the way back to the 6th century. When something has been around that long, it’s not uncommon for people to develop misconceptions about that thing. It’s hard to blame someone for having these misconceptions if they’re not a part of that culture, and with Polo often being considered a more niche activity, none of this really comes off as a surprise. Here are a few common misconceptions seen surrounding polo and the truth about them.
Polo Isn’t For Everyone
For years polo was believed to be a man’s sport, and not just a man’s sport but a rich man’s sport. This is likely due to polo’s roots being traces all the way back to sixth century Persia and how it was used to train cavalry units back then. Older men were also who we typically saw play polo due to likely being retired and having more time to put into the sport, as it can be very involved and requires large amounts of time dedicated to it. Luckily as time moves on, things change and that’s exactly what happened with polo. Today polo is more accessible than ever before, especially to women and younger players.
To Play Polo You Must Own A Horse
With many horse-related activities, it’s often believed that you must own a horse in order to partake in that activity. This may also stem back to polo and other horse-related activities being only for the wealthy, but luckily this misconception is further from the truth. Many modern polo players will rent or lease the horses they play with, and some collegiate programs will lease their horses as a way of paying for their program. Having your own horse and stable is definitely ideal, but anyone can play polo if they can afford to rent a horse.
You Need A Particular Body Type To Play Polo
When you see someone tall you may say to yourself “oh they’d be good at basketball” or when you see someone with muscular, broad shoulders you may go “oh they could be a football player”. This isn’t something that happens very often with polo, as there is no particular body type that is best suited for the sport. Polo players don’t really have any defining physical aspect that gives them away, and you’ll often even find that they may be short or have no muscle at all but can still play polo at the top level.