Imagine looking into the icy glare of a half-ton animal flying forward at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour and knowing it is your job to collide with the animal with as much force as possible. This scenario may spark doubt in even the most courageous person, but it represents just another day at the office for the members of the Virginia polo team.
Virginia's polo team has been in existence for over 50 years and has been one of the most dominant programs in the country during that tenure. The men's team is the three-time reigning national champion (2002, 2003, 2004) and the women's team is the reigning national runner-up.
These teams, however, did not achieve their success without hard work.
"We round the horses up in the mornings, feed them, exercise them, bathe and clip them, give their medications and treat their wounds," junior Lindsey Fletcher said. "A few people put in 25 hours or more in a single week without pay to keep everything running smoothly in practice and at games because they know we need them to do it."
Maintenance of the horses is not the only work done by the Virginia polo team. The team also practices every day of the week for three hours and plays matches on Fridays and Saturdays.
The wear and tear of the sport, especially in such large doses, takes its toll on the team and the horses.
"Typical injuries for the rider are either muscle strain from riding, or some sort of a blow from being hit with a mallet, ball, horse, etc," team member John Ryan said. "Horses most typically suffer injuries to their legs. Tendon injuries are common, and can range from requiring a day off to career ending."
Polo is a very physical game and requires a lot of skill in order to compete at a high level. While polo may appear to be somewhat frantic with horses and riders flying around the field and crashing into each other, there is actually a lot of talent and technique involved. The game is divided into four chukkas -- the equivalent of quarters in football -- that last seven and a half minutes each.
During the action, there are several key rules that must be followed. Some of the most important rules are the "right-of-way rules." These rules dictate that once the ball is moving in one direction, whoever is chasing the ball and has the closest proximity on the "line" of the ball has the right to hit it. The opposing team can defend this scenario in two ways: They can try to hook the offensive player's mallet with theirs, or they can try to bump them off of the line of the ball with their horse.
The combination of the level of highly physical and skillful play has prompted comparisons of polo to soccer, Nascar racing, chess, rugby and ice hockey by the Virginia riders.
"Polo is like ice hockey," team member Jessica Underwood said. "Like ice hockey, polo is fast-paced, dangerous, amazing to watch, and involves lots of body-checking."
The one obvious difference between ice hockey and polo is that in polo the player must control a horse rather than their own legs to maneuver around the field. This makes the talent of each rider a major factor in the success of the team. Also, since horses do not travel with the team in collegiate polo, each rider must be versatile in the types of horses they ride. They may be forced to ride a horse they have never ridden before at an away match.
The Virginia polo team has combined all of these different skills to create a winning environment in which the men's team will compete for their fourth straight national championship and the women will look to avenge their loss in last year's national championship game. Throughout their success, the teams have maintained a fun atmosphere.
"We all split the load and it's a great group of people which makes it so much fun," team member Molly Muedeking said.
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