“We’re not on pony camp here!” roars coach Steve Thompson as I try to stop my polo pony from nuzzling into the backside of the one in front. Jasmin is actually a highly trained polo pony who needs just a little input from the person sitting on her back to keep her interested. There’s a lot to learn while taking an introductory lesson to the polo experience at the Dubai Polo Academy at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, but the one instruction that sinks firmly into my grey matter is, “Lifting up the reins and leaning back means stop”.
I’m also supposed to lift my ribcage while I sit in the saddle but gravity pulls it down again. Soon into the lesson we ditch the stirrups and Jasmin is trotting dutifully while a sack of potatoes bobs precariously up and down. I make the fatal mistake of gripping with my thighs, which remain stiff for a week afterwards.
That’s what I used to do when I rode a horse way back in the 1980s and old habits die hard, which is exactly why this experience is ideal for non-riders because they wouldn’t automatically practise old habits. However, experienced riders who listen very carefully to Managing Director Thompson’s instructions might not suffer as I did. >
As Lizzie Fox, Dubai Polo Academy Coordinator, says, “The riding skills required for polo are so different from other equestrian sports that it makes no difference whether you have previous riding experience or not.”
Trotting into the UAE
The origins of polo — the oldest game known to man — are undetermined but have been claimed by China, India, Iran and other nations. UAE nationals, known for their great affection for the Arabian horse, started to develop the game here about 20 years ago. The late Shaikh Zayed sparked off enthusiasm for the sport when he built the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club in 1994, now run under the patronage of his son, Shaikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Polo events have blossomed in the UAE to now include some prestigious international tournaments at home base as well as UAE teams travelling to high-profile matches overseas, particularly in Argentina, Spain and the UK.
The introductory sessions at Dubai Polo Academy allow first timers over the age of 16 and under 100 kilograms to decide if they want to pursue polo or not. Available in 45- or 90-minute lessons, participants learn how to swing the mallet along with the necessary riding skills. “By the end of the session they will be hitting the ball from the horse,” says Fox.
If I took further lessons I would learn about the shots, terminology and advanced riding skills used in polo, finally progressing to chukkas (each of a number of periods into which play is divided), the rules of the game and playing as part of a team.
Derek Dewar, owner of Conference Selection, a venue-finding service based in the UK, who took a tailor-made corporate team building experience here in 2011, says, “How can they teach you so much in half a day? We had a group of amateurs who had no concept of what we would be able to achieve. This is a completely brilliant experience.”
I’m particularly taken by the obedience of my pony, and could well be keen to take up the sport. For starters, a light touch of the reins, held in the left hand, makes the pony move in whatever way it has been nudged. Yet the horse takes no notice of the other boisterous flamboyant movements typical of the game.
What to do with the other hand though? It starts out waving about cowboy-style — just without the lasso — until Thompson reins me in to control my actions and balance by placing it on my stomach. That’s the hand that will hold the mallet as soon as the other basics are done with.
Thompson has been a player and a coach for the past 20 years, which means he’s seen it all. He doesn’t pull any punches either. The UAE’s only Hurlingham Polo Association (polo’s governing body in the UK, the rules of which all UAE polo clubs adhere to) qualified coach, he established The Dubai Polo Academy in October 2005. He’s direct, knowledgeable, and makes the lesson fun but at the same time is aware of any concerns people may have and what’s more, he knows his ponies like the back of his hand having trained all ten and another nine that are leased.
Various techniques are used for the training, he says, but it’s basically a “mixture of traditional polo and revolutionary methods”. These will be detailed in his book The Essential Guide to Learning Polo, due to be published at the beginning of next year, although no date has been set yet.
“We choose ponies for the academy that are of particularly good character and kind natured, that we know will respond well to training,” says Thompson, as we grapple with establishing the correct grip on the mallet and the physics behind how the ball is hit.
“You’re not a gladiator!” Thompson roars again as I try to manoeuvre the mallet and avoid knocking the pony out cold. “The polo stick is a pendulum that you swing in a gentle fashion to make contact with the ball,” he says.
One for the masses
It feels unwieldy at first but I attempt to maintain authority over it and gain some modicum of success. Then he gets technical. “For every shot there is a pendulum movement. The characteristics of a pendulum are: a moment of suspension then acceleration; post contact there will be deceleration and another moment of suspension; you will notice that the chest remains absolutely parallel to the horse facing to the right to start and as the stick is attached to the body, shoulder and chest…”. Yes there is a lot to remember but the gist of it is that as the sport of kings regains popularity among everyday people the world over, where better to learn than in Dubai?
