Editing Polo (section)

==== United States ====
{{see also|United States Polo Association}}
[[File:Polo At the Kentucky HOrse Park (5995905109).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|A polo match at the [[Kentucky Horse Park]]]]
[[File:Polo Stadium in The Villages Florida.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Polo Stadium in The Villages, Florida.|Polo stadium in [[The Villages, Florida]]]]
[[James Gordon Bennett Jr.]] on 16 May 1876 organised what was billed as the first polo match in the United States at Dickel's Riding Academy at [[39th Street (Manhattan)|39th Street]] and [[Fifth Avenue]] in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|title=Polo In The United States And The Ascension Of The Polo Giant: USPA|url=https://www.lapolo.in/blog/polo-united-states-ascension-polo-giant-uspa/|access-date=19 March 2021|website=www.lapolo.in|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517182801/https://www.lapolo.in/blog/polo-united-states-ascension-polo-giant-uspa/|url-status=live}}</ref> The historical record states that [[James Gordon Bennett Jr.|James Gordon Bennett]] established the [[Westchester Polo Club]] on 6 May 1876, and on 13 May 1876, the [[Jerome Park Racetrack]] in [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester County]] (now [[The Bronx|Bronx County]]) was the site of the "first" American outdoor polo match.

H. L. Herbert, James Gordon Bennett and [[August Belmont Jr.]] financed the original [[New York Polo Grounds]]. Herbert stated in a 1913 article<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 May 1913 |url=http://gracytravel.com/may%2019%201913%20westchester%20established%20after%20mid%20may%20game%20at%20jerome%20park.pdf |title=Polo in America has Advanced: H.L. Herbert Tells of the Game from Its Start in This Country |access-date=2 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326121018/http://gracytravel.com/may%2019%201913%20westchester%20established%20after%20mid%20may%20game%20at%20jerome%20park.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2012}}</ref> that they formed the Westchester Club ''after'' the "first" outdoor game was played on 13 May 1876. This contradicts the historical record of the club being established before the Jerome Park game.

There is ample evidence that the first to play polo in America were actually the English Texans. ''[[The Galveston News]]'' reported on 2 May 1876 that [[Denison, Texas]] had a polo club which was before James Gordon Bennett established his Westchester Club or attempted to play the "first" game.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Galveston News|url=http://gracytravel.com/may%202nd%201876%20denison%20has%20a%20polo%20club.pdf |title=State News: Grayson County |date=2 May 1876|access-date=2 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326120937/http://gracytravel.com/may%202nd%201876%20denison%20has%20a%20polo%20club.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2012|quote= Mr Lane, living near Denison, has 25-acres of wheat headed up and nearly ripe{{nbsp}}... Denison has a Polo Club; also counterfeit metal dimes, base ball players and lightning rod men{{nbsp}}... This section was visited by the hardest storm of the season Thursday night.}}</ref> The Denison team sent a letter to James Gordon Bennett challenging him to a match. The challenge was published 2 June 1876, in ''The Galveston Daily News''. By the time the article came out on 2 June, the Denison Club had already received a letter from Bennett indicating the challenge was offered before the "first" games in New York.<ref>{{cite news|quote=Grayson County:<p>"At Denison Monday evening while Messers Harold Gooch and Will Lowe were practicing at the game of polo, quite a serious accident happened to former. Mr. Gooch's saddle turned throwing him into the ground when his horse gave him a severe kick, cutting a gash about five inches long across his head over the right ear. Dr. Berry rendered the necessary medical attention, and Mr. Gooch is doing well.</p>"Will Lowe, Secretary of the Denison Polo Club, wrote James Gordon Bennett asking him if arrangements could be made for a match game between the Denison and New York Clubs. Mr. Lowe received a letter from Mr. Bennett Monday, in which he says he will lay the matter before the club at the next meeting. There is little doubt the New York club will invite our boys to play them. The Denison club will go into training at once, as they are confident the game will come off.|url=http://gracytravel.com/jun%202nd%201876%20gooch%20playing%20polo%20in%20denison%20highlight.pdf |date=2 June 1876 |title=State News: Grayson County|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326121007/http://gracytravel.com/jun%202nd%201876%20gooch%20playing%20polo%20in%20denison%20highlight.pdf|work=The Galveston News |archive-date=26 March 2012}}</ref>

There is an [[urban legend]] that the first game of polo in America was played in [[Boerne, Texas]], at retired British officer Captain Glynn Turquand's famous Balcones Ranch.<ref name="gracytravel">{{cite web |url=http://gracytravel.com/balcones%20peculiar%20in%20the%20newspaper.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326121102/http://gracytravel.com/balcones%20peculiar%20in%20the%20newspaper.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 March 2012 |title=Gracy Travel – Balcones Ranch |publisher=gracytravel.com |access-date=28 July 2016}}</ref> The Boerne, Texas, legend also has plenty of evidence pointing to the fact that polo was played in Boerne before James Gordon Bennett Jr. ever picked up a polo mallet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://texaspoloclub.net/Amenities.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326120937/http://texaspoloclub.net/Amenities.php|url-status=dead|title=The Texas Polo Club|archive-date=26 March 2012}}</ref>

During the early part of the 20th century, under the leadership of [[Harry Payne Whitney]], polo changed to become a high-speed sport in the United States, differing from the game in England, where it involved short passes to move the ball towards the opposition's goal. Whitney and his teammates used the fast break, sending long passes downfield to riders who had broken away from the pack at a full gallop. In 1909 a United States team defeated an English team with ease.<ref name=EB1911/>

In the late 1950s, champion polo player and Director of the Long Island Polo Association, Walter Scanlon, introduced the "short form", or "European" style, four period match, to the game of polo.<ref>Newspaper article from the 1950s – the actual article uploaded on Wiki commons</ref>
[[File:Director Walter Scanlon. Bethpage, LI - Newspaper polo article..jpg|thumb|Director Walter Scanlon, Bethpage, Long Island]]

The rules of polo are written to include the safety of both players and horses. Games are monitored by umpires. A whistle is blown when an infraction occurs, and penalties are awarded. Strategic plays in polo are based on the "line of the ball", an imaginary line that extends through the ball in the line of travel. This line traces the ball's path and extends past the ball along that trajectory. The line of the ball defines rules for players to approach the ball safely. The "line of the ball" changes each time the ball changes direction. The player who hits the ball generally has the right of way, and other players cannot cross the line of the ball in front of that player. As players approach the ball, they ride on either side of the line of the ball giving each access to the ball. A player can cross the line of the ball when it does not create a dangerous situation. Most infractions and penalties are related to players improperly crossing the line of the ball or the right of way. When a player has the line of the ball on their right, they have the right of way. A "ride-off" is when a player moves another player off the line of the ball by making shoulder-to-shoulder contact with the other players' horses.

The defending player has a variety of opportunities for their team to gain possession of the ball. They can push the opponent off the line or steal the ball from the opponent. Another common defensive play is called "hooking." While a player is taking a swing at the ball, their opponent can block the swing by using their mallet to hook the mallet of the player swinging at the ball. A player may hook only if they are on the side where the swing is being made or directly behind an opponent. A player may not purposely touch another player, another player's [[Horse tack|tack]], or a pony with their mallet. Unsafe hooking is a foul that will result in a penalty shot being awarded. For example, it is a foul for a player to reach over an opponent's mount in an attempt to hook.

The other basic defensive play is called the bump or ride-off. It's similar to a [[Checking (ice hockey)#Body checking|body check]] in [[ice hockey]]. In a ride-off, a player rides their pony alongside an opponent's mount to move an opponent away from the ball or to take them out of a play. It must be executed properly so that it does not endanger the horses or the players. The angle of contact must be safe and can not knock the horses off balance, or harm the horses in any way. Two players following the line of the ball and riding one another off have the right of way over a single man coming from any direction.

Like in [[hockey]], ice hockey, or [[basketball]], fouls are potentially dangerous plays that infringe on the rules of the game. To the novice spectator, fouls may be difficult to discern. There are degrees of dangerous and unfair play and penalty shots are awarded depending based on the severity of the foul and where the foul was committed on the polo field. White lines on the polo field indicate where the mid-field, sixty, forty, and thirty yard penalties are taken.

The official set of rules and rules interpretations are reviewed and published annually by each country's polo association. Most of the smaller associations follow the rules of the [[Hurlingham Polo Association]], the national governing body of the sport of polo in the United Kingdom, and the [[United States Polo Association]].<ref>{{cite web|title=USPA Rulebook|url=https://www.uspolo.org/assets/docs/2017-USPA-Rulebook-web.pdf|website=uspolo.org|publisher=United States Polo Association|access-date=8 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109023557/https://www.uspolo.org/assets/docs/2017-USPA-Rulebook-web.pdf|archive-date=9 November 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>