General Information:
Arena Polo
Collegiate polo is a variant of outdoor polo and
incorporates the same rules and fundamentals as outdoor. The main
difference is collegiate polo is played indoors in an arena that is
approximately 300 feet long by 100 feet wide. Teams consist of three mounted players each, with two
umpires on the field. The match consists of 4 quarters, called chukkers,
that are each 7 and a half minutes in length. To score, the ball must
cross the opponent's goal line that is 10 feet wide. To learn more about the
rules, and for more polo resources, please visit the
United States Polo
Association website. A risk and release form must be filled out and
signed by all students before their first practice, and can be found on the
Links page.
Current Team
This year's team includes 3 returning men and approximately 10 returning
women, most of whom are listed on the
Members page (that page will be updated
after recruiting/informational meeting). Last season, the men played regular
season matches against Eastern Oregon and Oregon State, while the women played
the same two teams as well as the University of Idaho and Montana State
University. The Northwest Regional tournament held at our home facility in
Lewiston was also a great success in March. This year, a trip to California is
almost definite, where the men and women would both enjoy competing against
various schools down there.
History
The WSU polo team was
started by Pat Dix in 1963. Pat Dix first attended Cornell University and won a
national championship with the Cornell polo team under the coaching expertise of
Dr. Stephen J. Roberts. Dr. Roberts was very well known in the science
community and in the world of polo. He himself also played polo for Cornell,
captaining the first national championship polo team in 1937.
In the mid
1980’s interest in polo was rekindled at WSU. Dr. Hal Schott, who had some
previous polo experience, got the team going again. He served as the polo team’s
advisor for several years, before going to Michigan State University to teach
and do equine research. By 1990 the
team was more competitive, and they began playing against other intercollegiate
teams again. Since the reviving of polo at WSU, the men’s team has made it to
nationals in 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2006.
The WSU women have had some of their own successes, but have been somewhat
overshadowed by the men. The women’s team gained strength in 1995 when
they placed at western regionals for the first time. They have made
appearances at western regionals nearly every year since, but have yet to make
an appearance at nationals.
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