Texas A&M University Polo Club

About the Club Founded in 1967 Part of Texas A&M Recreational Sports 60 members Entirely student run and funded The Texas A&M Polo Club was founded in 1967. Since then, the club has won multiple regional and national titles and is one of the top polo programs in the nation. The polo club is a part of the sport clubs division or Texas A&M Recreational Sports. The club is not affiliated with the NCAA, but is part of the United States Polo Association which organizes all of intercollegiate polo in the country. Currently, the club has about 60 members, 10 of which are team members. The club is entirely student run and funded. We rely on membership dues, donations, and club member help to keep our club running.

Our Mission The club is dedicated to introducing polo to anyone interested in learning about the “Sport of Kings,” producing winning athletes, and striving to win the coveted USPA Intercollegiate National Championship. The polo club is dedicated to introducing polo to anyone interested in learning about the “Sport of Kings,” producing winning athletes, and striving to win the coveted USPA Intercollegiate National Championship. Every year, we do our best to share our love of horses and polo with all who are interested. We work hard to improve our program every year.

Club Membership No horse experience required. Members assist with the daily care of our horses. Members develop and improve riding skills and learn how to play polo. No horse experience is required to join. We have every level of rider from those who have never ridden before to those who have been riding competitively most of their lives. We are an entirely student run organization, so all members are expected to assist with the daily care of our horses such as feeding and cleaning stalls. If you have no experience you will be taught everything you need to know! Once they have paid dues, members can participate as much or as little as they would like. Up to 5 days of riding each week if weather permits, including at least one day of polo playing and practice. Members “get out what you put in” Those new to riding first learn about basic horsemanship and get riding instruction from our officer team. Once members are comfortable riding, our officers, team members, and coach teach members about the basics of polo. This includes proper swinging technique, the polo riding style, and rules of the game. Learning about the horses

Club Events Weekend Trail Rides Club Tournament Club clinic with Coach Mike Parents’ Day Fall 2013 In addition to our normal weekly club activities, we have special club events throughout the semester to reward our most active club members, . This can be anything from polo clinics to trail rides. Each semester we also have our “Parents’ Day”. This is a day when members can invite their families (and friends) to come out and watch them play polo! After playing, we have a cookout so that everyone gets to socialize. Every semester we also have a “Club Tournament”. After practicing and developing their polo skills all semester, members are split into teams and compete in an inter-club tournament to really test their polo skills.

The Team Men’s and women’s teams Coached by Mike McCleary Compete in USPA Intercollegiate tournaments Have separate practices to work on team skills Teach club members polo basics and how to play The Polo Club also has a mens’ and womens’ polo team. Both teams are coached by Mike McCleary who started the club back when he was a student at Texas A&M. Teams compete in the United States Polo Association’s Intercollegiate tournaments every year. Each team must play at least three qualifying games against other Intercollegiate teams. If they qualify, they advance to the Regional and then National tournaments. Because of this, team has separate practices from the club so that they can work on specific skills and team strategies to help them in their games. Most of our team members have been recruited by Coach Mike to play polo at Texas A&M, however anyone is allowed to tryout for the team at the beginning of the fall semester. Team members also teach club members how to play polo and umpire at club practices. This year, our teams did phenomenally at their competitions with our men placing second in the nation and the women at fourth in the nation.

The Horses 21 horses All were donated to the club Rated based on experience needed to ride so we can match club members with appropriate horses. Perhaps the most important part of our club is the horses. We currently have 21 horses in the A&M polo program. All these horses were donated to the club and have previous polo playing experience. Most of the club’s horses are thoroughbreds or thoroughbred crosses. Horses are rated as beginner, intermediate, or advanced so that riders can tell which horses they have the ability to ride. We are fortunate to have such a talented string of ponies; they win “Best Playing Pony” and “Best Playing String” awards every year!

The Sport 3 players per team Four chukkers per game. Polo is a contact sport Players use both the horses and mallets to make plays. “Line, man, ball” Polo is a very complicated sport that takes lots of time and practice to learn. There is outdoor polo, which most people think of when they think of polo, and arena polo, which is the type of polo played in the intercollegiate polo. Because of this, I will talk specifically about arena polo. In arena polo, there are three players on each team. An arena polo game consists of four, seven and a half minute long chukkers (the name for a period of a polo match). In a polo match, players are allowed to use both the horses and their mallets to maneuver the ball towards their goal. Polo is, in fact, a contact sport. The riders are not allowed to push or shove each other, however they can ride their horses into each other (as long as the maneuver follows the rules) and push other players away from the ball. It is quite difficult to explain and understand the rules of polo unless there is a game being played in front of you, however it is summed up by many as “Line, Man, Ball”. The line of the ball is an imaginary line created along the path the ball Is traveling on as it moves. This line extends both in front of and behind the ball. This imaginary line creates two “lanes” approaching the ball. Many of the rules of polo surround how to move in these lanes and when you can and cannot cross the line of the ball. Your “man” is the player on the opposing team that you are covering. Many coaches stress that you need to “stick with your man” as a good defensive strategy. Last is the ball. Many beginning players get too focused on the ball and tend to break many rules and foul other players while chasing after it. This is why the ball is prioritized last. It is important to know where the ball is on the field and to be able to anticipate where the ball will travel next so you can set yourself up for the best possible play.

Thank you for your time and interest! If you have questions or want to learn more about the club, visit us online at aggiepolo.com To learn more about the sport of polo visit uspolo.org If you have any questions or want to know more, visit us at aggiepolo.com. Feel free to contact any of our officers if you have specific questions. To learn more about polo, visit the USPA website at uspolo.org