Matthew Buckner, age 13, of Burlington, Vt., his question:
WHEN WAS POLO FIRST PLAYED?
Polo is an exciting game in which two teams of players mounted on horseback try to drive a wooden ball through each other's goal by means of long mallets. The experts aren't sure when polo originated but they believe it was played in Persia, now Iran, more than 4,000 years ago and then spread to other Oriental countries including Tibet, India, China and Japan.
By the 16th century A.D., polo became a very popular game, especially in India.
British army officers stationed in India organized modern polo in the 1850s. Then the game was introduced into England in 1869 and into the United States about 1875.
Today polo is played throughout the world, including especially Argentina, the U.S., Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, Mexico, India and Pakistan and parts of Africa.
The game is played outdoors on a field that is no more than 300 yards long and from 160 to 200 yards wide. A goal, made up of two uprights eight yards apart, is set up 25 yards from each end of the field.
Polo is also played indoors, especially in large U.S. arenas such as armories or riding academies. The size of an indoor field varies according to the floor space available.
The ball used outdoors is made of solid wood, usually willow, three and a quarter inches in diameter and weighing between four and a quarter and four and three quarter ounces. The ball used indoor is leather covered and inflated, about four and a half inches in diameter.
The mallet used in polo has a wooden head and a thin, flexible, bamboo handle that is from 27 to 54 inches long. Protective equipment includes helmets and kneepads, plus leg bandages for the horses.
An outdoor polo team is made up of four players while three riders make up an indoor team. A game is divided into periods, or chukkers, of seven and a half minutes each. Six chukkers make up a usual outdoor game while four are played indoors. A goal counts as one point.
In international polo play, as many as eight chukkers may be played. Ties are resolved in an extra "sudden death" period or periods, in which the first team to score wins.
Polo players are ranked, or "handicapped," according to the number of goals they may be expected to make in a game. The rankings of skilled players run from five to 10 goals.
On the handicap basis, the total team handicaps may count in the scoring. If team "A" has a handicap of 20 and team "B" has a handicap of 17, the game starts with a score of 3 0 in favor of team "B."
Many years of training are required to develop a speedy, maneuverable polo horse, commonly known as a polo pony. The expense of training and maintaining a stable of, polo ponies usually restricts the game to the wealthy.
A polo pony is not a horse of any special breed or size. Thoroughbreds and three quarter thoroughbreds are generally considered the most acceptable. The horse must get used to having clubs swung near its head and it must also be able to stop quickly, and to turn, twist and resume stride with little loss of speed.