BEST PLAYING PONIES A
s you watch an adrenaline-fueled polo game, it is impossible not to admire the skilled equine athletes that carry players from one end of the field to the other, pivoting on a dime, running to goal, fearlessly riding other ponies off the ball, and responding to the split-second changes in the game. Most players agree that the polo pony you ride in the game makes up 70–80% of your skill on the field. And because the ponies work hard in their 7-1/2-minute chukkers (galloping up to 3 miles in a single chukker), players must bring several ponies to the field for a game, known as a string of ponies. Many high-goal players have strings of 10 ponies, while lower-goal players will have a string of 4–6. It can take years to build your dream string, just ask anyone who has tried! Here we get advice from respected Houston Polo Club polo pros, Marcos Villanueva and Nick Cifuni, on what makes a great pony and how to start building your polo string.
A WINNING PONY PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES Marcos breeds and raises young horses, training them over 6–7 years to become skilled polo ponies. He believes that, when looking for a champion, you cannot beat a mare with a polo bloodline: “I believe in the genetics. If a mother was a good polo mare and she played really well, I would rather breed that mare.” To that end, Marcos breeds his champion mares by implanting embryos in recipient surrogate mares, allowing him to produce up to three foals per year from his best bloodlines.
30 HOUSTO N P OLO C LUB
Marcos describes what he looks for in the physical attributes of a polo pony: 15.1 or 15.2 hands, broad chested, and a short back to make stopping and pivoting faster. “Some people think that if a player is big, they need a tall horse. But that is a mistake. You can match that big guy with a 15.2 hand horse, but just buy them wider and stronger to carry the weight. It is easier to hit the ball when you are closer to the ground than when you are on a tall horse.” TRAINING Nick calls upon his multidisciplinary experience to develop his unique style and philosophy of training polo ponies: “The disciplines are all connected. If a horse is disciplined and moving the way they need to move, then they can do it in polo, they can do it in hunter/jumper, three-day eventing, reining, and cutting—it’s all the same movements. I am always watching different people and horses to build my style of getting what I need out of a horse. A good broke horse and good trainer should be able to connect all the disciplines together.” Training a polo pony is a gradual process. Marcos starts the breaking process at about 3 years, and then it is 3–4 years before they are ready to play competitively:“When they do everything that I ask of them (riding, stick and ball), and they are relaxed about it, then I know they are ready to play polo. First I play them for 2–3 months in slow chukkers, then the next season will be a little faster, and then a little faster, and on and on.” TEMPERAMENT There is a consistent temperament that polo ponies must possess, and several personality traits that players seek out in their mounts: calm
