POLO

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against
an opposing team. Riders score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the
opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet. The traditional sport of polo is played
at speed on a large grass field up to 300 yards in length, and each polo team consists of
four riders and their mounts.
A modern variant is called arena polo which is played indoors or more commonly
outdoors on an enclosed all-weather surface (the field of play is much smaller, rarely
exceeding 100 yards in length). In arena polo there are only three players on each team
and a small inflatable leather ball is used instead. Arena polo matches usually consist of
four 6 minute periods (called chukkas or chukkers), as opposed to field polo matches
which consist of between four and eight 7 minutes chukkas (depending on the level being
played).
Another modern variant is snow polo, which is played on compacted snow on flat ground
or a frozen lake. The format of snow polo varies depending on the space available. Each
team generally consists of three players and a bright colored light plastic ball is preferred.
Other variants include camel polo, elephant polo, bike polo and Segway polo. These
sports are considered as separate sports because of the differences in the composition of
teams, equipment, rules, game facilities etc.

Tent pegging

Tent pegging (sometimes spelled "tentpegging" or "tent-pegging") is a cavalry sport of

ancient origin, and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the
International Federation for Equestrian Sports. Used narrowly, the term refers to a
specific mounted game with ground targets. More broadly, it refers to the entire class of
mounted cavalry games involving edged weapons on horseback, for which the term
"equestrian skill-at-arms" is also used.

Essential rules
The specific game of tent pegging has a mounted horseman riding at a gallop and using a
sword or a lance to pierce, pick up, and carry away a small ground target (a symbolic tent
peg) or a series of small ground targets.
The broader class of tent pegging games also includes ring jousting (in which a galloping
rider tries to pass the point of his weapon through a suspended ring); lemon sticking (in
which the rider tries to stab or slice a lemon suspended from a cord or sitting on a
platform); quintain tilting (in which the rider charges a mannequin mounted on a
swivelling or rocking pedestal); and Parthian (i.e., mounted) archery.[1]
A given tent pegging competition's rules specify the size and composition of the target;
the number of consecutive targets placed on a course; the dimensions and weight of the
sword, lance, or bow; the minimum time in which a course must be covered; and the
extent to which a target must be struck, cut, or carried.[2]
Tent Pegging
Tent-pegging is one of the most popular equestrian sports and was particularly popular in
the Indian sub-continent till the post war period. Although there is difference of opinion
as to how and where it started, it is almost certain that tent-pegging is a sport of Asian
Origin. One source dates it back to the invasion of India by Alexander the Great in 326
B.C. which lends credence to the belief that the sport originated in the North Western
province of India and Afghanistan through where Alexander had entered India. The
cavalry soldiers of Alexander were believed to have used tent-pegging as a battle tactics
against the elephants in the army of the Indian King Porus, who fought bravely against
the invaders, lost the battle, but by virtue of his heroic demeanour , charmed Alexander,
who returned to Porus his kingdom and made him his friend. There is also a belief that
the sport originated with the horse-mounted soldiers charging enemy camps at the crack
of dawn removing the pegs which held the tents in place, with the tips of their sharp
spears.
But most equestrian authorities are of the opinion that tent-pegging originated in India in
the middle ages in the battle fields as a tactics used by the horsed cavalry against elephant
mounted troops. The soldiers discovered that the best way to make the elephants
ineffective was to attack them on their toe nails with sharp spears from the back of the
galloping horse. In order to perfect this technique, the cavalry started the practice of tent-
pegging which eventually turned into the modern sport. Tent-pegging is now a popular
equestrian sport in many countries around the world.

These days the rider uses either a lance or a sword and charges in a full gallop across the
arena which is specified in the rules and attempts to pick up the wooden / card board pegs
stuck into the ground. This can be done individually or in a team.

The sport got its first official recognition when the Olympic Council of Asia accepted
Tent-pegging as an official event in the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games. Thereafter India
as well as other countries have been hosting International Tent-pegging events regularly
which has seen participation of countries across different continents.

The modern sport of Tent-pegging now comprises Normal events meant for
championships and special events, the list of which is appended below.

Normal Competitions
Lance – Individual
Lance – Team
Sword- Individual
Sword- Team
Special Competitions
Lance and Sword- Paired
Indian File (Lance or Sword)
Gallows (rings) and Peg- Lance.
Lemon and pegs- Sword
Skill at Arms.
Following requests received from various countries the Federation Equestre
Internationale in its General Assembly held at Rabat, Morocco granted Tent-pegging
recognition as Regional discipline which has come as a source of great encouragement to
hundreds of horsemen for whom this traditional, thrilling but a highly skilled sport is a
passion.