Cape Town - “Don’t fall off the horse, but if you do, we’ll take pictures.”
This was the friendly warning from most of my colleagues before my first polo lesson, an activity once described as the “sport of kings”.
I had not been on a horse before, not since a brief experience with a pony in primary school. Now I had to ride a horse while knocking a ball with a polo stick, a sizeable challenge.
The Veuve Clicquot Masters Polo event at Val de Vie; a polo, wine and residential estate, will be held on Saturday and, in preparation for the annual equestrian event, the Cape Argus was offered a lesson with polo pro Kevin Rixon.
As I set off to ride in the crisp Paarl air recently, images of Prince Harry falling off his horse at the estate last November sprung to mind. Then images of my behind in white pants falling towards a clicking camera followed. That did not happen. My polo lesson was a very calm, civilised, almost posh event.
I arrived in the stipulated white pants. Rixon later told me they are impractical, merely part of the tradition of polo. He was in blue jeans. Ryk Neethling was also present, to add charm, I think.
During the lesson Rixon pointed to a large clock on the side of the field, on the horizon. It times seven-and-a-half minutes, the length of a polo “chukka”. A match can have six to eight chukkas. If you were to play any longer, the horses would tire.
Polo is for right-handed folk. If you are left handed, you are expected to learn to use your right hand. This rule is there to protect players from head-on collisions.
My first steed is the steel horse Henry. He is sturdy and has no inclination to throw me off.
I fix my posture to ride ever-so diagonal to the direction of the horse with my left foot sticking out.
My right arm has to be straight when I swing for the ball, no bending at the elbow. Polo is a big workout for your wrist because that’s where much of the swing is. Careful though, you don’t want to snap it.
Rixon got me onto Champion who obediently moved and steered to my tugs on the reins. Once I concentrated on hitting the ball, I began to forget about the horseriding. By the end of the lesson I had managed to ride the horse while hitting a ball and without falling off.
I would have another lesson, if I could afford it.
l For more details about polo at Val de Vie, see www.valdevie.co.za/polo.html
Cape Argus