Glossary

Polo-speak, decoded — enough vocabulary to follow any commentary and hold your own at the picnic.

The game

Chukka (chukker) — one period of play, about 7 minutes; matches run 4–8;
Line of the ball — the ball's path, creating right of way; polo's central law;
Throw-in — umpire restarts play by bowling the ball between the lined-up teams;
Knock-in — defending team restarts from the backline after an attacker sends the ball over it;
Penalty 1–6 — the graded penalty scale, from automatic goal (1) down through hits at 30, 40, 60 yards and from the spot/centre.

Ride-off — legal shoulder-to-shoulder contest to move an opponent off the line;
Hook — blocking an opponent's swing with your mallet;
Nearside / offside — the horse's left / right; the offside forehand is the bread-and-butter shot;
Neck shot / tail shot — hitting under the horse's neck / behind its rump — the crowd-pleasers;
Backhand (backshot) — reversing the ball's direction; the defender's field-flipper;
Stick-and-ball — solo practice; polo's version of hitting the range.

Patron — the (paying) amateur who fields a team and plays alongside hired professionals;
String — a player's set of ponies for a match or season;
Groom (petisero) — the professional horse-manager behind every string;
10-goaler — holder of the perfect handicap; the sport's rarest title;
High / medium / low goal — tournament levels by combined team handicap.

Treading in — the half-time divot stamp, spectators' contribution to the ground;
The Cathedral — Palermo's Argentine Open stadium, polo's holy ground;
Sport of kings — the old nickname, earned via Persian royalty and kept via Windsor.