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Arena Polo

Intercollegiate polo follows the rules and regulations of arena polo, which is a variation on outdoor polo. The main difference between arena and outdoor polo is that the former is played in an enclosed arena that is approximately 300 feet long by 100 feet wide. The game involves two teams, each of which consists of three players mounted on horseback. There are two umpires mounted in the arena and one that officiates from the sidelines. The match consists of four game periods, called chukkers, which are individually seven and a half minutes in length. The object of the game is for players to score the most goals possible with the ball, similar to a miniature soccer ball, by legal means of the polo mallet. To score, the ball must cross the opponent’s goal line that is 10 feet wide. To learn more about the rules, and for more polo resources, please visit the United States Polo Association website.

Club History

The Oregon State Polo Club was originally founded in 1929, as a nationally recognized military team. Despite a decline over the years, the team found new strength in 1996, and has been solid ever since. It is one of the strongest and largest of the five intercollegiate clubs in the Pacific Northwest. It is also the oldest recreational sport clubs at Oregon State University.

The Oregon State Polo Men's Varsity team had an excellent 2008-2009 season. Freshmen Michael Mayer and Ford MacCarty joined the 2007-2008 season's returning members Steven Springer and Walt Woods to form a team with great potential. Though two of the four players had a year or less of polo or horse experience prior to the season, the team steadily improved throughout the season, defeating other teams in the Northwest and improving their individual and teamwork abilities throughout the year. The team also travelled to Colorado to play against Colorado State in an exhibition match. After making it to the final round of the 2009 NW Collegiate Regionals, the team lost in the last few minutes against the returning champions, Eastern Oregon University. Steven Springer and Walt Woods both graduated at the end of the year.

The 2008-2009 Women's Varsity team consisting of Sarah Laselle, Mackenzie Bakewell and Erika Hanna had a great season. It was their second year playing as a team together and their last as Mackenzie and Sarah graduated in the Spring. The trio were undefeated in the NW region and had incredibly close games against Colorado State University and Calpoly. At Regionals 2009 they were rivaled by Idaho State University but for the second year in a row they advanced to Nationals. The girls flew to Virginia to compete at the beautiful facilities of University of Virginia. Both the Men's and Women's teams from Virgina claimed victory on their home turf but the OSU women focused on high speeds and playing on incredibly well trained and fit polo ponies. They not only got to play some of the best teams in the nation but they got to see Washington D.C. and other beautiful sites on the East Coast.

All in all, both of the teams had a great year together and the club hopes to build both another Men's and Women's team to take on Nationals this season!

The Team Now

The club meets for practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00 pm during the term. We leave the parking lot behind Callahan Hall at 5:30PM in order to carpool to Knox Butte Equestrian Acres. Practice usually lasts about 3 hours. Practice begins with the cleaning of the club stalls, grooming the horses, and tacking the horses. We then meet up in the arena to work drills and play practice chukkers. As practice winds down we move back to the barn to untack the horses and groom them once more.

Weekends during the competition season often consist of hosting a home match or traveling to a match at one of the schools within the Northwest Region. Club members and supporters are more than welcome to join us at any of these events.