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Hobby horse polo

Steckenpferdpolo
Characteristics
Team members 6 per side
Mixed gender Yes
Type ball game, team sport, outdoor
Equipment Ball, stick, hobby horse, sherry
Venue Polo field (grass)
Presence
Country or region Germany
Olympic No

Hobby horse polo (German: Steckenpferdpolo) is a mixed team sport played on hobby horses. It is similar to other polo variants, such as canoe polo, cycle polo, camel polo, elephant polo, golfcart polo, Segway polo, auto polo and yak polo, in that it uses parts of the polo rules, however it has its own specialities.

Hobby horse polo originated in 1998 as a mockery of "polite society" in Heidelberg-Neuenheim, which led in 2002 to the foundation of the First Kurfürstlich-Kurpfälzisch Polo-Club in Mannheim. It has since become a trendy sport with various teams in German cities and gained some notoriety in the press.

Playing polo with hobby horses has been described as a children's game in classical polo regions.Hugh van Skyhawk, an Indologist and professor of Islamic studies in Mainz and Islamabad, described hobby horse polo played by young boys as part of the ceremonies of the traditional Gindni (harvest preparations) festival in Hispar.

In 2013 the Grütlihüüler Guggenmusik from Allenwinden (Baar, Switzerland) organized the first Steckenpferdpolo on Swiss soil.

The objective is to score goals against an opposing team. The goals are traditionally marked by bar stools in width and height, but simple street hockey goals can also be used. Players score by driving a small soft baseball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled croquet mallet. A full match takes six 6-minute-long chukkas (periods) and each team may consist of six persons (depending of the size of the field and amount of interest). The minimum size of the field is 30 m (100 ft) long and 15 m (50 ft) wide. A 'last man' rule applies, as any player may act as goalkeeper. As players need some protection against possible injuries, cleated shoes and shin guards are recommended. The mallets should be stable and are often taped to reduce the risk of losing the hammer head. It is preferred to hit the ball, but not other players.


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