Room VII
Polo academy
Twelve weeks from your first swing to your first chukka. Small groups, club ponies and a coach who has played in four countries.
The course
Twelve weeks, four rooms
- I
Stick and ball
Weeks 1 to 4
Swinging from the wooden horse, then at a walk on a quiet pony. Forehand, backhand, safety.
- II
Practice chukkas
Weeks 5 to 8
Slow, coached chukkas with an umpire explaining the line of the ball.
- III
Club chukkas
Weeks 9 to 12
Your first real chukkas with members, on club ponies, at handicap minus two.
- IV
First tournament
The next season
A place in the Ngwo Plate or the Ladies Invitational, if the coach agrees.
Price and dates
₦650,000 for the full course
- Starts
- Second Wednesday of November, January and March
- When
- Wednesday 16:30 and Saturday 7:30
- Group size
- Six riders, one coach, one groom
- Includes
- Club ponies, mallets, helmet, knee guards and a club polo shirt
- You need
- To trot and canter confidently, or a few riding school lessons first
Coaching
Meet the coach
Polo looks like chaos from the lawn. From the saddle it is a game of angles and manners. I teach the manners first.
Ifeoma learned at Hartwell as a girl, played in four countries and came home to coach in 2018. She has taken forty-one beginners to their first tournament.
Every academy rider has a short video review after week four and week ten.
Questions
Academy questions
Do I need to be a member
No. The course is open to all. Most riders join as playing members afterwards, and the course fee comes off the entrance fee.
Is polo dangerous
It is a fast contact sport and falls happen. We start at a walk, wear protection and only speed up when the coach is sure.
Women play too
Yes. A third of our playing members are women, and the Ladies Invitational is one of our best days.
Before you leave the room
Not riding yet
Start in the riding school. Most riders are ready for the academy in eight to ten lessons.