Fast-paced horses, swinging mallets and tailgates -- sounds like a polo match.
The concept of polo is similar to other competitive sports: get the ball in the goal.
But, trying to score atop a thousand-pound animal with a mallet only a little larger than the ball while other players and horses are trying to bump you out of the way complicates matters a bit. And don't forget the rules.
"Whenever the ball is in play, there's an imaginary line that goes forward and behind the ball," said third-year College student Lila Gaines, a varsity polo team member. "You can't cross [that line in a way] that will make someone crash."
Gaines compared the imaginary line to the yellow line on a road. Drivers can cross the line when no one is coming, but they have to stay to one side when there is traffic.
Many other actions can result in fouls as well.
"Overall when you're first learning, the hardest part is definitely [learning] the rules," Gaines said. "It takes a while to get those down."
Although players cannot cross the imaginary line, they can ride alongside the horse and rider controlling the ball to try and "bump" them out of the way.
Each time a player scores, the team earns one point, unless the goal is made from "beyond the 50, so more than half the arena" away from the goal, Gaines said. In that case, the goal is worth two points.
The Virginia Polo teams play other college teams as well as teams not affiliated with a university. Before Thanksgiving, the team plans to travel to play in a tournament against teams like Cornell University, Yale University and University of Connecticut.
The players are also in charge of taking care of the horses, which greatly increases the time commitment.
"The varsity girls are out there 25-30 hours a week," Gaines said. "It's a lot of time."
Gaines said one reason she was attracted to polo is its difference from other more traditional sports.
"It's a great sport," Gaines said. "You've got so much more to deal with than just field hockey. It's actual contact and the horse, which adds another element to the game."
Team member Sarah Croessmann, a second-year College student, emphasized the importance of the horse in each chukker, which is equivalent to a quarter in soccer.
"How you play in that chukker depends on how good your horse is," Croessman said. "If you don't have a fast horse, you're not going to get to ball first. If your horse doesn't turn well, you're not going to be able to keep up. If your horse is acting up or jumping around a lot, you're not going to be able to hit the ball well."
In addition to controlling a horse, each player must be able to hit the ball accurately.
"It's a difficult sport to start just because you have to be able to ride first of all," Croessman said. "You have to be able to hit a ball while you're cantering or galloping or just moving. [The mallet] is larger than the ball but not much larger, so you have to be pretty accurate to hit it."
Croessman also pointed to other strengths of a good polo player.
"You also need to be pretty aggressive and pretty bold," Croessman said. "You're on a thousand-pound animal, and if you're scared of it, you're not going to play well."
Gaines warned that players need to also be able to keep their aggression in check.
"You can't be afraid to be physical, but you can't get aggressive to the point you're fouling and making dangerous plays," Gaines said.
Although Croessmann is new to the game, she said she enjoys playing.
"It's a different sport, so it's interesting," Croessmann said.
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