You know that little guy on the horse stitched into the left side of your collared shirts?  Well, he actually exists - well, maybe not him in particular, but a number of people like him live in St. Louis (at least 32 according to the membership roster of the St. Louis Polo Club) and they play their pony-games on three local courses.  It is a little known fact that St. Louis is home to the second oldest continuously played polo field in the country, and the United States is one of only twelve countries where polo is played professionally. 

Polo (the sport, not the shirt) is perhaps best known for the tradition of half-time divot stomping: when fans and players take the field to replace chunks of turf turned-up during the match.  It is also traditionally known as a socialite's paradise where a caviar and wine version of tailgating is the main attraction.  Aside from romps on the field and picnics on the sidelines, there is an actual game with rules to accompany.  Rob Mooney, the chairman for St. Louis Benefit Polo and a 20 year veteran of the game gave me some basics on how to play polo:

• Watch a couple hockey games to learn body checking techniques: polo is often referred to as "hockey on horseback."
• Pick anywhere from six to nine horses out of your stable that you feel particularly close to, Mooney says, "There is a great love and admiration for horses in the sport."
• Gather seven friends who also have six to nine horses a piece; three friends to complete your team and four to play on the opposing team.
• Don't forget to pick up polo mallets: they look like judge's gavels with really long handles made with bamboo shafts and wooden heads.
• Find a polo field - this might be a daunting task since polo requires the largest field of all sports (approximately the size of nine football fields).
• Start the game with two mounted referees and one on the sidelines to settle disputed calls.
• Line four players up on each side of the field, in parallel lines facing the crowd with horses on the same team nose to tail.
• Start playing when a referee throws the ball down the center of the two lines.
• Forget the terms period, quarter, or inning.  Polo is played in timed chunks called chukkers that last seven to seven-and-a-half minutes a piece.  The entire game lasts around one-and-a-half hours and after every chukker you are required to switch horses, but the same four players stay on the field for the whole match (that is why you need to bring a good number of horses from your stable along).
• Once one of teams has scored a point by hitting the ball through the goal, the goal post your team is aiming for switches to the opposite side of the field.
• After you are finished, let the little kids in the audience pet your nicest horses and ask questions about them.

The St. Louis Polo Club hosts public polo matches every Sunday in Defiance, MO at 3p.m. for only $10 per car.  You can also check out the sport this Saturday, September 13, at 4p.m. when St. Louis Benefit Polo hosts a match to benefit Therapeutic Horsemanship of St. Louis.  Therapeutic Horsemanship is an organization established in 1975 to provide equine therapy programs for people with disabilities in the St. Louis area.  If you are interested in spending a day in the country, seeing some polo, and supporting a good cause Mooney said "It will be a good fast match to benefit a really good cause... If you have never seen a match before, this would be a good one to attend to satisfy your curiosity."