Polo day!

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It was polo day for all of us in London today. We had planned on taking a picnic to the pitch and eating on the lawn while watching the match. That plan was thwarted when we realized that the food store next door did not open until noon today. We've found that in Europe it is difficult to find any store open before 8 AM which makes it difficult to have breakfast! Anyways, we had to leave by eleven so we began our travels in hopes of finding food along the way. The pitch was about 8 miles away, so we had to board a combination of subways and busses to arrive. Poor Annie was having quite a time facing her fears of the subway, but she handled it well! She even survived when the subway blacked out on the way back to Piccadilly.

Unfortunately the traveling didn't go as planned, and we ended up walking a few extra miles through a park before realizing we had to go back to the bus stop and down the road. Nevertheless, we arrived at the polo pitch without any further incidents and even found a food truck serving delicious burgers and ice cream (I took full advantage and had two ice cream comes). For most of us, this was the first polo match we had ever seen. The field was three times the size of a football field and was enclosed with wooden boards to keep the ball in play. At each end there were two goal posts in which the ball passed through for points. The match began after the two mounted referees and the four players from each team were introduced. The referee tossed the ball in and the players sprung into action.

I was amazed at the skill of the players both as riders as well as athletes. The horses were changed after every seven minute chukka (chukkas are the quarters), and the public was invited out at the half to help stomp the divots created by the horses. Most of our group took advantage of this opportunity, and some of us got to meet the referee and pet the horses.

I know I was thoroughly entranced by the game, and I know others around me were too. Most of the group left after the first match, but a few of us stayed behind to watch more. The second match was even more exciting and had us all wishing that there was more of an opportunity to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon like that in the states. Casey even snagged a spare ball as we were walking off of the pitch. After a wonderful day of sun, ponies, polo, and subway rides we are all relaxing at the hostel and planning for adventures to come in the next week.

Cheers!

Abby Thackery

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Photos

Tower
a tower at cliffs of mohr