Please watch the below video by Erik Wright of Wrightway Polo as he teaches how to ride off an opponent and how it can be used to gain possession of the ball. In the course below, you will find summary information and the transcript from the video. This information will help you complete the knowledge check to complete this course.
Hi, I'm Erik Wright of Wrightway Polo. Today, we're going to demonstrate one of our main defensive plays. It's called a ride off.
Polo is a contact sport, so you are allowed to ride your horse into an opponent's horse and push them off the ball.
The person on the right is going to be trying to push the other person over far enough to the left that they can get possession of the ball. And the person on the left is trying to push the person on the right far enough over that they can get possession of the ball on their left side.
The main point here is that contact has to be shoulder to shoulder, not greater than a 45 degree angle. They have to be shoulder to shoulder and basically parallel.
The biggest mistake I see most players make is as they try and rein their horse into their opponent, they tend to pull back and then the horses become offset. You're trying to get your horse's shoulder even with your opponent's shoulder and if you don't stay even and shoulder to shoulder, then you can get tangled up your horse's front end with their back end or other dangers. So it's very important that you stay shoulder to shoulder and parallel.
Below is a brief summary to act as a reminder of the key points; however, by reading the transcript, you will be able to understand the important and often subtle messages from this course.
The Technique:
Here is the description of the techniques
- Make contact shoulder to shoulder.
- Do not engage at an angle greater than 45°.
- You can engage in the ride off on the left or the right hand side.
- Try and push the opponent far enough over to gain possession of the ball.
Key Teaching Points:
Here are the key teaching points:
- Polo is a contact sport, so you are allowed to ride your horse into an opponent's horse and push them off the ball
- It is dangerous to engage at an angle greater than 45°.
- After you engage it's very important that you stay shoulder to shoulder and parallel with the other horse in order to avoid entangling the horses’ legs.
- Once you have pushed the opponent over far enough on the left or the right side, then you should have possession of the ball.
Common Mistakes made by the Players Include :
- Trying to rein into the opponent when riding off.
- Becoming offset in the ride off due to pulling the horse back when riding off.
- Engaging at a dangerous angle above 45°.
In Conclusion:
- Make contact shoulder to shoulder.
- Push the opponent away in order to get possession of the ball.
- Stay shoulder to shoulder and parallel with the other horse.
