Course
Riding into the Shot


Why Riding into the Shot is a Rule

Riding into the shot comes under the general rule of Dangerous Riding: Riding at an opponent in such a manner as to intimidate and cause the opponent to pull out or miss the stroke although no foul or cross actually occurs.

Riding into the shot is a rule specifically to ensure the safety of both horse and rider, but specifically horse. 

How the Riding into the Shot Rule is Applied

This rule applies equally for both attacking and defending players. However, there is a greater prevalence of attacking players riding into backhands than defending players, riding into forehands.

Procedure of the Riding into the Shot Rule

The penalty for breaking this rule is a penalty against the offending player. The positioning of the ball will be dependent on the level of danger and the field position of the two respective players.

The umpire should take into account the degree of danger in the shot and the field position at the time of the offense. In this case, the ball placement could be at any stage of the field, but if there is a greater degree of danger, a card may well be produced.

The game is started with a penalty in favour of the team that has been fouled. This is generally always the case.

Riding into the Shot at Different Levels of Polo

There is very little difference in the interpretation of this rule between high and low level tournaments. However, there is a greater prevalence of this play in high goal polo.

The most common error when riding into the shot, is a mistimed ride off or a mistimed hit on either the nearside or offside, depending on the shot and thus riding into the player's swing.

Required
Incomplete
Knowledge Check
Instruction:

Please complete the following three questions based on the content covered in this course.

Feedback
You must be logged in to take this survey