Do you think Polo is an expensive game to be played?

What sport do you think is the most expensive?

2,149 Views Updated: 29 Sep 2016
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Sport is considered as a religion in India. People like to spend their leisure time either by watching sports or by playing several. India, a country of diversity has several sports to be enjoyed and played. Although many sports in India are not as much as rated as cricket, still there are sports that take the charm of several privileged people opting for something more exciting. There is a wide category of sports that the rich play as a convenient method to utilize their less used time.

Tennis, Horse Riding, Swimming and even Racing are some sports that are played by them. But a sport which is only seen played by the high net worth individuals in various places, even outside India is Polo. Polo is an expensive sport that is played by many rich athletes all around the globe. It is not that the poor don’t have the talent to play Polo, but they simply don’t gather enough funds for spending on something that yields in tackling leisure time. So, in my opinion, Polo is one such sport that is considered royal among many people around the whole world and is way expensive than any other sports compared.

Polo is just a sport that is played on the back of a horse, with scoring goals against an opponent team. The ball consists of a white plastic or even at times a wooden ball is used to play the sport. Polo was first played in the land of Iran, as early as the 6th-century B.C. Polo consists not only of the practice of scoring goals but also a lot of muscle strength and balance is needed to achieve perfection. At times a single hour to get trained by polo professionals cost around a thousand bucks in countries like India. Abroad, it is noted to be much more costly. Since many people are not quite acquainted of riding a horse, the main focus goes on to teach how to control and balance a horse first. That actually takes a lot of time and money just to ride a horse.

Then there are lessons taught to increase the physical strength of the player. It is not quite easy to hit a ball sitting on the back of a horse. Is it? Like several other sports, in the case of cricket or football, the player is on the ground while hitting the ball to the required distance. But in the case of Polo, the player sits on the back of a horse which makes it a lot more difficult to try to gain the power of hitting the ball. Therefore Polo training consists of six to seven months of muscle improvement of the player to ensure that he can withstand the balance problems faced while on the back of a horse. At times watching a polo player play or even a simple man riding a horse seems easy but it is not as easy as it seems. Polo needs around 6 years to master the art of controlling the horse and hitting the ball to score a goal. And nevertheless, there are opponents who constantly divert your focus and attention, which on the other hand is also necessary.

Polo is usually played in barns that are located or built on various farms that are either situated outside the city or in a less populated area. This makes quite a bit problem for people who want to spend their leisure time in playing sports that can be well accessed by them. At times one has to travel to a specific farm because the particular farm only operates the practice of playing Polo. This adds a lot of time and money as traveling is added to the list.

And then not all barns allow the players to practice in their farms for playing. To get a barn for practicing, a person has to pay huge monthly rents to the respective farm owners. And considering the less number of barns in India, it is obvious that people would be charging a hell lot of money per month for practice. There are accessories and food items involved if someone plays Polo. These even add a lot of money to the total budget. At times people pay for the Dentist, Farrier, shots, Worming and some Supplements to enhance their striking power. Along with these, a medical insurance is needed as the sport is risky and involves great risks in playing it. Some clothing and apparel cost is also added as Polo consists of a certain kind of dress that has to be worn by the individuals.

Then at times people even pay for gas money and show entries while in the initial stages of practicing. Dentist, Trimming, Resetting shoes and Worming, all costs a huge amount for maintenance. And then some barns insist on bringing your own horse, which is way expensive similar to buying a car. And then maintaining the horse by feeding and taking care of its needs also adds few bucks to the list. The trainers at times due to personal favor charge less amount than usual. But it greatly depends on person to person. I have seen people who even teach just for training and never charge a single penny from their students. Although the normal charges are quite high than other sports taken into consideration.

No doubt Polo is a royal game and everyone doesn’t have the capability and audacity to play it. In a country like India where more mass is middle e class oriented, playing a game like Polo is something pretty unusual. But still, there are people who play this sport out of sheer enthusiasm and maintain all the costs required to manage the sport. No doubt it is expensive and one of the most sought out sports across the whole world played mainly by the royal class.