A couple of months ago we saw a voucher pop up on Groupon for the Vale of York Polo Club which allowed you to have a 2 hour lesson at a drastic cut of the price. Eagerly Mark got me the lesson and we declared we would go in the summer again.
Time flew
and before we knew it we had an email from Groupon saying we had a matter of
weeks left to redeem our voucher. After putting our heads together we decided
seeing as we were going to watch HOYS on Friday we would then travel to
Doncaster, stay in a hotel on the Friday night and then go for my lesson on the
Saturday morning.
The
Monday before my lesson and HOYS I came down with the flu and a chest infection
which made me awfully sick, so it was touch and go whether I could go or not.
However, it was the last day I could redeem my voucher, I had to go!
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On Saturday morning when I woke up I had been
hoping and praying for some sunnier weather to what we had been getting for the
past week but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be and it well and truly was
throwing it down.
After a quick Hotel breakfast Mark and I set out on
the ten minute journey to the Vale of York Polo Club. A warning for anyone going;
it isn't signposted very well and our sat nav tried to take us down a back road
which was clearly private. We think it was the back entrance!
Upon arrival we were greeted by very friendly staff
which seemed to be trying to make our experience as best as they could despite
the rather wet weather.
We were put into teams of 3 and 4 and in total
around 10 people turned up to play. I was put on a team with people that had
never ridden before. Well, they had sat on a horse, but never done anything
more than a walk. For me this was a little disappointing as Mark had explained
on the phone the previous week that I was a competent rider and had played a
little polo before, so wanted to get the chance to 'do a little more'. However,
my group was friendly and together we had a laugh.
The lesson started off with us on the ground
learning how to hold the mallet and hit the ball in the correct way. As soon as
I was given the mallet it all started coming back to me and I remembered just
how bad I am at hand, eye, ball coordination. I have a total of zero!
We were required to practise hitting the ball into
the goal from half way across the indoor school and amazingly my team won this
challenge twice! The other members may not have been able to ride but they
could sure hit the ball. Even I scored!
The instructor spent a lot of time going over the
history of Polo and showing us that if we used the mallet wrong it could
potentially cause severe damage to a pony - so it was important to get it all
right.
After an hour of doing this we then went to fetch
the ponies out so we could do some riding. I would have liked to have spent
more than an hour riding but I think the wet weather made plans for the club
awkward.
Our team were told we would be going second so we
watched the other teams jump on and go through some simple exercises of using
and holding the mallet whilst mounted. The instructor used a lot of techniques
we use when teaching the children at the yard to ride so I was confident in
what I was doing.
It amazes me how well behaved the ponies are. There
was 7 horses in the small indoor arena and not once did one kick out or get
grumpy that another was too close behind. I can't imagine Ceaser being that
patient with lots of excited people. At times it was a little hectic as you had
a mix of beginners and experienced riders together, which to me should have
been split up in abilities.
When it was our groups turn to hop on I ran (well,
walked fast) to get the horse I'd had my eye on for the last 20 minutes. A
lovely black mare that seemed quite forward and responsive. She was just as
nice to ride as she was to look at. With a slight squeeze she set off forward
and gave me a very nice ride.
To start with we did some practice standing up in
our stirrups and turning our bodies to warm us up for when we had the mallets
and balls to use. The mare I was riding was lovely and had a nice even stride
in both walk and trot. I wish I had gotten the chance to take her outside onto
the field and have a canter, but I am sure if we go back again I could have a
chance.
Next we did some weaving in and out of obstacles to
allow us to get the feel of the different way of riding. Once accomplished in
walk we moved to trot and were told to do it all again. After this we were
given our mallets and balls and had a few games of weaving our balls in and out
of the obstacles against the other teams. I'm not sure whether it was the
competitiveness coming out but I wanted to win each race - and I did! However,
I soon learnt winning wasn't always good and was made to do everything twice
after that because I was so fast.
It really was a shame we didn't get to play a
proper game like in my lesson last year but I do feel I learnt a bit more
technique this time and when it does come to playing another game my
hand/eye/ball coordination may be a little better than before.
I think to make the experience better the
instructors could have spent more attention to splitting up the rider abilities
and maybe ensuring those who could ride didn't get put with the people who
couldn't and visa versa. To be quite honest though, I think having been poorly in the week leading up to my lesson I needed something a little calmer than my previous lesson so it worked out okay in the end.
I honestly think I am hooked on Polo now, once I
get a little bit of money saved up I will be buying myself another voucher. It
really is something that everyone must give a go!
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