A polo handicap is a system created by Henry Lloyd Herbert, the first president of the United States Polo Association, at the founding of the USPA in 1890 so teams could be more evenly matched when using players with varying abilities.[1]
The players are rated on a scale from minus-2 to 10. Minus-2 indicates a novice player, while a player rated at 10 goals has the highest handicap possible. It is so difficult to attain a 10-goal handicap that there are fewer than two dozen in the world, and about two-thirds of all players handicapped are rated at two goals or less. Currently, most living ten-goal players are Argentine, with few exceptions.
Handicaps of five goals and above generally belong to professional players. It is not (nor has it ever been) an estimate of the number of goals a player might score in a game, but rather of the player's worth to their team. It is the overall rating of a player's horsemanship, team play, knowledge of the game, strategy, and horses. At one time, polo was the only sport in the world that considered sportsmanship when rating a player.[2]
In matches played by "handicapped" players (as opposed to open competition, where handicaps are not considered), the handicaps of all four players are totaled. If the total handicap of a team is more than that of the team against which they are playing, the difference is added to the scoreboard. For example, if the Mounties polo team has a total handicap of six goals and the Tayto team has a handicap of four goals, Tayto would begin the match with a two-goal advantage.[2]
A player's handicap is usually assessed by a committee at the authorizing club of his country. A professional player may be assigned an equivalent rating in countries where he competes.
Though standards are similar, the ratings may be expressed differently. e.g.:
Argentina: 0 to 10
USA: C (-2), B (-1), B+ (-0.5), A (0), A+ (0.5), 1.0, 1.5, 2 to 10
England: -2 to 10.[3]
^Laffaye, Horace A. (2009). The Evolution of Polo. McFarland & C. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7864-3814-3.
^ ab"Polo 101". US Polo Association. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
^"The Polo Handicap". POLO+10 The Polo Magazine. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
A polohandicap is a system created by Henry Lloyd Herbert, the first president of the United States Polo Association, at the founding of the USPA in...
maintaining fairness. Handicapping is used in scoring many games and competitive sports, including go, shogi, chess, croquet, golf, bowling, polo, basketball,...
Commercial animal cloning List of polo players Polohandicap PIPA Polo Instructors and Players Association World Polo Championship Balti is a Tibetic language...
Argentine polo player and model with a 6-goal handicap. Dubbed the "David Beckham of polo", Figueras is considered to be the most famous polo player in...
registered players, arranging and supervising polo tournaments, competitions and games and providing rules, handicaps and conditions for those tournaments, competitions...
Cambiaso (born 15 April 1975) is an Argentine professional polo player with a 10-goal handicap rating. From an early age his mother, Martina de Estrada...
International PoloPolohandicapPolo at the Summer Olympics Polo at the Pan American Games Polo at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games Polo at the 2017 Southeast...
Country Club), the handicap of the teams must be between 28 and 40 goals. It is organized by the Asociación Argentina de Polo (Argentine Polo Association)....
Johore Polo Players Handicap Archived 2010-12-17 at the Wayback Machine, Federation of International Polo, retrieved February 27, 2012 "Polo players...
death nine years later. He was a keen sportsman, with a 3-goal polohandicap and a two handicap in golf, and a yachtsman. Borzage died in Los Angeles of cancer...
is a professional Argentine polo player with a 10 goal handicap. In October 2022, he was ranked number one by the World Polo Tour, but fell to number two...
United States Polo Association in 1890. He developed the polohandicap system in 1888. Horace A. Laffaye (2009). The Evolution of Polo. McFarland & Company...
Argentine Open, the handicap of Lucas Monteverde was raised to 10, leaving La Dolfina as the only polo team with a perfect 10-goal handicap. For the 2008 Argentine...
professional polo player who holds a 4-goal handicap outdoors and an 8-goal arena polohandicap. Sebastian has played for the England Arena Polo Team on several...
1876 – August 28, 1920) was an American businessman and a 10-goal polohandicap player. Together with his brother Lawrence Waterbury, Harry Payne Whitney...
activities. Lagos Polo Club Kaduna Polo Club Port Harcourt Polo Club Fifth Chukker Polo and Country Club Jos Polo Club Kano Polo Club Katsina Polo Club Usman...
eight teams with up to 14 goals of handicap. It was originally secheduled to be held in October 2021 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. The event...
played polo professionally in international tournaments for the Habtoor Polo team. He founded the Dubai Polo Gold Cup in 2009, the highest handicap international...
Monteverde (born December 18, 1976) is an Argentine professional polo player with a handicap of 9 (formerly 10). He grew up near the town of 25 de Mayo, Buenos...
Nina Clarkin is a polo player with a polohandicap (outdoor) currently at 4 goals. She is credited in the introduction of Ladies Handicaps for the British...
in polo and Harness racing events all over the country. He earned a 6-goal polohandicap and played for the Aiken Knights and the Bostwick Field polo teams...
and scoring a total of nine championship points. In polo he reached the highest possible handicap of 10. He was an all round sportsman and became a scratch...
ambassador of the FIP who created the St. Moritz Snow Polo Tournament. The European championship's handicap provides an opportunity for European players and...
Global Information