Why is playing polo so expensive?

Vindicated

Vindicated

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The most I've ever paid for a riding lesson is £48 for an hour, and this was on some top horses with very good instructors. It seems a polo lesson can be well over a £100 for a hour of instruction.

I there any valid reason why it's just so expensive to play? I know the ponies must be expensive but I've ridden horses worth 30k plus.

Thanks:)
 
To start with, how many people take "Polo lessons"? I don't know whether this is because it's so expensive or because the interest just isn't there.
So the lessons are expensive because it isn't as commercial as, say, going to a riding school and learning to ride!

Also, a lot of the time the Polo "instructors" are pros, ie 4 goal + players. It is always going to be more expensive to have a lesson with a "Pro" in any discipline than simply with a BHSAI!

Unfortunately, it is elitist. But it is an expensive sport (you can't play in tournaments with only one horse!). I do think Chukka fees are ridiculous though.

I am a Polo Groom so am fortunate that i learn about it, get to play chukkas on occasion and get paid for it. But before this, I had no idea and no desire to get involved in the sport.

Maybe if more "day to day" clients appeared, prices would fall?

x
 
Vindicated said:
So there's no real reason for why it is so expensive? It's expensive because it's considered posh? Seems a bit silly really:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Well obviously there is a reason, but I don't know it.
I didn't mean it literally, was just joking!
But I wouldn't really say its a very mainstream sport and alternative hobbies tend to be pricey because theres less people qualified to train ? idkkk :(
 
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I used to be Captain / Finance on the Uni Polo team - We got lessons down to 40quid a go. I loved it!
Now I cant even afford to go!

They say you only quit Polo for 2 reasons:
- Bankruptcy
- Death
 
I think its actually where you go to play- for example, we kept our polo ponies at a small farm where they had polo- a chukka was £5 with our own horse, £15 with a borrowed horse and a lesson was about £30 i think... if you went to cirencester or the beaufort polo clubs then yes it will be a lot more expensive, partly because the standard is better there, horses are better and they just can charge that amount!
Having been part of a polo playing family it quickly rinses your bank account if your the patron- the guy who pays for everything or slowly rinses your bank account if your a normal player... most nowadays have a breeding/buying and selling programme going on to fund everything else- if theyre lucky theyll sell enough horses to cover next seasons costs!
Its actually not THAT expensive (provided you don't need lessons) if your playing low goal (one horse) but the problem is, unlike eventing and show jumping etc. to play high goal you HAVE to have about 7 horses +.
great sport though....!
 
It is expensive as to play polo you need a string of good ponies, unlike general riding. This therefore makes the costs increase for the pony owners. When I ran a polo school we were around £50 for a group lesson, but by the time you have hired qualified instructors, got good safe premises to use, got a string of sane ponies for clients, got your health and safety in place, bought sticks/ hats for clients to use, got grooms to look after ponies . . . Prices just add up and up. It is fun though, hope you enjoy it..and yes it does have an elitist image let's face it so that is alaYs going to push prices up, it's not mainstream like general riding.
 
I bought a 3 year old TB last October from a training yard for 600 pounds. I schooled him and stick and balled him lightly over the winter and he was ready for slow chukkas in May.

I used spare tack hanging about the yard to make a snaffle bridle, got a martingale and breastplate off ebay for a fiver and was given a stick from my previous patron. He's only working on grass so I don't shoe him. He lives on grass so I don't have to feed him.....And he looks a million dollars!

Chukkas at my local club in Wadebridge are five pounds on your own pony. And they provide a beer and hot sausages after chukkas too. It doesn't have to be expensive but if you go to the big clubs then it is prohibitively so.

However my Boss has dressage lessons and they are 45 pounds for 45 minutes on her own horse. That's pretty expensive too, no? (and a whole lot less fun, IMO)
 
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