Sam Plays Polo

Tag: Equestrian Sports

  • The Polo King: A Game I Love

    The Polo King: A Game I Love

    I’ve started and stopped this article more times than I’d like to admit. It turns out it’s much harder to write about something you love than I’d thought. On the days I loved it, I wanted to hype it up. On the days it frustrated me, I wanted to tear it down. But I’ve always believed that when promoting something, incentivised or not, it’s important to stay grounded and be objective. Facts first, decorated with your own opinions.

    So, before I go any further: I am in no way affiliated with Polo King or its developer. I don’t earn royalties, revenue share, or anything like that from the promotion or success of the game. I am in touch with the developer, sharing my thoughts on the game and how I feel it could improve, and it’s exactly that which I’m sharing with you today. An honest review of one of the only mobile indie polo games. Spoiler: I like it. A lot.

    I played it for the first time during a week in which I was horrendously unwell. A dire case of the flu. One which affects people like myself quite severely. Unfortunately, this sudden—yet all-encompassing—illness meant that I had to skip both of my polo lessons.

    During the week off, an internal battle took place: coughing and sneezing, dizzy and confused, uncertain as to whether I would brave the elements on what were some very lovely late-summer days.

    Alas, sensibility took over and I remained inside, watching the wind, rain, and sun pass me by, like a comet flying across the sky. I’ve always struggled with rest. Somehow it felt like a boring waste of time and something I did not deserve. Something to work on, perhaps.

    In my restful stupor, I did find solace—in a mobile game of all things. I have always despised mobile games. Overly complicated black holes that bring nothing other than frustration, as you either wait or pay for an outcome. Not great if you’re someone like me with little to no patience. Not this game though. This game is different. This game works offline.

    Polo King 2026.

    Launched by computer science graduate, and 3-goal polo player Rupert Duff, Polo King 2026 is the successor to “Polo King: The Game of Kings”, which was first released 6 years ago. Pre-COVID! The second rendition of Polo King, though, the one we’re discussing today, is but half a year old and already twice the game.

    Before Polo King 2026 was released, I had played the original. I loved the idea of an easy-access polo game and I’m a huge fan of pixel art, but I could not wrap my head around the controls, which ultimately led me to stop playing. I’m happy to share, though, that Polo King 2026 does not suffer the same fate. Although, as with any indie game, it has its own challenges.

    The first thing I recognised, after playing a few times, was just how good this 3D rendition of a polo match is. While some may challenge the graphics, which I actually really like, it’s unbelievable how good it is for learning strategy and rules. Having aerial multi-perspective shots of fouls, fields, and angles makes for an incredibly open field for reading play. You can plan a play and see it through with solid accuracy. I may even attribute some of my recent lesson success to playing!

    I believe the first few levels of polo (-2 to 0 goals) are all about knowing how to hit the ball, while everything above is about knowing when, why, and where to hit it. The strategy. I believe Polo King 2026 is excellent at helping you learn just that, without breaking the bank.

    Now I have to get this in, so it’s as good a place as any. There is a persistent friction point. It’s not the menu, the music, the graphics, or the systems. It’s the character switching. The character switching made it impossible to challenge an opponent when defending your goal, or to line players up strategically. Because it would keep switching. I resolved this by switching the character switching off, which solved the worst of it, but I haven’t tried turning it back on since the recent updates. Those are certainly worth checking out. The new career mode is so much fun!

    In fairness, AI is super hard to get right in games. It’s usually one of two things: they suck, or they’re absolute demons that never miss or lose. Finding the middle ground is a tall order, so I’m happy to cut it some slack.

    Some other very minor challenges include some dubious line of the ball (LOB) calls, chukkas ending as I’m about to score, and what I can only describe as player skill issues (me), rather than anything Rupert’s done. When I mentioned some of these issues to Rupert, he responded in a way that gave me pause.

    “Not sure it will ever be perfect, but neither are human umpires so some randomness is ok”

    He’s so right. Umpires aren’t perfect and neither are we. That doesn’t make every frustrating call a good one, but a bit of unpredictability does feel true to polo. The niggles and challenges that come with building a game give it character, a sense of randomness that’s not really possible to quantify.

    What I’m trying to get at here is that Rupert says he just wanted to “make a fun polo game”, and that’s exactly what it feels like. It’s not trying to have the best graphics, or the best story. All it’s trying to do is be a fun polo game that you can play online, and it’s already halfway there!

    I wanted to save my favourite bits for the end. Partly because that’s just how it turned out, and also because I work in marketing. Sue me.

    Inspired by Jeta Castagnola and Poroto Cambiaso, players can smack the ball out of mid-air if you time it right. A really cool touch that caught me off guard when I first saw it. So much attention to detail has to go into that, aligning vectors and organising character skeletons!

    At some points I’ve even had the ball float between two opposing players. I was ASTONISHED. It reminded me of when players bounce the ball on the head of their mallet! What’s even better is that it’s intentional; if you’re in the right position and your mallet’s ready, you can knock the ball in the opposite direction while it’s in the air and stop a goal. I wish I had it recorded.

    There’s so much I love about this game. The fact it’s polo, a passion project, an awesome game with really cool graphics. The way it enables me to learn and enjoy polo without having to leave the house. I can play it on the tube or sick in bed. It feels like it brings me closer to polo as a wider sport and I’m super grateful for that.

    Oh, and the best bit, which I’ve already mentioned: it works without connecting to the internet! Completely local. Polo King 2026 works COMPLETELY OFFLINE! I don’t know another game of this quality that does that. Obviously, once multiplayer is introduced and other features that require an internet connection become available, that may change. But I really hope that at least the quick match will always be available online or offline, and that we have a personal scorecard of wins, losses, draws, and other fun stats that’s just ours. Or public. I just want stats.

    Final takeaway: Polo King is an excellent game. The most fun I’ve had on mobile. Yes, it has some bugs, but they’re being fixed, and a few of the ones I ran into have likely been squashed already. A passion project from a polo player and fan. Someone I feel I can call a friend. There’s something here for everyone: professional, amateur, hobbyist, and fan. Well worth a play if you want to have fun and learn without the financial or physical demand.

    If you’d like more content like this, or you want more information on exactly how Polo King works, some of the feature explainers, or insight into what’s coming next, then comment on this article, share it with your friends, and make sure to stay up to date with Polo King by clicking the links below.

    Follow Polo King on Instagram

    Download Polo King 2026 on the App Store

  • An Autumn Hack Through Myth and History

    An Autumn Hack Through Myth and History

    Firstly, I really like the picture I took for this article. It looks balanced. Something that I’m finding more and more of, the longer I spend in the saddle. I’m pretty sure my phone is auto-editing the pictures, but that’s beside the point.

    Sunday was blessed with a warm and sunny October afternoon. Nature made itself alive and vocal for us as we embarked on our 200-minute hack through the largest collection of trees in London.

    While it doesn’t always feel like it, my patience is improving; Enza is making sure of that. At 30 years old, she’s certainly getting on a bit and has likely grown a bit stubborn in her age. Regardless, remembering to, and staying, calm in moments of frustration is something I am gladly improving on.

    Fairly early into the ride we stopped at this cool little biker cafe for tea with a friend. Both Enza and Apollo did marvellously, even if there were some obnoxiously loud bikes there. We even had a little photoshoot with some other guests. I don’t have those ones, but here’s one of the gang.

    After that we hacked up the yonder way to a little place you may have seen before. Strawberry Hill Pond. Don’t be disheartened if you’re not familiar with the name; I wasn’t either. But it happens to be the very place where the Belleteyn Festival from Netflix’s The Witcher was filmed. We’ll forgive it for being Henry Cavill-less.

    Following some lovely, albeit ever so slightly blurry, photos, we trotted on and I got some much-needed and serenely mind-altering solo riding. There’s nothing quite like hearing the damp firestorm of British autumn leaves crunch and squish as you wander seamlessly through paths forged hundreds of years prior.

    I could not help but be reminded, as the Epping beech trees surrounded me, of the world of moles and scenes like these that inspired one of my all-time favourite books, Duncton Wood. As the light chatter of the group that followed faded in and out of my focus, that unbridled sense of freedom that I yearned for felt real.

    Before we ended, we wandered deep into the Great Monk Wood and were met with the grounds of tribal and community functions for the ancient Britons, the Trinovantes (of Essex) and the Catuvellauni (of Hertfordshire), who are believed to have lived here 2,500 years ago.

    Overall this was the longest ride, I think ever in my life, and mu backside made sure I knew it. The biggest takeaway is that hacks are amazing fun and being calm is key to being a successful polo player. You cannot make good plays, decisions, or even ride a horse when you’re in an overly emotional state, but when you’re calm, it all starts to come together.

  • Madame Guillotine Would’ve Been Proud

    Madame Guillotine Would’ve Been Proud

    Polo is the most difficult sport ever. No competition. I’m not just talking about equestrian sports. I mean ALL SPORTS. Now, before you come at me, I will preface the reasoning for my claim with the fact that I have not tried every sport on earth. But the sports I have tried (show jumping, skiing, rugby, football, tennis, cricket, boxing, ping pong, snooker, swimming, platform diving, scuba diving) are WAY EASIER.

    Today was stick and balling. A day I look forward to, although it usually ends with my ego sat in a pile of mulch on the floor, next to the arena ball I’ve missed for the seventeen-hundredth time. Still, while it was a challenge, it was useful, and I can feel myself improving.

    In saying that, I chopped the top off so many times today, Madame Guillotine would’ve been proud.

    For those that don’t know, chopping the top off means hitting the ball too high up, so it goes absolutely nowhere on account of being smashed into the floor. It’s also accompanied by a distinctively disgusting clink, rather than the audibly appealing clunk of a well-struck ball. Though it does depend on the ball.

    We kept things at a slow walk, focusing on getting the timing and strokes right, just like we did when I learned on foot. Even so, I floundered. I was wrestling with myself to remember “leg on, squeeze, rein on the neck” while trying to hit the ball at the same time. My coach kept on at my form, but keeping the commands right through the shot was hard enough, let alone looking good doing it.

    What I found was that as soon as I assumed the position for any of the four strokes, I would lose my balance and either leg yield, turn, or stop completely. All of which, in some form or another, would lead to a foul.

    I miss the ease of my early lessons, back before I’d made the weight to ride, when my biggest problem was trying not to get caught in the thorns after chasing a polo ball I’d sent 150 yards into the bush for the third time. Before I could ride the polo pony available to me, I needed to cut around 6kg (around 13lbs, or just under a stone), which I did with a solid calorie deficit, active work and tracking. I’m healthier for it now.

    Riding and stick and balling are, independently, quite simple once you get the hang of them. Not easy, but not impossible either. The processes are easy-ish to remember, the focus is there, and once you notice what you’re doing wrong, you can more or less work out how to improve. That doesn’t feel like the case when you put the two together. Unfortunately for yours truly, as soon as we try to bring it all together for the final scene, the lead act collapses, the sun falls out the sky, and somehow the conductor’s stuck in the tuba.

    While I love polo, today was another tough day. Being recognised for improving did help, and remembering that everyone finds this stuff hard took some of the pressure off, but it was still slightly disheartening. The big realisation today was just how long it’s going to take me to get to the level I want.

    PS. Did you know walk and canter have a similar feel? Nope, neither did I. But it makes total sense why canter is so much more comfortable than trot. Trot’s horrid. Nobody likes trot.

  • Balancing Progress: An Internal Must

    Balancing Progress: An Internal Must

    My first lesson back after taking a week off was humbling to say the least. I found getting going super difficult, and not having been doing my stretches was more noticeable than I would have expected. I’m glad to be most of the way back to full health.

    The lesson itself was focused on balance in the shots. We do these without mallets to protect my elbows, which is both useful and frustrating. While in the open, practicing my swings going up and down the same line — nearside, offside, over and over again — I also found my fitness has dropped. The knees weren’t holding and I couldn’t keep the pressure on.

    I was getting super frustrated with myself and the horse today, which I know is terrible of me. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and to expect that I would pick up this skill in a short period of time was foolish. I envisioned it clicking much easier than it is. Sometimes, as I’ve written about, I have great lessons where everything goes well, but today was not one of those days.

    Today was a tough one. I even thought to myself, “Why am I doing this?” A sad thought, because in previous hobbies, learnings, and similar what-nots, it was around this time that I would lose my motivation. But that’s not happening here. Yes, it’s expensive, tiring, humbling, painful, and terrible for my ego (or good, depending on how you look at things). I had to remind myself why I do this.

    I feel like I have to.

    When I think about polo I don’t see the prestige, the class, the status, or the elitism. I see the best game in the world. A perfect mixture of power, speed, balance, and strategy. That and there’s horses.

    Altogether I’m glad I got back in the saddle today, but it was a highlight day. A day to tell me just how much work there is to do if I’m going to achieve my aims of playing pro.

    By the way, I’ve been working on a game review piece. It’s not quite ready yet, but I’m excited to get it out when it’s done.

  • Ball then Floor. Well, Ground.

    Ball then Floor. Well, Ground.

    Lots of confidence, energy, but not enough balance. That and having the grip strength of a newborn is the best way to describe the bulk of my lesson today. While trying not to be too harsh on myself, it was a really enjoyable lesson. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: polo is an extremely complex sport to learn.

    Polo is arguably the purest expression of multitasking in sport — The Telegraph

    Following the standard tack-up, we plodded up to the green, waving cars by as we went, with a very hyper Apollo in tow. After some trotting around the green, we dove straight into stick and ball work. The hardest, yet most enjoyable lessons we do. 40 minutes of stick work and an hour-long hack.

    It was harder for me to remember to keep my heels down today. Introducing both the mallet and the crop, all while using reins that I did not like (bad tradesmen and all), added so much to think about that it did feel like taking a step backwards, when in reality it’s me learning. That feeling of being on the edge of failure—that’s where the learning really happens. When you’re struggling, but not suffering.

    While the seat wasn’t coming to me so naturally and in some cases I did struggle to get the energy I wanted from poor old Enza, especially when heading to the ball, my leg yielding was improving. Now, I mentioned in my last article that the beauty’s in the details—smaller movements, more result; that may still be the case. However, today… Out of the brain. “That was pretty terrible” must have been the most spoken phrase of the whole lesson! Followed shortly by “good” and “you’ve missed the ball”. You really do have to get out the saddle, and if that knee’s not in, the weight’s not in the heels, or you overextend…

    The standout moment of the entire session, though, was going head-first—or wrist-first—into the floor. Overextending to reach a ball that I was far too far away from ended up with me kissing the dirt. A genuinely valuable insight into how easy it would be to come a cropper playing polo. Straight out the side door. No time to think. Ball then floor. Well, ground. We were outside.

    Luckily, there’s still a high enough percentage of my body that’s rubber, which meant I bounced pretty well. I shot straight up to be met with my coach’s laughter and us both wishing we’d filmed the endeavour. No memory of whether it was trot or canter; could well have been walk. But my coach and I agree it was a proper fall this time.

    We did get an excellent snippet of knowledge from the occasion though!

    Bring the horse to the ball, not yourself to the ball.

    Another notably frustrating thing is the unbelievable weakness in my forearm! I think my technique was slightly off, because OH MY GOD. With all the focus on actually riding, I’ve not been doing much stick work at all, and I’ve been forgetting the basics, losing that strength. I must train grip strength some more. It’s embarrassing.

    To top it all off, I—almost—completely forgot how to ride again. Not as badly as when I first started riding again, all of about 4 weeks ago, but a minor step backwards from what was an incredible lesson last Saturday. All part of the process though. Introducing the mallet again was another layer of complexity.

    Also, being in the UK with the clocks going back soon, I did find myself picking feet and washing down in the dark. Luckily, the chest mount I have for my phone came in super handy for hands-free yard work. Win Temu.

    For those that are curious: I don’t do too much stick and ball work while riding as we are doing what we can to protect my arm. I’ve already had a very minor case of golfer’s elbow. I wish we could call it polo elbow, but let’s be honest: no one would know what I’m talking about. When we do do ball work, I wear both an elbow and a wrist support and have a grip strength trainer at home.

  • Two Ponies One Rider

    Two Ponies One Rider

    Everyday my riding is improving. The seat becomes more comfortable, balance in half-seat becomes more stable, and my leg-on work is helping keep the horse at a consistent speed. I’m working much harder now and I’m glad my coach recognised that.

    Today was my first day hitting a polo ball with a full length mallet, on a pony. What a feeling! Even at a walk–coming up to the ball and getting in position, then taking a half shot is invigorating; it’s hard to focus as I’m so excited to be finally doing it!

    Even with horrific form I was able to make contact with the ball, most of the time. We didn’t do too much stick and ball work as I’ve already had to take time off because of my elbow. It’s essential not to learn bad habits, there’s a lot to think about.

    It’s almost impossible to believe that only four weeks ago was the first time I’d ridden a horse, with the intent to compete, in almost a decade. Every day I train I can fell the tournaments getting closer. It’s hard not to get excited about joining a team.

    The real challenge I am finding though, other than keeping the leg on, yielding, getting out the saddle, and twisting my shoulders, is timing. The mallet work highlighted that clearly.

    On watching the videos we had of my session, I noticed that, when I go to take a shot, I can get in the half seat–but when I come up to the ball itself, my mallets in the wrong place and out of pure desperation I rush and end up falling back into the saddle, pulling on the reigns and signaling the horse to stop.

    Out of all my issues in riding, it’s becoming super clear that it’s balance that I need to work on the most. That and flexibility.