Bumping or riding off is allowed as long as the angle of attack is less than forty five degrees, and any contact must be made between the pony's hip and shoulder. A player may hook or block another player's mallet with his mallet, but no deliberate contact between players is allowed. A player may not purposely touch another player, his tack or pony with his mallet. The mallet may only be held in the right hand. Left handed players are often thought to hit with less accuracy, but guide their ponies better than their right handed peers.
Ponies play for a maximum of two chukkers per match.
The oldest team sport, the exact origin of polo is unknown. Polo was probably first played by nomadic warriors over two thousand years ago. Used for training cavalry, the game was played from Constantinople to Japan in the Middle Ages. Tamerlane's polo grounds can still be seen in Samarkand. British tea planters in India first saw the game in the early 1800's.