Arena, snow and beach polo: same game, different kit.

For how these formats are played, see arena, snow and beach polo. This page covers only what changes in the kit. The HPA's 2026 rules require a helmet whenever a player is mounted.

Arena polo

EBSCO says arena polo was developed in the United States to create a winter season, with three players a side and wooden perimeter barriers that keep the ball in play. The HPA's Arena Polo Hub describes an all-weather arena of roughly 300 by 150 feet, three a side and usually four chukkas. Under the HPA's 2026 rules, arena polo uses the same membership joining process as outdoor polo, and the annual membership covers both the summer and arena seasons.

What changes in the kit

• The ball. The HPA's Arena Polo Hub says the arena ball is larger than the outdoor ball. Secondary sources describe it as leather-covered and inflated; the balls page gives their figures and where they disagree.
• No spurs. The HPA's Arena Polo Hub says spurs are not allowed in arena polo. That is a difference from HPA outdoor polo, where spurs within the 2026 limits are permitted (see spurs and whips).
• Mallets. Topend Sports says arena polo uses the same mallets as outdoor polo, and a search summary of Wikipedia mentions slightly larger-headed arena mallets as an option. Neither could be confirmed from a rulebook or maker.
• The goal. The HPA's Arena Polo Hub says the arena goal area has a height limit.

We did not read the current HPA or USPA arena rulebooks for this site, so arena ball size, pressure and arena dimensions rest on the HPA hub page and secondary sources. Check your club's arena rules.

Snow polo

Blue News (January 2025) reports that Reto Gaudenzi invented snow polo and staged the first tournament on the frozen lake at St. Moritz in 1985, with 2025 the 40th edition. Wikipedia notes that snow polo, played on compacted snow, is not the same sport as the historical game of ice polo. The St. Moritz organisers' 2024 rules leaflet says professionals there play under FIP and Swiss Polo Association rules.

Ponies' shoes

Snow can pack under a pony's hooves, and snow polo has its own answers:

• Blue News reports that St. Moritz's Peppino Cattaneo developed a way to stop snow packing under hooves by fitting leather between shoe and hoof, since replaced by a synthetic material.
• The St. Moritz programme (2023) says snow polo needs special shoes that funnel snow out of the hoof, and that studs are commonly used on front and rear shoes, rather than the single stud on the outside of the hind shoe used on grass.
• EBSCO says snow polo ponies wear special shoes for traction.

Grass polo rules restrict studs tightly; the HPA's 2026 shoe rules are on the pony leg protection page.

Players' kit in the cold

The St. Moritz programme says players there:

• wear long-sleeved shirts for warmth, where short sleeves are traditional;
• sometimes add an under-glove for warmth;
• sometimes put adhesive wraps on their stirrups for grip;
• find interchangeable eyewear lenses useful, because light on snow changes quickly.

Ponies in the cold

The St. Moritz programme says some ponies are fully or partly clipped in the cold months to help them regulate temperature in play, and need rugs when they are not playing. Its 2024 rules say a pony may play at most two non-consecutive chukkas in any one match.

The ball and the field

The St. Moritz programme says snow balls are larger and orange for visibility, and rigid, smooth and air-filled; Blue News reports that an Italian company designed the larger snow ball, with two air chambers. Blue News says the snow pitch is smaller than a grass pitch because the ball bounces less on snow. Sources disagree on the field: the St. Moritz 2024 rules give 90 by 220 m depending on conditions, and EBSCO gives 230 to 275 m by 150 to 180 m for snow fields generally. They also disagree on team size: the St. Moritz 2024 rules say four a side, while Wikipedia says snow polo usually has three.

Beach polo

Wikipedia credits Reto Gaudenzi and Rashid Al Habtoor with creating beach polo in Dubai in 2004, followed by the Miami Beach Polo World Cup in 2005. It describes three-player teams in an enclosed sand arena with sideboards about 4 ft high, and says the rest of the equipment is the same as in field or arena polo, with ponies changed each chukker. EBSCO says the field is smaller and boarded, sized to the space available.

The ball is where sources split: Wikipedia describes an inflated leather or rubber ball at least 12.5 in in circumference, while EBSCO says beach polo uses a plastic ball. We found no official beach polo ball specification.

Each format has its own rules, and snow and beach events set conditions of their own. Check the current rules of the event and your governing body before you play.