Polo fitness: what the research shows.

This page reports what research and a few practitioners say about the physical demands of polo on the rider. It is not a training plan. If you want one, work with a qualified fitness professional who knows your health, alongside your polo instructor.

The 2008 heart-rate study

One of the few direct measurements we found of what polo asks of players is Wright and Peters, published in the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport in 2008. They recorded heart rates from seven professional male players, with a mean handicap of about 6 goals, across two high-goal matches.

The authors concluded that player training should include aerobic fitness work as well as polo skills. The study is small, and it covers male professionals at high goal, so its numbers do not necessarily describe amateurs, women, juniors or low-goal play.

A larger dataset from New Zealand (2020)

Russ Best published a dataset in the journal Data (MDPI) in 2020 of GPS and heart-rate data worn by players across 160 chukkas of New Zealand 16-goal Open polo. In presenting it he described the metabolic cost of polo as largely unexplored. The dataset is a resource for further study rather than a set of conclusions.

Why the seat itself is demanding

Horse Network's 2015 report of a lesson at Palo Alto Polo Holiday explains one reason. Polo stirrups are much shorter than most English riders use, so the player can stand off the saddle at the canter for most of the game, and that demands fitness from both rider and pony. See the polo seat.

Overuse and playing through pain

Neumayr and Schmitt's 2019 survey of 103 amateur and professional players in Germany and Switzerland (German Journal of Sports Medicine) found that 17% of reported injuries came from overuse. It also found that 55% of players played on with pain, most often in the wrist and lower back, with a typical overuse pattern in the lumbar spine, the groin and the hitting arm. The study is covered in full on injuries and concussion. Pain that persists is a matter for a doctor or physiotherapist, not for a website.

What one practitioner article suggests

Global Polo (March 2024) lists the kinds of conditioning it recommends for players: cardio and reflex drills; grip, triceps and upper-body strength, including work with resistance bands; planks for the core; lunges for the legs; and stretching before and after play. This is one general-audience article, not research, and we did not find a study that tests these recommendations for polo.

Snow and altitude

The St. Moritz snow polo rules guide (2024) says physical strain is greater on snow and at winter altitude, and gives that as a reason the St. Moritz field is smaller than an official international field. Reto Gaudenzi, founder of St. Moritz snow polo, told blue News in January 2025 that physical contact between opponents is more intense on snow. More on arena and snow technique.

The pony's fitness is governed by rules

A player's fitness is the player's business. The pony's workload is limited by the rulebook. Under the HPA's 2026 rules (Rule 2.4e), in normal match time a pony may not play more than 7.5 minutes without a 10-minute break, nor more than 15 minutes in total, and may not play more than three full chukkas (or the equivalent time) in a day, or at more than two locations. Other bodies set their own limits; see welfare rules and check the current rules of your club or tournament.

What is not known

In our research we found no published study of player fitness demands in women's, junior, arena or low-goal polo, and no study testing a specific training programme for polo players. The research we found points in one direction, that polo is aerobically hard work for the rider, but it rests on a small number of players.