Polo

Polo, game played on horseback (polo ponies), with a ball and mallets. It is played between two teams of four on a field 300 yd (271 m) long and 200 yd (183 m) wide, with a goal at each end. The object is to score points by striking the 30–3.5 in (7.6–8.9 cm) diameter ball into the goal with the mallet, which is 48–54 in (12–137 cm) long. The game originated in Persia and spread through Turkey, Tibet, India, China, and Japan. It was revived in 19th-century India and learned by British army officers, who introduced it into England in 1869 and into the United States in 1876.