Polo is believed to be the oldest organized sport in the world.
Called the king of games, as it was played as the sport of kings for the 2,000 years of its existence, a modern-day version of polo is going to be played in the name of charity. The Peanut Polo Cup is slated for Sunday, August 30 at the Augusta Pony Club on County Road 18 near here. There will be a two chukker (or period) exhibition game at 1 p.m. with the six chukker Peanut Cup scheduled for 2 p.m., pitting the host Augusta Club against Toronto. While the exhibition game will be played by novice players from the London, Toronto and Ottawa areas, the Peanut Cup will feature experienced and talented players and riders. “This game will be played at a very fast level,” said George Bezak, one of the players for the Augusta Club and the coach of the history-making Kemptville College women’s polo team. “The game is basically going to be played at a full gallop for the entire time. It will be a pretty intense game.” The game is going to be played on a field that is 300 yards in length and 100 yards in width. There will be four riders on each team. With a chukker being seven minutes in length, each rider will have four to six horses to use over the course of that game.
Players have a ranking, much like a golfer’s handicap, and the four players on each team must add up to no more than a plus two ranking in total.