POLO
WHAT DOES THE JOB INVOLVE?
In Australia polo is played on the beach, in the bush and in the snow, as well as regular field polo in rural and city locations.
You may have worked with polo ponies before and this will certainly give you an advantage. You must be mindful however, as with any of our jobs, you will have to relearn to do things the ‘Australian way’ by experiencing a brand new way of working with horses. Our training course will help get you ahead of the game.
Polo is a team sport made up of four mounted players where both men and women can compete alongside and against each other. The objective is to score goals using a wooden or plastic ball and a long-handled mallet. The game duration is about 2 hours and divided into periods known as chukkas. Most players use small thoroughbred ponies for their speed and agility. In Australia, Australian Stock Horses are often used as alongside being part-thoroughbred, they bring additional attributes including being easily trained to be handled using one rein. Polo ponies are rotated during games and never play two chukkas in a row.
As a polo groom or ‘strapper’ as you are often known in Australia, you will be looking after horses for competitive riders.
Work at the yard will of course involve all the necessary jobs such as mucking out, feeding up, moving horses from stables to paddocks, checking waters, changing rugs, tacking up for practice games, putting bandages on, loading horse onto trucks, assisting vets and farriers and helping with breeding programmes including handling stallions, foals, breakers and broodmares.
As a strapper you will be expected to travel with the team to various games in the region and sometimes further afield. Be prepared for camping out, long journeys and early starts. As a groom you will be expected to prepare horses for chukkas by tacking up, bandaging and washing down. This is fast-paced work as there are often several horses in each game.
It is likely that there will be riding involved as you will need to help exercise the polo ponies. Often you are expected to ride one horse and lead several others in speeds up to a canter. You may need to use four-wheeler quad bikes and drive horse trucks.
Work hours:
You’ll work 5-6 days a week and in peak season, maybe more. Sometimes you’ll work straight days and then have your days off together. This is because many games are played during the weekends which is a very exciting and a social part of the job. You’ll need to be prepared to spend time travelling during your work hours which gives you a great opportunity to see the country.
Locations:
There are approximately 50 clubs across Australia in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.
Polo is very popular in regions around outer Sydney and in the eastern half of New South Wales as a whole. There are also lots of studs in Victoria and South Australia and in more populated areas of rural Australia. These studs tend not to be that far from major cities in order to play matches, so although rural, you’ll rarely be that far from civilisation.
Typical length of job:
Most of these jobs last approximately 3-4 months which is a typical length of the polo season. Sometimes there is further work on the studs once the season has finished.
Season:
Polo season varies in different parts of the country however employers tend to recruit in early January and again in July. There may be opportunities to work off season when horses are working up to fitness or foals are being broken for work or sale.
Living conditions:
You will most likely be living in workers accommodation near the stables, or in a cottage or outbuilding on the stud with other workers. When on the road you may be required to sleep in the truck, camp, or stay in roadside accommodation. Meals or food to cook is usually provided as part of your wage.
Who does this suit?
Polo is a great sport and there is opportunity to work with some of the best riders in Australia. Polo is a social job and even if there are few grooms at your specific stud, you will meet all the local players and other strappers and riders when you travel to games and practices.
Although often situated in fairly rural locations, there are clubs which are very close to the big cities. Australia is very large and rural jobs can often be very isolating. Polo jobs are a nice ‘in between’ as you get to experience what life is like off the beaten tourist track, but at the same time be close enough to enjoy the coast.
In most cases phone signal and WiFi is pretty good on polo studs. If you have any specific dietary requirements then this is often a good place for you as you’ll have better access to alternative foods and more often than not be able to cook for yourself.
You’ll get to see loads of different locations when travelling during the season so it’s not so good for those who suffer from travel sickness.
Being in rural Australia, you may cross over with other equine disciplines such as the polocrosse, rodeo and cattle work worlds which is a really nice opportunity to experience other aspects of rural equine Australia.
A lot of polo people breed their own horses or buy them young so you’ll often need to handle and sometimes ride youngsters. You’ll certainly get to learn a lot watching polo ponies develop from babies to professional competitive creatures.
There are farms where you could be working for one family so be prepared to help out with rural life including tractor work, fencing, looking after the children and pitching in with cooking and cleaning. Quad bikes or buggies are often used to move horses around.
Polo is for people wanting to experience an exciting, fast–paced life, with a great opportunity to learn about the game. Enjoy a great social scene, meet lots of like-minded horsey people, and get to see some of the most beautiful studs and locations in Australia.