“Polo University’s” Grand Opening New PoloTOM.com Website Mukwonago, WI Tom Goodspeed has just announced the launch of http://www.polotom.com and the “Grand Opening “of his private polo training center, Polo University (Polo U) in Mukwonago, Wisconsin the summer of 2011. Polo University’s summer location is operating out of High Meadow Farm (HMF). HMF is 33 [...]
Position Number Two, Greatest Attributes: Effort, Horses, Finesse Considered the Workhorse of the team, as they need to mark the opposing number three. Usually this player has to either be the best mounted or very skillful at getting the most from their horses. This is because their responsibility is to neutralize the player who often [...]
Recently, there were some great questions posted in the PoloBARN.com message board on the subject of polo wraps. The first comment I will make is that you are always well advised to check in with your veterinarian as to the best strategy for your horses. I say this because there are various options depending on [...]
Polo Tips by Tom Goodspeed More often, turning over the backhander during the shot is simply because you are putting too much weight in that stirrup and the horse reacts to your shifting weight. They may even be anticipating that when they feel you make the move for a backshot, it is time to turn, [...]
Polo Tips by Tom Goodspeed Ok, I know how to shift gears on this thing, but how do I change leads? By the way, what are leads? As a quick review, while you are cantering or galloping, your horse is on one lead or the other. If they have both of their legs on the [...]
Tip 10 – Near-side Forehander-The Brussel Sprouts of Polo Originally published May 5th, ’05 By Tom Goodspeed One of the most common topics that makes the desired agenda by students in my clinics is the dreaded near-side forehander. The following tips will help you make the best of the weakest shot in polo. First, why [...]
Clinic Information Tom is available for club clinics for either a single day or a weekend. Tom has had a great deal of experience with all different group sizes and easily adapts to that which works best for the students. Normally groups are divided by the club as to abilities. There are a number of [...]
Bio Thomas F. Goodspeed Tom got his start in polo at the Joy Farm Polo Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been playing polo for 40 years and managing equestrian facilities for 25 years. Tom has produced a series of 5 Instructional Videos, Polo Basics, that have been the benchmark of polo training videos for [...]
Player Number Four-Greatest Attributes Discipline, Backshots, Shot Placement “The Defensive Back” This player, similar to their opposing number one must be highly disciplined to proper positioning; carefully watching for any offensive drives being mounted and quickly moving into a position of advantage to defend the attack. Your goal is to get your leg up on [...]
Tip 8 – A tail shot? What kind of alcohol do you use for that? One of the most difficult shots to learn in polo is the tail shot, especially on the near-side. If you have been handicapped with short arms and long backed horses, a tail shot may not even exist in your inventory. [...]
Position Number One-Greatest Attributes: Discipline, Quickness, Accuracy The “Attack Position”, the Number One needs to be a disciplined player who can anticipate his team breaking to offense and get into a reasonable position to be able to accept a passing shot coming from teammates. It is important to continually work at getting into a position [...]
How Thick is the Line of the Ball? The Cliff notes for those who don’t like books without pictures. Is the line of the ball like the line of the road? That would be the most logical guess. Or maybe the width of the ball? Well, the book doesn’t really say, but hopefully these words [...]
