In polluted Delhi, ponies get a breather in polo matches
NEWDELHI: Horses at the Jaipur Polo Ground can breathe easy! Much before the Indian and Sri Lankan cricket team players were left breathless due to pollution in Delhi during the third Test at the Ferozeshah Kotla, the Army Polo and Riding Club (APRC) had amended its rules to ensure polo ponies didn’t suffer the effects of foul air.
After gauging the deteriorating air quality in Delhi, APRC convened an emergency meeting of its 15-member tournament committee in October and ruled that ponies during a polo match should be substituted every three to three-and-a-half minutes to ensure their health in “polluted surroundings”.
Normally, players change ponies after every chukker (round) of seven-and-a-half minutes. Under the amended rules that came into effect in October, players had to change ponies every three to three-and-a-half minutes.
Col Ravi Rathore, the APRC chief executive, told Hindustan Times that the amendment -- first of its kind --was made looking at the “extraordinary circumstances”. “We value our ponies as much as our polo players. The tournament committee was unanimous in its decision. Nowhere in the world has such an amendment been made… we wanted to ensure the health of our ponies as well of out riders,” said Rathore, a top polo player in the country.
“Though there is no scientific data to back the effects of air pollution on horses, we still went ahead with the amendment as we thought if something is bad for humans it’s certainly bad for horses,” said Rathore.
Former APRC CEO Col Navjit Sandhu, also a seasoned polo player, told Hindustan Times that the rule will remain for the entire season.
The rule is likely to be extended to the FebruaryMarch season as well given that pollution levels in Delhi “remain high till the winter abates”.