College Polo is one of the most exciting forms of polo played in the world today. Unlike the rest of the world where tournaments are played on a limited time basis--two weeks, a month maximum--a season of College Polo is sanctioned after a full year of competition, beginning in October and ending in April. There are both Men's and Women's teams, each playing in their own brackets. The country is broken into four regions: Eastern, Southeastern, Central and Western; each region holds a year-end conference tournament in the early spring to decide who goes to Texas in April to compete for the national Championship.

Thirty teams on average compete every year. The Men's National Championship has been played for every year since 1922, the Women's Championship since 1976. The Semi-Finals and Finals have moved a few times. They have been played in Connecticut, Virginia, New York state, and Texas. The past six or seven years the tournament has taken place at Brushy Creek Polo Ranch near Fort Worth, Texas. The ranch is owned by Mr. Jesse Upchurch, a member of the PTF and a huge supporter of College Polo.

The most commonly asked question is do teams bring their horses with them when they travel to other schools. The answer is no. The games are played by using a split string. Each horse plays two chukkers, and each team gets the horse for one chukker. Usually the opposing numbered player will play the horse. Since arena polo is a four chukker game, the horse will play the first and third chukker or the second and fourth. The split string is used to try and eliminate any advantage that the home team would have by playing their own horses.

Handicaps are not used in college polo. All games are played on the flat, so teams that have the better players have a huge advantage. Certain schools tend to draw the talented players over other schools. The top Men's teams in the country year after year have been Cornell, The University of Virginia, Texas A&M, and Colorado State. The best Women's teams have been The University of Connecticut, Cornell, Texas A&M, and The University of Virginia.

The competition during the year is mostly within each school's region. Some schools will travel to schools outside their region, but for the most part geography limits the amount of travel. Most teams, both Men's and Women's, end up playing roughly five games during a season. The season will run from the beginning of October to the middle of April. The only breaks taken during the year are for school vacations.

Each school relies upon donations for their strings of horses. Due to this, schools often look to many of the larger teams and patrons from around the country for ponies. Since the horses are all donated, schools take special care to ensure that the horses are treated properly. Since all of the players respect the horses, and appreciate what they are able to do, the horses are given the best possible care. At most schools the students themselves are responsible for taking care of the horses.

The college system contains the best young American players in the country. Many people in the world of polo have stated that there is not enough young American talent out there. All people need to do is look to the college ranks for a crop of incredible players.

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