Riding all day- yikes! Advice?

[RoyalTRider]

Tomorrow (2 July) I have the privilege of taking a clinic with one of the world's top polo players. I'm super excited, but also a bit nervous because the clinic lasts all day. I'd love some advice on how you handle long days full of riding in the heat.

I'm not sure how the clinic will be set up, but I know there will be several hours of riding. For those of you not familiar with the set-up of a polo facility, there are some things that make it unique when it comes to handling the heat. First, it's on huge fields so it's not easy to keep a water bottle handy. (I also can't re-mount into a polo saddle from the ground. :lol:) When the ponies get tired from the heat, they are switched out, so there are fewer breaks while mounted and not a time limit in that respect. There's a lot of riding at speed, and the helmets are very heavy.

I went to my local tack store and purchased the lightest riding tights and socks they carried. I have a cotton polo shirt, very loose fitting, that I would love to wear for this clinic. Will it make a big difference if I forgo that and wear a lighter athletic shirt?

Would love to hear your advice for long riding days. :yes:

[LexInVA]

You could go get a Camelbak to keep you hydrated. I don't know if it would really restrict you much while trying to do polo exercises but it works wonderfully for regular riding.

[Trakehner]

Graze all day long.
Drink gatorade/water
Get off and walk every 45 minutes or so, it'll save your knees.
Why can't you get on a polo pony? Can you hold up for all day riding?
Tush cush...or get a pair of riding shorts to keep your bum in one piece.
Bring a change of shirt or three.
Take your boots off and take a break, change your socks for dry ones.

Have fun...if you're tired and are making mistakes...stop and take a break.

[JSwan]

COOL!

Do yourself a favor and drink plenty of water today and this evening so that you are fully hydrated when you get up tomorrow morning.

Your urine should be pale yellow/clearish.

Beware of drinking too much water and gatorade tomorrow - you can really become ill, and the electrolytes might give you some intestinal trouble.

Familiarize yourself with the signs of heat injury so you can stop what you're doing before you get really sick.

I looked up some stuff for you - this should help get you started.

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/dehydration.html - signs of heat injuries and advice on superhydrating before starting physical activity.

http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/powerpoint/First_Aid_Presentations/recognize-and-give-first--2.shtml - great listing of symptoms, treatment and preventing but I have no idea how that came up on my google search!

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/hydrationandfluid/a/Hyponatremia.htm info on drinking too much water and low sodium.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=47388 symptoms of drinking too much water.

The sites appear to be reliable sources of information but you may want to double check with your doctor.

Have fun!!!!!:)

[jubilee43]

You will be able to get a drink much more often then you think. You will have plenty of time when ponies are switched and you won't be on the horses ALL DAY. No polo clinic does that to the ponies. You will discuss shots and the rules on the ground first and more later.If you haven't played before, your exertion level will not be that high. You won't be traveling at a fast gallop zooming around hitting the ball for hours. You will be able to take your helmet off during breaks. (during very fast games in high heat, I will often dip my entire head in a bucket of water just to cool down before putting my helmet back on- so that is an option if you get super heated)
You cannot wear a camelback and hit the ball AND if you show up with one on you will get laughed at quite a bit. Remember this is a CLINIC- you paid money to enjoy yourself and learn a few things. It is not designed to kill the newbies coming into the sport.

[Lori B]

It sounds really cool. Get someone to take pictures and post 'em here!! Have a great time.

Trakehner's advice is v. good.

Do not wait until you are thirsty to drink. Keep sipping all day. I find that if I get significantly 'behind' on hydration, I cannot catch up and remain active.

[RoyalTRider]

Jubilee, I've been playing for five years and cliniced before (at my home club, so I have a general idea how the clinics are run but never with this particular player to know exactly the set-up of this one), but never in this heat or for this many hours. :cool: Those are great points that exactly describe my first polo clinic! (Lots of breaks, lots of work from the ground, etc.) The club has over 200 ponies available for schooling and clinics (each time there is a day-long clinic, those without their own ponies are required to lease several for the day) so they will get a lot more breaks than me! :lol: Of course- they are also far more talented at this game than I will ever be. :D

One reason I love my club is that I can always expect the safety of horses and riders to come first. I know I will be pushed but not beyond my breaking point or into anything that would be dangerous.

Thank you all so much for GREAT advice! Almost everything here I would not have thought of, especially things like changing my socks. I will definitely be taking all of this advice, and I will let you know how it goes. Alas, my resident photographer works but three days this week and one is tomorrow. :lol: I will definitely do a "pose with the clinician" where he looks great and I look like I got hit by a train. I have never, ever met a famous rider and come out with a good picture.

[RoyalTRider]

The day was great! It was such an incredible opportunity and I learned a lot. The weather was a little crazy, but by no means hot- one of the coolest days this summer. It rained during the afternoon with patches of dry spells, but that meant it was largely overcast which is better than direct sunlight. They kept coolers of ice water near the field, and although there were no chances to drink from them while riding it was broken down into sessions that were just over an hour and very manageable. I feel like a made substantial progress as a player.

Thanks again for all your help!

[Sambucca]

Sounds great! Did anybody by chance take pictures? Those would be fun to see.