Peloton Classes Help This Member Get Strong for Polo Matches
It turns out that Peloton workouts provide excellent training for riding a horse.
By Karen Asp•
Polo might not look like a demanding sport, especially given that players sit atop horses—but don’t be fooled. “Polo is more demanding than people think,” says Elizabeth M., a 50-year-old Peloton Member from Sherman Oaks, California. She took up the sport five years ago. “Keep in mind that this is a 1,000-pound animal with its own brain and will,” she says, “and while well-trained, it can decide it’s going left when you want to go right, for instance.”
The horses move at 15 to 35 miles per hour, which is why there’s no “just sitting” on the horse. “You’re holding on for dear life with your legs as you suddenly stop and turn to chase the ball,” Elizabeth explains. And when players hit the ball, they’re standing and leaning off one side of the horse, so balance and core are key. Not to mention that polo is also a demanding cardio workout. “After one 7.5-minute chukker (one period of a polo match), you’re dripping in sweat,” Elizabeth says.
So how does she train for the sport? You guessed it: Peloton.
Discovering a Passion for Polo
Six months before starting to play polo, Elizabeth had been taking riding lessons. She loved riding so much that she decided to look into sports that involve horses. She wasn’t interested in typical equestrian sports like jumping and dressage—but she was intrigued by polo, especially after finding there was a team near her home. “After watching it, I knew it was for me,” she says. “It’s competitive, physical and great for adrenaline junkies.”
She began taking polo lessons and soon bought a horse named Pimms Cup. While you might think one horse is enough, high-level polo players need several horses for one match, namely because they’re going at top speed. One match has four to six chukkers, which generally last about 7.5 minutes. A pro player may need two horses per chukker, but Elizabeth says that at her level, she needs only one. She plays on a team so she can access her team members’ horses when necessary.
Elizabeth rides Pimms Cup daily and plays polo several days a week, engaging in both arena and grass polo (the latter being the more well known of the two). She competes in matches almost every week and plays in tournaments one or two times a month, depending on the season. Polo is a seasonal sport; from April through October, she plays in Los Angeles, and from December through March, the season is in Indio, California.
How Peloton Aids in Polo Training
Playing polo requires a high level of fitness, especially cardio, leg strength, flexibility and balance. That’s where Peloton comes in.
Elizabeth owns the Peloton Bike and takes one or two classes a week. While the cycling classes help build her cardio and leg strength, she utilizes the rest of the class library on the Peloton App to further aid her fitness. Yoga classes help her stay limber and improve her balance, Pilates classes boost her core strength and strength training lets her focus on her arms in particular. “Swinging that mallet while playing polo is an arm workout,” she says. She also does meditation almost daily to help center her.
Elizabeth has had the Peloton Bike for four years now, and in addition to benefiting her polo playing, it’s also been a game changer since she doesn’t have to go to a gym. “Without all of these options, I would be going to a gym, then a yoga class and running all over town and spending a lot more money,” she says. She also loves that she can work out anywhere with the app.
That leaves Elizabeth with more time to do what she really loves: working out with her most beloved training partner, Pimms Cup. “People and horses create a strong bond,” Marquart says. “I look forward to my time with her, as it’s calming, and I get to disconnect and be out in nature.”