Waireka Polo

Established in 1991 by Roddy Wood, a well-known New Zealand polo player. His love of the sport drives his passion to make polo accessible to children in the Christchurch and Canterbury area. Concerned with the low number of children in the sport, Roddy took polo to the schools.  Starting with one Christchurch high school, Christ College where the principle was looking for an alternative to main-stream sports. The school immediately saw the positives and polo is now offered through 10 Christchurch schools. 

The polo field was set up for the training of horses, and for the Waireka Polo School. Roddy and his sons Charlie, Jimmy and Henry breed and retrain horses to play and export internationally. Each of them have represented New Zealand and played professionally here and internationally.  Coaching sessions and schools tournaments are held regularly at Waireka.  Waireka’s goal is to make polo accessible and help their players achieve their goals. 

International Polo Players

International players are welcome. Accommodation is locally available in Christchurch or nearby towns.

Waireka Polo offers coaching from HPA qualified instructor Charlie Wood and his team Day packages are available for $400NZ/day (around £200). This will include stick and balling and lessons in the morning, lunch and chukkas in the afternoon or we can tailor the days to suit your ability/time availability.

Polo Horse Breeding and Training

Waireka is proud to be an exporter of high-quality polo ponies.  Selected for their capability each horse is trained to a high level.  A polo pony can be any breed or combination of horse breeds.  Speed and stamina to gallop long distances is what is important as is the right temperament. 

Intelligent the horses quickly learn how to work with riders, however, this training process can take many months.  They must get use to bumping into other horses.  To get pass their fear that this activity can create.  Shying away from the ball or swinging mallets near their heads is a natural reaction of a horse and we work with them until they become comfortable.

Agile and quick they are trained to turn quickly and follow the movements of the ball and to stop suddenly.   Responding to the rider’s leg and weight cues our horses  provide a smooth and swift ride.   One hand on the reins of our well trained horses will remain responsive under pressure and do not become excited or difficult to control.