When a foul has been committed, penalty shots are awarded by the umpires to the team which has been fouled. The most important rules in polo are those concerning the safety of men and horses. Chief of these are the crossing and riding-off rules.
No player may cross the line of another in going for the ball, and the last man to strike the ball has the“right-of-way”. Others may legitimately “ride him off”, however. This means impinging, pony to pony, on a converging course in the manner of a shoulder charge in football.
