The six horses gallop across the field.

The pounding of their hooves can be heard bluntly, the whirled up earth leaves a light brown veil of dust in the air.

With his upper body bent forward on his white horse, Christopher Kirsch separates himself from the group.

But one of his opponents caught up with him moments later, the muscular shoulders of their horses bumping together.

With his right arm, Kirsch reaches far out.

The bat bounces against the ball on the ground, bends - and catapults the ball between the goalposts.

Anna Schiller

volunteer.

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Last weekend, four international teams played on the field on Niederstedter Straße in Oberursel for victory in the Polo Cup, a tournament as part of the German Polo Tour.

In the end, Kirsch and his team only managed second place.

But the captain of the German national team achieved his goal of making the sport of polo better known: "We offered an exciting tournament," he said at the award ceremony.

Fringe sport in Germany

The sport of polo is actually at home in another country: in an international comparison, Argentinian players are the measure of all things.

The sport got there via a detour.

The British colonialists brought polo from India to Europe, and eventually to South America.

In Germany, the sport with 28 clubs and around 400 players is one of the fringe sports.

The German Polo Tour has been stopping off in Oberursel since 2012.

There are many prejudices attached to polo: it is often said that the sport is elitist, that the players on the big field are remote, and that the rules are too complicated.

Kirsch wants to change that.

Since 2010 he has organized the German Polo Tour with his event agency.

"Polo is in a state of upheaval," says Kirsch.

Variants that deviated from the classic rules, such as "Beach Polo" or "Polo in the Park", made the sport closer to the public, easier to understand - and more marketable for sponsors.

The audience in Oberursel also got to see Polo in the Park.

The field is smaller than in classic tournaments;

on Niederstedter Straße 180 meters long and 70 meters wide.

"We're closer to the audience, which has a very special appeal," says Kirsch.

Separated by a white picket fence, the horses galloped past the spectators a few meters away.

Three animals per batch

They couldn't be inattentive: Here and there a shot on goal landed behind the fence.

Instead of four, there are three players for each team at Polo in the Park.

So the horses still had enough space in Oberursel for rapid ball chases, which were acknowledged with applause from the audience.

Men and women play polo together.

What counts is the handicap of the players: the teams are put together in such a way that they are roughly of the same strength.

A game consists of six periods, called chukka, each lasting four minutes.

Because the assignments are extremely strenuous for the horses, each rider has three animals at their disposal for each game.

After each chukka, the horses are rotated in rotation mode.

All three rounds the audience got to see Kirsch's favorite horse, the grey.

Instead of a small plastic ball, the game is played with a bright orange leather ball that has to be shot between the goal posts.

The game runs more smoothly because the inflated leather ball doesn't remain in hollows on the field, says Kirsch: "The ball is easier to see, the game is more dynamic - that makes this variant telegenic."

The day before the tournament, Kirsch pats one of his horses.

"Polos are windy, compact powerhouses," he says.

Muscle strands are visible under the hazel fur.

In many polo ponies there are English thoroughbreds and Argentinian wild horses.

"They associate the racetrack with a chilled mind," says Kirsch.

"My horse and I form a unit"

And in the herd - their team - they felt particularly comfortable, they are true team players.

"I actually play in two teams: My horse and I form a unit and we are part of the team," says Kirsch.

It's about the players' honour, there is no prize money to be won on the German Polo Tour.

"The fun is then lost." Fair play is more important than scoring goals at any price.

The safety of horse and rider comes first: "A goal is not worth what the health of the horse is worth," says Kirsch.

He took it easy that he didn't end up on the top of the podium: "As the host, I was reserved in the Hanseatic way," said Kirsch, who lives near Hamburg.