On second thought, the fact that one must have money or connections to play polo is not the fault of the sport or its players at all, but due to the attitudes of typical horse owners toward the sport. There are plenty of people of moderate means who own horses, and there's absolutely nothing to stop them from playing polo just for the hell of it. All they'd need would be an empty pasture and a few pieces of equipment. No, the horses wouldn't necessarily be polo ponies, but the stock cars a few of my neighbors race at the local dirt track on Saturday nights aren't NASCAR machines either.

So why don't horse owners play polo for fun? Because of reverse snobbery. The horse owners themselves have let the wealthy co-opt what should be a popular horse sport. Middle-class horse owners don't play polo simply because of its upper-class associations.