As mad as polo The knowledge Seasoned adrenalin junkie Andrew Dent seeks out thrills off the field
You don’t have to go to exotic lands to raft white water. For less than £50 both uninitiated and seasoned paddlers can bounce down gorgeous gorges
with one hand, your paddle with the other. Feet tucked under the side of the inflatable hull, you look out for mid-river boulders and strain to hear the instructions of the raft guide over the roar of the rapids.
A
Sitting in a rubber dinghy wearing a wetsuit and helmet, getting systematically soaked and bouncing between rocks and other hard places might not be everyone’s ideal way to spend a summer afternoon but it is a fantastic challenge and a sure-fire adrenaline rush. White-water rapids are graded from one (easy) to six (so dangerous as to be un-navigable on a reliably safe basis).
No previous experience is necessary – everyone has to start somewhere. In the UK most rafts seat up to eight people plus the guide who sits (or stands) at the rear and
s the spray hits you full in the face you glimpse out of the cor- ner of one eye a tangle of branches and craggy overhanging rocks. Holding on for dear life
attempts to steer using his own paddle. He will rehearse all the basic instructions before your ride downriver and woe betide anyone who paddles Back when it should be Forward! Professional guides are usually young and often charismatic, with a loyal female
Professional guides are usually charismatic and young, with a loyal female following – now to which other sport does this apply?
following – now which other sport can we think of where this applies?
For obvious topographical reasons the best UK natural river locations are in Scotland or Wales but plenty of fun can be had on the artificial courses, originally built for canoe paddlers, at Nottingham and Northampton. For the more adventurous, there are excellent
overseas rafting rivers in New Zealand, Chile, Montenegro and Colorado in the US. Rafting is usually well-regulated and safe but if you plan to participate abroad, check your travel insurance as, in common with polo, rafting can be specifically excluded from cover. For the rugged individualists amongst you, there is a growing offshoot sport, whitewater tubing (called “toobing” in the US), using one-person doughnut-shaped inner-tube type rafts. But the biggest buzz still comes from working as a team, successfully navigating a raft down boulder- strewn rapids, without “flipping”. F
◗ Andrew Dent sponsors the annual Dent Cup at Kirtlington Park Polo Club
◗ From £49 per person; visit
www.ukrafting.co.uk and
www.exhilaration.co.uk
Read Andrew Dent’s columns in back issues online. Subscribers have access to the whole Polo Times catalogue: contact georgie@
polotimes.co.uk if you need your password.
www.polotimes.co.uk July 2010 79
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