So, You Think You Love Horses? Some Reflections on the Nature of Horses and Man

More Discussions by “The Accidental Horseman”

Polocrosse

Youthful Riders Playing Polocrosse

In writing about Polocrosse I must offer the disclaimer that I have never played Polocrosse or even been to a live match but I have watched it played on television. I do not want to fail to include Polocrosse in my discussion of equestrian sports since it is truly an up and coming equestrian activity. The sport is certainly a great one for someone who loves both horses and action. Although it incubated in Australia, its origins are very international. The concept of the game was cobbled together from elements of a mounted ball and net exercise played in Great Britain before World War Two, the Native American game of Lacrosse and the Central Asian sport of Polio. In 1938 Australians Edward and Majory Hirst visited Britain and observed the game of Polocrosse as it was being played at the National School of Equitation at Kingston Vale. On returning to Australia they developed new rules of play for Polocrosse that served to make it more than just a sedate indoor, mounted ball game that was designed to develop ones riding skills and coordination. The new Australian Polocrosse was a highly competitive, fast paced, outdoor equestrian team sport. During the dark days of World War Two when the men are called into the service, the nascent sport was kept alive by a handful of devoted female players. Since its origin the sport has been steadily growing in popularity and spreading around the horse world. It is more within the reach of the ordinary rider and has avoided the elitist reputation of traditional Polo. Unlike Polo, where players need a string of mounts, Polocrosse players employ only one horse or pony. The basic game is easy for young riders to master without any great risk of injury. Adult competitive play, however, is very rough and tumble.

Diagram of a Polocrosse field

In Polocrosse you check with your horse.

Player Picking the Ball Off of the Ground

Each rider carries a stick to which is attached a racquet head and a loose net, with which the ball may be picked up from the ground, caught in the air or carried in during play. The sponge rubber ball used in the game is about four inches in diameter. Points are scored by throwing the ball between the opposing team's goal posts from outside the 11-yard semicircle in front of the goal but within the 30 yard scoring area. The thirty yard zone line, called the penalty line, is significant in that a rider cannot ride across the line holding the ball in the stick. This rule encourages the passing game and allows the other team a better opportunity to take possession of the ball. Like the game of Lacrosse a player can attempt to get possession of a ball being carried by an opponent. Watching a game you are stuck by the skill of these players as they maneuver their mounts to protect or to gain the ball. No cutting horse has ever dodged or weaved any faster or with more skill and precision.

There are quite a few other rules of play which I will not go into in this introduction discussion but serve to make the game both fast paced and safe. A mounted umpire officiates and teams violating rules of play are given various kinds of penalties.

Australians are known as a particularly sociable, open and friendly people that like to kick back and have a good time. Polocrosse players, be they from Down Under or Brooklyn, keep very close to the Australian roots of this sport and also like to enjoy themselves both on and off the field. If you are thinking this might be the riding sport for you, check it out.

In the United States players are promoting the sport at Horse Expos.