The History and Development of
Polocrosse
Polocrosse,
a game related to polo but played with a racquet similar to that used in
Lacrosse, was approved by the Board of Governors as a USPC discipline in
February 1997. The game was developed in
Australia
in the late 1930's, and it is now played with great enthusiasm
internationally. In 2003,
Australia
hosted the first-ever Polocrosse World Cup,
where the U.S.
competed against teams from seven other countries. Across the U.S. the
sport of Polocrosse is growing through
clinics, tournaments, and rallies.
A Polocrosse team for Pony Club consists of
three players and a stable manager who may participate as a replacement
if qualified. Each rider may use only one horse per game, and that horse
may not be played more than 48 minutes per day. Each game period or
chukka is normally 6 to 8 minutes. Each team usually plays four chukkas
per day. The field is 160 yards long by 60 yards wide. The four-inch
ball is made of soft rubber, bounces well and is caught, thrown or
carried in the net end of a yard-long cane racquet. Horses wear leg
wraps and bell boots on all four legs for protection. Almost any horse
may be used, with no limitation on size.
However, USPC, separates horse and
pony divisions at the intermediate level and only horses may compete at
the advanced level.
A logical extension of
Pony Club Games competition, Polocrosse is a natural draw for boys,
although in Pony Club girls still make up the majority of players. Even
beginning players can manage a game that's lots of fun and encourages
them to improve quickly through the ranks of Pee-Wees (players 10 years
old and younger on ponies 14.2 hands or less), Novice, Intermediate and
Advanced. Polocrosse requires practice of ball handling skills-bouncing,
picking up, throwing and catching the ball in the net of the racquet,
and players learn to cradle the ball to keep opposing players from
hitting it out of the net. Riders develop strong self-confidence in
their riding ability, especially riding in the open, while improving
their eye-hand coordination and the ability to do more then one thing at
a time while riding.
Basic Dressage training
is important in developing a good Polocrosse horse, as a horse must have
good balance and respond well to the aids. Horses quickly catch on, and
seem to enjoy the game as much as their riders!
Polocrosse, Polocrosse, I Love
Polocrosse!!!
Last year, a Polocrosse playing Pony
Clubber and her family were relocated to Memphis, TN. Kayla Pavlik,
12yrs old and a C1, and her mom, Dawn, started an American
Polocrosse Association club in Memphis when they got there. This is
what Dawn writes:
"In 2007, we started an APA chapter here with Kayla being the only
Pony Clubber to know what Polocrosse was. When we moved to Memphis
in July 2007, Kayla took her racquets and ball to our first Pony
Club meeting and introduced it. We had a mounted meeting the next
week and people started ordering rackets. We took two teams of Pony
Clubbers to the Florida tournament in February of 2008. We now have
10 Pony Clubbers that come to practices twice a week, and about 6 or
7 more that come when they can. We also have parents interested in
playing with their kids. We have about 23 members in the Memphis
Area Polocrosse Club. It is growing all the time. We recently went
to a jumper show on Fri night and the girls took out their racquets
and balls and got a bunch of questions. There is a hunter pace next
Sat that all of the PCers are going to and they are all planning on
taking their racquets! We have two clinics coming up, one in June
and one in August We also hauled out to Alabama for a clinic with
David Brooks in April. So far we have 10 kids who want to rally in
May and 6 of them want to qualify for nationals in Polocrosse!"
Dalles Phillips, an HA of Lakeway PC in Mid-South Region, writes in
on how she has started a Polocrosse club and how she has grown the
club in TN: "Clinics, Clinics, Clinics work for me."
Laura (Pony Club parent) and Dalles put on a Beginners clinic in
Newport, TN on April 21, 2007. They had 10 participants (all UR-D3)
who were Pony Clubbers. A few adults also participated. This clinic
resulted in a team of 3 and a SM going to the Mid-South Polocrosse
Rally (in AL) at Novice. In November 2007, Polocrosse-Legend Paul
Johnson came to west Knoxville/Maryville, TN (Cedar Valley Farm) to
do a 2-day beginner clinic for Tennessee Valley Pony Club and
Lakeway Pony Club came. All were UR-C3.
Since October of 2007 Rocky Top Polocrosse Club does a practice
almost every weekend. They have many Pony Club members from Lakeway
Pony Club and a few from TN Valley Pony Club as well as several
adults who do not have children but are Pony Club supporters. They
are going to try and send several teams to the Mid-South rally in
May 2008 this year. We have several Pony Clubbers who are planning
to go to their first APA tournament this year as well.
Learning at a Polocrosse clinic
in TN
The Line Up
A young rider learning Polocrosse
Cradling the ball in California
In October of 2007, Tom and Vicki Bowman of
We3Polocrosse travelled to Northern California and taught a clinic
introducing Polocrosse to the area. Now Pony Clubbers and Parents
are hooked, and have bought a set of Polocrosse racquets and balls,
and are practicing skills and having fun! They plan to have World
Cup player Seth Alcott and his brother Brandon come in from
Washington to teach a clinic series soon.
Meet on the field in Maryland:
Boys shout "I love Polocrosse!!!". Erica Vallee, mother of two Pony
Clubbers in the Maryland Region, has two Polocrosse playing
fanatics! This is what she writes:
My daughter Paige started playing Polocrosse with a friend, but they
needed a third teammate. They thought of her brother, Evan, to play
in a Polocrosse rally, the year he started riding-2006. Evan started
riding when he was almost 12 and had only been riding 4 months
before his DC called him and said PLEASE play in the rally. These
two girls won't have a full team without you. Evan, who likes to
really know what he is doing so that he can do his best, said "no
thanks". After two days of endless phone calls....Evan finally
agreed, six days before the rally. With a crash course by Dori
Wiseman- an A rated Pony Clubber and advanced Polocrosse player-Evan
had three Polocrosse lessons on a borrowed pony and played in his
first rally. The team placed 3rd out of 8 teams, and Evan was
hooked. The next summer, Evan got a Polocrosse playing horse who
also fox hunts and events, and Evan started riding more than ever,
and he really LOVES Polocrosse. Our whole family has started to play
because of our kids. My husband and I enjoy the game and have a
wonderful time participating in Polocrosse.
Evan playing at his second tournament
Flying high in Florida
Pony Clubbers in Florida were invited by the Charlie Horse
Polocrosse Club to join then for a Polocrosse clinic. A number of
Pony Clubbers took the offer, and now they’re hooked! Pony Clubbers
have been practicing with Charlie Horse ever since, and have even
participated in an exhibition at the Florida Horse Park’s Festival
of the Horse! One of the clubs has so much interest that they’re
thinking of starting their own Polocrosse club where Pony Clubbers,
parents, and non-Pony Clubbers can all enjoy the sport together.
Because of the interest, Charlie Horse Polocrosse has given a number
of clinics to lots of different Florida Pony Clubbers from a number
of clubs including Horseketeers, Little Manatee, Saint John's River,
and Wekiva Basin.
Parents and Polocrosse
 |
Horsemasters are addicted to Polocrosse too! Adults
and Parents of Pony Clubbers also love Polocrosse, they
have a great time playing with their kids or playing
with their peers. |
Polocrosse is growing like wild fire. This article has
highlighted a number of areas that have started playing Polocrosse
around the country, but there’s more! Some areas have been home to
Polocrosse as a sport since it was first accepted as a USPC sport in
1997. Polocrosse in New Jersey, Iowa, Minnesota, and North Carolina
continues to grow and spread. Meanwhile, other clubs are excited to
give the sport a try, and groups in Massachusetts, Maine, and Ohio
are setting up clinics and practices as this article goes to press,
with more clubs in more areas interested in getting going. The key
to getting started is to get a group together that wants to learn
how to play and to contact your local APA Club. They will be able to
give you the best, most up to date, instruction and get you started.
If you need a list of companies that sell equipment or a list of
clinicians that are Pony Club oriented, please join the Yahoo
PolocrosseNPonyClub group or email me, Jessie Reed at
bucksPolocrosse@yahoo.com
Written by: Jessie Reed, APA Polocrosse Pony Club Liaison, USPC
Polocrosse Co-Committee Chair, Pony Club graduate, and a Polocrosse
enthusiast!
Victoria Prince- Pony Club graduate, Vice President of Bucks County
Polocrosse, & Polocrosse enthusiast and clinician.
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