Polocrosse~Horses and Lacrosse

As the name implies, Polocrosse is a combination of Polo and Lacrosse where players on horseback use a racket to pass a ball back and forth as they attempt to score a point between two upright posts at the end of  the 160-yard playing field.

It only seemed natural that my family check it out, seeing as my hubby has played lacrosse since he was in high school and he has coached college and high school lacrosse much of his adult life. Also, one of my twinlings, Jax has played lacrosse for the past 6 years. He’s 12 now and his other interest involves horses, so he was especially excited in learning more about Polocrosse.

Ranchman John had been told about polocrosse last year while he was coaching a lacrosse game at UNM. Some players from The Habanero Polocrosse Team had stopped by and invited everyone to come check them out. I had been wanting to do just that, but it took me a while due to ‘unforeseen’ circumstances. hah! But recently, the planets aligned, so, we made our plans and invited my friend, Val to go, too. I thought it would be fun if both she and Jax got involved in Polocrosse if they liked what they saw. (More on that later!)  

When we arrived at the location, the coach and the players were enjoying some lunch while the horses had a rest, as they had already been practicing earlier. Yes, we were a little bit late. Hey! We got lost. hehe! We met everyone, and then the coach and several of the players told us more about the rules of the game and how the game of polocrosse is played.

Polocrosse is played on a field which is 160 yards long by 60 yards wide. Goal posts, which are 8 feet apart, are located at each end of the field. Infield, there is a line that extends the width of the field, 30 yards from each goal, that is called the "penalty line".

This line encloses what is called the "goal scoring area", into which only the No. 1 of the attacking team and the No. 3 of the defending team are allowed to enter.

Directly in front of the goal posts is an 11 yard arc. The soft sponge rubber ball must be thrown through the goal posts from outside this arc, and from within the "goal scoring area".

The ball may not be carried across the penalty line when entering or exiting the goal scoring area. It must be either thrown to a teammate or bounced across by the appropriate player.

Teams are made up of 6 players, 2 teams of three.

The #1 player is the "attack". The #1 is the only player who can score a goal for the team, and can only do so when in the goal scoring area.

The #2 player is the "midfielder" responsible for both offense and defense.

 The #2 is usually the pivot of the team, and can only play in the midfield area.

The #3 player is the "defense", or essentially, the goalie.

The #3 is the only player who can defend the goal.

One of the aspects I appreciate about Polocrosse is that all ages and sexes can play, side-by-side. The Habanero Polocrosse team’s youngest player is 12, while the oldest is 56 years old. The girl, in the red shirt, you see in the photo below is 13 yrs old, and she is one tough chile pepper.

 

Another terrific aspect about Polocrosse is that for beginners, ANY horse will do.  The Habanero club members are riding Quarter Horses, Arabians, Appaloosas, Morgans and Thoroughbreds.

The  horses range in age from 6 to 22 and from 14.hh to 16.hh. All are enjoying the game and playing at a variety of levels.  The higher level the play, the more athletic the horse & player!  The horses come from every background; english, western, reining, team penning, & working ranch horses.

Most horses don't mind and pick things up quickly.  They will eventually become desensitized to the ball and racket. The majority of horses take just a couple of practices to decide that the ball and racket are no big deal. They seem to  enjoy the variety of activity in PLX and after a few practices most horses are eager to play. They become comfortable with horses close to them, balls and rackets moving in all directions, and  become a better horse overall because of it.

 

A little bit of cool history:

The Australian horse sport of Polocrosse was derived from an equestrian exercise in England and was introduced to Australia in 1939 where it rapidly spread across the country.

 

Polocrosse is also played in New Zealand, New Guinea, South Africa, the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and Zimbabwe. Due to the interest and growth of Polocrosse, the International Polocrosse Association was formed in 1976. Its aim was to promote international competitions, to create a common international set of rules of the game, and to promote the sport throughout the world.

 

Polocrosse was first introduced in the United States at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, by students who had been to Australia on academic terms abroad. Kathy Nelson is recognized for returning to the United States with rackets and balls ready to teach others.

Upon her return, she organized evening practices at the college. One student who participated in these practices was Darcy Deming, who then went to Australia for her own Academic Term abroad. She returned to the U.S. to form what is now the American Polocrosse Association. In October, 1982, the Canadian Polocrosse Association was formed. Check out this exciting video from the International Polocrosse Association. .(Scroll down to the bottom of this page to turn off my music playlist first)

 

And here’s a little video I took from the Habanero Polocrosse team’s practice.

After the Polocrosse practice, the tired but contented players and their ponies headed home.

Some players were lucky enough to be able to just ride their ponies home.

 

I hope you enjoyed looking at my photos and video and learning about Polocrosse as much as I did. And I bet you’re now wondering if Polocrosse will be a part of Jax, Val, or my future, eh? 

Well, you’re just gonna have to come back to find out now, aren’t ya? *devilish laughter*

From the Tower of,