Polocrosse – the most fun you can have on a horse?

Polocrosse captivates you from the minute you watch your first chukka. It’s fast paced, tactical, highly addictive and hell of a lot of fun, even if you’re just spectating. In the summer of 2013 when I was a young teenager, I got a taste of the sport, became hooked, quit pony club and from then on it was all I wanted to fill my time with!

As its name suggests, Polocrosse combines Polo and Lacrosse. Each rider uses a racquet to pick up and throw a rubber ball, with the aim being to score through your opponent’s goal posts. We play at most weekends throughout the summer, but in recent years we’ve been able to get our fix all year round with the introduction of winter and spring arena leagues. Polocrosse is most widely played in Australia and although it’s still a small sport in the UK, it’s growing year by year and currently has 16 clubs nationwide.

Polocrosse is for everyone. Anybody can give it a go; all abilities are welcome and it’s a fantastic family sport with a relaxed atmosphere – you’ll soon make lots of friends! What struck me initially is how refreshing it is to play with people of any age and gender. My mum has been my teammate a couple of times and it’s not unusual to play with riders twice your age! It’s one of the only sports where you will see absolute beginners and lead-rein divisions alongside UK World Cup players at an event. We’re all there to have a laugh, get stuck into a game we love, cheer each other on and make friends for life.

Any horse is suitable for polocrosse, from your everyday leisure horse to your highly trained, bred-for-purpose athletes. You’ll be surprised by how quickly most horses will accept the racquet and ball, but I should note that they must be comfortable in close contact with other horses. A lot of people (especially parents!) start their riding careers through polocrosse because the sport is so enticing to watch. Once you’ve picked up a racquet and got the hang of throwing, it’ll be no time before you’re inspired to hop on a horse! But if you already ride, there are so many transferable skills from other disciplines that you’ll fit right in. It’s not even necessary to own your own horse, there are plenty of ways to hire and get involved.

The grass season starts in May, tournaments are hosted by clubs most weekends, with people arriving the Friday night and playing 3-5 games over Saturday and Sunday. It’s like a big camping trip with all your mates and a bit of competitive fun thrown in. We camp in tents, caravans or horseboxes and our horses are penned.

You’ve got to bring all the stuff you need for yourself and your horse for the weekend – packing can be a hefty job! After pool games on the Saturday, we all race for the showers and get ready for a meal and the big Saturday night party. Often there’s optional fancy dress and the most silly or outrageous (usually minimal!) outfit wins. You’ll find out who you’re playing the following day and players over the age of 16 need to umpire at least one slot on their own horse over the weekend – it’s hard-luck if that’s 8am on the Sunday morning!

So enough about how great the social is, what does the game entail? There are different divisions or ‘grades’ depending on your level of polocrosse experience and whether you’re over 16. The adult grades range from E to A grade - E being the slowest paced and especially suited to beginners or horses new to the game. Skill level increases up the grades, with the top flight players in A grade.

Each match consists of 6-8 chukkas, lasting usually 6 minutes each (maximum 8 minutes). Each team has 6 players, divided into 2 sections of 3 players, who play alternate chukkas. The three positions are the No.1 “attack”, No.2 “centre” and No.3 “defence”. The field is shorter than a polo pitch (55m x 146.5m), with three separate areas. All numbers can play in the centre area and there are goal scoring areas at either end, which only the No.1 of the attacking team and the No. 3 of the defending team can play in.

The game is started with a lineup, where the players line up in order 1-3 adjacent to the opposing team and the umpire throws the ball in. Players can pick up the rubber ball, ride with it and pass it around. When carrying the ball, you must carry it on your stick side i.e. right handers carry it on their right. The ball also cannot be carried over the penalty lines to enter the goal scoring areas, instead it must be bounced and recaught or passed over. Only the No.1 is able to score goals. Each goal scoring area has a ‘D’ that No.1s and No.3s can ride through, but the goal must be scored whilst the No.I is outside the D, by throwing the ball through the two upright posts. Your options for defence are riding the opposition off their line, hitting their racquets (in an upwards direction only, unlike lacrosse) and mirroring their turns to prevent them from either catching the ball or scoring a goal.

Polocrosse is a light contact sport and safety is paramount, so crossing horse’s lines, stopping over the ball, elbowing, downwards hits and sandwiching between two players would be classified as fouls and result in a free throw to the offended side.

Polocrosse is commonly confused with Polo, but other than the fact they both involve a ball and horses, they are quite different sports. Firstly, it only costs around £65 for senior player entry to a tournament - including two days of play, camping, facilities and the Saturday meal and entertainment, whereas you can be looking at over £400 to play a single Polo match! Most notably, in Polocrosse you can only ride one horse for the entire tournament, unlike in polo where a string of ponies can be used in a match and you can rotate horses during a chukka. For this reason – and because we love them! – we take very good care of our horse’s health and welfare. Left handers are also more than welcome in polocrosse. They often have a slight advantage and become the sneaky player who’s difficult to get on their stick-side. In Polo, they prefer horses with a fast top speed and although this is advantageous in Polocrosse, the sport is suited to horses that are able to stop and change direction quickly. Often failed Polo ponies can find their way into Polocrosse as they are too ‘hot’ and turn on a sixpence – not ideal for a level hitting platform in Polo, but perfect for us to dodge the opposition in Polocrosse! The sport also lends itself to the retrained racehorses, their agility and trainability allows for a smooth transition.

The beauty of Polocrosse is that most of the gear you need can be found in your average tack-room. You can ride in normal general-purpose tack and there’s not much special equipment required, although some players choose to ride in western or stock saddles that hold you in more when you’re bending over. There are some specific requirements found in the rulebook: your horse must wear bandages (or boots) and overreach boots on all four legs to prevent tendon injuries; every saddle must have an over-girth as extra protection against saddle slip; all tails must be plaited and taped up to prevent racquet entanglement and every player must wear an appropriately fitted helmet. It’s also recommended for players to wear knee guards for when they’re riding off opponents and optional to wear a face guard. Finally, every player needs their own racquet which can be picked up for under £100, but these can be provided by clubs when you first try it out.

Although we aim to look after our horses to the best of our ability, injuries inevitably occur in a fast pace, stop-start sport like this. Turning tightly and stopping quickly in any equestrian sport can cause tendon injuries – specifically with the superficial digital flexor tendons in the forelimbs. Specific to Polocrosse, with the rider often leaning to one side to pick up the ball, the hypaxial back muscles can be put under considerable strain as they try to counterbalance the rider’s weight. For these reasons, it is thoroughly important to have a strict fitness plan to bring horses into work gently and consistently, so that they are in the best shape to perform and to reduce the risk of such injuries. Allowing enough time to warm up your horse is key and most players walk their horses several times a day to stretch their legs and reduce lower limb swelling. We need to take into account the heat of the summer months too, giving longer breaks between chukkas and lots of water to cool down with. At every event, there is a vet on standby to attend to injuries that arise or ‘vet out’ lame horses. There is also always a farrier on-site, to replace any pulled shoes. All in all, we love our horses immensely and we have the measures in place to ensure that their health is our top priority.

To summarise, Polocrosse is a lesser known, thrilling team sport that everybody falls in love with. Whether you’re playing, goal judging or just coming to cheer on and have a social, you’re bound to have a good time. If you’d like to have a go, you can find your regional rep on the UK Polocrosse Association (UKPA) website, who can put you in touch with your nearest club. You don’t need to have your own horse, have ridden or have ever picked up a racquet. So, if you’re looking for a fun, sociable team sport that’s also affordable, come and join in! I promise you’ll never look back!

Sophie Biswas