Polocrosse
Each rider uses a cane or fiberglass stick to which is attached a racquet head with a loose, thread net, in which the ball is carried.
[4] The team structure was designed to force players to pass the ball about amongst themselves, making it a better skilled, faster sport.
The players from each team line up in single file, facing the umpire at the edge of the field, with the No.
Particularly dangerous fouls (such as hitting another player in the head or helmet with the racket) result in a free goals being awarded.
If both teams are responsible for a penalty, or if the ball goes out of bounds after being deflected off a horse, the game is restarted with a line up.
If the penalty occurs when the ball is in the end zone, the umpire will call a line up from within the area, between the attacking 1 and defending 3 players.
If the penalty occurs when the ball is in centre field the game is restarted with a line up at the nearest sideline.
Riding off is also allowed, but crossing, stopping, or turning on the ball, or elbowing all constitute fouls.
In 1938 Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hirst of Sydney read an article in an English horse magazine on polocrosse.
Realising the possibilities of this exercise as an outdoor horse sport, the couple returned to Australia with sticks, balls and rule books and sought the assistance of Alf Pitty, a well-known horseman and polo player.
After many hours of discussion, practising, much trial and error and revision of the rules, they finally came up with a new game using only one horse and able to be played by a person of any age.
After all their careful designing, Pitty then helped to give the first recorded polocrosse demonstration at Ingleburn Sports Ground near Sydney in 1939.
In 1962 Walcha became the first club team to win the Lennon trophy at the Australian Red Cross championships at Maitland, when the four Goodwin brothers, Paul, Maurice, Noel and Brian together with Bob Gill and John Nixon played as the North New England No 1 team.
Polocrosse finally made it back to the United Kingdom in 1978, when it was introduced to two branches of the Pony Club in Surrey.
Polocrosse is also played in Finland, France, Germany, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe, United Kingdom, Zambia, Italy and South Africa.
Brothers David and Ivor Young introduced polocrosse to Ireland in 1990 as an additional tourism attraction to their residential equestrian holiday business in County Wexford.
Interested to learn more about this game, the two brothers had an Australian coach, Bernie Uechtritz, at Horetown House some five weeks later.
In the early stages, the game was only played at Horetown House, County Wexford, but it was not long before Brian McMahon of Rathcannon in County Limerick heard about this new game, and Limerick Polocrosse Club was the next club to be established.
