Home / Equestrian sports / Polocrosse
Team games on horseback
Polocrosse is a team game on horseback that combines polo and lacrosse. Riders catch, carry and throw a ball with a racquet that has a net.
| Group | Team games on horseback |
|---|---|
| Also called | polo-crosse |
| Olympic | no |
| Governing body | International Polocrosse Council (IPC) |
| Where it is popular | Modern polocrosse was born in Australia and is still very popular there, as well as in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland and the USA. |
A team has six players, split into two sections of three that take turns on the field. The field is about 160 by 60 yards (146 by 55 m) and divided into three areas, with goals 8 feet apart inside the 30-yard scoring areas at each end. A match has four, six or eight chukkas of 6-8 minutes each. Every player rides just one horse for the whole match. The team with more goals wins.
Horses of any breed can play and there is no height limit, though most are under 16 hands; in Australia the Australian Stock Horse is the most popular choice. Stallions are not allowed to play.
Each player uses a fibreglass or cane stick with a racquet head and a loose net, and the ball is soft sponge rubber about 10 cm across. Riders must wear a protective helmet.
The top event is the Polocrosse World Cup, first held in 2003 in Warwick, Australia, and held in South Africa in 2024. In the UK, the Pony Club runs a Four Nations tournament for young players.
The easiest way for children to start is through the Pony Club, which runs taster sessions, and most players begin on the horse or pony they already have. There is a mini category for riders aged 12 and under on ponies up to 138 cm.
The game began in England as a riding-school exercise; Australians Edward Hirst and his wife read about it in a magazine in 1938 and staged the first demonstration near Sydney in 1939.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, polocrosse.org.au, pcuk.org, britannica.com