UKPA Nationals Magazine 2023

NATIONALS

We look forward to welcoming you back to Admington over the Nationals weekend, starting with our Friday evening drinks reception and then kicking off the first day of play with the Nationals Parade before those all-important games begin!

We hope every player has a memorable, enjoyable and fun event, win or lose, as our summer season draws to its conclusion. Time On!

CONTACTS & Contributors

•

Tournament Organiser

UKPA Exec

exec@ukpolocrosse.co.uk

•

Tournament Umpire

Wayne Henning

chiefumpire@ukpolocrosse.co.uk

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Safeguarding Officer

Ursula Scott

safeguarding@ukpolocrosse.co.uk

•

Health & Safety

Laura Scott / George WF

chairman@ukpolocrosse.co.uk

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Horse Welfare

Jo Gale

horsewelfare@ukpolocrosse.co.uk

•

Secretary’s box

Jan Jenkinson Laura Scott

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contributing writers

Ursula Scott

Iain Heaton

Izzy Baker Cresswell

•

Amanda Wasdell

Rachael Duhig

Anna Tarbuck

contributing Photographers

Izzy Baker Cresswell

Jack Page

Peter Robinson

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Page 6

UKPA ROUNDUP for 2023

Page 8

Pony Club Report

Page 14

Scotland Victorious at Four Nations

Page 16

An All-American Adventure for our U16s

Page 18

OPEN SQUAD TOUR REPORT

Page 22

MEET THE 2023 SPONSORS

Chairman’s Welcome

Of course, the summer has been dominated by rain with quite a few soggy tournaments. However, a look back does show how much we’ve still managed to pack in - a mini heatwave, 10 grass tournaments & counting, including two inbound tours (thanks Simon Shearing for organising the Barbarians at such short notice), two outbound tours, a Coronation Cup, Pony Club Four Nations, green horse chukkas, the UKPA camp, lots of Overseas players you add so much to our season, not to forget UKPA members and Clubs playing in Zimbabwe, South Africa & Australia!

It’s been several years since our last home test matches, and I am sure you will all agree that we have missed the excitement, fun & spectacle that international matches bring. Congratulations to all our members selected – young or old it is a great achievement, something to be cherished; your performances have made us proud. Something we want to see more of from U16s to Veterans home & abroad.

Noteverything in our garden is rosy. Equestrian sport is in the spotlight, our membership numbers are roughly half of what they have been, and whilst we are bringing new members in, overall, we are not seeing the growth we’d like and need. Whilst there is so much that is good, we also have much to do, change and improve. We do have a plan and I firmly believe that every member has a part to play in that plan.

Our Goals are to:

- Grow the membership (people & horses) year on year. To do this our standards, particularly horse welfare, must be first class.

- Win World Cups (plural)

- Have Fun!

We have a number of Key Initiatives to help us achieve our goals:

- Horse Welfare Improvement Plan – Jo Gale

- Creation of Playing Standards Committee – Wayne Henning

- Coaching & Playing Strategy Review – Chris Milburn

- Creation of Club Sport Development Plans – Laura Scott

- Player & Member Feedback Forums – Alex Vickers

We need to make progress on these initiatives and if everyone can support them in some way or fashion that will mean we will make progress towards our goals. Hold me to account on that!

Back to the weekend, many thanks to all our Sponsors, Appointed Officers and Volunteers who have very kindly supported us both for this weekend and throughout the season. We look forward to welcoming a number of guests to lunch on Sunday afternoon as a token of our appreciation and a massive thank you to the tournament organisers without whom none of this would be possible.

Finally good luck to all the players and our wonderful horses – we hope you have a great weekend.

George Wilson Fitzgerald

Welcome to the 2023 UKPA National Championships, our 32nd edition. It is a little bit later in the calendar this year but nonetheless another great opportunity for us to showcase everything that is great about our sport.

UKPA ROUND-UP 2023 So Far... PDP UPDATE

The UKPA Player Development Pathway (PDP) has continued to thrive with ensuring the ‘development of members to represent the UK Polocrosse Association at all ages’.

With on foot training sessions over the colder months, leading onto mounted sessions in the warmer weather, twenty three Under 16s and eleven Under 21s took part in progressive training activities led by UKPA coaches.

This has resulted in a very strong group of Under 16s in a selection process to travel to the United States for an international tour in August. Eight members were selected and won all three test matches and by all accounts had an amazing experience, led by a strong management and coaching team of Lizzie Shearing, Penny Webb, Amanda Wasdell and Neil Hinkinson.

It is very encouraging to see these youngsters, who have been PDP members over previous years, demonstrate a strong commitment to their personal development in horsemanship and game play.

Nominations for any new PDP members are now open, with all forms needed to be lodged by 7th November 2023.

Coaching Successes

Congratulations to Sophia Harpin and Joel Sics for successfully completing their practical assessment for UKCC Level 2 at the beginning of August!

This assessment involves coaching both a group of players and an individual session, whilst being assessed by an internal and external assessor, which can be a nerve racking experience. Alongside completing a coaching portfolio, demonstrating understanding of coaching progression over time, it provides a good base for a coach at all levels of the game.

With 25 Level 2 UKCC coaches, the UKPA have an increasing bank of coaches, who are DBS checked and hold current first aid and safeguarding certification – a requirement of their ongoing accreditation as coaches.

A UKCC Level 2 course will be commencing as we move into the winter months and information for interested potential coaches will be available in newsletters.

One for the Boys!

You may have noticed the great polocrosse coverage in ‘Boys Ride Too’ magazine over the last few months. We caught up with editor Kerry Howard to find out how she started publishing.

The idea of the magazine arose during lockdown, after several years of my sons being very underwhelmed about the horsey publications on offer, and increasingly frustrated with clothing and accessories for horsey children all being marketed for girls. We thought that maybe we could come up with something our boys and others would enjoy, and the boys were very involved in putting together the content with us.

We had lots of ideas but no publishing experience, so there was a lot of learning on the job! We found a way to host a magazine digitally and built a website from scratch to place it on. We started a Facebook page while we were producing the first issue and were amazed by the overwhelming response we got. So many parents of riding boys got in touch with us to say what a great idea the magazine was, and we quickly built up a great community where boys could see lots of other boys who loved horses, just like them!

My son Finn was super lucky and had a short have-ago polocrosse session at their Pony Club camp last year, really enjoying the team and physical aspect. It included stick and ball on foot and then mounted on ponies. Through his horseball coach, Finn went to the Cotswold Tournament in August to watch the matches and chat with the players He has been invited to go and train with Dan Kelly this week and is now hoping to get involved in the Winter League.

The digital version is still available on pocketmags and we sell the print copy from our website: boysridetoomagazine.com. You can buy single issues, including back issues, or you can sign up for a subscription either digitally on in print. We offer international subscriptions as well as for the UK, after several requests to do so. Keep an eye out for more polocrosse content in the future

A GRADE & PITCH 1 Sponsor 2023

Five Minutes on the Sidelines with... Theo Cornforth

So Theo, tell us a bit about yourself and your polocrosse background...

I started playing polocrosse when I was 5, mainly because my sister Lucinda played so I came along and joined in. I started to quite like it and here I am just turned 22 still playing. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to travel abroad on a few tours and meet some great people along the way – many of whom I still speak to regularly.

What make you decide to make your own polocrosse balls?

Since the Milner ball stopped being produced I was fed up of playing with what myself and others deemed a ‘bad’ ball, so I thought how hard can it be, and decided to make one I liked. Turns out it was a lot harder than I thought.

How do you even get started doing something like this?

I started out by exploring what types of materials were used in the other balls and what made them good or bad, then went from there, reading a lot of long documents on primarily rubber and how I might achieve what I wanted by adding various ingredients in differing quantities. After a lot of trial and error I got something that I was finally happy with.

We assume you can’t tell us all your secrets, but what was the hardest part of the process? The hardest part is getting all of the chemicals I need through customs!.

Do you make every ball by hand?

Yes, every ball is made by hand, by me.

How many balls have you made and distributed so far?

I’m not sure exactly how many I’ve distributed so far without going through every payment record but I’d put the number at around 700-750.

That’s impressive for a one-man effort! Which big events have used TC balls this year?

The Barbarians vs UK tests, South Africa Champs, Natal Champs in South Africa, New South Wales Zone Championships, and the U16 UK vs USA tests – but this list is hopefully continuously growing.

Where in the world do you ship to, and who are your distributers in each country?

So far I’ve shipped to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, USA & Australia but New Zealand will be on that list in a couple of weeks. My main distributors are myself, Iain Heaton, Rahul Desai (USA), Bruce Maclarty (SA), Gordon Shaw (SA), Lucy Lyster & Salli Galvin (AUS), and Jimmy Grills (AUS).

You can buy TC balls through Theo himself, or Iain Heaton of Polocrosse Extreme

The Pony Club 2023 Report

We have another strong year for Pony Club Polocrosse in 2023, with the sport continuing to become better known and generating interest in new Areas, Branches and Centres. We continue to be focused on three main aims which are:

• Grow the sport

• Improve training opportunities for members and horses

• Give members opportunities to compete

We have seen an ongoing growth of the sport with a number of new Branches and Centres looking to organise polocrosse training days and we see the benefit of that at our events with lots of new players taking part.

We have run a record number of Pony Club Polocrosse tournaments this year, with the Arena challenge kicking off the season in April, the Coronation Cup in June, the Four Nations in July, the Pony Club Championships in August and then the Autumn Challenge still to come in September. This is in addition to all the locally organised training days and championships qualifier weekends that take place around the country.

This increased calendar of events allows us to be a clearly viable and visible sport within Pony Club. It gives us plenty to shout about and acts as a way of attracting members to the sport, as they see there is a good number of opportunities to train and compete. There has to be a balance between national and local events, as it is local events that ultimately get new players playing (as very few people drive hours around the country to try and a sport for the first time or attend a competition after only a couple of training sessions). Five national events would at this stage seem to be the maximum we would want to run, as in addition to allowing space and team for local events we are aware that members will also take part in other events, both potentially polocrosse events with the UKPA and also other sports.

We were delighted with the number of players at our events this summer. At the Arena Challenge we had our highest ever entry of 78 players and we could not really have taken any more players. We started at 8AM on Saturday and ran straight through to 7.30PM to fit in all the games. We actually finished 10 minutes ahead of schedule at 7:20, such was the efficiency of our volunteers and diligence of our members in turning up on time so thank you to you all.

By Iain Heaton, Pony Club Polocrosse Chairman

It was wonderful at the Coronation cup to see so many Pony Club Branch and Area teams so thank you to everyone for entering in that format and to the UKPA for working with us in organising the event. There were 138 players in total at the event, of which 88 were Pony Club members, with many of the players in the Novice Minis playing their first full tournament.

From the Arena Challenge to Four Nations and Beyond!

The Four Nations is always a fantastic event and it certainly delivered this year, with some very close exciting games and a new overall champion nation in Scotland, who also managed to claim their first ever titles in the Minis and Seniors grades!

As always, we are very grateful to Celyn for hosting the event and organising the venue for us. Also, we must say a huge thank you to all of the team who helped organise the event

and managed and coach the four teams. We had a number of new coaches and managers this year and they were fantastic, meaning the members involved had a brilliant time and learnt a huge amount. We added in an additional element this year in the Field Shield, to ensure we were also looking at horse and pony care as well as polocrosse. All the teams really went the extra mile in that competition as well and our independent judges were suitably impressed by the standards demonstrated.

The annual Pony Club Polocrosse Championships takes place alongside the overall Pony Club Championships and it is always excellent to see polocrosse there alongside sports such as Mounted Games and Tetrathlon. It does really give us a great opportunity to promote our sport to other Pony Club members and every year we seem to gain some new players because of people seeing it at the Championships.

We expected the number of players

at the Championships to drop this year, partly because there is not a Four Nations in 2024 and partly because we knew the UKPA Junior tour would take out a number of junior players (and also some siblings who went to spectate). However, in the end we had an identical number of entries to 2022 at 80 players and most excitedly nearly half of those were Minis, with 27 players in the Novice Minis grade alone, which is a very good sign of future growth in the sport. Our aim for 2024 would be to see if we can hit the hundred player mark at Championships. That would be a significant milestone and would mean we have doubled the number of players at Championships since 2021.

As well as the number of players increasing at our events the overall standard of play and horsemanship continues to improve every year, which is wonderful to see. We are very aware that at its best polocrosse is a fantastic sport to watch and demonstrates some wonderful skills from both the horses and the riders.

We need to ensure we are training members in all aspects of riding and horse care so that they can produce these fantastic moments on the pitch. We need to ensure horse welfare is at the heart of all that we do and if there are problems with any elements of the sport we must take action quickly. Actions must not only stop what is wrong and undesirable but also explain what is correct and desirable.

The Pony Club has a huge role to play in educating young riders and their parents about modern, training techniques for horses and that is why it is important that members engage with training activities more

generally, not just spend all their time practicing stick and ball skills.

Overall, it has been a very positive year for Pony Club Polocrosse and we look forwards to 2024 with optimism. However, none of this would be possible without the hard work of our volunteers from all around the country. Our Area coordinators and committee members do a huge amount to organise training events and ensure that members are well organised and prepared for the competitions.

The team of field marshalls and umpires have done many, many hours at our events this summer.

We were slightly light on umpires for the Pony Club Championships due to outbound tours but the umpiring team were fantastic and ensured all the members had a wonderful time.

A big thank you must also go to James Oliver-Byrne and Gill James for providing additional horses for umpires and also lending horses to players when a couple of horses went out during the weekend.

So we hope you all had a great time so far this year and we look forwards to seeing you at the Autumn Challenge in Essex in a couple of weeks time!

Tegan Lorey

North Northumberland Hunt PC

Tegan is aged 13, and has been riding most of her life. She started playing polocrosse a year ago, as part of the Area 2 group.

How did you get involved with the sport?

When we moved up to Northumberland, I found I was really missing playing polo. We luckily came across an on-foot session that Izzy BC was running for Area 2. I wasn’t too sure about going but as soon as I got the racket in my hand I loved it, and picked up the skills pretty quickly. My now-retired ex polo pony, India, loved it too.

Tell us about your pony...

I started on India, who was great to learn on and took me to my first ever tournament. After she retired, I began to ride Izzy’s horse Splash, who is 20 and so cool! Polocrosse isn’t his favourite thing but he tries so hard and I ride him at the Area 2 training sessions. We also enjoy showjumping and eventing (including qualifying for the regional championships!) For my last few tournaments I have been lucky enough to play the wonderful Anabel, owned by Gill James.

Why do you love polocrosse?

It gives me a shiver of excitement and adrenaline! Everyone is so lovely and I have made so many new friends. I also love riding, so being able to play a competitive game and ride is a dream come true! I feel like as soon as I step onto the pitch I have already won by being there with my horse! I also love the social aspect, including the parties, and the Area 2 family are always so kind and supportive and help us with anything.

Jim Leeke South Shropshire Hunt PC

Jim is almost 9 years old and is a new member of South Shropshire Hunt Branch. He says it is great because there’s other boys of his age riding too!

How did you get involved with the sport?

This year has been my first proper year competing at polocrosse, I’ve joined in training to get used to it. I started playing as mum said I was going to hang about waiting for my sisters who both play. Mum thought it might be fun if I joined in!

Tell us about your pony...

I ride Tilly, she’s 23 and 13.2hh. She’s ace and I love her. She’s been to Pony Club Championships before I was born with my oldest sister! Tilly has pretty much done everything, she was a games pony and a show jumper. We jump her in the winter, Lil does 80cm on her, I do 60cm, aiming for 70cm this winter. She is a very gentle pony, but can get excited with the tanoy. We took her to the school summer fete this year for pony rides, the band playing got her very jolly.

Why do you love polocrosse?

I love polocrosse as we can gallop and whack each others sticks to get the ball!

Georgina Cheetham

Rufford Hunt PC

Georgina is age 9 and a member of the Rufford Hunt Branch in Area 6. She has been riding all her life, and playing polocrosse for 8 months. Within UKPA she is a member of the Yorkshire Warriors club.

How did you get involved with the sport?

Rufford Pony Club offered training sessions which led us to the Yorkshire Warriors training weekend and after that I was hooked!

Tell us about your pony...

I ride a pony called Georgina Pickle! Georgina Pickle is 20 years young and stands at 13hh. We both enjoy Pony Club camp, hunting and mounted games second to polocrosse. We also love going fast, and this year went top speed on the race track at Southwell during PC camp! Georgina P was bought for my brother, Josh, but she soon became a whole family favourite.

Why do you love polocrosse?

I got hooked on polocrosse as I loves going fast! I have been made to feel so welcome, we feel like we have become part of the family so quickly!

TOURNAMENT TRIBUTES

LIMEMERE

“With just the one pitch it was so intimate and fun. There was less stress, we could all get comfortable for the whole day and watch each other with no over lapping. Plus even from the parking area you could see and hear the action.”

“Very very friendly tournament. Good prizes, party and meal.”

KENT

“Beautiful rosettes and prizes.”

“Really friendly event with a relaxed atmosphere.”

“Enjoyed the Kent weekend so much. The prizes were another level!”

WARWICK

“Excellent atmosphere throughout the weekend.”

“Good catering, organisation, party and pitches - what more could you want!”

CELYN

“Despite the horrendous weather, the pitches held up amazingly and stayed playable!”

“Catering was spot on as always, love those dirty fries.”

“Super friendly and well organised.”

TITANS GNT

“Great first tournament for the club.”

“I really enjoyed how it was run and I had great fun!”

“Brilliant way to start the season, and good to see a new club running an event.”

COTSWOLD

“The pitches were good, the camping field is huge so lots of room, the food is always delicious and the prizes are so generous.”

“Great pitches despite the weather, lovely evening meal, the live singer Tom made it an amazing party (despite thunder storm), brilliant prizes.”

“It was a huge success on and off the pitch!”

“Pitches were lovely, good party, superb prizes.”

“Fantastic grounds, fun , friendly, well run tournament.”

“The pitches were wonderful to play on, there was lots of camping space, great food and brilliant entertainment.”

“Amazing organisation, great food - lots of fun!”

“Great games, great party and great food.”

SCOTLAND VICTORIOUS!

Despite a considerable amount of rain just before the competition began, the

event was a huge success for Pony Club players.

team’s week and their path to victory!

I first played in the Four Nations in 2017 as part of the Senior Scotland team, before going on to be selected for a further two, 2019 and finishing with captaining the team in 2021. It was at my last Four Nations that I won the Mark Simkin Memorial trophy, a huge honour and special prize for someone who has contributed a lot to Pony Club Polocrosse. This motivated me to put my name down for the managing role in 2023… and what a first experience it was!

Our Scottish team consisted of four minis (Morvah, Olivia, Fraser and Archie), four juniors (Olivia, Georgie, Taryn and Ethan), four seniors (Seona, Philip, Millie and Ama), the coach Chris Milburn, a lot of hard working parents, our generous sponsors (Simplex and Timports) and 12 superstar ponies! With the inclusion

of the Field Sheild this year (a prize for the best team camp, spirit and overall horse care) we set up our camp with a lot of flags, a chill out area and horse profiles for each pen before the players received their sponsored kit thanks to Simplex. The goodies included a cap, buckets, head collars and a rug.

Over the week we trained hard both on horses and on foot, took part in some inter country rounders, enjoyed hot chocolates and ‘Philip’s Flower Of Scotland’ renditions in the evening, had lots of meetings and horse walks as well as put extra effort into making sure our horses were 100%.

Friday was a rest day so the team headed to the aqua park nearby to let off some steam and spend time with players in the other camps,

2023 Four Nations

Scotland Manager Izzy Baker Cresswell tells us all about her

ponies were then walked again and we had our final playing kit (thank you to Timports for sponsoring this) hand out over a BBQ and final national anthem practice.

Our first game was in the morning against Wales so everyone was up early prepping and warming up despite the adverse weather conditions! Wales are always a tough team so to achieve a draw in the minis, junior and senior win as well as the overall was the best way to get the weekend started and the first time we really thought ‘we can do this!’

Our old rivals, England, were next up. This was always going to be the hardest game for our minis and juniors especially. What a performance they put in, with our minis coming away with their first win as well as our seniors dominating from the first throw in. The juniors gave it their all, making an exciting impact and only just going down by two goals in the last chukka but still ensuring an overall win on the scoreboard.

It was quite the high we were riding going into Sunday but there was still the solid force of Ireland to overcome. Another warm up in the rain, a pep talk, much better singing for the anthem and our final game kicked off.

The junior and senior teams kept the scores up and came away with two wins, finishing off the weekend the way they started. However the real stars of this game were the minis. In a nail biting final chukka, Archie and Morvah dug deep in the mud and got the ball up and out to Fraser who carried on Olivia’s hard work in the previous chukka to safely put the winning goal between the posts, seconds before the hooter

went!

some title

For the first time in Four Nations history, our minis and seniors won their age categories with the Scotland juniors coming a close second but most importantly claiming the Triple Diamond Trophy for overall champions. It was a truly special moment but especially for me as both a past Scottish player, manager and area coach!

Area 2 had four players (Millie, Ama, Ethan and Fraser) in Scotland and one player (Katy) in the second placed England. I am endlessly proud of these kids, my other Scottish players, the ponies and the coach who led us to victory.

Thank you to all the organisers for their hard work, the brilliant sponsors and the Pony Club for this opportunity. Thank you also to Celyn Polocrosse Club for hosting both the camp and the weekend.

Bring on 2025!

Find

UK U16s TOUR 2023:

This was the first tour for the UKU16’s since an inbound one in 2019, and was arranged to take place at Heartland Ranch, Round Hill, Virginia. The tour, which took place from 7-14th August 2023, was a remarkable experience that provided most of us with our first insight into the world of polocrosse and outbound tours. One of the tour managers, Amanda

Wasdell, reports...

Tour Highlights

During the tour, we participated in a total of 3 matches against the American polocrosse team. These matches provided an excellent opportunity to gauge our skills against new opponents, adapt to different playing styles, and develop our strategic gameplay. Playing on unfamiliar horses was new to most of the children, and they adapted brilliantly, quickly finding adapting to the horses skill level, and adjusting accordingly. Coming out victorious in all 3 matches was the best result we could have hoped for.

Beyond the sports aspect, the tour facilitated friendships to be forged between our team and the Americans. We engaged in friendly interactions, shared our experiences, and learned about the American way of life. This cultural exchange enhanced our understanding of the host country and created lasting memories.

We were looked after extremely well, and the facilities were amazing. To have a polocrosse field on your lawn is my idea of heaven, and the house accommodated us all under one roof which made a huge difference to the team.

Between matches and training sessions, we had the

opportunity to explore some of the local sights and a trip into Washington DC. This added a recreational and tourism aspect to the tour, enhancing the overall experience for all participants.

Challenges and Learning

One of the challenges we encountered was adapting to varying conditions and climate in America. These differences required us to adjust our strategies and tactics on the fly, which was both demanding and rewarding. It

An ALL-AMerican Adventure!

UKPA representative Neil Hinkinson), sponsors (Travail Employment Group for generous sponsorship, Your Horsemanship for the rugs, Warwick Polocrosse Club and Area 8, Greenacres Glass for the donation of prizes, along with the whole U16s PDP for their fundraising), the team members (they were brilliant ambassadors for our sport and behaved in an exemplary manner, along with being great fun to be with), and the American polocrosse community for their support and hospitality throughout the tour.

was really, really humid and pretty hot, which sapped our energy and we had to work hard to keep hydrated and seek shade where possible, not problems we are used to!

Achievements

• Test 1 UK 14 : 10 USA

• Test 2 UK 17 : 7 USA

• Test 3 UK 20 : 15 USA

• Best player UK: Rosie Webb

• Best player USA: Libby Dial

• Best pony: Tilly (Owned by the Desai family

• Enhanced teamwork and camaraderie among team members

• Strengthened international ties between polocrosse communities

Future Prospects

The success of this tour opens the door for future collaborations and tours between polocrosse teams from different countries. The knowledge gained from this experience will undoubtedly contribute to the growth and development of the sport on a global scale. It is so important for our domestic game to keep touring and playing against different countries both at home and abroad. We look forward to hosting the Americans on home turf soon.

In conclusion, the polocrosse tour to America was a rewarding and enriching experience. It not only provided us with the opportunity to compete in International matches but also allowed us to forge connections, learn from different perspectives, and promote the sport we are passionate about. This tour will remain a cherished memory for all involved and will contribute to the continued growth of polocrosse internationally.

I would like to extend my gratitude to all the organizers (Coach Lizzie Shearing, Fellow manager Penny Webb,

Jennifer Carpenter and her family for their generous hospitality, all those who put horses into the pools to allow us to play, Catherine Hangahan who was our horse coordinator and general fairy godmother, and Lisa Poe and Summer Weldon, coach and manager for the USA team, as well as our opposition, who were great fun and great competitors. Also to our parents who travelled out to support – its easy to overlook their contribution but it’s the little thigs such as a few hours out that really make a big difference.

2023 OPEN

Under new management as of October 2022, 10 men and women were selected as part of the Open Team Squad. Plans were quickly finalised with training dates, and both an inbound and outbound tours for working towards selecting the UK World Cup team to compete in South Africa in 2024. Team Vice Caption Rachael Duhig tells us more...

February saw a majority of the squad get together for their first training. The day would start with meeting at Farm Fitness. Here the squad was split into 4 groups (coaches and manager included!) to then compete against each other in rounds of different fitness exercises. A big thank you to Farm Fitness for having us! Next we headed to Alice’s farm for meetings, more team building and finishing off with some on foot drills. The next morning saw the squad do a bleep test, followed by more on foot to finish the day having some more chats to finalise plans for the tours. It was a great start for the squad to start working towards their goals for the year.

The weather had different ideas to what was planned for training with horses over the next couple of months, but we were give the opportunity to use the Yorkshire grounds in April. The pitches held up great, even with another dumping of rain on the Saturday. We are extremely grateful to Yorkshire Polocrosse and Karl Fisher for having us!

A fair few squad members would play in the spring leagues, where we also ran a fundraiser to finish the tournaments off. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and donated items, it wouldn’t have been as successful without your generosity. Arden club, along with squad member Chris Milburn, very graciously donated the profits from the Spring Leagues to the open squad as wellthank you!!!

After competing at the Early Season Tournament, the squad was narrowed down to 6 women and 6 men, who would compete against a Barbarian team in June. The squad spent the week at Dallas Burston Polo Club to prepare for the tests on the weekend. The UK came out with a win the first test, but the

Barbarians came back fighting for the next two to come out overall winners. This was a highly experienced team, but we were proud of our team who worked hard during the week, supported their team mates, and looked after all of the extremely horses well. The UK awarded Dara Managan and John Rae with Best layer, and Nev owned and ridden by Sophia Harpin with best horse. The Barbarians voted Money, owned by Rachael Duhig and played by Dara, as their best horse.

After the dust settled from the Barbarian tests, the squad was once again narrowed down to the 8 players, who would be traveling to Zambia in August. These players were -

• Captain - Joel Sics

• Vice Captain - Rachael Duhig

• Layla Sics

• Tegan Bristow

• Sophia Harpin

• Josh Smith

• Stuart Dyson

• Jack Brown

With only 8 weeks until take off, there was much needed to finalise plans for the trip to Zambia. August 11th came around quickly the team were taking off from Birmingham, with a support crew tagging along that would have easily created another team for us! It was so nice having such a loud and supportive cheer squad on the sidelines during the test. The team landed in Lusaka on Saturday afternoon, greeted by the ever accommodating manager for the Zambia team, Nikki. Along with a driver that would be taking us to our home for the next 9 days, Kyindu Ranch.

Once inside the ranch, we would set eyes on some beautiful wildlife that included

SQUAD REPORT

wildebeest, warthog, zebra and all sorts of different types of deer. Arriving to the house we would be staying at was like something out of a movie. A big white 5 story house set amongst towering trees, with an enclosure off the the side that had surprise welcome party awaiting our arrival. Inside the house was what can only bee described as being inside a jungle. Small waterfalls, with running river running through the first floor, live and thriving greenery setting a beautiful backdrop of the sitting room, and more animals than you could ever imagine set throughout the home - thankfully these, unlike our welcome party, were all stuffed!

Now I bet you are all wondering what welcome party was waiting for us…but before I get into that, a little background that these animals were bred illegally and destined to be euthanised unless someone came forward with the knowledge and secure enclosure for them to live a happy life. Khan and Shiba are 6 year old brother/ sister lions, and their home is the Lion House. While a bit of a shock at first, and took some getting used to the 4am wake up calls, we all grew to love them and there amazing personalities! We all were blaming Khan for the “roars” throughout the day, it turned out to be Shibasomething the men all liked to point out that of course the girl was making all the racket! Khan had such a playful side to him, while Shiba was all business. They

both were the most stunning lions we have ever seen in captivity. You could tell that they were extremely well cared for, perfect body condition and the most gorgeous coats.

Sunday the team went for a game drive around Kyindu Ranch with our horse coordinator for the week Marilet. It was a great way to start the day and check out the incredible animals who live across the 3600 hectare ranch. Marilet was a fountain of knowledge with each animal and what they were doing with conservation to allow a healthy population of each beast amongst their ranch and in the wild. Later that day the team travelled to the Leopards Hill Polocrosse grounds, which was on the same ranch as we were on, but in the bus we had to drive on the main road to get there. We soon found out that each place we visited, and we mean everywhere we went, was “just down the road”. This could mean anywhere between 10-30 minutes driving! That afternoon we met the other team and drew the horse pools. Rachael pulled pool “B” for the ladies and Joel pulled pool “A” for the men. Tomorrow would see the first ride on the horses for the team!

Before we rode on Monday, the team went to an elephant nursery “just down the road” from the polocrosse ground at Game Rangers International in Lusaka

2023 OPEN SQUAD REPORT continued...

National Park. Perched up in a viewing area, the team watched as 6 orphaned elephants ranging from 3 months to 3.5 years old be bottle fed and have a play in the water, mud and sand! These guys do incredible work rescuing elephants, rehabilitating them and releasing them back into national parks all around Zambia. They have successfully released 50 elephants, all of which have joined existing herds, and started families of their own. A definite highlight of the trip!

Over the next few days, the team would ride each morning, have lunch at the grounds, watch the Zambian team train and head back to the Lion House for dinner. Wednesday Nikki and Connor hosted a BBQ with the African sunset as the backdrop. The players all got to know each other a little more and a fun night was had. Thursday was the welcome/ meet the players evening at Leopards Hill Polocrosse, where we saw the club house was beautifully decorated and teams introduced. Tomorrow was game time!

An early start for the management team to trot the horses up in the morning, while the team had breakfast and prepared their gear for the day. Once at the grounds, it was all systems go with warming up and horses sorted by our wonderful grooms! The first day of a test series, when you are the away side, is always challenging. The horse that you trained on for the week, will most likely have a different set of gears and quirks when it comes to the pressure of a game. The UK team came out fighting, but in the end were overwhelmed by the speed and quickness the Zambians had, and went down 32-12. A shock to the system, a stern talking to by our coaches, but tomorrow was a new day.

The girls came out firing starting their chukka with a 3-3 score line, and the men continued strong in their chukkas to start their game off really well! But with 8 chukkas played, sadly another loss for the UK, but this time we edged just a little closer with a score line of 28-16. Final day tomorrow, and the UK were ready to pull out all the tricks they had left, we were ready for a win!

Under the bright Zambian sunshine, anthems were played, time was called on, and the UK were leaving nothing behind. The girls had a slow start, allowing the Zambians to create a distance between the scores, but the UK men were going out fighting strong! The final buzzer went, and the UK had yet another loss of 28-22. The UK men won their chukkas convincingly, and the girls won their last chukka against the strongest combination of Zambians. A win would have been even sweeter, but this was a big positive to take away from our last game played!

With prize giving and thank yous done, awards were given to Sophia Harpin for ladies best #2, Rachael Duhig for ladies best #3, Jack Brown for best mens #2 and Stuart Dyson for mens MVP. The UK awarded Gucci owned by Celicia Jacobs best horse in the ladies and Styles owned by Damian Harris in the mens.

The UK’s first official tour to this beautiful country was definitely one to remember. From having lions roaring as your alarm clock, catching up with old friends, new friendships formed, hard fought games played and unmatched hospitality!

All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the support given to our team - huge thank you’s to Nikki and Connor for hosting us, the game drive, food and Connor umpiring. Leopards Hill Polocrosse club for the top grounds and hosting lunch all week. Richard Chapple for being 3rd umpire and his hilarious commentating! Marilet for being the best horse coordinator any of us have ever had - seriously, she was incredible!

All of the parents who came out to support and cheer us on, we loved hearing you on the sidelines. Chris Milburn for umpiring and being the biggest help/support throughout the week - we could’t have done it without you! All of the horse owners who trusted us with your steeds, we hope we did them proud. To our grooms who were the biggest help and loudest cheering squad - they were so kind and helpful, and would always remind you that we needed more goals when getting on your next horse. The Smiths for providing the overalls for our grooms, they loved them!

And finally the Zambian team - thank you for being such quality hosts, and allowing hard fought games with continued sportsmanship throughout the series. It was a pleasure visiting your beautiful country, and we hope to repay your efforts by hosting you in the future.

Thank You to

A long-standing supporter of UK Polocrosse, the Worshipful Company of Saddlers provide beautiful leather prizes to our younger players. Each year we are delighted to welcome to Prime Warden to watch the finals and enjoy our sport with us!

The Worshipful Company of Saddlers will be sponsoring our PJ and Intermediate Junior divisions, along with the Best U21, Best Junior Newcomer and Junior Sportsmanship awards.

Polocrosse Extreme

This sponsor needs no introduction to the world of UK Polocrosse! They have been supporting the sport for so long that it’s hard to imagine a world without them!

Polocrosse Extreme and Iain Heaton are the driving force behind Pony Club polocrosse, and are a regular sponsor of both UKPA Nationals and other tournaments throughout the season.

This year they will be sponsoring the B Grade, and will also be supplying the prizes for the Bombers U14 and U16 awards on behalf of Bomber himself.

TC Polocrosse

New for 2023, TC Polocrosse have been making waves with their polocrosse balls! TC Polocrosse will be sponsoring the A Grade, and Pitch 1 for Nationals 2023, so if you are playing on Pitch 1 over the weekend you will have the chance to try out their ball!

Our Sponsors!

Hold Your Horses

Another of our regular supporters, we are delighted to have Hold Your Horses sponsoring our Best Conditioned Horse award this year.

Emily produces a range of beautiful customised halters and leadropes, as well as other equipment. Make sure you pop over to her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/HoldYourHorsesGB to see more of her work, and maybe even treat yourself to something in your Club colours!

Waterco

A dedicated supporter of polocrosse in North Wales and the North West, Waterco are kindly sponsoring the Nationals scoreboard this year for Pitch 1.

Jack Brown Polocrosse

Kent player Jack Brown has also developed his own polocrosse ball this season, which has started to appear on UK pitches this season.

A long time supporter of the junior game and a regular PDP coach, Jack Brown Polocrosse will be sponsoring the Open Junior division at Nationals this year.

A big thank you to our UKPA photographers Izzy Baker Cresswell and Jack Page for sponsoring our Nationals PJ and Junior Best Number awards

Keep an eye out after Nationals for their amazing photos from your games!