Brittney & Polocrosse

When we started horse riding here in the UK I was taken back by the difference between English riding and what I had done in the past. It took me quite awhile to get used to the idea of possibly falling off (had never done that before), trotting, cantering, correct leads, etc, and then to 'advance' to dressage, jumping, and cross country ... man, I thought I was something else. Then came Polocrosse, and I fell in love.

Polocrosse is a combination of the sports Lacrosse and Polo. You don't have to be a 'good' rider to participate, but it does help! However, I found my riding actually improved as I started playing Polocrosse, because I am concentrating on the game so much my riding just starts to happen. After about a year of me playing I finally got Brittney interested in it. Below are some pictures of Brittney on Issi during one of the weekly team practices. Brittney is wearing the light pink jumper.

Warm up includes sharpening communication between you & your horse. Because you are holding a racket in one hand, the reins in the other hand, and the game is very fast paced, you & your horse have to be 'intune' with each other.

In the pictures above they were riding around without stirrups in canter, 20 meter circles, etc, making sure the rider had a good seat and the horse was listening.

Brittney is leaning over Issi to pick up the ball with her racket so she can then throw it to a team mate. It can be a long way down there to pick up that ball when you & the horse are in a canter...

Brittney getting ready to throw the ball to her team mate.

This spring and summer before we move back, I hope to enroll me and Brittney in some training courses for Polocrosse. These are usually weekend retreats with camping, no showers, port-a-potties, lots of junk food, and all weekend riding - as long as the weather holds out they are usually quite fun. Currently there is no riding school in the Peoria area that plays Polocrosse, but I am hoping that we can change that when we move back. Hence even more of a need for us to improve our riding & playing skills.