Not even freezing temperatures overnight and thick blankets of dust during the day could deter players at Goondiwindi Polocrosse Club’s Annual carnival held over the weekend.
It is this same passion for the true Australian made sport that keeps Goondiwindi Polocrosse Club alive, despite reduced member numbers. Over the past six years, membership has dropped from almost 40 players to just one in 2017.
But what this club lacks in numbers, it more than makes up for in dedication to the action-packed equestrian sport and that, combined with club camaraderie, is what allowed them to hold their annual carnival.
There were 46 senior teams and four junior teams competing at Goondiwindi Showground to battle for club pride. The carnival was designated as a multi-horse carnival which meant players could use more than one horse. This helped with team numbers, as players took the opportunity to give their young horses time on the field and their more seasoned horses a break in the lead-up to final few carnivals of the season before the Queensland State Titles.
Tansey 1 won the A Grade Competition with Inverell 1 runners-up. Best Horse and Rider for A Grade was awarded to Tansey’s Justin Hafey. Keeping success in the family, Mr Hafey’s daughter Beth Hafey was named Best Lady Player of the Carnival and his son Dan Hafey was named Best Horse and Rider of E Grade.
In B Grade Tansey 2 were victorious over runners-up Warwick 2. Best Horse and Rider for the grade went to Tansey’s Jack Standfast. Tansey 4 also won E Grade.
Warwick Polocrosse Club featured as the winners of C Grade, F Grade and G Grade and also the B Grade Juniors. Keely McGrath from Warwick was named Best Horse and Rider for F Grade.
Cunningham Polocrosse Club has a strong focus on youth development and it showed with their Cunningham 1 Junior Section winning the A Grade Juniors competition against runners-up Chinchilla 1. Katie Bredhauer from Chinchilla was named Best Horse and Rider.
In the B Grade Juniors, the Gold Coast section was runners-up to Warwick. Joshua Line from Gold Coast was named Best Horse and Rider in this division.
Goondiwindi Polocrosse’s only playing member Michelle Smith said the support that the club had received from the other clubs attending and also locals was outstanding. Ms Smith said without the dedicated group of volunteers, the club would not be able to host the annual Tait Auto Group Polocrosse Carnival.
“A big thank you to all those people who pitched in to help out with all that needs to be done running a carnival,” she said.
Polocrosse is an exciting spectator sport. It presents an athletic challenge involving speed and stamina, and also demands lightning quick reflexes in both horse and rider. It is one of only three sports that Australia can truly claim as its own; the others being Australian Rules Football and Camp drafting.
Polocrosse is one of the few sports where male and female players can compete equally in the same team. Being a sport the whole family can play, polocrosse caters for everyone from the expert 'A Grade' and elite player to the once a year 'casual' player.
