Lockyer Valley Polocrosse Club is riding on a high after their annual carnival was well attended over the weekend.
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In 2016 the club experienced a downturn in membership after some members moved interstate and others to larger clubs. With their membership down to just two people in 2017, running a carnival seemed an impossible task. However, over the weekend, what the club lacked in numbers, it made up for with a passion for polocrosse to keep their annual carnival on the Queensland Calendar. The club, assisted by other clubs from the South East Queensland Zone, worked hard to put on a great weekend of polocrosse action in Lockyer Valley.
The carnival, well known for its laid back atmosphere and great hospitality, attracted players and spectators from all over south east Queensland and northern NSW. Although the number of teams wasn’t as large as 2016, almost 200 players and their horses took to the field to battle it out for club pride.
Tansey 1 and Warwick 1 went head to head in the A Grade Open final with Tansey coming out victorious. Best Horse and Rider Award for A Grade went to Warwick club member Brayden Beck. Tansey also won E Grade with their third team beating Killarney in the final.
Cunningham Polocrosse Club took out B Grade, were winners of the Beaten final in D Garde and showed their commitment to junior coaching is working with Cunningham 2 beating Cunningham 1 in the Junior Chukka Competition. Best Horse and Rider in the Juniors went to Cunningham’s Ashleigh Sticklen.
In the other Open categories, C Grade was won by Stanley Rivers and D Grade by Clifton.
Lockyer Valley Polocrosse Club secretary Scott Colwell said it was a great weekend with 27 teams attending. “We were very well supported by all South East Zone clubs including Stanley Rivers whose members really helped out with set-up, catering and pack up.”
With floods in the area over the past five years causing damage at the home grounds, a lot of work had been put into field preparation and the feedback from the riders was positive. Mr Colwell said the fields played excellently, with close competition across the grades. He thanked Laidley Show Society for providing the venue and also the major sponsors Mitavite and Southern Cross Saddlery.
To ensure the survival of the club, Lockyer Valley Polocrosse is looking to rebuild by increasing their membership base this year and beyond to 2018 and 2019.
“We are looking to reestablish ourselves as strong club in south east Queensland,” said Mr Colwell. “We welcome any new players who would like to try the action packed game of polocrosse or those who have previously played and want to return to the sport.”
For more information on trying polocrosse or playing for the club, contact Scott Colwell on 0418 709 075 or email lockyervalley@gmail.com.
Polocrosse is one of the few sports where male and female players can compete equally in the same team.
Polocrosse is an exciting spectator sport. It presents an incomparable 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 Campdrafting.
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.
Lockyer Valley Polocrosse Carnival Results
A Grade: Winner – Tansey 1. Runners-Up – Warwick 1. Best Horse & Rider – Braydon Beck.
B Grade: Winner – Cunningham 1. Runners-Up – Tansey 2. Best Horse & Rider – Emily Waters, Tansey 2.
C Grade: Winner – Stanley Rivers 1. Runners-Up – Warwick 3. Best Horse & Rider – Tom Osborne, Warwick 3.
D Grade: Winner – Clifton. Runners-Up – Gold Coast 5. Beaten Teams – Cunningham 3. Best Horse & Rider – Emily Gentry, Clifton.
E Grade: Winner – Tansey 3. Runners-Up – Killarney. Beaten Teams – Stanley Rivers 3. Best Horse & Rider – Lisa Johnson, Tansey.
Junior: Winner – Cunningham 2. Runners-Up – Cunningham 1. Best Horse & Rider – Ashleigh Sticklen, Cunningham.