Spreading the Polocrosse Addiction

Update from Brianna True about the Annual Meeting:

Today my dad Alvin, Chris, Leilani, Susan Poulton and I taught some kids and parents about polocrosse at the Annual Pony Club Meeting. It went great. : ) We had quite a bit of interest from people in Montana, Wyoming, California, Virginia, Florida, Kentucky, and here in Greely, Co. It was awesome to see kids so excited to play with the racquets and balls and even the parents got into it. We passed out information about how to contact people in different regions so they could start playing. :) I can't wait to watch polocrosse grow in Pony Club and around the nation.

USPC Annual Meeting update

The Annual Meeting in Denver, CO kicked off yesterday. Hopefully I will be able to get some updates soon from polocrosse players who were able to attend. I did happen to come across a photo of a great research project about bell boot performance for polocrosse!

U16 Update

In order to let everyone have more time to get horses fit we have extended the date for the first cut (for the team long list) to March 18. This is after the Charlie Horse Tournament and after the clinic held in NC.

Team Apps are still due to me by February 18th and the final application fee is due by April 1.

Any questions contact Donna Ellis.
(Comment if you need her contact info)

U16 clinic in NC

Looks like there is going to be a clinic in North Carolina this spring to show off your skills to the U16 team coach. Keep an ear out for more information. Any pony clubbers who are interested in this tour should definitely sign up! Showing interest now will put you on the development program's radar, even if you don't make it on the team this year. Plus, clinics like this one are an invaluable learning experience that you won't generally get at club practices.

2013 Annual Meeting

The 2013 USPC Annual Meeting and Equine Symposium is being held in Westminster, CO from January 23-27. If you can attend, please keep an eye out for some polocrosse players! I know that a few will be there to share their knowledge. More info to come later on.

http://www.ponyclub.org/?page=AnnualMeeting 

Multi Region Rally in Boyds, MD

Please pass the word on and mark your calendars for the 2013 Multi Region Pony Club Polocrosse Rally! It will be held at the Potomac Pony Club Field in Boyds, MD on Sunday, May 12th, 2013. I will post a link to more info as it is given.

Like us on Facebook!

USPC Polocrosse now has a new Facebook page. Please like us and share with anyone else who might be interested! http://www.facebook.com/UspcPolocrosse

Fun at PC Championships 2012

Just found this picture on the USPC Facebook page. It just goes to show that polocrosse has more fun than any other discipline! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150930162086910&set=a.157395386909.126917.152849016909&type=1&theater

APA U16 Team Application

Attention all players who are 16 or under as of January 1st, 2013! (You are still eligible even if you turned 17 on Jan. 2nd) The link for the inbound tour application is now posted at http://americanpolocrosse.com/ If you are at all interested, please apply! These international exchanges are a ton of fun and great learning experiences. Even if you do not have two of your own polocrosse horses, it is fine if you borrow one. They are looking for high C grade and above horses, and after a few weeks of coaching and some schooling by some amazing Australian players, they may even come back better than they were before. Also, Pony Club backgrounds are considered a plus in picking out the team! It shows that you have already learned correct horse management practices which end up being very important on tours such as this one.

Picture from the 2010 Inbound Tour in Bucks County, PA with New South Wales, AUS.

Starting off the season right

Even though it's still cold outside, the spring tournaments and rallies are coming up soon. It's time to start thinking about practicing your ball skills and getting your horse in shape. To get pumped up for the season I go online and watch as many old game videos as I can find. There are a bunch on YouTube as well as some old Australian Nationals games at www.cowhorse.com.au/

MD Horse World Expo

Sugarloaf Mountain polocrosse club is doing a demo at the MD Horse World Expo this Saturday from 2pm-3pm, John Cook is doing an Intro to Polox Seminar on Saturday from 10am-11am. They also have a booth (#2007) at the Expo all weekend! Stop by if you get a chance. There are some amazing upper level players in this club, and most of them have also been highly involved in Pony Club.
www.horseworldexpo.com/MDmain.shtml

Happy New Year!

In 2013 I am going to try to keep this blog updated more efficiently. To start out with I will be posting this year's APA tournament schedules as I get the tentative dates.
Eastern Zone:
Charlie Horse: March 9 / 10
Sandie Creek: April 6 / 7
Tennessee Valley: May 4 / 5
Carolina: May 25 / 26
Bay Area: June 16 / 16
Sugarloaf Mountain: July 6 / 7
Bucks County: August 31 / September 1
Eastern Zone Mega Clinic (Pinehurst, NC): September 14 / 15
APA Nationals: October 4 / 5 / 6

I don't have a full schedule for Central, Mountain, or Western zones yet. If any of the tournaments will be incorporating a pony club qualifying rally as well I will try to post info as I hear about it.

There will also be several international exchanges occurring this year. The largest will the Quadrangular, held in South Africa. This event is held every four years, in between World Cup years, for the top four placing World Cup nations. This year the participating nations will be South Africa, Zimbabwe, the UK (Australia is not attending), and USA. Many of the team members are pony club graduates. More information to come as the event approaches in mid-July. There is also an exchange with NSW for a youth team in the works to be held in Florida.