Saddle Fitting

Number one rule of a good saddle: If the tree is a good fit, the saddle will be a good fit. When saddle fitting we use and recommend the “Equine Back Profiling System” to ensure proper saddle fit for your horse. This system consists of a set of cards that measures your horse’s back in three locations: whithers, low point of the back, and back of saddle. Additionally it measures the curvature or “rock” of the horse’s back. The system is consistent, fast to measure and easy to communicate. It’s a vast improvement over the coat hanger bent around the whithers method.

Australian fender saddles have been adapted from our traditional western saddles; the familiar western bars and seat are coupled with Australian knee pads. Our trees are individually built using the customer supplied measurements. They are produced of a polymer composite and reinforced with carbon fiber to guarantee incredible strength with the added benefit of being very light weight.

Download Saddle Fit Pic & Instructions

Polocrosse Ball and Racquet Skills

Boots and racket

Ball skills are best learned on the ground before trying it on the horse. In the beginning success, although awkward, should be measured by the use of proper technique and accuracy, rather than power and distance. Don`t be afraid to make mistakes, experiment and find your own style. Patience and practice are required; most high level player will spend 20 to 30 minutes per day practicing racquet skills to maintain their edge. Keep a racquet and ball by the door, each time you walk to the barn or mail box – practice. Continue reading →

How to Adjust Your Racket Net

How It Works

how it works

The polocrosse racket has two pockets one front and one rear. Lift the racket up above your head and the ball rolls to the back pocket or normal carrying position,  drop the racket head down a 90 degrees to the ground and the ball should come to rest in the front pocket. The front pocket stops the ball from flying out while carrying the ball and avoiding opponents swings as well grabbing the ball and pulling back to the carrying position. The net between these two pockets is the ramp. Continue reading →

Basic Ball Skills

The actual method of picking up the ball can be practiced on the lawn at home but to obtain any proficiency at all you have to practice on the horse.

There are some general rules for picking up the ball. Continue reading →

To Let A Horse Go Or Make A Horse Go

When it comes to the relationship between people and horses the old saying of “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey that counts” couldn’t be more true. Horsemanship is a sport, a science, and an art, all rolled into one very challenging experience. Continue reading →

Feel Your Horse’s Feet With Your Seat

It’s a bit silly how many people are out there trying to “feel their horses feet”, as if it’s some kind of psychic phenomenon to be able to sense the rhythm of your horse’s footfall. The problem is that you can’t make yourself feel the movement of your horse’s legs in your mind you need to feel it in the seat of your pants. Think of it this way: when we ride we are not sitting on the legs, we are sitting on the barrel. What connects the back legs to the front legs is the barrel, so we feel the legs of the horse through the swinging of the barrel and we interpret the swinging of the barrel as we feel it through the receptivity of our hips. Therefore, the only way to know when and where your horse’s feet are is to be able to feel the rhythm of your own hips. If you can combine the intellectual or theoretical understanding of what’s happening in your horse’s spine with the feel of the physical groove of how it plays out, you can start manipulating the bend and the horse will keep on dancing right with you. Continue reading →

When We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

I remember a long time ago in high school seeing a sign behind the desk of my algebra teacher that read:

“The older we get the more we realize how much we don’t know” .

I also remember that at the ripe old age of sixteen that I thought this was a “stupid” statement. I naturally assumed that this was just another example of false humility designed as a politically correct manipulation of young rebellious minds like mine in yet another attempt to coerce us into minding our manners and conforming to the standardized norm of the educational system. That was thirty years ago when I was 16. However, it didn’t take me all these thirty years to realize the profound truth in the statement that I had once assumed in the wisdom of my youth to be so ridiculous. Years later, while coaching in a clinic, I heard myself spontaneously uttering the words “the more I work with the horses, the more I realize how much I don’t know”. That realization suddenly dawned on me when I was about 40. Continue reading →

Game Awareness

Next to horsemanship, polocrosse game awareness, is probably the most important talent you can master when it comes to your safety and your ability to make better game decisions. If your focus is on your horse, the ball, or a single opponent you can quickly loose game|contest awareness. Experienced players have practiced their horsemanship and ball skills until they are able to focus on game awareness and a strategy. It is important to focus on the task at hand, but not at the expense of of being aware of the game around you – its the key to improved play and safer riding. Continue reading →

UK Polocrosse Learn to Play

The UK Polocrosse Association’s Promotional video, showing the sport and how to play it. The video is delivered by experienced coach and UK player Jason Webb and in chapter 1 he looks at the basics of picking up, passing and catching the ball. Continue reading →