By Jenel Hunt
Seven men and seven women from seven nations arrived on Australian soil last week, complete with tack and gear – but without their horses – to pit their skills against an Aussie team of polocrosse players.
Next week, these 14 international polocrosse players, along with hundreds of horses and thousands of people, will be in Warwick for the long-awaited Adina Australia Vs the Rest of the World Test Series, which is being featured in a triple crown of fabulous polocrosse events.
Based on the participant nations in the World Cup, the polocrosse event has eight participating nations. We Australians reckon we’ve got the best polocrosse players in the world, so it’s challenge accepted by the rest of the world in the three-match test series! It is only the second time the competition has been brought to the playing field, both times at Morgan Park on the outskirts of Warwick.
For Warwick Polocrosse Club’s Les Fraser, who is in the thick of organising the home grounds for the gigantic event, there is a distinct sense of déjà vu in hosting the celebrated but rare competition. Last time it was 1988 and he was the captain of the Australian team. Les and his wife Robyn Fraser have been stalwarts of the polocrosse scene for a very long time. In fact, Les can remember being on the ground for polocrosse’s first day at Morgan Park 50 years ago.
Now the complex has seven turf playing fields, undercover accommodation for 500 horses, horse-washing facilities, practice fields and spectator seating for thousands of people.
“It’s been a wonderful experience being involved in Morgan Park. Warwick can be proud of its polocrosse complex,” said Les.
“I’ve been to South Africa, the United Kingdom and New Zealand and there’s not another equestrian complex I know of that can put so many horses undercover.”
It’s no wonder, then, that Morgan Park has hosted the most prestigious polocrosse events in Australia and the world including the first ever World Cup in 2003, the subsequent World Cup in 2007 and several National Championships (they’re held in Warwick every two years). When the World Cup came back to Warwick in 2019, it attracted 50,000 people.
The international players who are coming to team up as the Rest of the World have already played one competition at Albury last weekend, so they’re limbered up after their international plane ride.
The horses are provided from throughout Australia. They come from Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland.
“Australia produces the best polocrosse-playing horses in the world. Without a shadow of a doubt,” said Les.
“We supply all the horses. We have two pools of 14 horses each – a men’s pool and a women’s pool. They have the horse draw on the Tuesday before the event and each person gets two horses – a playing horse and a reserve horse. While they’re here, they look after the horses they’ve been allotted. There’s an overall horse co-ordinator too.”
All up, there will be 700 horses on the grounds.
With about 210 players in the Barastock series (played like a State of Origin), and between 300 and 400 players in the club competitions, there are a lot of people even before the spectators get factored in. And spectators there are sure to be.
“We’re very strong on polocrosse in the southeast corner of Queensland. We have clubs at Warwick, Killarney, Clifton, Cunningham, Toowoomba, Goondiwindi, Kilcoy, Chinchilla and the Gold Coast.”
Les said the competitions started on Friday morning with the Barastock Interstate Series, which had record nominations from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.
Clubs will vie for the Viva Shell Cup on Saturday and Sunday.
With the main field being under lights, the events will continue into the night on Friday and Saturday.
If the entertainment on the field isn’t enough, there’s also a live band on the Saturday and a playground for children, who get free entry over the weekend. A cafe will serve breakfast, lunch and evening meals. Food and coffee stalls will operate, while retail traders will display goods from clothing to saddlery.
Locals can buy day tickets or three-day passes so they can soak in all the equine action and really get their money’s worth from a world-class event right on their doorstep.
The weekend’s events will be live-streamed around the world.
