Battle of Roses rejoined as UKPA announce first two Polocrosse Academies

The UKPA have released a press statement announcing that two new Polocrosse Academies, one in Yorkshire and one in Lancashire, will be holding taster days over the coming months. The idea of polocrosse academies is to allow more people to play polocrosse, by giving them a set venue where the sport is available for them to have a go at.

The academies are a result of the UKPA working with both the BEF and local riding centres. Commenting on the venture Emma White, BEF Regional Coordinator for Yorkshire and the North East said 'The British Equestrian Federation is proud to be supporting this polocrosse venture which will allow the Yorkshire equestrian community access to this exciting and challenging sport."

The Yorkshire centre is based at the appropriately named White Rose Riding school, Park House Farm, Husthwaite while the Lancashire venture is being run in conjunction with Lanquestrian Ltd, who are based at Lunebank Equestrian Centre. The UKPA hopes to see more and more of these centres open up around the country in order to allow more and more people to participate in polocrosse.

UKPA Sport Development Officer, Iain Heaton, said "There are a lot of people who come to us wanting to play polocrosse but often the problem is, because it is a small sport, there are no dedicated centres where they can go and play it. Instead they have to go to their local club and often clubs hold fairly irregular practices. The plan is to solve this problem by working in conjunction with riding schools all over the country to help them start offering polocrosse. This will allow people to play the sport and also will give riding schools another revenue stream, which is vitally important in these troubled times. We can provide the polocrosse expertise and they can provide the venue" He urged any riding schools which would be interested in starting to offer polocrosse to get in touch with him on sportsdevelopment@ukpolocrosse.co.uk.

The first taster day will take place at the Yorkshire Polocrosse Academy on the 7th of February under the supervision of the Captain of the UK Polocrosse team, Guy Robertson. Christine Stansfield, Director of Coaching for the UKPA urges people to come and have a go, “This is a fantastic opportunity for people of any age to come and have a go free of charge using our schoolmaster horses and receive instruction from one of the best players in the country.”

To find out more details and to read the full UKPA press release click here