Polocrosse first as Solent say that flu jabs and passports are essential

Solent Polocrosse Club today said that at their tournament, to be held at Bath racecourse on the 21st/22nd June, all horses would be expected to have up to date flu vaccinations and a valid horse passport. Officials from Bath racecourse will be carrying out spot checks throughout the weekend and any horses which do not have the necessary paper work will be removed from the venue.

It is believed that this condition is insisted on by Bath racecourse themselves rather than Solent Polocrosse Club but this is still a polocrosse first. Not even at Nationals have the UKPA insisted on seeing flu vaccination cards and passports.

The only member of the UKPA executive we could get to comment at such short notice was Sports Development Officer, Iain Heaton, and he said "I told you before that story is rubbish, myself and Richard Chapple have never even been to Bognor! Oh you meant the horse passport thing! Well, in most other professional horse sports these kind of checks are common and so it was only a matter of time before polocrosse followed suite. All horses should have horse passports by now and so it should not be problem for anyone. I see this as another step forward for the game as we strive to be more professional and better thought of within the equestrian community!"