Pony Club Polocrosse Championships sees new members, Branches and Areas compete in high numbers

The Pony Club Polocrosse Championships took place on the 9th and 10th of August at Offchurch Bury, as part of the JCB Pony Club Championships. Members from 38 different Branches / Centres and 13 of the 19 Pony Cub Areas took part, representing an impressive level of growth from 2024 when 27 Branches / Centres and 10 Areas were represented. The number of Branches / Centres and Areas taking part has now doubled since the Championships returned after a two year break in 2021, when 19 Branches / Centres and 6 Areas were in the competition. This is another great demonstration of how the sport is growing and spreading across the Pony Club, thanks to the hard work of all our volunteers and coaches.

There were lots of players playing at Championships for the first time, with 36 members making their championships debut which was wonderful to see. Many were also competing in other sports at the JCB Championships, with a number in the Mounted Games competition and also members taking part in Tetrathlon and Dressage competitions, showing just how multi talented our members and their horses are. There was a particularly large number of new players from the South West, with a number of teams coming up from Areas 15 and 16 to compete in everything from the Lead Rein competition up to Novice Juniors. 15 members came in total from 6 different branches, with the South Devon Moorland being very well represented with 7 of their members at the Championships.

The Lead Rein is always great to watch on the Sunday, as members, their ponies and their designated leaders battled it out on a pitch built across one of the 30 yard areas. Percy Custance Baker, Alfred Rawle, Archie Gardner, Imogen Jenkinson and Rosabella Howitt all did an amazing job in both mastering the stick and ball skills to score goals but also directing their leaders around the pitch and encouraging them to greater efforts when they looked like they were tiring! We hope to see them all back next year, maybe in Novce Minis!

The Sunday morning also saw the parade of the all the teams which is always a brilliant sight, and the presentation of the tack and turnout prizes, after this was judged alongside the tack check on Saturday morning. Walpole & District, Area 6 and the Welsh Wizards team (a mixed team from South Wales) won the Minis, Juniors and Seniors Tack and Turnout competitions with some impressively high scores.

The growth in the sport is also thanks to the wonderful way existing players promote the sport, including by inspiring others with their skills on the pitch, and this was definitely true this year, with a number of Pony Club volunteers and members saying they wanted to try polocrosse after watching the games.

The standards at all levels were incredibly high, with lots of members who had been in various UK squads this year playing in the Open Juniors and Open Seniors. There were some brilliant matches – the Open Minis final was a particular highlight as it went to Golden Goal, with Walpole and District winning the day after Daisy King grabbed the ball in the line up and safely delivered it to Mia Freegard in the thirty yard area to score the winning goal and overcome the mixed team of Lottie Jones (Tanatside), Georgina Cheetham (Grove Hunt) and Katarina Westerling (Essex & Suffolk)

In addition to winning the grade, Daisy King’s pony Fletch was awarded the new Galaxy trophy for Best Minis Pony at the Championships. This trophy has been kindly donated this year by the South Shropshire Branch in memory of Galaxy, who was a wonderful Minis Pony for a number of members over the years before he sadly passed way earlier this year at the age of 23.

The Malden Trophy, was historically presented for the Branch team which did best in Open Seniors and Open Juniors, was instead awarded this year for the Branch or Centre that did best across all the Championships grades, as this was felt to be a fairer reflection of overall success. It was won by the South Shropshire branch, who fielded teams at all three age categories and did particularly well in Open Juniors, finishing as runners up to a strong Area 8 team in the final after each team had won their respective pool.

It was a great weekend overall for teams from Area 8. They claimed all three of the Open grades, with mixed Area 8 teams made up of members from the Essex and Suffolk and Essex Hunt North branches winning the Open Seniors and the Open Juniors and Walpole & District taking home the trophy for Open Minis.

The Area 8 Open Seniors of Ollie Rowbotham, Kiki flower and Taryn Tinker won all their matches to top the grade but they were pushed hard by the other teams, including the mixed team from South Wales made up on Keegan Jacobs (Dians Powys), Alfie Vollans (Llangeinor) and Masha Humphreys (Amman Valley) who finished as runners up. The Area 8 Open Juniors put in some great displays as Sammy Westerling, Lola Flower and Maggie Flower combined to great effect. South Shropshire’s team of Maggie Clark, Charlotte Gee and Abi Boswell battled hard in the final but Area 8 got away at the start and South Shropshire couldn’t close up the gap.

Area 8 also had two players in the winning Novice Juniors team, as Kaitlyn Allen (Walpole and District) and Elli-May Baskerville (Waveney Harriers) combined in a Mixed team with Annabelle Gill of the East Down from Area 17 to win the Milner shield, which has been donated by the Milner family this year. The mixed team of North Warwickshire and Tynedale, which was made up of Suzie Houston Mulaney, May Chance and Thomas Kenny finished in the runners up spot.

Area 8 also had one player in the winning Novice Minis team, as Charlotte Linsell-Clark (East Essex Branch) partnered with Millie Jenkinson and Ava Styler of the Worcestershire Hunt Branch for a very successful weekend on their first appearance at the Championships. They beat a mixed team of Darcey Bruce (Rockwood Harriers), Thomas Blackwell (Burghley) and Evelyn Davison (Morpeth) in an exciting match on Sunday afternoon.

However, it was Area 3 who lifted the Novice Seniors Trophy, the new Bay Laurel Trophy which had been donated by the Daniels family. Area 3’s team feaured Olivia Morton and Summer Robertson of the Rockwood Harriers combined with Jess Alderson of the Hurworth Hunt and they won all three of their games to emerge victorious at the end of the weekend. The runners up spot went to a mixed team made up of Toby Milner (Suffolk Hunt). Zara Stafford (Burghley) and Eloise Keers (North Down).

Overall it was a fabulous weekend, with some amazing play on the pitches and also an opporunity for members to enjoy the wider Championships atmosphere, with its trade stands and Saturday night party. We hope to see all these players back next year, plus we hope they have inspired others to also start playing!

The Pony Club Polocrosse Championships Results 2025

The Malden Trophy for the Branch / Centre that achieved the highest number of points per grade across the Championships – South Shropshire Branch

The Galaxy Award for the Best Mini Pony at the Championships – Fletch – Daisy King (Walpole & District)

Tack and Turnout Results:

Minis:

1st) Walpole & District

2nd) Tanatgrove & Suffolk

3rd) South Shropshire

Juniors:

1st) Area 6

2nd) Area 15

3rd) North Down and Burton

Seniors:

1st) Welsh Wizards

2nd) Suffolk and Burghdown

3rd) Flint & Denbigh

Lead Rein:

Percy Custance Baker (Silverton Hunt), Alfred Rawle (Devon and Somerset), Archie Gardner  (Tiverton Hunt),  Rosabella Howitt (Romney Marsh),  Imogen Jenkinson (Worcestershire Hunt)

Novice Minis:

1^st) East Essex and Worcestershire – Millie Jenkinson (Worcestershire Hunt), Ava Styler (Worcestershire Hunt), Charlotte Linsell-Clark (East Essex)

2^nd) Rockburgh and Morpeth – Darcey Bruce (Rockwood Harriers), Thomas Blackwell (Burghley), Evelyn Davison (Morpeth)

Joint 3^rd) Newmarket and Thurlow – Ruby Chamberlain, Rosie Chamberlain, Alex Smith

Joint 3^rd) South Devon Mini Mixed – James Taylor-Dalton (South Devon West), Imogen Rickard (South Devon Moorland) , Isla Smith (South Devon Moorland) 

5^th) Area 7 – Freddie Oliver-Byrne (North Warwickshire), Jack Cook (North Warwickshire), Oscar Castaldini (Warwickshire Hunt)   

6^th) Area 8 – Larry Revell (Waveney Harriers), Hara-Leyani Owers (Newmarket and Thurlow), Otillie King (Walpole and District)

Open Minis:

1^st) Walpole & District – Mia Freegard, Daisy King, Izzie Hardy

2^nd) Tantagrove and Suffolk – Lottie Jones (Tantaside Hunt), Katarina Westerling (Essex and Suffolk), Georgina Cheetham (Grove Hunt)

3^rd) South Shropshire – Jim Leeke, Jack Cherriman, Harry Beedles

4^th) North Warwickshire – Suzie Houston-Mullaney, Edward Greatorex, Gracie Rawbone

Novice Juniors:

1^st) Waveney, Walpole and Down – Kaitlyn Allen (Walpole and District), Elli-May Baskerville (Waveney Harriers), Annabelle Gill (East Down)

2^nd) North Warwickshire and Tynedale – Thomas Kenny (Tynedale Hunt), Suzie Houston-Mullaney (North Warwickshire), May Chance (North Warwickshire)

3^rd) South Devon Mix – Kara Vaughan (South Devon Moorland), Daisy Lavin (South Devon Moorland), Oliver Rickard (South Devon West)

4^th) South Devon Moorland – Eugenie Froy, Alesha Coaker, Megan Faulkner

5^th) Area 15 – Augusta Daniel (Devon and Somerset), Emmie Webster, Violet Guerin (Polden Hills)

Open Juniors:

1^st) Area 8 – Sammy Westerling (Essex and Suffolk), Lola Flower (Essex Hunt North), Maggie Flower (Essex Hunt North)

2^nd) South Shropshire – Maggie Clark, Abi Boswell, Charlotte Gee

3^rd) North Down and Burton – Abbey Wallace (North Down), Max Lewis (North Down), Oliver Winter (Burton Hunt)

4^th) East Essex and Warwickshire – Abi Robbins (East Essex), Isla Oliver Byrne (North Warwickshire), Millie Taylor (Warwickshire Hunt)

5^th) South Shropbury – Grace Hockly (South Shropshire), Lily Leeke (South Shropshire), Lara Thwaite (Ledbury)

6^th) Area 6 – Olivia Sharp (Belvoir Hunt), Morvah Luke (Belvoir Hunt), Ava Lambert (Burghley)

Novice Seniors:

1^st) Area 3 – Olivia Morton (Rockwood Harriers), Summer Robertson (Rockwood Harriers), Jess Alderson (Hurworth Hunt)

2^nd) Burghdown and Suffolk – Zara Stafford (Burghley), Eloise Keers (North Down), Toby Milner (Suffolk Hunt)

3^rd) Warwickshire and Rufford – Hannah King (North Warwickshire), Jess Gill (Rufford Hunt), Sophie Taylor (Warwickshire Hunt)

4^th) Area 2 – Anya Tate (Morpeth Hunt), Tilly Threlfall (North Northumberland), Nina Lowden King (North Northumberland)

 Open Seniors:

1^st) Area 8 – Taryn Tinker (Essex and Suffolk), Ollie Rowbotham (Essex and Suffolk), Kiki Flower (Essex Hunt North)

2^nd) Welsh Wizards – Keegan Jacobs (Dinas Powys), Alfie Vollans (Llangeinor Hunt), Masha Humphreys (Amman Valley)

3^rd) Flint and Denbigh – Daisy Stone, Isabella Stone, Katy Davies

4^th) Area 7 – Jess Clark (South Shropshire), Alice Leeke (South Shropshire), Georgie Wasdell (Warwickshire Hunt)