August 1st, 2010 by Jesters Flat

The following article was supplied by Jesters Flat rider, Marcia Devenney, following the recent journey to the Murchison.

JESTERS FLAT POLOCROSSE CLUB is affiliated with Jesters Flat and have their grounds at Jesters Flat. If you are interested in playing socially or competitively check out our polocrosse page for times and dates. We supply horses and all the necessary equipment so you first experience at polocrosse will be a breeze!

Long journey rewarded with Jesters Flat Success

 Two thousand kilometers, nineteen horses, three teams and many hours of practice paid off for victorious D Grade polocrosse team from Jester’s Flat near Margaret River last week.

Local riders packed up a huge truck with horses, feed, camping gear, tents and everything needed for a foray into the north at Murchison, to find them bringing home the silverware after a long hard competition.

“It was a fabulous effort with many of our riders only entering their first serious tournament,” commented Jester’s Flat coach and organizer, Paul Brennan. “We didn’t expect to do so well, given many of us only ride once or twice a week and some are on borrowed horses. They all took it seriously and we got a lot of compliments on how sporting our riders were and how well they played – they played so well they beat Murchison on their home ground.”

Players ranged in age from seven year old Millie Osmotherly on her little grey pony, Polly, to some more senior players, all of whom gave their competition a serious challenge. The three teams from Jester’s Flat had to fight off more experienced teams from Walkaway, Moonyoonooka, Central Midlands and others, but the sweetest victory was the crushing defeat of 13-5 over local heroes, Murchison, in the D Grade final.

“We found that there were some very good players ranged against our D Grade team, one of whom was an A grade player in a previous life,” said Paul. “However by the time the final came round on the Sunday, our D Grade team had really gelled and played some astonishing polocrosse. They completely wrong-footed Murchison at every change and the game was over by the second chukka. However they sent several more goals home really making sure the Jester’s Flat name ended up on the shield for 2010,” he laughed.

The E Grade teams played both days as well, finding the local red dirt good riding although bouncing the ball proved tricky at times. Husband and wife duo, David and Erin Hutton played in different teams but both remarked how much fun they had, and how much they learned from playing such different teams.

“We were definitely braver by the second day and our riding as a team got much better,” said Erin. “We didn’t get intimidated and took more chances, which showed in our improved strike rate in the final games.”

As well bringing home commemorative tankards for the win, Justin Buchanans horse, Audrey, also won the coveted “Best Pony” award. Audrey previously raced and as Justin has found, has made the transition to polocrosse very well. “She is a top polocrosse horse and gets better and better every run,” he said.

The next outing for the club is a visit to Moonyoonooka Carnival near Geraldton. Polocrosse is played every Saturday afternoon at Jester’s Flat at Rosa Brook, only minutes from Margaret River. Riders of any age and ability are welcome.

Marcia Devenney

Manager, State Equestrian Centre