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Member in good standing
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Habañero Polocrosse Club |
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We are hot, Hot, HOT!!! |
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2247 Kelly Road SW Albuquerque, New Mexico 87105 |
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How to get in contact with us: |
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Phone: 505-235-6457 E-mail: poloxwizard@yahoo.com |
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Nothins' hotter than Habañero on Horseback! |
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When it comes to Polocrosse, these Habañero's on horseback are all about the game.
As the name implies, Polocrosse is a combination of Polo and Lacrosse where players on horseback use a racket to pass a ball back and forth as they attempt to score a point between two upright posts at the end of the 160-yard playing field.
Here in Albuquerque, NM the Habañero's have been playing since 1991 under the leadership of Jim Byrd and Willy Van Sumeren, both local business owners whose families live in the South Valley where they have owned and ridden horses for years. They have cultivated the team from its infancy in 1991 to its peak with 25 members in 1999. In 2008, we are pleased to have nine members on the roster ranging in age from 12 years old to 52 years young.
Our goal as a Polocrosse club is to provide an opportunity for local New Mexico families to participate in a fun, family oriented, & [comparatively <G>] affordable equestrian sport. We practice & play hard, but we keep it fun. Just watch some of us charging down the field with maniacal grins plastered on our faces, and that’s just the horses!
Polocrosse, you see, can be enjoyed by all ages. Individual players are rated and enjoy play in their rated group, not their age group. Hence, it is not uncommon to see three generations playing polocrosse and certainly two generations playing on the same team. Not too many sports can boast that type of diversity on the playing field.
In our club, Willy's 13 year old daughter Mae Lee enjoys fierce camaraderie and loving competition with her dad on the field during practice. Jim's two sons, ages 7 and 5, are mere years away from joining the sport, and 21 year old Zach has prudently refrained from whacking the ball out of his mom's racket during practice, preferring instead to let one of the other players go there.
And although the game may appear daunting, riders of all ages, skill levels, and disciplines can learn the game and will be surprised at how well their existing skills translate to racing down a field on horseback...ball in racket, hotly pursued by an opponent on both sides, one of whom tries to jostle the ball from you. But your team mate uses his horse to peel off an opponent on the left and you make your break, wheeling off in that direction to launch the ball from your racket across the field to be picked up by your scoring team mate who in turn, is hotly pursued with both of those players intent on capturing the ball. And to think that you only learned to both ride a horse and play polocrosse a mere three years ago!
The Habañero Polocrosse Field is right here in Albuquerque at 2247 Kelly Street near South Coors and Arenal. Click here for a map. We welcome observers during our Saturday practice sessions at noon, just be sure to bring a chair, shade and beverage! If you would like to check it out as a potential activity for you and your horse, you are welcome to bring your horse down to the field or ride one of ours. (Call 505-934-1984 or check our web calendar to be sure we have practice).
From Ropers to Wranglers and Dressage or Pony Club: If you decide you would like to join us, we will teach you how to safely introduce and integrate your own horse into the sport from whatever discipline you practice now. Click here for our affordable Lesson Sessions in polocrosse or general horseback riding for all ages.
Keep your rackets up and your heels down! |
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LINK TO MORE PHOTOS |