By Margaret Maccoll
The best polo players in Queensland, good food locally prepared and a program of competition and traditional activities promise to make Noosa Polo Cup this Sunday an exciting day for all the community.
“The idea is for people in the region to come and enjoy the polo,“ Noosa Country Polo president Niall Coburn said.
The Noosa Polo Cup is the closing event of the Official Queensland Polo Association season.
The preliminary fixtures will take place on Saturday 2 October which will determine the competition schedule for finals day on the Sunday. There will be a charity cup raising funds for Katie Rose Cottage and the Noosa Polo Cup.
Niall said the best players in Queensland, all having played in the Australian Open would be competing in the games and the horses, a mix of Australian stock horses, thoroughbreds and Arabians came from across the country.
“They’re a special breed of horse,“ he said. “They love the game. They know where you’re going and they bring you to the ball. You work as a team with your horse.“
The game will be played in four chukkas, each lasting 7.5 minutes with fresh horses playing each chukka.
In addition to the games and in the tradition of polo there will be fashions on the field, the men’s and ladies’ dash and the stomping of the divots.
The event has been well supported by the community in its provision of food and drinks and even helicopter transfers as well as sponsorship.
Niall, a corporate investigator, had a vision to establish a polo club, not as an elitist activity but along the lines of polo in Argentina and Spain where it is accessible to everyone.
The Noosa Country Polo Club is a not for profit club dedicated to developing and educating participants in the sport of polo.
Tickets are still available to the 18 years and over event at the Noosa Country Polo Club, 83 Tunba Ct, Cooroy Mountain, with a range of packages from the private marquee VIP package to Peggy’s Square.
For tickets or more information visit noosacountrypolo.com/
