Youth Clash with Police on Sports Field
With three games and three wins under their belt the young Manurau Polo team are up against some different adversary on Saturday, with a game against the Hastings Police.
Manurau’s core team of at-risk Flaxmere youth only formed last September, under the guidance of a Leg Up Trust, Birchleigh Polo Club and a Hastings Police Blue Light initiative, and they haven’t lost a game yet. Flaxmere Police Youth Aid Constable James Mason says the boys have come a long way since the group first went to the Leg Up Trust in Hastings for riding lessons. Birchleigh Polo Club owner Richard Kettle agrees the boys have come aheadin ‘‘leaps and bounds showing a lot of commitment and enthusiasm for the game’’.
‘‘From just walking the ponies around and learning to hit the ball last November they are now in a position
where they can compete on a full-sized field and command respect,’’ he says.
Next season they’ll be up to competing at tournament level and gain a recognised handicap rating. The winning streak may change on Saturday if the Police get their way but with their first training day last Saturday it gives the boys in blue just a week to catch up. For one member it’s the first time he has been on a horse.
Police team are tight and ready for the upcoming two-chukka game. Greg says he has a gut feeling ‘‘that the guys [Police] are going to pull it right out of the bag’’. ‘‘They’re real good —as long as they focus on the riders and not on the ball,’’he says. Richard says the Manurau boys’ are looking forward to the contest with slight nervousness.
Read the Hastings Leader Article here >>