Polocrosse: Tia, 14, mounts challenge to Aussies

Polocrosse may not be the most well-known of sports in Northland, but Pouto's Tia Holyoake might spark some interest after being named in the New Zealand junior team.

The 14-year-old Huanui College student heads to Australia this weekend to take on the best Australian's junior at the Australian Junior Polocrosse Classic.

Holyoake said if you had of told her in January that she would be in the New Zealand team in a few months she wouldn't have believed it.

She felt all her hard work had paid off after originally making the extended squad of 12, and now the travelling team of eight.

Polocrosse is played on a field twice the size of a rugby ground, on horses where riders use a lacrosse-like stick to pass the ball and score goals.

It was Holyoake's father's passion which initially drew her to the sport after hearing he used to play.

"Dad said he used to play 30 years ago," Holyoake said. "He wanted to get into it again and got some families together and the kids got into it. From there it's just, I can't stop playing."

She said that although some might think the horses do all the work, players needed to be fit.

"You have to be fit otherwise you'll struggle on the field, you get real tired even though the horse is running. [Also], I have to keep my horses fit, it's like one of the main things, usually we start 12 weeks before the event we train for."

Thankfully for Holyoake and her teammates, they will be supplied horses by their Australian hosts.

Holyoake's father, Henry, is hoping to start a polocrosse club in Whangarei as he and his family move back to the city.