PHOTO: Gareth Garnsey plays for Quambone against Quirindi on Sunday.
Two long-serving members of the Quambone Polocrosse Club were recognised as lifetime members on Saturday 6 July.
Simon and Rosie Turnbull have been involved in the club for around 40 years, so it may be no surprise that, at the club house that evening, Vice-President Gareth Garnsey got up after the first day of the annual polocrosse carnival to give them their membership badges.
“Without Simon and Rosie, I think this club would have been in a lot of strife,” Mr Garnsey told attendees gathered after dinner.
“We’re a small club, we don’t have a lot of members, but between Simon and Rosie they’ve really put on a good show and worked incredibly hard for our club.”
Simon first played polocrosse for Quambone around 1985-6, around the same time the pair married, and was hooked on the sport ever since. He also serves as the club’s president.
“That was the social scene, tennis or polocrosse,” Simon said.
They went on to have their daughters Holly, Emily, Kateyln and Annabel, all involved in the sport.
Simon said he was “stunned” to receive the honour.
Didn’t see it coming,” Simon said.
“I’m honored to have the recognition, but like polocrosse, we are just one person in a team. You’re only as good as those that come behind you.”
“Going away to school, I was always the littlest guy, so whether it be football or whatever, I was left out. Whereas with polocrosse, you’re as good as your horsemanship.
“What you put into it is what you get back out of it. If you want to be a ‘hit and giggle’ team – which is fine, we need those people – you can do it. If you want to represent, there’s a place there for you as well.”
Cold weekend for polocrosse
The carnival weekend involved 200 riders from in NSW and further afield including Narrabri, South Midlands in Western Australia and New Zealand, from A-grade teams to sub-juniors.
Saturday saw a cloudless day with chilly winds and no wins for the Quambone open social team against Mendooran (17-10) and Cubbaroo (11-10).
After dinner, competitors settled in for a night of singing and dancing, with interesting moves on the dance floor including a wheelie in a wheelchair.
Chatter by the campfires lasted past midnight.
Sunday saw similar conditions to the day before, this time with grey clouds dominating the sky throughout the games.
The locals had better luck against Quirindi, winning 8-6 early in the day.
“We did have a lot of fun. We did have a few people back from a brief hiatus from the sport,” Mr Garnsey said, also a team member.
“It was good to play against friends and just have a good time out there.”
Play paused from around 10:30am as paramedics tended to an injured rider.
Play resumed at about 11:20am before an ambulance came onto the field less than ten minutes later for another injury and the competition was again delayed to 11:45am.
Katelyn Turnbull took a trophy home for the locals, winning the Senior Horse and Rider Combination and a horse jacket to go with it.
Western Australian Kerryn Parrsons won Best Lady Player, while Quirindi’s Chris Anderson took the win for Best Male Player.