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Posted: 2022-09-24 23:57:26

You've probably never heard of it, but horseball is slowly taking off in Australia as a new generation of eager young competitors represent the country on the world stage.

"It's kind of like footy and netball on a horse,"  teenage competitor Katie Maund explained.

The 14-year-old was part of an Australian team that recently travelled to France to compete in the Horseball World Cup.

Katie Maund stands upright off the saddle on a horse, she holds a ball in a leather harness with six handles
Katie says she already has her eyes fixed on making it to the next Horseball World Cup in 2025.(ABC Rural: Ashleigh Bagshaw)

Katie says most people are not familiar with her chosen sport.

"You have four players on each team, and you have to pass the ball three times and score a goal.

"It's a pretty tough sport.

"It's hard because you have to hang off the side of a horse to pick up a ball, so you have to trust that horse a lot and it can be a little bit nerve-racking."

Katie Maund adjusting the harness on a brown horse
Katie has only been playing horseball for three years but is already competing internationally.(ABC Rural: Ashleigh Bagshaw)

For Katie, representing Australia at the highest level was a dream come true.

"I really want to make it to Argentina [for the World Cup] in 2025 so I'll keep training for that," she said

"We're hoping to make it to the Olympics at some point, but it's not in the Olympic program yet."

Coach Linda Gray, who is also vice-president of the Australian Horseball Association, said this year's World Cup has shone a spotlight on the nation's athletes.

"They did us all very proud," Ms Gray said.

"They certainly let the other teams know they were there."

Katie Maund stands upright off the saddle on a horse, her coach Linda Gray and her mother Helen Maund stand beside the horse
Katie with her coach Linda Gray and mother Helen Maund.(ABC Rural: Ashleigh Bagshaw)

She said getting Australia recognised as a serious competitor in the sport had taken time.

"We've dabbled in the international sport over the years, like in 2016 they took a team to the World Cup," Ms Gray said.

"But unfortunately, the performance wasn't there for them, so they weren't really recognised.

"There weren't a lot of doors open."

But at this year's World Cup, the young athletes made a strong impression, with Australia's competitors now on the radar.

"We have invitations to four different countries already, being England, Portugal, Spain, and Canada," Ms Gray said.

"And we're looking at taking some of [our] teams there to train in the future before the next World Cup."

But Ms Gray said that before Australia could take the world by storm, the sport first has to take off domestically.

"There's a few patches of involvement within Queensland and New South Wales, we [also] have interest in Canberra, Victoria and the Northern Territory where we're starting clinics and exposing it to those communities there," she said.

"The more publicity we get, the better it is for the sport.

"We really need it to go through the pony club channels, because that's where we have the most access to the young riders.

"The young riders are the future of the sport."

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