Pictured is Team GBR rider Maya Carter Birch and her ex-racehorse Robyx Du Desert. Photo courtesy of Horse-Ball M3 and the British Horseball Association.

It has been dubbed ‘Quidditch on Horseback,’ but the sport of horseball is actually based on an Argentinian game called Pato, which was invented around 1600. 

A cross between netball and rugby, horseball is an edge-of-the-seat spectacle of a sport in which a ball is passed between riders to reach a hoop target in the opponent’s half of the pitch.

Pictured is Team GBR rider Beth Lambley and her pony. Summer. Photo courtesy of DrewsViews Photography, HorseHour, and British Horseball Association.

In recent years, horseball has grown in popularity, to the point that it is now played in more than 17 countries. In 1999, a governing body was also formed, the International Horseball Federation (FIHB), which is always a positive development in the growth of a young sport.

A fast-paced game played by two teams of four riders, horseball is played in two, 10-minute halves. Though it’s not yet an Olympic sport, it was a demonstration sport at the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games.

If you are interested in knowing more about horseball, check out www.fihb.net and www.britishhorseball.co.uk

Photos: courtesy of the British Horseball Association.