Happy 1903.... I mean 2009!

The following old message was written in the New York Times on 31th of December in 1902, and is again actual.

Nowadays everywhere around the world people are playing pushball with their horses, like they did in New York on the Christmas Ride in Durland Riding Academy.

Each country has his own variation of this ancient sport. The amount of discovered equine pushball related countries are growing: Czech, Germany, Holland/Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Ukraine, USA.

The link is showing the original article of the NYT, click there for it on "View full article":

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00E6DF1F3DEE32A25752C3A9649D946397D6CF

My own version is "pushball behind horseback": walking with double longe behind my Norwegian Fjordhorse. ;-))

I wish you all the best and let the international pushball network grow!

(Other sorts of) pushball around the world

Pushball (on foot)
The oldest pushball game is pushball (on foot) (USA, 1891) with a large amount of people on a big square playing a 6 feet large ball above their head.

See the blog of Thorn Pricks with "Who Rembers Pushball?" with the whole history of pushball in general.
http://thornpricks.blogspot.com/2006/11/who-remembers-pushball.html

Pushball Rush Rules (since 1914)
http://www.lib.rpi.edu/Archives/traditions/rushes/push_ball.html

Still in the USA Army the soldiers are training with (strategic) pushball (on foot). And also an University competition of pushball (on foot) still exists in the USA at this moment.
I found pictures in Life magazine (1941) of the US Army playing this game in the Second World War(see the pictures in a next article on this blog).

This added movie is made in 1933 in Chicago, it gives a good impression in playing pushball (on foot).
Chicago, IL: Exclusive pictures of a hectic pushball game in which the Freshmen of Loyola University defeat the Sophomores in a wild battle for a prize beer keg, after many players suffer bumps and bruises.
This item is part of the collection: Universal Newsreels
Production Company: Universal Studios
Audio/Visual: silent, b&w
Creative Commons license: Public Domain

See the movie on this site:
http://www.archive.org/details/1933-11-15_Loyola_Students_Compete_For_Keg

Thai elephant soccer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLF9oxx1DKs

Moto Polo: Polo on four wheels => "car pushball" http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/05/page/8/

Pushball in Offental, Germany (1982)

The first time a Dutch Fjord Horse Team was invited for a real pushball game: Germany - Holland. They have scored against the Germans! And that for a first play against a team of the German Competition. It was fun. Look how fanatical the horse kicks the large leather ball!
Now we play pushball again in the Netherlands and with an other leather ball for the Warmblood horses (1,30 meter high ball, like the one of the British Lancers a century ago).

Picture from: the Dutch Fjord Horses Studbook

Interview WTIP Radio (USA) Horse Soccer 082207

http://www.wtip.org/news/?p=169

16th Lancer Pushball Team 1907, Essex

Pushball on horseback: small research

Dear pushball lovers,

For this moment I am interested in the history of "pushball on horseback" and its origine. Do you play pushball in compatition in your country? Are you organised? What kind of rules do you use? Which tactics work (not)?
Can elephant play pushball with a large pushball (like the horses) or only with a big football with their nose? See YouTube.com site.

My background:
I'm Dutch and live in Rotterdam (Main Port of Europe). My first experience (with my horse) with pushball was in 1982 in Offental, Germany. Now we are training pony's and horses in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. After 3 year searching I finally found a large pushball for the horses. It's difficult to find the right ball-size for each horse breed - for the safety of the game is this essential! The pushball may not get stuck under the belly of the horse/pony.
This year I found Pushball Rules from 1928, used in Germany (origine Italy).