Horse-ball is gaining ground in Canada. It’s popular overseas — as Argentina’s official sport and widely played across Europe, horse-ball is a relatively new sport to North America. Émilie Bonnardeaux, president of the Quebec Horse-Ball Association (AHBQ), has worked hard over the years to change that. Her and her husband were the first to form a horse-ball team in St. Lazare (in 2009), and she is proud that the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region now has three official horse-ball teams and that there are a total of 16 horse-ball teams in Quebec. 
Bonnardeaux hopes the sport will continue to catch on to the point where horse-ball, already recognized by the International Federation for Equestrian sports, becomes an official Olympic Games sport. “It is on the list of potential sports being considered by the Olympic Games,” she explained. “We were in the running for the 2012 games, but we got bumped by the skateboarding category.” She’s also hoping the United States will form their own horse-ball association soon. “The U.S. doesn’t have any official teams yet,” she said. 
Horse-ball dates back to the 1930s. Its model is built on a similar equestrian game called Pato, which, in its early days, used a live duck instead of today’s six-handled ball. 
The sport can be described as a mix of basketball, rugby and polo. Players obtain and pass a ball in order to score it through a high net. Each team has four players and teams are always mixed — in fact, at the international level at least one woman must be on the team. 
Since fifty percent of the player is the horse, how the horses enjoy the sport comes to mind. “The horses love it. They are, by nature, herd animals...you can see how much they love riding around with their buddies,” said Émilie. Weekly practices allow the horses to become familiarized with the rules of the game. 
Émilie has been competing in horse-ball internationally for five years. She began riding 10 years ago and since becoming a horse-ball competitor has traveled around the world, competing in the 1st Pato/Horse-ball World Cup in Argentina in 2006. She encourages avid riders of all ages (above age six) to get involved, citing travel and friendship as potential rewards. 
“If you’re a good rider this sport gives you the opportunity to travel...make friends from all over the world. We brought two junior players both age 15 with us to the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.” It’s also more affordable than polo, with the cost of a season’s membership in the AHBQ just $60. 
Those interested in learning more about horse-ball can come by and see Émilie’s team, the Hertford Hearts, in action as they practice every Wednesday night between 5 and 7 p.m. at Ranch Martine in St. Clêt.

Below left, a Hemmingford horse-ball player reaches for the ball.  (Gazette, Katinka Rubin Michaud)

Above, two Napierville players do some “horseback suntanning” during half-time.  (Gazette, Katinka Rubin Michaud)