Barnbougle Polo started with a paddock, generators and a passion to create a community event.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Four years later, Tasmania’s only polo event is a much more streamlined operation behind the scenes.
And it has been reflected in ticket sales, as tickets for the main marquee, all of the corporate marquees and the car boot parking have already sold out for the Saturday event.
Polo general manager Penelope Sattler said about 3000 tickets have been sold so far and more people would be packing a picnic lunch for a general admission ticket on the day.
“We’ve pushed up slightly from last year,” she said.
“It’s a great day in the sun.”
Often it could be difficult for people to be able to get close to the polo match, but that wasn’t a problem Barnbougle Polo faced, Ms Sattler said.
“You’re so close to the action, you can hear the hooves and see the sweat.”
Free parking would be available in an adjacent paddock and revellers were welcome to leave their car overnight and take the bus back to town, she said.
“We don’t want anyone to drink and drive.”
A bus would be operating between Bridport Pub and the polo fields before and after the event for anyone who didn’t want to drive, Ms Sattler said.
"You can hear the hooves and see the sweat."
- Barnbougle Polo general manager Penelope Sattler
There is a bus running between Launceston and the polo field, leaving at 10.30am, but tickets are close to sold out.
Barnbougle owner Richard Sattler said he was amazed how the event had caught on.
He hoped it remained a similar size in future years.
The current crowd size meant they could host the event properly and comfortably, Mr Sattler said.
With fine weather on the way, it looked like a cracker of a day, he said.
The annual Barnbougle Polo was on the radar of other events across the nation because of its success.
“We show them how to have a good time.”
It wasn’t just the punters who enjoyed themselves on the day, he said.
“The horses love it.”
They would be swapped every seven to 10 minutes during a match because it was such a fierce competition.
Tickets cost $38 for general admission and $20 for a return bus trip from Launceston on eventbrite.com with food and drinks available throughout the day.
Children under 14 can enter for free, but must be accompanied by a paying adult.