Overseas Competition

Competition between New Zealand and other countries has been restricted by the difficulty and expense of transporting ponies. Only three teams (bringing their own ponies) have ever come to New Zealand. In 1894, officers from HMS Curacoa visited Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. A team from Victoria played nine matches here in 1901; and in 1958 a New South Wales team played seven matches. Two teams, one from Queensland and one from California, toured New Zealand in 1960 and played on local ponies. In 1925 the Australasian Gold Cup was inaugurated in Sydney for competition between Australian States, New Zealand being classed as a State. New Zealand teams have competed seven times and have won five times. Representative teams have also travelled to Mexico and England.