Strong, fast and super busy - Bodalla's polocrosse mum killing it

Always pleasing to see the Blues hand it to the Maroons, 10 years later Farann had done it again.

The NSW women's open team were victorious at the Ison Haulage Australian Polocrosse Nationals on June 30, held in Chinchilla, Queensland.

The final score was 27 to 20.

Farann, no stranger to competition, had also competed at an international level, representing Australia in 2017 against South Africa.

Much had changed for Farann in the intervening years, her name for a start. Readers may remember her as Farann Mathie.

Having married Luka Bussa, a competitive formula 500 driver, the couple had two children Briah and Enzo, and ran their company 52nd Earthwork and Haulage in Moruya.

Needless to say, Farann was busy.

She explained, like any elite sport at the top level, there were no days off leading up to the season and with nationals in sight.

Particularly when there were two players to get into shape.

Polocrosse success is largely dependent on the horses.

"If you don't have a horse to get you to the place that you need to be...if the ball is there and you've got to get there to pick it up ...yeah it's huge [factor]," she said.

In the main, these are Australian stock horses, often bred from the bloodlines of other polocrosse horses.

Even a well bred horse and seasoned player needed continuous, daily training for fitness, agility and skill according to Farann.

"So it's riding every single day, your horses can't miss a day of work," she said.

"And it's not just going and riding them fitness-wise... so even though they are educated horses, and playing horses, they still need fine-tuning and all the little specific cool things to make you go and do cool stuff."

Her most recent horse, Coolidowns Big Time, was a loan from her brother Wade and his wife Claire, and it was Big Time she competed on at Chinchilla.

He had just been sold.

"He left the family on Sunday - he got sold ... I shed a few tears," she said.

"I described him in three words in my player book for the nationals - quirky, strong, agile.

"He was definitely a very quirky horse - you had to get on with him."

So quirky, in his excitement he bucked Farann clean off mid-game in the semi-finals.

She said she was a bit winded but jumped straight back on and continued her game.

Interestingly, players do not wear body armour but must wear helmets. Once over the age of 16, face guards and mouth guards were at the players discretion.

For a working mother, with young children, the time demands were high.

But Farann, with the support of her mother, Jody Mathie, and Luka, was making it work.

Jody and her husband Stewart had raised their own children, Farann and her two brothers, Wade and Luke, while juggling their own polocrosse competitions.

Farann and her brothers grew up on the polocrosse circuit, as many players do, and the sport was very much a family affair.

She said she loved going to competitions and watching her brothers and father compete, and led to her own participation as a five-year-old.

Travelling to competitions were the family holidays and all they did, according to Farann.

Farann, with the huge support of Jody and Luka, her sponsor Ranvet, and her extended family, was successful in her push to make the national team, having not played at a national level since 2018.

After a six year hiatus, though still playing at club level for Eurocoast, it was a remarkable achievement for this young mother.

She said she expected her daughter, Briah, may follow in her footsteps and take on the family sport.

But then again with a competitive father in another sport, Farann said anything could happen - watch this space.