FOR many people, riding a horse well and at speed would be a reasonable challenge.
But add holding a racquet and scooping up a ball to throw into a net to the mix, and you're talking about a pretty unique skill set to pull it off.
Tom Keightley is one of those people who can do just that.
The 19-year-old Boyup Brook resident is a talented polocrosse player and has recently returned from representing Australia as a member of an eight-member Under 21s mixed team in New Zealand.
While New Zealand retained the Driffill Trophy by winning both games at the Kaitieke Polocrosse Carnival at Taumaruni, Tom was recognised as the best male player of the tournament.
You could say that it was always highly likely that Tom would enter into the world of polocrosse, given that both his parents used to compete, with his father Michael representing WA and even winning a men's title at a national competition.
"They were still playing when I was a child, dad still plays even now, so I picked up an interest in the sport from going along with them and watching," Tom said.
He joined the Kojonup Polo and Polocrosse Club, while also setting about training at home on the farm.
"I was always having courses set up at home, and practicing every day," he said.
Tom started participating in tournaments when aged around nine years of age and his love for the sport only continued to grow.
So what is it about the sport that makes it so appealing?
"It's the horse power," Tom explained.
"Every horse is different, and compared with jumping on a motorbike for work, you can't just jump on a horse and go and play."
And to be successful at playing polocrosse, particularly at a high level, it all comes down to practice on his part - and lots of training with the horses in question.
Tom said he tried to put up to six weeks of dedicated training in before competing in tournaments, because they required him to be pretty fit.
While he is contemplating doing a mechanic's apprenticeship at some stage, Tom is grateful to have been working on the family sheep and cropping property since completing high school at the WA College of Agriculture, Harvey, in 2017, as this allows him to train for at least an hour each day, and then more intensively before tournaments.
For Michael, who's been playing polocrosse for the better part of 45 years, there's no doubting Tom's dedication to the sport.
"He's always been committed, he's always walked around with a polocrosse racket in his hand," said Michael who has lived with horses, growing up with them on his family's property at Kendenup, and his mum riding well into her 70s.
It was through friends and being involved in the West Plantagenet pony club that he made the transition to polocrosse, and never looked back.
And it's certainly been a family affair over the years, with he and wife Megan both having played polocrosse and now both Tom and their 16-year-old Sean joining the sport.
Last year Michael had a memorable occasion in an A grade game when he had the pleasure of playing in the same team as both Tom and Sean.
"There aren't too many sports where you can do that," Michael said.
While he describes himself as a "jack of all trades", he said Tom had always been an attacking player which made him perfect for the number one position - the goal shooter.
"He puts a lot of hard work in, but has always enjoyed it," he said.
"He plays with a grin on his face, which to some people may come across as arrogance, but it's just because he loves what he's doing.
"When we look back through his photos as a kid he's always got a grin on his face."
Michael said the passion and hard work had improved his racquet skills, which complemented his being a good horse rider.
He was also someone who liked to observe others playing polocrosse - he would stand and watch, and learn.
"He's been a goal umpire for A-grade finals, and would stand in the goals, just watching the players and taking everything in," he said.
According to Tom, a six-month trip to South Africa after finishing high school also had a big impact on his polocrosse.
"They had won the last two world cups, and were at the top of the polocrosse world, so I thought I'd go and immerse myself in their culture and learn what I could off them," Tom said.
He stayed on a farm two hours east of Johannesburg with a family running a horse stud, which meant he was working with horses and doing farm work all day.
Weekends were then spent playing in polocrosse tournaments.
The quietly-spoken teenager said he had spent a lot of time over the years trying to listen to the advice of as many people as possible in an effort to be the best polocrosse player he could.
"I enjoy watching anyone in WA play, all the top players, and I try and get tips to help improve my game," he said.
Tom has represented WA on five occasions, as well as representing Australia in the recent under 21s tournament.
He has been training hard after being selected to represent WA again in an open mixed side at the 2020 Australian Polocrosse Nationals in Ballarat, Victoria, postponed from next month until September because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Beyond that, he will continue to travel to different competitions around WA each fortnight and continue to hone his skills at Kojonup on the alternating weekends.
Ultimately Tom would like to get into the senior men's Australian squad and play for his country, and is setting his sights on achieving that over the next four years.
In the meantime, he'll continue training and playing as much high-level polocrosse as possible, all with the support of his parents, particularly mum Megan, who feeds and exercises the horses when Tom's away.