The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-11-03
TOUGH POLO PONY.
HOW THE HARDY ANIMAL FARES
AMONG coLoRADo's FOOTHILLS.

The Transformation In Appearance and
value That Takes Place After the Little
Brute Is Fitted For Approval by New
ports Heavy sweiis.
The sun is beating pitilessly down on the
brown foothills Of Colorado, for 1t is high
noon, and the month is August
A pony mare, dun in color and only lust
II hands in height, is moving about I'M
easily, evidently weary, anxious and watch
ful. Her coat Is rough, her ribs show
gauntly, and her hoofs are innocent of
shoes Altogether the little mare is not an
attractive animal, yet We're horseman to
pass by and cast, as he undoubtedly would,
second glance at the pony, he would be
sure to see some rare good points in her
makeup
| She has Il good, intelligent head, fair
shoulders, u roomy middle piece and most
excellent legs-hard, clean and without the
least sign OF splint or SPAWN Her mean
est point is a poor quarter She is also
somewhat goose rumped. Although it
might be difficult to prove it, for stud books
are not kept very carefully on the ranches,
she has a drop of the desert blood, her
grandsire being half bred, imported by an
English ranchman somewhere in the 7O's.
The air is growing hotter each minute.
Far as the eye can reach is the same sun
baked, rolling eXpanse of dried buffalo
grass. The mare moves toward q stunted
patch of sage bush scrub, and in a second
or two has come to where little foal
scarcely more than n few hours old, is lying
painting in the shade She dares not &c
very far away, for the lean wolf and hungry
coyote would soon make short work of her
| off L I,N 1t
from even an unshod hoof will pulverize the
stoutest wolf that ever prowled the plains.
The poor little immature thing would
were it born in the east instead of in the
west, be the object of tender solctude tc
numerous stablemen, and its every want
would be supplied, but here, among the
foothills, it will have to be built of pretty
good timber to stand the strain of exist.
ence. The nearest water is five miles away
and yet that distance will have to be trav.
ersed every time the dam has to drink, and
even now she cannot resist the temptation
much longer.
With low whinny the gentle creature
calls the youngster, and as it comes gam
boiling up she starts in a direction which
her instinct tells her will be u bee line tC
the nearest spring-a dirty, muddy pool
rolled by cattle. and a favorite haunt of the
hungry coyote.
The mare and foal reach their destination
In safety, and each day the same dreary
path has to be traversed and retraversed
Is it any wonder that the western pony is
tough and endurng' Muscles of steel and
bones of iron. When in after life the gal
liant little beast has to carry heavy foot
rider in some cup match at Newport, Cedar
hurst or Wenham, it is mere child's play
compared with the daily struggle for ex
istence when a foal.
In due season the foal becomes colt and
is taken into the corals of the ranch tC
which it belongs. Naturally docile though
spirited, it happily gets broken without be
coming "mean," though, seeing that Sin
gleshot Mike did the breaking after his
usual rough and ready fashion, this is some
thing to be wondered ut.
Ridden at the annual roundup, and also
at the usual routine work of the ranch by
one of the boys, the dun colt, or as it is now
called, buckskin, eventually becomes on,
of the handest ponies owned by the outfit
and being naturally gifted with a very fail
turn of speed, owing to the diluted but
still potent drop of desert blood inherited
from the imported great -grandsire, finally
attracts the attention of the boss and be-
comes his own especial favorite mount
The dun pony is now just 8 years old, ii
hands high, and just the stamp to catch a
polo players eye. One fine day Cutaway
the noted horse dealer, comes along, on the
lookout for anything that will sell for Il
good price AT Newport He has an almost
unlimited order for really good geldings
but cannot sell more than half dozen
mares during the season, as the eastern
players will have nothing to do with them
as rule much TO the bewilderment of the
COW punchers, who consider, and rightly
enough, too, that the mare il usually more
enduring, quicker and handler than the
horse or gelding.
GETAWAY notes the buckskin at a glance
and although he is far too astute to let on
lnwardly determines to have the little beg
gar. Well he knows that he will be amply
able to give any sum likely to be demanded
by the boss, and still make handsome
profit on the transaction when he gets tC
Newport
The scene now shifts couple of thousand
miles to the eastward. The dun was pur
chased for $50. and it cost another SIS tc
put him where he is--in comfortable but
unpretentious stable in the rear of the
Ocean House A probable purchaser is ex.
peCted; the litter in the stall is changed
the pony given II final rundown, his tail has
been docked before starting for the east
and in the sleek, neatly groomed little nag
no one would recognize the shaggy, i'll kept
brute of two months before
A dogcart stops at the stable door, a dap
per groom jumps to the cob's head, and
Charley Heavyswell alights to have a look
at Getaways latest bit Of equine perfec.
ton. OF all the swagger Newport men
Charley Heavyswell is by long odds the
most gorgeous, His appearance on this
fine June morning is thing of chastened
beauty, but to give him his due he also is d
most finished horseman and absolutely
fearless No man in the country can thus
tie II sticker-a tier can spare"-quite SC
well as Charley Heavyswell.
He Is languidly pleased at the dun pony
and directs that it be sent down to the polo
Held about p. m, so that he may have a
chance to throw a leg over it before the
match begins.
The pony acquits himself so credltably
for a green un that Getaway sets the price
at $3.50 and gets check for that amount
before the week is out-something that
does not always happen when Newport
man is the buyer but Charley Heavyswell's
pocketbook is capacious one, and for Il
man who controls two or three railroads he
is uncommonly free with his money.
After this the dun pony's existence is like
that of hundreds of other western ponies
that have been brought east to play polo
His counterparts may be seen three times a
week at Wenhan, bingham, Newport OF
Rockaway They are always good, hardy
| little beasts and rarely sick or sorry. -Bos