Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-04-28

have not been found
in the stables Of the
horseback riders. It may be remarked, in
passing. that for some years the term polo
pony has been applied to almost any sort
OF little horse that had his tail cut OF and
his name cropped close, although In very
few cases have any Of them ever seen .
polo field. When the game became the
fashion at Newport and Staten Island and
few other resorts-for It has never been
extensively played-a good many ponies
were brought from Texas and the west, and
the good ones among them became popular
for riding and driving; but as the style Of
the animals had been set by the polo play
ers, they took the name Of polo ponies. II
you have pony, and wish to do 30, you can
change him to a so-called polo pony with
out much trouble He ought to be over
twelve hands high and not more than four
teen hands. and II you cut his tail on %
that 1t is not longer than four inches and
crop his name OF close you can call him
polo pony. just as, 1t IL said. the owner
Of an ordinary sloop or schooner can change
her to a yacht by simply putting piano
and a quantity Of champagne In the cabin.
OF Oriental Origin.
But to return to the game itself. As It Is
hardly more than twenty years old. having
been introduced first in 1871 by the tenth
Hussars, a British regiment just returned
from service in India. In the spring Of that
year the first match game on record took
place at Aldershot, and II excited q good
Deal Of interest and the game became popu-
lar at once. But In India British cavalry
men had been playing 1t for some time.
and they had learned 1t from the natives.
Large horses seldom thrive In a tropical
climate, 30 that the use Of ponies for riding
may have suggested that they would be put
to good use to enable men to play hockey
on horseback, for that IL all that polo IL.
When the natives Of the east first played
the game is beyond the ken Of men, for it
dates back to prehistoric times and was q
favorits pastime In Persia, Tartary and on
the frontiers OF India before Engiishmsn
were ever heard OF in those regions It was
played also. 1t is said, In Arabia and In
Tibet From the laSt-named inhospatable
came, for the ball used In the Tibetian game
Is known as 'pulu," but II may even have
been derived from the famous Venetian
traveller, Marco Polo, who nourished In the
fourteenth century. since the players and
the ball have a great deal Of travelling to DO
In the game, or the movement and twisting
or the body of the rider In his efforts to
strike the ball may have suggested some re-
semblance to the Spanish gipsy dance called
polo. This last il q wild Andalusian dance
accompanied by contortions of the body and
the dancers usually sing . melancholy diree
Mhile they are dancing. occasionally stop
ping short when they are not expected to do
80, and then going on again suddenly. A
fertile brain may detect some similarity be-
tween the game and the dance.
Requirements for q Good Player,
After having been received with great ia
vor in England by those who love excite
ment and feats Of horsemanship. polo had
only short time to wait before IL found IT.
self in America 1t was first PLAYED In
Newport and on Staten Island, ana has
since become popular In other places, As
q recreation and sport It hardly has an
equal player to be . good one must
have perfect rough-rider seat. must have
muscle and must not be troubled with fear
OF bodily injury. OF danger there IL con-
quick and frequent wheeling he has to do,
you may hit yourself with your own polo
stick, or. what Ii more probable, someone
else may hit you with his. or you may. in
your easerness at following the ball, collide
at full speed with another pony. This last
Is the greatest danger and has resulted oc-
casionally in sad disasters. But after all
is said. it is difficult to see how polo is a.
dangerous as hunting, for in the jumps
which the man who follows the hounds
takes there il always the possibility OF q
fall from considerable height with q horse
weighing over loo pounds to go down with
You or on you. 1t IL not denied, however
that polo In dangerous. II 1t were not there
would not be much excitement in 1t, and IL
would neither be sport for spectator nor
player.
Nearly every man played hockey or shin
ny when he was boy. When Il Is cold
| enough II Is q favorite sport for skaters on
| the Ice, and where skating Kinks are In
vogue It Is played on roller skates. although
Ia ar a q ia llx. -
| 1t consists simply In two opposing teams en-
deavoring with long hooked sticks to drive
ball into opposite goals. Because the stick
| has q hook at the end It Is hockey or hock-
ey; at least. that il supposed to be the
origin OF the name, but as II probably orig
| mated with boys one cannot be certain. II
q player gets in the wrong place and at
tempts to strike the ball. being himself on
| vers aries. he is told to skinny on his own
side" and Is whacked over the shins until
he complies with the order. Hence the
name Shiny" and there are few boys
| the term written In black and blue upon
their legs.
Put group hockey players on ponies
and you have polo. OF course, the rules are
modified to suit the change, and no shiny
| tricks are permitted. as the consequences
would be too severe. The polo mallet is
usually about four feet long and Of strong
| wood. the end which Is intended to strike
the ball being a cross piece Of wood. AZ
| the end of the handle q leather loop is nut
about the wrist to prevent the player losing
| his stick. II it should slip out of his hand.
| as 1t does not infreQuently. The ball rs
| hard and about as big as a base ball It Is
painted white and whenever II is struck the
noise can be heard quite a distance To
produce any effect in the game. II must be
struck quite severely. for a polo field Is
| usually quite rough. II must necessarily be
| so, for a hard, smooth field would endanger
| slipping, and would be injurious, beside TO
| the ponies feet, and q soft field In very
soon cut up by the rapid riding
An Equine Cricket Player,
The rider does not. as a general thing.
wear spurs, for he Is apt to use his heels
against the pony's side. to a large extent.
and. Of course. he cannot use a whip. He
rides somewhat after the indian fashion.
| urging the horse by punching him with the
| heel. His skill depends on two things-his
management Of the pony and his striking
| the ball. In the latter case he must be ex.
| tremely careful not to strike his own mount
or any other horse or rider. The pony. ~
he is clever, soon understands the objects
Of the game and follows the ball of his own
accord. Nevertheless, II is a very Danger
Gus sport for him. His bride ought to be
provided with "blinkers" to protect his
| eyes from possible chance blows and his
| legs should be covered with boots for the
same reason.
In point of fact. when he IL properly decked
| out for the polo field he looks not unlike
| a sort Of equine cricket player II he could
| its vulgar old rame Of Skinny. for he Is pretty
certain to get some ugly whacks across his
| legs before he gets through. That the
game Is hard on him Is true; that ne f.