New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-09-11
AND TRAINED PONIEs

THO game Of polo now absorbing public atten-
Nd for tho nonco. taking precedence owe,
h," snorts AZ Newport and the leading fashions
o'h' sor,s 2, will he OF interest TO review the
"" 49, which seems 10 be 50 peculiarly suited TO
Pc o,crretlc force underlying the American char
" RrjstlinC as II is with evidences Of cour-
wi, and cool strategy on the part OF the
- and bringing out the natural instincts OF
- - horee the game appeals TO all who appreciate
W. o,yo of couestrarism in the field OF health
L" - s,orts Ry those who are able 10 Judge tho
g. &c admitted strongly to influence both the
-, aud equine naturs. Just the smell Of
.. povdo causes a thrill to pass through tho
' .,rs systems of soldier AMI warhorsc. the
- NJ railej and hail incitcs alike polo player
70 orv keeping both keyed up 20 high tension.
~. the one 70 swing into the game with
~, ard SOU, and tho other 10 through
NJ ~, sfer period Of play. until the bah makes is
s.i cash bo,vix' the goal posts AT the boundary.
~, masses being quick 20 recognize in polo
- NJ intoxicating into tho rising generation
H.ar,tes essentially manly have evinced their in
'.r.s, in .ht sport 10y assembling crowds Of up
.,rd II forty Thousand whenever exciting contests
ssre taken place in the public parks or on club
grounds Within easy access OF the thicky popu-
lated centres
CROWDS THAT SEE THE CONTESTS.
,,norted into this country twcnty.t two years ago
=, form alrnos, identical with the game PC prac-
sos fund A ccnCcniai haven here. and has become
enc more popular In that Ct i game distinctly OF
rho country and adaptable a. seasons and In places
vb-u md whore the laws Of nature and OF man
preclude Indulgence in hunting. shooting fishing
20 kindred sports introduced by men in afluent
circumstances L has mostly been practsed by the
voonger members Of wealthy families. and on that
sccount the erroneous impression has become gen
oral that polo is a game exclusively for the we'll
TODD.
As 2 matter Of fact. it appeals TO men Of mod
crate means in that 1t be practised, rehearsed
and played outside Of business hours, and with
Monies costly or inexpensive as fanny may dictate
the animals being useful FOR many purposes out OF
season The earliest promoters Of the game have
eagerly welcomed enthusiastic devotees every
where and as result clubs have been formed
throughout the country. at which tournaments are
now held in public at intervals from May 10 Octo-
Der Of each year under the auspices Of the East
ern and Western Polo Association.
And Il is Il good omen for the country that this
,nspirtng sport has been accepted. for II appears
10 ennohle all who participate In Il. Properly
nlaved BY men and ponies wrought UP 10 concert
mich the game possesses just the requisite tinge
Of danger 70 give II piquancy. and teaching. as II
undoubtedly does. quickness. Of observation. self
control and submission 20 discipline-all qualities
essential in either a good soldier or welhalanced
business man--it not only fits us followers for the
s.e-ner demands Of war but the better enables
tbem IN cone with tho difficulties met with in the
battle Of life.
Like other old World sports poo has been much
improved since It's arriya, on the American CONT
nenl The perpeXing tenets and uitra-dangerous
elements Of the game imported have been clint
mated tho implements Of play lightened. and
system Of handicapping introduced all OF which
have resulted in more evenly balanced contests and
a more comprehensive Eaug.ne Of players here
than has yet been arrived at elsewhere.
INJECTION OF THOROUGHBRED STRAINS.
In the matter of equine equipment. the ponies
used here were not. up recently. equal to those
trained 70 the game in England and elsewhere but
the introduction during late years, or thorough
bred blood into the stock on tho ranges where our
ponies are reared has had such beneficial results
that to-day there are a number OF American-bred
ponies that will compare favorably with any tha'
the Old World boast OF. The catlike bronco
has been largely superseded by the pony OF mlnia-
ture race-horse pattern the desire for speedy play
being nowadays such as to necessitate the use OF
animals bred in the purple. This, however. has not
vet resulted in the eradication of the agile COW
pony many excellent specimens OF which are SIN
PLAYING the game and are held by their owners A.
Invaluable.
Although rastirna comparatively new TO this
countrv polo ranks with the most ancient eques-
tr!an sports for 1t is traceable through Oreh'ai
manuscripts 70 the earliest recorded periods there
boinr evidences that the Persian and TURKISH
ronarchs and their retainers INDUCED in FORM
0, sport very similar 10 polo. which they caIed
ehaugsn. as far back as FIVE hundred years before
the christian ora. Under the name OF dak.u !,
reached Japan by way OF China In the skin cen
fury and in the eighth ninth and up TO the twelfth
century il was prosecuted as a sport IN PERSIA
India and Greece. Modern polo. as We play II 20
day was adopted between the years 1872 ana 1894
BY British Army officers stationed in Northern
- Inn fni
g, that time vas played by the natives OF Munni-
Dur ia fertile valley situated in the northwest OF
Burmah,. and said 10 have been handed down 10
that people by their ancestors. the TartaTs
By some authorities the Thbetan game OF puiu'
identical in many respects with kah-Jai-Oazee' -
believed TO have been the foundation OF polo. MOI
ern polo was first played in England in 1863 by
hussars at Aldershot Camp, but grew In public
favor 50 rapidly that by 1876 IT was fourlshing
throughout England and Ireland. afterward being
taken up in France in South Africa. Australia and
New-Zealand the Argentine Republic, ana even
a; Apa, Samoa in fact, wherever the Angio-saxoh
race predominatcs there also has polo taken root
and blossomed.
4 PROTOTYPE IN THIS COUNTRY.
The North American Indians OF Dakota. Wy
oming and Montana. also the Apaches or Arizona
have been pictured as playing a game OF SHINY
on horseback" with knobbed sticks and ball
formed from tree roots. Whether or not they
copied the game from the MeNicans. or now long
they have played the game no one seems TO know
Nor has their form OF sport been traced 20 'he
games INDUCED In by sncien. Asiatic tribes.
i is 10 James Gordon Bennett tina; We owe the
introduction Of polo into this country, in 1915 me
growth 81 the sport and the popularity when il
now enjoys here will he understood when II II
stated that while I'm 1855 there were forty-four
players and i25 ponies engaged to-day there are
thousand or ponies trained 10 the game fo'
the use and amusement OF nearly as many players.
Inc American Polo Association now embraces
score ~ hourishng clubs. each boast.ng private
GROUNDS and clubhouses located In the most
picturesque sections Of the States or New orh'
pennsylvania. Massachusetts, Rhode Island III
LUIS Missouri and New-Jersey and In Washington.
Tie Westcheste~ Country Club the first %
axe up tho sport. then the Essex and MOTIFS
1nV clubs were formed while about the same
s. e The Meadow Brook Rockaway and Phia-