The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-08-20

Cavalry on last Wednesday afternoon
il was my first offense. While I DO
know the baseball from the bat and
have attended several exciting series of
our national game, my sporting educa-
ton has been sadly neglected. How
ever | would not display my ignorance
by asking questions of strangers who
would, no doubt, only laugh at my blum
ders. / hold that there is no kind of
game, if carefully watched throughout,
into which there can not a fair insight
be acquired. So l put on a bold front
and started for Moanalua.
This was also my first sight of the
polo grounds and when we had passed
through the beautifully laid-out coun-
try estate and the machine swept round
a sudden curve at the top of an incline,
I saw in the small valley below a large
natural amphitheatre. Here might well
be Honolulu's Madison Square Garden
with an out-of door automobile show in
full swing, for there We're about three
score or more of the handsome ma
chimes, comprising all of the best and
most expensive European and domestic
makes, lined up on one side of the field.
SO keenly was I impressed with the auto
show idea that | was for the moment
surprised to see each and every car occu-
pied by bevy of fair women gowned
| in those dainty white lingerie frocks
which this delightful climate makes APP
propriate the year round. Of course
/ this was not an auto show but polo
| game, and the ladies were proof posi-
| tive that their gallant escorts were
soon going to be in need of their APP
| plause.
While waiting for the game to start,
Judging from observation, it would not
have been hard to believe that polo was
only another name for guard mount.
There was a group of officers in cavalry
uniform standing near, and, tied to the
rail on the opposite side of the field
We're their mounts. | fully expected to
hear the bugle sound and to see troop
of our country's mounted defenders
| gallop out Instead of the bugle the
stiffness was broken by the sound of a
starter bell and eight jockeys appear
ed on the field Could il be polo was
only another name for a race run over
the turf instead of on a track9 If it
was to be a race [ was sure l could not
! become interested unless | was to be
in on the betting. In looking over the
| bunch to place an imaginary bet with
myself I found that four of the jockeys
wore blue blouses and the other four
yellow. Lavender is always my favor
lite color when playing the jockeys and
! | Immediately lost interest in race
/ where ] had to bet on quartet. How
! foolish it would sound to stand up as
| they came down the home stretch and
shout, ''Come on. YOU four boys in
blue.'
When I looked again to see if I could
not pick out horse on which to risk
my imaginary dollar / saw that each
of the jockeys carried a hockey stick.
| had never given a thought to it be
fore, but hockey on horses instead of
skates and played on a green carpet in
stead of ice might be very interesting
and exciting if not quite as eXhilaratng
as the old time winter sport. | watched
for the bali to be brought out for by
this time ! was beginning to lose faith
in my powers of observation as a cipher
code to polo and I would not have been
| at all surprised to have seen football
appear and to have the horses Suddenly
bunch up for the scrmmage. The ball
| when it appeared, however, proved to
be croquet ball. at least it had a
wooden sound when one of the Jockeys
hit it with his hockey stick.
/ It was then. | suppose. that the game
proper started. for whistle sounded
and then there was murmur of eXcit
ed whispering among the fair members
! of the audience. and the horses gal
loped away after the ball. This wa,
| the beginning of regular wild west
| show as far as the Craftsmanship was
! concerned. Buffalo Bill and all of his
cowboys would have had to do some tai
riding 30 have kept up with the athletic
tHdIo on lIidt Htfb- 'it )IttlN BlbB'it
next on my right stood up during one
Of the worst scrimmages and called t.
her cavalier to "Ride him off, (what
ever that is). and the result was that
one of the riders wearing the opposite
coIors was forced clear off our side OF
the field, and his horse almost took :
| header into the front of one of the
automobiles. | did not blame the ladie.
for getting excited over the riding. but
| was tempted to ask my neighbor Il
wait until the favorite had passed {
few yards beyond us before she called
for any more ''riding off.
For the next hour and a half / watch
ed the eight PLAYERS chase the poor lit
tie ball back and forth across the field
When, to get away from the hoofs O.
the horses, it ran between two posts a
one end Of the field a round Of applaus,
from the spectators told me that some
thing had happened. ] though that the
game was over as the jockeys had rid
den to one side and dismounted. bu
they only picked out a new set Of
horses and again started chasing tn,
little ball. / neglected to count thu
= L