The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-03-27
C0ST or POLO PONIES.
The Best 90 Them Bring Fram sGao ~
7.1oO Apiees.

HuT NraA ~ uNFtA ANHtANW E68at WD4tts tn
s7.SoO Apiees.
Not only has the polo pony improved
bus the demands Of players on thsir pouse.
have increased. Men require . better.
larger. faster animal than ponies were
even four and Eve years ago.
Ponies OF this class are not too comrn~n.
first rate horses Of any breed. from race
horses down to Shetland ponies. never ara
or have been. So the ponies 90 M.
We have seen the whole process in
India says q writer in BaiAs's Masasis,
when first played there q polo pony
was country bred. Quick. handy and
very easy tn ride. Tournaments plav
found them out. and they were discover~d
To be shifty and cunning under pressure.
and above all. unable 10 bear the strain
Of a fierce finish to a close match. They
cost from ISO 70 $50 rupees.
Then came the Arabs. and they t.aa
had their day. They used 70 come up b,
us in trucks from Bombay Mt an average
Of 100 rupees apiece. and 10 one in ten
became a tournament pony We we're lucky
The periods Of play were shortened. tho
length OF matches contracted: but the
standard Of tournament play grew more
ana more exacdng and the Arab had
to 60.
The Arab never was a weight carrier
he il very apt Tn cross his legs and come
down IL hustled. and he has nov been
Displaced in India by the Waller. the New
ZealAnder and the English pony. az about
2.s0o rupees apiece. Now this IL exactly
In brief the process that has gone on in
England. except that we do not need u
import our ponies and are able TO breed
them for modern polo.
The English polo pony has oIst-d
has rivals. ~ greatly has he improves:
he carries weight better. IL faster and vet
10 q great deal better balanced and handler
than he was. and he has practically dis
placed all others. the few first clas=
Americans and ArRentines that surviv..
being rather an evidence for than against
the supremacy Of tine English pony
How much the Engliah pony has improved
may be- seen from the fact that wherea-
at one time in first class tournaments
Arabs ArRentinea and Americans might
be seen playing ON equal terms with Eng
lish ponies. now only a very few u the
best Of these herds cAn hold their Own
in fret class polo
If now We 60 ON 70 Analy1e tie pTin.
cipal sales of ponies that we know ~
during last year we shall ind that excIud
ing ali ponies land there were q good
many that fetched less than ESO. we are
able To trace les ponies which sold for az
aggregate Of Rlals3. tho average prizes
being EII0 shillhhgs. OF these ponies.
fifty eight brought 10 their sellers from
lOo to so gllineaS. averaging a fraction
over E3O6 OF the les ponies IOz were
sold from 50 IN % gllineas. making q total
% 81 IN. or an average % c5s 10 shillingN
for each pony Of these ponies all hut
a very few were English or Lrish. the
American. Argentine and Arab ponies
not amounting to per cent. Of the whole
"But u may be- said that the prices
in the first class we're RAISED by the Ameri-
can purchases last year and by the demand
for forty or fifty first class ponies for tho
International matches. I do not think
however. theNr purchases made a great
deal Of difference OF that the average
price ln any year for the best class 81
ponies would fall much below 30 Kuinsas
The prices Of ponies are in no way enorm-
ously high. and unless ths game falls OF in
popularity. 10 which OF course there are
no signs at present, the market prices Of
the three classes will probably not vary
very much from the present rates for
some time to come"