El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-03-11

so much to the extraordinary brilliance
of the American method OF play, but
to the fact that every man on the
team had made a careful study Of the
English 'Onside" methods and had
mastered the home teams tricks and
then added a few Of his own. OF the
stable of % horses sent over only IT
were used and only two Of these were
American-bre ponies. This fact does
not reflect upon the American-bred
horse, however. Had the grounds
been dry more American horses would
have been used, but it has been found
that on heavy field the English pom
les are more at home.
Is Much Like Hockey.
Polo is closely related to hockey, ex-
cept that the players are mounted, and
instead of the hockey stick the rider
carries q mallet or polo stick which Is
from 50 to 56 inches long The white
willow ball is three and one-eighth
inches in diameter and should weigh
not more than five ounces. The object
of the game is to drive the ball be-
tween the goal posts which are set
upright. "a feet apart at each end Of
the turf field. which is 900 feet long
and $50 feet wide The riders are per-
mitted to interfere with each other,
just as in football, and the ball has
TO be struck only with the mallets. the
heads of which are about eight inches
long, made of ash or sycamore, and
are attached to flexible Malacca canes
The skill Of the pony is to be reckoned
with on account of the fact that he
is made to whirl at the sharpest an
giles, must be able TO come TO a halt
from full gallop in the shortest pos
sible distance and should be so trained
as to receive the riders directions ny
means of a slight pressure Of the leg
instead of through the bit and bride
The thoroughly trained pep pony
seems to sense the desired direction
by instinct and horse and rider seem
to move and think as one, like the CEN
taurs Of mythology
Texas Ponies Used.
The best American bred ponies come
from the ranges Of Texas and WyOm-
ing. Ability to resist hard usage.
speed. intelligence and nimbleness are
the primary essentials Big horses are
not to be desired, as they are not SO
easily swerved and do not permit the
rider to have the same free use of his
mallet. Rules provide that the polo
pony shall not be taller than II hands
2 inches. In the American game, now
ever. the question of the height of The
horse is never contested. In England
it is adjudged most important fac
tor and the horses are always care
fully measured.
This fact has given rise to q pecu-
liar bit of trickery on the other side
1t not infrequently happens that a
splendidly trained polo pony IS slightly
more than the requisite height. so the
owner measures the animal habitually
with a pin prick, or an electric buzz
at the end Of the gage so that, from
habit. when sany measure is applied to
tn animal his withers shrink and
thus he meets the requirements. An
other ruse to bring an oversize pony
down to the required standard is to
walk him As hours before the time set
for measuring in BY this mode OF
procedure there is a general compress
sion of the cartilages, just as a man is
found to be shorter after he has stood
up all day than when he gets up in
the morning.
Ponies Bring Good Prices.
Well trained polo ponies range in
price from $3.50 to more than $4,000
and the devotees Of the game must
have a stable of from four to eight
horses. as the best ponies cannot be
used for more than 10 TO Is minutes at
a time and the game usually last four
periods of Is minutes each. The horse
is kept on constant gallop almost