The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-04-30
TRAINING HORSES
FOR MODERN POLO
Implicit Obedience to Will Of
Rider Main Thing in Making
an Equine Player.


possible in polo pony that is perfectly
California breeder has arranged to give
an interesting exhibition at the Post
field in East Williston. l.. J., on the
afternoon OF May Is, with the twelve
finished ponies from his Bear Vallej
ranch at San Miguel that the posts are
going to sell for him two days later.
Each pony will be played under speed
and levelled on the ball bridled merely
with snaffle bit and using no martin
gale; practice which eastern polo
men have seldom IL ever seen attempted
The herd trainer of the Hear Valley
Ranch. who learned his art from the
old Spanish horsemen of California, is
coming on to ride some of the ponies
and those who have seen him in the
saddle say his work will be revelation
in horsemanship OF the school which
prevailed when the Golden State was
still Spanish possession. His boyhcod
was spent as cow puncher and horse
breaker among the Spanish rancheros,
and with their methods he has combined
the teachings of the French master. M.
Bauchet, in his schooling OF the bantam
thoroughbred for polo.
The early Spanish horseman of Cali
fornia was an equestrian and trainer
To own and ride the best broken horse
was his pride and ambition. and the
usual time taken to break one was
three years. For the first two years he
used hackamore in place of bride.
and the horse was finished to do n,s
work, oven to the cutting out of cattle
before a bit was ever PLACED in his
mouth. 1t was only in the third year
of his education that the Sp lnish spade
bit, with its high port and rollers, came
into use. The finished horse of tho
Spanish masters never felt this bit
which in reality was merely for show.
"A popular sport among those early
Spanish horsemen of the great ranches
in California" Mr.. Mcvitty said yester-
day, was to go out on his horse and
kill the grizzly NEAR, using only his
lariat as weapon and depending upon
perfect control of his horse for his sue
cess and his personal safety.
THE last of these great Spani.n
horsemen died only three years ago In
Santa Barbara" he continued. His
name was Ortega. He broke horses up
to the day of his death at "a years Of
age, and even when it was necessary
to assist him to get into the saddle.
Els last work was on the thoroughbred
stallion Ibn Canada This horse was
only partly finished when Ortega died,
and yet he was one of the best polo
horses on the Pacific coast during the
season Of 1919-1920. He has since been
retired to the stud as q polo SIRE"
About the last of the very finely
trained horses brought out by the Span
ish breakers. whose race Is now practi-
cally extinct so far as the schooling Of
horses is concerned, was a black thor
oughbred ridden by the late Dixie
re wa
famous figure in California twenty
five years ago. leading all the great
parades in San Francisco and Los An
geles mounted on this horse and riding
in his Spanish saddle, which was prac-
tically covered with silver and gold.
The horse was so well broken that
Thompson would back him for blocks at
a time, every step taken being balanced
and true.
Realizing that a highly developed
breaking organization was as important
as the selection OF level headed indiviG-
uals and families of racehorscs for the
successful production of polo mounts.
Mr.. Mcvitty has adopted all the meth
DDS of the Spanish breakers that are
practical to modern polo. ard with very
satisfactory results, he says.
I'VE begin the work OF breaking our
polo horses when they are three or four
years old" he said to a reporter Of THE
New YORK HERALD. They are first
taught to stand, then to lead to halter
and then to bear the empty saddle.
When they are used to 1t they are
mounted. The greater part of the early
schooling for polo is not different from
the process of making a very finely
trained saddle horse or high school
horse except in the case of the West
ern American polo horse. He IL flexed
behind the bit. whereas the high school
horse is fiexed up on the bit. lie must
learn to go in collected form a. the walk
and the canter. always with his head In
just the right position and always with
such balance and control of his legs that
he can instantly change his lead In re-
Spouse to the signal of change OF bal
ance by his rider 1t is a good deal like
training a dancer, and a. balanced polo
horse must be just as supple, agile and
well poised as a toe dancer, and just as
responsive to the touch OF balance OF
his rider as the dancer Is to the strains
Of the music.
"a well trained polo horse in the
hands OF a good rider needs only bare
touch with the leg or a change OF bal
ance in the saddle to make him do In
stantly just what is wanted. II he has
been schooled in the right way he has
learned u HdNt iiuptiNie tVbhoChNO 80
the man on his back and to obey every
signal with the unquestioning faith of a
true soldier. To inspire this confidence
and this obedience II is imperative that
he should never be harshly treated or
punished except for wilful disobedience.
He must also learn to know that nothing
his rider asks him to do Is impossible.
II have seen ponies SO perfectly
broken in this way that before they had
taken part in more than two or three
practice games at home they would GO
right into fast tournament play and
acquit themselves like old stagers sim
ply because they had been thoroughly
taught to obey the will OF their riders.
The ideal and experienced pony learns
to follow the ball intuitively, yet al
the signal from his rider he will leave
the ball to ride off an opponent or exc
cute any other maneuvre."