The New York herald., 1922-02-26
EVOLVING A BREED
OF POLO HORSES
English and American Experts
Differ About Possibility of
Accomplishing This End.

In answer TO a question about breed
ing polo ponies Lord Southampton said
recently: MY old friend, John Watson,
who knew all there was 10 know about
polo ponies, is reported 10 have said
that il ever he was found TO be attempt
ing 10 breed polo ponies he hoped his
friends would see that he was put in a
suitable place. This may be an eXag
Eeration. but the idea is-and I think
true one--that all the best polo ponies
ere really little horses that happen TO
have come small, and If you breed from
these polo pony mares YOU may get IA
stone hunters, always supposing you use
thoroughbred horses, which are. OF
course, the best
The English horseman's opinions are
sc variance with those OF Edward @.
AIcNitty, an American breeder, who re-
Gently sold to the Duke of Westminster
six finished horses OF his own rearing that
lett this port for England yesterday on the
steamship Maine OF the Atlantic Trans
port line. Mr.. McVitty says he uses stall
lions and brood mares up to 1873 hands
high on his California ranch and OBJ
tans from them foals that rarely exceed
! . hands. He feeds the foals generously
on California hay"--oats cut in tht
milk and cured without threshing-until
two years old and then turns them out
until they are four. This treatment. he
says. will very often take a full hand
of the height or the foals as compared
with their parents and without in any
way lessening their stamina and endur-
aDce.
Far from believing good polo ponies
Just ''happen," Mr.. McVitty says he is
convinced that all the qualities which go
10 make them good players are heredi-
"a, nd ell inc fai i,lN-
as speed or spavins. In proof of this he
cites the fact that the thoroughbred
stallion Huston is the sire of three of
the six exceptionally high class ponies
sold TO the Duke of Westminster and
OF two others that were shipped to Eng
land last season for the international
cup matches at Hurlingham, besides
many more of top rank. Benroe. a son
OF Hindoo, was the sire of one of the
Ionies and of the dam OF another sold
10 the Duke Of Westminster showing.
the California breeder says. that
aptitude for the game is born with the
1oal
From the fact that Huston is a son of
Wadsworth, by Longfellow, son of inn
ported bennington. and that Benroe's
dam was by bennington, Mr.. McVitty
is confident that polo qualities run in GER
tain racing families, the best Of which is
that OF bennington. Writing on this
subject in the Thoroughbred Record he
cites several successful sires of this
line. Notable among these was the
gray horse Grandee, by Warwick, son of
bennington. that got the famed inter-
national polo ponies Pigeon and Gray
Ing. as well rs Sadie. Adolph and
Rudolph taken TO England by Frank j.
Mackey. Another successful sire was
Caspar, whose dam was by Warwick.
son Of bennington He got scores of
good ones, Mr. McVitty says, including
such stars as Blue Knot. a thoroughbred
that played five periods out of eight at
Pasadena in 1918 and that ran a mile
and a quarter in 2:12I with 165 pounds
on his back in winning the Spreckles
cup at Coronado. Ibn Canada, another
thoroughbred and a stallion, by Cas-
par. out Of a mare whose dam was by
Powhatan, son of bennington, has gone
10 the stud after having distinguished
himself by playing eight periods in fast
tournament matches on three consecu-
tive days.