Evening star., 1934-04-08
BY BILL BRl4UCHER.

- HE wide open spaces of the West are
polo pastures now, and q mans q
man if he can wrestle on horseback
It's an old game, this polo, but new
principles of play brought from the
plains and the Pacific Coast have
made 1t new, adding thrill that the Persian
princes who originated the sport 1000 years
ago hardly knew about.
The old Wild West has made polo wild
Besides the wrestling on-horseback aspect OF
the game, which results in cracked heads,
broken legs and other injuries dear to the
hearts Of the thrill seeking customers, polo as
it has come to be pursued now has in it some
of the wide sweep of foot ball, the quick action
of hockey and the accuracy. skill and power
that Babe Ruth puts-or used to put-into the
manufacture of a home run.
To understand the amazing growth of the
sport in the United States in the last few
years. it is necessary only to look at the rank
ings which show one 10-goal player, Tommy
Hitchcock, jr., from the effete East; another
1O-goal man, Cecil Smith, from the plains of
Texas, and third 10-goal man. Elmer Boeseke.
jr., from California. Thus three sections OF
the country can claim 'the greatest player In
the world" and in no other country-not even
India, where polo was played years before the
British found it there-can single l0-goal
star be found!
DEHIND these ratings there lies drama. the
- scenes of which pitched in a Long
Island society setting, a ranch near Austin.
Tex; Santa Barbara. Calif- sunset, and
the Century of Progress Exposition at Chicago
last year where the West came into its own.
The Long Island scene began with Mrs.
Thomas Hitchcock ST., putting her son Tommy
on q ponys back as soon as he was able to
toddle around She saw In polo game that
would develop his sportsmanship but how far
that development was to be tested by recent
&c cho pnt hovo fore oOn
when Tommy started to ride.
Tommy eventually became the star of inter-
national polo that turned back repeated thrusts
of British and Argentinian invaders He de-
veloped into the ne plus ultra OF polo, and for
years he the only 10-goal man in the
United States. When Tommy at his peak
five or six years ago. the West was not con-
sidered high-goal polo potentiaity.
George Miller is part of the polo panorama
that unfolded on the Texas plains George
is a horseman born. His father raced and
rode and George followed his trail, and passed
him, racing and riding the range until about
20 years ago. when automobiles began causing
an unemployment situation among COW ponies.
George went in then for polo ponies breeding
and training mounts On ranch near Austin.
Now Rube Williams happened to be cow
puncher around Austin. and to the Rube riding
herd on steers was as noble pastime as man
ever devised until he happened one day to Iook
in on George Miller's training activities. Miller
persuaded the daring rider to try the darn
fool game. The Rube took up the challenge
and entered the spirit Of the thing in some
thing like the style Of Joe Savoldi hitting the
University of Pittsburgh line.
Williams came very near quitting polo after
. few days of sef-imposed terrific workouts.
Stiff neck charley horses in both legs, lame
arms and a pain in the backl All for the
pleasure of hitting ball between two posts.
HsIv~ -
scouting for prospective polo ponies, and it
wasn't long until the Rube had developed into
. pretty fair sort of hand at the game. Right