6 FIRST STEPS AT POLO. [Chap. I. 



one's horsemanship so much as polo. A great ad- 

 vantage which polo has over all other outdoor games, 

 is that one can begin it comparatively late in life, and 

 that one will continue to improve with age and ex- 

 perience. The reason for this is that coolness, com- 

 mand of temper, horsemanship, knowledge of the 

 game, and " head," all of which come with age, are 

 far more important factors in making a first-class polo 

 player than activity, which is an attribute of youth. 

 At football a man is as a rule at his best from twenty 

 to twenty-five ; and at cricket, from twenty to thirty 

 years of age ; yet there are few really first-class polo 

 players in England under thirty. Men of mature 

 years are in no way barred from polo. Although I 

 have never heard of a first-class cricketer who did 

 not learn to play as a boy, many fine polo players 

 have begun comparatively late in life. The late Mr. 

 Kennedy, who was a remarkably fine player, com- 

 menced polo when he was thirty-eight years of age, 

 and continued to be in the first flight for at least ten 

 years later. Although it is well to commence early, it 

 is not always feasible to do so ; for few boys have the 

 desired opportunity. 



The fact that the number of polo clubs has been 

 more than doubled in England during the last few 

 years, proves the advance which the game has made 

 in popular favour. Many hunting men see the ad- 

 vantage of reducing the number of their horses, and 

 filling up the vacancies with polo ponies, so that they 

 can have their fun in the saddle all the year round, 

 and not only for six months. 



The first want of the novice who is fired with am- 

 bition to play polo is a suitable pony, to obtain which 



