HOW TO BECOME A POLO PLAYER. 7 



he should seek the aid of an experienced friend, who 

 had best make the purchase soon after the polo season 

 is over ; for then the supply will exceed the demand, 

 and an animal quite good enough for all reasonable 

 requirements ought to be procurable for, say, ^50. 

 The great point about such a pony is that he must 

 be a perfect player. If he fulfils this condition, no 

 objection should be taken to him if he be somewhat 

 slow. For choice, the pony should have played for 

 more than one season ; for the more experience he 

 has had, the less likely will he be to learn new tricks, 

 such as stopping and shying off the ball. The 

 beginner should avoid "green" or tricky ponies; 

 for it is impossible for him to learn to hit the ball 

 and teach his pony to play at the same time. If 

 he cannot get a trained pony, he will no doubt learn 

 a good deal on a raw one ; but he must not imagine 

 that his teaching will do anything but spoil the 

 pony, unless it is a marvel of equine intelligence and 

 handiness. 



Apart from the saving of money, it is well for the 

 novice to get a steady pony at the end of a polo 

 season, so that he may have several months during 

 which to practise hitting the ball in every direction 

 and at varying speed before he essays to play in 

 a game. Most men, even the busiest, can generally 

 manage, if they live in the country, to get an hour 

 two or three times a week for practice. It usually 

 happens that if a man begins playing polo by 

 starting straight off in a game, he is put to play 

 No. I, and is told to ride the Back and not to mind 

 the ball, the consequence being that he does not 

 get as much practice in a whole season at hitting 



