• . COMBINATION. 37 



tail, so by turning his pony to the left and moving 

 in that direction, he will probably get on to the ball 

 before any of the opposing side can do so. This 

 principle applies to every phase of the game. By 

 careful observation, a player can frequently tell by the 

 way the stick is held, and by the angle at which a man 

 rides at the ball, where he is going to hit it, and can 

 thus save time and get a start. It is well to act on the 

 supposition that an adversary will always hit the ball. 

 It is not wise to anticipate a back-hander from a 

 comrade when defending one's own goal ; for if he 

 misses it, the chances are that the fact of having one's 

 pony turned for the back-hander, will let an adversary 

 loose to have a free hit at the ball. With this ex- 

 ception, it is best to take for granted that the ball will 

 always be hit, and to try to anticipate future events. 

 The player most useful to his side is he who is most 

 busy, who is always galloping hard, and who, if he 

 cannot hit the ball, is always trying to hinder some 

 opponent or the other in every way he lawfully can. 



Except in the very best teams, the back-hand stroke 

 is not used nearly often enough ; the passing of the 

 ball from the side of the ground to the centre should 

 almost invariably be done by this means. 



When one member of the team takes the ball out 

 to the side of the ground, one or more of his com- 

 rades should make for the centre in anticipation of 

 this stroke, which should be made hard and true 

 and towards the goal. 



The secret of perfect combination is the accurate 

 passing of the ball from one player to another. 

 Every stroke should be studied in order to attain 

 this result. 



