40 THEORY AND PRACTICE OF POLO. [Chap. II. 



fault of asking No. i to do impossibilities. Men who ^ 

 have seldom if ever played there, do not know how 

 much to expect from even a good No. i, and they 

 frequently shout at him to do things which are quite 

 beyond his power. We all have often seen No. 2 pull 

 up, look wildly round, and exclaim in agonising accents 

 "Where is that No. i ?" when some exigency of the 

 game has made No. i turn his pony in a direction 

 which has brought him behind No. 2. Under these 

 circumstances, a good No. 2 would, without wasting 

 his breath, gallop on and tackle the Back, leaving 

 No. I to fell into his place for the time being. 



Good and experienced players and also players who 

 are experienced, but not good, should try to make a 

 game of Polo as pleasant as possible for everyone, and 

 particularly for beginners. 



In ordinary club games, the position of No. i is 

 usually given to a young player, or to the worst 

 hitter, who, even though he does his best, will gen- 

 erally get all the abuse and no credit. Such a practice 

 is altogether wrong ; for each player has an equal 

 right to enjoy the game. Besides, it is very hard on 

 a beginner to be always given a position in which he 

 can get but little practice in hitting the ball, and will 

 very likely have his young or imperfectly trained 

 ponies spoiled. Unless a man has a natural aptitude 

 for the place of No. i, and likes it, he should be 

 allowed from time to time an opportunity of playing in 

 other positions of the game, both for the sake of his 

 own practice, and with the object of preventing his 

 ponies from becoming sick of the game. It is, of 

 course, different when practising a team for a match ; 

 for then the men should keep to the places they will 



