DUTIES OF No. i. 41 



occupy in the actual contest. Although No. i Is not 

 an enviable position for a young player on not the 

 best of ponies, there is no better place in the game 

 for a fine horseman who is a strong hitter, a good shot 

 at goal, and who has plenty of big, blood, handy ponies ; 

 provided always that his No. 2 hits the ball well up 

 to him, and is ready to take his turn at hustling and 

 jostling the Back if he finds himself in No. I's 

 place. 



As Back almost always gets a start, he has a great 

 advantage over No. i, who has to adapt his move- 

 ments to those of Back. For this reason the ponies 

 of No. I are particularly liable to get spoiled. No. i 

 will have to exercise great vigilance to remain on- 

 side, especially with an experienced and tricky Back. 

 The chief thing for him to remember is that the only 

 way for him to get off as quickly as Back, is to con- 

 tinually watch him, to start at the same moment and 

 in the same direction as Back, and not to look over 

 his shoulder for the ball. If he watches the ball, the 

 Back will be certain to slip him. Another great 

 advantage which Back has is that, when two players 

 are galloping level for a ball, it is much easier while 

 being hustled, to hit a back-hander than a forward 

 stroke. For these reasons, and also because the ponies 

 of a No. I frequently get cunning after a time and will 

 not go in and face a back-hander, or jostle unless they 

 are well alongside, every allowance should be made 

 and abuse withheld from the luckless No. i, who 

 often incurs it because he fails to make much impres- 

 sion on a slippery Back. No. i should always try 

 to come up on the stick side of the back (Fig. 

 21), and, if he can, should ride him off and get the 



