i8o BREEDS OF POLO PONIES. [Chap. VIII. 



have substance as well as quality, and are well up 

 to 13 stone. 



Little Fairy (Fig. 46) is one of the few racing- 

 ponies I have known to be a success. I bought 

 her at Tattersall's for the Champion Cup of 1897, 

 and she has played in all the big matches for Rugby 

 since, and in the Open Cup at Dublin in 1901, for 

 the " Nomads." Her history is curious. She is 

 by Glen Dale out of Leonora, and her racing name 

 was Tessie. She won a selling race at Newmarket, 

 as a two-year-old, and at four and five she bred foals. 

 After that she was used as a hack, and was once 

 sold at Aldridge's for 16 guineas. I gave 300 

 guineas for her when she was 13 years old. She is 

 now 17, and although she has been a roarer for 

 some years, she is still able to take her place in the 

 best of polo. She has the temper of an angel, 

 and as she is up to 14 stone, she is very different 

 to the ordinary cast-off from a racing stable. 



Dynamite (Fig. 45) is now long past her best 

 days. When she belonged to Mr, J. Peat, she was 

 generally considered to be the best forward pony in 

 England. Certainly I have never seen any No, i 

 player as good, or even in the same class as Mr. 

 J, Peat, especially when he was riding his favourite. 

 Dynamite was never the same pony in other hands, 

 probably because of the rule that a pony could 

 not be changed, unless at the owner's risk, at any 

 time, except the intervals between the 10 minutes' 

 periods of play. When Dynamite was at her best, 

 a pony could be changed, and ten minutes were 

 allowed whenever the ball went out of play. Under 

 the old rules, a pony that could not stay was as 



