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CHAPTER IX. 

 POLO IN INDIA. 



Remarks on polo in India— Polo ponies— Stable management— The bitting of 

 polo ponies— Indian polo rules — Subsidiary goals — Necessity for the better 

 training of ponies in India— Polo pony club— Polo saddlery required for 

 India. 



REMARKS ON POLO IN INDIA. 



In India, polo is far more general than in England, 

 and enjoys many advantages that cannot be obtained 

 in this country. There, ponies are more plentiful, 

 cheaper, and easier to train. Polo is played all the 

 year round, and is as popular among Anglo-Indians 

 as cricket is among Englishmen at home. 



Life in an Indian station must have been very dull 

 thirty years ago, before the introduction of polo, lawn 

 tennis and golf, which are now played all over the 

 country. No wonder that our Indian predecessors 

 were afflicted with liver and shortness of temper in the 

 piping times of peace. 



To a large section of His Majesty's servants, polo in 

 India is not merely an amusement and a game, but is 

 also a serious occupation, to which a great deal of time, 

 money and trouble are devoted. Polo is now recog- 

 nised by the majority of our military authorities as one 

 of the most important parts of the training of an officer ; 

 for there is no better riding school than the polo ground, 



