234 POLO IN INDIA. [Chap. IX. 



the Commander-in-Chief, drew attention to the 

 necessity of making the game less dangerous ; the 

 result being the establishment of the Indian Polo 

 Association and the enforcement of stricter rules. 



Under the Indian Rules, the penalties for fouls and 

 dangerous riding are more severe than under the 

 Hurlingham code. 



Height of Ponies'. — The height of polo ponies in 

 England is 14.2. In India, no pony is allowed to 

 play in a tournament until it has been measured by 

 stewards appointed by the Indian Polo Association, 

 which publishes a register of all ponies that have 

 successfully passed that ordeal. The height has 

 been raised to 14. i. 



The rule as regards ridhtg off is, usually, taken in a 

 very much more liberal spirit by umpires acting under 

 Hurlingham Rules, No. 16, than those guided by the 

 Indian Rules. What at home would be looked upon 

 as " a fair bump ; a bit of an angle perhaps ; but quite 

 safe," would most unhesitatingly be given as a foul by 

 any umpire in India ; and quite right too. English 

 ponies are so big and strong, and so well able to carry 

 their riders' weights, that it is, happily, almost im- 

 possible to upset them. 



As regards the prevalence of bad accidents, 

 allowance must of course be made for the hardness 

 of an Indian ground, on which a fall is a much more 

 serious business than at home. I have seen some bad 

 falls in India, and have no hesitation in saying that 

 they were caused by the ponies not being up to their 

 riders' weight ; by being blown or tired ; by the fact 

 of the animals being badly trained, wrongly bitted, or 

 out of hand ; or by the riders being bad or reckless 



