240 POLO IN INDIA. [Chap. IX. 



training, such animals can rarely be got, particularly 

 up country, in India. 



One day, while riding to an up-country ground, on 

 which I had been engaged to play, I apologised to a 

 member of my side, by saying: " I fear I shall be of 

 no use this time, as my pony has never played 

 before." My friend replied: "He is sure to be all 

 right ; you will have taken at least the trouble to 

 knock a ball about on him." It amused me to find 

 that I was regarded as an exception to the general 

 rule in that part of India, of not doing anything with 

 a pony to make him handy and reliable before 

 attempting to play him. 



My remarks on the bad training of ponies apply 

 only to many station games. I am quite aware 

 that the good polo-playing Rajahs and good polo 

 regiments are just as particular about the training 

 of their ponies, and have as good players, as one 

 ever sees in England. By the Indian Polo Associa- 

 tion Rules, in every station where polo Is regularly 

 played, a " Station Polo Committee " must be ap- 

 pointed ; their chief duties being to see that there is 

 '*no dangerous riding," and that ''no pony Is allowed 

 to play except It be well broken, properly bitted, and 

 under the maximum height." To judge by some 

 of the ponies I have seen playing on Indian grounds, 

 I do not think that all the Polo Committees are as 

 stringent as they might be on the subject of training 

 ponies. If they Insisted on double bridles, standing- 

 martingales and nosebands being used on all ponies at 

 all Inclined to pull, and on all ponies with snaffles being 

 ordered off the ground, except a few extraordinarily 

 handy ones, they would make the game much safer 



