252 



CHAPTER X. 



A RETROSPECT. 



Polo is a game of recent and very rapid growth in 

 England. We have seen (p. i) that the first match in 

 this land was played in 1871. The first organised polo 

 tournament on record took place at Hurlingham, when 

 the Royal Horse Guards won the first Champion Cup 

 in 1876 ; and the first regimental tournament was 

 played in 1878. Since then, the popularity of the game 

 and the number of competitions have enormously in- 

 creased. In 1 89 1, when my regiment came home from 

 India, the only polo club and the only ground in 

 London was at Hurlingham, where polo was in full 

 swing. Ranelagh was open, but there was no regular 

 game there. Hurlingham players used sometimes to 

 go to Ranelagh, in order to save their own ground 

 after wet weather. 



At Hurlingham there was always a match on 

 Saturday, follow^ed by a members' game, and sometimes 

 a match on Wednesday ; but at other times, only 

 members' games were played, except during the 

 progress of the Champion Cup, Regimental Tourna- 

 ment and the County Cup, which occupied three weeks 

 of the season. The excellence of the members' 

 games at Hurlingham was a great advantage which 



