A RETROSPECT. 255 



players, and finally In July, the Ladies' Cup and the 

 Public Schools Tournament wind up the season of 

 competitions, which some say is overdone. There is 

 no doubt, however, that it is very difficult to get such a 

 hard and exciting match at any time, as in a cup tie ; 

 and very few men play absolutely all out, or at all 

 events they do not ride only their best ponies, except 

 in a near thing during a tournament. 



As a rule, polo players are very slack about 

 arranging their own matches, and leave too much 

 to the polo managers. They ought to organise 

 themselves into teams to constantly play together, 

 and should ask the respective polo managers to give 

 them a ground, and to get them an opposing side. 

 The few men who act thus, and who take their 

 teams to play matches at the different clubs, obtain 

 far more fun out of the game, even if they are 

 moderate performers, than others who simply ask for 

 a place in a match, and day after day find them- 

 selves playing with different men whose methods 

 they do not understand. In this respect, soldiers 

 are much better off than civilians, for if they belong 

 to their regimental team, or to their subalterns' 

 team, they can get as many matches as they want. 



When the season in London is drawing to a 

 close, the honorary secretaries of county clubs now 

 adopt the plan of arranging -polo weeks on their 

 own grounds. I venture to take the credit of 

 having started this custom by inaugurating the 

 Rugby tournament in 1894, which has been played 

 every year since that time. 



Nowadays, if a man likes to take a team on 

 tour, he can go and play at St. Neots in the second 



