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THE LOTUS MAGAZINE
Volume V JUNE, I914 Number 9

POLO
IKE many other with such effect, "that the ball could
games poio has no longer be seen by any person on
come down to us the meidan, or plain, as his blow had
from the Ancient caused it to vanish amongst the clouds."
East,probably from Thiswork is, of course,merely legen
Persia, where itdary, but points to the early origin of
was called chau the game, as Firdusi states that his
gan. Our name information had been derived from still
for the game is derived from the Thib earlier works, traditions, and literary
etan word pulu, which signifies a ball fragments. Other Eastern writers of
made from the knot of willow wood. the ninth and tenth centuries allude
Probably the first mention of the to the game as having been practised
game under the title of chaugan is in in very early ages, and- well known
"
the Shahnamah," a poem written by thiroughout the East. Pehlavi writings,
the Persian poet Firdusi, who flourished which are much older, allude to the
towards the end of the tenth and be game, especially the old fragments en
ginning of the eleventh century. Fir titled " Karnamak-i-Artakshir-i-Baba
dusi gives a vivid description of a game kan," which record some of the won
between seven Iranianor Persian horse drous feats of the Sassanian kings,
men and seven Turks in which Sia Ardashir, Shapur, and Hormzad.
wusch astonishes Afrasiab by the skill These fragments relate mainly to the
he displays. Mohl, in his translation, sports inwhich the flower of Iranian
says: "Siawusch nmontaun cheval frais, chivalry were trained, and excellence
jeta la balle un peu en l'air avec lamain, and pre-emninence in which made a
et la frappa si fort avec la raquette qu'il proficient in them a man of mark.
lui fit voir de pres la lune. La balle Foremost amongst these was a game
disparut, tant la raquette l'avait lancee described as a species of hockey on
hlaut! " horseback, played with a ball and a
The prowess of a certain Gushtasp concave staff or racket. Itwas called
(the Hystaspes of classical history) is chupaan, aword from which themore
also extolled by Firdusi, who describes modern term chaugan was probably
him as wielding the chaugan, or stick, derived.
554 THE LOTUS MAGAZINE
The historian Tabari, who lived about
9 I4 A. D., relates how the Persian king
Dara, or Darius, who lived 525 B. C.,
wishing to insult Alexander the Great
(who had withheld his portion of tri
bute exacted by former Persian kings,
and declared that he would resist the
demand by force of arms) sent him a
ball and chaugan stick, as instruments
of sport better suited to his youth and
inexperience thanwarlike occupations.
Alexander seems, however, to have
been equal to the occasion, for he re
plied "that the ball was the earth and
he (Alexander) was the stick," imply
ing his universal conquest.
Shapur, better known as Sapor,
whilst yet a child of suspected parent
age, is said to have proved his descent
from Artaxerxes by venturing alone
through a crowd of players to gather
the ball, which had rolled near the
monarch's seat. In the illustrated MS.
"Shahnamah " at the British Museum,
Shapur is depicted going on foot, with
a chaugan-stick in his hand, to pick up
the ball which is by the feet of the kilng's
horse. Several other boys are shownn,
also with sticks in their hands, but all
on foot.
The celebrated Persian poet Nizami,
who lived between I I26 and I200 A. D.,
in an epic describes how the beautiful
Shirin, wife of Khusran Parviz (the
Victorious), one of the Sassanian kings,
who flourished 59o A. D., played chau
gan with her lovely handmaidens against
the king and his courtiers.
Oni one side was the Moon and her stars,
On the other the Shah and his firman-bearers
Thus itwill be seen that our brave
polo-playing women of the present
day had their prototypes ages ago in
the Ancient East.
In the twelfth century the Greek
Emperor Manuel Comnenus enjoyed
the game on horseback with the By
zantine princes and nobles of his court.
The wooden ball, however, seems to
have been exchanged for one more soft,
formed of stuffed leather, and the stick,
instead of having a hammer-like head,
terminated in a hoop, more resembling
a racket. Cinnamus, the Byzantine his
torian, who must often have been a
spectator of the game, as he accom
panied the Emperor Manuel both in
Europe and Asia, describes chaugan,
and from him itmay be inferred that
proficiency in the game was consid
ered no unworthy accomplishment of
royalty.
"A number of young men," he
writes, "being divided into equal sides
in a place measured out and made for
the purpose, a ball about the size of an
apple, and made of leather, is thrown
up into the air, and at it, as if contend
ing for a prize, they all gallop as hard
as they can. Each man has in his right
hand a moderately long stick twisted
into a hoop at the end, and across are
stretched, like a net, a little distance
apart, and crossing each other, many
little strings. Each side, by outstrip
ping the other, endeavours to drive the
ball beyond the opposite goal, which
has previously been set up, and this
constitutes the victory. This is the
game, then; a very doubtful and dan
gerous one, as he who would play itmust
be constantly lying flat on his horse,
and bending himself on either side of
his horse, and be turning his horse
very sharply, and he must manage to
ride so as to be skilled inmoving his
body and his horse in as many differ
ent ways as the ball is driven."

He goes on to describe a game "in
which when the Emperor was exercis
ing himself hotly his horse fell alto
gether on the ground " (aregular " pur
ler" evidently) "and he being thrown
underneath had great difficulty in ex
tricating himself."
Chaugan was one of the favourite
pastimes of the great Emperor Akbar,
who reigned between i555 and i6o5
A. D., and his chief chaugan ground
was at a place called Ghariwali, about
Stoddard Passing Ball
fourmiles fromAgra, and subsequently
at Nagarchin, also near Agra. In the
"Ain-i Akbari," written by the cele
brated Abul Fazl-i-Allami, the Em
peror's Prime Minister-and a work
which minutely describes the Court
of Akbar, its regulations, habits and
amusements, as well as the system of
government-chaugan is alluded to
under the heading of "games.'"
"His Majesty, who is an excellent
judge of mankind, uses these sports
as a latent means of discovering their
merits. The games are of various kinds,
POLO 555
of which a few particulars shall be
given."
Professor Blockmann, in his trans
lation of the "Ain-i Akbari" gives a
lively rendition of thepassage. " Super
ficial observers," he writes, "look upon
this game as a mere amusement, and
consider itmere play; but men ofmore
exalted views see in it ameans of learn
ing promptitude and decision. It tests
the value of a man, and strengthens
the bonds of friendship. Strong men
to H. P. Whitney. Milburn Blocking English Players
learn in playing this game the art of
riding, and the animals learn to per
form feats of agility and to obey the
reins. Hence his Majesty is very fond
of this game. Externally, the same adds
to the splendour of his Court; but,
viewed from a higher point, it reveals
concealed talents.
"When his Majesty goes to the
maidan (plain or open field) in order
to play this game, he selects an oppo
nent, and some active and clever players,
who are only filled with one thought,
viz. to show their skill against the
556 THE LOTUS MAGAZINE
opponents of his Majesty. From mo
tives of kindness, his Majesty never
orders anyone to be a player, but
chooses the pairs by the cast of the
die. There are not more than ten
players, but many more keep them
selves in readiness. When one ghari
(twenty-four minutes) has passed, two
players take rest, and two others sup
ply their place.
"The game itself is played in two
ways. The first way is to get hold of
the ball with the crooked end of the
chaugan-stick and move it slowly
from the middle to the boundary pil
lars (hal, i.- e. goal). This manner is
called in Hindi rol. The other way
consists in taking deliberate aim and
forcibly hitting the ball with the chau
gan-stick out of the middle; the [op
posing] player then gallops after it
quicker than the others and throws it
back. This mode is called bela, and
may be performed in various ways.
The player may either strike the ball
with the stick in his right hand, and
send it to the right forwards or back
wards, or he may do so with his left
hand, or he may send the ball in front
of the horise to the right or to the left.
The ball may be thrown in the same
direction from behind the feet of the
horse or from below its body, or the
rider may spit it [probably meaning
"may shove it," with, as it were, a
sort of "cue-stroke"], when the ball is
in front of the horse, or he may lift
hiimself upon the coup [or crupper] and
propel the ball between the feet of the
animal. This must evidently have been
a back-hander, or a cross-hit under the
horse's belly.
"His Majesty is unrivalled for the
skill which he shows in the various
ways of hitting the ball; he often man
ages to strike the ball when in the air
and astonishes all. When the ball is
driven to a goal they beat a kettle
drum, so that all who are far and near
may hear it. In order to increase the
excitement betting is allowed. The
players win from each other, and he
who brought the ball to the goal wins
most. If a ball be caught in the air, and
passes or ismade to pass beyond the
goal, the game is looked upon as drawn.
At such times the players will engage
in a regular fight about the ball, and
perform admirable feats of skill.
" His Majestyalso plays chaugan on
dark nights, which caused much aston
ishment, even among clever players.
The balls which are used at night are
set on fire. For this purpose palas wood
(Butea frondosa) is used, which is very
light and burns for a long time. For the
sake of adding splendour to the games,
which is necessary inworldly matters,
hisMajesty has knobs of gold and silver
fixed to the top of the chaugan-sticks.
If one of them happens to break, any
player that gets hold of the pieces may
keep them.
" It is impossible to describe the ex
cellence of this game. Ignorant as Iam,
I can say but little about it.
The poet Jami, who lived I4 I4 A. D.,
thus alludes to the game in his " Sala
man and Absal:"
All young in years and courage, bat in hand,
Galloped afield, tossed down the golden ball,
And chased so many crescent moons' a-full,
And all alike intent upon the game.
Salanmin still would carry from them all
The prize, and shouting" HMl! " drive home the ball.
And again:
Welcome, prince of horsemen, velcome
Ride a-field and strike the ball.
'A cresent moon is a favourite Eastern metaphor
for a fine young man or woman.
 POLO
And inOmar Khayyam, when the poet
compares to a polo ball a man driven
by a power not himself, without choice
or strength to resist:
The ball no question makes of aves or noes,
Bult right and left as strikes the plaver goes
And he that tossed !'o L down into the field,
He knows abouLt it all. He knows, He knows.
Pocketing
The above slhows hov venerable is
the antiquity of polo. Yet tlheplayers
of the old time have transmitted to their
successors of today very little beyond
the root idea of a game of stick and
ball, played on horseback, since even
goals were not of invariable use with
them. This perhaps is interesting to
recollect while realising how the order
557
loving and disciplined minds of the
Westerns have organised a game which
was originally awild helter-skelter into
a careful, scientific, and military sport.
These things are an allegory, and the
polo of the East and West may to the
careful observer give a suggestion of
an Opponent
the reason why inwvar and government
theWest ever prevails. Such is the
plhilosophic reflection of J. Moray
Brown, author of the polo chapters in
the famous Badminton Library series,
chapters that have been revised almost
to date by T. F. Dale.
How, when, and where polo was
first introduced into British India as a
558 THE LOTUS MAGAZINE
game for Europeans is amatter of con
troversy. Some believe that it came
from Kashmir and Afghanistan, some
that itwas brought from China by the
Irregular Cavally after thewar of I86 i,
others again that itwas known in the
pre-m utiny days; and authority for this
last assertion is not wanting. Certain
it is that though the game was a favour
ite pastime among theMogul rules of
Hindustan as late as the sixteenth cen
tury, yet historians seem afterwards to
be silent on the subject, and there exists
an hiatus in the mention of the game
between the sixteenth and nineteenth
centuries. It isprobable, therefore, that
it declined in popularity and died out.
Manipur is the cradle of Indian polo,
though it is unknown by that name
there, where it is called kan-jai-bazee,
and occupies as a national game the
position that cricket does in England
and base-ball here. Children begin
practising the game on foot and on
horseback from an early age, and pro
ficiency in the game is viewed as a road
to royal favour. A tradition exists
among the Manipuris that the game
was introduced into their country more
than 3oo years ago by one of theirRajas,
Pakungba by name; but if Captain
Pemberton's opinion as to their origin
be correct. it is more than probable
that the Tartars, from whom he be
lieves them to be descended, brought
the game with them, for it is distinctly
of Tartar origin.
It is generally supposed that the ori
gin of polo in England was due to the
fact of a cavalry regiment lately re
turned from India having seen the
game there, and so brought the idea
with them. This theory is, however,
erroneous. It originated in a farmore
prosaic manner, and found its birth
place in the brain of sundry young
subalterns of the ioth Hussars in I869.
This regiment was then quartered at
Aldershot under canvas. After lunch
one day, and wearying for some occu
pation wherewith to kill time and over
come the ennui of camp life, these offi
cers were scanning the papers in the
ante-room tent. There they read an
account of the game as played by the
Manipuris. Quoth one, "By Jove! it
must be a goodish game. I vote we
try it."' No sooner said than done.
Their chargers were saddled, crooked
sticks and a billiard ball got hold of,
and they set towork-needless to say,
with no great results. Still, they were
discriminating enough to see that though
the game could h-ardly be played on big
horses, yet when ponies were used it
had great elements of excitement in it;
so before long one of them was de
puted to go over to Ireland and buy
ponies, and soon returned with some
seventeen of all sizes and shapes, and
then play began in earnest. The ioth
Hussars mentioned the subject to the
gth Lancers, then quartered at Houns
low, and they too entered into the spirit
of the enterprise and likewise began
polo, and these two regiments played
the first bona fide inter-regimental
match in England on Hounslow Heath.
Polo is firmly established inAmerica.
It is now many years since polo was
first introduced into the United States
by Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the
brilliant editor of theNew YorkHer^ald,
who has done somuch for the advance
ment of all high class sport both here
and abroad. The progress of the game
in popularity, and of the players in
skill, has been uninterrupted. "The
Milburn inAction
Showing Americanmethod of ridingwell over thewithers
56o THE LOTUS MAGAZINE
international polo matches of 1902,I endeavour to capture it for the Hurl
says the writer in the "Badminton ingham Club. The ground at Newport
Library," "showed that the best Ameri was very level and beautifully kept, but
can players could hold their own in its size was small, 225 yards by i3o
first-class English polo. When we con yards. The teams that met on this his
sider the disadvantages under wvhich toric occasion were:
men and ponies laboured on that occa Anie) ica En gland
Mr. T. Hitchcock Mr. John Watson
sion we cannot but feel thatAmerican Mr. WV.K. Thorn Hon. R. Lumlev
polo players are on a level with our best Mr. R. Belmont Captain T. Hone
Mr. Foxhall Keene Captain Malcolm Little
men. Th-eEnglish were better mounted Umipire Umnpire
and -wereaccustomed to playing on the Mr. E. Winthrop Captaini C. Lambton

Capt. Edwards L. Waterbury

(In last year's cup match)

Hurlingham ground wvhich, though The English players brought over

excellent, is somewhat tricky on ac
count of its shape and of its rise and
fall. But ifwe wish to see how much
American polo has improved since first
the cup was played for we have only to
compare the first international match
of i886 with that played atHurlingham
in 1902. Since then, of course, we
have ron the cup back from England
and retained it.
This cup was offered by the Ameri
can polo players in i886, and a team
was sent from England toAmerica to
their own ponies, and owed much of
their success, as their team did in
I902, to the then superiority of the
English animal. The combination or
team play of the Englishmen was also
better than that of the Americans. All
the English players were soldiers, and
all members of Hurlingham. In spite
of the gallant play of the Americans,
the English victory was decisive.
One great difference between Ameri
can andEnglish play is that inAmerica all
matches except the clhampionslhips ai-e

played under a handicap. The princi
ple of the handicap is that each player
receives a number which represents
his value in goals to his team. "By
this system" it is claimed that "any
four men from any part of the country
may practically enter in any tourna
ment" and a close contest be assured.
J. Moray Brown, who managed his
own polo stable, gives in the "Bad
minton Library" the following hints,
Driving
derived from a personal experience of
over twenty-five years, which may be
of service to those who, like himself,
since they cannot give money, must
expend time and trouble. As a polo
pony has to exert himself to the utmost,
for ten minutes, two or three times a
week, it is important that its wind
should be clear, its digestion in good
working order, and its muscles hard,
and that in consequence it should carry
no superfluous fat, either internal or
external. To this end regular exercise,
good feeding, and plenty of fresh air
POLO 56i
are essential. Ponies thrive better
when kept in airy stables, within sight
and sound of each other. Boxes struc
turally separate one from the other,
which condemn the animals to solitary
confinement, are not good. Then the
stables should have a clear current of
air overhead, and should never be
closed. When the weather is chilly,
clothing may be added to that ordin
arily worn by the ponies, but the swing
Ball Toward Goal
windows should always be kept open.
Grooms love a stuffy stable, for it
means that their horses' coats wvill
shine without elbow grease, though
this latter is in itself a great help to con
dition. Thus in hot stables there is a
double ev7il, first, in the close poison
ous atmosphere, and, second, in the
loss of that hard steady friction which
keeps up a healthy action of the horses'
skin. Next to plenty of air, a continual
supply of water is a most important
matter, and there is not the smallest
doubt that to drink little and often, as
 562 THE LOTUS MAGAZINE
a horse will, if he can always get at his
water, is better for the health, the di
gestion, and thewind than to gulp down
a pailful or two at a time.
Polo ponies need regular and steady
slow work and a great deal of it, and
they must get it in one way or another
or they will not be up to their work.
Walking and trotting exercise as a
means of conditioning horses has no
equal, and there is no substitute for it.
Eight or ten miles a day on the road,
or its equivalent, every pony should
have. The food should be old oats and
..\:-~~~~~~~~~~~~.......
A Crucial
sound meadow hay, with a small quan
tity of green food in the hot weather
and three mashes on one day of the
week, preferably on Sunday. For young
ponies a few split peas are not a bad
thing. The quantity of food must be
regulated by the digestive powers of
each animal and by the work he is re
quired to do. Directly a pony has less
work he should have less food. If his
eye is bright, if the skin is loose and
flexible and the coat is not harsh to
the touch, if the breath is sweet and
the mouth pink and wholesome, if the
legs are cool, you may be sure the pony
is doing well. If, on the other hand,
you notice signs the opposite to these,
you should suspect your stable man
agement and be doubtful of themethods
of your groom. In nine cases out of
ten, when ponies go wrong, it is the
result of carelessness or mismanage
ment in the stable. Ponies should, of
course, be groomed and never washed;
in fact, water should touch no part of
a pony, save that his feet-not his heels
-may be washed, and his nostrils,
sheath, and dock sponged.
The whole art of the stable manage
ment of polo ponies may be summed
Moment
up as follows:
(i) Fresh air.
(2)Clean water to drink at will.
(3)Good food at regular intervals
and in reasonable quantity. Over-feed
ing is a common fault.
(4)Regular, constant, and slow ex
ercise.
(5) Schooling for ten or fifteen min
utes every off-day.
(6)No physic, except by the vet.'s
orders.
(7)Good and clean clothing. The
same should not be used both for
night and day wear.
(8) Plenty of good steady grooming.
(g)Absolute cleanliness in every de
tail.
 POLO
The question which concerns the in
tending purchaser of a polo pony is,
not "Shall Ibuy an Irish or English, an
American or Argentine, an Arab or a
Barb?"' but "Is the pony which is of
fered to me reasonably likely to play
polo well?" Good polo ponies fetch
high prices, because the requirements
of a polo player are more numerous
and more unbending than those of
other purchasers of horse-flesh. A voice, he will do. These qualities are
pony which fails in but one of the qual
Wlhitney Passing
ities necessary is useless, and there
fore at the very outset tlhe field of choice
is limited. It is not enough to buy a
reasonably good-looking pony, and
hope that he will be good at polo; there
are certain points and qualities he
must have, and these we must ascer
tain that he has or our money wvillbe
thrown away.
The first point about a polo pony is
1histemperament. He must not be too
excitable, or he will pull and bound;
not cowardly, or he will not meet other
ponies or go up to the ball; not cun
ning or tricky, or he will shy away at
563
the critical moment; not sluggish or
he will lose a couple of lengths when
he starts. Therefore an intending pur
chaser should carefully test the nerves
and disposition of the pony offered him,
distinguishing of course in the case of
young ponies between coltishness or
rawness, and signs of incipient vice or
obstinacy. If the pony is quiet yet bold,
keen yet amenable to the rein and the
indispensable. Then comes the ques
Ball to Stoddard
tion of make, and shape, and quality.
The last, an undefinable but very recog
nisable attribute common to all breeds,
is very important. Of the first two we
must have as much aswe can get. The
head tells of the temper, and is a point
of much importance, in spite of the
sneer of the old-time horse dealer to
the customer who rightly objected to
an ugly head: " You don't ride on 'is
'ed, do yer, or if you do, yer 'adn't
ought to it." Then the neck should be
light, well shaped, and giving a long
rein. "I have found," says Captain
Miller, "that a short thick neck is one
564 THE LOTUS MAGAZINE
of themost fatal defects a pony can have, thegirth. Good back ribs and power
for as a rule such a pony will be ful quarters, with strong sound hocks
difficult to turn and will have a bad well let down under him, are necessary.
mouth," and no truer word was ever The polo pony needs propelling pow
written. A polo pony must have a good er, to stop, to start, to turn, as he must
shoulder, well laid back, used with per do. Sloping pasterns are an advan
fect freedom. This point can only be tage if the slope is not excessive.
judged from the saddle, for nothing is The forelegs must be good, with com
more deceptive to the eye than the side pact well-knit bone and firm hard sin
view of a horse's shoulder. The with ews. I believe the size of the leg be
ers should be placed well back, and tween the knee and the fetlock should
should be neither too thin and 'knifey,' come rather from well-developed sin
nor too thick and wide. On the true ews and moderate-sized bone than
formation of thewither and the length from coarse large bone and small weak
of the shoulder blade depend greatly sinews. Back knees, slightly bent hocks,
the safety and the power of the pony need not put us off, but a pony tied in
to turn sharply. Iwould also note that below the knees should be viewed with
a pony or horse with good withers well suspicion, nor should a handsome top,
placed, and a long shoulder, can gen if too heavy for the legs that carry it,
erally carry more weight in proportion be allowed to deceive the eye.
to its size than one not so well shaped. If a pony has all or most of these
This is important, because such a for qualities, he is worth buying, and I
mation enables a heavy man to have should not be put off by a flaw in his
an animal with a lighter forehand, and veterinary certificate. There are well
a generally quicker, sharper pony than known instances of ponies sold with
would otherwise be the case. Well-laid out certificate that have turned out
shoulders, and the withers so placed well, and of one of these itwas said that
as to give liberty, will give the appear itmight give sixmonth's play, and yet
ance of a short back. There are long after ten seasons' hard work itwas still
backed ponies, or those that appear so, good formembers' games.
playing well, but they have good shoul Bearing the various points inmind, and
ders in every case. The purchaser, resolute to get asmany of them as pos
however, should distrust the appear sible, it would be futile to ask from
a
ance of long back, as it is often pro what country the pony came. Irish
duced by upright shoulders. Mares, it and English ponies are likely to ful
may be noted, look longer than horses, fill all requirements; but Americans,
because their withers are, especially whether Montana, Texan, or Cali
inwell-bred animals, somewhat lower. fornian, are bred like English ponies
Hence the large proportion of mares from blood stock, and have many of
among thoroughbred polo ponies, themgood quality with perhaps sounder
since they are more likely to pass the constitutions and more adaptable tem
standard. The pony should be deep in pers. All alike must be subjected to
body, taking the measurement from the same standard.
the lowest point behind the wither to