Polo

PoloSource: The Lotus Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 9 (Jun., 1914), pp. 553-564Published by:Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20543585 .

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THE LOTUS MAGAZINE Volume V JUNE, I914 Number 9

POLO

IKE many other games poio has

come down to us from the Ancient

East,probably from

Persia, where it was called chau

gan. Our name

for the game is derived from the Thib etan word pulu, which signifies a ball

made from the knot of willow wood. Probably the first mention of the

game under the title of chaugan is in the " Shahnamah," a poem written by the Persian poet Firdusi, who flourished towards the end of the tenth and be ginning of the eleventh century. Fir dusi gives a vivid description of a game between seven Iranian or Persian horse men and seven Turks in which Sia wusch astonishes Afrasiab by the skill he displays. Mohl, in his translation, says: "Siawusch nmonta un cheval frais, jeta la balle un peu en l'air avec la main, et la frappa si fort avec la raquette qu'il lui fit voir de pres la lune. La balle disparut, tant la raquette l'avait lancee hlaut! "

The prowess of a certain Gushtasp (the Hystaspes of classical history) is also extolled by Firdusi, who describes him as wielding the chaugan, or stick,

with such effect, "that the ball could no longer be seen by any person on the meidan, or plain, as his blow had caused it to vanish amongst the clouds."

This work is, of course, merely legen dary, but points to the early origin of the game, as Firdusi states that his information had been derived from still earlier works, traditions, and literary fragments. Other Eastern writers of the ninth and tenth centuries allude to the game as having been practised in very early ages, and- well known thiroughout the East. Pehlavi writings,

which are much older, allude to the game, especially the old fragments en titled " Karnamak-i-Artakshir-i-Baba kan," which record some of the won drous feats of the Sassanian kings,

Ardashir, Shapur, and Hormzad. These fragments relate mainly to the sports in which the flower of Iranian chivalry were trained, and excellence and pre-emninence in which made a proficient in them a man of mark. Foremost amongst these was a game described as a species of hockey on horseback, played with a ball and a concave staff or racket. It was called chupaan, a word from which the more

modern term chaugan was probably derived.



554 THE LOTUS MAGAZINE

The historian Tabari, who lived about 9 I 4 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 than warlike 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 I 26 and I 200 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 it will 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 it may 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 it must

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 in moving his body and his horse in as many differ ent ways as the ball is driven."



POLO 555

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 " (a regular " 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 to H. P. Whitney. Milburn Blocking English Players

four miles from Agra, 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,

of which a few particulars shall be given."

Professor Blockmann, in his trans lation of the "Ain-i Akbari" gives a lively rendition of the passage. " Super ficial observers," he writes, "look upon this game as a mere amusement, and consider it mere play; but men of more exalted views see in it a means of learn ing promptitude and decision. It tests the value of a man, and strengthens the bonds of friendship. Strong men

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




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 is made 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 in worldly matters, his Majesty 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 I am, I can say but little about it.

The poet Jami, who lived I 4 I 4 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 557

And in Omar 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 an Opponent

The above slhows hov venerable is the antiquity of polo. Yet tlhe players 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

loving and disciplined minds of the Westerns have organised a game which was originally a wild 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

the reason why in wvar and government the West 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




game for Europeans is a matter of con troversy. Some believe that it came from Kashmir and Afghanistan, some that it was brought from China by the Irregular Cavally after the war of I86 i, others again that it was 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 the Mogul 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 is probable, 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 their Rajas, 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 far more

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 to work-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 in America.

It is now many years since polo was first introduced into the United States by Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the brilliant editor of the New YorkHer^ald, who has done so much 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 in Action Showing American method of riding well over the withers



56o THE LOTUS MAGAZINE

international polo matches of 1902,I says the writer in the "Badminton Library," "showed that the best Ameri can players could hold their own in first-class English polo. When we con sider the disadvantages under wvhich

men and ponies laboured on that occa sion we cannot but feel that American polo players are on a level with our best men. Th-e English were better mounted and -were accustomed to playing on the

Capt. Edwards L. Waterbury

(In last year's cup match)

Hurlingham ground wvhich, though excellent, is somewhat tricky on ac count of its shape and of its rise and fall. But if we 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 i 886 with that played at Hurlingham 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 to America to

endeavour to capture it for the Hurl ingham Club. The ground at Newport

was very level and beautifully kept, but its size was small, 225 yards by i3o yards. The teams that met on this his toric occasion were:

Anie) ica En gland

Mr. T. Hitchcock Mr. John Watson Mr. WV. K. Thorn Hon. R. Lumlev Mr. R. Belmont Captain T. Hone Mr. Foxhall Keene Captain Malcolm Little

Umipire Umnpire

Mr. E. Winthrop Captaini C. Lambton

The English players brought over 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 and English play is that in America all matches except the clhampionslhips ai-e



POLO 56i

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 Ball Toward Goal

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

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

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




a horse will, if he can always get at his water, is better for the health, the di gestion, and the wind 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 Moment

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 the methods 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

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 563

The question which concerns the in tending purchaser of a polo pony is, not "Shall I buy 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 pony which fails in but one of the qual

Wlhitney Passing Ball to Stoddard

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 wvill be thrown away.

The first point about a polo pony is 1his temperament. 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

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 voice, he will do. These qualities are indispensable. Then comes the ques

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 as we 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




of the most fatal defects a pony can have, for as a rule such a pony will be difficult to turn and will have a bad

mouth," and no truer word was ever written. A polo pony must have a good shoulder, well laid back, used with per fect freedom. This point can only be judged from the saddle, for nothing is

more deceptive to the eye than the side view of a horse's shoulder. The with ers should be placed well back, and should be neither too thin and 'knifey,' nor too thick and wide. On the true formation of the wither and the length of the shoulder blade depend greatly the safety and the power of the pony to turn sharply. I would also note that a pony or horse with good withers well placed, and a long shoulder, can gen erally carry more weight in proportion to its size than one not so well shaped.

This is important, because such a for mation enables a heavy man to have an animal with a lighter forehand, and a generally quicker, sharper pony than

would otherwise be the case. Well-laid shoulders, and the withers so placed as to give liberty, will give the appear ance of a short back. There are long backed ponies, or those that appear so, playing well, but they have good shoul ders in every case. The purchaser, however, should distrust the appear ance of a long back, as it is often pro duced by upright shoulders. Mares, it may be noted, look longer than horses, because their withers are, especially in well-bred animals, somewhat lower.

Hence the large proportion of mares among thoroughbred polo ponies, since they are more likely to pass the standard. The pony should be deep in body, taking the measurement from the lowest point behind the wither to

the girth. Good back ribs and power ful quarters, with strong sound hocks

well let down under him, are necessary. The polo pony needs propelling pow

er, to stop, to start, to turn, as he must do. Sloping pasterns are an advan tage if the slope is not excessive.

The forelegs must be good, with com pact well-knit bone and firm hard sin ews. I believe the size of the leg be tween the knee and the fetlock should come rather from well-developed sin ews and moderate-sized bone than from coarse large bone and small weak sinews. Back knees, slightly bent hocks, need not put us off, but a pony tied in below the knees should be viewed with suspicion, nor should a handsome top, if too heavy for the legs that carry it, be allowed to deceive the eye.

If a pony has all or most of these qualities, he is worth buying, and I should not be put off by a flaw in his veterinary certificate. There are well known instances of ponies sold with out certificate that have turned out well, and of one of these it was said that it might give six month's play, and yet after ten seasons' hard work it was still good for members' games.

Bearing the various points in mind, and resolute to get as many of them as pos sible, it would be futile to ask from

what country the pony came. Irish and English ponies are likely to ful fill all requirements; but Americans,

whether Montana, Texan, or Cali fornian, are bred like English ponies from blood stock, and have many of them good quality with perhaps sounder constitutions and more adaptable tem pers. All alike must be subjected to the same standard.



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