Lightfoot, Winner of Ladies’ Saddle Class at Age of Twenty-three
A good polo pony is a treasure in any stable. For a country hack he is excellent, giving a good ride, never tiring you, and never being tired himself. His early training makes him unusually quick to
rein and very bridle-wise. Once get used to his quickness and you are sure to enjoy him.
Show Pony
The type of polo pony has changed in the last ten years, as the game is so much faster than it was. Formerly the limit of height was fourteen hands. Now it is 14.3. The type used to be a stocky, rather heavily built pony, more of the type of an English cob with a docked tail, such as we see in the
early polo prints. Now they have a great deal of thoroughbred blood and many of them are three-quarter bred, and have, of course, the characteristics of that type. Many ponies which are too hot-blooded for use in the polo field, or who are “mallet shy,” make ideal riding hacks and are easily broken to harness. Such ponies can often be picked up at great bargains and made as useful a pony as one
can well have at any price. In these days women are beginning to play polo, and it goes without saying that there is no difference in the type of polo pony for a woman’s use from that for a man’s.
There is an exceptionally good type of pony which has not appeared to any extent in this country, commonly known as the Irish pony. This is a cross between a thoroughbred and a half-bred hackney, the small size being gained, of course, through the hackney cross with the pony. They have much of the fineness of the thoroughbred and a great deal of the substance of the hackney. They have tremendous endurance, are remarkably good combination horses, can often jump a bit, and can be ridden and driven all day long by any lady, and very often are so gentle that a child can ride them. As a combination pony they cannot be excelled, and they are particularly useful to help out in a small stable, as they can be used for station work and for taking the children to the beach, and all that sort of thing. They are, however, very high-priced and hard to pick up at a bargain.
