inside the Victoria
race-course. Now the Polo Club owns a clubhouse and a tip-top ground not
far from the city. Ponies were rather difficult to get in those days, and
when you did get them there was very little opportunity to train them. It
was with difficulty we managed to get one practice game a week with full
sides. Several of the members of the Polo Club lived in the country, and
it was difficult for them to spare the time to come into town for a game;
besides, it was a fairly expensive game. Still, we battled away against
all difficulties, and the game of polo was kept going in South Australia
while the richer and older colonies of New South Wales and Victoria
practically dropped it.

Of recent years polo has become a favourite pastime throughout Australia,
especially in many country districts, and after the War will doubtless
become one of its national games. At the close of the hunting season I
had turned out Buckland and Satan for a long spell, and picked up four or
five ponies. I got some stables put up at Fort Glanville. The splendid
beach at low tide afforded an excellent practice ground. The season moved
along all well; we had only one severe accident. The game in those days
began by placing the ball on the ground half-way between the goals. A
player from each side was selected to gallop at a given signal from the
goal posts to the ball. On the particular afternoon of the accident the
two players selected were Tom Barr Smith and George Hawker. By some
accident the two rode straight at each other; the ponies met head to
head. There was quite a loud report. It was the cracking of the skull of
one of the ponies. The pony had to be shot, but no particular harm was
done to the riders. As a result of this accident it was decided to alter
the rules of the game. This was done, and there was no more wild
galloping to start the game. After trying several ponies, I was
successful in getting hold of two real good ones. One was a light,
cream-coloured mare, descended from a Welsh Taffy imported sire. I called
her "Creamie." She was a flyer. The other, a well-bred little bay, which
I named "Kitty," I bought from the Governor's A.D.C., Captain Williams.

The polo season closed with a race meeting, just as the hunting season
did. The chief event was the Polo Club Cup. I felt fairly confident that
I had that year's cup in my pocket. For some six weeks before the races I
had sent Creamie and Kitty to Mr. Ellworthy at Morphetv