Y E S T E RY E A R S
Great Depression The American polo pony market survived financial crisis
While the stock market during the Great Depression (1929-1939) may have taken a nasty tumble, wiping out millions of dollars of financial wealth, the polo pony market in 1933 took a hit, but kept on galloping. In 1934, evidence shows that homegrown and trained American horses may have benefited from the worldwide economic downturn; and, that the 1933 East-West championship matches may have spurred more widespread use of the American polo pony, as noted in articles from that time period. College polo continued through the Great Depression as well, helping to keep up demand for quality horses. The tournament, played on the grass
at that time, generally attracted five to six teams, limited only by the problem of distance. One report from 1934 said the class of play and mounts indicated continuance of the progress in the game, which has been rapid for the past several years. Polo, July 1933 The public auction of mounts, held at the Fred Post place on Long Island on May 27, showed that the market for good polo horses is not bad at all. The polo strings offered for sale by the estate of the late Thomas Ewing Jr. and by the United States Polo Association brought prices that must be described, considering the times, as fair.
Argentine-bred horses, like The U.S. Polo Association’s Katrina, impressed American players, driving demand for foreign horses.
60 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
