NEWS

This in-depth article on 10-goaler Cecil Smith is a blast from the past illustrating how polo, people and society were viewed along with some great quotes from Smith himself. Read an excerpt from the Sports Illustrated 1955 issue below, and click here to read the full article.

Born and raised on a Llano County ranch in Texas, Smith began punching cattle with his father, Sidney Smith, when he was scarcely 12, and his cattle-working kept him on the move so much that he never finished high school. One day, a crotchety, polo-loving man named George Miller, who owned a livery stable and playing field in Austin, came through Llano with a string of pony prospects. These were the days before jeeps were used to herd cattle on the western ranges, and the best early training a polo pony could get was to ride down young beef on the hoof. The training came naturally—in sudden stops and turns and galloping pursuits after rambunctious calves.

Miller invited young Smith to drop by and play some polo. Smith did, along with a few other cowhands, and as one of "George Miller's boys" was thereby launched on his unique career as a dealer-player that has kept him always on the move. Miller, who died in 1946, got to be one of the first big dealers in polo ponies, and Smith became his chief disciple. Today he earns his living by developing and selling them and by operating at the same time much as a touring golf pro.