Several years ago, we met our neighbor Matthew Smith at the river. He is a fantastic neighbor and friend and someone we are blessed to have in our lives. But, there's a better story than he mows our lawn frequently. His Grandfather, Cecil Calvert Smith, was one of the greatest Polo players in the world. That is not my testament, or Matthew's, it's simply historical fact. Aside from John Wayne, I can't think of another Great American Cowboy I would like to see his story on the big screen. It is truly an amazing story.
Mr. Smith was born in Llano County February 14th, 1904 to a ranching family. As with all ranching families back in they day, he started working cattle with his father at 12 years old and found his time more useful on the ranch than behind a school desk - never finishing high school. He has been described as a shy person and not all that talkative, but a natural in the saddle. A Sports Illustrated article touted him as "the most secluded international celebrity in sports" (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1092405/index.htm). (Most of my facts come from this article as it is the best written piece I have found.)
"Brilliant Horsemanship" That phrase is alien to me as I am afraid of horses. My fear is irrational and stupid, so I try not to let it get to me and won't go out of my way to avoid horses, they just raise my blood pressure and my instinctual fight or flight might actually sprout wings on my back one day. But to have the entire world describe you as a man with "Brilliant Horsemanship" is not something that came overnight or without raw talent. His natural ability in the saddle started when he was three or four years old. By 18, his reputation for training cattle horses reached far beyond the C.T. Moss Ranch where is father was the foreman.
In 1924, his world would change. George Miller, a horse dealer from Austin, brought Smith two horses he had hoped would make excellent polo ponies. It was widely believed that cattle horses made excellent polo ponies due to their ability to stop and start on a dime and follow the cues of their riders with precision. In that thinking, Miller arrived at the ranch in hopes of finding a trainer. Later Miller hired Smith to clear a field where he hit his first polo ball. "I had roped calves quite a bit before I ever swung a mallet, and roping calves and hitting a polo ball are quite a bit alike: it's a matter of timing".
His first Polo game was in Austin TX (where his Grandson Matthew played Polo for the University of Texas years later) for Miller against an Army Team from Fort Sam Houston where they claimed victory. "I rode one horse and led the other one 10 miles to Llano, played eight straight periods and rode back to the ranch that night".
During that time, Miller was buying and training approximately 100 horses a year and during his employment, Smith would deliver the ponies to buyers all over the US. He also played with a team called the Freebooters where he played on his first grass field, "I'd go there and hit the ball off the back line and try and make a goal in two shots. That's 300 yards. A lot of times I wouldn't make the goal, but I'd nearly always hit it over the back line." A writer for the Detroit News covered the games measured one of Smith's drives at 460 feet. "Smith accomplished this by swinging a mallet that weighed more than a pound while riding at full speed, timing the speed of his swing with the speed of his horse and smacking a three-inch, four-ounce wooden ball more than half again the length of a football field toward an eight yard wide goal. And he did not miss."
In order to grasp the greatness of Smith's natural ability, you have to know a bit about the game of Polo. There are eight chukkers, each 7 minutes long. I had always thought you had to have a new horse for each chukker because they tired, but early in his career, Smith often showed up with one horse. Ironically, Smith never owned his own horses until 1946, always using the horses up for sale by Miller. Handicaps for the game are rated according to a player's hitting, his horsemanship, his mastery of the game and the quality of his horses - this last accounting for 60-70% - as well as his sportsmanship. Cecil Smith was a 10 goal player for 25 consecutive years. That is the highest ranking you can have in the game of Polo and only a few other players world wide, also claim that record. He was inducted into the Polo Hall of Fame April 6th, 1990. (Prince Charles' Polo handicap was a 4 in 1982 - according to: http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/personalprofiles/theprinceofwales/interests/polo/)
With the horses calculating such a huge percentage of the handicap, you can now see why an average cattle horse sold for $250-$500 back in the day, but a well trained Polo pony would fetch at least $1000. Texas was a major supplier of Polo ponies for the next century. A New York riding master once wrote: "The Texas mustangs ridden by the party were all active, wiry animals and joined in the game with as much apparent zest as the owners, They presented an animated appearance, fairly flashing about the turf with a great deal of spirit and chasing the ball with incredible speed". Cecil read this particular account and commented in his shy sense of humor: "horses won't chase a ball. A dog will, but a horse won't".
As Smith rose in the ranks of the Polo game, it was often noted not having a string of his own horses kept him from getting the handicap he deserved. In 1930, he was ranked a 7-goal player where he played with the likes of Rube Williams, Reginald Denny, Raymond Giffith, Walt Disney, Hal Roach, Jack Holt, James Gleason, Charles Farrell, and Guinn (Big Boy) Williams and Will Rogers.
Smith's two favorite mounts: Badger, found on a ranch in Sonora TX and ridden for 12 years. Bonnie-J, found at a ranch near Brady, with whom it was said he should have obtained a 12 goal rating when riding this horse.
In 1933, The East-West match was touted to be the Match to watch in the US. Smith was on the West and faced Tommy Hitchcock a 10-goal player for 12 consecutive seasons and Raymond Guest. The East team was a superior 32-goal team. The West - a "good 30 goal team". During this match, Smith's horse went down and rolled over on top of him. He was unconscious for 23 minutes and rumors were sweeping through the crowd that he had died. He came to, waved the ambulance away, mounted his horse and eventually drove the ball from midfield to defeat the East offense and lead the West to a 15-11 victory for the first game of three in the series. It was after this match the rules of Polo changed to include a player has to return to the field of play within 15 minutes.
After this historic match, Smith was a nationwide hero. "He has scored five of six penalty shots, and he also scored from the field with distance and accuracy that no other player could match. The most dramatic upset in a generation, Smith out-thought Hitchcock, outrode him and out-hit him by a wide margin." The West took the series in the end, but not not without some Hollywood drama added to the mix.
In the 2nd game, Rube Williams was accidentally hit by a swing from Hitchcock that broke his leg. and the East won that game 12-8.
Before the final match Smith was visiting Williams and searching for a suitable replacement. He offered to drive Williams' nurse home, where he left her at her door and was back to his hotel by midnight. The following morning, while at breakfast, Smith was arrested for an alleged rape against the nurse he had driven home. While the trumped up charges were likely meant to derail his game, that plan sorely failed. He led his team to a 12-6 victory where he scored 6 of the 12 goals, one shot from 95 yards out. The charges were later dropped without merit.
His career went on for many years and he passed the mallet on to his son Charles (Matthew's father), who is a 7-goal player in his own right, only playing on the weekends as he worked full time and raised a family.
"Cecil has the most even temperament of any athlete I've ever know" says John Armstong. "That temperament, plus his cool approach to any kind of competition, kept him at the top. His greatest contributions have been the training of horses and proving that nice guys don't always finish last". Along with that great testament, he also brought the game to the common man - Polo isn't a sport only for the wealthy.
Why you ask did I document all this in the blog - again, this is for Jackson someday. These stories of our ancestors, should be passed along to the newer generations. Alot can be learned from the folks of the Cecil Smith era. They lived through an incredibly hard time in our country and emerged the other side successful and full of life. Polo is still a quiet sport, often unheard of, and to live next door to the Grandson of such an incredible man - simply worth documenting.
Our neighbor Matthew still dabbles in Polo playing a game or two every now and then. Waiting patiently for our invite so we can watch the prodigy of greatness. When asked about his Grandfather, surrounded by his trophies and mementos, "he was an amazing man, that led an amazing life" spoken with a sweet smile of nostalgia.
Majority of information came from Sports Illustrated article - written May 09, 1977 by Robert Gantwell.
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