Wise About Texas

In This Episode • The origins of polo in sixth-century B.C. Persia — and why it was war training, not sport • How the British found the game in India, and the first formal English rules in 1875 • James Gordon Bennett brings polo to America — and immediately sends to Texas for horses • Vanderbilts and Belmonts buying Hill Country mustangs • San Antonio as the polo pony capital of the United States by 1885 • The Texas breeders: O. W. Cardwell of Junction, “Doc” Weir of Georgetown, Jay Floyd of Midland • What these horses actually were — Spanish mustang stock with Thoroughbred blood, long before the American Quarter Horse existed as a breed • Captain Glynn Turquand, the Balcones Ranch, and the Texas Polo Club at Boerne in 1883 • The first public polo game in Texas at San Pedro Springs Park — and the collision that opened it • The Cowboys Polo Club challenge and the “Texas Championship” of July 14, 1883 • Military polo at Fort Sam Houston, and why the usual 1896 Fort Riley date does not hold up • The Broadmoor Cup trophy in Colorado that inspired this episode • Playing polo in a western saddle, and the separate sport of cowboy polo • The Polo Association in 1890, the first U.S. Open in 1904, and how handicaps work • Cecil Smith’s Llano County childhood and his apprenticeship under horse trader George Miller • Polo in Hollywood — Will Rogers, Walt Disney and Reginald Denny • How the Chicago Blackhawks logo came from a polo club crest • The 1933 East-West “World Series of Polo” against Tommy Hitchcock • The knockout, the ambulance Smith waved off, and the comeback that made him famous • The all-Texas team that swept England in 1938 and won the King’s Coronation Cup • Smith’s horses in the Hall of Fame, and the groom who won polo’s lifetime achievement award • Five U.S. Open titles, twenty-five straight years at ten goals, a last match at age 83 • Getting There: where to watch polo in Texas today Subscribe & Follow Subscribe free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or by RSS. You can also subscribe at www.wiseabouttexas.com. Ratings and reviews are the single biggest reason new listeners find the show. Follow along on Facebook, Instagram and X. Browse the full archive on the All Episodes page

We think and talk a lot about the Republic of Texas (I hope). But what are we talking about? Most of the early settlement in Mexican Texas was east of the Colorado River and extended up the river as far as La Grange. The battles of the Texas Revolution took place in San Antonio and ended at San Jacinto. So we have a Republic, but how big is it? What are its borders? Well, it depended on who you asked. Here’s a fun fact: If you go to Colorado this summer, as so many Texans do, you’re probably never leaving the old Republic of Texas. But a claim isn’t enough–you better control it. Find out if your summer vacation ever really involves leaving Texas in the latest episode of Wise About Texas.

250 years ago, the “American Experiment” began, with the result being the freest and most successful nation in the history of the world. The American Revolution, like the Texas Revolution, was the unlikeliest of victories. But a victory it was, and Texas played a significant role. This episode celebrates America’s birthday by looking at the role Texas played in one of the most transformative events in world history.

There is nothing prettier than a river flowing gently through the canyons of the Texas hill country. But traveling along the river can be treacherous. The canyon walls are steep and rocky. The path is narrow and the drop steep. Is the beauty worth the pain? The German settlers sure thought so. In this episode, we discuss just one of many “river roads” in Texas and the rich history that unfolds along the trail. Load up for a Texas road trip in this episode of Wise About Texas.