m luxurious stands, are the native "cancha" meetings, held, probably,
at some country public-house, and run on a "cancha," consisting of a
soft piece of road, or along a fence where there are no holes. The races
consist of matches arranged between two ponies, over short distances.
The start is made only by agreement of both the jockeys, and thus many
hours are wasted in their manoeuvres to get the advantage of one another
at the start. If the judges have money on the loser, the race is often
given a dead heat, and has to be run again. The pony of most endurance
has usually the best chance of winning, though the race itself is short,
as his rival may be tired out by repeated false starts. Large sums of
money often change hands at these meetings, as the native is a born
gambler, and understands this primitive method of racing better than the
more complicated systems of the regular course. Owing to this, and to
the competitors' efforts to cheat one another, not infrequently knives
are drawn during the heated discussion which follows the race.

The ponies are, for the most part, taken straight off the camp, though
in some cases they have been fed on maize and trained. They are ridden
either bareback or with the native "recado," and catch-weights: as may
be gathered from the method, it is usually "owners up."

Between these two extreme classes of racing in this country are the
English camp race-meetings, which are held by all the larger polo clubs
once or twice a year. Being of rare occurrence, and as some, if not all,
of the faces are open to members of other clubs, these are among the
chief social gatherings in camp life: in many cases there is a small
polo tournament attached, as it is the best opportunity for those who
come from a distance, and could not come twice. Therefore it usually
means a two or three days' holiday, and often a dance, or some
entertainment in the evenings. Old friends exchange reminiscences, and
new acquaintances are formed; while the ladies also make the best of the
opportunity to put on their smartest frocks and hats.

The races themselves, too, are the source of considerable talk and
excitement: both horses and jockeys are well known by sight or
reputation to the chief part of the company, and any "dark horse" or new
arrival, is inspected with care and anxiety by his rivals.

The class of horse entered varies between the three-quarter bred and the
"criollo" with no pretence to breeding at all,