Peter Barrett (B. 1935) "Sporting Horses - Polo" Signed lower left. Original Watercolor on paper painting. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. 29c Polo Horses issued May 1, 1993. During the 6th century B.C., the Persian cavalry played a training game which pitted as many as 200 men against each other. Thus was the challenging game of polo born. For many centuries nobility dominated the sport while its popularity spread from Persia to Arabia, and into Tibet where the name "polo" was derived from the Balti word for "ball." The game took a tragic turn in 10th-century China when Emperor Apao-chi lost a dear relative to polo and promptly ordered the beheading of all surviving players. By the 13th century, Muslim conquerors had introduced the sport to India, but it wasn't until the 1800s that British tea planters in Assam took up the mallet and formed the first European polo clubs. British cavalry units engaged in matches while stationed in India and brought the game back home to England. By 1875, English polo games attracted as many as 10,000 spectators. A year later, James Gordon Bennett, a sportsman and newspaper publisher, introduced the sport to the U.S. It long remained a pastime of the rich due to the cost of purchasing and maintaining a stable of polo ponies. Presently, the mount is a full-sized horse chosen for its temperament, stamina and intelligence. Specially bred for this purpose, these animals are broken early and worked as cow ponies until about age five when they undergo six months to two years of intensive polo training. Although these horses reach their peak at age nine or 10, polo ponies may continue to effectively compete up to the ages of 18 or 20. Image Size: 13.75 x 12 in. Overall Size: 16.5 x 13.75 in. Unframed. (B14211)