Polo Week: Meet Captain Rodes
Wednesday, September 22, 2010 
As I mentioned at the start of this week, HH reader Meaghan F. has generously shared a treasury of family photos and clippings concerning her Great Grandfather, U.S. Army polo player Peter Rodes. Polo week continues with the first chapter in Captain Rodes' story, in which Meaghan writes:
"I am sending you a handful of pictures of my Great Grandfather, to whom I owe my love of horses. It seems that horsemanship in my family skipped a few generations and made up for it when it got to me. Even though he died a good 20 years before I was born, I've always felt a close kinship with him.
Captain Rodes shows off a polo pony. Though the photo is unmarked, Meaghan believes this to be Rodes' favorite pony, who was lovingly named 'Chicken'
"Peter Rodes was from Lexington, Ky. He was a star football player for the U.S. Naval Academy, and when they asked him to stay a 5th year, he politely declined. When WWI broke out he enlisted in the Army, and when the Army saw he had 4 years at USNA they made him an officer. Some time after the war, the Army discovered he was a talented polo player and at this time the U.S. Army had a polo team. In 1925, he was on the team that traveled to England for a polo match that was apparently quite a big deal..."
Check back tomorrow to see how Captain Rodes and the U.S. Army polo team's 25 ponies fared in their overseas travels!
Reader Comments (4)
Wonderful horses! I so love polo week!
Outstanding!!! I cannot wait to hear how it went for them - this is really amazing! 1925 - wow! That's history for you!
I really love the Polo pix and history. I wonder, are there names that go along with the horses, it seems they never get the proper billing. Thanks, Pat
This is completely amazing. I have read over it a couple times and just... Its so cool. I have shown some people on my polo team it as well and they love it as much as I do. Thank you for sharing it with all of us.