Cottontail

One of the great American ponies of the “Big Four” era was Harry Payne Whitney’s Cottontail, a grand bay gelding “possessed of great power and extreme speed.” By one account, “He had, perhaps, a rather plain head, but in some of those plain heads is infinite horse sense, and Cottontail was as wise as any pony could be.” He was played by Whitney in England in 1909 and at Meadowbrook in 1911 and 1913. In each of these hard-fought contests, he was Mr. Whitney’s mainstay and never faltered – not once did the American team lose a match.

Newell Bent, in his book American Polo (1929), said, “Any story of California polo is incomplete without a tribute to California pony breeders and the California polo pony, for ever since the day when Mr. Laurence McCreery sold to Mr. Whitney the wonderful Cottontail, the pony that played an outstanding game in the international matches of 1909, 1911, and 1913, the California polo pony has been among the world’s best.”

Whitney’s string was said to be superb, and Cottontail was its star. He had power, great speed, and was conditioned to perfection by Whitney’s trainer, Larry Fitzpatrick. In 1927, Polo magazine referred to him as “the best polo pony in creation.”

A famed Herbert Haseltine bronze, cast in 1909 and known as “The Big Four,” depicts the Meadowbrook team and its mounts. Captain Harry Payne Whitney is on Cottontail, forever.

Cottontail, 1911

Watercolor portrait of Cottontail (Top Photo) by artist, Melinda Brewer; www.poloart.ca