None So Pretty

The aptly named None So Pretty was an Argentine-bred, chestnut mare owned and played by Stephen “Laddie” Sanford. None So Pretty was brought to the U.S. from Argentina by Lewis Lacey and purchased by Sanford in 1925 for $10,500, a record price of the era. Sanford went on to win the U.S. Open in 1926, 1929 and 1930 with None So Pretty an important weapon in his string and she reigned at the top of his favorites.

As legendary for her playing prowess as for her beauty, in 1929, None So Pretty captured top honors, outperforming a good number of her exceptional counterparts in the prestigious Polo Pony Society Show at Meadow Brook (whose criteria states that the pony must excel both on the field and as an example of worthiness to improve the breed.)

Having played with such distinction in all the high-class International competitions throughout the 1920s, and having won so many prizes, it was said that “her name is known to every follower of the game.”

Watercolor portrait of None So Pretty (Top Photo) by artist, Melinda Brewer; www.poloart.ca