Show SPORTS AND ATHLETICS Bas etball on liorscinck Is tho latest and also ono of tho most dangerous und thrilling sports mus far devised The game has found considerable fa YOI among New orbs rich young non for It is only the welltodo who can aftord to piny It Four players make up n team Tho lay Is exactly tho srmo as In tho or Inary basketball afoot Scoring is Jmllnr and tho object of course Is to throw tho ball Into your opponents basket thereby scoring n goal When tho signal Is given to begin play each side all tho players mounted mount-ed lines up under Its own basket When tho referee tosses tho ball Into ho center of tho playing spaco one nan from each four dashes out at full speed toward the rolling ball nnd dives from his horse In tho effort to bo the first to touch It The player touching he leathern sphere first is entitled tots to-ts possession With tho ball on his arm ho In al owed to remount and dash for his opponents ponents goal As tho rules require that no player hold tho ball more than five seconds tho object of tho play is for tho side that has the ball to advance ad-vance toward tho opponents goal bj continually passing the ball from ono to tho other always going forward until un-til the lucky moment arrived one ol tho players can toss the ball Into the enemys basket Passing Is tho great feature of the game So expert have tho star players become that they can dash up and down tho court wheeling and turning nnd charging keeping up all tho lima a continuous passing All the players catch tho ball with ono hand and guide their mounts with the other Opposing players of course make their efforts to get tho ball by blockIng block-Ing tho passes Onco the ball falls to the ground tho other side dives for it too That Is their chance to rush It toward to-ward the other goal As In tho caso ol the opening play tho player who touches the ball first gets its undisputed undisput-ed possession until he mounts and la off toward the goal All this sounds very easy but thosa who have tried It think differently Sometimes an exigency of the play will see live or six men diving simultaneously simultane-ously from their horses toward the bouncing ball right under the hoofs ol tho nags There Is a pretty good chance of being hurt but so expert have the games devotees become that they can dive under a horso for the ball and come out unscathed Of course there Is always a chance of catching a flying hoof in tho forehead S rcF PASSING THE BALL TO A TEAM MATE and then you get out of tho game all right perhaps forever Mounted basketball is being taken up in other cities where there aro armories or riding academies but there are only a few daring spirits anywhere who are willing to risk their lives at tho sport Even polo which is only mounted hockey and one of tho most dangerous sports of fashion seems tamo after a game of basketball by mounted players Though so dangerous basketball on horseback is a fascinating sport to watch Even tho horses get imbued with the sport and enter into the excitement ex-citement of the game with all tho enthusiasm en-thusiasm of tho players After a months play a pony will follow tho ball without a guiding hand In moro than ono recent game the extra horses on the side lines have been known to jump within the inclousuro of their own accord and though riderless to follow the ball about until caught and led back to tho side lines You have to have money to play basketball bas-ketball on horseback Horses get tired during the heat of tho game just as polo ponies tire and they must bo replaced re-placed by fresh steeds A string of four ponies Is none too many for a hot game The keep of such a string Is expensive ex-pensive with the wages of II groom extra Then there aro all sorts of riding equipments necessary and the togs in which to play tho game Anybody Any-body who goes Into the game seriously must count on spending at least a couple cou-ple of thousand dollars for the fun h I expects to have |