The brothers played polo regularly. Sometimes they played “hooky” from work to get involved in a game at the Riviera Country Club.

Enjoying the elite sport of polo at the California country club with some of Hollywood’s biggest movers and shakers seemed a bit out of sorts for these two down-to-earth Missouri farm boys. But they enjoyed the comradery and the competition with Spencer Tracy, Leslie Howard and Will Rogers.

The younger of the two started riding horses as part of a health regimen after a breakdown. Someone placed a polo mallet in his hand and he just plowed forward, as he did with everything in life and in business. To get up to speed, he invited several of his employees to a conference room to listen to an expert lecture them about the elements of polo. Then, the brothers and any employees who remained interested practiced regularly at a nearby riding academy. They also housed a horse and a net at the offices so they could practice scoring goals during lunch hour.

According to several employees, the younger brother possessed the most drive. He had the ambition to play well. This was no different than his drive and ambition to be successful in business. After learning that the quality of the horses contributed to a high percentage of success in the game, he convinced his older sibling to purchase four expensive horses.

The brothers played for several years until the older and more prudent of the two advised his kid brother, who had played in matches that resulted in several fatalities, to sell the horses and give up the game. The older brother, Roy, maintained that the company’s primary asset should not be playing such a dangerous sport. The end for polo did not come until the younger brother, Walt, took a spill and crushed four cervical vertebrae.

At that point, the Disney brothers concentrated solely on cartoons and feature films. Eventually, they added a theme park that they dubbed the happiest place on earth.