400 THE HORSE 



doubt would have laughed them to scorn, and written some 

 scathing lines, had he been able to observe the riding of 

 to-day. The natural result is the constant occurrence 

 of unintentional crossing and jostling so frequently com- 

 plained of, and the many falls which have taken place 

 during the last two decades ; whilst grace of bearing, which 

 is an invariable attribute of high skill in all athletic pur- 

 suits, is now only conspicuous by its absence. 



Formerly it was quite a rare thing to hear of a horse 

 falling on the flat — but then jockeys were able to guide 

 their mounts, and could keep them from striking into the 

 heels of their leaders, even in the middle of a crush of 

 horses. But now it is quite different, and falls are frequent. 

 The present fashionable absurd seat totally prevents the rider 

 from utilising the powerful muscles of the back and legs (the 

 same which are used in rowing), which the old school 

 of jockeys employed with great success. They kept their 

 horses to their stride in the early part of a race by putting 

 their backs into it and bringing their weight into play, and 

 held their horses with little exertion to themselves, or any 

 fighting for their heads on the part of the steeds. With 

 their weight thrown chiefly upon the lower part of the 

 thighs, the inside of the knees, and the upper part of the 

 calves, they could poise their balance with the utmost 

 nicety, and give and take with the reins with great delicacy 

 of handling. "When such artists were seen in the saddle as 

 Tom Challoner, George Fordham, Tom Cannon, Custance, 

 Tom French, John Osborne, Jem Snowdon, and many 

 others, a race was run smoothly all through, the horses 

 gliding away at the start much as an express train starts 

 from the platform under the guidance of a highly skilled 

 driver. Although the horses were steadied they were into 

 their stride at once, for their riders maintained their balance 

 by grip, and not by holding on by the reins, and not an inch 

 of ground was lost that the horse could stretch for. A 

 photograph of one of the greatest races of a recent year 

 reveals a very different start, and yet the riders are the best 

 we can now produce ! Only one jockey is sitting down on 

 his horse and allowing it to strike off at once into its stride. 



