Mr. J. M. Richardson's Writings Collated 



patron of the Turf, a personal friend of my own, and formerly 

 one of the best of our gentlemen riders, was selling his steeple- 

 chase horses and hurdle-racers, purely and entirely because he 

 was thoroughly dissatisfied with the present condition of things, 

 it must, I think, be acknowledged that cross-country sport is in 

 a very parlous state, and sadly in need of a specialist to advise 

 upon the case. Anything more absurd than the excuse just 

 mentioned, that to jump the fences properly at the various 

 suburban meetings the horse should be up to the Grand 

 National standard, I never yet heard. 



There were plenty of animals running at the time I was 

 riding who certainly could not be described as first-class or 

 anything like it, but who were quite capable of jumping any- 

 thing in reason, such as the Croydon country, for instance, 

 where the fences were mostly natural, and — for a time, at all 

 events — the " Sensation Water Jump," as it was advertised on 

 the posters, of a really formidable character, being, indeed, 

 wider than that at Liverpool. This attraction, however, if my 

 memory serves me, was not of long duration, for a horse 

 belonging to the late Duke of Hamilton, when running in the 

 big steeplechase, fell and broke his back, with the result that 

 Mr. Crawshaw, who was in the saddle on the occasion, was 

 prosecuted shortly after by Mr. Colam, on behalf of the Society 

 for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The case came on 

 at Croydon, and, I fancy, ended in an acquittal, the evidence 

 showing that the horse, a notorious rogue, was doing his best 

 to refuse, but his jockey, not to be denied, sent his mount at 

 the obstacle in such determined fashion that the brute was 

 obliged to have it, whether he would or no, and curling up in 

 so doing, jumped short, with the result stated. 



After this the water jump was modified considerably to suit 

 humanitarian ideas. 



259 



