CHAPTER IX 



MORE RACING 



RACING may be said to be part and parcel 

 of a soldier's life. Few are the officers in 

 any branch of the service who have no taste 

 in that direction, nor is it possible that too much 

 encouragement can be given to it by all concerned. 



A man who, by close observation of the horses 

 in his own stables, either for hunting or for steeple- 

 chasing, has gained a practical knowledge of them, 

 will be more likely to take them through a campaign 

 with a minimum of the sore backs and field ailments 

 inseparable from campaigning than a man whose 

 orders and regulations are his only guides. There 

 is no recreation for keeping body and mind in health 

 equal to that of riding or tending horses. 



In 1887 the writer found himself at Mhow, 

 Central India, an ideal station for a man fond of 

 sport — a small garrison composed of one battery 

 of artillery, one infantry battalion and one cavalry 

 regiment. There was a gfood race-course on which 

 prospective race - horses could be exercised and 

 many were the trials which took place there. What 

 drew the entire English society was a weekly 



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