36 RIDING 



single-bank country too, when the ditch is away, the ground 

 usually trends slightly upwards for some little distance before 

 the thorns, and a horse must be made to go nearly into the roots 

 in his fences, as, if he takes off at the beginning of this rise r 

 though he may make two or three marvellous jumps, he cannot 

 possibly go on doing it, and unless he can go on jumping, he is 

 of no use to a man who means seeing the end as well as the 

 beginning of a run. 



Blind ditches mean bad falls and generally bad farming. 

 Racing at them is not considered orthodox, but as to this 

 matter many riders are freethinkers, holding, and perhaps 

 rightly, that what a horse cannot see he is as likely to put his 

 foot into it at one pace as another. If Mr. Jorrocks did not 

 add to his hunting commination, ' Confound all farmers wot 

 don't clean out their ditches,' he would be the first to acknow- 

 ledge and to apologise for the omission. 



Another well worn bit of technical advice is, * Keep inside 

 hounds when they are running hard,' meaning if they are 

 cheeking the wind, ride slightly down wind of them, so that 

 the turns may be in your favour, and you may save distance 

 by going on the chord of the arc. Excellent in theory, excel- 

 lent in practice, if foxes would only run on scientific principles,, 

 which in an uninhabited country they might perhaps be ex-; 

 pected to do ; but unfortunately it is not possible to lock up 

 shepherds, sheep-dogs, cow-boys, and plough teams on hunting 

 days, nor can traffic be stopped on the highways, so that 

 everywhere there are ' lions in the path ' to deflect even the most 

 straight-necked fox from his proper course ; in addition to all 

 this his primary object being to save his life, he performs such 

 deviations as he thinks most likely to answer his purpose. 

 1 Keep your eyes open and your wits about you,' is after all the 

 only unimpeachable counsel which can be offered to those 

 who aspire to ride in the first flight. 



* I rode the old horse to a standstill.' ' I could hardly raise 

 a trot at the finish.' ' I regularly got to the bottom of the 

 young one,' are sentences which often conclude the viva voce 



