RACE RIDING 141 



observation are indispensable. As regards the natural gifts, 

 courage and dash cannot be gained by precept and must be 

 inherent ; so to a great extent must patience ; and, to come to 

 more exclusive details of the art, knowledge of pace is a thing 

 which many riders can never acquire. It is a common occur- 

 rence on a training ground to hear a boy who has been riding 

 for a long time told to come on at a steady canter, and to see 

 him galloping at almost racing pace, or to hear an order for 

 a half-speed gallop, and presently to note the trainer angrily 

 waving his arm to induce the boy, who is approaching at a very 

 quiet hack canter, to quicken his pace. At exercise on New- 

 market Heath or the home downs these failures accurately to 

 carry out orders are not perhaps of much importance ; but 

 matters arc very different when the riders wear silk and the flag 

 has fallen. It is, however, an almost everyday occurrence to 

 hear an owner or trainer exclaiming in discomfited tone, ' Why 

 does not the boy come along as he was told to do ? ' on the one 

 hand, or on the other, * Why doesn't he take a pull ? He was 

 told to come along steadily he can never last home at that 

 pace ! ' The chances are that the jockey is doing his very best 

 to carry out the instructions he has received, but he does not 

 really know at what pace he is going. 



To what extent the result of a race depends on riding in 

 strict obedience to orders is scarcely to be made comprehen- 

 sible to the casual observer. A case in point occurred a short 

 time before the writing of this chapter. An indifferent jockey 

 who has, however, been lucky enough to win important races, 

 either because he had a good stone in hand, or because he was 

 meeting only riders as bad as himself, was put up to ride. 



' Now mind you wait with this horse. Don't be in a hurry,' 

 the owner said, knowing the jockey's lack of patience and 

 youthful eagerness to get ' home.' 



The jockey replied that he would do exactly as he was told, 

 and implied that to ' sit and suffer ' to resist the impulse to 

 begin a finish too soon was really his strong point. 



' That's right,' was the reply. ' The horse has a fine turn of 



