JUMPING. 



the very moment it may be most needed. He should, 

 on no account, catch the cantle of the saddle — unless, 

 perhaps, over a deep drop jump — as doing so is repre- 

 hensible on the same account, besides being dangerous 

 in the event of the horse happening to fall, as the rider 

 could not then well get clear, if the animal were to roll 

 over. He should lean back and draw his feet back (see 

 the Frontispiece). If his feet be thrust forward when 

 the horse lands on the other side, the resulting jerk of 

 the feet on the stirrup irons — as the legs will then be 

 necessarily straight — will re-act in the direction of the 

 legs, and as this will be below the centre of gravity of 

 the body, it will have a strong tendency to tilt the rider 

 over. Although a weak-seated man is, sometimes, 

 "jumped out of his saddle" by a very ''flippant" fencer, 

 bad riders, in nine falls out of ten, tumble off at the 

 moment of landing. If, when a horse lands over a fence, 

 the rider has his feet drawn back, the jerk caused by the 

 horse coming on the ground, will be borne by the rider's 

 thighs, which will "give to," and nullify, as much as 

 possible, the disturbing effect of the shock. From the 

 moment the horse goes at a fence, till he lands and 

 " gets away " from it, the rider should maintain exactly 

 the same seat, with reference to the vertical position of 



F 



