58 SECOND TRIP TO RUSSIA 



Fillis was in Circus Rentz at Hamburg, to which place my 

 wife and I journeyed in order to have the pleasure of witness- 

 ing his performances on his clever horses Germinal and 

 Markir. What we liked specially about Fillis's work was 

 that the horse he rode walked into and round the ring in 

 ordinary style, and without a trace of excitement or exag- 

 gerated " collection," until he began his particular act. As 

 soon as the animal had finished his numdro, he resumed his 

 placid way of going, which showed that his brilliancy was 

 not the result of his having been tortured. Fillis is certainly 

 the greatest master of this kind of riding. Although he is 

 a naturalised Frenchman, his heart is English, and I am 

 sure that nothing would give him greater pleasure than to 

 have his skill recognised in England. I would be glad to 

 help him to attain that end, were it possible. The difficulty 

 of course is that in England, riding means riding to hounds, 

 which has not much in common with school performances. 

 In Fillis's Principes de Dressage et cC Equitation, his methods 

 are well described and beautifully illustrated. I may mention 

 in passing, that Frank Fillis, who is at present running the 

 South African show at Olympia in London, is James Fillis's 

 nephew. I used to see a good deal of Frank Fillis some 

 years ago, when he had a circus in Calcutta, where my wife 

 and I were living at that time. He is a good showman, and 

 has big ideas. 



Being an Irishman, I naturally regard hunting as the 

 best of all sports ; yet school riding has undoubtedly 

 some good points, especially for teaching a horse to go in 

 a collected manner, and for making him obedient to hand 

 and leg. It is particularly applicable to the training of army 

 horses and polo ponies. Besides, in the manege, one is pro- 

 tected from rain and snow ; the place can be artificially 

 heated ; the ground inside it is very soft if one happens to 

 fall off; and if one's horse runs away, he cannot go very far. 



