Melton Mowbray. 353 



of that delightful book In The North Countrie, I have lately 

 had an instructive and pleasant trip to Yorkshire, where I 

 went with * The British Yeoman ' of The Sporting Times to 

 study Cleveland bays, Yorkshire coach horses, and Yorkshire 

 hackneys, and to take photographs of the best types for The 

 Points of the Horse. Among other good men, I was lucky 

 to meet Mr John Lett of Rillington and Mr Mitchell of 

 Eccleshill. Mr Lett is a large breeder of all classes of horses ; 

 is a well-known judge at horse shows ; a great exporter ; and 

 was the pioneer of the American trade in Cleveland bays. 

 Mr Mitchell devotes himself chiefly to Yorkshire hackneys, 

 and is the owner of that beautiful horse and champion, 

 Ganymede, for whom he paid 2000 guineas. He is also a 

 great breeder, judge, and exporter. Mr Dixon initiated the 

 movement that resulted in the formation of the Cleveland 

 Bay Society, for which he was secretary for ten years. He, 

 like his friends Mr Lett and Mr Mitchell, is an enthusiastic 

 fox-hunter. It was not their fault if I came away from 

 Yorkshire without knowing something about the horses of 

 the * county of broad acres.' 



Under the difficulty of having to ride anything we could 

 get without money, in exchange for the risky work of ' making ' 

 ' green ' horses clever, we had enough of hunting last season 

 to show us that the sport in Leicestershire cannot be sur- 

 passed. A Friday with Lord Lonsdale and Tom Firr will 

 satisfy the hardest man to hounds ; and Lord Edward 

 Manners and Gillard may be safely trusted not to lead 

 the ladies into danger. Lord Lonsdale on behalf of the 

 Quorn and the Duke of Rutland with respect to the Belvoir, 

 foster the true interests of hunting by their kindness and 

 consideration to the farmers, even more than by their profuse 

 liberality. The Cottesmore, hunted by Mr Baird, has a 

 corner of its district, like the Quorn and Belvoir, touching 

 Melton Mowbray, which is consequently the best hunting 

 centre in England. The * hunting people ' are wealthy birds of 

 passage, among whom there is a small percentage of fine horse- 



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