SIDE-SADDLES EOR CHILDREN. 63 



We had so many charming pupils during our short 

 stay in London, that I shall always regard this teaching 

 period as one of the pleasantest events of my life. I 

 often think about them all, and wonder how they are 

 getting on with their riding, and, as their various 

 difficulties have been present in my mind while writing 

 this book, I have done my best to solve them all as 

 clearly as possible. We put up small hurdles and got 



Fig. 30. Child jumping without reins. 



our tiny pupils to ride over them, because I saw that 

 they had -grasped my explanation and demonstrations 

 of balance and grip, and it made them mightily proud 

 of themselves, and keen on learning all they could 

 about riding, when they found that they could sit 

 over fences with ease. Although the school hurdles 

 were small, our grey horse which they rode was a big- 

 jumper, which could negotiate a five-foot posts and 

 rails with ease, so the children who rode him were 



