42 Lovers of the Horse 



all of them came to Canada from the Motherland, and they met together for the pur- 

 pose of perpetuating in the land of their adoption the sport which they and their fore- 

 fathers had so long sup])orted in the land of their birth. 



To Mr. ("o])land belongs the honor of being the first President of the Toronto 

 Hunt: that good sportsman, Mr. John Hendrie. carrying the horn for the first two 

 years, with John Ilalligan as his first whip. A few couples of hounds were purchased 

 and the ])ac-k was strengthened from time to time by presents from various enthusiasts, 

 and by tlie time the Master called the opening meet in the autunm of 18(i5. a very pre- 

 sentable pack was i^ evidence, and from that day to the present tin- Toronto Hunt has 

 met t\\ o days every week — spring and autumn. 



Owing to the nature of the country it was seldom possible to hunt anything but 

 the drag, bnt good sport was enjoyed, and like all true sj)ortsmen, the members con- 

 cluded that if it were impossible to hunt the live fox, they must have the next best 

 thing, and. no matter what lia|)pened, they must hunt. 



Additional strenjith was <nven to the newlv-formed Ihuit bv the advent of the 13th 

 Hussars, in ISCUi. Col. Jenyns and his officers were all keen horsemen and the support 

 which the Club received from them made it more than ever certain that the sport of 

 kings had come to stay, and during the next three years the growth of the Clul) was 

 most encouraging. In 1867, Col. Jenyns was appointed Master, a position which he 

 held for two years, during which period the sport flourished, and often the Saturday 

 meets were varied by point to point races, in which the Hussar officers took a prom- 

 inent part. 



An extract from an article in a Toronto paper of Nov. !). lS(iS, written l)y an Eng- 

 lishman, giving his first im])ressions of hunting in Canada, winds up as follows: "I 

 never saw a country rc(|uiring a greater amount of resolution in man and horse, and 

 as to snake fences, 1 think I would almost rather go at a stitt' English fence, where 

 the linlllinclics are strong and thick, llian rnn the chances of iieing spread-eagled in one 

 of them." 



In the s|)ring of IHdi) the Hussars were recalled and their horses were sold at 

 auc-tion. The prices fetched by some of the hunters may be of interest, showing that 

 even in those days a good linnlcr conimandcd his ])ricc. Mr. Bieber's " Citadel" sold 

 for $^240; Mr. Wel)l)\s "Shipwreck." $'-245 (to Mr. Hendrie); Col. Jenyn's bay mare, 

 $.50.5 (to Mr. Shcdden); Col. Jenyn's bay gelding. $;}.5() (to Mr. Elwes. of X(>w York). 

 .Vfter Col. Jenyn's departure, Mr. Hendrie again assumed the Mastershij). which posi- 

 tion he held until 1870. During the last year of Mr. ilcndrie's reijimc, a memorable 

 trij> was made by the Toronto Hunt Clnl) to Ilamilton, by the Cireat Western Railway, 

 Nov. 8th, ]8()!), when tliey were entertained on the old IJrant farm by Mr. Wm. Hendrie, 

 and ;in enjoyable afternoon's rnn was had on the farm limits. The meet was at^^cll- 

 ington S(juare, near Hamilton, and many amusing incidents during the day's .sj)ort 

 are still recorded. 



I'nder the Ma.sterships of M(>ssrs. George Gooderham, Worts and Coj)land, the 

 Ilnnt Club continned to flourish for the n(>xt ten years. The mc<'ts were alwavs well 



