336 



S TEEPLE-CHA SING. 



a very great deal of unnecessary exertion is expended, some of 

 which certainly tends rather to stop than to aid the horse. 

 The wild circular motion of the arms so often seen is worse 

 than useless ; the rider would do much better to sit still than 

 to go through this fatuous but familiar performance. The idea 

 of the finish is to urge the horse to his utmost speed by keeping 

 a gentle hold of his bit, and, by a gliding motion of the hands, 

 backwards and forwards— not round and round — alternately 

 encouraging and supporting the animal as he bends himself, as 

 it were, to his stride. It is most essential that the rider should 

 sit firmly down in his saddle, as a loose shifting seat would 



Finishing : bad style and good. 



naturally be a detriment to the horse ; and when one considers 

 that the difference between w^inning and losing a race is very 

 often a question of inches, and of very few inches moreover, the 

 importance of seizing every chance, however slight in itself, 

 will be apparent. The feet should be drawn back, the rider 

 should, as the phrase runs, 'go with his horse 'when the animal 

 makes his stride, and, unless long experience has assured 

 him that the right moment has come, he should resist the 

 temptation to take up the whip, by the premature use of 

 which so many races are lost, more particularly when, the 

 whip being raised, the reins are loosened. 



' He took up his whip and stopped his horse ' is a summary 



