ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT. 277 



of the goal, when Mr. Bullivant on his well-known horse Sentinel 

 took the lead, and appearances promised a fine race between 

 him and Mr. Day ; but unfortunately in passing through a hand- 

 gate, owing partly to a slip, Mr. Day's horse's shoulder came in full 

 contact with the gate-post ; the rider was thrown with great violence-, 

 and, as well as the horse, was much hurt. Nevertheless Mr. Day 

 remounted in an instant and continued his course. Mr. Bullivant, 

 however, during the interruption, made such progress as enabled 

 him to win the race easily. The contest for second place now 

 became extremely severe between Mr. Day and Mr. Frisby, and 

 Mr. Day only beat his opponent half a neck. The race was performed 

 in 25 min. 32 sees. 



There is no question of * steeples ' here, and of course a 

 steeple was originally the goal towards which, as the name of the 

 contest implies, the riders steered. Sometimes much latitude 

 was permitted to the riders, they being merely told to ' leave that 

 church on the left, pass to the right of the clump, and finish on 

 the hill beyond ; ' sometimes men were concealed in ditches, 

 and rose, holding up flags at a given signal when the starters 

 were at what did duty for a post. 



Such incidents are reported at somewhat distant intervals, 

 and we find, still under the head of ' Steeple-chasing,' an 

 account the date is 1816 of a match against time under- 

 taken by a Major Wilson on his Popylina mare ; the wager 

 being against his riding twenty miles across country in i hour 

 10 min. After one fall the Major was declared the winner 

 with i min. n sees, in hand. 



Twenty miles is a long journey, but it was not exceptional. 

 The publication already quoted, in the volume for 1817-18, 

 gives an account of a still longer race : 



A match for one hundred guineas a side was rode on Tuesday, 

 January 6, by a Mr. R. Melprop, and Mr. Arnold of Stamford Hill, 

 Middlesex. The parties started from the Coleshill to go across 

 country to a house of Mr. Arnold's, four miles from Wade's Mill, 

 Hertfordshire. The distance as a crow would fly, to use a sports- 

 man's phrase, is computed to be twenty-six miles. Notwithstanding 

 the hazy foggy weather, Mr. Arnold did his ground in i hour 52 min., 



