LADIES IN THE HUNTING-FIELD 293 



caught by ladies many could not afford to hunt, 

 and were obliged to ride cheap horses. Major 

 Whyte-Melville had been killed in 1878, or even his 

 ire would have been aroused at this dangerous 

 custom, against which he was always warning his 

 readers in his writings. A lady should have as safe 

 a conveyance across country as it is possible to 

 procure. Her horse should have been so thoroughly 

 schooled over every description of fence that it 

 should be almost an impossibility for him to put 

 a foot wrong, and his temper should be perfect. 

 The habit of mounting ladies on thoroughbreds, 

 which have been weeded out of racing stables, is 

 dangerous to a degree bordering on crime. Yet 

 even now it is no uncommon thing to see a young 

 girl riding a broken-down polo pony. 



To tell a lady that she should not hunt until she 

 can ride is rather like forbidding a little boy to go 

 into the water until he can swim. Outside London 

 and the large towns, so far as I am aware, there 

 is not a single riding school where ladies can be 

 taught to jump. Certainly, many dealers have 

 paddocks with every description of made fence 

 erected in them, and some of them are willing to 

 give lessons, especially if they scent a future 

 customer. Where the lady has a male relation who 

 can ride and is capable of giving instruction he 

 should be the riding master. In the country it is 

 not difficult to fix up a miniature steeplechase 

 course on which not only could ladies be taught 



