21 



RIDING AND REASON. 



Oh, give me the man who makes use of his brain 

 In handling the bridle and feeling the rein — 

 The man who commands with intelligent force 

 The manners and ways of his comrade the horse. 



In riding, I take it, the horseman will find 

 The root of the science is found in the mind ; 

 Two wills are at work, but the two you can feel 

 Unite in the touch .of the hand and the heel. 



And he who succeeds is the one who can blend 

 The two into one as the means to one end ; 

 Two sportsmen I witnessed, the one on a brown 

 Who sat on his pommel and rode like a clown ; 



Who tugged at his horse and held on to his head 

 With hands like a vice, as if loaded with lead. 

 I saw at one glance that he was not the kind 

 To blend with the horse both in body and mind. 



The other was riding a blood-looking grey. 

 How happy they looked as we viewed Reynard away. 

 The horse was full quick, but the man was the master, 

 And steadied the stride that got faster and faster. 



