. CHAPTER XXIV. 

 EXHIBITING. 



By FRANCIS M. WARE. 



To the ambitious neophyte horse-shows afford field for 

 exploitation along three lines : the sporting, the social, and 

 the business. As presumably of most interest, the first 

 will be the only aspect considered, but, in a way, the three 

 are interdependent, and, so far as the social consideration 

 figures, it is the inevitable result that acquaintanceship at 

 least is greatly augmented. 



Even in Juvenal's time, the witchery inseparable from 

 handling horses obtained due recognition from eager youth 

 as : — 



'"Sunt quos curriculo pulverem Olympicum 

 Collegisse juvat, metaque fervidis 

 Evitata rotis, palmaque ..." 



Possessed of such aspirations, how shall the tyro best 

 tempt fortune? in what connections? and with what varieties 

 of the animal ? To what depths may disaster plunge, or to 

 what pinnacles may success elevate him? Deterred by un- 

 known hazards, many an amateur hesitates, and finally re- 

 treats; fearing perhaps not so much "the slings and arrows 

 of outrageous fortune," as the jeers and jibes of rivals and 

 of friends. He who goes boldly on prepared for loss, and 

 delighted with consequently unexpected gain, possesses the 

 true sporting instinct; and in him we find the most con- 

 sistently enthusiastic supporter of the only four out-door 



595 



