374 THE POST AND THE PADDOCK. 



places, and he quite took to it, and went on uncom- 

 mon well. He comes to Six Hills the day before 

 Clinker and Clasher ran their match, and he hailed 

 me " Here's my old tutor ; I was never over a fence 

 till he showed me how :" and then he told the gen- 

 tlemen all about it. Whenever I saw him he always 

 joked me about it : he was a nice gentleman to 

 teach : he'd just do anything you told him that's 

 the way to get on. 



The oddest hurdle races I ever had was with a 

 black horse of Lord Euston's. Fll tell you all about 

 him. Mr. Gilmour bought him afterwards. I was 

 to ride him at Ashby-de-la-Zouch. When I got on 

 to the ground I met Mr. John Story. " Dick/' he 

 says, " you ride the black horse to-day : do you see 

 that Stand? he'll run you right against it, and kill 

 you : he always runs away when they're exercising 

 him/' Well, we mounted, and Becher canters up 

 " Dick, that's a fine horse you've got ; they say 

 he's a runaway devil, but we'll stop him." So 

 when we got to the post, I says, " You'd better 

 let me have the middle of the course, or I'll be 

 on the top of some of you." So I let him go, 

 and devil a soul comes near him to the distance : 

 then True Blue goes by me easy. I kept in the 

 middle of the course all the way, so I couldn't run 

 against the Stand. I told Mr. Story he'd better keep 

 out of it, he was so positive I should come there. The 

 second heat I puts on my spurs and takes off the mar- 

 tingale. He went a bit placider that time ; but, blame 

 me, True Blue catches me just at the same place again : 

 I was second twice. Then I went to Nottingham to 

 ride him the next week. The hurdles were four-feet- 

 ten there that was the height on them; tied together; 

 pegged together ; eighteen inches in the ground, and 

 tied with hay-bands. This ^ere True Blue was en- 

 tered again, and he'd still got all the better of the 

 weights ; so I says to Barker, " You and I must 



