RIDING. 



CHAPTER I. 

 GENERAL VIEW OF RIDING. 



THERE are several varieties of riding, which are respectively 

 the outcome of circumstances that differ greatly from 

 each other. Thus, in military riding, uniformity of style, 

 and control over the animal are the chief objects kept in 

 view. English hunting men have during the season a 

 task before them that demands not only a strong seat, fine 

 hands, plenty of pluck, and a good eye for a country, but 

 also a sound knowledge of the galloping and jumping 

 capabilities of their mounts, to say nothing of the necessity 

 of seeing what hounds are doing. Excellence in riding to 

 hounds is therefore judged, not according to conventional 

 ideas as to position and attitude, but from a thoroughly 

 practical point of view ; and the seat most prized, is the 

 one which will enable the horse to carry his burden with 

 the least exertion, and which will entail on the rider the least 

 possible amount of fatigue. A rider in jumping competitions 

 requires special skill in collecting his horse, so as to make 

 him jump " big " and cleverly in a cramped arena in cold 

 blood. No just comparison can be made between the 

 difficulty of taking the fences in these shows and those of 

 a " natural " country ; for the " made " fences can be 

 studied before starting, are constructed on favourable 



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