So RIDING RECOLLECTIONS. 



Strategy is here required no less than tactics, and horse- 

 manship even as regards the bridle, is quite as much a 

 matter of head as hand. If you are out hunting, and 

 have got thus far on good terms, you will probably now be 

 tempted to indulge in a leap. We cannot, unfortunately, 

 select these obstacles exactly as we wish ; it is quite 

 possible your first fence may be high, strong, and awk- 

 ward, with every probability of a fall. Take your horse 

 at it quietly, but resolutely, in a canter, remembering 

 that the quicker and shorter his strides, while gathering 

 impetus, the greater effort he can make when he makes 

 his spring. Above all, measure with your eye, and 

 endeavour to show him by the clip of your thighs, and 

 the sway of your body, exactly where he should take 

 off. On this important point depends, almost entirely, 

 the success of your leap. Half a stride means some six 

 or seven feet ; to leave the ground that much too soon 

 adds the width of a fair-sized ditch to his task, and if 

 the sum total prove too much for him you cannot be 

 surprised at the result. This is, I think, one of the most 

 important points in horsemanship as applied to riding 

 across a country. It is a detail in which Lord Wilton 

 particularly excels, and although so good a huntsman 

 must despise a compliment to his mere riding, I cannot 

 refrain from mentioning Tom Firr, as another proficient 



