208 THE NEGRO RIDER 



of his saddle at a two-foot hurdle. Sometimes a German 

 soldier riding at a hurdle is the very type of how not to 

 do it. 



There is no man who sits down on his horse more ad- 

 mirably than the negro. He seems to settle into his seat 

 in much the same limber way he dances a break-down. 

 While his muscles are all in readiness to grip his horse or 

 saddle, his joints are loose and he gets nearer to his mount 

 than almost any man I know. While he may not always 

 be discreet in his management of a horse, he is otherwise 

 a capital example for the ramrod soldier to imitate ; and 

 when a darky is a good horseman he is apt to be ahead of 

 his white competitor. He and the horse invariably under- 

 stand each other. I have had negro grooms who would 

 keep the paces of my saddle-horses pure and distinct, and 

 whom in my absence I would trust to ride them month in, 

 month out, when I would not let one of my white grooms 

 — certainly no English groom I ever knew — get astride 

 one, even to ride him to the blacksmith. 



What I have said above is not all there is to German 

 leaping. The cavalry often goes at an obstacle by troops ; 

 and horses, even on the curb, will leap vastly freer in 

 company than singly. So far as manoeuvres go one can 

 scarcely criticise the Germans, and their squadron -drill 

 includes riding over a wall and ditch. The men rarely 

 lose than seats, and this leaves little to be said. It is 

 the individual soldier who does not at all times impress 

 us so favorably. I am not speaking of the officers ; as a 

 class they ride well, and I have known many splendid 

 horsemen among them. 



The German civilian rides d la militaire ; every man 

 has served his time. There is a certain set fashion 

 throughout the German Empire in every phase of life. 

 Things are conducted within hues which forbid their ex- 



